by Linda | May 2, 2016 | my creative journal
This month I decided to watch the video interviews on CreativeLive by Chase Jarvis and get some daily inspiration, motivation and wisdom. I’ve decided to blog about the series, logging my thoughts and takeaways…
Day 1 creative genius – Mark Cuban.
Impressive resume. Cuban definitely comes off as a power CEO type to me and almost a bit intimidating. But as the talk goes on you see how personable and down to earth he is. I was not really aware of him since I did not follow the Shark Tank series (more difficult here in Italy!) but I certainly knew of name Mark Cuban.
His talk includes a lot of good ‘ole fashioned nuggets of wisdom that are often talked about when it comes to the topic of creative inspiration.
The hustle or the grind as Cuban says… it’s always happening whether you are a small business or many big businesses like himself. He talks about the need to keep learning and truthfully outwork everyone else. Perseverance and stamina. He goes into a lot of sports analogies since that’s one of his loves.
Cuban also talks about operating lean. This is a guy that can buy pretty much everything, but he mentions ramen noodle days and living in an apartment with six guys. The less bills you have to worry about the better… true dat!
There were basically three takeaways from the talk that struck me the most. I’m a work-at-home mom with young kids, so it’s not that I can literally apply everything he talks about. But these three big takeaways I think can apply to all situations alike.
Family first.
When Cuban talks about his normal day, the first thing is about getting his kids ready for school and making sure all is well. He’s a Dad first thing. What a great reminder. We all know that family is priority, but it certainly helps to be reminded constantly, because that smartphone is just a little too convenient to check. I also have to remind myself to take care of my kids first and not get distracted checking email or whatever else in the morning. It’s just not the best way to start the day. When my kids are happy and I can send them off with a smile and a happy disposition, that is a good start.
One thing in life you can control – your effort.
Everyone talks about hustling and doing the work, whatever your passion might be. We all know that is takes skill, talent and time – for any endeavor. But Cuban really hits the nail on the head regarding this one point about your effort. It’s one thing you CAN control… so go at it to the max. You can’t control the future, the times, what other people think or the ultimate result because there are a million factors involved. But your effort, yup, you are in control. So true.
Reduce the stress of those around you.
Finally, Cuban talked about how ultimately things are going well if you can reduce the stress of those around you. When the situation is smooth, it means you are doing your job well. The people who cause issues, ruffle up feathers and create drama – stress inducing habits and all, are no good. A great mantra to live by and rule to remember when thinking about who you spend your time with!
Even though it seems like Mark Cuban is in this oh-so-far-away world of big corporate deals and fast paced finances and businesses, I’ve taken away really great lessons that can be applied to my little world of designing art and paper goods and so I’m already loving this interview series! Excited to learn more in the days to come. You can also watch by signing up for the FREE video series – 30 Days of Genius at CreativeLive!
Until tomorrow and if you want to know more about what I do you can read the quick interview of me on TaraSwiger.com.
* Please note the links to CreativeLive are affiliate links. That means if you purchase after clicking through, I might receive a small commission (at no cost to you). It’s always free to watch on CreativeLive, but you can choose to buy video courses as well. All opinions are my own and thank you for supporting me!
by Linda | May 1, 2016 | my creative journal
Creatives, need a genius to help you ignite your passions?
You better sign up for the FREE video series 30 Days of Genius at CreativeLive!
* Please note the links to CreativeLive are affiliate links. That means if you purchase after clicking through, I might receive a small commission (at no cost to you). It’s always free to watch on CreativeLive, but you can choose to buy video courses as well. All opinions are my own and thank you for supporting me!
I’m always up for listening to wisdom from those who have achieved success and I can’t wait to hear what Richard Branson, Stefan Sagmeister, Marie Forleo, Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Austin Kleon (just reviewed his book here) and many more have to say this upcoming month.
Chase Jarvis is hosting an interview series with 30 genius guests to help ignite some inspiration and motivation with some good ‘ole fashioned talk. Not to mention there’s the chance to also win mentorship from Chase and 4 of the guests! Amazing, huh?
I’m planning on listening daily and blogging about what I’ve learned after each interview.
Creative talks are my kind of thing! I’m totally looking forward to it. How about you?
by Linda | Apr 25, 2016 | my creative journal
With the Pattern Observer Book Club members, this month (or rather in one day) I finished reading Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon.
* Please note this post has affiliate links. That means if you purchase after clicking through, I might receive a small commission (at no cost to you). All opinions are my own and thank you for supporting me!
I’ve been a longtime fan of Austin Kleon, who is well known for his blackout poems. It’s actually really fun to try for yourself and I’ve always had fun doing so when playing in my art journal, see below.
I’ve been following him for quite some time and it was no surprise that his books are popular with the creative crowd. I’ve already read Steal Like An Artist and knew it would be easy to read Show Your Work!
To be honest, I don’t think you are going to learn a whole lot of new stuff from him books – at least if you are a creative junkie and have probably read many creativity-type books. It’s actually pretty funny, since his work is based on “stealing work” so it should be no surprise that his ideas have been around.
Obviously, if you are unfamiliar I don’t mean that he plagiarizes! His point about stealing work is more about how there is nothing original and we all build upon our influences and the masters before us. It’s actually part of the process. So Kleon certainly presents the ideas in his own way, with his own examples.
The thing about Kleon’s writing is that it’s really easy to digest. It’s like going out for a cup of coffee with a friend that decides to tell you about the 10 reason why you should show your work. It’s straightforward, easy to understand – simple. As I’ve mentioned, you can definitely read through his books in a sitting! Where you take it from there is up to you.
My takeaways in quote form include:
the best way to flourish is to retain an amateur’s spirit and embrace uncertainty and the unknown.
“You’d like to think that nearly getting killed would be a permanently life-altering experience,” Kreider writes, but “the illumination didn’t last.”
But whatever the nature of your work, there is an art to what you do, and there are people who would be interested in that art, if only you presented it to them in the right way.
Of course, don’t let sharing your work take precedence over actually doing your work.
thing about keeping notebooks is that you have to revisit them in order to make the most out of them. You have to flip back through old ideas to see what you’ve been thinking.
Don’t feel guilty about the pleasure you take in the things you enjoy.
“When shown an object, or given a food, or shown a face, people’s assessment of it-how much they like it, how valuable it is- is deeply affected by what you tell them about it.”
most of life is messy, uncertain, and illogical
The Vampire Test works on many things in you lives, not just people
Keep your balance. You have to remember that your work is something you do, not who you are.
We all have to get over our “starving artist” romanticism and the idea that touching money inherently corrupts creativity.
Yet a life of creativity is all about change – moving forward, taking chances, exploring new frontiers.
Even if it’s not all brand new ideas, I’ve definitely taken away good nuggets of wisdom from the book and enjoyed the quick read – satisfying!
If you would like a quick and easy read to get you inspired on how sharing your creative work can be simple and straightforward, definitely check out Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon.
More resources:
* Please note this post has affiliate links. That means if you purchase after clicking through, I might receive a small commission (at no cost to you). All opinions are my own and thank you for supporting me!
by Linda | Apr 14, 2016 | my creative journal
The idea came to me and instead of over analyzing the thought, I decided to just go for it. I started a Facebook group to share links to printables for all of us crafty folks! The idea is to share quality designed printables (ahem, like my own) and build up a community, so we can share and have fun together.
If you’re crafty and you know it, you’ll love this group! Please come on over and join I heart printables on Facebook!
by Linda | Apr 12, 2016 | my creative journal
As part of the Pattern Observer Book Club, we dove into a #1 New York Times best-seller all about decluttering and organizing.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
* Please note this post has affiliate links. That means if you purchase after clicking through, I might receive a small commission (at no cost to you). All opinions are my own and thank you for supporting me!
Marie Kondo is super famous for her KonMari Method and although the title is certainly claiming a lot for a little book, I was curious to read for myself and see what the fuss was all about. Kondo is a consultant in Japan, helping folks declutter and organize their homes. She has a long waiting list for her services and has never had a client revert back to their messy ways – wowsers! I was intrigued for sure.
I wouldn’t consider myself a big shopper, but I still struggle with clutter. How in the world did I end up with so much stuff?! I’ve moved from the USA to Italy, bringing bare essentials, so really I have cluttered myself up in a short time. I certainly wouldn’t mind getting organized and above all, having that sense of lightness, free from all the material possessions around. I totally feel that physical clutter does contribute to mental clutter.
Although hopeful, I was skeptical diving into the book. Kondo sounds a bit kooky and some might start to think of her as a crazy old lady as she talks about thanking your socks – she’s not kidding. But as I turned the pages, her voice started to turn into a charming character, comical, but also authoritative. I started to imagine her as an anime character advising me on organization.
Turns out the book is less about tips and tricks, but more about the philosophy of stuff. If we change the way we see our possessions then ultimately it is pretty straightforward when it comes to sustaining a clutter-free environment.
In a nutshell, her method is about getting all the stuff you own by category in front of you physically, so you can go through and ask yourself if it “sparks joy.” If not, get rid of it. For all the things that remain, you put them in their place and maintain. Obviously easier said than done, huh?
She gives tips on the process and dives deep into the various categories of possessions, bringing in examples from her experience and her clients. The method is extreme – like her policy on papers is to discard them all. LOL. I chuckled about the impossibility of that. But of course she dives in deeper to explain and the types of papers to deal with.
I’ve definitely gained a lot from reading the book, but I have to say it’s still going to take some time for me to apply everything. Tackling my wardrobe was relatively easy, perhaps because I’m pretty basic with clothing and had no trouble letting things go. Now it’s all about upkeep and I can’t say that I always keep up. I know pants are supposed to go in the pant drawer, but sometimes a pile of clean laundry does sit awhile before getting put away.
Now tackling other categories hasn’t been so easy. Her method requires you to do things in full sweeps, so you can’t just do a bit or do a drawer. But regardless of if you can apply her method full force in a few days or months, I still think it’s been helpful to gain insight on a new philosophy about the stuff we own.
I’ve learned how to better discard unwanted things, to truly treasure what I have, the fine art of folding clothes and how great it feels to purge and see only things that I really love. All the other stuff, hmm… I can’t even remember much of the discarded, so obviously they were not that important at all. Exactly.
If you would like an easy read on a different and distinctly unique view of decluttering and organizing, definitely check out The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
* Please note this post has affiliate links. That means if you purchase after clicking through, I might receive a small commission (at no cost to you). All opinions are my own and thank you for supporting me!
