Happy Friday: A Creative Realization

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I had an interesting epiphany last night. I was tired and had drug myself to the shower after a long-ish day.

While I was in there my mind started to wander. I was thinking about creativity and what it takes to risk failure or embarrassment in the effort to have your voice heard, and something came to me. This might be something everyone else has known since the beginning of time, but it just occurred to me. And the thought is going a long way to quelling my creative fears.

No matter what you create, someone will hate it.

That's it. Do you see how freeing that is? Whatever creative thing you put into the world: novel, poem, painting, TV show, movie, dress design, textile pattern...SOMEONE WILL HATE IT.

Do you know what this means? It means we have no excuses. There's no point in worrying about how what you need to do (write, paint, design, etc.) will be received. You already know, upfront, that somebody is bound to hate it.

ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS CREATE, TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, AND THINK ABOUT HOW TO LET THE PEOPLE WHO WILL CONNECT WITH OUR WORK FIND IT.

Because, just as sure that there will be people who'll hate what we do, there will also be people who love it, need it and want more of it.

That makes me feel good.

And slightly less scared to try.

Now that we're all relaxed, let's enjoy ourselves a little...

1) Photo buffs should check out the National Geographic tumblr. It's filled with rare pics, most of which have never been published. Much like The New York Times one from a few months ago.

2) Andy Dwyer. So dumb, and yet so awesome.

3) Some animals live a scary, freaky, long-ass time!

4) Want to grow your blog, business or brand without immersing yourself in a lot of expensive classes? Alt Summit can help for much less.

5) I've never read a Stephen King book, but I might read this one.

Enjoy your weekends, everyone!

If My House Were Burning

I know it's horrible to think of. Losing most or all of the things you've worked hard for over your life would be a shitty, shitty thing.

This used to be something I never thought of. But, as HUBS and I accumulated cats, it occurred to me that if there were a flame-related disaster (or disaster of any kind, really) we'd have the responsibility of getting our furry friends to safety. And that, in turn, made me think of what else I'd feel the need to salvage and how I'd do it in a short span of time.

So, here it is. My disaster plan...

In Case Of Emergency

1) Hopefully we'll notice the fire while it's small. One of us can call 911 and work on it with our extinguisher while the other herds the cats into our two carriers and gets them to one of our cars.

2) I'd really want my laptop and external hard drive safe, so I'd head for these next.

3) My cameras. Oh, Lord, my cameras. I have three that I feel are absolutely necessary to have and another three that would be nice to have.

4) I have an amazing number of notebooks and journals around the house. Not to mention a few books I'd be a little sad to lose.

5) I figure items 2 through 4 could fit in our two laundry baskets which we keep in the office. Load 'em up and get out.

While I realize that our lives are WAY more important than any of the inanimate objects mentioned, I like having a relatively simple, mini-plan in my mind. I think, between HUBS and I, we could get this done in less than 10 minutes, get to our cars and to some semblance of safety while waiting for the fire department.

What do you think? What would you save if you had to abandon your home?

Good Problems To Have

Ah, the '70s...

I don't think I've ever had this much trouble fitting my life stuff into my work day. I've got a friend I haven't called back in two weeks, a stove that needs cleaning, three writing projects waiting for my attention, groceries that need to be bought, blogs I haven't caught up on, my own blog I'm barely writing. The list is really non-the-fuck-stop.

And yet...

It feels really good to have this issue. I'm busy! I have irons in the fire! I have a little bit of a life that's more than fuzzy dreams and wishes.

I know a lot of people have WAY more stressful jobs than I do and have A LOT more difficulty organizing their non-work lives. I figure I need to do about four things to really get this down to a science...

1) Start going to bed at a reasonable hour.

2) Start waking up at a reasonable hour.

3) Figure out when I'm doing work stuff and stick to it.

4) Start working somewhere other than my house every day.

While it's true that I'm getting my work done, it's also true I'm developing some kooky life habits around that work. I think my naughty subconscious might be trying to chip away at me.

I'M NOT GOING TO LET THAT HAPPEN.

I'm going to sleep well, wake up fresh, do my yoga, have my breakfast and set this bitch on fire!