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.
creative life
How to finish that major project you’ve been avoiding for…ever
“It’s kind of poised to leap now, and that’s really scary and exciting…”
Treat yourself like a dog
Facing the gap between where you are and where you want to be? Take the next step.
Inside your head, there’s a version of you who’s killing it.
That you is working steadily on the novel, the blog, the film, the podcast, the comic, the website. Alternate-you is publishing, going live. And the world is loving it.
But on the outside? You’re barely moving.
You’ve got to take the next step.
How do you know if it’s time to quit?
“It’s like a fortune cookie” — When you surprise yourself with what you’re capable of
“I was getting closer to my creative life all year. I just didn’t realize it, because it wasn’t a step-by-step “extreme makeover” version where five weeks later I’m like, Now I’m a published author. Or, Now I can quit my day job. But all these other things happened. And now it’s been 14 weeks? And I mean, I’m rolling.”
How to build a creative life that makes you happy and ALSO produces results
The time to act is now
There is no gatekeeper. There is no gate.
A few weeks ago, I assigned my art students a fun project, a “forgery” of an artist they admire and want to learn from. One student picked Michelangelo. (I talked her down from trying a fresco—in two weeks—to imitating his red chalk studies.) She copied his work in her sketchbook every day. She went to