Stuck creatives need every tool they can find to get out of ruts, work after a day-job, and find the creativity that is hidden away. Distractions, outer and inner, can be held at bay so the stuck creative can down to work and get into their creative work. Learn a quick, simple to learn, and…
Are You Strong Enough?
We have a naïve assumption that we can simply jump into our work. No warm-up, no real prep, no stretching, no strengthening our working abilities. This is crazy. Would we assume we can run a marathon without months of prep? Would we assume we could run a marathon next week just because we use to…
Don’t Let an Old Unfinished Project Stop You from Starting
The promises we make to ourselves can keep us stuck and keep us from living the life we want. Here is one of those promises: “I can’t start any new projects until I get an unfinished project that has been hanging over my head, done. Until I get it done, I have to push away…
Immaculate Heart Rules for Creative Work
rule 1. Find a play you trust and then try trusting it for a while. rule #2. General duties of a student; pull everything out of you teacher. Pull everything out of your fellow students. rule #3. General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students. rule #4. Consider everything an experiment. rule…
Your #1 2019 Goal: Be Rough and Ready
We really, really need to think less and do more. That’s it. Make that your standard operating procedure for 2019. Think less and show up. Think less and just try something, anything. Put movement ahead of finesse. Effectiveness ahead of sophistication. Blisters of the hands, feet, and mind ahead of the refined. Definitions of Rough…
See the Unstuck Experience with your TV Remote Control
I have to give my wife credit for this. Using our remote control she journeyed over to Amazon Prime or Netflix and started the habit of watching documentaries. First, she concentrated on watching docs about arcane topics with a touch of the sensational. Then it became health tips. But a few months back she focused…
[VIDEO] – USE YOUR CREATIVE INSTINCTS – Part 1 & Part 2
So far I have spotted 9 instincts in all creatives. Ok, maybe Freud would not consider instincts but they sure do look and feel like something deeply wired within us that comes alive for us. You have experienced them all at some point and in this video (part 1) and the next, I teach you…
[Video] Stages of Change and the Stuck Creative
For several decades, performance professionals, therapists, and trainers have used a model of change to help people move from one habit or performance level to new, more powerful habits and strengths. Here you will be introduced to this model specially shaped for creatives who find themselves stuck and unable to get projects started and done….
[Video] Faulkner’s Challenge – Does your work match his goals?
Faulkner’s Challenge – Creative work alive 100 years later? American writer, William Faulkner challenges us in his quote about what the creative should try to do. Watch Faulkner present his quote and test if your work will hold up to the Faulkner Challenge.
What do you see? Make it visible for the rest of us. Quote from Robert Bresson
Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen. – Robert Bresson Wikipedia tells us: Robert Bresson 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) “was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have led his works to…
The Hermit of Creative Independence
We need to regularly learn how to stand alone, use our own inner creative resources, in our own way. Set aside time to be simple, free, and above all, you. Turn away and release, in this pause, the advice of others and discover your own counsel. Go away from your books, your charts,…
From the Radio: Use your first name, not “I” in self-talk
Why Saying Is Believing — The Science Of Self-Talk : Shots – Health News : NPR From the self-affirmations of Stuart Smalley on SaturdayNight Live to countless videos on YouTube, saying nice things to your reflection in the mirror is a self-help trope that’s been around for decades, and seems most often aimed at women….
From the News: Self-Talk is a required tool in pro-sports
The motivational phrases beloved of sportspeople might seem trite, but for players from Katie Boulter and Andy Murray to Arthur Ashe, they’re surprisingly important “These are simple refocusing strategies,” says Professor Ian Maynard, a sports psychologist at Sheffield Hallam University. “Most athletes constantly worry about winning or losing, but all they can control is performance….
[Video] The Stuck Creative meets in Alexandria, VA
Self-Talk: 2 Books to Get Started
I’m working on boiling down the current thought about self-talk, how it hinders us and how it can launch us. Once I have that in shape I will provide a workbook, video, or some sort of system customized to stuck creatives and you will hear about it here. Why self-talk? Self-talk has been a persistent…