Do what you can

I used to stop myself from writing because I felt like I wasn’t ready. However, after talking with hundreds of writers and creative artists online, I realize that no matter how old we are or how much experience we may have, it is always difficult to take that next step.50

who you were before the world told you who you should be

Who you should be

Who were you? Sometimes we forget. Do you remember when you used to daydream about the person you would someday become? Do you still recognize that person inside of you, or has it become buried like so many of us beneath the expectations of your friends, family, and society? When50

We learn from those around us

When we start out as aspiring writers or artists, we imagine that creativity is something that arrives in a magical dream. It is a gift that we are given to share with the world. Except it’s not. Despite what you may have read on the internet, creativity is not about50

Just Write…

What’s the latest thing? Whether it’s wizards, vampires, or the impending zombie apocalypse–it can be tempting to shift our writing towards the latest hot genre. However, a lot of readers aren’t necessarily searching for yet another version of “Gone Girl” or “50 Shades of Grey”.  Most readers are simply looking50

trust dreams trust your heart trust your story

Trust yourself

It’s not always easy Everyday it seems as if we have people telling us to do more, sleep less, and work harder. Most of us keep running because that’s what we’ve been told to do. We don’t always think about what we are doing or even why we may be50

Don’t play by their rules

As creative artists and writers, we often have to break the rules. We don’t live our lives the way other people do. We don’t follow the same script as everyone else and that scares the hell out of a lot of people. Our culture is naturally suspicious of those who50

You may not be Picasso or Mozart

Just Create to Create

It’s okay We may never become the next Picasso, Hemingway, or Mozart — but that’s okay. It’s enough just to create something. To offer the world something it’s never seen before. Your story, your song, or your painting shared with the rest of us. Maybe it will turn out to be50

Waste your life, be an artist

Are you wasting your life?

Is it really worth it? Why do we need the arts? I mean, why does anyone bother becoming a writer, an artist, or a poet? We’re not out there building bridges, writing software, or healing the sick — so why do we waste our time creating art when there are so50

telling people how to be creative is easy it is only being it that is difficult john cleese

Far easier said than done…

It’s easy to talk about it Sometimes we talk about creativity (myself included) as if we have it all figured out. But creativity constantly changes. It’s like a mirage that as soon as you think you are getting close, it retreats further into the distance. Talking about wanting to be a writer,50

The Secret of Writing

What am I missing? This is the question I always seem to be asking myself. What am I missing? What else do I need to know before I can do this? No matter what I’m trying to do, I never feel ready to get started. Maybe if I read just50

Dont talk just act Don't promise just do

Don’t talk. Just do.

We all like to talk Maybe we simply tell our closest friends and family, or maybe we tell the world in a blog post, either way most of us like to tell people about what we’re going to do. It’s fun to plan, make elaborate visualization boards, or just daydream about50

When life puts us to the test

Nobody likes to be pushed around We all have our familiar comfort zones. Those areas in our personal and professional life where we prefer to operate. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work that way. There will, of course, be times when things fall apart and we’re forced to do something that50

dream believe do repeat

Repeat as necessary

Creativity is not a one-time thing. It starts with an idea, we find the courage to make the attempt, and then we jump blindly into the dark. Then we have to find a way to do it again…. and again…  

work begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly

Fear works (or not)

Be afraid It’s okay to be afraid. Our fear can often hold us back, but it can also be used as motivation to push us forward It’s only when our fear of missing out becomes stronger than our fear to try (and possibly fail), that we will finally stop putting things50

Being a good writer is 3% talent and 97% not being distracted by the internet

It’s harder than it looks…

Shiny objects Most people would agree that it’s a great time to be a writer or visual artist. Blogs and social media have allowed us to share our creative work almost instantly with our friends and fans around the world. We are now able to come together and create thriving online creative communities where50

You don't have to be perfect--just be good John Steinbeck

Do what you can with what you have

Nobody’s perfect Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we cannot yet do, that we forget to do what we can. We would prefer to skip the painful apprenticeship of our craft. We want to go straight from beginner to pretty damn good without having to first suffer through50

A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others. -Salvador Dali

A True Artist Is…

Who have you inspired today? Things rarely happen the way we expect them to. Sometimes we are filled with creative ideas, but we don’t have any time to work on them. Other times, we will sit and stare for hours at a blank page and wonder what the hell is the50

We may as well get started…

We think we know where we are going. After all, we’ve got it all planned out. We’re going to start here, do this, and then we are going to end up here–except it doesn’t. Stuff happen, plans change, and we are forced to adjust. Things may not always work out50

Support Local Artists & Writers

We all love the masters of our art Whether it’s reading the bestselling authors in our genre or staring at awe at the paintings that hang in the museum, most of us enjoy seeing the best that our creative field has to offer. We sometimes forget, however, that there is50

Yes it’s been done before, but…

Sure it’s hard to be original, especially when we are surrounded by millions of websites, products, books, and paintings. Maybe there really is nothing new under the sun and it has all been done before, but that’s okay. We don’t need originality. We don’t really need that one big idea50

let reality be reality

Let Reality be Reality

Why do we constantly fight life? Most of us resist change. We hate when things happen in our life that are beyond our control. So we resist, we fight, and we stand our ground. Sometimes, however, we would be far better off if we stopped fighting and simply allowed reality50

If you want to fly give up everything that weighs you down

If you want to fly…

Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we are working so hard to get what we think we want, that we lose sight of why we wanted it in the first place. We’ve been told that giving up is failure. We’ve been taught to hold on tightly to everything that we have while50

William Gibson quote

Be careful of the company you keep

It’s not (always) your fault As creative artists we tend to blame ourselves. Maybe I’m not talented enough…  Maybe I’m not smart enough… Maybe it’s just not meant to be… Now of course there’s something to be said about taking responsibility for your choices and living with the consequences of50

The True Measure of Thanksgiving

The True Measure of Thanksgiving

Gratitude is for losers I remember my Dad telling me when I was growing up that I should be grateful for what I have while continuing to work on what I want. At the time, I figured he was just telling me one of those weird Dad things that never really seemed50

ordinary people extraordinary destiny

It’s not about today…

We think we know We can’t often see what lies ahead of us. We may think we know, but in reality we’re just guessing. We want to feel like we are in control, that we’re the ones steering the ship. If we do this, we’ll get that. If we go50

If you stumble make it part of the dance

If you stumble…

Looking like an idiot Let’s face it, nobody likes to screw up If we had our choice, we would probably avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately that’s not the way the world works. Sooner or later we’re going to make mistakes and things are going to get messy. So the50

You will never influence the world by trying to be like it

Just Stop Trying

We all want to fit in Even though we may not want to admit it, we all want to fit in and be liked. We want to have our creative work noticed and appreciated. In other words, we want to create something that people will like. So we look to50

Trying to please everybody John Lennon quote

Trying to Please Everybody is Impossible

Haters are gonna hate Let’s face it, we’re never going to make everyone happy. No matter what we create or how we choose to live our life, there will always be somebody out there who doesn’t like what we do. We can’t afford to water down our art in order to make people like50

Let go or be dragged

Let Go or Be Dragged

Hold on! How many times have you been told to “hang in there” until things get better? It seems we are constantly being told that quitting or giving up is only for losers and if we can just hold on a little bit longer, we will achieve all of our50

Annie Dillard Give it All

Give it All, Give it Now

Too often we try to protect our creative ideas. We don’t feel like they’re ready to go out into the world, or we’re afraid that someone else might run off with them. We don’t know when we may get another good one, so we hold back. We wait and hold our50

Your Job is not to judge

Your Job is Not to Judge

Sometimes it’s easy to feel like we know what’s best. Especially once we become parents, it’s natural for us to give advice and try to teach our children right from wrong. The problem is that we start to buy into this idea and expand our judgment to the rest of the50

It doesn’t get easier, but that’s okay

Most of us like easy and there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, if I had my choice between easy and hard, I’d take easy every single time. But unfortunately, that’s not how the world usually works. Sure we can always take the easy way out, but that’s probably not50

Here is the good here is the bad

This is Life

Maybe or maybe not Once there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. When they heard the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically. “Maybe,” replied the farmer. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with50

Quiet people have loudest minds

Speak your Mind

The perks of being a wallflower For whatever reason, there seems to be this perception in our culture that those who know speak up, while those who don’t stay silent. In other words, the loudest bird not only gets the worm, but it also gets the money, fame, and recognition too.50

Today I will create

Create Something Today

These days it’s far too easy to get distracted. Whether it’s sorting through hundreds of spammy emails, posting updates on Twitter, or  watching adorable cat videos on YouTube — it is way too easy to fall down the endless rabbit hole that we call the internet and not get anything50

choose progress over perfection

Choose Progress over Perfection

Sometimes we can’t let go. We revise, we edit, we touch-up, and we never feel that it’s finished. Maybe we like to think of ourselves as perfectionists, or maybe we’re afraid to finish because then we would have to admit that it’s the best we could do. Once again we’ve fallen50

Try and Fail

Fail. Learn. Repeat.

Nobody likes to screw up. None of us wakes up in the morning and say to ourselves. ‘I really hope today’s the day that I totally ruin this painting or write another blog post that completely sucks!’ We don’t plan to fail, but sometimes it happens and that’s okay. We make mistakes,50

Just because I give advice

Just because I give advice

Advice is one of those things that everyone loves to give but nobody likes to take. They also say, however, that there are two ways to learn something — from other people’s experiences or your own.  So unless you have the time and energy to make all the mistakes yourself,50

There is always a way

There is always a way…

Sometimes we lose faith in ourselves. We begin to wonder if anyone out there notices or even cares about what we create. We run into obstacle after obstacle that suggests we’re heading in the wrong direction. But still we create. We do it because something inside of us tells us50