Costume Contest of Life

Life is like a costume contest.

If you prefer to have a costume like everyone else…

If you prefer to pick a costume last minute when all the stores are sold out…

If you prefer to not wear a costume at all…

If you prefer to avoid all creativity when putting together your costume…

You’re NOT going to win the BIG prize!

The person who wins the costume contest… is afraid to stand out, but they do it anyway!

So choose your costume wisely. And make no mistake, the less thought and creativity you put into your costume, the more likely you are to NOT win the big prize.

So go BIG or go home.

Dare to…

Make a statement.

Be laughed at.

Be creative.

Push the limits.

Strive to win that prize!!

Create an awesome Halloween costume, create an awesome life.

And soon that prize will be yours.

It may be a stretch… but I think this analogy could be useful.

Knee Pain

A wise one once philosophized that a person only gets knee pain, when she hesitates to move forward on her life’s path. 

After I dumped all my present baggage on my best friend… The cherry on top of my heaping pile of baggage, was that my poor knee was painfully out of socket. She proceeded to tell me the wise words above and than some...

My baggage centered on my career, love-life,  and family, all creating loads of stress from all angles. So what’s a girl to do?

My best friend began to laugh. She said, “Malorie, your life is so together. You’ve accomplished so much; remember that. You wish you were 6 steps ahead, but instead be happy with your present success.”

She than told me that in a talk-back with Jennifer Aniston, when she was asked what advice she’d give to her younger self… Aniston replied, “I’d tell my younger self not to worry SO much.” My best friend brilliantly proposed that she believed, that adult-Malorie would say the same thing to young-Malorie.

Interesting…

She reminded me to live in the present, trust where I am, and begin to move forward on my path.

I’m now home… and my knee pain has significantly subsided.

Beware of your own knee pain.

Move forward despite the fear your baggage creates.

Listen to your heart and create your art.

Blame It On Your Muse

All we have is our art.

That is all we are.

Non-artists love asking the true artist...

1. What is your back-up plan?
2. Isn't it time to get a real job?
3. What if you never succeed?

And to top it off your Ego kicks into high gear every time you embark on a new artistic endeavor!

But then something wonderful happens...

You finally win the Oscar
You finally book a Broadway show
You finally write a best seller
You finally achieve artistic success

You'd think the questions would stop, you'd think your Ego would quiet, you'd think the artistic battle was over...

But then...

The Non-Artist asks, what if you've reached your pinnacle? Aren't you afraid you'll never achieve another masterpiece?

And then we undergo "tortured artist" syndrome.

In extreme settings, we as artists:
Become deeply depressed
Go insane
Overdose  
Or...
End up killing ourselves

Simply because we are our art. And our creative juices have been spent. 

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love picks apart our western ideas about the so-called "tortured artistic" journey in her 2009 TED talk... a must see click here.


Elizabeth made it her mission to find a new set of beliefs about the artistic journey... maybe it didn't have to be so painful? She landed on the Greeks and the Romans. Their belief was far from negative. And here's why...


The Greeks and Romans didn't see the artist as the sole creator of the art. Instead a muse or genius was the artist, and the person was simply the creative channel. Therefore artistic failure wasn't solely the fault of the individual, the blame was shared with the muse.


Why is this important? Next time writer's block creeps up on you... don't blame yourself, call out for your muse to show you the way. Think of your art as a joint venture between you and your muse. Show up everyday knowing you're going to have ups and downs... but you'll still do you're best to channel your muse.

And when you fail, it's not entirely your fault, blame it on your muse. Blaming your failures on your muse allows you to avoid "tortured artist" syndrome. Being an artist doesn't have to mean a lifetime of struggle. Maybe you never will create something as brilliant as your break through art piece... OR maybe you will, either way...

Don't take failure personally, this will lead to your destruction; simply blame it on your muse, and continue to create yr art.

And yes, it's easier said than done.

Tunnel Vision

We all know comparing ourselves to someone else is bad news. But sometimes we need to be reminded. My Ego loves to use this “comparing” tactic against me, and it does a great job at making me feel less than. 

MY LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES = SHITTY

HER/HIS LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES = WAY MORE FABULOUS THAN MINE 

Maybe it’s true, and maybe it’s not.

And then I remember, this is my journey, not someone else’s journey. It’s my rollercoaster ride, my story, and my life.

Where you are right now, is right. And where you are going, is right.

When your Ego switches into overdrive, alerting you how much better everyone else is compared to you… focus all your energy on your journey only.

Ask your muse for guidance, and Tunnel Vision. 

My Dragon

“On the field of the Self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon.”

Do The Work, Steven Pressfield

I always believed overnight successes were impossible… or in other words, one’s success may appear to happen overnight, but in actuality that’s never the case. But then, a real overnight success asked me out on a date.

Over dinner, he explained there was prep-work and lots of talent behind his good fortune, but he did ultimately agree he was an overnight success. I couldn’t help but hold a mirror to my own life… this mirror A.K.A: my dragon of resistance screamed:

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH THE LAST 24 YEARS, MALORIE?!

WHY ARENT YOU FAMOUS?!

WHY HAVENT YOU CREATED SOMETHING BRILLIANT?!

An achy feeling over took my body. My dragon told me to curl up and die. She insisted I drown my sorrows in someone else’s bed. And she continued to remind me how shitty my artistic journey has been, and yes, how unproductive.

Despite the intense flames from my dragon, I kept my cool, and the Overnight Success didn’t seem to notice my raging fury. Dinner ended, he kissed me on the cheek and we parted ways.

As I walked home… the pity parade gallantly followed my every move, singing gleefully “You Suck, You Suck, la la la!!”

I was losing the battle.

And then…

I began to write.

I scheduled artistic meetings.

Embarked on a new book.

And sang with all my heart.  

The achy feeling dissipated.

This wasn’t the first battle and it wasn’t the last. And for the time being my dragon has been pretty quiet, but I know she’ll creep up again soon. It’s a good thing I know her weakness.

And who knows maybe you’ll be the next overnight success… and until then create while you wait.   

I love you like a negative STD test

When was the last time you wrote a poem?

My freshman year “Writing the Essay” teacher, Rajiv Joseph assigned each student to write a weekly poem. Poem day, which I think was Wednesday, was always something I looked forward to. Before we began the typical class lecture, we’d all share our weekly genius with the class.

A few things I remember about my freshman year classes… I read a lot of plays and essays, I wrote a lot of essays, and POEM DAY.

The poems were never graded. It was simply a chance to create art just because.

So today when I was working a L’Oreal promotion at Duane Reade; a far from glamorous gig, I noticed a cashier writing in her notebook.

She confessed that when the store wasn’t busy… she writes poetry. She proudly announced that just yesterday she wrote a love poem for her husband. When she read it to him, it brought tears to his eyes. (I got that warm fuzzy feeling all over)

For the sappy romantics out there, an ode to your lover is probably apart of your daily routine. But for everyone else, when was the last time you wrote a poem?

She brought me back to freshman year Poem Day. Besides the fact that poems are artsy and such… I couldn’t help but wonder why my teacher had us write poetry??? Was it…

To hear the crazy thoughts of college freshman?

To take time away from “Writing the Essay” curriculum?

To spark creativity in general?

Who really knows, I’d assume to spark creativity, and to get us out of our heads and into our souls… Or maybe the method of his madness was just to have fun, to break up the monotony.

I wonder if Rajiv writes weekly poems… I do know Rajiv writes brilliant plays. 

I find myself creating art solely for an intended goal… it’s been awhile since I’ve created art, just for art sake. So I’ll try my luck at a poem this week. And maybe, just maybe it’ll lead to writing brilliant plays. 

I'm not super proud of this jargon below... but I thought what the hay!!

22 February 2006

This is a testimony of my true love:

I love you like a negative STD test

I love you like an afternoon rest

I love you like my easy bake oven

I love you like some late night lovin

You can preheat my oven any time

You're my consensual sex crime

I love you coat check boy

I want to make you my bedtime toy

Rapture, Smapture

In honor of the supposed rapture…

“Life is too short to hate what you're doing everyday.”
                                Tribes by Seth Godin

Whether dooms day is upon us or not, life is short.

Do you relish in misery?

If you didn’t hate your job, would you have nothing to talk about?

If life didn’t suck all the time, would you have no reason to open your mouth?

Well if that’s the case, man up and change it! What are you waiting for? Finally begin your creative journey. Fulfillment is possible. Discipline yourself to take steps toward your artistic dreams everyday. Your life story will shift and morph, and misery will be but a faint memory.

Hold close to your heart this simple phrase…

“The pain of discipline weighs ounces, and the pain of regret weighs tons.”
                            Jim Rohn

So choose your path. I’ve chosen mine.