Tag Archives: creator
Today I’m going to share with you a little bit about the background of the establishment of the nonprofit I established, and a little bit about what it’s like to take risks. By way of illustration, I’ll share with you two different quotes from two different people about the same type of thing. The first quote: If you are anyone who has ever tried something new, or you are an entrepreneur, you’re probably familiar with the quote “The Arena.” When…..
This photo is from a trip I took to Portland in August 2019. The hand is that of my youngest daughter. She and I were out on a walk, exploring her neighborhood. I thought that today, we could use it as a writing prompt. One of my tricks for breaking through writer’s block is to imagine different worlds within the various pictures I see streaming by in my Instagram timeline. It helps me to shift gears when I’m stuck in…..
Somewhere during my mid-40s, I read a book by Pema Chödrön that describes the charnel ground. If you aren’t aware of this term, it refers to an open-air crematorium of sorts, where bodies are left out in the open to decompose naturally—usually connected with Hindu or Buddhist cultures. The charnel ground is full of profound transpersonal significance. It represents the ‘death of ego’ and the end of: • Attachment to this body and life • Craving for a body and…..
Who occupies the driver’s seat in your life? Are you the pilot? Or are your outcomes determined by ceding power to others? When I consider possible mentors and role models, a cartoon character like the comic strip scamp Calvin seems like an unlikely choice. But should it be? “From now on, I’ll connect the dots my own way.” — Calvin In a rare reference to the number, quantity, interactivity with or any other reference to my social media accounts, faithful…..
One of the best features of Twitter is the opportunity to connect with other people around a specific topic via online chats using a hashtag to “sort” the conversation stream apart from the rest of the flow of general tweets. These interactions expand my horizons, introduce me to other minds and concepts and also give me an opportunity to refine my thoughts about any given topic. Today’s post is about blogging, but more specifically, what inspires us to write. There…..
Now that the temperature is beginning to drop into the 40s, I make sure to get at least five miles in during walks around my neighborhood while it’s still relatively warm. Winters in Chicago are usually pretty soul crushing and claustrophobic, but the pandemic has ratcheted my despair levels to eleven. During my walks, I encounter families, dogs, hipsters, teenagers and other people like me who enjoy stretching their legs for some exercise. There are those I encounter regularly, as…..
If you’re an entrepreneur, or have an entrepreneurial spirit, you are probably driven by your vision. Even if it’s not fully formed, this vision is your focus, inspiration and fuel. But how do you transition from the imagination to the real? “First you jump off the cliff and you build wings on the way down.” —Ray Bradbury This sounds crazy, right? Conventional wisdom says that you should look before you leap, but if you have an iota of entrepreneurial essence…..
A common mistake that creators make is to set their asking price for their services or skill at what they think the market will bear (usually asking too little). The paradox is that when you set your value, the market meets you. As a writer and artist, I’ve been conditioned to donate my gifts or discount my rates for as long as I can remember. • Part of it is because I can tap into the well of creativity and…..
Early on, when I first established a nonprofit to provide cars to women in transition, I had an opportunity to explain a central tenet of the organization. One of our first recipients was a single mother of seven children. She was 29 years old. The only reason I mention these statistics (especially as it relates to the quantity of her children) is because these facts about her circumstances were used by some as a cudgel against her and given as…..
I want to thank you for reading my blog. Among other things, it serves as a mechanism for helping me to write my next book. When I established a nonprofit to help women in transition, I knew that I was consciously taking my life into an entirely new direction. Through its dissolution, I learned even more lessons that I’ll be incorporating into my next book. There are lessons learned from failure that were extremely beneficial to me when viewed in…..