by Katherine on February 23, 2010
Today I’m making a case for not setting goals.
Whoa! How can we proceed without GOALS? How on earth do we know where we’re going if we don’t set out all the steps ahead of time?
I know there are many experts who will strongly disagree with me, and they will make great arguments. They will point to example after example of successful people who certainly didn’t get where they are today without goals. By certain definitions of success they’re not wrong.
However I’m sticking to my point of view so bear with me. Here’s my argument. If we try to define ahead of time the exact form that our inspiration will take, we limit ourselves. With laser focus we don’t see possibilities beyond our line of vision. Through setting our boundaries we might reject a shift to an opportunity outside those boundaries.
When we make our intention to grow and learn through what we’re inspired to do, to affirm all that we are, to share our uniqueness with others, we will be astonished to see what brilliance comes to us in ways we never could have imagined.
Now if you’re thinking that there has to be a target somewhere, you’re absolutely right. Having what I call a Big Vision is good. It gives us energy, it fires our passion, and it feeds us creatively. One of the reasons we feel drained and overwhelmed is because we are doing something that is not natural to us.
Getting to the big vision is not a well-documented sequence of steps. Instead within the power of a big vision is the trust to keep moving, the faith that we will receive help from unexpected and delightful sources, and the intuitive knowledge of what one step to take next.
This principle is simple but practising it takes some, well, practice. Because there are so many messages from our culture that run counter to it we need to shift our default position.
Here are some simple ideas to begin.
- Start by envisioning something relatively easy.
- Set aside a few minute each day to see and feel it clearly in your mind.
- Know that as you connect to your vision you are connecting to Infinite Consciousness.
- Make the vision something you have no strong negative beliefs about.
- Watch for intuitive ideas about what step to take next.
- Relax into it and have some fun.
- When your vision manifests, celebrate!
Then while the energy is still flowing from this one, strengthen your belief by envisioning another!
by Katherine on February 19, 2010
This week I’ve been ‘roaring through’ the edits on my book in order to get it back to my official editor. It’s going very quickly and I’m very focused on it. In fact, I’m so focused that a few times I didn’t hear the kitchen timer I set for an hour so I’ll stand up, walk around and stretch.
I just love that term, roaring through. But that wasn’t the way it was over the last few months. It was very slow because I was waiting for something.
I was waiting for a title for the book and without it I knew I couldn’t complete my edits. I’d had a number of possible titles but none of them seemed quite right. I was looking for the title that had a quiet certainty, a resonance, that yes, gave me goosebumps!
Finally last week I got the right one (yippee!!) and so now I’m ‘roaring through’ the book, totally clear about where I’m going with it.
It does try the patience when the waiting seems to take so long, so my intention for this week is about timing.
I know in my heart and mind that all things come in their right time, and I am blessed by the grace of the journey that takes me there.
by Katherine on February 9, 2010
I love discovering new techie tools, but it’s not the techie tool itself that excites me. What excites me is how I can use it to be creative. I find new ones all the time and the list got so long that I had to create some qualifying questions to make decisions about them. Otherwise I might never be seen again in the real world. (Just kidding.)
The questions I ask myself to make a decision about a newly discovered technical tool are:
- Is it going to be fun? (Has to be fun or next, please!)
- Will it support my creativity? (A no-brainer!)
- Is it easy to learn? (Or does it have too steep a learning curve?)
- Is it going to complement another technical tool I already know how to use? (Not absolutely required but definitely a plus.)
- Is it relatively inexpensive? (No matter what the cost, will I get enough use out of it to make the price a non issue?)
- And finally, do I just get an intuitive hit about it? (Never underestimate this… intuition is almost always accurate.)
Today I’m going to introduce you to a technical tool that was a resounding yes to all the above questions.
Animoto is a tool for making videos with still photos, video clips, text and music, all blended by their technology into a montage with all the energy of a movie trailer.
Who are the people behind Animoto? Well in their own words, “Animoto Productions is a bunch of techies and film/tv producers who decided to lock themselves in a room together and nerd out.” Love their sense of humour.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…or in this case a video, so you can see one that I created here for my Voice of Destiny Music site.
The music I used is original music from one of my CD’s, so there’s no copyright issue. They ask that you not use music you don’t have permission to use. That would include anything that’s not on their site or anything that’s not your original music. They do however have a lot of royalty free music already on the site.
(In future posts I will give you some great sources for both free photos and places to buy a license for music. Stay tuned for that.)
There are three levels for Animoto customers:
- Basic which is free and allows you to make an unlimited number of 30 second videos
- An All Access Pass which is $30 a year and allows you to make an unlimited number of full length videos
- A Business Level which is $249 a year and allows you to make an unlimited number of full length videos of DVD quality for commercial use
Other Features
- The first two levels are branded with the Animoto brand. The Business level allows you to display your own brand instead of theirs.
- Each time you edit and save, the video is different. Each one will be saved in your account.
- You can embed the videos in your website or upload them to YouTube.
- The All Access Pass and the Business Level let you set the tempo of the images at regular speed, half speed or twice the speed. (My video is half speed.)
Try it out by clicking on the image. (It is an affiliate link.)
And have fun!
by Katherine on February 3, 2010
I just enjoyed a fabulous week on a cruise ship. The cabin that I was in on the starboard side of the ship (that’s the right side, for all non-nautical people like me). Standing on the verandah, I spent a fair amount of time just watching the boat cut through the water, creating wave after wave as it took us closer to each destination.
It made me think of a session that I had with my coach several months ago where she compared the bow wave – the first wave that ripples out from the bow of the ship – to the reason behind the day to day choices I make.
For me my bow wave is creativity. It’s the constant that flows through my projects, my friendships, my financial situation, my resources, my outlook on life.
It’s the why behind my what.
Bow waves don’t happen when boats stay in the safety of the harbour. Waves rock the boat. They shake things up. They ripple out to the vast ocean, disturbing the surface of the water.
The same is true of creativity. Creativity demands more of us than playing it safe. It shakes things up. It takes us to different destinations and makes us view life from a different perspective. It requires course corrections. It makes our completed projects different from what anyone else in the universe would create, even if they started with the same idea.
Creativity isn’t just about producing something artistic. It’s about taking creative inspiration and flowing it through your business, your book, your article, your day, your conversations. It’s about enjoying life by playing with ideas. It’s about knowing that your thought is creative and choosing what you will do or won’t do.
Celebrate and ride the bow wave!
by Katherine on November 24, 2009
Well I’m excited! Today marks the first day of a new column on Creativity Shifts. The column is called The Grounded Wingnut.
Let me explain what Grounded Wingnut is for, and why I’m choosing to call it by that name. I’ll start with the name.
Yes, I admit being just a wingnut by itself might not be such a great ambition. But it’s a little quirky and catchy, and I like it if I add the grounded part to it. Someone called me that once and I took it as a compliment! And that’s how I mean it too.
So here is how I’d define it. You are a Grounded Wingnut if you:
- See your business or career or life as a container through which you express your creativity and grow both personally and professionally.
- Have to be creative and have fun in your business or career or life in order to be fulfilled and happy.
- Listen to and trust your own inner guidance more than you listen to the voices of others.
- Recognize the need for a spiritual purpose to everything you do and at the same time want to be grounded in this world we live in so you can accomplish your vision.
- Have mentors who guide you to your own wisdom and brilliance.
- Don’t have to know every single answer to every single question.
- Have an extraordinary vision and follow your inspiration to take the daily action steps that bring you always closer to it.
- Have a sense that something is longing to express through you.
- Have a longing to bring your greatness to the world even when you’re not totally clear what that is yet.
- Recognize that each individual is a part of All That Is.
So now that it’s defined, let me tell you how I’m going to use The Grounded Wingnut.
I’m going to give you information about practical resources, tips, and tools that you can use as a vehicle to bring creativity, a spiritually-based purpose, and vision to what you want to build and offer the world.
Watch for it!
by Katherine on November 10, 2009
The Alchemical Process ~ An Allegory
One night she dreamed. In the morning, not remembering the story of the dream, but remembering the meaning, she knew what she had to do.
She found clay, rich from the earth. In her hands the clay became many things. She ’saw’ into the clay and knew the form within each piece. It seemed to her that the clay breathed as a living thing.
Some of the things she made she crushed back down into clay to use again. Some things she made did not survive the firing. But she kept working with the clay.
One day she began to make a plate. It was a large plate and when she had finished, she realized she was very tired. She knew her work was very good but it was just beginning. She set the plate aside to dry and rested.
A few days later, she returned to the plate and found that it was ready for the firing. Carefully she tuned the oven to the right temperature and placed the hardened clay inside. Knowing she had done all she could, she closed the door and left the plate to be tempered by the fire of the kiln.
When the oven had cooled she found that the plate had survived the heat of the oven. She took it out and ran her hands over it. The clay had hardened to bisque and was dry and rough to the touch.
She began to experiment with her glazes. She wanted this plate to have the colours of the living earth, colours of the elements, deep and rich. Finally she was ready to glaze the plate.
She used her tools to smooth the raw bisque as well as she could and then she began to pour the glazes over the plate. The colours of the glaze appeared chalky and dull but she knew that would change when the plate went through its second alchemical process.
Once more she tuned the oven, placed the plate inside and closed the door. While she waited she imagined what the plate might look like but she knew there was no knowing until the firing was done.
When the oven had cooled and she opened the door, she found to her delight that the plate was exquisitely beautiful even beyond her imagining. She set it out where she could admire it.
But something was wrong. She looked at it again and again to try to figure out what was missing. I know what it is, she thought finally. I am not finished yet. This plate was not meant to be empty. But what is it meant to hold?
Watch for Part 2 in an upcoming post.
by Katherine on October 8, 2009
Creativity is both a practice and a process. Try it for seven days in a row with these creative ideas. Just one short task a day for five to ten minutes and who knows what could happen!
Day One
Write and practice a creativity affirmation. Whatever negative thought you have about your own creativity, take that exact thought and flip it to a positive thought you can feel in your whole being. Put the affirmation where you can see it daily: in your wallet, as a reminder in your daytimer, on your Outlook calendar, on a sign on your desk.
Day Two
Purchase a special creativity notebook. There are quite attractive ones at dollar stores or you can make a simple one. On the first page, do something to personalize it. Write your affirmation from yesterday on the second page.
Day Three
Search the word creativity in Google and make a note in your creativity notebook about one idea that sparks your imagination about something you’d like to do. Or look for creativity quotes and write two or three in your notebook.
Day Four
Write a short note to someone who inspires you with their ideas or creativity. How do they inspire you? Print a copy and put it into your notebook.
Day Five
Take yesterday’s letter, put it into an email and send it to yourself.
Know that whatever you said about the other person is also true about you.
Day Six
Share with a close trusted friend a creative idea that you’ve never told anyone about. Ask them to just listen without comment. Write something in your notebook about the conversation.
Day Seven
Celebrate in some way. Write something in your notebook about your celebration. Or add a picture or photograph. Make it meaningful to you.
For more creativity sparks, subscribe to Tickle Your Muse, a free 21 week creativity course.
