Sarah Jackson is the founder of Casa de Paz, a hospitality home for families affected by immigrant detention. She is also the founder of Volleyball Latino, a year-round indoor volleyball league that raises money for Casa de Paz. In this episode, Sarah talks about why she started Casa de Paz and Volleyball Latino, the importance of taking small steps, and why you need to take action if you want to achieve your goals.
Author: Kevin Chung (Page 9 of 21)
Max Makewell is a New York City based artist and muralist, but it wasn’t always this way. He grew up in a family of artists and started his career as an artist, but then transitioned into the startup world. It was only after spending a few years there that he came back to being an artist full-time. In this episode, Max talks about owning your identity, making your way through obstacles, and building relationships as the core of marketing your art.
“I am not afraid… I was born to do this.” – Joan of Arc Quote Art
“I am not afraid… I was born to do this.” – Joan of Arc
Print available on Storenvy.
[bctt tweet=”If you want to achieve your dreams, you must not let fear get in your way”]
If you want to achieve your dreams, you must not let fear get in your way. Fear is the unwanted house guest. It’s the giant chasm blocking your path. It’s a pesky mosquito that won’t stop biting you.
Too often, we let that unwanted guest stay in our house. We reach the chasm and turn around in defeat. We let that mosquito pester us. We’re defeated.
It is these moments that define us. You can either give up, like 90% of other people, or you can overcome your fear. No, it will never go away. Fear, whether we like it or not, is a part of life. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you will be able to overcome it.
[bctt tweet=”Life is too short to let fear beat us down”]
Life is too short to let fear beat us down. As artists, we are dreamers. We are doers. We are driven by our passion, our need, to create.
Approach your fear like you would a new painting. Confront it like a blank canvas. Tackle it any way you know how. Even if you don’t know the way, you must forge on.
Tell that unwanted house guest it’s time to go. Find your way across that chasm. Kill that pesky mosquito.
Don’t let fear get in the way of your goals. Remember, you were born to do this.
“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.” – Thomas Edison Quote Art
“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.” – Thomas Edison
Print available on Storenvy.
Give up. These words get etched into our minds the moment we face Resistance. They nag at us relentlessly. They are like a hungry mosquito who just won’t stop biting you. The voice in your mind echos again “Give up.”
How can we go on? Nothing works. We’ve tried everything. We stare at the canvas wondering what went wrong. Should I start over? “Give up.”
Many times this voice wins. We are drained. We stop what we ‘re doing. It’s too difficult to go on.
These are the moments that define us. Instead of giving up, we need to reflect on our work. Did we really try everything? Have we taken a break from our work? Is there another solution I haven’t even considered?
When you think you’ve tried everything, just remember, you haven’t. Thomas Edison was once asked by his associate, “Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work you have done you haven’t been able to get any results?” Edison replied, “‘Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.”
Instead of giving up on a piece you love, try looking at it in a new way. In Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way, he talks about turning roadblocks into solutions. What can we learn from what others have done?
[bctt tweet=”Often times, solutions come from places where we aren’t expecting them”]
You don’t necessarily need to look at what other artists have done. In fact, often times, it can be detrimental to look within the same industry. What have people in other wakes of life done to overcome a problem? Often times, solutions come from places where we aren’t expecting them.
[bctt tweet=”When we work on projects too long we can lose focus”]
One way to do this is to take a break from your work. When we work on projects too long we can lose focus. We can’t see the forest for the trees.
When this happens, work on a different project, or stop working completelly. Take a break and do something different. Go for a walk. Read a book. Watch a documentary. Do anything to get your mind off the subject.
Then, something miraculous will happen. The answer will come to you. You will be washing your hair in the shower, when an insight strikes you. That is the moment you get back to work.
Too often we give up on a project too soon. We feel like it’s consuming all of our time. We don’t think there’s a solution, but often times there is a solution. We just haven’t tried it yet.
Charlie Gilkey is is the creator of Productive Flourishing and the host of the Creative Giants podcast. He describes himself as the result of mashing up an entrepreneur, Army officer, and philosopher. In this episode, Charlie talks about mindsets, business, and the power of art.
Dustin Main is one of the photographers behind Lightmoves Creative and the creator of Date an Adventurer. He is also an entrepreneur, adventure photographer, and documentary film maker. In this episode, Dustin talks about being present, using storytelling in his photography, and the power of vulnerability and being open.
Every child is an artist until he’s told he’s not an artist. – John Lennon Quote Art
“Every child is an artist until he’s told he’s not an artist.” – John Lennon
Print available on Storenvy.
Imagine you’re a child again. You want to express your thoughts, but words just won’t do. So, you pick up your crayon and get to work.
To others it looks like a scribbles on the page. It looks like random lines scattered across a piece of paper.
For us, this is our masterpiece. It is the expression of our thoughts, our feelings, and our desires. It might not make sense to others who see it, but it makes sense to us.
As we grow older, people’s expectations change. They want to make sense of the madness. “Is that a person? Is it a dog? What is it?” Expectations grow. People want to label our work. They want to attach a name to what they’re seeing.
It’s only natural. People want to identify with our work. They want to recognize what’s in front of them.
There is a moment in every child’s life that splits us into two groups. Those who can and those who can’t. You can draw. You can’t. You should give it up. You should keep on drawing.
Why do we insist on doing this? Why must one child be considered an artist, a genius, a prodigy, while another is cast off to the side?
When we are children, we are free to play, to experiment, to fail. We approach life with a wonderful sense of curiosity.
[bctt tweet=”We need to stop telling children they aren’t artists”]
We need to stop telling children they aren’t artists. Kids are impressionable. One off-hand comment can completely change the trajectory of someone’s life.
Instead of telling kids their art isn’t good, encourage them to study it more. Dive deeper into that innate curiosity.
There is a stigma surrounding the arts. “You can’t make money as an artist.” “Shouldn’t you choose a better paying job?” We continue to perpetuate this myth, and it has had an enormous affect of society.
How many Picassos have we stifled? How many J.K. Rowlings left their stories untold? How many Steven Spielbergs decided to become accountants instead of making visionary films?
After having deep conversations with dozens of people, with diverse backgrounds, I’ve come to realize one thing. Everyone is creative. The only person preventing us from being creative is ourselves.
Since childhood, we have let others dictate what we should and shouldn’t do. It’s time to break that cycle.
If a child decides on their own they don’t want to be an artist, that’s wonderful. Everyone is not destined to be an artist. But we should never stifle future generations from becoming the artists within themselves, screaming to come out. Let them take their own hero’s journey.
Josh Rivedal is the founder and director of the I’mPossible Project. He is also the author of two books and the star of his own one-man show. In this episode, Josh talks about overcoming his near suicide, the importance of marketing for artists, and the lessons we can learn from failure.
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” – Orson Welles Quote Art
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” – Orson Welles
Print available on Storenvy.
Inspiration is endless. It can come from viewing the fine details of the Mona Lisa up close or seeing a stray cat run across your back yard. We never know which small detail will lead to our next great work. There are endless possibilities, but the Muse isn’t calling.
It can be intimidating. People wait patiently for our next great work, but soon they start to get antsy. “What’s taking her so long to write that book?” “Why do they keep delaying that movie?” The expectations keep mounting. Yet, still nothing comes to us.
People will try to give us ideas. “Why don’t you try…” or “What about…” but the last thing we need is more possibilities. That’s what caused this mess is the first place.
As artists, we don’t like people trying to stifle us. We find freedom in the possibilities. Our canvas is only limited by our imaginations. We can bring anything to life.
Therein lies the paradox. We don’t need more options. We need more limitations.
If I told you, you have once chance to create the greatest painting of your life. What would you do? How would you approach it? Where would you even begin?
You would probably freeze up. You would be paralyzed by fear. Fear of messing up. Fear of choosing the wrong thing. Fear of messing up your chances.
That is where restraints come into play. Restraints help you narrow down your options. They stop you from being paralyzed by fear. They help you make a decision.
“But out of limitations comes creativity.” – Debbie Allen
Robert Rodriguez used limitations to create his first film El Mariachi, which became the lowest budget movie ever released by a major studio. This revelation has defined his film making ever since.
Architect Frank Gehry used constraints in his building designs. For his award-winning design of the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the strict standards for acoustics led to the unique design of the Hall’s interior space.
Austin Kleon, gained fame for his Newspaper Blackout poems. He creates these poems by taking a newspaper, and crossing out everything but the words he needs to create a poem.
These are just a few examples of how constraints enhance your creativity. The next time you feel stuck trying to come up with an idea for your great work, give yourself some limitations. They will give you the necessary fuel to spark your creativity and your art.
Juan Sepulveda is a painter and the creator of The Winding Stairs Podcast and The Gentleman’s Brotherhood. His art focuses around the lessons and symbols of free masonry. In this episode, Juan talks about marketing and creating art, why you must have the right mindset, and why you need to diversify your income streams.
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