The truth is, inspiration doesn't always strike! But something does! Perhaps we've had a difficult day, or woken up with a sleep injury and nothing seems to be going "right." The creative choice--the difference between people who feel creative and people who don't is choosing to take whatever comes (bad day, etc.) and using it versus letting it use you. Inspiration may not strike, but creation will!
"Boldness has genius, magic in it." -Goethe
I'm in Phoenix, Arizona, getting ready to put on my one-woman-show, The Punchline at the Phoenix Fringe Festival. It's no simple task being a solo performer. The benefits are that you don't have to compromise your vision with other people who you might work with, and that you can perform as much or as little as you like. The challenges are that, until you are ewell-known (and even then sometimes) you are responsible for your own promotion.
It can be a strange sensation for many artists and performers to promote their work as much as is needed. We often believe our art should speak for itself. Or that it's somehow shameful to "brag" about what we do. For those of you who are not yet famous and have a generally healthy disposition, I suggest you learn to brag about what you do.
Tomorrow I will go out to Phoenixand Scottsdale and promote my show by handing out flyers and talking with people about what I do. I'll do it all week to sell out my five shows. If I find myself with waning enthusiasm, I'll phone a friend to help encourage me.
I often think of my favorite musician to stay inspired. I remind myself that if he hadn't promoted his music, the world wouldn't be such a beautiful place. And I understand that I too must give my gift to the world. Not out of self-serving or indulgence, but out of reverence for the gifts we have been given.
Would you like to feel more productive, more excited, and less like you're pulling teeth while creating your artwork? It could be as simple as turning your desk to face a window.
Does it ever seem like you're just not "on your game" and you can't figure out why? Perhaps you haven't yet found your Creative Groove. I had a realization recently that changed my whole sense of myself as an artist and creator. I was feeling discouraged about writing comedy, and not getting that "funny" feeling I get when I something makes me laugh for a while.
One day, while talking about it with a friend, we started joking and laughing, and I suddenly remembered that I'm funny when I'm with other people! Things strike me as funny, and I get to share them around people I have fun with--particularly people who I don't feel competitive with or judged by. That's when I open up, laugh at things, and start to feel the creative juices flowing. That's also when I pull out my notebook and joke that I'm going to write down what just happened. My friends laugh, but I really write it all down. If we "wrote" it together, I ask their permission to talk about it on stage.
I also know about myself that once I've written notes, I need time on my own to edit, sort things out, and use the other side of my brain to see what else I can fill in. I also use the time on my own to reflect if what I'm writing about really feels like it's in my "voice" and it's aligned with what I want to say to the world, or if it's really been influenced by that particular group of friends. Then, I go back to people again--this time an audience--to work on my material next.
I actually knew how to get into my Creative Groove, but I'd forgotten. Do you know where to tap into your Creative Groove? Take some time to answer these questions to help you consider when you feel most creative. What does your body or heart want to tell you about when it's happiest and most free? Is it:
Night time? Morning? Afternoon?
Every day, same time?
Big chunks some days? Little bits every day?
Doing it when you don't feel like it and then getting in the groove?
Only when you feel like it?
Do you groove better around people or alone?
Which part of the house? Or maybe a cafe? Loud cafe or quiet one?
Maybe at a co-working facility?
What foods help you create better?
Are you more creative standing? Walking? Dancing? How about showering?
Do you need to meditate, exercise, eat, sleep, or vent before you're ready to create?
"Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?"
-Dr. Suess
If feels like Green Eggs and Ham, you're on the right track. Invest some time getting to know just how you like to work! You'll be happy you did.
In our last post, we looked at the final logistical checklist as well as made sure self-sabotage didn't get the best of us.
If you've created something like an art exhibition, you can skip to the end of this post. If, however, your work is a performance, you've got one last step before celebration... The performance! This is your pep-talk!
This is your night! It's the evening you've been working toward for your whole life in fact. All the preparation you've done from learning your ABC's in kindergarten to eating lots of vegetables to sitting with the creative part of your spirit and letting what's there come out has prepared you for this evening. I say this to let you know that everything you have done up to now has allowed you to have everything you need to give yourself fully to the artwork.
You have been put on this planet to manifest this creative work, and no other being can contribute what you are about to offer. It is a precious gift. The value and validation of the work will not come in the praise or criticism of the audience, but in the fullness of your expression. The more vulnerable, honest, and authentic you are as you offer your gift, regardless of how you think other people will like it, the better a gift it is. Others may recognize it or not, but you will know in the depths of your heart that you have mingled your life with the divine for having given this treasure.
The final part of manifestation really is to receive your heart's thanks, and the appreciation of others for what you've manifested. Let your gift be an inspiration and a celebration that you have won your game! Party, dance, sing, laugh, and rejoice! Really let yourself know how great this is! Your full celebration of this success will complete the loop and allow you to rest and prepare for your next creative feat. Congratulations! I look forward to accompanying you on your next adventure.
"The thing about performance, even if it's only an illusion, is that it is a celebration of the fact that we do contain within ourselves infinite possibilities."
-Sydney Smith
In the last post, we used different hats to have your inner creator, appreciator, and editor work with you. Today, it's time to look at the logistics of your project. Is it an album? A one-person-show? We'll take a break from the "inner work" to look at a checklist of possible things you might to do help the world receive your gift more fully.
Take note that as you come close to fruition, you will be likely to find ways to self-sabotage all the great work you've done so far. Keep in touch with your daily action partner, and keep posted somewhere the purpose why you're doing this to help stay powerful in the face of obstacles.
The creative part:
The event:
This is the time to cull all of the work you've done into what feels like a "finished piece". It's likely that it won't "feel" finished. Don't worry. As my friend Brian says, "Better done than good." You'll always have time to improve upon it or make something even better with all that you've learned from this experience.
Before you present your material to the public, make sure that you've presented it to a good friend who can give you feedback with enough time to re-vamp anything that needs clarification.
In the final post on actually manifesting your dream, we'll get to the best part: celebration!
"Action that is inspired from aligned thought is joyful action. Action that is offered from a place of contradicted thought is hard work that is not satisfying and does not yield good results. When you really feel like jumping into action, that is a clear sign that your vibration is pure and you are not offering contradicting thoughts to your own desire. When you are having a hard time making yourself do something, or when the action you offer does not produce the results you are seeking, it is always because you are offering thoughts in opposition to your desire."
-Esther Hicks
In the last post, you were in the "creation" phase. Creation is always happening, but it can get blocked, so we did a lot of exercises to make a safe container for the creative part of you to unfold. As you move into the next phase, keep taking time to be intentionally and spontaneously in creation--free of criticism.
And now, very gently and clearly, we're going to begin the process of editing. Many people consider editing to be the most important part of art because this is where we begin to turn toward the idea of our work being received. Many people consider art incomplete until it is in fact received--that seeing, hearing, or experiencing the work is its last phase of creation, "closing the loop." I agree with this, but I also feel that for some art works, the maker can also be the best audience. If we don't please ourselves in our art, we're not doing anyone else any favors!
So here's an exercise to transition yourself temporarily from creator to editor, feeler to thinker:
Get three actual hats. Really do this... Maybe your "creator" hat is big and silly, your "appreciator" hat is beautiful and flowery, and your "editor" hat is like a newspaper editor's?
Have your "creator" hat on while you're brainstorming, writing, drawing, singing... After your allotted creating time, take off your creator hat, and put on your "appreciator" hat. As the appreciator, you will talk to the creator for a few minutes and let her (or him) know how thankful you are to her for being so open and uncensored. Tell her how it felt (fun? silly? exhilarating?) to be with her, and how happy you are that she has come to play with you. Tell her that the next step you are going to take is to gather, organize, and edit what she has delivered so you can deliver this gift to the world! Ask her if she has any requests of how you shape the material. Ask if she will stay as an observer of the process to help keep the integrity of the work. When you are done, take your appreciator hat off and put on your editor hat.
If your creator lives mostly in your second chakra (the pelvis), your appreciator lives mostly in your heart chakra. Your editor lives in your throat and "third eye" chakras. Sitting with your back straight so all of your chakras are aligned, begin to look at your work with a warm, clear head. Look at it as if it's not in fact your work at all, but the work of your best friend. Begin to sort, clarify, and solidify what's there, seeing the best in it, and looking for places to chip away the extraneous pieces. Do more cutting than adding. Finish off your session with a quick flip of the appreciator hat and remind yourself how much great work you've just done and what your purpose in doing this is!
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
-Albert Einstein
In the last post, we discussed having a daily action partner and dealing with the inner critic. At this point, you're ready to let your creativity soar! If you're still finding it a challenge to let go, try this exercise, and then return to Part 4.
This is it! Find your magic creative place, plunk yourself there, and get into it! You might find you work best at night or during the day, standing or sitting, at home alone or surrounded by lots of people. If you're writing, instrumental music can help put you in the mood. A study found that people exercise 25% longer when they listen to music. I would bet the same principle works for creative work.
This is the time for you to create and create and create. Your inner critic is not needed here. Everything you need to create is in you now.
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it/ Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
-Goethe
Find a daily action partner. This will be the person who you check in every day with about the plan you made in Part 2. Call them every morning, state what you will do for the day, what might get in your way, and what you will do about it. Your action partner should be someone you can discuss your logistical issues with as well as emotional issues that may come up in response to the new level you're working on. Let your action partner know that what you'd like from them is to listen and be supportive and to call you out when you're off-target. Know that just taking the action to call another person who really gets what you're working toward will bring you strength.
Each time we move up to a higher level of productivity, creativity, or integrity, the part of us that has been stuck can get scared. You can address that part of you by actually talking to it, respecting it's concerns, and giving it a voice. Once you've done that, "mine" what your inner critic has told you. (Don't bother arguing with it; it's not reasonable!) Is there anything your critic said that you can use creatively? Sometimes our greatest treasure is the same thing that holds us back. If your critic were giving you a gift, what would it be?
After you've listened to and mined your critic's message, move on. You can even set a timer for, say, five minutes, to listen to you critic. When time's up, set it aside and begin your creative work.
"Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief."
-Marcus Tullius Ceicero
Sometimes creativity coaching is not so much about the creative part, but the coaching part.
The first step to making your vision a reality is to create a timeline. Maybe you've decided to record an album. Set a date for the album's release. Perhaps that's one year from now. Work backwards, setting each date on a giant calendar that you will post in your workspace. If you don't know what all the steps are in the process are, this is the time to research it. Set deadlines for each major component, and then break the major components into minor ones, and set dates for those. Then, break each minor component into simple, single-action steps that you can do each day.
Your major deadlines might look like this:
In between the major deadlines under "find musicians for studio work," it might look like this:
In between these minor deadlines under "put an ad on craigslist to find musicians," it might look like this:
You will soon have a comprehensive plan of how to get from here to there.
"All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man had taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Coming up next in Part Three: creating a support network to help you achieve your goal.
A reader of this blog has expressed some interest in hearing more details on how to create a one-person-show (also sometimes called a "one man show", a monologue, or a solo show.)
So, over the next few weeks, I'll explain a bit more about each step in detail from the perspective of a creativity coach. I want you to really get that while I may be writing specifically about creating a show, you can apply this process to any creative project, whether you're wanting to exhibit your paintings, write a sitcom, or record and album, or illustrate a children's book.
Part One: On paper, write your higest vision for your show. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths, connect with your heart, and find your center. When you're there, write down what your vision is--just like The Secret--how does it feel? how does it smell? where does the light fall? how does it look? get specific. who is there with you? what has changed now that you've accomplished this? what is your life like now? what have you learned about yourself?
Here's the key that most people miss that will blow this exercise up and bring it to the next level: you need to let your mind know that you mean business. So take the vision you've written, and find a magical way to show yourself your commitment. Perhaps you post it on your wall where you look every day. Perhaps you light a candle and dedicate yourself to your vision each morning. Perhaps you distill the vision into a word and wear that word around your wrist or neck as an amulet.
Coming up next in Part Two: the first step to making your vision a reality.
"We are limited, not by our abilities, buy by our vision."
