I didn't start 2022 with the words I'd stick to. Looking back I think it was 'change' and 'challenge'. I really wanted to make a change in my life. I started ANook3 in July on Etsy first and opened www.anook3.com in August. It's now only a week away from 2023 and I'm proud I survived my first six months and want to do better and grow in 2023. I'm realizing I myself need to grow first as a person, get organized, develop the habits and have the work routine to be able to grow my shop. I'm happy about these positive changes in myself. 

My two words for 2023 came naturally. They are 'Gratitude' and 'Persistence'. I am so grateful to my customers not just because they bought my artworks but they trusted my shop. I know it's not an easy decision to buy from an online shop that you've never seen or heard before. Also when I had one of those self-doubting moments, it was lovely and encouraging messages from my customers that got me out of them.

I wanted to write down the quotes about gratitude and persistence on the first two pages of my 2023 journal so I can always come back to read whenever I need reminders. I hand picked the ones that really spoke to me and I'd like to share them here.

I wish you and me all the best for 2023! 

+Gratitude+

1. Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude. - Deepak Chopra
2. I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet. -  Confucius
3. Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude. - Confucius
4. The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see. - Mary Davis
5. The essence of all beautiful art is gratitude. - Friedrich Nietzsche
6. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet. - Thich Nhat Hanh
7. Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining - it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn't solve any problems. - Zig Ziglar
8, Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have, and you will attract more good things. - Rhonda Byrne
9. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. - Karl Barth
10. Gratitude is not a limited resource, nor is it costly. It is abundant as air. - Marshall Goldsmith
11. It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment. - Naomi Williams

+Persistence+

1. Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success. - Napoleon Hill
2. Keep grinding! Stay persistent! One day you gonna wake up and be exactly where you dreamed you would be. - Eric Thomas
3. Energy and persistence conquers all things - Benjamin Franklin
4. Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. - Bill Bradley
5. Paralyze resistance with persistence. - Woody Hayes
6. Champions keep playing until they get it right. - Billy Jean King
7. A river cuts through rock not because of its power but because of its persistence. - James Watkins
8. The people who are doing what you want to do - the ones at the top of your field, the ones you look up to - all started right where you are now. They all had their own trials and obstacles. The only difference between them and you is their persistence and their drive. Les Brown,
9. There is no magic to achievement. It's really about hard work, choices and persistence. - Michelle Obama
10. The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost