A chat with my Writer’s Circle participants inspired today’s post. So often we wait for the right conditions before we write or start our other creative projects.

Although we’d like to imagine otherwise, waiting doesn’t get us very far.

Are you waiting for the right mood to strike before you work on your creative project?

Are you waiting until you have the right room to write or paint in?

Are you waiting until you have the right computer before you can start writing?

Are you waiting until you have the right “voice” or platform before you start sharing your message?

Are you waiting until you’ve picked the right project to start working on?

Are you waiting until you have more money before you pursue your art?

Are you waiting for big blocks of time before you write songs, start your novel, or get that screenplay off the shelf for a rewrite?

Are you waiting to be divinely inspired before you start your project?

Are you waiting for permission to create?

Wait no longer.

Your art will not happen unless you do it. And sometimes that means showing up and doing it even if you don’t know what you’re doing yet.

Besides, in a study by Robert Boice about academic writers, he found that writers who committed to writing daily were TWICE as likely to have a creative thought as writers who wrote when they “felt like it.”

The key here is consistency. Making the effort to show up every day to your creative passion will foster and spark your creativity, not the other way around.

Your Turn

So, what are you waiting for? (No, really, I want to know!)

And what are you ready to stop waiting for?

Warmly, Jenna

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More articles by Jenna Avery

The “Just Do The Writing” Accountability Circle, aka the Writer’s Circle, is “a powerful system to help writers like you – novelists, screenwriters, songwriters, poets, non-fiction writers, and creative writers – stay on track with your work so you can get your writing into the world.”

Learn more about Jenna’s other programs at her site JennaAvery.com

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“Gifted adults may be overwhelmed by the pressure of their own creativity. The gifted derive enormous satisfaction from the creative process.

Jacobsen notes, “Beyond producing objects of value, the gifted create for the sole purpose of creative expression. They need to create and are rejuvenated by it. They often do so whether someone asks them to or not, regardless of payment or recognition, chiefly because they enjoy solving their own puzzles independent of external influence.”

From The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius, by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, PsyD.

David Lynch is one well-known example of a multitalented creator, and has commented about being a creative polymath: “I started out as a painter, and then painting led to cinema… Then cinema led to so many different areas—it led to still photography, music . . . Furniture is also a big love of mine…”

Continued: An Intense Inner Pressure to Create

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How do you think about being creative versus the business aspects of a creative career, such as marketing?

Do you see them as separate, even mutually exclusive?

Do you think of creative expression as something more “spiritual” or “pure” than sales or business?

Many creators probably don’t think much about the value of marketing to get their ideas and creations out to a wider audience, to have more impact and success.

> Continued: Marketing Yourself And Your Creative Work: Don’t You Deserve a Wider Audience?

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Dean Keith Simonton, PhD thinks “Intelligence is purely a cognitive construct. Creativity on the other hand, I see as being much more complex.”

Like other writers on creativity, he makes a distinction between “little c creativity” and “big C creativity.”

He says creativity in everyday life, solving everyday problems, or “little c creativity,” “is very closely related to intelligence because intelligence includes, as part of it, problem-solving abilities.

But, he adds, “when you are talking about ‘big C creativity,’ you’re talking about being able to generate new ideas, generate some kind of product that’s going to have some kind of impression on other people…a poem, a patent, a short story, a journal article or whatever.

“But it’s something that is a concrete, discrete product that is original and serves some kind of adaptive function.

“And that kind of creativity, that big c creativity, involves a whole bunch of other characteristics besides intelligence.”

[Photo: Stefani Germanotta was identified as gifted in adolescence. We know her now as Lady Gaga.]

Continued in More Intelligence, More Creative?

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“It was just a story I wanted to tell. Writing it was an expression of my own coming out. Getting it out there was willpower, feeling this is a universal story about identity and it has to be told.”

Writer and director Dee Rees is referring to her movie “Pariah” – about a lesbian teenager struggling to keep her sexuality a secret from her family.

A review article explains that the lead character Alike (pronounced Ah-LEE-kah) “lives comfortably with both parents and a younger sister… gets great grades in school and is an avid writer.

Rees says, “It’s not even about coming out, it’s about how to be. She loves women, that’s clear, it’s about how to be that. We didn’t make the film to prove anybody wrong or spite anybody, it’s just a story that needs to be told.”

Continued: Dee Rees On Filming A Universal Story Of Identity

Trailer:

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As an entrepreneur, writer or other artist, success may be furthered by – even depend on – connecting with your ‘tribe’ of people who can support and benefit from your work.

Coach Molly Gordon explains,

Marketer and blogger Seth Godin defines a tribe as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”

In the case of your tribe of just-right clients, you are the leader, responsible for giving them care and guidance.

Not in a patronizing way, but to the extent that they depend on you to do good work and to lead them toward things that match their needs.

You and your just-right clients are connected through your work, the way you market that work, and the sales conversations you have.

(Selling is a conversation. But you knew that, right?)

Finally, you and your tribe of just-right clients are connected to an idea.

> Continued in her article: Challenges of connecting with your tribe.

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Many gifted individuals have expertise to share and this may include you. The issue is how to make your expertise into a profitable business.

Experts Academy with Brendon Burchard solves this problem. His goal is to turn you into a generously paid expert.

As we all know, there are a lot of things we didn’t learn in the classroom. The educational system misses areas that are essential for success in life and in business.

And millions of men and women are seeking the help of experts who can take them where they want to be in their personal and professional lives…

> Continued in article: What Is Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy?

This is an overview article about Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy – which can help you develop a business based on your knowledge. Follow the link for free video training and information about the program.

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Mixed-media and glass artist Ginny Ruffner recovered from a near fatal car accident and a coma for five weeks and was confined to a hospital for five months.

A description on her site ginnyruffner.com about the documentary about her: A Not So Still Life says, “Doctors were convinced that she would never walk or talk again, but true to her indomitable spirit, she transformed a potentially tragic accident into a career of even more imaginative creations.

“From pop-up books, to room-sized installation pieces, to public works, Ruffner’s art has blossomed and continues to expand.”

Here is a clip from the movie.

Video: Artist Ginny Ruffner: a not so still life

In her review – ‘A Not So Still Life’: Ginny Ruffner documentary draws you in – Moira Macdonald says it is “an inspiring tale of rehabilitation and recovery. About 20 years ago, Ruffner suffered a severe head injury in a car accident; family members, in the documentary, tearfully recall that she was near death, and that the idea of her walking and talking again seemed an impossible dream.

“‘My mind was like a big empty house that you know you used to live in,’ reminisces Ruffner in the film, in a slurred but quite intelligible voice, of the weeks and months following her accident, as she struggled to remember what and who she was. Characteristically, she transformed her struggle into art: As she slowly learned to walk again with the help of a cane, she created a series of playful animal sculptures with ‘balance’ as their theme.”

In her article Ginny Ruffner’s art blooms at Bellevue Arts Museum and on film, Gayle Clemans notes “Ruffner’s determination and her humorous, philosophical approach to life served her well during her lowest point. She is reluctant to dwell on ‘the big, bad time’ of the early 1990s, when she was in a nearly fatal car accident that left her in a coma for five weeks and then unable to walk or talk.

“Now, almost 20 years after her remarkable recovery, Ruffner is mobile, vocal and very active despite some lingering limitations. She says that the experience ‘has made me more creative. There are some things that I can’t do physically, so I have to find ways to find solutions, to be more creative.’

“Her work has gotten increasingly large and complex. Like many contemporary artists, she hires specialists to help her realize her artistic goals, saying, ‘When I can’t make something, I find people who can. It’s the smart thing to do.’”

Book: The Imagination Cycle, by Ginny Ruffner.

The documentary “A Not So Still Life” and many other inspirational movies for personal growth are available to members of the Spiritual Cinema Circle.

This image of Ruffner at work in her studio is from The GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet post: 3 Questions For … Ginny Ruffner.

Beliefs and thinking and our creative lives

The parts of her story I particularly appreciate are Ruffner’s “philosophical approach to life” and her willful rejection of opinions that she would never walk or talk again.

How many people in vulnerable physical or mental conditions get authoritative opinions from medical experts that are incomplete or downright wrong about the person’s capacity to deal with the condition? How many people just accept what “the doctor” says as the most valid truth?

People like Ruffner don’t just accept, they stay actively in charge of their own lives and health as much as possible, demonstrating how much impact thoughts and beliefs can have on our physical being.

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a growing field that looks at how that works. It is “the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. PNI takes an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating psychology, neuroscience, immunology, physiology, pharmacology, molecular biology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and rheumatology.” [Wikipedia]

The placebo effect is not to be dismissed as “only mental” – it is another experience in which beliefs and emotions can have profound impacts on our body and health.

Here are a couple of related books:

The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions, by Esther M. Sternberg, MD.

Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, by Candace B. Pert, PhD.

The Biology of Belief, by Bruce Lipton, MD.

Also see articles by Morty Lefkoe. A profile by the Institute of Noetic Sciences notes that he “made a series of discoveries that allowed him to help people make permanent changes in their emotions and behavior” through his Lefkoe Belief Process.

You can try his belief change process free at ReCreate Your Life.

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In his new course Your Best Life in the Arts, he provides “real answers to the challenges that confront you” – whether you are “just beginning to write, paint or play an instrument” or have “logged in thousands of hours at your craft.”

Below the video interview with him are excerpts from summaries of the first seven topics of the course, and a link to a new page with the other seven topics.

The course was presented earlier as a live tele-conference – and is now available as an MP3 download.

Each topic – listed on the course website Your Best Life in the Arts – refers to key issues in creative expression, and I have added some related comments and references such as articles.

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Week 1.   Your Life in the Arts
Get a clear picture of what it takes to deal with the emotional ups and downs and practical realities of a life in the arts. Learn how to make solid sense of the challenges of your own personality, the challenges inherent in the work of creating, and the challenges of culture and marketplace.

This brings to mind the subject of identity, how we think of ourselves, and the idea that many people claim (to themselves or others) that they “aren’t creative.”

My advice: Stop laboring under that self-limiting delusion. Yes, maybe you don’t have the specific talents or motivations to be a novelist or film director, rock star or whatever – but that doesn’t mean you lack creativity.

Week 2.   The Meaning Key
If you can’t convince yourself that your creative efforts matter—if you aren’t “existentially decisive”—you’ll lose motivation, block, and avoid your creative work and your performance tasks.

A related topic Maisel addresses is toxic criticism: “Until you decide that your path in life matters, that it is ultimately your responsibility to live by your cherished principles, and that you and only you can create a life worth living, you will have insufficient motivation to put criticism in its place.”

From his article The Existential Key.

Another article of his: Meaningful Life, Meaningful Work, Meaningful Days.

Week 3.   The Mind Key
Creating depends on having a mind quiet enough to allow ideas to bubble up…Learn the important skills of quieting your mind and extinguishing negative self-talk.

Writer Dean Koontz has commented about “ceaseless self-doubt that sits like a demonic imp on my shoulder from the moment I begin the first sentence until long after I finish the last…”

From my post Managing Creative Anxiety: Change Your Thinking.

Quieting this negative self-talk is one of the values of meditation.

See list of Meditation and mindfulness articles, and information about Holosync technology on my Personal Growth Information site.

Week 4.   The Confidence Key
You may feel quite confident in some areas of your life—and then find yourself weaker than you would like when you get to the canvas or computer screen or when you need to talk to a gallery owner, literary agent or booking agent…you need to feel confident as an artist in order to succeed as an artist.

Creating can take courage and confidence even if you aren’t (yet) a professional. One of the key ways we can undermine our confidence is self-talk based on limiting beliefs.

Morty Lefkoe has developed programs to deal with self-limiting beliefs. In his article How to build confidence, he notes, “Confidence actually exists on a continuum, ranging from a very low to a very high belief in our own abilities, a sense we can handle whatever life throws at us. Very few people are totally lacking in confidence and very few feel confident that they can handle almost anything.”

Week 5.   The Stress Key
Life produces stress, the artistic personality produces additional stress, creating produces even more stress, and living the artist’s life is the topper! Learn how to identify the stressors in your life and how to implement stress management techniques…

Dr. Maisel notes, “For someone who’s self-identified as a writer, painter, composer, scientist, inventor, and so on, his identity and ego are wrapped up in how well he creates—and when what we do matters that much, we naturally get anxious.” From my post Creative Anxiety – So Much On The Line.

Week 6.   The Freedom Key
Most people are unaware of how self-censorship and other self-imposed constraints hamper their ability to flourish as an artist. They’re also unaware of how cultural constraints add to that felt lack of freedom…

In my post How Much Do You Censor Your Creative Expression?, I noted that just labeling or categorizing ideas is a kind of censorship – especially if we do it too early on, before allowing them to percolate both consciously and unconsciously. The attitudes we have about our creative ideas and projects can have a huge impact on what we actually invest energy in – or how much.

Week 7.   The Passion Key
Passion—and synonyms like love, curiosity, enthusiasm, excitement and energy—is vital to the creative process. It is possible to create without passion but your art will suffer and the likelihood of you continuing over the long haul is greatly reduced…

This is another central issue for enjoying a creative and meaningful life.

Director Julie Taymor made a comment about her work: “Whatever it is, I have to really love it…When you approach it that way, you come at it with all your soul and intelligence.”

Her director for their film “The Holiday,” Nancy Meyers, commented about Kate Winslet, ”People do love her. The only other person I’ve ever seen love acting that much is Jack Nicholson.”

From my post Passion Fuels Creative Expression.

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• Read more about the course in Your Life in the Arts – Part 2.

Here are a couple of testimonials:

“Without Eric Maisel’s guidance I would never have successfully negotiated the publishing process. With his help, I completed a substantial proposal, landed a good agent, and just signed my first book contract!”
— Nancy Pine, author and educator

“It’s been an unexpected joy to find someone as creatively supportive and encouraging as Eric. I didn’t know what to expect out of our sessions and each one is fresh and interesting. Eric’s inspirational!”
— Christine Collister, international recording artist

“Eric’s insights have helped me with every aspect of my painting career, from the evolution of my market vision to strategies for self-promotion. I also found his help invaluable in feeding my creator’s soul!”
— Jonathan Herbert, painter and photographer

Learn more and buy the course: Your Best Life in the Arts.

Books by Eric Maisel, PhD:

A Life in the Arts: Practical Guidance and Inspiration for Creative and Performing Artists

Creativity for Life: Practical Advice on the Artist’s Personality, and Career from America’s Foremost Creativity Coach

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Photo at top from post: Ginny Ruffner: “That bad time made me more creative.”

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Imagine that you had been doing something a certain way for a long time and you believed that you were doing it the right way.

Now imagine that I come along and tell you not to do that way any more. I give you a lot of reasons and I promise a lot of benefits if you stop doing it your way and start doing it my way.

No matter how persuasive I might be, you and most other people probably wouldn’t change their behavior.

“Okay,” you reply, “that just proves that people resist change.”

Not necessarily. Think about what I just said.

If you think what you are doing is right and I am telling you to do something else, what does it sound like I am asking you to do? It would seem to you that I was telling you to do something wrong. …

If you want to change behavior, change the beliefs that drive any given behavior — such as procrastination, anger, worrying what people think of you, the inability to delegate, etc. — and the behavior will change.

To make this clear, let’s look at a situation that comes up frequently in relationships.

Imagine that you have a relationship with someone who yells at people whenever they don’t do what she (or he) thinks they ought to be doing.

Perhaps you have told her that you don’t like her yelling at you and you think it is inappropriate for her to yell at others.

Despite the logic of your argument, her response might well be: “Yelling is the only way to get people to listen and do what you want.”

That’s the belief that engenders the yelling. …

Continued: Change Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult… If You Know How

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