A Creative Process

Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder
what has happened.  -Proverb

Here is the audio version of this post, thank you so much for listening.

Awesomeness in business and in life doesn’t just happen by accident; it’s a process.

Where It Begins
Its 3pm on the dot. It’s Sunday. I just prepared a delicious shot of espresso and turned on the Garden State soundtrack and lit a Marlboro light. It’s cool and rainy and grey, so unusual for la la land. And I am inspired to create this week’s blog.

Now, I could wait to Monday morning, which has been my process for a few years, but lately I am finding it more difficult and quite honestly too much pressure to put on myself. I mean, come on, a fresh written, recorded blog and newsletter, every Monday morning, to be sent before 7am? Yes. But no matter what, it happens. Why? I made a commitment. I know consistency matters. I keep my promises.

A Little Back Story
My mind has been racing the last few months, lots of change, shifts, emotions, plans, and with only 31 days left in 2014, I have a shit ton of awesomeness to create to kick off 2015 right. But because of my promise, I create space and processes to focus my mind.

We Move Towards What We Focus On
The topics for my posts come to me quite randomly yet are filled with intention and purpose. Understanding the promise of Passion Squared, I listen to my tribe and write for them, for you, and for me. Topics can come from a discussion, an interaction or situation with a client, an experience at a store, a movie or TV show.

This is my creative process. It’s messy, flawed, raw, authentic and yet strangely consistent. And I trust the process, doubts and all. Often I am asked how I manifested my career and created Passion Squared, what my process is…

Well, this is it. Above is my process for blog creation, workshop creation, talk creation, projects, and any other awesomeness I am working on.

Is There A System?
In my upcoming NEW coaching program A School, I break down my recipe for creating awesome in my business and my life. Many of the tools I have used for years to grow companies, and more recently, they are the tools I use to create an awesome life and business filled with purpose and authenticity for both myself and my clients. In the end though, you must make it your own, if you are going to own it, as only then will you stay committed and consistent.

So, just like that, one smoke down, 1 shot of espresso and 4 songs later on the Garden State soundtrack, my blog is complete. And this typically is where many begin to self sabotage their art.

Are You Self Sabotaging Your Creations?
Over-thinking, over analyzing, judging. All elements for never creating anything. Perfectionism paralyzes our thoughts, actions and awesomeness. Trust the process, put your heart into it, create it and let it out into the Universe for those who need it. Let it go.

Is It Really That Simple? Of Course Not.
Now, I will prep it in WordPress, create graphics and quotes on Canva and Word Swag, create a description, determine keywords, create links, test links, preview it, proof read it, fix most of the typos, preview it again, proof it again, record it, embed the recording, preview it again, and publish it. Then I’m off the create The Weekly Dose of Awesome, on MailChimp, my “every single Monday no matter what” love note to all of my awesome subscribers.

Commitment. Consistency. Courage. And most importantly, a process, which allows for all of this to happen week in and week out. What’s your process?

With love + gratitude-
Nina

PS: Want to be the first to hear about A School, click here to get your name on the awesome list.

PPS: When its all said and done, this post will have taken about 3 hours to publish, not including brain and bathroom breaks, which there are a few. It’s the little things, the details, the things you may not even be aware that you are seeing and feeling when engaging with this post that truly make things awesome.

What If

The Other Shoe

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

Paulo Coelho

 

What If

Here is the audio version of this post. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy.

You know the old saying “waiting for the other shoe to drop’? There are several explanations of the origins of this phrase but for the sake of this post, we will say it’s about waiting for something to happen, usually bad. As a person who battles (and wins more every day) with anxiety and panic disorder, I have lived most of my life waiting for the other shoe to drop, particularly when things are going awesome. So let’s just say I have lots of experience with this way of thinking.

Our minds are wonderful, powerful and crazy things you know. And we have the power to choose our thoughts, we had the power all along as we learned in The Wizard of Oz.

As Henri Matisse so famously said…”Creativity takes courage”, and I would add to that, so does creating awesome, starting a small business, running a small business and being a great leader.

What if…
I fail
It doesn’t work
They don’t like it
People hate me
I have a slow day
Nobody comes

What if…
I succeed
It does work
They love it
People love me
I have a busy day
People come

We can go about life, full of fear, waiting for the other shoe to drop or we can turn our fears into fuel, courage, creativity and create awesome. It’s a choice. Choose wisely.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

Facebook Engagement Infographic

The Long Engagement

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

Scott Adams

In the world of engagement on the social + digital web, a lot of what we are doing is quite frankly trial and error.  We will not know what truly engaging content is until we actually start creating content and pay attention to the response of our community.  And it takes time, sometimes several months, to find your groove, but once you do, it’s pretty awesome.

Yes, we know the theme of our content, our story, our message, and our goals, but until we actually begin trying different things, without fear of making mistakes, we will never know what makes our fans hearts sing.

We found this handy infographic with some tips for Facebook engagement.  And while it may or may not be exactly how your community acts and reacts, its certainly worth a try.

Come on, go for it!  What’s the worst thing that could happen?  You make a mistake?  We call that creativity.

The Simple Science of Facebook Engagement
Discovered on AmExOPENForum. Learn about data visualization tools.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)