Andrew Zahn

Creative Passion: The Antonym of Apathy

[box options]Earlier Letters: Read these letters (here’s Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 if you need to backtrack) as if you wrote them.

You are the author. You wrote what you are about to read. You wrote it with your life.

Sounds a bit dramatic, eh? It kinda is.

Live accordingly.[/box]

Dear Me,

Welcome to Day 5 of your creative rehab bootcamp. Day 4 was about Identifying the Surrogates that have robbed you of your creative passion.

Apathy
Lust
Indecision
Busyness
Fear

Strangle these bastards.

Hmmmm. Maybe that’s extreme language?

Good. Continue reading “Creative Passion: The Antonym of Apathy”

iPad Performance Art and Other Little-Know Performing Venues

Before heading to work today, I stumbled across two interesting articles that I know you’ll love. Ever thought of “iPad performance art?”

Not until now…

The first was from the online media site Mashable in a post titled “Former Print Publication Now Produces iPad-Only Performance Art.”

iPad Performance Art Video Demo Continue reading “iPad Performance Art and Other Little-Know Performing Venues”

Stealing Ideas: Burgers on English Muffins

I was reading a few other creativity blogs recently and thought that others may be stealing ideas.

“Hmmm. That looks familiar.”

Then, as I kept reading, some of the content felt as if I’d written it.

“I think they took that off my blog and rewrote it. Rude.”

Caught in the Act — Thief – Saxon via Compfight

I started to get a wee bit jealous that some of my content has seemingly been repurposed by other writers.

But here’s the truth… Continue reading “Stealing Ideas: Burgers on English Muffins”

Your Creativity Belief System

I found this infographic quite revealing.

5,000 surveyed
1,000 in each in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Japan
Originally posted here (downloadable)

Our creativity belief system always dictates our level of creativity. It’s most surprising that only 39% of respondents believe they are creative.

Adobe_State_of_Create_Infographic — Your Creativity Believe System

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”

In Day 1 you read a letter you wrote and then ripped the lie apart that you had a crappy life and nothing to offer. In Day 2, you wrote another letter and figured out just when you stopped working for yourself instead of just working for others.

At some point you fired yourself from your creativity and said ‘other people can make choices for me.”

So that brings us to today. Day 3. You’ve been through Day 1 and Day 2 of creativity boot camp for slugs. You might still be feeling a bit sluggy. Continue reading “Why Your Dreams Die”

7 Home Improvement Project Phrases Guys Say

I’ve tried my hand at fixing things around the house. Whatever the project, it usually works… but with a caveat. If I fix it you usually have to instruct others to…

“Jiggle the handle”
“Turn it the other way”
“Force it down”

I’m not super handy as evidenced by having a mild anxiety attack after opening these instructions on a recent project I did (disclosure: with my Dad. I couldn’t do it alone).

Only 26+ steps to a simple installation. So much to go wrong.

It’s also interesting to note that I work for a home improvement company in the sales and marketing departments. Repeat: the sales and marketing departments. This week part of my duties involved production of a commercial for our kitchen division.

Can you guess what era this shot is seeking to represent? Continue reading “7 Home Improvement Project Phrases Guys Say”

Passion for Your Creativity, Day 2

Dear Me,

So you read your day 1 letter from yourself.

You started dissecting the lie that you have a crappy life, no passion for your creativity, and nothing to offer.

Today is about when, with a healthy dash of why.

When did you start talking to yourself in so much psycho-babble spin-speak? Why not just be honest and see where this will go…

It’s time. It’s totally time.

Do. You. Feel. It?

It’s time to stop talking, time to start doing.

We’re going beyond dreaming. We’re going beyond asking ‘what if.’

We’re going radical here. Right now. Continue reading “Passion for Your Creativity, Day 2”

Passion for Your Creativity, Day 1

Dear Me,

I’m writing you a few letters you can read to yourself.

So remember when you’re reading these letters you titled “Passion for Your Creativity, Day ? ,” that you wrote them.

These are from yourself, to yourself. Because you want you to be the artist, the creative, the innovator you are.

***

[box options]You’ve always wanted something. You’ve always had passion. You’ve always had drive, desire, tenacity. You’ve thought big and acted even bigger. You had passion for your creativity… at one time.[/box]

But now you’re impatient. You’re sluggish with nothing to do and you’re so busy doing… nothing.

What does that TV show amount to night after night? Continue reading “Passion for Your Creativity, Day 1”

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.

[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]