When I Grow Up - The Blog » Cheerful Creativity

Client Show & Tell: Jamie House talks Colors!

Michelle — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:15:17 +0000

Image from Google Images

I’m on vacation early this week, & my clients are doing some Show & Tell! Today I have the talented & adorable Jamie House, a virtual interior designer, helping you pick the best colors for your home. Where was she 8 months ago when we moved into our new apartment? Thankfully I can still use her tips as I keep decorating my new abode!

Having a hard time selecting paints?

Hi I’m Jamie of Jamie House Design! I’m so excited to do this post for Miss Amazing Michelle. I’m an interior designer & also an e-designer, which means that I work with you to design your space, online. We never meet in person, but I provide you with a room in a box essentially, everything you need to pull together a professionally designed space yourself. It’s fun to be able to work with people around the country! Ok….I’ll get on with it!

I love selecting paint colors! It’s probably my favorite part of being an interior designer. It’s also completely nerve racking. What if it’s different than I expect, what if they don’t like it….oohhh it can be stressful. But it IS the easiest way to change the look of your home. Here are 5 tips to help you!

1. Pay attention to the colors you wear everyday. Most of the time you enjoy wearing the colors you’ll enjoy living with. Say for instance you wear a lot of black. I would use black as an accent color in a primarily neutral space, possible with bright accessories. If you love orange but can’t see it on your wall you can use it as a unifying theme throughout your home, in pillows, window treatments, etc.

2. If your decorating your room around a key piece, like a sofa or rug, bring paint chips home to look at till you find some that match the piece. Then use these color chips as the foundation for selecting colors for the room.

Paint my Love by ginparis2002

3. Be prepared to tone down colors. Once you find that amazing candy apple red you’ve been dreaming about you may find it’s too much for your space. Simply pick up the same color in a more muted tone, it’ll make the color more livable. Martha Stewart always use muted colors & her rooms are stunning.

4. Once you’ve selected a few shades, purchase a quart of each & paint a test area. Apply a vertical stripe that’s several paint brush widths across. To see how the color works in all areas of your room try painting a spot at the baseboard, near a window & a dark corner. The color may look completely different in each part of the room so be sure you like them all! *Be sure when you paint a test stripe to keep the brush strokes moving vertically, it’s easier to paint over. *

Rainbow House on Clipper Street by PJ Taylor Photo

5. Moldings & ceilings are usually painted a shade or 2 lighter than the walls, but I prefer to break the rules. I often paint ceilings a coordinating color in a light shade. It makes the room feel finished. A simple way to select a ceiling color is also to have the paint store “cut” your wall color in half, this gives the illusion that the wall color is simply reflecting onto the ceiling (this doesn’t work with all colors, ahem…red). A darker ceiling will bring the ceiling in closer, giving the room a cozy feeling. A deeper hue on the window trim leads the eye to the window and then to the view outside.

I hope these tips help you feel more confident choosing paint colors to reflect your style! Thanks again Michelle for the opportunity to talk to your amazing audience & I hope your vacation is amazing!!

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Client Show & Tell: Sweet Eventide Photgraphy!

Michelle — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 06:56:40 +0000

I’m on vacation this week & early next, & my clients are doing some Show & Tell! Today it’s Jessica Nichols’ turn, who photographs beautiful beautiful beautiful (beautiful!) images, sells ‘em in her shop, Sweet Eventide & blogs under the same name. I’m so pleased to feature one of her newest photos, the inspiration behind it & what’s coming from it!

Lulu’s Succulents by Sweet Eventide

I was recently visiting my sister-in-law’s house and her little pot of succulents caught my eye. My current home is severely lacking in curb appeal and I am an extremely visual person who is sensitive to my environment. So I feel quite a bit of grief every time I pull into my driveway. Being a rental, that I know is going to be torn down after we move out, I have been extremely hesitant to spend any energy or money on the house even though I live in it every single day and it is my home. Well, I am now inspired to take on a little Curb Appeal Project. It doesn’t matter to me anymore if the house is going to be torn down. It is more than okay to make a little effort on my own behalf. I don’t want to feel sad every time I come home anymore. I do have to thank my mother-in-law for her offer to help me, her enthusiasm and her vast gardening & construction knowledge. It’s time for me to come home to something pretty like Lulu’s succulents.

I think some of my new courage to do this project comes from my work with Michelle so far this summer. With her guidance, I am slowly learning to honor my creative heart and trust in it, even if it feels very scary at times because I don’t know yet where my path is taking me. Somehow the Curb Appeal Project symbolizes the career crisis I have been having for the past few years. So what if this house is not my perfect, forever house? A little paint, some reed fencing and pots of beautiful succulents will remind me every day that I am worth it. And I am worth the career struggles I have been facing because somehow, some way, I have to end up where I am supposed to be.

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Get Danielle LaPorte’s Nuggets of Genius in your own home, on your own time. The Digital Firestarter Sessions from my “cult leader” have launched!

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Top 5 Myths / Untruths / Blatant Lies about Creatives

Michelle — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:58:10 +0000

I am Creative Inspiration Print by Emily Perry It reads: “I am creative, I use imagination, My eyes are open, I am a pioneer. I travel through the wilderness of my art, I travel by the willingness of my heart.” Ain’t that awesome?

Before I worked with Creatives, I was one. OK, I am one, present tense. And little ticks me off more than the Myths/ Untruths / Blatant Lies about being a creative person. Whether it’s your career or “simply” a hobby, the world at large tends to think that:

1. Creatives are stupid. Yup, I graduated NYU in 3 years. Yup, I was a theater major. That does not make it “easier”. Thank you.
2. Creatives are broke. Well everyone knows that you can’t make a living being an artist, or an actor, or a dancer, right? We must hate things like retirement & health insurance. Yuck.
3. Creatives are self-absorbed. Here’s a joke: How can you tell if someone’s Creative? By their big fat head! Here’s another: (Person 1) Knock knock……uh, knock knock……KNOCK KNOCK! (Person 2, the Creative) Oh, were you talking? I didn’t even see you standing there! I get so distracted by mirrors & my beautiful reflection. Wanna hear me belt a High C?
4. Creatives need to be told, constantly, that it’s “hard” to be a Creative. When I was pounding the pavement for 10 long years, & mentioned to anyone that I was Broadway Bound, I got one response, overwhelmingly: “That is such a hard life. Wow, so, so hard. You must have it so hard. It must be so hard for you.” I usually didn’t get that all at once, but it sure seemed like it. And my response, with a smile, was always, “Yup!” Um, I’m living it, idiot.
5. Creatives are lazy. This makes me more angry than any of the others, probably because my mission statement is to help Creatives that will not settle for a career that’s devoid of passion. To do that, there is major, major work involved. Major. And there is major, major drive & major, major motivation that goes along with it. Take Carmen Torbus, a client of mine who is a mother of 2 with a full-time job but is also an artist who leads workshops, writes books, blogs & contributes to a katrillion publications. Yeah, she’s just sitting on the couch eating Bon Bons all day. Puh-lease.

So, here comes that list of all the awesome things that Creatives are. I knew you were waiting for it.

1. Creatives have X Ray Vision. OK, that might be pushing it, but haven’t you noticed that we see what The Rest of the World doesn’t? That we’re observant & inquisitive? That our pictures say 1,000 words & our 1,000 words brings the picture into focus? Yup, we’re all superheros, especially since everyone has the capacity to see the world this way – we just choose to honor it.
2. Creatives thrive within a community. As an actor, I loved meeting new people & being part of a cast. Now, as an entrepreneur dealing with Creatives, I find ‘em on Twitter, through their/my blogs, creating radio stations & podcasts & conducting interviews with each other. They’re here to not only share their talent & to peddle their wares, but to connect with other Creatives & those that appreciate ‘em. In real life, I go to The Magnet Theater every Wednesday to see my husband’s improv team play. Who else is always in the audience? Yup – members of the other teams. They’re there to learn & to be with their friends, but above all, they’re there to support the team that’s up on stage. It’s a very, very cool place to be (every Wednesday night! Only $5 a show!)
3. Creatives are never not Creative. Sure, I can stop pounding the pavement & trying to make my career as an actor, but it doesn’t mean that I’m no longer Creative. It’s not something that can be turned on or off, or only happens in certain spaces, or is something that can be thrown away. Accept it, love it, honor it, live it.
4. Creatives add ridiculous amount of value to everyone’s life. While we may not literally save lives, can you imagine living your life without books, TV, colors, music, graphic design, etc? If everyone stopped being Creative all at once, I think everything might turn to gray. And quickly. Don’t think about this too long – it’s both scary & depressing! (Shivers)
5. Creatives spark awesomeness. There’s a reason why the advertising world has a “creative” side & an “account” side. Not to say that the account side isn’t creative, but if they were the ones in charge of things like design & copy, I don’t think we’d have anything even close to this awesome Old Spice commercial.

So how can you honor the Cool Creative that you are, & hold your head up high, full of pride?

1. Pick up a Keri Smith book (I loved Wreck This Journal, but they all look awesome). Commit to doing a page a day. Carry it with you, & don’t be scared to make messes wherever you go. In fact, aim to be messy & embarass yourself. Man, is it fun.
2. Have a dance party each & every day – just you & your favorite jump-around song (mine’s Blister in the Sun closely followed by My Sharona). Singing into a hairbrush & wearing pants are both optional.
3. I don’t know about you, but I listen to my iPod whenever I’m out of my house & not with another person. Next time you leave your house, leave the tunes (or at least the headphones!) there, too. Spend the subway ride or the afternoon in the park or the waiting time at the DMV just watching, or writing what you’re watching, or drawing what you’re watching. Notice what interests you, whether it’s someone who can easily be the base for your next sketch comedy character or the color of the sidewalk that’ll come in to your next painting.
4. Join / find a Cool Creatives group! Whether it’s virtual (you know that anyone can get a free conference call line, right?) or in person, whether you organize it or join someone else’s, nothing is more awesome than being in a room full of people who get you. Yeah, your friends & family are awesome, but they might not entirely understand. I have a feeling you know what I mean.
5. Have a monthly artist date! Whether you want to subscribe to the local regional theater or just wanna check out that independent film down the street, it is so worthwhile – nay, important! – to do. I know The Artists Way touts the greatness of doing this solo, but I think you could include others. Just make sure they wanna be there, too! Ever see a show with someone that has zero interest? SO not fun.

Are you honoring, living and/or loving your Creative Awesomeness? Maybe it’s time to bring some of your myths / untruths / blatant lies to the surface that you know are holding you back & keeping you in hiding. The Creative Community & all your future fans thank you!

Love this article & want more like it delivered to your Inbox every month? Then subscribe to my newsletter & bask in the glow of being in the know. It’s easier than tying a bow or working with Play Doh, & certainly more fun than that lawn you’ll mow. Before you miss out – go!

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Rousing Review: “The Creative Habit”

Michelle — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:42:38 +0000

“Venturing out of your comfort zone may be dangerous, yet you do it anyway because our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.” -Twyla Tharp

When I decided to read The Creative Habit right after The War of Art, I have to admit I gave myself a great big pat on the back. The War of Art was great in helping artists recognize & identify where & why Resistance (that pesky Vampire!) stops you from doing That Creative Thing You Do, but the phrase “A Practical Guide” at the bottom of the cover of The Creative Habit made me think that it would address the “how.” Sure, The War of Art really hit home with that beloved phrase, “Just do it (Every day. No matter what),” & while that’s simplistic & powerful in so many ways, the artist & life coach in me wanted more. I was hoping The Creative Habit would deliver it, and it did – to a point.

The Creative Habit is divided into chapters that formulate a foundation for Tharp (Spine, Memory, Accidents, etc). She delves into personal anecdotes & advice, always followed by a suggestion of different exercises to further you along in your discovery & personal interpretation of that idea. For example, Twyla speaks often of “scratching”, or the process of “digging through everything to find something” – an idea, an image, anything that’ll turn into a tangible idea that’ll spark your creative endeavor. One of the most memorable exercises comes at the end of the chapter, where she encourages the reader to take a handful of coins in any number & denomination & toss them onto a table to see how they fall, & then rearrange them into a pattern again & again & again, like “a musical chord resolving.” I can see how it helps her, a world-renowed choreographer, come up with new configurations for her dancers. I can see, also, how it helps me, a creative person looking for a new perspective, to see infinite possibilities in something that I usually wouldn’t look twice at.

Tharp also offers great stake-wielding stuff to slay the Vampires that hunt all of us Creatives. She lays it out on the table (i.e. “Somebody’s done this before!”) & then knocks it down (i.e. “Honey, it’s all been done before. Get over yourself”). She also speaks of the joy of planning (not overplanning!) & imperfection, how to determine if you’re in a rut, how to keep your groove going & how to deal with failure. Her advice is comforting & inspiring, all the while giving me new perspective & allowing me to feel that I wasn’t alone. It’s no mistake that rarely do 2 pages flip by that aren’t marked by my highlighter.

I mentioned to someone (I forget who, & it’s bothering me!) a while ago that I was reading the book, & she mentioned that it’s tough to get through it as someone who is more of a Renaissance Soul, & is unable and/or unwilling to just throw themselves into their work. Tharp talks often about how she’ll rid herself of all distractions (no music! no clocks! no numbers (yes, really – numbers)! no speaking!) & just live, breathe, think, talk & think the gym & the rehearsal studio – for weeks. She also encourages artists to “pick” a talent if they excel at more than one, as it’s a curse to have a 50% chance of being wrong about their true calling. The life coach & Renaissance Soul in me super dislikes this sentiment, but I understand her stance if you’re someone that wants to Master & Excel in their field – & is willing & able to chuck the rest of Life.

That said, here are my favorite exercises from the book, just waiting for journaling!:

Tharp poses 33 questions for you to answer in Your Creative Autobiography. Get out your journal & answer some of my faves (seriously – you’ll totally want to):
- What is the first creative moment you remember? Was anyone there to witness or appreciate it?
- What is the best idea you’ve ever had? What made it great in your mind?
- What is your creative ambition? What are the obstacles to this ambition? What are the vital steps to this ambition?
- What are your habits? What patters do you repeat?
- What do you & your role models have in common?
- At what moments do you feel your reach exceed your grasp?
- When you work, do you love the process or the result?
Pick a new name. What would you want it to say about you? What would it be? Why?
Take a field trip. Give a walk into purpose by saying that you won’t return home until you have something inspiring in your hand, whether it’s visual, intellectual or tangible.
For one day, be completely contrary. Pick a fight with everything you do – your wake-up routine, your rituals, your habits, your first creative impulse.
Figure out Your Perfect World. What are the rules & conditions? What’s essential & what can be compromised on? Who is with you & what’s surrounding you?

Bottom Line? The Creative Habit is a great book from a world-renowned artist who divulges her secrets in creating a new piece, building on it, sticking with it (both the piece as a singular unit & the career as a whole), & climbing the artistic ladder. But if you’re looking for an interactive program of sorts, or something that’s really gonna kick your ass into gear, I’d take a pass.

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1 person. 12 session. $0. Announcing the 2nd Annual When I Grow Up Scholarship!

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Great Giveaway! Win a fantastically awesome print from Artsyville.

My Last Day of Corporate America = Free Downloads for You!

Michelle — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:00:27 +0000

A poem by moi, inspired by The First Day of Spring, which is tomorrow (also titled Damn You, Wool Hat – Never Again!) & my Last Day of Corporate America, which is today (also titled Damn You, Cubicle – Never Again!):

Let’s pack up a picnic & go on our way! Today is such a wonderful, beautiful day!

Isn’t today just perfect to play? Whaddya think, whaddya say?

I might go to the beach, oh I just may. Today is a spectacular, fabulous day!

To life I say, “Yes! Now! OK!” What do you think? What do you say?

All the gray clouds have been chased away. Today is a sun-derful, fun-derful day!

All day long, outside I will stay. What a perfectly, prettily, beautiful day!

I just can’t help it – isn’t today the most wonderful day? I have to say that I was inspired by the Spring set of Affirmation Cards on Kind Over Matter! That’s right – in honor of spring, us Spring ladies joined forces with Kind Over Matter to offer you 36 downloadable affirmations – 6 from each of us. You can download mine here (spoiler: one of the lines of my poem above made it in!), but don’t forget to visit Kind Over Matter to get your hands on Jess, Jess LC & Carolyn’s affirmations along with the special Spring Affirmations Card Holder (also free & downloadable!).

So, you see now that the question of whether this is the most wonderful day is a hypothetical one, right?

P.S. Don’t think I’m wussing out on sharing my Last Day of Corporate America feelings/thoughts/tears with ya. I’ll so be back with a big fat post and/or a video this weekend or early next week. Promise. Today, I just wanna bask.

And the Winner of the Everyday Creative Kit is….

Michelle — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:17:50 +0000

…drumroll please……

…now the violins….

….and then the cowbell….

…now drumrolls louder….

…then the triangle….

…back to the drumroll….and….the winner is…..

Tiffany from Crafty Fanny!

Now how fun was that?! OK, maybe it wasn’t as fun for all the contestants who aren’t Tiffany, but the good news is that the Everyday Creative Kit is just $15. Ya know how I’m all like, “Celebrate stuff!” & “Be Nice to Yourself!” & “Bribe Yourself to Do Stuff!”? Normally everyone thinks that a Celebration has to be a big party or a Broadway show or an enormous lobster dinner, but I say “hell to the no” – it can be as cheap & simple as a bubble bath or a stargazer lily or some time with a book. The Everyday Creative Kit strikes me as a perfect treat for yourself. Add it to your Me Time list!

Oh, and don’t feel bad about not winning, everyone-who-isn’t-Tiffany. I have to buy an Everyday Creative Kit too. I gotta do something about these rules…

P.S. If you have something you think my readers would like & wanna sponsor a giveaway, email me at michelle(at)whenigrowupcoach(dot)com. Excitement!

Grown-Up Gigs: Designer / Wedding Boutique Owner/ Spa Line Maker

Michelle — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:20:23 +0000

From left to right: Custom stationary that Sarah makes on The Sweet Unfolding’s Etsy shop; a gift box of spa wonderfulness at Matilda & Mae; The Sweet Unfolding logo, which has all your wedding needs

I met Sarah Schultz via Etsy, when I hired her to design custom stationary for a blogger who was super sweet to me. My blogger friend loved her gift, & it started a chain of emails between Sarah & I that led to us asking each other for mutual blog interviews (mine’s here)! As a creative entrepreneur that designs stationary, has her own spa line & has virtually opened a wedding boutique, she was meant for Grown-Up Gigs.

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? I always knew I wanted to work for myself doing something creative. My ideas of how that would play out have changed a lot over the years—they’re still changing, I think—but working for myself and creating has always been my goal. I say on The Sweet Unfolding site somewhere that starting my own business has long been my favorite dream, and it’s so true. In all the various stages of my past, whether in school or at any of my previous jobs (I used to work in advertising and as a writer for nonprofit organizations), working for myself was the dream I kept coming back to. Even though it’s been tough at times, I feel really fortunate that I have the opportunity to work on turning that dream into a reality.

2. As a creative entrepreneur that designs stationary, has a spa line & has virtually opened her wedding boutique, how the heck did you come to dip your pen in all of those pots? I think it’s because I have a short attention span! And I also just really love to design. If I see something that inspires me, whether it’s a cute little bottle or a pretty quilt or a pattern on a tea set, I almost immediately have an idea for a product, followed by ideas for the packaging, product name, etc. I always end up really wanting to see the idea come to life, so oftentimes I’ll just go with it and see what happens. My thought is I can’t lose anything by trying; even if something doesn’t work at least I’ll know I gave it a shot.

Also, all of the various ventures have grown from the wedding boutique I set out to start in 2007. Early on I made mini spa products for wedding favors and then got some requests for larger sizes so it grew from there. The stationery designs were done for fun, since I love designing, and many of those notecard designs have become the prototypes for my line of wedding invitations that I hope to launch in the next month.

3. With so many businesses to run – & having a day job – how do you “balance” your life? (I put balance in quotes because I’m starting to believe that it doesn’t exist) I’m hoping to figure that out someday! Honestly, I am not very good at the balancing act and on more than one occasion I’ve paid the price for over-committing myself. Most significantly was during the first part of this year, when I quietly shut down the businesses for a couple of months. I felt like I hadn’t slept in months, and I hadn’t spent any time with my husband or family. The economy was bad and business was bad and I felt like I had to pour everything I had into it to keep going. I finally just got exhausted and I was on the verge of being depressed.

It was a risky thing to step away for awhile but I needed to do it for my own health and for the health of The Sweet Unfolding. Like so many other small business owners, it’s just me doing everything and if I burn out the company will burn out, too. I want to keep that from happening! So I’m doing less of some of the things I started—limiting the spa lines, for example, to focus more on the stationery. And I’m making myself take time off regularly—without guilt! I try to regularly go for walks, spend time with my husband, and I have started reading and writing for fun again. It’s nice, and I always feel ready to get back down to business again after a few hours to myself.

4. The main thing I hear from clients that have many different interests is that they have to “pick one.” People just don’t tend to think that one can be successful as, say, a yoga teacher who performs improv with an Etsy shop selling homemade jewelry. How did you rise above the voice(s) that told you that you can’t capitalize on all these passions? And was the voice mostly coming from outside sources, or within yourself? I have always been a dreamer, I think, and I’ve always been able to see myself doing so many things. I’m also sort of stubborn in that I don’t like to be told I can’t do something unless there’s a really good reason not to (e.g., don’t run into the street, as there is a car coming). I don’t see why, if we have the passion and the energy to take things on, we should limit ourselves. I love possibility and anticipation and all the what-if-I-tried-this moments in life.

That said, when I first started The Sweet Unfolding, I wanted it to work so badly that I just tried everything I was interested in and waited to see what people liked. I had this vision of a wedding boutique that offered unique fair-trade/organic/handmade items, but I didn’t narrow my focus to one thing, such as just favors, or just accessories. I wanted to do it all, of course! So I wish now that I would have focused on one or two things to start with. It would have been a lot less expensive and a lot less stressful to start small and grow gradually.

Regardless, I’m having fun and that is what’s most important. I’m trying to look at all of it as a learning experience and give myself the grace to find my way. Some things are successful and some are less so. The Sweet Unfolding is a new company, and I’m new at this, too. It’s okay to make mistakes and figure it out as I go.

5. If you can have your present self give your old self – the pre-Sweet Unfolding self – advice, what would you say to her? I think about this all the time! Here are my top three, spoken directly to myself:

Do not spend so much money on start-up. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! You will thank yourself a thousand times over in the future.
Plan for every situation you can think of. Think through every decision and every purchase. Get every detail of every contract in writing, even if you think you don’t need to. Listen to your gut—trust your instincts and don’t ignore them—but don’t worry about everything. Trust that things will always work out, regardless of what comes up.
Don’t be afraid to dream of all the interesting, awesome things you can do. Don’t be afraid to believe in yourself. Don’t worry that you’ve failed if things don’t turn out just like you imagined, and don’t stop imagining. The path may take you to a different place than you’d planned and will probably be bumpier than you thought possible. But that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong path. Don’t lose your confidence and hold on to your vision. And remember to have fun and celebrate the fact that you’re living your dream!

Rousing Review: “The War of Art!”

Michelle — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:23:15 +0000

“Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are & become it.” – Steven Pressfield

It’s the first in my monthly Rousing Reviews series! OK, it’s technically the second (I reviewed The Renaissance Soul in June of ‘09, so that totally counts, right?), but it’s the first on a consistent basis. Let’s face it, our lives sometimes get in the way, & it’s tough to sit down with a book that you know will do ya a world of good, both for yourself & your fans/readers/followers/clients. So yes, this series is absolutely a structure I set-up for myself to make me accountable to read the books that I’ve been tagging along the way. See, I life coach myself sometimes! And duh – obviously I do this for you kids, too (say it with me: “Awwwwww!”).

I wanted to start off the series with The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield because it’s really a hell of a title. What artist wouldn’t want to go into battle, break through their creative roadblocks, & emerge victorious with the Writer’s Block Vampire’s head on a stick? And while I’d like to say that that’s what this book does, I can’t. Not to say it won’t help slay that Vampire, but it’s more about discovering all the ways the Vampire’s likely to attack you & instilling yourself with the mojo to make it not only not bite you, but to get it to leave you the hell alone, at least until tomorrow.

Let me explain. The War of Art is split into three books: Resistance (Defining the Enemy) Combating Resistance (Turning Pro) & Beyond Resistance (Higher Realm). As you can tell, Resistance is the Vampire here. The long & short of it is that every single thing that causes a creative person to shelve their creativity – whether it’s perfectionism, addiction, procrastination, or the million other excuses a creative person gives themselves to not do – is a direct weapon of Resistance. For me, Book One was eye-opening, powerful, & worth the price of the book a few times over. When I flipped the page to Book Two, I may or may not have clutched it to my chest & said to myself, “You will be beaten & dog-eared when I’m through with you.” And then I may or may not have kissed it. I couldn’t help it – hearing about all the different Vampires that get in the way of making Art, why, it was a wonder that any Art exists at all! The whole reason Resistance exists is to “shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work” & “the more call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel towards pursuing it.” How evil is that? It’s so evil that the more we discover something that’s authentically us, that’s calling us to do it, the more it attempts to stop us! That is so, so evil that I not only wanted it’s head on a stick, I wanted to chop it up into pieces & then stomp it to double death! Seriously, it pissed me off.

I’m ready, then, to find my weapon. How do I stop this evil monster? I must need a gun, an axe, a dagger, a…..wait, what? The only thing I need to do is do my work every day? That’s it? And not worry about how good it’ll turn out to be, or how much of it will get done, or where it’s gonna take me….I just need to sit down & do it? And then the Resistance Vampire is dead, at least until tomorrow? Well, that’s pretty awesome. I thought I’d have to lift iron or something & get big Buffy muscles….

In Books Two & Three, the author (who wrote The Leggend of Bagger Vance, amongst other things) goes into what we should be doing to get our work done (show up every day, stay there all day, be committed in the long-term, make money from it), how to be a professional about it (be prepared, ask for help, don’t show off), & how the angels get called around us when we do our work to empower us (it’s written less hippy-dippy than that, but it’s still fairly hippy-dippy stuff). It’s totally valid & worthwhile & really good stuff. But what I wanted, both as a Creative & as a life coach, was more tangible stuff to do. I wanted homework! I wanted to read about exercises & things I could do to help me not only change my mindset (which Mr Pressfield already helped me do), but to break my bad habits & allow me to get to work, strong enough to slay a fresh Vampire daily & beat that big bitch, Resistance.

Since I am that life coach, I’ll take this into my own hands & offer you these exercises, whether you read the book or not (but seriously, read the book. It would be an extremely worthwhile afternoon for you, as the book takes about 2-3 hours to read cover to cover):

If you’re having trouble self-motivating & want the support of being part of a group that vows to be creative every day, then join, uh, Creative Every Day! While mostly geared towards artists, you could also write around the topics that are suggested every month, or write songs about them, or dance to ‘em…you get the point. You can also make a commitment to blog every month by joining NaBloPoMo (join anytime!) or mark your calendars for November & resolve to write that novel that’s in your head by joining NaNoWriMo!
Go easy on yourself. If being creative every day is too daunting (Mama’s gotta put food on the table, after all!), then let yourself off the hook & commit to X amount of time every week to your Art, even if it’s 15 minutes. I have a client who committed to doing 15-20 minutes of music each week, & when I asked her about how it went, she laughed at me. “15 minutes?! I did twice that the first day!” Yup, you might get swept away and/or find your groove & blow that number out of the water, but even if you don’t, you’re taking baby steps to get there. And even better – figure out a prize to give yourself every week that goal gets met. Kindergarden teachers have it right – those gold stars are really motivating!
Answer this: How does Resistance work it’s evil way into your life? Write down all the weapons it throws at ya, & write down all the antidotes you can think of to slay it. Or draw what the Resistance Vampire looks like, labeling all of it’s evil bits & pieces, & then draw you, all Buffy-fied & kicking it’s ass. Sweet revenge.
The author writes, “The years have taught me one skill: How to be miserable. I know how to shut up & keep humping.” Well, I write: “Screw that!” Make your creativity session as awesome as possible. Put on your favorite music. Light the orange ginger scented candle you love. Kiss that photo of your hot husband before you start. Seriously – you are not being tortured here! Find the fun & why you’re called to do this in the first place.
On a sheet of paper, write “I am a ___________” 25 times, & then write “I’m meant to _______________” ten times. In a stream of consciousness exercise, fill in the blanks. No censoring! When every line is full, go through them one by one. If something doesn’t feel like it’s coming from you, or isn’t aligned with your values, strengths or passions, cross it out. What’s left? That’s a start to help you discover “who you are & become it”, like the quote at the top of the review says.

Have you read the book? If not, do you wanna? Do you agree with my Rousing Review, or should I go shove it? Please share your thoughts, insights, suggestions & awesomeness in the comments section. I’ll give you a topic: “Steven Pressfield is neither a printing press nor a field – discuss!”

Top Blogs (I’m waiting for this to become a reality show)

Michelle — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:49:08 +0000

The long & short of my mini-life-crisis last week was that I was bogged down, overwhelmed, and couldn’t see where to go. I’ll write a longer post about this over the weekend, but wanted to share with you a big culprit of my frazzled brain and lack of time:

Blogs.

I know, I know, you’re thinking: “Blogs? That’s it? That’s what made you crazy? Seems a bit….anti-climatic.” I know you used the word “anti-climatic” instead of saying a much meaner word, and I appreciate that.

But yes, I admit it : I was blog-crazy. I thought they were the answer in showing me how to build my business, and find potential clients, and see what interests me on a personal level. I found dozens of blogs that did one of those three things, and some that held me captive on multiple levels. I thought I was handling all the posts well when I broke the blogs down into categories (thanks delicious!) and read each category on a weekly basis. Well, that backfired when there were more than 3 blogs in 1 category and I committed myself to reading 3-4 categories a day! Turns out I didn’t learn – or even enjoy – anything! I just rushed through each post because I had to get to the next one. No good.

So, I have now created the only 2 categories that matter: BlogDaily and BlogWeekly. I only allowed myself 5 blogs in the Daily column and 10 in the Weekly column. The rest of the blogs can either go eff themselves or can be brought up when I’ve devoted time to learning whatever that particular blog is about (ie Twitter tips, growing a blog readership, balancing a budget, etc).

I’ve decided to share the links I included in these 2 categories as it may help you pare down your reading material. If not, this is totally an egocentric post but too bad.

BlogWeekly (in no particular order):

Lateral Action: Creativity + Production = Success

PostSecret: An ongoing community mail art project in which people mail their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard

A Leap Across a Chasm: The creativity articles blog of Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin

New Resolution: 2 and a 1/2 months to new-years-resolution resolutions. I featured them in the first installment of Motivation Monday

Overwhelming Success for Solopreneurs: Tools, tips & resources for the Booming Solopreneur. While I’m not a Baby Boomer, Joanne Hunold was my first coach & I aspire to be more like her every day. Her posts can usually be applied to everyone

decor8: Fresh finds for hip spaces

The Wish Jar: Explorations of the familiar by Keri Smith. I’ve featured her in When I Grow Up: The Blog here.

From the desk of Luke Ward: Not only if he smart and funny and writes for a living, but he’s married to me. If he posted more often this would get moved into the Daily column (hint, hint babe).

Seth’s Blog: The blog of Seth Godin, Marketing Super-Genius.

BlogDaily (in no particular order):

Starshyne Productions: A creative satellite of Jamie Ridler Studios

Backstage: Unscripted: 5 actors blog about the trials & tribulation of making it in the business of show.

The Bloggess: Like Mother Teresa, only better. And hilariouser.

Kelly Rae: Taking Flight into Art, Love & Life. I talk about Kelly all the time – you can find all my posts with her in ‘em here.

Small Notebook: Notes and encouragement for a simple and peaceful home. I’ve included Small Notebook in these posts.

Life Remix: A band of bloggers who enrich people’s lives through blogging.

OK, so BlogDaily has gone 1 over my cap of 5 blogs, but I figure it won’t kill me. If it does, I’ll remove one – I swear.

Are blogs taking over your life? How do you put a cap on them? Is there an activity that you should pare down? Let me know by posting a comment!

Your Life Sentence: The Six-Word Memoir

Michelle — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:33:34 +0000

Squidoo’s Lens of the Day introduced me to Your Life Sentence: 6-Word Memoirs or Quotations. It’s really an amazing way to write your autobiography – and have people want to read it!

Here are some of my faves:

“Revenge is living well, without you.” -Joyce Carol Oates

“Wasn’t born a redhead: fixed that.” -Anonymous

“29 Years Old, Still Playing Lego.” -Summer T

The ones that come from Mrs. Nixon’s Third Graders are also hilarious/awesome/super wise beyond their years:

“Nine years stacked within my soul.” -Laura

“Loud sometimes and quiet at others” -Sarah

“Life is better in soft pajamas.” -Emily

“A kid’s life is my life.” -Kion

“When two lives meet, another begins.” -Andrew

“I tried, I tried, I succeeded.” -Megan

“If life goes bad make it right.” -Megan

I’ve been trying to think of mine, but making it into 6 words is tougher than it looks! Of course, with my wedding 9 days away I want to steal Andrew’s quote: “When two lives meet, another begins.” Dreamy.

But I’d probably be closer to:

“I’m always reaching for the stars.”

“Passion, love and friendship over all.”

“Always following my ever changing bliss.”

I think I might have to pick up the book.