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I overheard someone say “I’m just not that creative”. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that and how many times that statement has made me cringe. That statement to me is like someone scratching a fork on a chalkboard. It is just not true no matter who says it.

You might have heard that man has the ability to either create or destroy. I would say that it is our ability to create or create a state of destruction. Even with the statement “I am not creative” you are creating. You are creating a destructive mindset that limits like a cage. You are also creating a lie to someone else that you are not creative.

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Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to do nothing. On Saturday I got up after the sun and went where the wind took me. Sunday, after church, I spent the afternoon watching Alias with my girlfriend. I really enjoy that time of relaxation because it gives me time where I can give the world a rest and not expect everything to happen right now.

Yesterday I went to art group. A couple of friends and I hire a model to sit for us and spend a couple hours drawing. I enjoy it so much, because it is in line with my passion to become a working artist.

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I got a chance to listen to Steve Pavlina’s new podcast on “creative self expression“. He is a guy putting himself out there. I admire his ability to post novels on his blog and then make these very informative podcast.

This latest one is right in my area of interest but I don’t have to add anything to what he said…. for tonight. I’m still thinking about what he said.

“Your own creativity is the very mechanism by which you’ll achieve everything else you could possibly want.”

Check out the audio during your lunch break.

Have you ever been frustrated by the amount of time it is going to take between now and the time where you can cross a goal off your list? You might have heard this before, but, the time required to accomplish your goals is going to pass whether you are working towards your goals or not.

As a side note if you don’t have a list you should definitely make one.

You might say “Well, I would have to go back to school to do what I want to do.” or “I’m too old now to do what I want to do” I would ask you why you are making excuses to not follow your dreams.

But, I also want to share this with you…

“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe”. ~Abraham Lincoln

By studying about what you want to do, you aren’t losing time on doing what you want to do. If you want to be a writer, study writing. If you want to be a web designer, study coding and design. If you want to be an artist, study art. Find the masters and make exact copies of what they did. Will you be able to show this work to anyone? No. But, you will be able to make something new from what you have learned.

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I found out about this speech today given by Carnegie Mellon professor who has just a couple months left to live. It is quite an inspiring clip. If you have a couple minutes watch the highlights

Or if you have more time. Check out the entire lecture.

Plan for life like you will live forever. Live life as if you will die tomorrow.

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” ~Seneca

I was on the phone with my girlfriend this morning and she reminded me that every day is a new day. She was right. Everyday is a gift we get to unwrap and make at the same time. I hope you haven’t come to seeing each day as just another thing to get through… waiting for the weekend. In this life we aren’t promised the weekend. Each day when we wake up we are just promised today. No more than that and no less.

Yesterday is given much more weight than it deserves. We all have our pasts. They may have been full of great experiences or bad experiences or a mix of both.You can use that past as an excuse or as a crutch or you can use it as a jumping off point. At the very least you can say, I have been that low so it’s nowhere but up from here. And do your best.

Tomorrow is fiction until it happens. The future is useful only for when it motivates you to make tomorrow better than today. It is good for planning, but it is not a place to put your actions.

Today is the only day we can take an action.

I read an excellent book on this subject called “The Present“. It has a very simple
premise based on living in the present moment. It’s a very short
and simple book. It’s definitely worth picking up.

Ah, I see you are getting a head start on the assignment I gave you. You weren’t supposed to read this until tomorrow! But since you are so eager, you might be the one person who doesn’t need to read this at all. But, just in case, I will continue.

There are many times I have heard “I will pursue that goal when…” . After that “when”, you can insert a million different things.

…when I graduate
…when I have my bills paid off
…when things settle down
…when I get married
…when the kids are grown
…when I retire

I am sure you could think of one you could say right now. The problem with any of these statements is that we are being naive in thinking that someday will be better than today. There will always be things to keep us busy, or at least keeping us thinking that now is not a good time to pursue our dreams. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever been sitting in front of a project that you just didn’t want to do? Stupid question right?

Next time you are in that situation, suggest you stop doing that project. I don’t mean permanently. This is a website about inspiration, motivation, and creativity, so I would not be doing my job if I just went around telling people to stop doing there projects. I mean stop for half an hour or so and think about where you are going. You are feeling unmotivated because you are acting on how you feel right now about your project.

So take the break to think about acting for the benefit of what you want long term rather than from what you feel like right now. I know this is harder said than done, but remember, successful people always act first from their long term goals over their immediate gratification.

Imagine you are the person who has realized all their dreams. You haven’t been given a free pass. You have worked hard to get where you are. What did you do to get there? Think hard about that. Because what that future person did, thats what you will have to do. If you want to accomplish any goal in life you have to do the things your future self did. Tonight, unfortunately, my future self cleaned house. Read the rest of this entry »

I heard someone say the other day that their “creative juices weren’t flowing”. Have you ever said or felt like that. I sure have. Thats a normal feeling for any creative person. Some days you just don’t feel like it.

Well, just because everybody experiences it doesn’t mean that is a feeling you should act on and not go about the business of creating. So what are you supposed to do if your “creative juices” aren’t flowing or you don’t feel like it?

You show up.

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A woman I work with was talking about her little girl who recently said,

“Mom! When a butterfly goes into it’s cocoon, what happens to all its legs?”

Wouldn’t we all gain some insight if we listened closer to children? That question reminded me of the sacrifice involved with change even if it’s for the better. A butterfly goes from the larvae caterpillar stage to the cocoon, to struggling out of the cocoon, to being a butterfly without a second thought. That’s it’s nature.

Humans going through change, on the other hand, are prone to vacillate and want to stay in the stage they are in. We might say “Why should we give up these legs? If we didn’t have them we wouldn’t be able to walk as well.” or “Why should we leave our cocoon, we are safe here and it’s too dangerous out in the open.” And you know what? We have that choice.

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