“There are two states in which you may exist, person who writes, or person who does not. If you write: you are a writer. If you do not write: you are not. Aspiring is a meaningless null state that romanticizes Not Writing. It’s as ludicrous as saying, ‘I aspire to pick up that piece of paper … Continue reading
On one of my favorite Q & A shows, Lori, a long-time watcher, asks for advice. Like most of us who are ambitious, she suffers from a widespread malady- heart-breaking disappointment at the revelation that her dreams aren’t manifesting in the way she wants: “I’m clear on my goals and take daily action toward my … Continue reading
When Cheryl Strayed was 33, she sat in a hushed cabin in the Massachusetts woods to write “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” the book that would eventually earn her dazzling literary success and worldwide acclaim. She, of course, had no way of knowing that her memoir would go on to sell … Continue reading
According to Julia Cameron, author of smash hit The Artist’s Way, there are two kinds of people: innovators and conservers. As artists, we are most often innovators: we create and invent, experiment and explore. Those who work with our work-agents, managers, publishers, gallery owners, curators, producers- are conservers. As Cameron maintains, “conservers focus not on the … Continue reading
On one of my most beloved advice shows, viewer Renee writes in complaining that her work lacks deeper meaning. After working in healthcare for several years, she worries her work as an artist won’t make the same kind of real-world impact. “I’m a little bogged down with the realization that my purely aesthetic work won’t … Continue reading
Many pragmatic, scientific people dismiss the power of positive thinking because they assume positive thinking means thinking only. “So what, I’m just supposed to believe I’m the writer of a national bestseller and then I’ll magically become the writer of a national bestseller?” skeptics scoff, “I call bullshit.” But visualizing what we most passionately yearn for … Continue reading
According to brilliant psychologist and pioneer of the positive psychology movement Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the key to a leading a fulfilling life is striking a balance between action and contemplation: “Inner conflict is the result of competing claims on attention. Too many desires, too many incompatible goals struggle to marshal psychic energy toward their own ends. It … Continue reading
Writing is like playing a sport: if we want to get better, we have to practice everyday. If we want to write, for example, we have to write every morning when we wake up (or, depending on our schedule, every afternoon). But we don’t just simply write- we write to improve a particular skill, … Continue reading
Shakespeare originally coined the phrase “jealousy is a green-eyed monster” but it’s so widely circulated that today the expression has passed into common speech. Why has this image endured for centuries? What spared this characterization from fading into oblivion when so many others slipped into the dusty cracks of history? I suspect it’s because no other writer … Continue reading
When asked what “big magic” inspired her to write Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert replied that as a writer she most often met people who yearned to live creatively but could (or would) not. When she talked to these people, they always had sensible reasons why they couldn’t get to the … Continue reading
The Blank-Faced Confidante 