Blast O' Joy

Are You Getting What You REALLY Want?

Do you really believe you can have what you want? Or do you tend to operate with your feet in two camps -- one that says, 'I'm going out there and pursue my dream' and another that says, 'I'll also hedge my bets by doing something I don't love that much, just in case the dream thing doesn't work out.' This is called indirectness and I am here to say it doesn't work.

I spent a lot of time earlier in life hedging my bets under the mistaken illusion that this is mature, business-like behavior. The real irony is that seldom have these supposedly businesslike ideas ever produced income or other results that I thought for sure they would.

The urge to hedge your bets often runs contrary to everything your gut instincts scream at you to do. Your instinct says 'Quit the job! Go get licensed! Be a teacher kids never forget!"

Meanwhile, you hedge your bets by continuing to do work that doesn't feed your soul, and taking a course here and there that never really moves you any closer to the dream. You justify your lack of action by insisting you can't afford to quit your job, or deciding you don't want to change your lifestyle and live on a teacher's salary. 

And yet ... what do you want? Do you want a life that's half-way, but never all the way, to the dream? Do you want the excuses, or do you want the results? For a lot of us, the excuses, and the half-baked life are all we think we deserve.

We don't focus on getting what we want because somewhere along the way, we decided we don't deserve that much happiness and fulfillment. I trace my own inclination to think that way back to a pivotal lunch with my mother back in my senior year in high school, when she asked me what I wanted to do with my life. As I was about to answer, 'Be a singer or a writer,' she pointed a finger at me and announced triumphantly, 'Communications! You're going to be GREAT in communications!" Whereupon I promptly burst into tears, and went on to spend 18 years in advertising, 'communicating' and hating myself all the while.

Seeds get planted that shouldn't be allowed to grow; ideas get listened to that should have been ignored. We cast about looking for anyone else but ourselves to give us direction -- and yet, WE are the only ones who can give us the permission to really, truly, honestly create what we want in life.

We can do what we want, but only if we are brave enough to seize the initiative, even if it means not listening to Mom and going it alone. The urge to not provide ourselves with what we need in life is a sort of Creative Anorexia, deprivation that is all about a distorted picture of who we are and what we deserve. The real irony is that seldom do the contingency plans and hedged bets work out.

During my entire career in advertising I never made half the salary that my other, more eager co-workers made. The simple fact was that I didn't want to be there, nor should I have been.

Perhaps the road to what you want won't be easy or lined with gold, but it will be one hundred percent honest. And that provides riches you can't even begin to count. So get out there, make a plan you can stick to, and begin to do what you want. I'm here to say that you do, indeed, deserve it.

Hallmarks of Creative Souls

During our Writer's Spa in Taos last week, Jennifer Louden (my co-leader), the group, and I came up with a list we call 'Hallmarks of Creative Souls". This came out of a discussion about being eccentric as a creative person, and how important it is to court those eccentricities and allow yourself to really claim your own particular creative 'weirdness'.

Read this list and do your own mental assessment: are you a creative soul? And if so, do you honor your eccentricities?

Creative souls tend to:

• Be confident about their uniqueness/'weirdness'
• Have multiple talents
• Hear voices or see visions
• Have a shifting focus or ADD (not all; some)
• Enjoy freedom of dress
• Are curious
• Notice more around themselves
• Seek a calm environment to create in
• Are sensitive to psychic energy
• See things differently
• Are driven to create, even beyond safety, pain or politeness
• Can be both extroverted and introverted at the same time
• Are sensitive
• Can be high maintenance
• Are troubled sometimes; can be addicts
• Tend to be experimental; into alternative lifestyles
• Overflow with ideas

Interestingly, a scholarly study of 1000 eccentrics in both the US and the UK found they tend to live longer. This study describes these eccentrics as "nonconforming; creative; strongly motivated by curiosity; idealistic: he wants to make the world a better place and the people in it happier; happily obsessed with one or more hobbyhorses (usually five or six); aware from early childhood that he is different; intelligent; opinionated and outspoken, convinced that he is right and that the rest of the world is out of step."  Eccentrics also tend to exhibit less stress, and enjoy better general health.

Viva la difference!

How to Be a Working Web-Based Artist

Yesterday I blogged about my visit to Key West painter Fran Decker, and how much I loved her work. Today, I'll fill you in on details of a coaching session I did with Fran on how she could build more platform on the Web, and subsequently sell more work.

Believe it or not, Fran already sells a fair number of paintings on the Web. (We're not doubting Fran's abundant talent, but simply that folks would buy an actual painting based on a fairly small digital image of it.) But buy they do … and the fact is, they could buy more.

We looked over Fran's energetic site at www.frandecker.com and I discovered a few things which I thought might help Fran sell more.

First of all, Fran needed a new, better headshot. She already had one kind of neat picture on her About the Artist page. But we needed a headshot where we could get to know her right on the home page. After all, we aren't just buying a painting - we're buying a little piece of Fran who is an essential Key West-ian: vivacious, fun, and highly creative.

Also, I craved a blog for Fran - a place for her to share her musings about life in the keys. And I wanted her to talk about the Key West life in all of its ramifications - pre-hurricane worries, Fantasy Fest party blow outs, life with tourists, living in a grand house in the middle of town - the works. I felt it would help visitors to her site know her better and thus feel more inclined to buy her work.

I wanted Fran to have some kind of free take-away from her site. A downloadable sketch, suitable for framing, or a few e-cards that could be sent to friends. Anything that would share her work with folks and further endear her to them.

The big idea here, though, was the blog. Fran could really see how much fun it would be to just muse out loud on her blog and share the Key West life. I got so excited I went straight home and sent her a copy of Andy Wibbels great guide to blogging, Blog Wild.

Any other ideas for Fran?

My Vacation Discovery

Earlier this month on my vacation, we had the pleasure of spending a few nights with my old college pal Fran Decker, an artist living in Key West, and with her husband, Bob Decker who leads charters on a gorgeous Choi Lee sailboat. I wanted to write about her here because she has fully manifested her dream of making a living from her paintings, and done so in style!

Back at Wellesley, when I knew Fran she was a passionate marine biologist with long hair and a melted butter Southern accent. Accent's still there, only now she has a year round tan and has had a long and interesting adult career running boat charters and being involved in conservation efforts around the Florida Keys.

And, in recent years, she's begun to sell her work as a painter - something that was pretty peripheral in college. How did she do it?

Fran has an affinity for painting the architecture, natural life and mangroves of Key West, which if you've never been there, is a charmingly 'housey' town. Lots of beautiful, grand old clapboard houses and charming smaller wooden houses - many painted ice cream colors - dot the old section of town. Plus wonderful 19th century brick warehouses and factories that have all had stunning conversions into commercial buildings.

And there are lots of chickens running around. So who wouldn't want to paint all of this?

Fran had several shows up in the area when we arrived. Her work is just the right size - not too big, not too small, and drenched in color and the very atmosphere of Key West. I was struck not just by the strength of her painting but how many of these babies she can crank out. This woman is prolific!

Some of my favorites are: Mexican Mangoes, Pepe's II (we ate breakfast there!), and Soar.  I'll fill you in later on a few ideas I had for Fran on how she could expand her painting business on the Web.

Technorati Tags: Fran Decker, Key West art

The Best Way to Totally Boost Your Dream, Part III

A final idea about meditating and using it to nurture your dream. Try this exercise - you can do it right now. It's simple, and amazingly effective.

Take a pad of paper, or a favorite notebook, a pen that flows dependably, and go into a quiet place and close the door. Put the pen and pad within reach and begin to meditate. Allow yourself to go to a deep, quiet place within, then reach for your pad and begin to work. Stay loose and open, and let your pen record the guidance that moves through your mind. Don't worry about what your writing looks like, or where your pen moves on the page. Keep your eyes closed and let it flow ... you will probably be surprised at how readable this sort of writing turns out to be. Later, when you are finished, feel free to recopy what you have channeled into a favorite notebook.

You will have valuable information here that may or may not make sense right this minute. At any rate, it's a way to keep deepening your own divine connection.

Tags: Meditation, living your joy, creative inspiration

The Best Way to Totally Boost Your Dream, Part II

Yesterday, I introduced the idea that meditation is great for your dream … and I talked about how to best achieve it. Here are some more ideas.

Guided meditation recordings can be a terrific solution, especially if you're new to meditation. You can just sit back, turn on the CD or the iPod, relax and let someone else take care of you for a while.

Recorded visualizations can be wonderfully targeted, too, guiding you to work on specific issues. For many years, I happily climbed into Shakti Gawain's pink bubble on her "Creative Visualizations" tape whenever I wanted to help prod my goals along.

Over the years, I've put together my own CD's for going into your creative space, and asking for help on your dream. (The key one for creativity issues is part of my How Much Joy Facilitator's Training. I also have a guided visualization that helps you tap into your Soul Purpose in life.)

The important thing, of course, is not how you meditate but that you do meditate. This is your pipeline to your dream, the work that will bring you further along your path. And the more often you do it, the more clear and fertile that channel will become.

Just pick a regular time of day to meditate and stick to it -- first thing in the morning, right before you go to sleep, just after you get home from work, even behind closed doors on your lunch hour at the office.

Once you discover the lovely, honey-light of God's essence warming your soul, it will become too hard to resist, and you will find yourself waiting for the moment each day when you can connect.

Sit back, relax, close your eyes, and enjoy!

Tags: Meditation, living your joy, creative inspiration

The Best Way to Totally Boost Your Dream

Recently I heard from a reader that she'd like more practical, hands-on ideas about moving your dream forward in The Joy Letter. I'm all for that ... so let's talk about meditating, which is one of the key tools for connecting with the work of your dreams.

Or better yet, let's talk about finding that secret place where you feel God/Spirit/The Universe/your gut's presence in your life. For me, that's what meditation is all about, and there is no one way to achieve it.

My problem with standard seated meditation has always been that I wasn't sure I was doing it right.
I'd heard you should inhale to the count of four and exhale to the count of six or eight. Which I did for a while, and it did seem to focus my mind.

Yet, once I'd calmed down and gotten into some sort of alpha state, my mind was hardly empty. I was going through yesterday's grocery list by the time my meditation was officially over. I would open my eyes feeling vaguely guilty, and not really sure the meditation had "worked". Another option I tried was staring at a mandala, a design, or a candle flame, which was a complete failure. I didn't like the idea of staring at anything; it gave me a headache.

Through trial and error, I eventually came up with my own sort of mongrel meditation which I've found to be highly effective -- one it turns out that pray-ers have used for thousands of years.
I simply close my eyes, take a few breaths to relax, and say hello to God.

There is almost always a warm, secure, taken-care-of feeling that takes over, a sense that God is there, waiting, wanting to help. I thank God for various blessings in my life, and I ask for information and ideas, and help on challenges. Then I do my best to stay open to whatever divine thoughts or images may roll along. Above all, I let my intruding thoughts come and go, with the understanding that they will never leave altogether -- that I can simply include them, and move on.

It took some years to realize that a process this simple was indeed 'doing it right'. I was sure everyone else's technique was better than mine. And yet, when I finally gave up and trusted my method, I truly felt that nod from God. After all, God does want to speak to us ... He or She is always patiently waiting for us. The question is, can we muster up the courage to tune in?

Tags: Meditation, living your joy, creative inspiration

Is Your Brain Helping Your Dream? Or Hindering It?

As I mention from time to time, the theme for me in 2006 is brain science. I made a commitment this year to really dig in and work on developing my brain to help me accomplish more with greater ease.

So I happily have delved into the world of neural reprogramming with Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler who led a free teleclass on her brain work last month. It was an amazing call - her work is just superb.

(If you missed it, here's a link to the call with Dr. Jill on Brain Power.)

So now I'm involved in her beta program on Millionaire Mind Program, which she leads from her Quantum Self website. Here's some of the cool stuff we're doing.

Every day I reprogram my brain by tapping deeper into my gamma and alpha-theta brainwaves. These are the ones that millionaires and highly successful people have developed more fully. These brain waves lead them into greater abilities to manifest success by being more open, more creative, and (some believe) more accessible to the Universal Mind. They apparently have great access to the subconscious mind, and frequently experienced higher spiritual states.

Dr. Jill also says they have 'little or no stress.' The stress monster does tend to eat us alive, so that's my goal, too! Apparently some of these folks have these qualities awake in their brain naturally. But others have been able to learn this ability, which is what her program helps anyone achieve.

So how am I doing this? By using Dr. Jill's audio recordings to tap easily in and out of my alpha state (little 2 minute mini-meditations). Also there is this longer recording that sounds like the blades of a helicopter getting closer, then further, then closer again. I do that meditation every day, too. And as I do it, and my mind shifts brainwaves, I feel almost like I'm out of my body.

I emerge intensely calm, centered and ready to take on the world.

How to Write Ideas Down Anywhere

Got ideas? Good! Now … don't let them go. These are the manna of your creative life and without 'em you're sunk.

Here are a few idea capture tools that are excellent for all kinds of thinkers.

1. The Shower Pad. My brilliant pal Lena West gets her ideas in the shower, so she keeps a Dive Pad right there next to her - stuck to her shower wall. And she writes down ideas as she gets clean. These underwater writing pads are available at scuba shops and online.

2. The instant messager. Not to be confused with software that sends messages - this is a tiny recording device (some even fit on a key ring.) No matter where you are, it records your ideas in an instant. The key then is to sit at your computer or calendar on a regular basis and transcribe them into actionable steps. Available at Radio Shack and other electronics stores.

3. Good old note pads. That's what I use. Lots of cool little mini notepads. My favorites are those I find at indie stationers in Manhattan that have a plaid or polka dotted cover - a French company, I believe. I buy several each time I go to the city. I keep a few big ones, too, for bigger projects.

4. The black sketchbook. This was a staple of my youth, and I see lots of kids still poring over them in coffee bars in places like Boston. Think black hard cover with lots of nice white paper inside so you can make all kinds of notes, illustrations, collage paste ins, tuck ins, and generally whatever you want. Cool! I feel like an artist with my black sketchbook.

5. The binder with pocket dividers. OK, this is for really big projects. And I set it up just like I would have in school. Pocket dividers collect pieces of paper from my small notebooks. Three hole lined paper collects more ideas and gets tucked into the right chapters in the binder.

Where do you capture your ideas?

How to Get a Literary Agent, Part II

Once you get your short list of agents, and you have all of your literary ducks in a row … it will serve you well to know how to approach these folks. Here are some more tips.

• Do not send your manuscript! Send a one page letter describing your project and why you are the person to write it, plus your proposal (non-fiction only) or a few sample chapters of your manuscript (fiction.) Offer to send the rest right away if they are interested. Make sure everything is spell-checked, double spaced, with correct margins, etc.

• Hand pick the agents you submit to. DO NOT SEND MASS MAILINGS TO AGENTS. It won’t work, and is a waste of time and mo.ney. Instead, research who to approach and pick the 5, 10, 20 or so who actually sell your type of work. Agents stick to niches themselves, and one way to find that niche is in various resource guides like Writer’s Market, the LMP (Literary Market Place … in all big libraries), or the Writer’s Digest 2002 Guide to Literary Agents. (I have several other techniques I share in my Self Help Author’s Crash Course, which is on sale at the moment. See below.)

• Make your letter great. Your pitch will be placed in a pile with the other cold submissions that arrived that day (maybe 25 –50) and an assistant will thumb through them, spending about 10 seconds on each one. This means if you have a personal contact, you mention it in the first sentence. Trim your description of your book into a meaty, mouth-watering paragraph. Add a bit on why you are the person to write it. And BE SURE to let them know you hand picked them, out of all the agents out there, because of the great work they’ve done for authors X, Y and Z. In fact, you predict they will have similar success with your property, as they did with Book X they just sold to Q Publisher, etc. In other words, make it personal, a little witty, and smart

• Don’t use old contact info … and call to see that the agent you’re contacting is still at the address you have before you send anything

• Don’t ever pay an agent to evaluate your book. This is not how standard agents work, and is illegal.

• Give the agent one month to evaluate your work. Then follow up by p.hone or email. Many will tell you how they like to be contacted in guides such as The Writer’s Market and those listed above. Continue to follow up, until such actions are ridiculous. You’ll probably get some kind of response, especially if you’re letter is great

• Follow up and ask for referrals. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the intended agent on the phone. They may seem interested, but just won’t commit. (A standard line is “I’m not taking on any new clients right now.”) So ask if they know any agents they might recommend, or someone who is expanding their operation. Then send a thank you note if their info has been helpful. Agenting is a small world, and many people stay in it for life. They’ll remember when you reappear at their door years later. And this time it may open

• Be persistent. You may have to go through several lists of hand-picked agents, before you get the bite you need.

• Work your personal connections. Be exhaustive, thinking of anyone you know who might connect you with other agents, or even authors. Most authors will want to see the project you’re pitching, and may not feel comfortable sharing their contact with you… but many may.

By the way, have you got a literary project that’s just sitting on the shelf? Do you long to take a little time off just to reconnect to your project. Sounds like a trip to our Writer’s Spa in Taos, NM, in July might just do the trick.

How to Get a Literary Agent, Part I

If you’re interested in publishing a book and gaining a market presence and income from it, you’ll need a literary agent. They are the grease that keeps the oft-rusty wheels of publishing moving. Every day, they eat lunch or talk to editors and acquisition people in publishing houses all over the world, all the while pitching them on the new hot ‘properties’, as your manuscript will be called.

Generally speaking, you need an agent (though there are literary lawyers and others out there who would disagree with me.) I’ve had four agents, some fine, one useless, and one downright criminal (though eminently likeable.)

Here are some tips I can pass along that will help your search for this important part of your team. This first part focuses on what you need to have in hand before you contact the agent:

• Make sure you’re selling something marketable. It could be you’re the only person out there who wants to read about your Aunt Tillie’s days as a pickle packer. Before you approach an agent, find out what problem your book solves and who it will appeal to. Research similar titles on Amazon.com and look for gaps in the marketplace. Go to bookstores and see what’s hot (and what’s not.) What’s not is on the remainder shelf; what’s hot is placed up front and center, with massive piles of the book in sight. Give an agent a good reason UP FRONT to get excited (before they even read your mss)

• Make sure your book idea or manuscript is in top shape. There is no substitute for excellence… it helps! You’ve got to have an awesome concept, and an even better title.

• Make your book proposal as professional possible. (Book proposals are only for non-fiction books, those other than novels.) You’ll want to include a lot more than just what the book’s about. You’ll need to include any market research you’ve done on who’d buy the book, ideas for unusual places the books could be sold, or ways to tie it in with ‘special sales’ (that’s pub-speak for big wholesale orders) to certain industries, or connections with your workshops, speaking gigs, web site, etc.. You’ll also want to include an impressive bio, merchandising ideas, a sketch of the competitive marketplace and publicity ideas. (If this sounds daunting, worry not. See my blurb at the bottom.)

• Establish your credibility. If you’re writing fiction, let them know you’ve either had unique life experiences that will make your book especially interesting to the media. (If you’re writing about your white water rafting exploits, did you have a great experience related to this you could spin on air?) If you’re writing non-fiction, are you a PhD or do you have a masters, or lots of great professional experience? It’s tougher to sell a great book written by someone who’s got no credentials in the field to back them up … but it can be done.

• Hook up with a star. Can you get a celebrity endorsement, or a testimonial or foreword from a highly placed industry star? This will help an agent feel they can sell your work.

• Find the niche no one has explored. They’re out there, even in your chosen field. This is especially true for non-fiction, though niches apply to both genres. The best niche comes from your own passions and interests… what’s really You?

By the way, I have a 12-hour audio program that will steer you towards delivering a better self-help or non-fiction book proposal. If you come in with a piece that makes you look like you know what you’re doing … it’s A LOT easier to sell your book. Check out the Self Help Author’s Crash Course.

The Fear of Running Out of Material … or Creative Juice!

Do you ever worry about running out of material? I think this particular anxiety is one we all share - a fear that when it's time to create, only a dribble of inspiration will come out. One client of mine referred to it as "writing my big three page book."

This notion that you'll run out of ideas, inspiration, and general forward thrust actually does have basis. You probably WILL run out of gas from time to time on your dreams. Yet that doesn't mean you can't eventually muster up the courage, or the material, to keep going.

If you put the time into your project that it requires, you will always find your way to the other side. It really is that simple.

Now maybe 'the other side' means beginning a project that morphs into something completely different. Perhaps the 'other side' of your project means you find your way to incredible success. At any rate, the final outcome is simply not knowable. Nor should it be. Because the ultimate reason for any of this work is to grow, expand and learn as you travel the path. (No, it really isn't to become a permanent fixture on Oprah… honest!)

If you can begin your project from a place of open, loose, honest investigation, you'll probably get much further and have a lot more fun. This means expect nothing when you begin.

Scared? Don't be. Think of 'nothing' as a glorious blank canvas to create from. Now go get 'em.

Music to Create By

While I’m in this groove of recommending great creativity tools, I can’t resist plugging some of the music I’ve been listening to lately. First of all, Stevie Wonder’s first album in ten years, A Time to Love, is WELL worth the weight. This is some of his best work since InnerVisions, one of the all time greats! Check out Track 14, ‘Positivity’. I could listen to that song all day! Here are a couple of other artists I listen to while driving, exercising and working – they keep the wheels rolling beautifully. Jim Brickman. This Windham Hill pianist gives me a spiritually lifted start to the day. Love his first instrumental album. Ben Folds Five. These guys are just plain fun—pop in the original sense of the world, but with a creative, original sense of the word. (Think mid-career Beatles.) Love Ben and his wild piano riffs! Rufus Wainwright. Another complete original. If Stephen Sondheim composed pop, he’d be Rufus. A son of folk stars, he’s a rocker who’s passionate about opera and story-telling, so his composing is ten times more sophisticated than most of what’s out there. Bob Dylan and the Butterfield Blue Band – Late 60’s Dylan was the best, in my mind. The second disc of the new compilation 2-disc set, released with the Scorsese documentary ‘Dylan, The Early Years’ is absolutely heaven-sent. What a great piece of music history – and it plays like it was all recorded yesterday! That’s all for now … who are you listening to?

Suzanne's List of Sure-Fire Creativity Inducers

Here are some fun ways to stretch out and try some new and different creative venues. Each of them are proven to stimulate your creativity – no matter what your ‘main’ are of expression is. I've dabbled in all of these and have found each one rich in its own right. African Drumming OK, I know … you're not the "drumming type." Neither was I - until I tried it. This is just about one of the most fun things you can do with your clothes on, because the rhythm just begins to pour through you. (Even if you have no drumming experience. I promise!) Drumming studios have drums, teach you how, and help you find other drummers to practice with in drumming circles. Great for relieving tension, and just plain having fun! Dance In the last six months I've gotten seriously back into dance for exercise - and I find it really gets all my creative juices flowing. I love jazz, rhythm tap, tango, tribal, and just about anything that gets you to improvise a little. Here are some links I like: Fat Chance Belly Dance in California. Their video is terrific, and the also sell scarves, finger cymbals, etc., to complete the experience. I'm intrigued by Christy Lane's videos that teach everything from 70's dance (remember 'the bump'?) to African and swing. My own tried and true dance solution is to put on a compilation CD of great music and cut loose in the living room. (I add a mini trampoline that I jump on part of the time just to get me really moving and exuding.) Your children will laugh at you, but so what … you'll be more creative for it! If you really want privacy, put on your MP3 player and dance in your own little world. Visual Art World of Watercolor is a jam packed on-line magazine that guides you towards all kinds of watercolor resources. I really like this medium in particular because it's loose, and spontaneous - you don't have to even know how to draw to create great effects. (Sometimes it's better if you don't!) You might also check in with your local art school to see if they have a Croakie class. This is quick sketches you do with a charcoal pencil, usually of a live nude model who changes position every five minutes. Great for loosening up perfectionist instincts. Performing Nothing beats open-mike night at the stand-up comedy clubs for putting you straight out on the creative edge. You either kill or are killed, to put it in trade lingo. An open mike nights are your opportunity to test ideas, try out new stuff, and give yourself a mental goose. Remember - just getting up there is triumph enough! (If you don't know where to go, start with 'Comedy Clubs' in the Yellow pages.) I also like choral singing for getting you off the couch and out into the creative realm. You can always find them at area churches, and other places of worship.

Hanging On to Your Creative Trance … More Tips

       

… As promised, more trance-management tips        1. Keep note-making material handy wherever you are.        Strew small pads of paper, notebooks throughout your life. Put them in useful places like your car, the bathroom, and beside your bed, where the best ideas often strike. Use a Palm Pilot or a personal messager -- a neat little recording gizmo no bigger than a credit card that can record up to a couple hundred messages at a time. Some of them even come on key rings; many cost less than $10, and unlike Palms, they don't need recharging.        Be sure to copy these messages into your computer, daily planner, notes, or wherever the information needs to go. Don’t let them pile up and get forgotten!               2. Don't take calls while you're working.        Raymond Carver didn't, nor do many great artists out there. Instead of running for the phone, let the machine pick up, knowing whoever called can wait just a little bit longer. This way your trance can continue to deepen and unfold, uninterrupted, and you can get the work done that you are meant to do.        3. Get out and see other people's work in your field.        Read trade journals, see exhibits or attend conferences. Get to know who and what is out there. Not only will this fill your head with ideas and ways to do things differently, it will give you inspiration on many fronts, including how to make your own work even more distinctive. You'll also learn things about your business you simply can't learn any other way, and possibly find your way to valuable collaborations or business partnerships.        4. Live and work in a beautiful place.        There is no substitute for natural beauty -- even if it's a sunset seen from an apartment on the twentieth floor. Having a view of nature, one way or another, is a wonderful way to keep the spirit flowing through your door and into your work. If you can't arrange a river view, put something natural in your surroundings that speaks to you, even it's a window full of house plants.        5. Indulge in the other arts.        For decades, Woody Allen spent every Monday night playing his clarinet with a bar band at Manhattan jazz club. Authors Steven King and Amy Tan have been known to play in a rock band called The Remainders. Michelangelo wrote sonnets and love songs in his time off, and even Paul McCartney has had exhibitions of his paintings. Spending time fooling around with other forms of creative expression is not only enriching for your soul, it opens you up to new possibilities for your main creative work. Above all - experiment!

How to Cook up a Creative Trance

Have you ever gotten so absorbed in the delicious act of creating that you simply lose track of time? You look up, befuddled, and realize three hours have passed, or that the dog has been asking to go out forever. Welcome to your creative trance - the very best place for channeling the juice that will shape and guide your dreams most effectively. Here are some tips for helping that trance state show up a little more often: Have you ever gotten so absorbed in the delicious act of creating that you simply lose track of time? You look up, befuddled, and realize three hours have passed, or that the dog has been asking to go out forever. Welcome to your creative trance - the very best place for channeling the juice that will shape and guide your dreams most effectively. Here are some tips for helping that trance state show up a little more often: 1. Turn off the news and listen to music instead. The creative part of your self is sensitive, easily upset by the negative stream that passes through the news desks of our nation. Therefore, limit or completely turn off the news. Once you wean yourself of it, you'll find that you really don't care what the headlines are. If you live alone, and like to have television or radio 'noise' in the background to keep you company, play music, books or poetry on tape, or positive talk radio. 2. Keep your work nearby. Ideally, you'll have an office with a door that's right in your home. That way, if inspiration strikes while you're folding laundry, you can put down the sheets, walk upstairs and do something about it. (I was cooking dinner when I got the idea for this essay.) The Swedish artist Karl Larssen built his bedroom above his studio, with a special window built in the wall overlooking it. So as he dressed in the morning, he could look out his window, study his work and think about it. When Stevie Wonder is on the road, he has a crew member whose sole job is to set up his keyboards and composing system wherever he is. In an interview with The New Yorker, Stevie stopped himself several times to go off and compose when a melodic theme popped into his head, right there in the middle of a backstage dressing room. 3. If you take a break, stay 'fuzzy'. There's a certain fuzziness that comes with creating -- a loose-in-your-joints feeling that results from letting the creative flow pass through you. By all means try to hang on to this feeling, even when you need to take a break. Don't interrupt it with a lot of hard-edged activities like business calls, important decision-making, or reading financial mail. Instead, drift around, read a magazine, a book, or a letter from a friend, or turn to manual tasks, such as dishwashing, knitting, or tending houseplants. Above all, do not turn on the television, or leave your home to run errands. 4. Always act on your instincts. This is how some of the best research for your project will get done. Call up that friend whose name keeps floating across your mind; take that flyer that seems intriguing for reasons you can't quite figure out. Don't make your instinct raise its voice - just listen the first time. Then it's really much easier to get things done. More to come in my next post!