creative life
Raise your bar for risk: do something scary and don’t die
I’ve got a vulnerability hangover. I recently finished a launch campaign for my new course on building an audience and marketing specifically tailored for creatives who (think they) loathe marketing. You might not know what I mean by a “launch campaign” (I sure didn’t, the first time I found myself running one, back in early…
Read MoreHow to stop trying to do it all — 5 steps to choose the best project (and chuck the rest)
The Autonomous Creative Collective is the community of current students and alumni of the Creative Focus Workshop. Cartoonist, teacher, and graphic recorder Lisa Frühbeis went through a shakeup of how she works and thinks that hit Level 7+ on the Richter scale. The result? Lisa faced down her fears and scarcity thinking to say no…
Read MoreAuthentic Visibility: Growing your audience without selling your soul
The secret to becoming known for the work that you care about most without selling your soul or wasting all your time on humiliating “self-promotion”? Authentic Visibility. Let’s do a little thought experiment. Let’s say you’re working on something big. A nonfiction book about women warriors throughout history. A graphic novel about surviving brain cancer…and…
Read MoreCoping With Staying at Home: How to Survive—and Thrive—While Under Quarantine
The Autonomous Creative Collective is the community of current students and alumni of the Creative Focus Workshop. Coping With Staying at Home: Wisdom from a 25-year vet of social distancing and sheltering at home If there’s anyone I trust to know something real and reliable about surviving, and thriving while trying to cope with staying…
Read MoreThe Growing Gills Book Club
Ready to dive deep into your creative work? Get Growing Gills on Amazon US (international store links at the bottom of this post) and then watch the book club videos below! Welcome to the Growing Gills Book Club Archive! Jump to meeting: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9/…
Read MoreWorking From Home: Tools for Sanity in Isolation
If you’re like a lot of people I know, you’ve long wished for flex time and the freedom to work from home. But our current situation brings to mind one of those bargains with the devil you see in movies, where you ask for flex time, and then the devil is like: You’ve got it!…
Read MoreOvercome procrastination and anxiety — follow through on your creative habit
Banish the endless self-critical monologue running in your head. Decide what you want to do, what you WILL do, and follow through on your creative habit.
Read MoreFeeling stuck? 6 ways to defeat the blank page✍️
Recently, I wrote about how common it is to feel the impulse to undermine yourself and get derailed just when things are going well. It’s great if you can identify what’s happening in time, and pull back from the brink. But what if you’ve already managed to drive your project into a ditch, and you’re…
Read MoreLosing focus? There are reasons you derail your progress
It happens every time I get about two-thirds of the way through the Creative Focus Workshop with a group of students, and creaky, self-defeating patterns start breaking down. People start to take action on projects that have been back-burnered for ages. Stuff starts to happen. It was happening for Chris, who has wanted for years…
Read MoreWhy do I feel trapped as an artist if creativity is so freeing?
You have a passion. You’re inspired and motivated. So why can’t you manage to do the thing? Feel trapped? Here’s some news: You are. Ready to get out?
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