How to win the BIG Trophy...

Creative:  relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas; especially in the production of artistic work (widgets dictionary)

How can I win the BIG trophy? Well maybe if you were more creative.

People that are creative book the job, get the promotion, and sometimes even win the big trophy.

The journey toward creative bliss is my destination, and maybe yours too?

We often use the word ‘creative’ just in terms of art… But why not exercise this muscle in all aspects of your life.

Scientists have found that if you exercise your willpower muscle in one task, your willpower overall increases. Could this be true for creativity too? My hypothesis: what would happen if we took a break from being creative with our art, and instead were more creative with our family and friends, our job, our exercise regime, and so on... Maybe without you even knowing it, your creative muscles will strengthen and spill over into your art...

So,

How can you be more creative when responding to your significant other’s so-called non-sense?

How can you be more creative at your dreaded day-job?

How can you be more creative with ‘putting out fires’ at your next family gathering?

How can you be more creative with your approach to today, so that today is one to remember?

My theory: You want to be more creative, so that you book the job, get the promotion, win the BIG trophy? Focus on becoming more creative in all areas of your life, and as a result your desire to be a more creative artist will ensue with ease.

Far-fetched, maybe… but I think it’s useful.

Kiss '5 Hour Energy Drinks' Goodbye

 "Fatigue doesn't come from working too hard, it comes from not finishing your work." Steve Chandler

More specifically fatigue comes from not finishing the work of your soul, the creation of your art.

As artists we often spend a lot of time in think-mode, procrastination-mode, don't have enough time-mode.... and much less, much less time in execution-mode.

All for one little reason: Fear

What work do you have yet to complete?

Make a list, title it "PROJECTS I’VE FINISHED" Write down daily the projects you've completed, no matter how mundane… Miraculously your energy levels rise.

"On the other side of our comfort zone, is fear, and beyond fear is bliss." Brian Johnson #boom (more on that soon)

Cheers to: going out and getting it done! (no more 5 hour energy for me)

HAPPY train de-railed

Being a good steward of positive psychology... I find myself always trying to stay on the happy train. So much so I often punish myself for having a bad day.

Why are you so sad??
You should be happy because you're alive!
You should be happy because you have a roof over your head.
You should be happy because you're healthy, employed, middle class, free, and you're loved.

Shame on you for feeling sad or depressed or anger or worried... Or anything but happy.

I try to force myself to be happy. And we all know what happens when you force anyone to do anything against their will... Failure, I'm even more unhappy than before.

With the help of Brian Johnson's Philosopher's Notes I'm reminded that life has 4 seasons, life exists in ebb and flow. The tide goes out and comes in, there's dark and there's light, there's day and there's night. And just as much as life changes so do our bodies. Therefore, you can't be happy all the time.

The more we accept our present state, the better off we are. When we deny our emotions, we're setting ourselves up for a slew of negative effects. When we accept our emotions and love what is whether that be happiness or sorrow, our highs get higher and our lows get higher.

Brian Johnson, "Our highs get higher and our lows get higher." Brilliant!!

So there it is, go with the flow, knowing this too will soon pass...

And in the meantime keep feeding your artist by creating yr art!

BAHHH, my BIRTHDAY is here again?!?!

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Birthdays use to excite me. I couldn't wait to turn 1 year older. Double digits was a triumph, sweet sixteen was a license to drive, 18 semi-legal, 21 'nough said.

But what if… your name isn't in lights, you're not a millionaire, you haven’t met your soul mate!

Life becomes a race against the clock, hold on to your youth OR ELSE... dant da daa!! (Scary music)
 

Birthdays no longer excite you, instead they make your stomach turn. And your ego goes into overdrive proclaiming, "You’re too old to do this, too old to do that, too old, too old, too old!!"

 
Old age takes over!!! ‘Older but wiser’ has very little appeal. Correction: NO appeal.

And everyone that's succeeded, people born in the nineties that have succeeded, make you crazy!!

But then you remember these wise words: Everything that's happened to you up until this moment was suppose to happen; proof of that, it did happen. – Wayne Dyer

So you're 25, 30, 40... And you're not exactly where you thought you would be at your current age. My advice to myself and everyone else that suffers from “BAHHH, my birthday is here again!?!?”

Accept and cherish the notion that you are in the right place now. Everything you’ve done has lead you to this moment now, so stay present, feed your artist on a regular basis, and watch the magic unfold.

Who needs COCAINE when you have yr art?!

 

You're back in the game
It's callback time
5 songs to learn
8 sides to prepare
10 hours til audition mode

You're on 4 hours of sleep
You're pumped up with affirmations

You ignore your criticizing ego
You get present
You smile bright

You give it your all

It’s go time!! And you’re flying HIGH!!

And then...

They ask you to only perform 1 song out of the 5 and only 1 side out of the 8.

You're still hopeful…

And then... You're CUT.

Down you fall...

Fall

Still…

Falling

You hear the echo of your affirmations fading...

And the ego's chatter becomes louder, louder, and louder!!

Crash!! The artistic cocaine high has worn off.

Your  feet hit the ground. The dream of booking this gig dies. You're too old to cry. Too old to have a tantrum. Too old to call your mom... oh wait.

Who signed you up for this hangover?

Who signed you up for this gutter feeling?

Who signed you up for this pain?

YOU did.

So now what?

Ride the emotion. Force yourself to stay present and active. Go take a yoga class, have coffee with a friend, hit up an open call, go out for karaoke… Keep active, to avoid the EGO’s nonsense, because it loves to remind us, we SUCK.

But its the EGO that really sucks.

Remember, you got up and faced your dragon head on. Dragon aka FEAR. And you’ll continue to do so, because that’s what you signed up for as an artist. The cubical dude doesn’t fight his dragon, instead it festers inside of him… and will eventually erupt… hopefully in time for him to still share his art with the world.

Every NO, is just one step closer to a YES, and a Tony, and an Emmy, and a Grammy, and an OSCAR.  Or something like that…

So ride the artistic cocaine high a little longer, because your YES is waiting.

SHIT, it's good for you

I got lost. I got caught up in the whirlwind of my ego. And now I’m back.

Did I do all I could today to become the successful artist I want to be?

 No.

Why?

Because I can’t, DUH!

And then, I follow the ‘I can’t’ with every excuse in the world. And all this steams from the fear of failure, fear of not creating anything worthwhile. And at the end of the day, I not only failed at creating something worthwhile, I failed at creating anything at all.

So I decide to drown my sorrows in a bottle of wine or someone else’s bed… or…

But then it hit me… after reading The War of Art for the 3^rd time, I was reminded it’s not what you create but simply that you create. Eureka!!

So my new goal, create SHIT.

Surprisingly this is quite fun and ironically creating shit, doesn’t make me feel like shit. I wish the same fate for you.

A Million Views

December 2010, I decided to start a writer's collective. My first and second meeting only had one guest. Despite the no shows, Laura and I made the best of it. We shared our current writing projects, and then something glorious happened... Laura asked me if I'd seen our friend's music video that received over a MILLION views on YouTube. What?! Amazing right?!

Laura declares, "Why don't we do something like that... Maybe we can get a million views?"

The journey began... through lots of laughter, and a few tears...

November 2011, we released the very 1st episode of our web series, The Waiting Room. To date we have 3 episodes, and will shoot our 4th in just two weeks.

Create Yr Art Productions presents:
www.youtube.com/user/TheWaitingRoomWeb

We don't have a million views, but maybe some day soon. But as you know, and we know, it's not about the views. It's about the creation of art. This web series is my artistic baby, birthed for all to see.

"Don't wait for someone to cast you. Cast yourself" 
                                                -Edward Norton