It’s easy to use other people’s “lenses” to assess the value of your talent. We each grow up modeling a set of values shared by friends and family that inadvertently define what having a talent really means and it’s importance in the world. There’s also a societal push to force a talent into something trainable and marketable so that it has some sort of quantifiable worth. All of these influences impact how you see your unique gifts and can overshadow the most … [Read more...]
Seeing the True Value of your Talent Through your Own Eyes and Heart
June 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The Difference Between Setting Deadlines and Forcing Creative Progress
June 1, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The urge to strive towards creative progress is natural. Chasing a deadline can make you feel alive, like you are doing something worthy by taking control of things so every moment is full of focus and momentum. On the other hand, sitting still and doing nothing can feel like you are wasting time or maybe even giving up, as if the idea or passion in your heart is a fantasy that needs a reality check. And what if that might be true? What if things … [Read more...]
The Tricky Loop Between the Past and Your Creative Future
May 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
You are not your past, but you’ve shaped a creative future based on it. The things you want to do but never tried, Fears you’ve faced and grown past, Desires that kept tickling your heart and never silenced, The people who made you strong with their support or by a complete lack of it, Dreams that seemed as big as the sky and just as far away... These experiences, feelings and soul cries are all part of what makes your path unlike anyone else's, … [Read more...]
Are you Ignoring the Melody of your Creative Soul?
May 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Your creative soul is always speaking to you. Even when you can’t hear it, don’t want to listen or are too preoccupied with the past or future to pay attention, it’s there, waiting patiently. If you are searching, frustrated or feel lost - it’s still there, strumming a note or two, hoping to find a point of resonance that draws you back to the “true you” underneath everything external. The melody you hear doesn't have to be specific or clear - it’s simply an invitation … [Read more...]
Why I Look for the Creative Potential in Everything
May 7, 2015 By 2 Comments
Creative potential is one of my biggest motivators. Seeing the possibilities of what something can be is not only a passion, it’s just how I process the world and connections I make in it. For me, the ultimate act of truly “being” is to create. It’s an active as well as a passive state. You can create a delicious breakfast for yourself or the people you love, expressing yourself through cooking, or you can create a state of inner wellness by simply sitting in peace and … [Read more...]
Searching for the Ultimate Creative Key
April 27, 2015 By 2 Comments
Is there an ultimate creative key? Can you find the one hack, inspiration or epiphany that changes everything? It depends on how you are looking. In a world that promises a fix for everything, it’s tempting to search for a bright and shiny creative key to unlock your potential in one ultimate reveal, just like on reality television. While this formula satiates your craving to know the outcome within an hour or a season, real life isn’t like that at … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Glide Through a Creative Dry Spell
April 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment
A creative dry spell is a blessing. Truly. When your mind is swirling but can’t land on something that feels right, you are getting insight on your creative state-of-heart. If the path you’re on no longer lights you up, it’s a sign a little down time can help you get re-centered and make a shift into what’s on it’s way into your life next. Most importantly a creative dry spell can also show you that you are ready to expand into something bigger than you feel prepared to take … [Read more...]
3 Reasons your Creative Boundaries Need a Refresh, Right Now
March 30, 2015 By 1 Comment
The creative boundaries you set for yourself serve two key purposes. One is to help focus your energy and self expression and the other is protection from pain and fear. The trick is that while boundaries keep you safe and clear they also box you into a way of creating that’s limiting, repetitive and drains your creative spark. When you feel comfortable there’s no real reason to change how you create. However, over time, the boundaries you’ve established for comfort become creative … [Read more...]
Creative Risk Taking and How it Relates to Self-Esteem
March 26, 2015 By 6 Comments
Putting your work out into the world is a creative risk, plain and simple. You are taking something you’ve envisioned, orchestrating all the resources to bend, shape and craft it into something tangible, then bringing it into being. There are times when this process is gracefully simple, and times when it’s not. You may have people who support you at every turn, or no one but yourself to motivate you each day. Maybe the idea of trying frightens you silly. Despite all … [Read more...]
Creativity Kick-Start: Rate the State of your Inner Creative Space
March 2, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Bringing a creative spark into reality and flowing with your inspiration is so much easier when your inner creative space is healthy. Yet, so many of us carry around old hurts or fears as silent wounds that limit us from taking risks or dreaming big. Just like clutter collects in a physical space, it’s easy to let things like embarrassment, frustration or disappointment collect in the nooks and crannies of your thoughts. When your mind and heart are plugged up by ghosts or … [Read more...]