Create a Better Life: Day 48: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Well here we are on the last day of a 48 day journey. I thought I would spend a little time reviewing and a little bit looking forward. First of all I want to say, this project has been fun and really uplifting. I have enjoyed it immensely and have grown quite a bit in the process. Just past the middle of this project, I had a major setback in my personal life, one that could have derailed the whole thing. I decided not to share what happened as part of this project, but it left me with a choice. Give up or press on. It was an easy choice because giving up rarely leads to a better life (unless we’re giving up negative behaviors, thought patterns, habits, etc.). Instead I decided to treat this challenge as a challenge and hit it head on. I stayed to my usual schedule, working on this project predominantly in the early mornings and then getting on with my day.

This project inspired me to finish another major project that was largely complete but sitting on the back burner because I needed to make a few decisions. I am pleased to say that the decision have been made and the project, Creativity Kickers will ship when I deliver Create a Better Life early next month. I am excited to see what it does.

Create a Better Life has had its fair share of missteps and course corrections. It has evolved from a day long workshop/seminar to a webinar and may morph one more time as I finish researching a delivery service. I have an idea for it that may work, and it would accomplish another goal I’ve had for years. Please note, the vision hasn’t changed. I still plan to do the live workshops/seminars. I just decided that something else must be done first. I decided it would be better to deliver some online content and allow that to help promote the live events. Part of the reason for this is logistical. While I love the one on one contact I get when I do live events, I have yet to master being in more than one place at a time. I truly believe that Create a Better Life will help a lot of people, so I wanted to create it in such a way that people can get the materials and use them at their leisure. Let’s face it, most of us will create a better life while working around jobs and other obligations. Having something that is available at any given time is crucial.

So where do we go from here? Well AMOKArts.com will go back to being about creative arts ministry. I will no doubt post updates from time to time, but if you want to follow Create a Better Life, subscribe to dweisscreative.com and/or follow us on Facebook. Some time during the week of June 10, the initial webinar (or whatever incarnation it takes on) will drop. The main Create a Better Life project is finished, so updates will come via dweisscreative.com but I will be sharing other content there as well. Marketing of the webinar will also begin this week. The editing of the workbook continues. There are a couple formatting issues that I think I need to address, but I want to keep to the day by day format. Look for an announcement about its availability next week.

So what did I learn from the project? Keep your plans flexible and allow for course corrections. Setbacks happen and we can power through them. Sometimes you need to take a break. Meeting deadlines is important, but so is making it right. Do your research thoroughly. Creativity is even needed in projects about creativity. Mainly I believe what I have always believed. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (The Bible) Secondly, the future belongs to those who create it. (me) Finally, you can do this. You just need to push fear aside, do the work and get creative.

You really can create a better life!

Create a Better Life: Day 47: Progress, Setbacks and Course Corrections

Second last day of the project, and one thing has become apparent, this won’t be the second last day of the project. I’ve had a setback. The service I was planning on using for the webinar is not going to work. As you recall I am trying to do this project entirely with free resources so that anyone, on any budget, can do it. The blame for this setback falls firmly on me. I didn’t research as well as I should have. Remember also that I said early on that I was going to share the missteps and course corrections. This would be one of those. It’s a setback but not nearly enough to derail the project. I just need to adjust.

In the mean time. I received a short free video course in my email on the subject of promotions and product launches and It gave me some great ideas not just for promotions but also for a way to deliver some of this content. I need to research this a little further but it may be a much better way to bring this content to the public. This course has also shown me a few things I could have done better in the promotion of this product, and I may make a few adjustments based on what I learned. I am also researching other delivery ideas for this content. More on this soon.

This setback will also effect my delivery date and that is really disappointing. I am not giving myself a lot of leeway here, but setbacks happen in these types of projects. That being said, I have also stressed several times in this project the importance of deadlines and delivering on time. This setback could have been avoided with a little more careful research. That being said, the worst thing a creative person can do is beat himself up over an error. Believe me that has derailed more than one project for me and for countless other people I’ve talked to. Don’t let that happen to you. I made a mistake, I can make excuses, I can give up or I can make a correction and move on to a better life. I’ve decided to give myself another week and deliver this content some time in the week of June 10.

Setbacks happen, we can dwell on them or we can learn and press forward and focus on successes. I’ve decided to do the latter. Working on this project and sharing the whole process with the world has been a bit daunting and yet also rewarding. I have written a book in a little over a month, using the early morning hours before my work day began. I am still working on the edits and seeing a few adjustments that need to be made, but that too is progressing and should be done in time to be delivered with the webinar. I finally finished a pretty major project that I want to offer as an ancillary product to create a better life. I call it Creativity Kickers and I am really excited about it. I have had most of the creative work done or Creativity Kickers done for months but kept holding back because I couldn’t figure out the best way to deliver it. Now I can’t wait to share it with the world.

Creating a project like this is a journey. There have been other obstacles, missteps, false starts and setbacks, but those happen to us all. Pressing through them is the key to creating a better life!

Create a a Better Life: Day 46: Who Are You? Dealing With the Resistance

Somewhere in the midst of day 45 of a 48 day project, it happened. I should have been ready for it, because it always happens, but my confession is it hit me like a ton of bricks. Steven Pressfield, in his book The War of Art, calls it the resistance. Essentially it’s this voice that pops up and says, “Who are you to do (whatever it is you’re doing)?” It strikes nearly every creative project on a seek and destroy mission to keep you, the creative person, stuck, unproductive and not moving forward. The resistance is awful, and it’s a lying voice that needs to be silenced.

For me it went this way. “Who are you to tell people how to create a better life? After all you haven’t made it yet. You’re not rich. You’re not famous.” From there it goes downhill all the way to “You have nothing to offer. This project was a mistake. Quit!” Here’s the thing. I confessed all of this on day one. I didn’t position this project as “Hey, I’m a huge success, follow my ten easy steps and become a mega-bazillionaire!” Instead I said “Join me on a journey, to creating something better.” I didn’t even define what something better was, because that is an individual choice. Instead I shared what I am doing and principles that will help you to get where you want to be. The truth is, only you can define what your better life looks like. By this point, the people who were in this looking for the easy route to wealth and fame have probably given up. Anyone who is still with me at this stage of the journey is probably part of the audience I sought in the first place—people seeking to do the work of creating something better. For me to give up now would have been to let a lot of good people down.

That’s exactly what the resistance desires. To stop good things, and good people, in their tracks, by asking “Who are you?” and “What’s the use?” The resistance is the guardian of the status quo at best and diabolical at worst. It kills great ideas, knocks down great solutions to great problems and strangles dreams. It makes problems seem insurmountable and it makes us feel too small to do what it takes. The resistance is to be resisted and on the other side of resistance, great things happen. Do not let it stop you.

Vincent Van Gogh, the great artist once said, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” This is how to defeat the resistance. You do what that negative voice says you cannot do until it shuts up and goes away. So let’s answer that question once and for all. Who are you? Well you might be the person who makes things better. You might be the person that makes a difference. You might even be the one who changes the world. You have within you the ability to at least help one person and maybe many people. You’ve got a story to be told. You’ve got a battle to be won. My faith says you were created on purpose to do good things that were prepared in advance for you, by a creator who loves you sacrificially. (Ephesians 2:10) There is a real purpose in your life and a real resistance that comes against you and that purpose. Resist it and live.

Who are you? You’re someone creating a better life, maybe even, in some big or small way, a better world.

Fight the resistance!

Create a Better Life: Day 45: Finishing Up and Scheduling

Today is one of those days where I force myself to look at logistics and all the other stuff that makes my creative eyes glaze over, but that need to be done for the good of the project. I continue to work on finalizing all the details of the presentation for the webinar ad the work book. Also I am pretty dissatisfied with the designs I posted last post so I need to reconsider them. (I could still use comments from you on those by the way.) One of the struggles of creating things is there are times where you are so close to the project that you have a hard time seeing what needs to be refined. A second set of eyes is always helpful. The main thing though is the deadline.

I have decided to make a slight adjustment. I am definitely still on board for finishing the project by May 30, but I have decided to put the webinar itself off until June 5. The reason for this is really simple. I want to make the most of this project and opportunity and I have been so consumed with creating it and working out al the details that I have really not promoted as I need to. The landing page still needs some work and I feel I need to give a few days for people to get signed up. So look for the webinar on June 5. Still working out a time and I would love your input on this as well.

Thanks for joining me on this journey. Together we will create a better life

Create a Better Life: Day 44: Design Time

Today I worked on cover designs for the work book and a graphic for the webinar. In truth I am not sure I am happy with these designs yet, but I did say I was going to share steps and missteps. I’d be interested in your opinions on these pieces. What could be done to make them better? Do they communicate what I am trying to say?

A word about design. For some of you, design like this is in your wheelhouse. You design for a living or you are a gifted amateur. For the rest of you, this is the time to bring someone in. It doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many people out there that are trying to get started in the business of design and some of them would be willing to help you out. If you are on a low budget, seek them out at art/design schools, social media, etc. There is something to consider here though. I have done hundreds of pieces of art for free, because I have either believed in the cause or I just volunteered to help someone out but I would never ask someone else to do something for free and you shouldn’t either. You may not have a huge budget, but “a workman is worth his hire” as the saying goes. Be as generous as you can to get the best work you can, and whatever you do, do not ask someone to do something for “exposure.” No other profession is asked to work in that way. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The idea behind the men holding up the pictures is that amazing and scary time when we have to take what we created and share it with the world. As I draw near to this point, I am really feeling that tension. How about you?

Make no mistake about it, it is on the other side of that presentation that the better life begins.

Create a Better Life: Day 43: Dealing With Holidays and More

Well by this point, five days from the end of the project, most of the content has been created, much of the work has been done. I’ve got lots of detail work to do but it’s pretty mundane. Today I am working on a product that will be offered in my webinar. All the writing is done, so it’s really just an assembly and editing project that will take a few days. The webinar needs to be assembled as does the downloadable workbook. A good bit of work needs to be done, but the details will be somewhat boring. There is something else to considered and this is what I wanted to touch on today.

You see today is a holiday. I’ve recommended taking one day off each week, but what do you do when a holiday falls in the middle of the week. It depends on your perspective and your level of determination, but I do want to say this, this is not religion, this is work and there are times where you can put work aside for a while, especially a holiday. Please keep something in mind, and I know I have said this before, but we are building a better life and the people we love are a huge part of this. If we push them aside, I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a better life. There will come a time in our lives where we will regret the times we’ve missed. Do not sacrifice the moments that make life worth living. Holidays are a gift. Use them well.

Create a better life, and live.

Create a Better Life Day 42: Brake Time

Yes, I know I spelled it wrong but the truth is, I did it on purpose. The form of the word brake I used is the noun form like when you hit the brakes on your car. You use them to slow down… to stop. This is a crucial step of the creative process. It’s time to hit the brakes and get off the hamster wheel for a little while… time to recharge and to rest. If you’re following this closely, you will even notice this is posting a day late. That was partly because I was speaking yesterday and partly because I decided when the speaking was over so was my work for the day. I drove home and spent the rest of the day with my family. After all, they are the biggest part of a better life, and time with them is a lot of what makes this whole process worthwhile.

The world will not stop turning if you take a break (see, I can spell it the right way). Take sometime and enjoy the ones you love.

Create a Better Life: Day 41: Appendix: 10 Books Every Creative Should Read

One thing that should not be overlooked is the importance of reading and studying in the creative journey. There have been many great books written on the topic over the years. These books will help to inspire and motivate you to keep moving forward on your journey. Some are more artistic, some are about promotion/marketing, some are about moving forward and succeeding. I highly recommend all these books. They are in no particular order.

	THE WAR OF ART by Steven Pressfield The author of The Legend of Bagger Vance among many others presents this amazing book where he primarily deals with what he calls the “resistance,” a fearful mentality that keeps us from creating. If you’ve ever been creatively blocked or struggled with those voices that keep you withholding your gift from the world (and who hasn’t?) this book is for you.
	TRIBES by Seth Godin This little book really deals with finding your audience. There is a great temptation among creatives to create for the masses. Godin asserts that who we are really looking for are the people who are like minded with similar interests, building tribes of followers and leading them. This blog was started after reading this book. It was a major influence on my life.
	LINCHPIN by Seth Godin The only author who made the list twice. In this book Godin describes being an artist in ever aspect of our lives and succeeding by being indispensable. The only book I’ve read more times than this is the Bible. It is a really important book.
	PLATFORM by Michael Hyatt The former president of Thomas Nelson Publishing has written the quintessential book on building a following and getting people interested in what you do. This is an essential skill for anyone who wants to succeed in virtually any creative enterprise.
	A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD by Roger Von Oech Perhaps the foremost book on building your creativity, combining exercises and well thought out articles and essays, this book will be a great help in making you the best you can be.
	CREATIVE BOOT CAMP BY Stefan Mumaw This unique book combines great ideas for building creativity with exercises and unique interactive online content that will help you to actually assess your creative journey.
	THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron This classic book combines the arts and spirituality. It also includes several exercises that really are more like disciplines that will break creative blocks and get those juices flowing
	CREATIVITY INC. by Ed Catmull This book, written by one of the founders of Pixar, gives great information about founding a creative organization, using real life examples and stories from Pixar. A fascinating book on a number of levels.
	THE IMAGINEERING WORKOUT by the Disney Imagineers This book is filled with creativity exercises from some of the most creative people on earth, the Disney Imagineers. How could you go wrong? A really great book.
	A WHOLE NEW MIND by Daniel Pink Pink asserts that the future belongs to creatives and I think he’s right. This book is filled with research and statistics along with stories that will encourage you on your creative journey. It’s a really wonderful book.

All of these books should be in the library of anyone interested in creativity an creating a better life. They will inspire and encourage you on your journey. You can learn more about them by clicking on the pictures. If you purchase them there a small percentage of the purchase price will go to supporting Create a Better Life.

Create a Better Life: Day 40: Content Creation: You ARE Creative Part II

Most people believe that they are NOT creative. Those people are wrong! Here are 50 ways I can prove it.

I’ve traveled all over the United States helping people to embrace their creativity. If I had a dollar for every time I heard this phrase, I would be able to waive my fees. “I’m not creative.” That’s not really what they mean. I use live art (speed and performance painting) in my presentations and I think what they really mean is “I’m not artistic.” (For the record they’re usually wrong about that as well but that is a different story for a different day.) They may not feel that they have artistic ability but that does not mean they are not creative. I believe everyone is creative. Everyone has the ability to create, to alter the course of their lives. To do things that have not been down and try things that have never been tried.

For the moment, just to remove the confusion, let’s remove creativity from the realm of the arts because the truth of the matter is much of creativity has nothing to do with the arts. The old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention” is absolutely true. Most of creativity revolves around solving problems. So let’s examine several examples that should prove my everyone is creative hypothesis:

1. If you’ve ever run out of money before you ran out of month, you got creative.
2. If you’ve ever repaired something with duct tape, chewing gum, etc. you got creative.
3. If you’ve ever made up a child’s bed time story, you got creative.
4. If you’ve ever gotten pulled over for speeding and concocted a story to get out of the fine. you got creative.
5. If you ever found yourself detoured on a road trip in the days before GPS and you found your way to your destination, you got creative.
6. If you’ve ever used any tool for something other than it’s defined purpose, you got creative.
7. If you’ve ever made up silly lyrics to a song, you got creative.
8. If you’ve ever found an easier way to complete a task, you got creative.
9. If you’ve ever doodled in a boring meeting you got creative.
10. If you’ve ever found a way to save money on something you needed, you got creative.
11. If you’ve ever lied, you misused your creativity, but you were still creative.
12. If you’ve ever worried about something that never happened, you once again misused your creativity, but you were still creative.
13. If you’ve ever written a letter, you got creative.
14. If you ever rearranged the furniture in your room or house, you got creative.
15. If you ever arranged flowers or planted a garden, you got creative.
16. If you’ve ever outwitted someone, chances are you got creative.
17. If you’ve ever won an argument, chances are you got creative.
18. If you’ve ever cooked a meal and altered the recipe to make it taste better (even if it didn’t work), you were creative.
19. If you’ve ever found a way to get someone to do something they didn’t want to do, you probably got creative.
20. If you’ve ever pretended, you were creative.
21. If you’ve ever found a way to calm or entertain a baby, chances are, you were creative.
22. If you’ve ever done something you didn’t know how to do, you were creative.
23. If you’ve ever repurposed something into something else, you were creative.
24. If you’ve ever decorated anything, you were creative.
25. If you’ve ever come up with a sarcastic comment or witty comeback, you were creative.
26. If you’ve ever described something to someone whose never seen it, you turned pictures into words, a very creative act.
27. If you’ve ever convinced someone to buy something, you are probably quite creative.
28. If you’ve ever fashioned a tool or device to make some every day task easier, you got creative.
29. If you’ve ever built something without relying on instructions, you’re creative.
30. If you’ve ever calmed someone down or made them feel better, chances are you were creative.
31. If you’ve ever written a clever social media post, you were creative.
32. If you’ve ever made a play on words, you were creative.
33. If you’ve ever brainstormed ideas with other people and you contributed anything to the conversation, you were creative.
34. If you’ve ever caught yourself humming a song you’ve never heard before, welcome to the ranks of the creative.
35. If you’ve ever said something profound, in that moment, you were creative.
36. If you’ve ever helped someone out of a jam, you may have been creative.
37. If you’ve ever come up with a good explanation of something complicated you’re creative.
38. If you’ve ever made up a game, you got creative.
39. If you’ve ever come up with the perfect gift, you got creative.
40. If you’ve ever accomplished a goal in a new and different way, you got creative.
41. If you’ve ever thought outside the box, you got creative.
42. If you’ve ever improved on anything that already existed, you got creative.
43. If you’ve ever helped someone find hope, you probably got creative.
44. If you’ve ever tried to see things some someone else’s perspective, it required a certain amount of creativity.
45. If you’ve ever dared to imagine a better future, and looked for a way to make it so, you were at the very precipice of creativity. (Did you jump?)
46. If you’ve ever found a way to motivate someone, even yourself, you got creative.
47. If you’ve ever found a way to remedy a bad situation, You got creative.
48. If you’ve ever found a better way to do anything, you got creative.
49. If you’ve ever found a way where there appeared to be no way, chances are you got creative.
50. If you’ve ever come up with a lengthy list of ideas to prove your point, you got creative.

I hope you get the idea. I’d be willing to bet there is not one person who has not done at least one of those things and therefore, everyone is, or has the potential to be, creative. We need you to be creative now more than ever. Sure we need artists to beautify the world, to entertain and motivate and amuse us, to spur us on to reach for new heights, but we also need more. We need people to create ways to find clean potable water in parts of the world that lack it. We need people to find new cures and new ways to right wrongs. We need people to realize that they have the potential to make a great difference and maybe even change the world.

We need you to grab a hold of the gifts, talents and abilities that you have been given and to use them to help and serve humanity in a multitude of different ways.

We need you to be creative!

Create a Better Life: Day 39: Putting It All Together

Well we’re ten days from the deadline and there will no doubt be some content to be added, but the most part we are down to the nitty-gritty. These posts are getting assembled into the workbook, the outline for the webinar is being built and the promotional materials are being generated. There is a lot of work to be done by the end of May and of course this is not the only thing I am doing. There are all sorts of things to be done.

As usual a large amount of work to be nailed down in a short period of time can seem a bit daunting. It is crucial that as you approach your deadline that you have a plan for completion. This should list all the items you an think of to complete, perhaps some sort of check list and a realistic idea of how much time these tasks will take. Now of course if you’re anything like the majority of creatives, you always, maybe even severely, underestimate the time these tasks will take. Here are a few things to help you get it done.

1. Remember eating the elephant. I’ve quoted this many times on my blog but it bears repeating. As the old adage goes, How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Don’t get frustrated in the massive amount of work you have to be done. Take small meaningful “bites” out of the project as often as you can until it’s done.
2. Remember it’s not all or nothing. We can sometimes get ourselves in a mindset that says we don’t have time. What we really mean is we don’t have massive blocked of time to do uninterrupted work. Consider this, every four 15 minute sessions is an hour. Mine those little productive moments out of your day and you will be surprised at how much you can produce. Don’t let the fact that you don’t have large blocks of time keep you from making the most of what you have.
3. Eliminate distractions. Have you ever wondered how many hours a week you spend checking media, email, playing games, etc. All those things are massive time suckers and simply reducing your involvement can make you much more productive.
4. Get up earlier. Some of the most productive hours of your life are the times when you are all alone and uninterrupted. Taking an hour a day before anyone is up is a great way to get a lot done. If you’re not a morning person, try taking an hour after everyone else turns in. (Though this is not optimal.) One thing before I leave this topic. Do not do both. You need to get your rest or your creativity will suffer.
5. Mark your calendar. Put as many of your remaining steps as you can on it and mark them off as you go. Make the deadline prominently and work toward it.

You can make your deadline. You can ship on time. You can get it done. You just have to be proactive. Start now and keep moving forward.

You’re well on your way to creating a better life.