Feb
02
2012

Quotes

In this crazy time of ours, living with a shifting economy, global conflicts, high unemployment and many of our friends, family and neighbors struggling to make it all come together, I am finding that often times misfortunes and hardships, though seemingly insurmountable, can actually be transforming – you become a stronger, wiser person, able to truly tap your fullest potential. Perhaps you personally have experienced financial challenges, loss of a loved one, a period of being super lonely or have recently battled and recovered from an addiction. Whatever the case, we can definitely bounce back to a more solid, grounded place – even beyond what we expected for ourselves.

These quotes and thoughts have given me hope, taught me sound lessons and are often just what I need to reassure myself I have enough and restores my forward momentum to move through what I have to and come away more together, balanced and convicted in my journey.

“Try to realize it’s all within yourself – no one else can make you change, and to see you are only very small and life flows on within you and without you is perfect.” – George Harrison, musician/songwriter

“If you don’t look you can’t see, if you can’t see, you can’t shift- the stage is the Self.” – Elena Brower, Yoga Master

“Believe in yourself no matter what. You matter. Your unique opinions and ideas are vital to this plant. You have a contribution no other person can make. Without your unique stamp on the world humanity will not fully prosper.” – Phyllis King, Ph.D

“Take responsibility and ownership for your life, your success and your happiness. If you do not, no one else is going to do it for you.” – David Riklan, author

“Never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. Practice staying strong instead. Practice being good with the rough edges.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, author

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer see the mark upon the path of the infinite and He bends with you His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; for even as He loves the arrow that files, so he loves also the bow that is stable.” – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

“Because I remember I despair, it is because I remember, that I have a duty to reject despair.” – Nelson Mandela

“When one is out of touch with oneself, one cannot touch others.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Then there is the poem that, whenever I feel completely confused and utterly frustrated, I reach for these words and they fills me like nothing I can express; I am immediately comforted like a salve on an open wound, sealed and mended again. The poem is “The Journey” by Mary Oliver;

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice -
though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles.
“Med my life!” each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop. You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.

It was already late enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones. But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the starts began to burn through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company as you strode deeper
and deeper into the world,
determined to do the only thing you could do -
determined to save
the only life that you could save.

Thoughts, quotes and those snippets of phrases that catch us and remind us of the deep current of aliveness that runs in our veins are so powerful, and to embrace the words and the energy as your day starts, on your way to work, or before going to bed, we can fill our minds with the sentiment in which they were written to remind ourselves we really are awake, are alive and that no matter what happens we can trust we are guided and solid in our path.

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Jan
23
2012

Buzz

So we have been all over the map this month with so many client deadlines, promotional events, website and blog launchings, cc101 freelance writing gigs…. it’s all been a bit of a blur BUT happily things are fabulous on all counts and the branding concepts are stronger and tighter than ever. This brought me to thinking… how are YOU doing on your road to brand awareness? Are you slightly freaked with so much competition and the playing field controlled by the dollars that you invest in your social media? Please, please relax, OK? It’s all quite manageable, you just have to listen up and ask yourself…

Are you all a buzz about “your brand” but you haven’t the slightest clue just what that is exactly? Are you wondering if you really have something or is your circle of support convinced you that you’ll be the next biggest and greatest but you aren’t entirely convinced you have what it takes in this weird social jungle we operate in? I’m going to encourage you to eire on the side of empowerment and believe that YES you do have a killer concept, to-die-for design or amazing product line, all you need is to establish your idea of what YOUR brand is, your true authentic gift the the world, then we can take it from there…

The first thing you can do, is figure out just what is you core identity.

Not sure what I’m talking about? Okay let’s start with a little quiz. Have you ever found yourself thinking…

- I don’t know what makes me different really
- I’m not sure why my customers buy from me but I know they love me — I get great testimonials from them
- I’m not sure and/or I can’t describe what my strengths are
- I’m not sure what I should be offering (or) I’m offering too much?
- I’m not sure how to do anything different than what my competition is doing
- I never know what to say at networking events or how to describe what it is I do

If the answer is YES, you have a core identity problem… No need to Jones on it, over the next few weeks I’ll share with you a number of things to work on, your inner investigation of what exactly is your true core identity. I’m calling these bite-size posts “Little by Little” and they’re aimed to inspire your vision and guide you over some of the bump spots and quagmire of “stuff” that can confuse and tangle your mission.

Stick with me kiddo, it’s amazing what you can discover with just a wee bit of focus and inner listening.

Part 2 of “Buzz” coming soon – check out my Facebook page for weekly insight and my latest articles on MindBodyGreen, FeelGoodStyle, Divine Caroline and LA Examiner. I write for the Queen Grace Weekly Dish and coming in February I’ll be an expert contributor on the popular website Conscious Divas.

If you would like a consultation via email, phone or Skype, contact me at; cc101productions@gmail.com. The 1st 30 minutes is on the house.

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Jan
17
2012

Boost

Our daily lives can be happier, as in a brighter, with a more positive outlook on our current situation and on the world around us. To say being happy is a matter of choice can come off slightly discounting I realize, assuming all we have to do is say so, and by virtue of that simple act things turn around, miraculously come together, and we are magically transformed to a lighter, happier place. Truth of the matter is… Yep, it’s actually that simple. To be “happy” is all in our attitude, our perception and our reactions to people and the circumstances around us.

Our days are filled with so many responsibilities, so many demands we place on ourselves that it’s true, not everything or everyone we encounter is conducive to happiness. We are not monks or impervious to the barrage of negative energy and dialogue that can fly from one moment to the next. We can however control how we react to particular events and choose to throw those heavy, dark and chaotic thoughts right out the window and instead, recognize that, even on the most trying and difficult of days we do have the power to step back and not let the negative stuff influence our feelings or cloud our perceptions.

In a yoga class recently I heard the instructor say, “be a servant not a slave.” My immediate internal response was, “Be a servant? I have no intention of being anyone’s servant!” Then I took my thinking out of my ego and I realized rather quickly, we are all serving someone. Be it our employer, our client, our children, or our partner, we are serving, and serving all day long. So then I changed my thinking (easy to be humbled when I am wobbling in crow pose) and internalized and owned the servant mentality – it feels so much better than acting the slave.

When we opt to bring in the forces of outer events and permit them to influence our moods, and get into our thinking, we have openly become the slave. We hand over, without debate, all our personal freedom. See, this just doesn’t jive with me – when I stop and recognize what I am doing, I get really affected – I want my freedom; I want to choose bringing happiness into my life and I want to choose to be released from the crazy notion that I have to accept the daily negative hysteria from all those outside influences and let joy in.

Happy stuff comes from feeling balanced and grounded, no worry, no panic, no fears or obsessing thinking; LOVE is happy stuff. When we let ourselves have those experiences that help us to feel whole and valued, we tap into that sense of peace we all know is in there, our mood is boosted and we have landed there… the happiness.

I am someone who is “like a sponge,” absorbing every emotion, reaction, perception and communication around me. I can get stuck easily, feeling happiness is fleeting, struggling to gain my balance and sure footing, but each time I hone in on this really simple truth, this belief that altering our thoughts will bring us to a happier place, I quickly acknowledge the reality, give myself a quick kick in the bum, and I am once again, a bit more peaceful, a little more grounded, feeling the earth and feeling altogether – happier.

While this may seem like stating the obvious, sometimes being really obvious and centering your objectives, will narrow the field and give you an edge toward what it is that might get you happy in your daily life;

1. When I catch my monkey brain dragging me into the downer-zone, I STOP IT. I literally stop right where I am and say “that’s enough of that, think about five positive things that are happening in your world right this minute.” I’m not sure how it is, but we are inclined to go to the negative far more often than the positive. Override your thinking and consciously recognize the good side of your situation – there is always. always a good side.

2. Life sucks sometimes. Daily duties can bring us to a place of complete despair not knowing how we ever manage it all – “every problem has a solution” as the saying goes, and it’s true. I have been frozen with all the “things” that have to happen or be resolved and when I shake myself into sane thinking and “lock and load” for the solutions, it’s amazing what can happen in a day. Problem thinking will only give more problems. Go for the solution – much easier on your mental state, easier on your heart and a channel to a happier outcome.

3. Now this is going to sound so basic, but… listen to uplifting music. I’m not saying you have to pipe in Enya or Tibetan monk chants (however let me say monks chanting can be pretty cool if you’ve never checked it out) but I am saying CRANK IT UP. Whatever lifts your spirit, frees your mind, whatever tune, song or album brings you to a place of acceptance, strength, joy and just feeling flipping GOOD, there is a vibrational energy from music that heals your soul – you will feel a shift immediately when you hear those sounds that resonate with you.

4. Laugh out loud. Really. You know, the silly kind, the tears in your eye kind. The “oops, I felt alittle bit of pee slip out” kind! An estimated 60% of all people suffering from chronic depression, when they decided to try an alternative treatment, were helped and some healed with laughter… if you do not have funny people around you, make a point of watching funny movies that make you laugh. Do it out loud, let yourself GO and feel the happy vibes and the release of tension and anxiety.

5. So I’m into writing about those experiences that I find inspirational, and I know many people gain a great deal from catching an uplifting article or story. Give it a try; journaling is a very powerful healing tool and it gives you a place to express yourself where you feel safe and open. Buy a nice notebook and devote some time each day to pouring your thoughts on the page. You can also do it on your computer, but I find the deepest thoughts come from the slow and mindful act of writing it down.

6. Stay present. Give yourself credit for being in the moment and look at what you have accomplished – giving power to our insecurities, allowing our psyche to go off on a tangent of what we have yet do is defeating, and destructive. Embrace that you are perfect just the way you are, in all our flaws and inadequacies we are human and we are here to serve, support, share and revel in who we are. Give yourself a little smile and be true to the expectation that happy is yours to have.

7. Stop being a martyr and treat yourself. It’s not impressive to always be the one who’s made sacrifices for someone else, it’s just really out of balance. Keep the flow moving in a healthy direction by treating yourself to a little something every day – nothing big required, a walk on the beach, an afternoon of window shopping, lunch in a sweet cafe, a glass of wine (the good stuff) at your favorite spot, or even a whole two hours just for you to enjoy a movie uninterrupted. The idea is to give to YOU each day so that your giving to others brings you genuine pleasure.

8. Here’s an act I personally love doing, it fills me up more than anything. Step out of yourself each day to do something unconditional for another person. One small act on your part to experience another person’s day being happier will by virtue of association, let you feel their happiness. Make eye contact with the cashier at the market and tell them you think they are doing a great job, recognize your co-worker is in a rush to leave the office and offer to finish things up for them so they can get a head start on the traffic, or like I had the opportunity to do this week, carry in packages for an elderly person who might be having a rough time from the car to the door – the expression of gratitude on my sweet neighbor’s face was so worth the five minutes I gave from my day. The “pay it forward” possibilities are endless and feel pretty terrific.

9. I know I’m headed for my “dark zone” when the nasty little green envy creature starts to lurk around my emotions and my thoughts. Our deepest insecurities can come slamming into reality when we hear of someone we know having a really incredible stroke of luck, or a big promotion, a windfall or a dab of celebrity. I’m surprised sometimes when the very people we assume would be elated for us, don’t comment, recognize or acknowledge our achievements. This is not a statement about you; it is most certainly a statement about their fears. Be big and gracious and hugely supportive, boost your mood instantly by tell them you are so happy for their success, let them know you truly believe they are worth every bit of happiness they have and I’m not kidding, doing this, raising the bar on what your capacity is for genuine sincerity toward another person will bring you a sense of personal peace and real, solid comfort in where you are in your own life. Congratulate happy people – they are fun to be around.

10. In keeping with that, make a point of spending time with people that are living OUT LOUD. Be with those individuals who choose a light-hearted view of the world when you can, their energy and happy ways are definitely contagious. It’s not for us to judge if we think their joy is genuine, most of us are pretty perceptive and we can sense authenticity – gravitate toward that, get some of that, you will feel lighter yourself, and you will find, as you become lighter, your life becomes lighter and that light shines a way for new experiences and new, supportive, happy people to come into your world. It’s OK to accept some of the not so good, it’s all a part of it, we’re not saints, we’re just flawed beings wanting to stay balanced and have our moods reflect the highest level of our personalities. Acceptance has alot to do with being grounded and at peace with where we are – and that is a wonderful opportunity to boost yourself up and find the happy side.

Follow me on Twitter at; @cc101production and on Facebook at; Creative Consulting cc101. I’m on MindBodyGreen.com

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Jan
11
2012

Purpose-Full

I’ve always been someone who believed working really hard would produce really impressive results. Today, I have come to appreciate that there is worth and fuller living by doing that work from a place of inspiration and “self authenticity,” operating on what gives me the most peace and balance versus a place of fear and perceived ideas of what I “should” be.

Over the past few months something pivotal has shifted within me. While I have had passions and desires to do what feels the most instrinsic and authentic to my nature, I’ve resisted embracing the notion that I could do such a thing, giving me nothing more than a gripping sense of frustration and anxiety. Now however, both confusing and awesome, the voice and that passion is releasing and happening in just the right way, at just the right pace.

A plethora of life coaches, teachers, yogi masters, and certainly a junk pile of preachers and motivational speakers all agree there is a “secret” formula for living the life you’ve always dreamed of, however it’s simply not true; the magic is in simply accepting and opening up to life, taking chances, embracing whatever you fear, and the beauty of your purpose-full living will reveal itself and like me, you will find it’s the only way to move forward and truly access your passions, your purpose.

How do we know how to genuinely access our purpose? How do we recognize what that is exactly? When does the popular saying “doing what you love” actually become real and not some pop culture excuse for not doing the work we think we’re supposed to be grinding at day after day, year after year? Effort and work are not the way we shape the Universe to our sense of compatability and inner congruency, but in the listening to your own voice and letting that all-knowing, safe and trusted intuition guide you. I’m no master at this by any means, I am just beginning my own journey toward this knowing, this purpose-full living, but I can tell you having experienced what this is, I cannot ever go back to being stifled or stymied from putting out what feels the most truthful to me.

Most of the time I get to do what resonates most, which for me is helping others reach their fullest potential with their projects and their careers. For so long had myself believing there was this predetermined path or check list I had to follow, not being at all natural to my own creative make up or emotional wiring, and it left me feeling incredibly frustrated, not at all believing in myself, and while I was producing for my clients and my projects at an acceptable rate o result, I was not illiciting the truest voice for me and me alone and consequently I was always feeling others were more accomplished, more together, and assumed they must be happier and had life in far more in balance than I did.

Hold on. Not so fast.

For as long as I can remember, I chose to give my intuitive power away, not trust my own natural abilities and instead looked outside myself for validation and the answers for where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. So often at night I would just lie down, face in the floor and wait for some sign, some permission from anyone to “do what makes you feel whole and happy” and well… you already know this next part right? The answers are inside of you. All of them, right there, the quiet vibration of peace and knowing in your heart and your head (mostly your heart) that its OK to do what you want for you, just you. And that can be doing for others, if that’s what gives you joy and fills you up.

Learning and investigating and experimenting are all healthy and something I definitely do myself all the time (every yoga class or hike or run or chance meeting I find out more about my purpose) but in my reality, the undenying sense that I had no other choice but to listen and act on the desire for purpose, that I had to make changes in my thinking and my life or be faced with sickness and misery – not an option and I’m guessing not for you either if given the choice.

Ask anyone who’s been in this same place, resisting the natural curve of your ultimate path is painful and not at all empowering; there is freedom in letting go of the idea that you have to kill yourself and grind away at “the work” because at the end of day that’s all that grind is doing, slowly killing the “you” that is inside, the sweet purpose-full you. Hear me when I tell you it is a struggle in the beginning and you’ll encounter your crazy head telling you time and again you’re not worthy and you’re not allowed, but in my own releasing of my reactive nature and letting myself walk into the vast “what if” zone, I am starting to trust my intuition more and in that, the freedom to be alright with being alright is more grounding than I could have ever imagined.

There are no gurus or genies, soothsayers (as someone recently teased me about) or psycho babble docs glued at my hip; I have set backs, daily, and I slip up all the time… I find myself questioning because that’s what happens – this is life with all its ups and downs, hills and valleys, fearful moments and personal weaknesses are real. Tough times will come and tough times will go. I am realizing that there will be days when I am hyper in tune with my inner sense of knowing and those days when I’m not. It’s those slightly off days that I listen to my heart and do what I can to relax into the truth that I am working it out and at that moment I grab a pen, or grab some paint and just pour whatever fear or insecurity I have churning away and I create something, no plan, I just peel my wacky brain away from the monkey thinking and I find some pretty great stuff comes from being connected to that inner place, and it is that I hold onto to actualize those passions and what for me is purpose.

Recognize Your Purpose.

Overwhelmed, minute by minute to do lists, planning to the point of obsession; forcing progress for the sake of doing something is counter intuitive to healthy outcomes – rarely do we see results from this type of self-induced-stress and it’s certainly not in line with tapping your purpose. So again I ask, how do we know how to access our passions enough to grab onto them and claim them as our true self? Here’s what I came up with from my own experience and from noted author Martha Beck, paraphrased from her new book, “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World;”

1) Notice if you’re on a cold or joyless trail. Are you exhausted and overwhelmed, but grateful to be working, finding yourself divorced and having to manage family and responsibilites on your own, or are you just OK with your job, but you find you can’t get excited about much of anything and feel blue and that your life is someone slipping by you?
2) Recall a hot track. Sift through all your memories and land on those experiences that had you completely forgetting time had passed – those are positive trigggers and a sign you were connected to your inner passions. Hiking, singing, surfing, playing an instrument, writing, teaching, helping others; these all fill us up and give purpose to living.
3) Spot the patterns. Get a sense of those memories that feel super warm and central to your sense of balance, those experiences with an energy that gave you a feeling of completeness and direction. Trips, seminars, community involvement, being in the outdoors, and mentoring are examples of how you might tap into some inner purpose stuff.
4) Warm up to you life. Now take a look at your daily schedule, and I’ll bet there are a range of activities you have packed on your to-do list that you can measure as “cool” or “warm;” and each week start to delete one small cool thing and choose something warm to do instead – this will let you find your passion without quitting your job, or quitting your family or relationships!

As Martha shares, “over time little steps may lead to big changes.” We can have a good life. We can live out passions and experience that purpose-full living that truly empowers and satisfies us. Relax in the present moment (yes, that means paying attention where you are right at this moment) and use your body as I am learning to, as your foundation; your grounding for your thoughts and then move with them, whatever it may be, trusting that you are sound, solid and safe. The chaos and the confusion when it comes will slide away and your “being like water” as an old friend used to say, will give you the presence to embrace all that is the Human Condition; stay with it, welcome all of it, your inner knowing will be your guide and your trust will bring you the opportunity to rediscover your remarkable, purpose-full life.

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Dec
29
2011

She’s a Keeper

Recently I had a very challenging time in my life and my very best friend, in the throes of her own life responsibilities did as she always does, drops everything and was there for ME. Unconditionally, with complete attention, generosity and love, this thoughtful creature gave me just what I needed… we have our friends, our BFF, our rock, our confidant, and yet sometimes, without our realizing it, we’ve allowed an argument, a misunderstanding or possibly a blatant dishonesty destroy the bond we share. Ups and downs, dirty diapers, hangovers, lost jobs, lost loves, they have been your friend for as long as you can remember and now you may find this dear friendship in jeopardy. Before you let poor communication or hurt feelings end your connection to this person, take a look at these tips and mend those fences;

Ways to heal a broken friendship.

1. Take a breath, step back and PAUSE. Vowing to write them off in the heat of emotion is never a win-win. The 30 second rule (OK, sometimes it may take 30 minutes) to gather your thoughts and process the situation can save hurtful words being said in anger.

2. The thoughts in your head feeding your fear and insecurity only help to keep you stuck, confused at not at all empowered. Ruminating and playing the tapes of the circumstance over and over will certainly lead to more frustration – do something; see a movie, go for a run, do a long yoga practice – turn off your head for while to clear space for rational thinking.

3. When I am wounded, lost or feel neglected, I turn now to those men and women who love, support and nourish my soul – they remind me I’m OK; surround yourself with people who fill you up and can be a objective and grounding.

4. Big egos and big voices can be impressionable, but the one with the strongest character will come away the better person. The issue may be too deep to just glaze over, but if you act with graciousness, humility and objectivity, you can remain pleasant and generous no matter the outcome.

5. If for whatever reason after much dialogue your friend is still not moving past the incident, embrace where they are with the situation, let them know you accept this, will adjust and adapt, and that they are valuable to you on whatever terms. Often hurt can take others longer to heal – respect that and be with them at any level.

6. As trying as it can be, when you choose authentic, truthful and unconditional love for the other person and bring your heart to the situation, this hard time will strengthen you beyond anything you could imagine. Regardless of the weight you bear, come to the relationship with only wanting clear, clean communication.

7. Communal negativity is dangerous and will suck you into a empty hole of doubt and insecurity; if you share the situation with someone else and they opt to speak unkindly of your friend, you have just become a conduit to fear – stop the negative interaction and choose to keep the matter to yourself.

8. As the popular character from Seinfeld, George Kastanza would say “Do the opposite.” Release your wounded feelings and go out into the world and speak graciously and kindly about your friend. Each moment you start to replay the those ego tapes in your head, call, email or text someone something really positive about this friend – you will feel lifted immediately for doing so.

9. This one is short and sweet; apologize with sincerity, ask for their forgiveness and accept the response, Respect the decision, do not regret.

10. Own your participation in this mishap; acknowledge whatever part you may have played (yes, even when we are the ones that have been hurt or wronged, we brought something to the situation that led us to the matter) and openly, without judgement speak to that place in your friends heart where they intrinsically love you and your words will be received authentically and with clarity.

My dear friend and I have had many a challenging situation, cross words and emotions flying due to impatience, insecurity. Whatever it may be at that time in our long relationship, I can tell you that I would do anything for her and I know her for me and that is worth holding onto, and worth any amount of lessons I might learn in my own growing as HER friend. Be engaged and proactive in resolving broken relationships, strive to have respect and maturity of heart to come to the situation realistically and with the intent to heal and bloom that friendship once again.

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Nov
15
2011

White Elephant

White Elephant; a burdensome possession or task; creating far more trouble than it’s worth. Well that doesn’t sound at all pleasant now does it?

The story of the white elephant as history tells, is this rare creature was regarded as sacred and holy in ancient times in many Asian countries. To possess a white elephant was a very expensive undertaking, with the owner required to feed the elephant morning noon and night special food and provide access for all the towns people to come and worship the massive, unique beast. If a king became dissatisfied with one of his subservients, he would give him a white elephant. The gift would, in most cases, ruin the receiver for life.

I have a white elephant. It’s called DOUBT. Burdensome, and definitely more trouble than it’s worth. High maintenance, very costly, and having to show my doubt around town is truly a chore and not at all attractive. I’d like to hand it off to someone I am dissatisfied with, but even if there were someone I loathed, I wouldn’t give them doubt, unquestionably the most useless thought or emotion pulling a close second to fear.

Falling into the doubting abyss can have you feel like we’re totally alone in our questioning. We negatively assume everyone else on the planet has their whole life, career, family, relationship, whatever, all figured out. To everyone else it looks so seamless, so natural and their successes just pop off like candy in a Pez dispenser. What is it with us, how is it we are struggling with this or that, ruminating over and over, “What is it with me? Am I the only one who seems to be scrambling and fumbling lately? Before you’ve had time to smack some sense into your whacky head, the doubt is THERE and you are completely convinced you are not going to pull anything off of any measure.

Hear me when I say this; No one has everything figured out. We all make mistakes, flounder and misfire at various times in our lives. No matter who you are or where you are in your path, every person out there has doubtful thinking and feelings of insecurity. Doubt turns into fear ‘oh so quickly, so take a step back, inhale long and deep, reach your hands high above your head, release your arms to the side and BREATH. Big breath in, big breath out. Big breath in, big breath out. Slowly, Fully. Completely.

For me, when this insidious stuff claws its way into my thoughts and psyche I work in a very focused, speedy fashion to grab the bastard by the cahones and flip it on its backside. I’m not one to linger in doubt these days if I can help it, so remembering that I can;

Picture Myself Fearless. In particular moments of self doubt, when I am challenged by a task or a big project with high expectations, I like to envision myself utterly fearless and pushing past whatever it is that is causing me resistance. I used to bungee jump (yes, free falling is on my 2012 list of “will do” right beside learning to surf and travel to Cambodia) and when I did, the sensation is mind blowing; a rush of adrenaline like nothing I could describe and a feeling of so much space and freedom… its a powerful visual for me and it gives me courage knowing that I have that experience as a reference. Choose anything that might put you in a place of fearlessness; pretend you are a super hero, a rock star, your favorite athlete, your yoga teacher – any picture you can place in the front of your mind and hold it there and see yourself doing it and being successful in the doing.

Keep Your Expectations in Perspective. You probably have realized already, a huge amount of self doubt comes from our expectations we place on ourself and on others. If you genuinely believe raising the bar so high is going to result in an attainable return or positive results well wake up – this pattern only sets us up for confusion, chaos, blame and a whole bunch of doubt. Consciously keeping our expectations in perspective allows you to let things happen naturally, smoothly, instinctively. By letting go of this doubt-feeder behavior, you are separating thoughts of expectation from the situation and removing pressure from yourself and others. I speak from a very true personal place when I tell you NOT doing this is a disaster in the making. Often when I allow myself the opportunity to let go of any expectations things seem to turn out much nicer than I could have ever expected.

Surround Yourself with People Who Love and Support You. This one is especially big for me and something I have actively made very important in my life right now. There is a yoga practice I am particularly fond of taught by the brilliant and gifted Elena Brower. In one of the poses Elena asks the class to “Lean back into your back body awareness. This is the place in your body where those who love and support you are found.” When we do not feel supported or loved we are not powerful or confident. We are fearful and we doubt all our choices and our actions. We as beings are social creatures. Acceptance is very crucial, especially by people we love and admire. I encourage you to be with individuals who are capable of unconditionally loving and supporting you, and with whom you love and strongly support. Having people in your world who genuinely have your back, who may not agree with everything you do or all your decisions, but come rain or shine they accept you for who you are and rejoice in knowing you are the same for them.

People Only Talk About the Good Stuff. Do yourself a favor right now and stop comparing yourself to other people. Do you really think anyone is going to tweet or post on Facebook all the dark, shitty selfish things they do? Of course not. This crazy world we live in is 60% illusion so you cannot take anything at face value, and to think that someone else has it better, or you are not enough is just wasted energy and eats away at your confidence – this is a definite doubt-feeder! The constant drive to out sell, out work, out create, out shine everyone around us will syphon the life right out of you. I speak from experience here too; stop being so bloody concerned about someone else’s business and pay attention to what you have to do for yourself. So what if she or he is doing more, the time you devote to their stuff is time you are not working on YOU.

So if you are like me, and that white elephant takes it upon himself to waltz into your life and stomp on all your good vibes, just pull back, take another one of those big fat, deep breaths, and SHOUT OUT LOUD. Tell that nasty, nagging little riot in our heads to SHUT UP and move on. Push that clumsy white beast out the door of your thoughts, and just do what you would do when you are busting out and filled full with confidence and love. Listen to your heart; life isn’t perfect, no one is perfect all the time, we just do the best we can in any situation – the idea is to just DO IT. You can accomplish great things, have wonderful experiences, trust that you are capable, brilliant and strong, and before you know it? That white elephant is teetering on the heel of the little brown mouse who decided it was time to rule the circus.

If you’d like to chat about how to spark some creative lights for your business, just email me at; cc101productions@gmail.com or track me down on Facebook.

Balance is good.

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Oct
31
2011

Act On It.

In the midst of what has become to be the single most impressionable year of my life (seriously, epic on all levels), I’ve heard from so many people, be them friends, family, neighbors or clients, that they are tapped OUT. No matter the age, the Universe has dealt us a hand that we have collectively come to realize we are not even remotely equipped to play. Commiseration abounds, and if it’s not another “Occupy-this-or-Occupy-that” popping up, we see from every corner of the world chaos and a general freaking out if you will.

Our global nervous system is shot. Surprisingly however, while all this hysteria, mass consumption, mass media and mass saturation of all kinds surround our daily lives, there are some of the most brilliant, innovative, tech savvy and uber creative artists, services, products, concepts, designs and ideas busting out so fast I can’t even fathom if I’ll ever wrap myself around half of them, let alone know about them all. What I do know, according to me, is the essential core of relief and escape from any earthly madness is reconnecting with your inner voice, that vibration of creativity and simple, pure, nonjudgemental GOODNESS. In being “good” we can also be selfish and self-actualizing, self centered even. We can seek to be supremely fulfilled without the cost of our emotional and communal well being – you can tap back IN.

It’s a misnomer 

 that to be good inside, to seek balance and harmony in any given day, means that you toss to the winds any ego-driven desires or the innate hunger to obtain something, be it modest or grand. Not true. As a matter of fact, that animal desire, the lusting for whatever charges your boundless wants is powerful and for many, drives the passion for success. What can cause some issues for you is the blinding, unmeasured, untethered, and rabid acquisition of more for the sake of more. This fever to hurry, rush and acquire can leave the mind and the body painfully dry, empty of purpose, and longing for an opportunity to nourish the psyche and the fleshy vessel with some of that goodness, to feel bound back together and swaddled – even for just a little while. So I asked myself, after coming back to my own writing after my tsunami seven months of intense client projects, how do we reclaim that inner sense of creativity and curiosity we all know we have in us? How do we maintain our responsibility to our clients, our employers, our partners and our kids, while reaching in and pulling up to the surface our light and our goodness? I thought on it and I came up with, for me at least, elements that give way to tapping back in;

Gotta’ Make Time.

If we never choose to commit any actual time to the creating part of our lives, then guess what? Nothing will ever get created. This seem oddly obvious, but the monkey brain in our heads that takes off running most every day, is what syphons our energy and therefore, our precious time.
The old school thinking of relative “time” ticking away isn’t the deal, the fact of the matter is, we do not prioritize well.  Saying this, I know because I’ve spent a great deal of my life blabbing it, is really communicating “I’m not making my creativity a priority because…” and the reasons can be as long and as clustered as you can imagine. Choose to set aside thirty minutes a day for doing nothing but free-flow writing, cooking, taking photos of the kids, or Rover or even Fee Fee the kitty; anything that is not what you consider WORK. If you are honest and genuinely do this, you will experience a shift in how creative you really are. Not just in those small pockets of time you allowed yourself, but you’ll discover the creative vibe move into other aspects of your life. I’m doing this, mindfully acting on it and believe me, its pretty amazing what you can do when you consciously make the time to spark.

Focus People Focus!

We are in an age of super saturation, a generation of input overload, where 12 year old kids are on anxiety medication to manage the stress of the expectations felt from over achieving parents. Our society is completely spazzed, everyone taking on dozens of different projects, managing often multiple jobs to keep it all together, and with all this mass must-do-more insanity, our focus is spread so thin, we find at the end of the day we haven’t really gotten very far with anything and our sense of goodness and being complete is gone. Then the spiral of worry kicks in, a gnawing belief that you’re not very capable, definitely must not be creative, and well, there we go…

Those of us who have the grand pleasure of being creative as a part of what we call “work,” tend to pile on endless projects in all sorts of forms because we are this way naturally, or due to the idea that others expect us to be magical, cranking it out as fast as the requests come in.  This can be cool, I love my concept projects, the photography, shooting video, writing, editing, promotions, events, mixed media installations, painting and even cooking, but when I try doing all of them all at the same time? Uh, not the greatest results. Especially those of us who juggle alot for our clients or our own businesses, it’s simply a train wreck expecting yourself to accomplish all things, all the time, incredibly well without FOCUS. Someone in the yoga scene recently drove this home for me; choose the one project you most want to initiate and complete, then give yourself an hour or two a day and NOTHING ELSE for that period of time, completely eliminating all other distractions (yes, that means turn off the phone and Facebook notification!). If you are like me, and convinced you can do all things equally well while multi tasking, finding how creative and ultra productive you’ve been when you truly honed your focus is liberating.

So Let Me Tell You About
This Idea I Have…

Creativity starts with ideas. Without them there is no place to start from. Feeling like you are not an idea person or are not the creative type is just silly. We all have the capacity to generate wonderful, insightful and useful ideas, we can each tap into a place where creativity lies- that’s not it. The issue isn’t lack of ideas or inspiration, we all have them bouncing off our smart phones and iPads… so what it is then? We’re not capturing them the moment they pop into our overcrowded little heads. We say to ourselves, “Oh, that’s a really cool idea, I definitely want to get that going, but damn, I’m up to my frigging bum in this job already, I’ll remember it later.” But we don’t. We go on about our mania of the moment. We don’t remember unless we WRITE IT DOWN. Seriously, this is super easy to do; get a spiral notebook, set it right on top of your desk, your kitchen counter, in the bathroom – where ever you are, and write that idea down. Capture it as fully as you can in that moment, then close the cover and go back to your crazy day. Pin it on a board or tape it to the wall if you’d like, just put it down as soon as you think of it. Funny thing is, with this basic practice of writing it down, soon you’ll notice how often you are jotting ideas in the notebook and before you know it, you are creatively focused on making it happen. You are acting on it.

Turn In Your Permission Slip Please.

OK, so now this is the most crucial point in the creative process in my opinion, at least it has been for me. Giving myself permission to have the inner sense, the focus, the endless ideas and to act on them creatively, for me-myself-and-I is HUGE. I can grant 14 hour days to the ones I represent, but for my own creative work? Enter new behavior. Without feeling you have permission to let your creative stuff do what it does so well, your creative Self just sits and stirs, twisted, frustrated and muffled, wanting to be expressed but holding off until you give it permission to expand and open up. What comes from this if you don’t, even in the tiniest of ways, is layer upon layer of resentment and that filters into all your personal and professional relationships. Stop what you are doing, and really pay attention. This denial of expression isn’t obvious, and that’s where we end up, all coiled and contorted with loads of useless stress. Give yourself the permission to be expressive, find a place to be just with you and your ideas, and let the creativity flow and thrive. It won’t happen instantaneously, but it will happen if you choose to bring it into your realm of possibilities.

Lean On Me.

So much of what we do in a given day is on behalf of our stedfast sense of responsibility to everyone around us. Rarely do we feel we have the support we need, often times feeling isolated from anyone understanding what we are doing or where we are in the process. When this is the state you are managing in, our creativity, our goodness, can seem incredibly far from our grasp. If you by design free lance or work remotely, this can be especially challenging. What I have done recently is opened the pathways to a few industry groups and a community of like-minded types to chat and share our projects, obstacles we’re encountering, tools and strategies to be more productive, channeled, balanced and again, supported. The benefit for me is it has allowed me to be the one doing the supporting which, by virtue of the relationship, I gain so much for having done so. By allowing more creative people in, I become more creative, and so my goodness fills up.

So that’s my take on how we can recover from being tapped out and bring it back around to feel creative, focused, nurtured and supported in all aspects of what we do. Stepping away from the chaos and allowing a sense of creative move in is super empowering and releases a mass of inner hysteria that reflects back to us in a less reactive sort of way. There is too much to take in, too much to manage and far too much to compete with as it is, so flowing with some of those creative juices and  instincts can certainly lighten up your day. Go ahead, act on it and see.

I invite your comments. Please also join me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Follow my clients too on YouTube.

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Mar
19
2011

SoCal Rising

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It’s been a common theme, friends and associates from the East fussing (rightfully so) about the nasty weather, the snow, the snow, the snow… and West coasters cannot seem to bear more than a day or two of cloudy mist. You’d think we were suffering some grave injustice to see drops falling from the skies – What? No sunshine? No constant 75 degrees? On those days when I find I am one of the whiners living and working on the California coast, I remember what I have within a few miles drive from my front door… No plane to catch to get there, no crowded ferry ride or faux sand like you get in the Hamptons. No, I have the divine luxury that at any time, pretty much any day of the week, I can join the fortunate ones and languish in the reality that I have, at the moment at least, the West coast to call home. The grit of the LA city grid isn’t much to write home about; everyone knows the traffic is mind numbing and the poser factor is totally off the charts, but if I don’t want the plastic veneer of the trendier Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach seaside, I hustle my bum up to Malibu… where the boys are so precious, the girls glisten with hopes of snaring some attention, you can tuck away in the silence of a deserted temple, stand in awe of the quiet tribute to 911, and the vibe of this place is everything you’ve ever heard – it is really, really beautiful, it is incredibly lush, it is perfectly removed and undeniably coveted ~ it is Malibu.

Shots taken as usual on my Fuji FS 1500 no gear. Locale images are in the vicinity of PCH and and Malibu Surf Rider Beach. Flag shots are from the Pepperdine University memorial and temple images were taken at Sri Venkateswara.

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Feb
13
2011

You + Me

Ah… the heady state of bliss one experiences when there is a you + me thing going on. It’s a surge of serotonin pumping in the veins more intense than any chemical substance known to man. When we have it, we are floating, gliding through our otherwise rather ordinary days, anticipating the very thought of seeing that significant crush, reveling in soaking up every delicious ounce of their touch, their smells, their walk, the talk and sloping curve of their indescribably, wonderfully perfect fleshiness… we are into them big time. Thing is, the you + me concept has eluded my interest for so long, I frankly can’t remember the last time I had the flip-flop tummy flutters that come with a new crush, or achingly glared at my phone hoping Mr. It would ring me, declaring I am the reason he breathes… don’t mistake my disassociation, it isn’t that I’m not into the idea, I am, really truly, just looking at the photo of the perky blonde and hottie boy gives me pause and all the expected warm and fuzzy tickles. At the stage of my life where I’m actually doing my life, really living it as authentically as I can muster, the whole forced Hallmark moment (I get special permission to dis the Big H as I grew up down the street from the Greeting Capital of the World headquarters) and Valentine’s Day especially gets lost on someone like me. If you’re that person who is madly, deeply, crazy in love or strongly in-like with another certain someone, that’s simply fantastic. I’m sure in this state of utter infatuation and adoration, you often show the one you love, how much they genuinely matter to you time and time again… is the puffy pink hearts, long stemmed Reds, marginally tasty box of chocolates kinda day, going to make or break that dandy union you have created? The $200 dinner in the packed hip restaurant going to convince he or she this is the real deal? I’m thinking not… I’m thinking if it works it works. If it feels good its going to keep feeling good, and letting go of the stuff that puts pressure on this union like a tourniquet, is the healthy, happy way to keep it GOOD.

I say, release the inner kid and embrace the goofy part of being smitten; cover the bed with the sappy, sugary little heart candies maybe, slather on the reddest, juiciest lipstick you can find, and cover your lover’s bod while they sleep, so when they awake you’re really all over them, or for the Singletons like me, rejoice in knowing on this, the kookiest most obligatory day on the calendar (OK, Christmas is massively obligatory but we have a soft spot for Santa), you can pop open alittle bubbly, don your nattiest jams and tattered socks, hunker down to “An Affair to Remember” and toast your grand independence, your free spirit and selfishly indulge the ME part… the YOU will come when you least expect it. Now that’s something to celebrate.

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Jan
30
2011

No.02 Part 01

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 As I’ve shared in earlier posts, I’m working on a photo journal I’ve titled “State of Existence” which focuses on the community of homeless residents in the high traffic LA hub of scarcity which is universally known as Skid Row. Now, I have made the promise (to my dear blogging friend Lach most of all) to not come across in my storyline of these entries as too dark and entirely hopeless, we all know the plight and the sad tales of the many displaced men, women and families in the US, but I do find these drastically altered times we are in to be reason enough to again take pause and notice. In my way I am seeking to explore who they are and how it is “homelessness” remains an immense issue in our society today; I’m vastly curious and determined to find purpose in it all (we Idealists always do that) and the daunting statistics, new shelters opening across the country to accommodate the flow, trendy HBO documentaries on outcast runaway teens, or Robert Downey Jr. playing LA Times journalist Steve Lopez aside, I still don’t feel we fully grasp how someone we may know, is close to living this existence.

I genuinely believe in prosperity and abundance and our global pop culture concept of “lack produces more lack…” trust me I get it. What I do not accept, is this glossy attitude by so many that is actually projected fear.  Reeling on how, if one acknowledges the problem you’re somehow perpetuating or excusing it all. Really? How is it empathy and the heavily touted Christian dogma “there before the grace of God…” not apply to these strikingly lost souls? What if you were to realize that through a bevy of events granted often times by their own doing, end up so estranged with no family, no friends (being a needle user and getting busted frequently can quickly taint the cozy family vibe) no resources… totally unable to get that “bump” we all need sometimes to come back around and make good on a what can be a good life?

Roughly one third of the American homeless population are families, often with a single female parent. Yes, single mom’s and their kids are who huddle on the streets, not just the drug addicts, rock bottom alcoholics or the multitude of offenders hiding in the crevices of the sketchy SRO housing projects. The simple cycle of decline can happen in a flash – so rapid fire that anyone living paycheck-to-paycheck can have a slip and one week it’s not enough for groceries, then it’s not enough for  heat or the rent, then nothing for medicines or gas in the car or, forget the car, no bus fare… stress of poverty whittles away at the core of person’s worth and over time the reality of homelessness wipes clean any hope of returning to a normal state of humanity.

These images for me express a view of the struggle and the senselessness of it all, but they also depict the color and unique personality of a people quietly surviving.

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