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How to Celebrate: The Declaration of You Invites You to Own Your Success

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The Declaration of You, published by North Light Craft Books, gives readers permission to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique, and uncover what they are meant to do!
Today’s post is part of The Declaration of You’s BlogLovin’ Tour, which I’m thrilled to participate in alongside over 300 other creative bloggers. Learn more — and join us! — by clicking here.

Celebration is a topic near and dear to me. In the course of coaching hundreds of people to help them make their creative dreams real, I have learned that there’s one insidious thing that blocks our success and satisfaction:
We don’t know how to celebrate. And when we don’t acknowledge our efforts, we lose confidence and momentum for our projects.
I am here to insist upon celebration as an integral part of your creative life. When you’ve hauled yourself over the line of your deadline, when you’ve gotten the news that your story has been accepted, when a gallery finally sees your brilliance and puts your work on the walls, it is time to celebrate.
Oddly, when I ask my clients, “How will you celebrate?” they have no response. Most of us have no idea how to celebrate. Aside from a special dinner, we don’t have celebration rituals at the ready.

Thirteen ways to celebrate your creative wins

BelleHortense3I’ve compiled a baker’s dozen of creative, inexpensive and fun ways to celebrate your successes. Try these or let them spark your own celebrations.
1. Write a love note to yourself bragging about your win. Go on, indulge in some bragging!
2. Treat yourself to a new notebook or pack of pens.
3. Visit the art supply store and buy a new brush, tube of paint, sheet of beautiful paper, or other creative treat.
4. Take a pause. Go to the park or other natural environment and allow the sights and sounds to rejuvenate your spirit.
5. Give yourself an afternoon in the library or bookstore. Pick up ideas and inspiration for the next creative phase.
6. Call up a creative buddy and schedule a walk or coffee date. Trade acknowledgements of each other’s progress.
7. Make a list of all the things you have done for your creativity in the last six months. Give yourself gold stars for everything.
8. Reread a journal or free write notebook. Take stock of how far you have come and prepare for more.
9. Compile your victories in a portfolio or notebook. Use a three-ring binder with plastic sheets to protect your clips, reviews, articles about you or other kudos you get.
10. Treat yourself to a special bouquet – or even one – flower.
11. Get tickets for a concert, reading or other artistic display. Connecting to others’ creative expression will feed your own.
12. Make notes about what you brought to bear on your creative life. Your persistence, your sense of humor, your willingness to listen to your instincts, all will help you in the next phase of the journey.
13.Plan a retreat – an afternoon, a day, a weekend, a week – in a nearby locale to fuel yourself.
Make a list of your own celebrations and rewards. When you hit a milestone, small or large, you’ll be ready to party on!
How do you celebrate? Share your ideas below.

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Good Life Project TV Interview with Tami Simon, Founder of Sounds True

I’ve long admired Tami Simon, founder of Sounds True, a multi-media publishing company that produces titles relating to spirituality and personal growth.
This is one of Boulder County’s most successful businesses, and I’ve always wanted to meet the woman behind the company. I was at Jonathan Fields’ Good Life Project TV interview with her and did this capture.
Check out the video interview with Tami Simon at the Good Life Project. It’s inspiring on many levels.
Tami Simon interview with Jonathan Fields captured by Cynthia Morris
 

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Friday Art: Capturing an Interview with an Earth Protector: Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on GLP TV

I recently had the  pleasure of sitting in on some tapings of Jonathan Fields’ Good Life Project TV. During these interviews with entrepreneurs and authors, I captured the conversation on paper.
I’ll be sharing them with you as the shows go live. You can watch all episodes of the Good Life Project here.
This week’s interview is with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Good Life Project TV illustrated Cynthia Morris

Capturing the wow

It was our first interview of the day. I had no idea who we were going to meet. I was just along to push the button on the second camera. When we drove up and were escorted into a mansion by men in suits, I began to suspect something extraordinary was about to happen.
Turns out Jonathan was interviewing the head of the Shambhala lineage, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.There’s a lot I could say about that experience but I won’t here and now. I will say that the Rinpoche signs his books with a Visconti pen.
Check out the interview between Jonathan Fields and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
About the capture: I was sitting directly behind the Rinpoche. I captured the conversation in ink, then painted it later. I was experimenting with my new Peerless Water Color Paints . I confess that I had little or no control over the colors. The page turned out way, way brighter than I expected.
Perhaps it’s not an accident, but a reflection of the energy in the room. I like how the heads of the people speaking are not painted. Their conversation swirls around them in words and color.
My favorite part: the quote: “We’re living this life together, all of us.”
Check out the interview and come back to tell me how it moved you.

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Video Book Review: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey

I’ve been reading a ton of great books lately, and this summer I’ll share what I’ve gleaned from the creativity books I love to consume.
This week’s video review: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey.

One line review summary: Read this book for entertainment, not for how-to advice.
I’m giving away a copy of this adorable and entertaining book. Simply tell us about a daily ritual that you do that helps you be more creatively satisfied.
Leave a comment here at the Original Impulse blog by Friday, June 21st at noon MT to be entered into a drawing to win.

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Video Interview with Danny Gregory on How to Craft an Illustrated Memoir

I had the great, good fortune of being able to interview my art and life hero, Danny Gregory.
Danny’s recent book, A Kiss Before You Go, is an illustrated memoir recounting the year after Danny’s wife Patty passed away. It’s moving and gorgeous and heart breaking and life affirming all at once.
I wanted to know how one goes about writing/painting an illustrated memoir. I was in New York recently, and Danny kindly invited me to his home for this interview.

 

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Come out and Play This Summer!

If you’re like me, summer is your favorite season. You relish the chance to play outside more. To eat farm-fresh produce. To lie under a tree relaxing.
What's fun for you? Coach Cynthia shares her fun things
You want to make the most of summer. So do I. One of the ways I do that is to capture the wonders of my world in my illustrated journal. I’ve been doing this for years, and almost everyone who sees my journals says, “I want that.”
That = creative expression. That = play and messiness. That = having a colorful, vibrant record of your life. That = a way to play more and feel more creative.
Capture the Wow summer scavenger huntLet’s make this your best summer ever, shall we? Join me to play my Capture the Wow Summer Scavenger Hunt.
You’ll love this scavenger hunt game that pulls you toward what you love and pushes you – gently  – past the inclination to sit on the sidelines and let your summer fun pass you by.

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All the Beauty and Magic Is Here…

The best speaker at the 99U conference earlier this month, hands down, was Jane ni Dhulchaointigh, founder of Sugru.
Perhaps I should say hands up, because she was the only speaker to incite a standing ovation.
Cynthia Morris beauty magic hand lettered watercolor
Jane said a lot of things I captured during my New York week but this was the best. Her process of creating Sugru was a long and arduous one. Jane reminded us to relish that process.
If you want to relish your daily life a bit more, and perhaps even have a lot more fun doing so, stay tuned. Tomorrow I will publicly launch my mission to help you have your most fun, creative summer ever. 
For now, look for the beauty and magic in your process.
P.S. If you want to learn how to spell a long or difficult word or name, just do a hand lettered sign. I can spell Jane’s name now!

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Five Life Lessons from an Urban Sketching Workshop

Last weekend, I went to Seattle to take an Urban Sketching workshop, Line to Color. Classes in the craft of art or writing can give us a lot to work on in our art.
As I took notes, some of the lessons in drawing appeared to me as life lessons too. These truisms could be  considered in our overall creative process.

Seattle Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cake
I absolutely let my mind trick me into believing I needed this molten cake from Hot Cakes.

Here are five things that my teacher Frank Ching said about drawing that I can easily apply to life and art making:
1. Choose what to focus on.
2. Ask: what’s my bias?
3. Don’t let your mind trick you.
4. Ask: how do you see relationships?
5. Enjoy the process.
What do you think? Do you see these as true for your life as well as your art? Tell us which of these is most resonant for you in a comment below.

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Ready to make fun in your journal?

Recently, I got this note from a friend after one of my Friday ‘art shows’:
“I want to make art, too!”
I responded: “Tell me more. What medium?”
Her answer: “I dunno…just want to paint or something.”
Okay, so this isn’t someone wanting to switch careers. It’s not a person ready to switch mediums – from flute to painting.
It’s not even someone really wanting to make ‘art’. This is someone who wants to play.

Why play counts

She wants to relax her brain, get messy and enjoy color. Who wants to be surprised by her hand moving across paper.
She wants to be free – to have a place where it doesn’t matter how good she is.
When people come to my illustrated journal classes, this is what they want: play, freedom, unjudged creativity.
So I wrote this brief step-by-step process to enjoy risk-free creativity. Try this at home!

Free yourself up to play and create more

First, get a journal. No, don’t buy one. You already have one. Try this process without buying anything. Consumption does not equal creativity.
Start with doodling in your notebook or on a random scrap of paper.
Play with fun borders – I like a series of dots and lines.
Add color – if you have watercolor, do a wash over the whole page. Add lots of color.
Play with writing your name in fancy letters. Yes, like in high school.
Look around you. What’s that? A vase with flowers? Look at the flowers. Gaze upon them with the attentive eyes of a lover.
Then slowly put the pen or pencil to the page and sketch out the flowers. See how they connect to one another – draw that. See how the leaves are shaped – capture that.
Your big bad left brain will shout “This sucks!”
You just shrug and keep going. It doesn’t matter if you suck. This is the place – your play notebook – where no one, especially you, cares how bad you suck.
Go back to it. Keep putting line and color and form on the pages.
Maybe hum a little while you do it.

Keep playing

How’d that feel? Want more, right?
Stay tuned…very soon I’ll launch my plan to bring more creative play and freedom to your summer than you’ve ever had.
Get the scoop first! Sign up for Impulses and always be in the inner loop. Kinda like the inner tube but way more fun.
Tell me what this brings up for you. Wanna try it? Scare you away? What makes you get the notebook out and play? Dish in a comment below.
And share this mini play invitation with your friends! Because play is better together.

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What Helps You Make Your Creative Mark: Interview with Author Eric Maisel

An Interview with Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel is the author of Making Your Creative Mark and twenty other creativity titles including Mastering Creative Anxiety, Brainstorm, and Creativity for Life.

Eric coaches individuals and trains creativity coaches through workshops and keynotes nationally and internationally. Visit him online at http://www.ericmaisel.com.

I’d like to know more about what you call the “freedom key.” What sort of freedom are you talking about?

Many different sorts—let’s look at just one, the freedom not be perfect; or, to put it slightly differently, the freedom to make big mistakes and messes. Not so long ago I got an email from a painter in Rhode Island.

She wrote, “I’m a perfectionist and I want my artwork to be perfect. Sometimes this prevents me from getting started on a new project or from finishing the one I’m currently working on. I think to myself: If it’s not going to be the best, why bother to do it? How do I move past these feelings?”

One way to get out of this trap is to move from a purely intellectual understanding that messes are part of the creative process to a genuine visceral understanding of that truth.  You need to feel that freedom in your body. As an intellectual matter, every artist knows that some percentage of her work will prove less than stellar, especially if she is taking risks with subject matter or technique.

But accepting that obvious truth on a feeling level eludes far too many creative and would-be creative people. They want to “perfect” things in their head before turning to the canvas or the computer screen and a result they stay in their head and never get started. You have to feel free to show up and make a big mess—only then will good things start happening!

Another key that interested me is what you call the “relationship key.” What sorts of relationships did you have in mind and what can an artist do to improve his relationship skills?

All sorts of relationships! And relationships in the arts are frequently very complicated. You may be very friendly with a fellow painter and also quite envious of her. You may actively dislike a gallery owner or a collector but decide that he is too valuable to cast aside, maybe because he is your only advocate or your only customer. You may respect your editor’s opinions but despise the rudeness with which she delivers them.

There may be no such thing as a genuinely straightforward relationship anywhere in life but relationships in the arts are that much more complicated and shadowy. The main improvement an artist can make is to actually think about the matter!

You can decide how you want to be in relationships but only if you actively decide. You get to decide if you want to be honest and straightforward even if others aren’t, if you want to be polite and diplomatic even if others aren’t, if you want to be quiet and calm even if others are stirring the pot and making dramas.

It may not prove easy to be the person you want to be at all times and in all situations, especially since the marketplace has a way of throwing us off our game, but you can nevertheless hold the intention to try your darnedest to be the “you” you would most like to be. This takes thought and preparation!

Thanks, Eric, for sharing gems from your book with us!

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Are you tinkering or forging ahead?

Sometimes we get caught tinkering with the known. Tweaking code. Revising the first 30 pages endlessly. Painting the same subject again and again.
This is not creativity at its best.
Cynthia Morris illustration coaching creativity
I know what helps me forge ahead into lands of discovery and insight: free writing. This simple method popularized by Natalie Goldberg, helps writers of all levels and genres – even people who don’t want to write but need to for work – to get out of the known and forge ahead into creative territory.
My popular online writing class is a safe place to write your way forward. Join us every day in May to write your way to your future.
What helps you forge ahead into new territory?

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My Secret Sauce for Creative Success

I’m as nutty as the next creative person – lots of ideas, interest in a variety of mediums, a preference for play over work.

Secret sauce for creative success
Okay, I'll admit that my creativity is also fueled by caffeine - yummy tea like this!

So why have I been able to consistently start, finish and launch e-books, books, classes and programs? How do I make time for the creative adventures that are fun for me and continue to work?
The short answer: I became a coach and that forced me to the finish line in two ways:
1. I learned productivity and time management skills, and tweaked them to work with my creative ‘insanity’. I kept training myself to do things I didn’t want to do so I could have time to work on projects that matter to me.
2. I dug into my value of integrity; if I was going to help other people be creatively successful, I better walk the talk.
But the long answer? I discovered and held to my three F secret sauce: focus, follow through and finish.

Focus

Every year, I decide what my focus for the year is. This year, it’s making and showing my art, and developing my personal practices in order to have a life outside my business.
Every month, I make a map of the projects I am working on that month. I set deadlines and drive myself toward them.
Every week and every day I force myself to focus on what matters to me and the people I serve. This isn’t easy, but I am committed to refining my work and my life. I’m always learning and that’s why I invest in coaching and programs like The Good Life Project.

Follow through

Like most creative superheroes, I receive a daily stream of new! exciting! different! paths I could follow.
It’s so frickin’ hard to ignore the thrill of these new things. Every day I leap like a trout at small flies that hover on the surface of my idea stream.
But I’ve learned that I’m only allowed to add new things if I am still able to follow through on my current projects.
The main way I am able to follow through is to be accountable to someone else. I use my mastermind partnerships to stay on track.

Finish

Because I’m not able to start new things until I finish current projects, I am motivated to complete things. I also know that great ideas have a shelf life and if I don’t get it out into the world, the idea will wither or someone else will do it. Which would stink.
It’s not easy to drive projects across the finish line. But the more I do it, the more trust I build that I can finish important creative work.
That’s it. This is how I stay on the right side of the nutty line and don’t veer into ‘flaky’ territory. This is what I help my clients do: focus on what matters to them, guide them to follow through on things that will get them where they want to go, and keep them on track to finish their best work.
That’s my secret sauce. Don’t get me wrong; I still struggle with all the same issues we all face in the adventure of living our best creative selves. But I find that this mantra or policy really helps me stay on track so I feel more successful as a creative person.
What’s your method for staying on track to ensure your creative success? Tell us in a comment below, and if there’s someone in your life who might benefit from this simple formula, for goodness sake, share this with them!

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Artists and writers: drop the confusion and define your own labels

At an art gallery, I squirm when the owner asks if I’m an artist. After hesitating, I finally say no. But I’m not convincing myself or her, and my hesitation just confuses everyone.

Which do you choose?

Have you found yourself unable to claim ‘artist’ ‘writer’ or ‘photographer’ even though you write, make art and take photos on a regular, if not daily basis?
I coach a lot of beginning writers who struggle with calling themselves writers. I tell them, if you write, you’re a writer. But it’s not as simple as that.
There are two sides that make it a sticky issue for people to claim what they are: the artist or writer herself and the person on the other side. And the assumptions others make based on what we call ourselves.
It’s the gap between your label and their label that causes us to disown ourselves. Even when we work regularly on our art and make money at it, we squirm.

Decide who defines you

In our culture – I’m speaking of the Western culture of capitalism, the labels we give ourselves imply a monetary component. If we say we’re a writer or an artist, the implication is we make money doing so.
But that may not be the defining factor for the creative person. I make art every day. I do this because I like it and because I am trying to improve. Doing art improves the quality of my life as well as my art making skills.
I have made money from selling my art. But that’s not my primary goal now, and I’m not sure if it will ever be.
Am I am artist?
I write every day, and publish my writing on this blog and elsewhere. I write to get my ideas about the creative process into the world. I write to help others.
Writing made up 19% of my income last year.
Am I a writer?
I have no problem calling myself a writer or an artist – to myself. It’s speaking this to others that brings complications and assumptions.
Let’s stop the squirming about how we label ourselves. Here’s how:
1. You decide what criteria you will use to determine if you can own the label ‘writer’ or ‘artist’.
2. You decide whether you want to have conversations with strangers about your work. You decide whether you want to open yourself to their labels and assumptions.
If you have a hard time claiming a label for yourself, consider what is important about calling yourself writer or artist. Consider if it’s a label you need to claim privately or publicly.
What are your criteria for the labels you affix to yourself? How do you deal with others’ assumptions? Share with us below what works for you, and be sure to pass this article to your friends who struggle with this.

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Which Is Better: Inspiration or Influence?

People tell me I am inspiring. I’ve been uncomfortable with this for a long time. I finally realized why.
I want to be more than inspirational. I want to be influential. As a coach, I want to see people make specific and positive actions to bring their ideas into form. I love that I bring inspiration. And I want to bring change too.
What’s the difference between inspiration and influence?

Inspiration

Inspiration sparks an emotional quickening. It uplifts, infuses us with hope, generates new ideas and gives us the sense of possibility and faith. I feel moved when I am inspired.
Some of my inspiration comes from:
Cities, nature, oceans, movies and books.
TED talks
Justine Musk
Good Life Project TV
Design Matters Podcast by Debbie Millman
Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity

Influence

Influence exerts a specific, directive force to provoke change on a sometimes daily or consistent basis. Influence makes things happen.
Some of my influences are:
The weather, my emotions, my food choices.
Susan Piver
Kelly Newsome
Jonathan Fields
This Epic Life
Moondance Botanicals
Kindness Yoga
Art Biz Coach
The Kitchen Skinny
Natalie Goldberg
I could go on but I’ll stop there. I’m sure there’s crossover and in some cases, we’re talking semantics. I could argue that the flowers both inspire and influence me. And the tea with its ritual hits both influence and inspiration.
My main reason for bringing this conversation up is because I want all of us to glean inspiration and take action. I am not okay with sitting on the sidelines all inspired and no action.
Have you considered what inspires you – makes you feel good and hopeful – and what influences your life on a daily basis?
I invite you to make a list. It’s a good practice to see what you’re consuming and what’s helping you create. Share your list in a comment below or a link to the list on your own blog.
And don’t be stingy – share this post! I’m trying to be an influence and need your help to do so.