When you take a moment to tune in and think about it, you have a vision of what your creative self, or creative caricature, looks like. Is it strong, sturdy and super hero-esque? Colorful, whimsical and playful? Royal and confident? Let’s not forget silly, giggly and mischievous… You can also have a few unique creative caricatures that show up throughout the day on different projects or with specific clients, friends or family. Is there a “normal” amount? … [Read more...]
Stress and Creative Genius: The Playful Art of Push and Pull
March 27, 2014 By 1 Comment
Stress can inspire creative genius, especially when you are pushed into a corner and have to figure something out in a flash. This high-octane approach can work in small doses when it creeps up on you (see procrastination) but it’s not the best solution for long-term creative inspiration. Stress is especially challenging for sensitive folks, who quickly get burnt out and take a while to recover a sense of balance to get back in sync. I believe there can be a balance between these … [Read more...]
Weekly Creativity Kick-Start: Create a Brag Book
January 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment
This week’s creativity kick-start is all about supporting your own creative mojo with a little self-made brag book. When feeling stuck or blocked, it can be hard to remember your successes or all the little ways others remind you of your talents and gifts. A brag book is a very effective inspirational tool to call on when you feel your spark is missing. It helps reopen your eyes to see the creative truth of your abilities way beyond the blank canvas. Putting Together your Brag Book to … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start:Creative Fuel
January 20, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A creative life calls for fuel that supports your mind, body and spirit, preparing you to take action on your “hits” of inspiration. The ability to act on creative impulses in the moment requires a sense of being in touch with what moves you -- and that’s hard to decipher if you are frequently sluggish, distracted by “monkey mind” or barely move out of your office chair. To get clear on the balance of mind, body and spirit that is ideal for you throughout the day, it’s important to know what … [Read more...]
Creativity or Guilt, Which One is Winning?
January 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment
It’s easy to say you want to spend time on your creativity and expand into a more playful, creative life. When it comes to actually doing it, there are a host of reasons that easily turn into excuses and then obstacles -- especially once the mind digs in. The most common distraction? Guilt. One thing the mind is great at creating all day long are ways to make you feel guilty. Do any of these statements sound familiar? So much to do...who has time for creativity? No space to do my … [Read more...]
Weekly Creativity Kick-Start
January 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment
When I was brainstorming new ways to support my readers in 2014, I started out by thinking about where people get stuck most when attempting to connect with their inner creative spark. The simple answer? The biggest challenge is being able to tap into, utilize and share our natural creative talents as part of every day life. Creativity is not a "special sauce" you take out of the cupboard once and a while when you need to kick-ass on a project or impress someone. It's a natural part of every … [Read more...]
Cutting Creative Baggage Loose
December 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Do you know your own creative baggage? Where it lives, hides or how it feeds itself? How about when it likes to make an appearance? This slippery little minx can make herself pretty scarce, and then suddenly reappear, sending you into a bit of a tizzy with no clear cause and a mess to clean up. So if this sounds familiar and you really want to shift away from drama, the most important question to ask yourself is this... Are you really ready and willing to shake your creative … [Read more...]
The Inner Mirror and Expanding Creative Freedom
October 10, 2013 By 1 Comment
Everyone has an inner mirror. It’s a tool that reflects back to you a collection of thoughts, ideas, emotions and experiences that shape how you see yourself. Often your inner mirror is a bit dirty, carrying residue from what you consider failures, heartbreaks, mistakes or disappointments. Yet, this mucky buildup is really just the opportunity to see what needs to shift, so you can to break free from self-judgement and expand into creative freedom. A common unconscious reaction is to try and … [Read more...]
Why it’s Important to Connect the Dots of Passion Along the Creative Path
September 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
When you throw together all of your life experiences, relationships and passing interests that led to nothing but detours, you are just scraping the surface of what shapes your creative path. Is this mind blowing? Not really, but it's pretty amazing if you think about how each of aspect has looped towards, away from and over each other to bring you to the present moment. So, having gotten this far on your winding creative path, can you take the viewpoint of a hawk, high on … [Read more...]
How Creative Shame Dampens the Spirit and Ways to Shake it Loose
September 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Creative shame is an extremely powerful emotion but one of the least talked about, especially when it comes to how it interferes with our creative spirit. Behind the scenes, the little negative voice in our head remains a private matter, directing us to choice points or talking us out of our awesomeness. Soon it’s easy to see how the world is reflecting back to us various challenges, “proving” the voice is right, but in reality, it’s just unacknowledged shame in the background pushing the right … [Read more...]