Creative Passion

Dear Me,

Just a reminder before you get started: you wrote this post. You wrote this letter.

You. Wrote. It.

***

Now it’s time to dig a little deeper.

Put your fingernails in the the dirt of your creativity. Let them come up grimy and soiled. Feel the cool of the earth and the grounded feeling of the minerals.

Dig in.

Passion begets passion.

Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 were all about getting yourself to feel again. You might’ve felt angry or frustrated at first. But mostly you felt empowered. You realized you’ve abandoned your creativity.

Passion begets passion.

Onward and upward?

No. Deeper and wider. Continue reading “Creative Passion”

World Within A World

Imagination unlocks truth we feel, but can’t yet verbalize.

Creativity frees us to discover what we knew existed, but couldn’t yet see.

Inspiration connects us from the temporal, to the eternal.

World Within a World

[box options]There is a world within a world – within this world. We just have to choose to see and experience it. The joy is is helping others to do the same.[/box]

Slay the Critic

I’ve been posting on this blog three times a week since September 2011. I’ve talked about artists with day jobs, creativity comfort zones, and lip syncing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

But I often sit down and see all the white on this page…

Daunting Blank Page

And that’s a bit scary.

Have you felt this way?

We get down to our creative work and we sometimes hear all this crap from somewhere someone inside us that says… Continue reading “Slay the Critic”

Your Creativity Matters Now

Jim Woods recently posted a short, thought-provoking post Is There Good Art and Bad Art.

It got me all riled up. Here’s how I responded to his post:

In a world of numb, art makes us feel and think. As to good or bad, it’s not a good question for art.

Art isn’t math. It’s not formulaic and simple.

It’s as complex as an emotion.

And are emotions good or bad?

It’s a discussion that could go on and on…

As creatives, we make people feel again.

We bring life to the lifeless.

We awaken thought to the thoughtless.

We kindle smoking embers in those who feel their dreams are dying.

Our efforts are good.

Your life, your creativity and your contributions matter. Continue reading “Your Creativity Matters Now”

The It Factor

What’s the difference between success and failure?

What makes one sink and another swim?

Who has the ‘it’ factor? And how do we get ‘it’?

If ‘they’ have ‘it’ and we don’t have ‘it’ how do we get ‘it’ so we can keep ‘it’?

 

What is ‘It’?

Anyone in any creative field is an ideator–an idea generator.

But so what?

Anyone can come up with ideas. Even bad ideas flourish… (insert the last corny informercial video you saw here). Continue reading “The It Factor”

Judas Style Creativity

[box options]Editor by profession, writer by heart and baby corn hater by choice, Todd Foley contacted me recently for an interview. After blushing slightly at the thought of typing words out and submitting them to an editor, I sent him some responses to his thought-provoking questions. You can find the interview here. Make sure you check out Todd’s other writings while you’re on his blog![/box]

“I’m just not creative.”

My first thought: how dare you say that.

Here’s what just happened in that short interchange…

  1. You had an idea.
  2. You listened to the idea.
  3. You formed that idea into a cohesive thought you desired to communicate.
  4. You chose words to say to communicate the thought.
  5. You said the words, carefully emphasizing certain syllables to share your message.

And you’re not creative?

It’s a lie. Continue reading “Judas Style Creativity”

You Need To Celebrate

[box options]I was asked to answer the question “What do I need to celebrate?” for The Celebration Series blog crawl project put together by Annika Martins. I’m one of 10 writers Annika asked to blog about making space in our lives for celebrating. See what the other bloggers has to say and get info on how you can join in at The Celebration Series.[/box]

[RFEE3 ELSHAN ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ]
Photo Credit: A♥ via Compfight

What do you see when you think of the word ‘celebrate’?

Balloons and colors, cakes and candies, elaborate decorations planned out to the hilt?

Anniversaries. Birthdays. Christmas. Thanksgiving.

Maybe you even see a Seinfeld classic: a good old fashioned “Festivus for the rest of us?” Continue reading “You Need To Celebrate”

What’s on Your Milestone

How do we know we’re moving if we don’t have milestones?

Every now and then, it’s fun (or challenging) to see where our creative life is going.

Ten minutes of reflection, strolling through some photos or just a ‘year in review’ with my wife will often reveal where we’re at and where we want to be.

 

Here’s a few recent milestones in pictures…

The Good: our ‘made out of a tomato tree stand’ Christmas Tree. Creative. Saved money on a real one. Looks interesting.

Continue reading “What’s on Your Milestone”