Creatavita is coming to you ahead of schedule this week, as I'm about to embark on an adventure. My intention is to actually vacate. We'll see if that happens! I'll definitely be back in October.
This morning I listened patiently as
one of my clients continued his ever-constant litany of career woes.
That gig fell through, there's no work, he's under-appreciated by the
business, blah blah blah.
His negative energy followed him around
like a rain cloud over his head. He didn't ask for my advice. He didn't want advice. He needed to drop off the negativity and my studio was the safest
place for him to do that. But here's the thing. He's got himself on
the hamster wheel of negativity. I can't tell if he knows he's there
and I definitely can't tell if he really wants to jump off. Yes,
believe it or not, many of us love the wheel of negativity. Hey, at
least we're feeling something, and usually, as we're rolling around,
moving our feet as fast as we can, we get to throw the blame on some
other source. That seems to feel better than accepting responsibility for this mess.
I know that feeling. I do. I felt it
earlier this week myself. I know creativity can, at times, feel
absolutely overwhelming.
So, after he left, to zap the
negativity and get it out of my space, I took the time to ponder what
possibilities exist for him. How could he transform the negativity into possibilities? Possibilities that will probably lead to positive results? Here they are, for you:
Find one opportunity.
Today, take 15 minutes and research one opportunity. Instead of
commiserating with your Facebook friends about how difficult your business is, get out there and search. Search for another possible
performing venue, submit your portfolio to another potential client,
return to your previous of habit of checking your favorite audition
callboard.
Chellie Campbell, in her
strangely helpful book,
The Wealthy Spirit, calls it sending
out ships. I love that image!
Set a reasonable.deadline.
“I really want to get cast in a musical”, said one of my
favorite clients. He's surprised himself with his success as a
model and as a singer, so's he feeling pretty good,
but....he has different dreams. So, set a deadline. Be reasonable.
Creative business rarely falls out of the sky. If someone tells
you that, they've forgotten the years that they worked to be
standing in the right place when that big opportunity fell out of
the sky. You have to plan, you have to be persistent and you have
to be in it for the long haul. If you're new to the deadline world,
try 6 months out. Write it down and tell someone you trust. Put a
weekly reminder in your calendar. Then take one action that leads
you towards that deadline.
DYI.
Can't
find a company that is producing the art that fires you up? Then do
it yourself. I know at least half of you just moaned out loud. You
also rolled your eyes and said, “Oh Heidi, that's so much work.”
You are correct. But it is work that will make you feel alive.
Work that will make you feel like what you have to say matters.
Work that will make you think you are crazy. Work that will make
you feel like you have never felt before. Work that will teach you
so much about your relationship to art. Start small. One event.
One song. One painting. One photograph. One short film. Grow
from there.
Good News Update: I forgot to thank all of you who signed up to receive Creatavita in your email inbox. I did reach my simple goal of 20 new followers. Thank you!
