Yesterday I told you about the tough times I was having getting motived. I did a few things wrong, but I did eventually find motivation. I finally connected with a buddy on Skype and started getting my creative juices going. I got motivated.
But I didn’t start creating immediately. I let it stew. Read more…
I had the opportunity to hang out with some pretty cool people last week. These guys are doing some cool stuff–influencing lots of people. The thing that struck me most about my conversations with them, is that none of them knew what they wanted to do with their lives. They’re all going about their lives, doing awesome things…not sure what’s next. Read more…
Give yourself spaces to create. There’s nothing worse than a spark of inspiration coming when you’re unable to capture it. That’s why creatives need to surround themselves with canvases–spaces to capture their sparks of inspiration. Do you surround yourself with canvases?
We’ve talked before about the importance of purpose in your creativity. Without purpose, creativity becomes trite. We create just to fill time and space. We add to the pile of pretty things–pretty and useless things. That’s why we need to create out of need. Read more…
Every creative feels like a fraud at some point–because nothing is new. Every idea is built on previous ideas.
“All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.” - H. L. Mencken Read more…
Creatives risk burning out unless they make inspiration a priority. It’s easy to immerse yourself in your work. It’s easy to shut out the world and create for hours. It’s easy until you run out of inspiration. Then you find yourself trudging through the project. You might finish it but you’re emotionally exhausted. We need to make inspiration a priority. Read more…
The Bible says to pity the fool that walks alone. I’m paraphrasing the MRT Version. But the road to creativity is a scary one. It’s not good to walk it alone.
Creativity deals with deep parts of our soul. When we put ourselves out there and get rejected it can hurt–deeply. That’s why it’s important to have someone you trust that can help you walk the road. Read more…
Psychologists have found people don’t learn well when they are comfortable. Our brains are at rest because we aren’t being threatened. They’ve also learned that we don’t learn well when we’re overly stressed or anxious. Our brains kick into fight or flight and we act on instinct. The sweet spot for learning is between comfort and stress–called the Learning Zone.
I’d like to propose that the Creativity Zone is in the same spot as the Learning Zone. Read more…
Don’t be afraid of being small. If you’re just getting started in your creative field, you may feel intimidated. If you compare yourself to the “big dogs” in your field, you’ll be intimidated by their skills and connections. But we shouldn’t fear being small. Read more…
I live in a city that lacks subtlety. It’s not just a quantity over quality issue. It’s deeper than that. If something tastes good, they’ll add more sauce. If a new restaurant does well, they add 10 more around the city overnight. (We have 31 Taqueria Jalisco’s in a town of less than 300,000.) Read more…