Why sleeping cats?

Why not?

Here are the goods:

Why You Can Absolutely Do It: I could listen to this guy speak all day… He takes you through a few things that you may think hold you back (education, influence, in-roads & surprsingly, color) and smashes them flat. The Internet is an equalizer. What holds you back is you. So why aren’t you going for it?

The Responsibility of Creativity. Or Why You’re Talented For A Reason: You were gifted (by God, goddess, it, him/her, the universe, evolution…) for a reason. If you don’t use your gifts, you’re depriving yourself and the rest of the world of your particular brand of awesome. And your particular brand of awesome may be inspiring others to express their own awesome. Now how awesome is that?

Eff Cramming (aka in defense of playtime):

If you want more awesome to show up, you have to leave room for it.

I think that says it all.

Everyone Poops (And Sleeps): my favorite copywriter-dude definitely has a way with words. And these words emphasize the importance of not comparing yourself to everyone else.

I firmly believe that what prevents many people from stepping into their greatness and purpose is the fact they compare whatever it is they have done or want to do with EVERYONE who has come before them.

Have a wonderful Friday.

Now go play!

photo credit: Growl Roar

And the 39th person to sign up for my mailing list is Lauren from Hark Industires.

Congratulations, Lauren! I sent you an email earlier so please respond with your address & I’ll get it out ASAP.

And for everyone who signed up this past week (and before ) thank you SO MUCH!  I hope you’ve all enjoyed the ebook and if you’ve been on the list longer than 2 weeks, I hope you’re getting something out of the self-employment questions series.

When I met him in high school he played the guitar a lot, we were in a band together, and he later went on to do some electronica that sounded pretty sweet.

Then he decided to become a doctor. A traditional chinese medicine/acupuncture/herbalist kind of doctor. And he’s pretty good at it. Unfortunately (or whatever… life is life & that’s the way it goes sometimes), he left behind the music and composing that he was so enamored with before.

And now he wants it back. But the mojo’s just beyond reach.

What do you do when the creativity just doesn’t flow? And it hasn’t for months/years?

Start by forgiving yourself.

You’re not flawed, broken, bad, ugly or stupid. You are still creative. That spark is still inside of you, but it shrunk a little.

Like a shark kept in a tank—it’ll only grow as big as the space it lives in. You just sorta boxed your creativity in for a while and for whatever reason, it’s all OK.

But now it needs some room to grow…

Reacquaint yourself with what inspires you.

Go to a museum or concert or art supply store. Get back in touch with what turned your creative self on back in the day. Flip through inspiring magazines or watch that one movie that inspired you to make your own. Re-read that one novel that you’ve read seventeen gazillion times already that makes your heart flutter at the first words.

Do something. Anything.

The act of doing, even the smallest act of doing, can unleash that mojo. Put pen to paper. Write for 10 minutes straight. Strum a few chords on your guitar. Grab your favorite color paint and squoosh a blob on to a clean canvas. And see where it goes. If it’s just a few minutes of playing with your materials or one song, then that’s fine. You did something.

Do something else tomorrow. And the next day. Lots of small actions add up to really big stuff.

Keep your creative space open.

Getting a little metaphysical here. I don’t mean physical space, although it’s helpful to keep your tools of creativity easily accessible. Your creative space in this sense is the space inside you  and in your life that you hold for your creative stuff.

Keeping your creative space open means making creative habits, protecting your time, saying no (to people and things that threaten that space), and getting quiet once in a while.

If you’re like me your brain is constantly yammering. It shuts up rarely. All other times it sounds like those martians from Sesame Street.

I’m doing fine if I can get a couple minutes of quiet a day. But I make it happen. My sketchbook is always with me. Even if my studio is a disaster area, I can still doodle, sketch & glue stuff in my sketchbook. That’s when the quiet happens and the martians stop. That is me opening up my creative space.

And the more room you give your creative mojo, the more it’ll grow. Just like that sharklet.

Have you ever come out of a really long creative dry spell? How did you manage to get it back? How do you maintain your creative space? Please leave your comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
photo credit: livingonimpulse

For those of you who don’t know, Gary Vaynerchuck is the really over-the-top guy behind (well, actually, in front of) WineLibrary.tv. Crush It is all about cashing in on your passions, as the sub-title so succinctly says.

It’s a no-nonsense outline of how to get what you love out in the world and make money from it. He doesn’t say it’s easy, in fact he’s a huge fan of what he calls “the hustle,” aka work your ass off. Great read. Not huge on content but really big on what Gary Vaynerchuck’s good at—motivation and excitement.

All you have to do to win your very own copy of Crush It is sign up for my Thrive Creative Coaching mailing list. You’ll not only be entered in the giveaway, but as a thank you for signing up, I’ll send you a free ebook “Five things to do before you kick your day job’s ass to the curb” and a 10-week email series on common self-employment questions for creatives.

If you’re already on the mailing list, then you’re already entered.

I will ship internationally, so don’t worry if you’re not in the USA.

So sign up below! Entries made by NEXT Friday March 5th at 8:00PM EST (and current subscribers) will be eligible.

The fine print: I’ll run a random number generator (Random.org) using the total # of subscribers. The # that gets picked is the winner. The very first subscriber to my list is #1, and the very last subscriber to my list is going to be whatever the total # of subscribers ends up being at 8:00 PM Eastern time on March 5th. Winner will be announced/emailed on Saturday March 6th. If you win, you must reply to my email with your mailing address. If you do not reply within 3 days, I will re-run the random number generator & choose a new winner. I will ship the book USPS media mail in the USA or the cheapest way possible internationally.

Call them conventions, networking events, conferences, festivals, or whatever, they all have a few things in common:

1. Lots of people in a relatively small space
2. Tons of energy, enthusiasm and other emotions that don’t start with “e”
3. Pockets/purses full of business cards
4. Marketing pitches (from hosts/exhibitors/presenters/attendees)
5. Nice people
6. Not-so-nice people (although these seem to be rare at the events I’ve gone to, I know they exist )

As an Introvert, all of this can be very overwhelming.

The people, the information, the noise, the constant hand-shaking-card-exchanging-what-do-you-do, the bumping & jostling to walk through the hallways or even get a seat (and being forced to sit with new people after every session). It can take a huge toll on people who get their energy from solitude and quiet and find bubbly social butterflies baffling (and annoying in large doses).

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll know I’m one of them. Too many people make me antsy, tired and eventually cranky. So here’s how I survived—and even enjoyed!—the last event I attended in Fort Lauderdale.

Check in with yourself. Often.

Since I have a tendency to get overloaded and overwhelmed in both intense learning environments & social situations, I needed to pay attention to my cranky-meter. I’m not a nice person to be around when I’ve been too long without a break. If I felt tied in knots or unsettled, I went off by myself for a while.

Seek solitude.

I took every lunch break and even some between-session breaks to be alone and quiet in the hotel room or took a walk outside (we had a gorgeous pond and golf course behind the hotel) to ground myself. Deep breaths helped too.

Know your limits.

I had initially set the goal of handing out every last one of the 100 business cards I brought with me. First day through the event and I had just about reached my new people limit. For the entire event. So I didn’t push myself the next 2 days, and tried to get to know the folks I had met on day one a little better.

Don’t be afraid to leave the room if you’ve reached your limit. Excuse yourself gracefully and move to a quiet spot to collect your thoughts.

Rest.

I couldn’t resist the infectious enthusiasm and motivation that comes from such an inspirational event, and I felt the need to start on all the things I had learned and knew I needed to do for my business. But my brain was a bowl of noodles. Each night of the event my husband asked what I learned & what I did and all that would come out was “Uhhhh.”

I needed rest. Sunday after the event I parked my arse on the couch with a good book and read in between naps.

And on Monday it all came pouring out of me. I told my husband of the entire weekend, called my mom and told her just about everything, and then started implementing some of the stuff I learned.

Take something with you that’s familiar and comfortable.

I never go anywhere new without a book – one of my favorites that I’ve read countless times. I’ve taken the pillow I use on my bed before, and when I was slightly younger (in my 20’s) I took a stuffed tiger named Moe.

Stretching yourself beyond your introvert safety zone doesn’t have to be painful. Just know yourself and your limits, rest and get quiet as you need to, and you’ll be able to handle just about anything.

photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik

And then comes the realization that there isn’t much green coming in but the stuff going out never seems to stop.

And that’s where you can get stuck.

No $ coming in. Lots going out.

Yeah. Not a good business model, eh?

However, the costs of DIY are not only the mountain of un-billable hours, but there’s a huge emotional cost too.

The feeling of spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere is disheartening.

The fact that you’re spending all of your time on administration when you could be spending time on what you’re gifted at—the reason you started your business—is frustrating and crazy-making.

I know. Because I’m in the midst of it myself. Yesterday my brain was so mixed up and confused with details and emails and adminny things that I didn’t get a lick of my real work done. I handled client concerns & a little bit of work that needed to be done but I felt frazzled and I knew I hadn’t accomplished much that day.

That sense of not accomplishing what I set out to do hit me particularly hard, not only because my defenses are worn thin but because I didn’t do my real work.

So I made a promise to myself to get help. And soon. A lawyer, accountant and housekeeper are at the top of my list

If you are stuck in your biz and can’t figure out why you’re not bringing in the money like you should, take a minute to write down everything that you do yourself that isn’t your real work.

Shocking. Isn’t it?

You know you can’t go on like this right? Burnout comes quickly to those who are out of alignment with their purpose. And I’m pretty sure that you’re not really meant to do some of those things on that list.

I challenge you to pick one thing off that list and find a way to delegate it to someone else. Beg, borrow or barter if that’s your thing. (More on bartering later…)

And remember that you are your business’ greatest asset. If you’re tied up doing everything but your real work, then you’re depriving yourself of income and the world of your awesomeness.

I’d love to know what you’re thinking of delegating. Leave your mark below.

If you need help with your creative business or are itching to start one but don’t know where to begin, head over to Thrive Creative Coaching where I help creatives make more art, make more money and kick lots of ass in the process.

Two more bots, just for you.
Two more bots, yes just two.
Now I have seven, seven in all.
Buy one, why don’t you, or else I will bawl….

Click on the ‘bot to make it bigger.
Click on the “buy now” button to buy it.

Each one is $12 & includes shipping and a semi-rigid mailer.

Again, the’re $12 each which includes shipping & a semi-rigid* card protector.

*yes, although it’s a bit adolescent, it’s OK to laugh… I did

This bot was born when I was doodling during an online class. I made a couple of christmas-themed ones and I decided to draw some looove themed ones.

So I’m drawing  a series of 10 Valentine trading card size Art Cards. All will be different. All are a little twisted.

The real life cards are all glittery and stuff. The pens I’m using to color them in are Copic atYou Spica, and they’re amazing. Go get your own at JetPens. *if they had an affiliate program, I’d join, but they don’t….

The first three are here:
(click on the image to enlarge, click on the “buy now” button and you’ll be taken to PayPal.)

Each one is $12. Includes USA-only shipping & a card protector. (I can’t guarantee delivery by V-Day if you don’t live in the states.. even if you do, the Post office does what it does. But if you’re not in the US, and STILL want a card, let me know before you buy.

And once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Follow me on Twitter to be updated when the next 7 are available.

SQUEE!

I was interviewed by two awesome chicks at 2 Chicks At Home for their 2Chicks Seal of Approval – as the first recipient.

Yolanda bought a journal not too long ago and she even made a video of the unboxing!

She either has way too much time on her hands or she really likes the packaging…

Anyway, go to the 2 Chicks site &  read the interview. Then stay there & read the rest of the site. They’re 2 amazing chicks with lots of insight for the home-based working crowd.