I was not the class clown. I was not the kid who made all the other kids laugh. But sometimes I would make my teachers laugh. Even after ten years of doing standup comedy, I still had tons of insecurity about "being funny enough." A few things finally helped with Read more…
Want to be funnier? You gotta listen to more comedy… A great way to listen to comedy these days is on Pandora. It's like going to a club without having to deal with the two-drink minimum or the heckler at the table next to you. Of course, most of this Read more…
It’s interesting when, instead of feeling inspired, we feel envy or jealousy. What a great opportunity for growth! Particularly artists, who are often a 4 in the enneagram, are susceptible to jealousy. I work coaching a lot of artists whose main block is comparing themselves to others. And let me tell you: jealousy has not made any of my clients more talented, more brilliant, funnier, or smarter. BUT…
There can be times in life when we get stuck, when old patterns begin to rear their heads. It can creep up on us slowly, without us noticing. We'll be zooming along, working, going to school, or raising a family, and it seems like we're really in the flow when Read more…
Creativity Workshop Starts January in Oakland! Six to One : Six Weeks to Complete One Creative Project Are you ready to kick your creative work into high gear? Starting in January, and meeting for six weeks, the Six to One course will challenge and hold you to complete your chosen creative goal. Each week, we'll meet, set intentions, Read more…
Writing the story of your life (or any other made up story for that matter), and then performing it for others, can be a difficult task. A one man show or one woman show however depends on your ability to reveal the nitty gritty of your story in a way Read more…
What? Yup. Can spilling your big ideas ruin them? I'm sure not sharing the biggest ones. This is a really important video. And it only takes 3 minutes to watch. Essentially: state your goals in a way that gives you no satisfaction. That way, you'll still be motivated to Read more…
I'm just watching this great TED Talk with Tim Brown on creativity. He's the CEO of Innovation and Design at IDEO and has some amazing information to share about creativity, mescaline, prototyping toys, preschool, the loss of playful thinking that happens through formal education. It's got me buzzing! He's at Read more…
So the creativity coaching work that I do is largely based on the work I’ve done to get through the blocks to being a comedian, solo performer, and artist. Here’s a little sample of what I’ve been up to in my creative life. I’ll be performing this show Eat, Pray, Laugh! in San Francisco January 20th, 2010 to February 24th each week with kirtan singer Mirabai.
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.