 As an icebreaker, I frequently ask people - what would you do if you won the lottery? People give answers that reflect what they would do if there were no constraints or demands put on their time, location or finances This is where people describe their visionary work, OR the downtime things they would do to feel free, relaxed. My question is - ok so why not do it anyway? We assume we have constraints, and that money or some other windfall is an obstacle to getting started.   You can get started with 10 dollars and 10 minutes - probably even less I’ve noticed that when you approach the world with a service mindset, things like money and time tend to get sorted out at exactly the right moment You need to trust in the importance of your dreams, and how working on your dream goals attracts the right help and opportunity into your life - simply because your passion will be infectious 

Fuse Chamber

Episode 61 - What Would You Do If You Won The Lottery

Despite your most disciplined attempts to show up every single day, inviting the muse, yet not leaving things to dumb luck, you sit down for your daily ritual, and nothing comes. This is made all the worse by a looming deadline, or being behind in production. So what do you do when you doing everything right, and nothing comes? Let it Happen.   Reduce the stress and stigma around having a block.  It’s natural Immerse yourself in unrestricted thought Talk with friends, fantasize, argue, debate, discuss Stay immersed in your topic - read, research Don’t resume writing until the ‘spark’ appears 

Episode 60 - Dealing With Creative Blocks

So you’ve worked it all out - you have a master plan for launching your product….but what if you build it and nobody comes? This happens more than you think It’s important not to measure success against big league players that you’re trying to model.   This takes a while, and there’s no such thing as overnight success The best thing you can do is change your approach - experiment with new techniques.  The worst thing you can do is change your style, your vision, your unique offering. Find small successes along the way to validate and inspire you. You have to be comfortable with hustle. 

Episode 59 - What If You Build It...And No One Comes?

Although we’d like to believe that we have what it takes, sometimes we worry that we’re going to be seen as ‘arrogant’, over-confident or full of ourselves.   This alone can keep us from starting.  What’s the difference between confidence and arrogance and how can you build the former without seeming like the latter? Limiting Beliefs - concepts of what we are capable of are limited by our fears, which talk to us in sentences that start with ‘you can’t’.   Believing in the information to the contrary Arrogance - belief in your abilities and entitlements in ignorance of external information to the contrary Confidence - belief in your abilities and entitlements even in light of external information to the contrary Both limiting beliefs and arrogance can only be destroyed one way - through experience and reflection.  The initial spark of belief that surrounds arrogance is important for overcoming limiting beliefs though.

Episode 58 - Between Confidence And Arrogance

There are two kinds of habits: good ones and bad ones. So often, we focus on the bad ones that we need to break, but how often do we take the time to focus on the good habits that we have integrated or need to integrate to continuously move us forward? You have to have a habit of having habits :-) Create a prioritized list of of habits you want to have (come on, you know what they are).  They could be mindset habits or actual practices Take on no more than 2 or 3 at a time - it could take a few months to habitualize them Make sure your habits roll up to achieving a larger goal, like increasing your audience or revenue. 

Episode 57 - Upgrade Your Habits

The Public Demands more content, more frequently.  This seems foreign to many of us as we grew up with a new book, music or movie release from our favourite artists maybe once per year or less.  You need to change your mindset to reflect the new virtues and values in the marketplace. 

Episode 56 - The Value of Releasing Frequently

People who achieve everything they set out to do in life are masters of protecting their time.  How do they do it? Time is the only thing you can’t reclaim once its been spent Protecting your time is your right and your duty.  You must actively and continuously monitor and protect it as you would any priceless resource The biggest challenge is changing your mindset about time.  You own your time, no matter where you work or who you have in your life.  Only you can dictate how it is spent. Commit to tweaking or leveraging resources to minimize time spent on non valuable things, or find things to cut out altogether. 

Episode 55 - The "Have-To" Trap, and How You Spend Your Time

 Could we flip the script on our thinking about experimentation?   Rather than seeing experiments as risky, or as a synonym for failure, we should be embracing experimentation as the fastest way to learn about what works, and what doesn’t.

Episode 54 - Try An Experiment

If you’re making time for creativity, but you find yourself unfocused and unable to stay with it…there are some things that can help. I’m going to keep hammering this one - you have to set aside time To avoid intimidation, set a short timer Set an intention.  What is the most important thing to finish in this time slice?  Make sure it is in support of the Most Valuable Thing - what will get your product ready to market?  What will get you an audition?   What will establish you as a professional?  What will increase your audience? Don’t worry about right-sizing the timer for the intention.  If 10 minutes is too much or too little, fix it later.  Adjust the timer or the scope of your intention. Keep your mind focused.  If you notice yourself taking on sub tasks or side tasks.  Stop.  Make a note of them and prioritize and do them LATER Stay vigilant.  Meditation can help you notice when you’re going off the rails. 

Episode 53 - How To Focus

We all know about the paralysis caused by waiting for the right moment in the right conditions. So why do we continue to do it, and how can we stop? It’s normal, from an evolutionary/survival perspective, to want safety and certainty The need for certainty and safety, however, prevents us taking risks and moving forward boldly - two essential behaviours for artists and entrepreneurs We associate lack of safety - in all its forms - with danger, and that fear paralyzes us; making it extremely difficult to break this pattern. Breaking the patter requires a mindset shift - realize how expensive these desires and fears are.  Then take small but meaningful steps to provide yourself with proof that nothing bad will happen if you move forward without absolute certainty and safety. 

Episode 52 - The Myth Of Certainty And Safety

By now, we know that inspiration is as much about showing up every day, as part of a routine, and doing the work of writing - even if it is for the wastebasket.   But there are times when inspiration just hits.  Are there things you can do that create fertile ground for inspiration?  There are….and they exist in the everyday. You have to make time and clear space in your head.  You have to be ready to receive Then, you have to put yourself in situations and conditions where inspiring things are likely to be or to happen Get into nature, listen to conversations, imagine yourself in someone else’s life, especially the watershed moments.  Immerse yourself in novel experiences.  Invite new discussions and hear other people’s stories. 

Episode 51 - Get Inspiration From the Everyday

Today's episode is an impromptu musing on the state of coaching, for those of you who feel like you might benefit from it, or are yourselves in the coaching business. in many ways, its a bit like being a therapist.  People should find a good coach that is a balance of engaged and removed, that specializes in or can tailor an action plan to your particular learning style, and that they trust and like. Once you've found that, I love to see clients eat up the learning.  So often, I take for granted what I've learned, how far I've come personally, and how hard I've worked for the success I have.  I forget what it's like to be new; to have your eyes opened to a world of limitless potential. But sometimes, it just doesn't happen that way.  What continues to surprise me is how often people dive in, seem committed, seem ready to make a serious mark in the world...and then just fade away from the teaching.  It makes me think that perhaps coaching is a nonsense profession...but then I remember that we have always had elders, mentors, jedi masters...people who pass down the wisdom accumulated from a life of disciplined practice.  This is meaningful work for me, and its hard to accept that sometimes, people just aren't ready.  They are not yet willing to commit to the time and effort it takes to transform.  I'll never forget my public school teacher, Gerald Smialek, who taught us kids the phrase "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink". That continues to reveal layers of meaning to me, even to this day. Enjoy the episode.  I hope you're learning lots and enjoying the journey!

Episode 50 - The State of Coaching Right Now

 As i work with many leaders in development, there is one thing that trips up more people than any other factor - and with each passing year, I see more and more of it. I call it FABJ - Fear, Anger, Bitterness, and Jealousy - but these things are all byproducts of one thing.  Feeling not good enough.  We all suffer from these feelings, but if you are a leader....you have to learn how to handle or manage them.        

Episode 49 - Fear, Anger, Bitterness, and Jealousy

 Most deeply creative people know that you simply have to show up ever day - inspiration will never just come and pay a visit.   So how do you show up every day?   You schedule. it. In this episode, I discuss my daily routine for capturing creative thoughts and then filtering them and refining them into finished product.  Lots of tips and tricks in this one - hope you find it valuable!

Episode 48 - Scheduling Daily Creative Time

As someone with a creative offering, I’d like to wait until my product is perfect before I unleash it on the world.  Is that really so bad? There are two big problems with waiting. One is that it fosters fear, and uncertainty, and the other is that it lets other people slip in the gap and beat you to market No matter what happens, you have to focus on go. Leap. Innovation requires that you are constantly shipping product to the market.  Finished is better than perfect. 

Episode 47 - Don't Let Your Competition Get Ahead of You

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