Excited, nervous, but all in all THRILLED!

That’s what I’m feeling right now, as I’m about to premiere Click online for the first time ever! I think everything happens at the right time and I can’t think of a better time to share this film with you.

This is a project that many people have put their hearts and souls into making a reality. If you’ve ever made a film you know no matter whether it’s a feature or a short it takes everything out of you. Not that that’s a bad thing it’s a great thing because you want to give it everything. And everything did we give it.

We shot in 3 of the 5 boroughs in August in NYC. On top of that we had a baby and a dog in the cast and numerous locations (2 houses one in Brooklyn one in Queens, Prospect Park, Coney Island, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge, The South Street Seaport, Downtown Manhattan to name a few). I know very, very ambitious for a short but this experience is what prepared me to run a feature film set and I am grateful for every second of it!

We were fortunate to have screened at some awesome film festivals like the Staten Island Film Festival and the Pan African Film Festival.  The original score in the film, composed by the talented Pakk Hui won the prestigious Best Score Award at the Moondance International Film Festival.

I love movies, and when the idea for Click came about it was actually a romantic comedy — try to wrap your mind around that after you watch it!

Special thanks to the cast and crew and our generous sponsors because without your generosity this film would not have been able to get made.

If you enjoyed the film please share it with your friends and family on Twitter, Facebook, and Google.  I’d love it if you leave me a comment below and please share your thoughts on my Facebook page and if you’re on YouTube leave some love over there!

To Watch in HD change the settings located at the bottom right from 360p to 720pHD – you’ll be able to do this once you hit play!  And be sure to check it out in full screen.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Please don’t forget to share the film and leave me your comments!

I bet you’ve never been asked that one.

Well today that’s what I’m asking you!

If you’re experiencing any one of these things you may very well be in a creative closet:

• Feeling stuck creatively.
• Not being able to find your artistic voice.
• Feelings of embarrassment when talking about your art.
• Feeling uncomfortable to say what you do.

This is a video that will help you with any of these issues and let you bust out of that creative closet once and for all.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Are you ready to bust out and share your artistic voice with the world?!  If so, make your declaration live and leave me a comment!  And if you enjoyed this please be sure to share this on Twitter and Facebook!

When you feel like contracting or closing in…

EXPAND

That is the only way your creativity can flow freely.

When you have an idea for someone.

A brilliant idea that would make them oodles of money or rock they’re world.

Call them.

What if they’re not your friend?

Call them anyway.

How about if you hate them with a passion?

Then pick up the phone right now.

No matter what you do make sure you do one thing:

Expand like your life depended on it.

Because it does.

Not just your creative life.

But your very life itself.

And when you think you don’t have more to give.

Expand some more.

Do it just so you can prove to yourself that don’t, can’t and all other contractions are powerless words.

Do not.

Cannot.

Who came up with that anyway?

Regardless all of those ideas are figments of your imagination.

Pretty soon you’ll laugh that you ever thought you were anything but…

LIMITLESS

Yes that’s what you are.

Accept it.

Embrace it.

Be it.

And your creativity is begging you to set this limitless possibility free…

I used the word “this” instead of “your” because something is only yours when you own it with every fiber of your being.

However, before that can happen, you’ve got to make a choice.

A choice that you may scream, wail, and fight against with all your might.

Will you have affair with contraction(s)?

Will you step back into your cocoon?

You know where your cocoon is and what you do there.

Maybe even your best friend doesn’t know that part of you, but you do.

That place you go to where no one can touch you.

You probably go there out of fear – another word for contraction(s).

And guess what love is?  You guessed it.

See how smart you are?

I told you, you were limitless.

Let’s face it even with your infinite brilliance.

We all have our cocoons.

And can you blame us?

You?  Me?  Really, any of us?

Cocoons are warm.

Cocoons are safe.

Oh yes, let’s not forget cozy.

But remember way back when you busted out of a cocoon X (insert your laps around the sun) years ago for a reason.

Even then, you knew you were bigger than who you appeared to be.

Even then…

You gave up warmth.

You gave up all the coziness in the world.

You gave up safety.

Especially safety.

All because you wanted more and somewhere inside of you, you knew you were more.

You wanted to EXPAND.

You needed to EXPAND.

At that time your life depended on it.

Guess what?

It still does.

Inside every seed contains the DNA of endless ripe fruits.

Are you ripe for the pickin’?

Will you allow yourself to do the one thing your soul aches for but your mind fears?

If so…

Do it today.

Forget today.

Do it now.

There really is no other choice, in my humble opinion.

But in the end, it’s up to you.

EXPAND or contract?

EXPAND or safety?

EXPAND or coziness?

EXPAND or death?

EXPAND to share your endless fruits with the whole wide world?

What do you choose?

The choice is yours.

It’s time to bust a move…I mean do some myth busting about creativity.

My belief is that if we face and conquer the beliefs that hold us back we will be more creative.

And the only way to conquer those beliefs is to examine them.

Think of this list is an opportunity to get real about what’s holding you back creatively.

Here it goes…

#1.  Money will motivate you to be more creative.

#2.  You have to be a starving artist in order to be creatively free.

#3.  Creativity is reserved for certain kinds of people.

#4.  Creativity is a solo endeavor.

#5.  Drugs and alcohol will make you more creative.

#6.  If you don’t express creativity by a certain age it’s too late.

#7.  You can only be creative in the morning or at night.

#8.  You have no control over your creative output.

#9.  Once you finish that creative project that’s only when you’ll be truly happy.

#10.  If you make the decision to lead a creative life you are choosing suffering and misery.

What are your thoughts?  Do any of these resonate with you?  If so, please leave a comment below & please share it with your friends.

Have you ever been scared sh*tless?  I mean knocking in your boots scared?

Well I have experienced that many times in my life.

The funny thing about fear is that every time that you think you got it conquered it rears it’s ugly head again.   So what to do?  Here’s what I did when I was scared out of my wits end a few days ago (yes days).

*BIG NOTE* Make sure to watch till the end of the video so you don’t miss out on the super awesome giveaway!  You’ll have 3 chances to win what I’m calling my “CREATIVE BIBLE”.  Yes, it’s that deep!

Don’t miss a beat and watch!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sweet deal don’t you think?

So to win make sure to “like” the following 3 pages:

Facebook.com/officialTherese

Facebook.com/enidmariewriteher

Facebook.com/EVEwebseries

Hollywood.

The place of angels.

Many artists move here every year to pursue their dreams.

The truth is some come more prepared than others, which got me wondering about what lessons should an artist think about before moving out here.

Throughout the year, I receive phone calls from people that want to move to Hollywood to pursue a career in entertainment.  I always try to come up with things that are worth sharing, but honestly the journey here is different for everyone.  However, I know I could share are lessons to think about.  These lessons can even serve people who are already here.

So, before you pack your bags and head to La La Land here are 10 lessons to think about.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a quick wrap up of the lessons for you to have them handy.

1. Just do it.
2. Take risks & get the heck out of your comfort zone.
3. Your day job needs to serve your career.
4. Surround yourself with positive people and avoid scenes like the plague.
5. Create your own “YES”.
6. Keep your craft fresh.
7. Visit your family and spend time nurturing yourself.  It’s not only about the business.
8. Do small projects.  They sometimes yield the biggest rewards.
9. Be humble and support other artists.
10. Keep experiencing life.

BONUS take away thought:  BELIEVE.  STAY FOCUSED. AND STAY CONSISTENT!

And how can I forget WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD!

Know someone who could use this blog post then send it to them.  Retweets and Facebook shares are always appreciated.  If you’ve got another moment leave me a comment and let me know which one resonated with you.

Have you ever wanted something soooo bad, but didn’t know where to start?

We’ve all been there.

You rack your brain trying to figure out what to do, and then get discouraged when nothing happens, and pretty soon another one of your dreams bites the dust.

Well, did you know that you can achieve anything that you want, no matter what it is?

And it has nothing to do with being a genius.

Yes it’s true.  In this video I go over the clear and logical steps that you can take to help you achieve anything, and fortunately Einstein doesn’t have to approve.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Your turn to sound off.  Anything else you use to achieve your goals.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Monday!!!  Welcome to my brand new site! As you can I changed some things around here and I hope you like it. This site is meant to express the more creative side of me, so I’m going to get more personal and talk about things that are close to me like creativity, filmmaking, acting, latest projects and the like.

Don’t worry I’m still love social media, I’ve kept up most of the articles I’ve written about social media on this site (not sure if that will change).  In any case, I’m writing articles, creating videos and providing a host of social media services over at ThereseSquared so stop by there for all things social.  But on this site you will get me uncensored and real.

Before I go on I have to say a big thank you to Gintas Korsakas for taking the images of me that you see on this site and also creating the gorgeous panoramic headers from scratch (you can see a new one on each page), and other artwork!  You’re a creative genius G!  Also, a BIG thank you to YOU for embarking on this journey with me.  So here we go…

I’ve written down goals that I haven’t accomplished (yet), but how many times have I asked myself WHY didn’t I accomplish them?  I used to be really hard on myself for not accomplishing things.  Can you relate?  Thankfully, a while ago I realized it’s so much about the goal but about the mindset behind the goal.

A week ago, I sat down at my mastermind meeting with one of my best friends to talk about the projects that we were working on for the remainder of the year. As we were going over our list of intentions, and actions (you know all the things that make you feel good in the moment) we realized that we were actually missing a huge component.  We hadn’t asked ourselves if we were truly prepared to accomplish those goals mentally.  What we didn’t do was know what the mental goals or the mental states that we required to accomplish those goals.  So we took a step back, and came up with a list 10 power mental goals.  It was only a few days ago I realized that this list is something every artist should carry in their artistic arsenal in order to make it.  I made a video for y’all and hopefully there are not too many uhhh and searching for my words.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hope you enjoyed the video.  I’d love to hear your thoughts especially if you found anything useful or have your own tips to share.  And please share this post on if you enjoyed it.  Talk to you soon!

Have you ever said this?  “I’m just not inspired to be creative.”  I’ve caught myself saying that a time or two during my creative journey.  It’s wonderful to have inspiration, but inspiration is not necessary to be creative.  If you’re waiting for inspiration to hit you over the head then keep waiting my friend.

I’m not going to say that it’s not going to happen, because it might, but I will say that you might be waiting a long, LONG time.  Do you have months, or even years to wait until a creative idea hits you?  Most of us don’t.  When you wait for inspiration to happen to you you’re essentially putting yourself in a powerless position.  Instead of being a partner with your creativity you are waiting for some outside force to bestow inspiration upon you.  Although the specifics of inspiration are very magical and intangible, the surest way to be inspired and find a little inspiration is to nurture your creativity.

Allowing your creativity to bloom comes from a myriad of things and it doesn’t involve being holed up in your house for days on end.  Below I’ve written 60 ideas that I’m committing to in the new year to let my creativity bloom.  Some of them I’m very good at but there are others that I’m working to implement in a more meaningful way.

I invite you to choose the ideas that resonate with you, you’ll know what they are because those are the ideas your entire being will say YES to.  Also choose the ideas where you feel a wall of resistance building because those are the ideas that will challenge you and give you a tremendous amount of growth.

So here are 60 ideas to let your creativity bloom.

1.     Write down all your ideas, all the time, no matter how silly they sound.

2.     Find time to meditate and quiet your mind.

3.     Exercise, exercise, exercise.

4.     Start accepting invitations you receive to creative events.

5.     Practice and make a commitment to nurture your craft.

6.     Be a student and take a class.  When was the last time you actually took a class in your field?  It doesn’t matter if you have a PhD commit to always learning in your field.

7.     Be a teacher and mentor someone else.  No matter where you are in your career we all have something to give.

8.     Reward yourself for the work you’ve done whether you think it’s good or bad.

9.     Start seeing the beauty in all the work you create.

10.   GO SOLO.  This is actually #1!  Many people have a problem with being alone, but making time just for you is important in allowing your creativity to bloom.

11.   Connect with nature.

12.   Don’t talk as much and cultivate the art of listening.

13.   Be observant of your surroundings and don’t miss the little things.

14.   Beautify your creative space by adding plants, artwork or whatever else makes you feel happy and inspired.

15.   Create a creative schedule and stick to it.

16.   Do yoga.

17.   Commit to finding happiness and joy in life.  You don’t have to be a tortured artist it’s all about how you look at the world.  It’s okay, to put on rose-colored glasses.

18.   Be gentle with yourself, because berating yourself and what you create is a surefire way to keep your creativity locked in.

19.   Allow your creativity to flow at its own pace.

20.  Find a cause that’s bigger than yourself. When I wrote my movie Click it started out as a romantic comedy but then the story evolved and became bigger than me.  I’ll admit it was scary, but it made me grow as an artist.

21.   Put creativity first!  Make it your priority to be creative and the first thing you do in the morning even if it means waking up earlier.

22.   Don’t be afraid to be different.

23.   Be spontaneous!  The pictures that you see are from an impromptu photo session I did at the beach shot by the amazing Gintaras Korsakas.  It was so much fun playing in the water on the beach and I felt like a kid again. To view the other pictures check out the Facebook gallery entitled Ocean Series.

24.   Say positive affirmations, especially when you’re feeling negative.

25.   Interact with other creative people.

26.   Believe in yourself.

27.   Ignore the critics.

28.   Pay attention to constructive criticism.

29.   Let your work see the light of day!

30.   Let go. Especially let go of the idea of anything being perfect.

31.   Stop being so serious and let yourself be silly.  I’m seriously one of the goofiest people ever.  I dare you to do something absolutely silly preferably in public.

32.   Read books especially ones that challenge you.

33.   Believe in the impossible.

34.   Daydream.

35.   Take consistent action every day.

36.   Don’t worry about the how.  Even if your idea will cost a lot of money focus on the possibilities and focus on creating it.

37.   Celebrate the success of other artists no matter your point of view of them.

38.   Drink plenty of water.  Dehydration kills creativity.

39.   Start from where you are.  It doesn’t matter where that is, just start.

40.   Get a good night’s sleep.

41.   Take a break. Living in Los Angeles I know many people who don’t ever leave because they’re afraid they’ll miss something, but taking a break is important to prevent burn out and rejuvenate.

42.   Travel.  It can be a longer trip or a day trip.

43.   Learn about different cultures not only thru reading books but by speaking to people.  If you live in a large metropolitan area that’s fairly easy but if not you can meet all sorts of people on the internet or by traveling (see #40).

44.   Explore.  That could mean going to different neighborhoods in your area or going on a scavenger hunt.

45.   Be interested. This means on a small and big scale.  Be interested in what’s going on in your home, your neighborhood, your community, your country, your world.

46.   Connect with your artistic soulmates.  These are people you feel get you and you get too.  It doesn’t mean you agree all the time but it does mean that you respect one another and give honest constructive criticism.

47.   Deal with your issues.  In order to go deeper artistically you must face the issues that have been holding you back.

48.   Commit to self-growth.

49.   Admit your deepest desires to yourself.  If you’re not honest with yourself it will be virtually impossible to be honest in your work.

50.  Spend time with children because they can be creative with a cardboard box or without one.  A good friend of mine who went to Africa to build homes and told me that since the kids had no toys they made up the most creative games with rocks.

51.   Visualize success.

52.   Turn off the TV.

53.   Put your money where your creativity is.  Check out where you’re spending your money.  If it’s on expensive dinners, clothes, and lattes ask yourself if it’s keeping you from funding a project or taking a class.

54.   Finish what you started.  I once read a powerful story about Tyler Perry who said that he went from homeless to being worth close to one billion dollars in 10 years by making a commitment to finish EVERY SINGLE project he started.  Imagine how applying this concept can change your life.

55.   Focus on one project at a time.  I’m definitely the queen of multi-tasking but when you focus your energy on one project you accomplish more more quickly.

56.   Be a pioneer.  I recently saw Halle Berry speak at the premiere of her film “Frankie and Alice”.  She talked about her journey as an actress was about accepting her role as a pioneer and finding a way even there seemed to be no way.

57.   Know there’s enough for everyone.  In many artistic communities the idea that there isn’t enough to go around is huge.  It creates lots of unnecessary competition, but the truth is there’s enough for every one.  Even if others don’t believe that know it is true.

58.   Go back in time.  Read great works of literature and listen to music (right now I’m going through the 20’s-60’s) to keep you inspired.

59.   Show up.  The power of showing up is huge and it boils down to keeping your commitments.  This year I got an assignment simply on the basis that I was the one who showed up.  Not showing up is one of the ways we sabotage ourselves and our dreams so do it.

60.   Eat foods in their natural form.  When I changed the way I ate years ago I literally was on a creative cloud nine and could go on forever.  Personally I love making my power green juice in the morning that’s loaded with fruits and veggies.

So that’s the list. I truly hope that you found something here that resonates with your soul. If you’re interested check out part 1 of my creativity series How to Access Your Creativity.

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think and share your thoughts and ideas with the community. And of course please like the post and share this with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Are you visionary?  I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine that lead to this post.  I’m not going to write a big long intro for this video, but what I do have to say is if you’ve ever felt that no one got you or felt alone this video is for you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So what do you think?  Write a comment and share your experiences below and be sure to share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!

Thank you so much everyone!  I deeply appreciate you!