Kim Nicol teaches meditations and mindfulness and has helped thousands of people find calm in everyday moments. In this episode Kim talks about how she went from marketing, to being a lawyer, to becoming a mindfulness and meditations teacher. She also talks about how to relate to others and the many different ways she helps bring mindfulness into people’s everyday lives.
Author: Kevin Chung (Page 12 of 21)
“You can’t TRY to do things, you must simply DO them.” – Ray Bradbury Quote Art
“You can’t TRY to do things, you must simply DO them.” – Ray Bradbury
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Have you ever caught yourself thinking any of these things?
“I want to try social media, but I don’t know the first thing about it.”
“I know I should build a website, but it’s just so hard.”
“How in the world am I supposed to build an email list? It sounds like a lot of work.”
You’ve attempted to build your art business, but you just can’t seem to get it right. You’ve dabbled with so many different strategies, but nothing seems to work. Why is that?
It’s because you spend too much time trying and not enough time doing. What does that even mean?
[bctt tweet=”Stop testing things out for a week and giving up when things don’t go right. “]
It means you give up too easily. Stop testing things out for a week and giving up when things don’t go right. Most things won’t work right away. Everything takes time. You have to experiment and see what works.
[bctt tweet=”Stop making excuses for why you haven’t succeeded. “]
It means you often hold yourself back. Stop making excuses for why you haven’t succeeded. Figure out what the problem is and tackle it head on. If there are obstacles in your way, find a way around them.
[bctt tweet=”Success and notoriety are the result of, hard, deliberate work.”]
It means stop hoping for success. Instead of hoping and praying for people to discover you, seek people out. Being discovered is a myth. Success and notoriety are the result of, hard, deliberate work.
If you want to do something, then do it. Be intentional with everything you do and take accountability for yourself.
“Fear is a Liar”
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This is quote and writing comes courtesy of one my readers Diana Casabar who is a Contemporary Jewelry Metalsmith.
Fear is a LIAR. What about this quote speaks to me?
Hmmm ~ It speaks to every aspect of my life and helps me to keep kind and loving thoughts of Myself in my mind.
I say it to keep me from not comparing my work to others and feeling inadequate.
I think of it when I see a call to artists and I don’t feel brave enough to submit my work for those juried exhibitions or galleries.
I say it when I’m shy about contacting old clients to let them know I have new work.
I think of it every season so I can design AND create a new line.
I say it while I’m trying desperately to bring my art to the next level.
I think of it when I’m sketching a piece, and fall off the path of my chosen brand.
I say it when I’m trying to figure out a new way to market my work.
I think of it when I peruse magazines and see other’s work, but not mine.
It speaks to my personal life too, helps me balance my family, my sport and my work.
I’m training right now to test for my third degree black belt in Taekwondo. It’s a two day test in November. It’s very strenuous. There are lots of younger kids. I’m 54 years old, with two kids and I hammer metal all day. There are a lot of days when my lungs, muscles and brain sing for attention. I think of it when they’re are singing, just to get through the workouts.
I think of it when I’m lost on a hiking trail.
I think of it when the husband is away on a trip.
I think of it when I have to clean the house, get the boy to school, let the contractor in to fix the air conditioner, mail a package, go to the grocery store ANNNNNNDDDD hammer 5 new pairs of earrings and two pendants.
Fear is a LIAR. I can do this.
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Thanks Diana for the wonderful words of inspiration and encouragement. If you have a favorite quote of your own, don’t be afraid to share it with me!
Mike Roy is the creator of Artist Myth, a site dedicated to helping artists overcome the things that hold them back. In this episode, Mike talks about the common myths artists believe, what people can do to overcome those myths, and how to find work you love.
Lee Moyer is a polymath and illustrator who has been working for over 35 years. He has worked with book publishers, theaters, and game developers among many other things. In this episode, we talk about a lot of topics including learning from others, how to handle criticism and information overload, and his Kickstarter project The Doom that Came to Atlantic City.
“The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.” – Richard Branson Quote Art
“The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.” – Richard Branson
Print available on Storenvy.
When you look back on your life, will you be happy with what you see?
[bctt tweet=”If you want to leave a lasting impact, you have to be willing to take chances.”]
If you want to leave a lasting impact, you have to be willing to take chances. Otherwise, you will look back in disappointment.
Look at the world’s most memorable people. Do you think they were cautious?
What would the world be like if our forefathers didn’t fight for our freedoms? What would life be like if Guttenberg hand’t taken a chance and built a printing press? What if Edison decided building a more efficient light bulb wasn’t worth the effort?
[bctt tweet=”We must be brave if we want to achieve our dreams.”]
We must be brave if we want to achieve our dreams. Cautious people accept their fate and life. There is nothing wrong with the cautious life. Just don’t expect things to happen to you. You have to seek them for yourself.
If you want to make a living from your art, you must be intentional about it. If you want people to recognize you for your gifts, you can’t just create and expect people to find you.
I’m not saying it will be an easy or short journey. It is scary putting yourself and your work on the line.
We fear rejection. We fear our work won’t be good enough. We fear failure.
People have fought and died for what they believe in. Is putting your art out there really that scary?
[bctt tweet=”Make your life worth looking back on.”]
Living the life of your dreams takes bravery. Stop being so cautious. Make your life worth looking back on.
Katy Walker and Joel Mejia are the co-directors of the Time is Art documentary, a film that follow’s Jennifer Palmer’s journey after her aunt’s death and her exploration of synchronicity. They are also the minds behind Things Are Changing Productions, a creative collective that produces youth media programs, indie films, and music videos. In this episode we explore what you must do to take action, why you should work with limitations, and the benefits of empowering others.
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse Quote Art
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
Print available on Storenvy.
Whether you’ve been creative your entire life, or you are just now exploring it, one thing is true. Creativity takes courage.
As creatives, we spend our whole lives fighting against the system. Our parents tells us to stop drawing on the walls. Our teachers gave us bad grades because we didn’t do their assignment the “right” way. Our bosses are dead set in their ways.
Each day we live within the confines of the establishment. Most of us fall right in line. We feel stifled and held back by the people around us, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
[bctt tweet=”We can choose to be courageous. We can take the unbeaten path”]
We can choose to be courageous. We can take the unbeaten path. We can take risks without knowing how things will turn out.
Most of us choose to accept the status quo, but there are many people out there who have created their own way. Here are a few of the people I look to while trying to form my own path:
Tim Ferriss
Tim is one of the best known examples of someone who doesn’t let people dictate his life. He built and sold his own company after deciding he could maximize his time and delegate his work.
He has written multiple best-selling books including his seminal work The Four Hour Workweek, he has one of the top ranked podcasts on iTunes, and he is also an angel investor.
Tim has built a massive following around the idea of doing maximizing your efforts to get the greatest results and has inspired many people to do the same.
Lewis Howes
Lewis was fulfilling his dream as a professional football player until an injury ended his playing career. This injury devastated him. He was broken and living on his sister’s couch.
At that moment, he could have felt sorry for himself and accepted his place in the world. Many people would. Instead he embarked on a new path.
Since that moment, he has built multiple companies, he has created an extremely popular podcast, and he recently released his first traditionally published book about achieving greatness.
In that moment of weakness, instead of giving up, he chose to seek greatness. Now he is helping people seek their greatness too.
Maria Popova
Maria is the wonderful mind behind one of the internet’s favorite blogs: Brain Pickings. While most blogs on the internet explore very specific topics, Brain Pickings features Maria’s thoughts on culture, books, and any topic that interests her.
Brain Pickings started as a weekly email to seven of her friends. Now it receives millions of visitors a month. She has built that following by exploring her own interests, and is able to sustain her blog through donations from her readers.
Although she could be making much more money through ads, she chooses to make money through affiliate links and donations from her readers. This allows her to work on things she enjoys instead of working on things that will make her money.
Srinivas Rao
Srinivas is the creative force behind one of my favorite podcasts: The Unmistakable Creative. This podcast features amazing interviews with everyone from artists to entrepreneurs to ex-cons.
Like many people, Srinivas thought he had to seek the traditional path to success. He went to business school and got a 9-5 job, but wasn’t fulfilled. So he hosted a podcast called BlogCast FM and gradually grew the podcast interview by interview. He then re-branded it into what it is today, the Unmistakable Creative. It is now one of the most popular podcasts for creatives.
Tina Roth Eisenberg aka swissmiss
Tina is one of the most popular designers on the internet. She came to the US from Switzerland and worked for several prominent NYC design firms.
In 2005, she started her popular blog, swissmiss, and ran her own design studio with clients including the Museum of Modern Art and Food Network. While building the studio she also started other side projects including Creative Mornings, TeuxDeux, and Tattly. These projects allowed her to drop all her clients to work on them full-time.
Chase Jarvis
While at San Diego State University, Chase had plans of going to medical school after graduating. A few weeks before graduation, his grandfather passed and left him all of his photography equipment.
Instead of going to school after graduating, he took a trip to Europe, where he discovered his passion for photography. While pursuing his Masters degree at the University of Washington, he licensed photos to REI, which allowed him to leave school and start up his own studio.
Since then, Chase has photographed for clients like Nike, Apple, Miscrosoft, REI, and Lady Gaga. He also launched CreativeLive which offers free classes for people who want to learn photography, design, and other creative topics, and hosts interviews with creatives on Chase Jarvis Live.
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[bctt tweet=”Be courageous and let your creativity guide you”]
Most of us believe we can’t pursue our creative dreams. We lack the conviction to step out of our comfort zones and do the thing we love most. Instead of letting your preconceived notions stop you, let them go. Be courageous and let your creativity guide you.
“Get busy living or get busy dying.” – Stephen King Quote Art
“Get busy living or get busy dying.” – Stephen King
Print available on Storenvy.
We live most of our lives in fear. We are afraid to be alone. We are afraid of trying new things. Most of all, we are afraid of failure. This single fear prevents many of us from doing the things we want to do.
The question is not whether we have fear, the question is why. While I don’t claim to know why anyone else has fear, I do know why I am afraid.
I am afraid that I am not enough. I am afraid of other people’s judgments. I am afraid that I will fail.
[bctt tweet=”When we are afraid, we don’t take action.”]
Fear is a powerful de-motivator. When we are afraid, we don’t take action. We stay inside our comfort zone. We are trapped in a bubble.
While our fears will never go away, we can acknowledge them and let them go. If we let fear win, we have given in to death. In the words immortalized by Drake, “You only live once.”
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”
– H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Nothing in life is guaranteed. We should be grateful every day we wake up. It can all disappear so quickly. No one knows what comes after death, so we should spend our time living in the now instead of some distant future.
[bctt tweet=”If you are waiting for permission to live your life, here it is. “]
If you are waiting for permission to live your life, here it is. That doesn’t mean you need to be a reckless or live your life like a daredevil. It means finding out what lights you up inside. Live the life you want to lead. Don’t let everyone else tell you how to live your life. Don’t go to your deathbed with all your regrets.
Jennifer Palmer is the subject of the upcoming documentary on synchronicity: Time is Art. She is also a writer and the co-founder of SyncChast, a platform that connects people with thought leaders, artists, and pioneers for change. In this episode, Jennifer talked about how her aunt’s death changed her life, what it was like being the subject of a documentary, and how technology is a powerful tool for connecting people.
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