Author: Andrew Zahn

I'm a son, husband, dad, business owner, actor and good sleeper/eater. On this blog, I pave a highway for creative growth by providing food, water, and shelter for those wishing to live, work, and play with creative zest.

Living a Better Creative Story

I heard about a guy once who wrote a book about his journey and other things and a lot of his sentences started like I started this one.

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The grammar, incomplete sentences and all the boring (but geekily important) stuff about writing correctly drove me nuts while reading Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.


But I cried a bit at the end.

Yeah, I cried.

All the rambling sentences aside. It’s a good story. It’s a great story. It’s a transformative story.

Here’s a bit of a new story. Told in his style.

Ala Donald Miller

Sometimes I wonder if all this spectating isn’t good for me. I watch TV. Go to a show. Read a book. Laugh at a movie. I’m enjoying it all. I’m relaxing. It’s great.

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Finding Your ‘Special Purpose’

What’s your ‘special purpose?’

Purpose for … your job, your family, your creative projects, your blog, your entrepreneurial endeavors.

Why do you do what you do?

A 19 second scene from The Jerk with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters:

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The 10 Minute Secret to Creative Achievement (Hint: Scrivener)

It’s so simple.

Some of us don’t admit we need it.

We’ve got it under control right?

Nope.

I’m taking my own advice. Instead of talking about this ten minute secret, I’ll just do it.

Here goes…

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Be Childish, I Double Dare Ya

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 In order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first.

~Adora Svitak

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Vince Alongi (Creative Commons)

We love you  TED Talks. We love your geeks, your smarts, your innovation . . . and your childishness.

Recently, I cozied up to a speech by Andora Svitak (video below) and though she was 12 at the time she made the talk she stirs the controversy pot. See if you agree with her in your quest for creativity.

Age Has Nothing to Do With It

Agreed. Can anyone make a difference? Can anyone be creative? Sure. You betcha.

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Ten Commandments for Creatives

Ten Commandments for Creatives

1. Give space, time and energy to your creativity.

Ten Commandments for Creatives
Sue Hasker (Creative Commons) Ten Commandments for Creatives

If you don’t, your space, time and energy will go to things you don’t value. 

2. Creating is an act of worship. (Tweet this)

Not creating is self-centered and selfish. 

 3. Your creativity is a gift given to you.

Share gifts.

4. Date your artist.

Most of your best ideas come unexpectedly. 

5. Don’t be an expert.

The minute you believe you’re an expert, you stop learning from others.

6. Jealousy is the death of creativity.

Celebrate others.

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Setting the Stage to Experience Flow

[box options]Today’s guest post is by Jason Mundok at The Wood Stove House. I enjoyed working with him on a recent project, The 24 Hour Plays. Enjoy![/box]

Photo Credit: Ernest Koe

I was recently turned on to the psychology term “flow.”

It’s a mental state where a person is so completely immersed in an activity, they enter into a state of pure focus and concentration where time has no meaning and bodily needs are essentially ignored. I’m familiar with the concept from the more common descriptions like being in the zone or in the moment.

For creatives, “getting there” can be very challenging, and the lack of “being there” can prevent any motivation to engage in the creative process. But when it happens, hours slip by and productivity skyrockets. Stuff gets done and it feels great! I’m lucky enough to experience it occasionally, but like other creatives, I’d love for it to be way more often.

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Between Start and Finish

Beginning. Middle. End.

The basics of story in three words.

Actually… the basic plot of life exists in those three words as well.

Beginning.

Middle.

End.

So where do we spend most of our time?

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The Most Important Word of 2012

A single word haunts me.

I hear it bellowing the halls of the dormant recesses of my mind.

It calls me to action.

It begs me to commune with others, love better and grow creatively.

It wants me to start and finish that project I’ve always wanted to produce.

I haven’t revealed the word to anyone until now. Partly because if I shared it, I would be accountable to all it entails. Alece from Grit and Glory started a new community called One Word 365.

Community provides bravery. So, here goes. . .

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Nontroversy: Let Your Words Be Few

 

+It’s when the news makes a big deal out of stuff that’s not really a big deal but they make it seem like a big deal. What’s the word for that?

Nontroversy.

(For more nontroversy visit John Ridley’s Top Nontroversies of 2011 article on NPR).

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Communicating succinctly, whether in speech or in writing, is paramount. If our listeners/viewers must wade through superfluous wordiness (wordiness intended) to decode the intent of our words, we’ve lost our audience. To accomplish to-the-point-speech (could’ve used the word ‘succinct’ again, but that would be pedantic) we have to make up a few words which don’t exist.

The list that follows is by no means exhaustive. Share your own word shortcuts in the comments for us all to benefit…

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