The term brainstorming has taken a bit of an unexpected detour in the last 25 years, ending up an overused “buzzword” in business. While creative ideas generated through brainstorming techniques are invaluable in business, brainstorming is a powerful tool for anyone to use as part of active creative play. It’s the fire that stokes your desire to dream and create in the first place. That’s why it’s an essential part of any creative budget. The creative seeding … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start: Brainstorming, the Ultimate Creative Muscle Workout
June 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Trying to Measure your Creative Worthiness? Stop It!
May 29, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Creative worthiness is something you are born with and doesn't need to look a certain way to be appreciated or valuable. But what happens when your creative expression is part of how you make a living? It can be a slippery slope of following your inspiration and balancing it with practical business goals. This reality puts your creative worthiness under a bit of a microscope, right? The extra pressure and expectations that rise up when a creative project … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start: Physical Movement Cranks up Inspiration and Creative Reserves
May 26, 2014 By 1 Comment
Physical movement is excellent for all aspects of your health. There are endless studies, statistics and experts I could quote to support that statement, but it’s something you likely already know and are making an active choice (or not) to add to your life. You probably also have a go-to exercise option, even if you don’t use it nearly enough. So...I’m going to ask you to try something a little different. Just for a moment, set aside the obvious benefits of physical movement, and … [Read more...]
Choosing Supportive Creative Connections
May 22, 2014 By Leave a Comment
The creative connections you build in life often start off as relationships that just come together without much thought. How they got to be part of your life is one thread of the story. Who continues to be in your life is a choice, a very important choice that impacts how you express yourself and inner gifts with ease. It’s not always easy to phase out certain people when you are attached to the role they play in your life story, especially as you grow and expand your creative … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start: Inspiring Creative Space is a Cornerstone of a Creative Budget
May 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment
An inspiring creative space makes connecting with your inner creative guidance so much easier. When there is clutter, reminders of unfinished work or a stack of bills staring at you, creativity easily hides in your growing pile of “some day” excuses. Lack of a creative brainstorm space can also make you feel as if you are in a constant state of re-igniting creativity instead of playing with it. All a good inspiring creative space really needs to be is an area to focus and tune in … [Read more...]
Creative Change, Jagged Edges and Honoring the Whole Path
May 15, 2014 By 1 Comment
Creative change comes in one of two ways. You can go chasing after it, charging face first into the flames and ready for anything, or it crashes the party, smashing through life as you know it with an invitation to dance. As an observer kinda gal, I tend to look for quite some time before I leap, feeling into things and turning the tumblers of my mind over all the angles. I can see the promise of creative change waving at me as inspiration; a guide to follow one of many … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start: Joy, a Creative Budget Essential
May 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Joy is not just for grandma’s and monks. It’s an essential part of any creative budget, and a critical key to connecting to your creative sense of self. I want to focus on joy as the next core piece in my series on crafting a creative budget because it’s why you create. It’s the plug to your juicer, the charger to your cell phone. When you know how to connect with what really brings you happiness, everything else is clearer, the view more crisp. The more you practice choosing joy, the better … [Read more...]
Are you Sticking to a Creative Vision or Stifling It?
May 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Creative vision is a blend of what you know, feel and desire crafted into an ideal version of what’s possible. It’s a wish list on steroids driven by imagination. I love to play with ideas and see where they take me, but playtime can’t last forever if I want to turn an idea into something tangible. So with ideas that feel juicy and exciting I ask myself a few questions, “Am I ready to take the action steps to make this happen? Is this something I can commit to and see it … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start: Craft a Creative Budget
May 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A creative budget is not just for artists, it’s for anyone with a passion who wants to find a way to spend more time doing what they love. It’s easy to get hyper-focused on responsibilities or distracted by mindless television, so a creative budget can help you make sure there’s room left for things that feed your soul. A budget is also a simple way to plan and save towards a creative goal, just like planning for a big ticket item or a trip. So what exactly is in a … [Read more...]
How to Know When a Creative Idea is Ready to Share
May 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment
When you are inspired by a creative idea it’s so much fun to play with it, to smooth out the rough edges and see where it takes you. Making tweaks, changing the flow and watching it expand is all part of the experience, coupled with the frustration, fear and chaos which is also normal. So with this vast range of input during the creative process, how do you know when it’s time to share a creative idea with others? How can you tell the difference between fear, excitement and choosing the best … [Read more...]