Marketing Your Creativity

Last week my friend was showing me his new iPad 2 and the video game Angry Birds.  Of course, I know that this game is very popular, but I had no idea why it was so addictive until I started playing.  For those who have not seen Angry Birds, or who have no idea what I am talking about . . . the objective of the game is to sling shot an “angry bird” up and across to knock out a bunch of squeaking pigs.  Yes, you do want the sound turned up. Read the rest of this entry »

I know that a lot of you believe I have super-human powers that allow me to do more in the 24/7 than the average human.  Really, I don’t.  I am just good at creating self-imposed deadlines.

I wish I could say that I do this for everything in my life that needs to get done, but the reality is there are many projects I put off doing because I have not given them the priority they deserve.  But, I digress, I am talking about how to create self-imposed deadlines that work.

For me, getting stuff done is a bit of a game.  If there are any game players out there, you know that as you move from task to task in another world, you are rewarded and this reward gives you a rush of adrenaline which makes you feel good.

I consider my game a variation of “Beat-the-Clock”.  Of course, I want to “win” Read the rest of this entry »

Does this sound familiar?  “When I get a little extra money, I’m going to . . .”  The irony of this, especially with marketing your art, is that to get the little extra money, you have to do whatever you are putting off.

We all do this, including me.  I have quite a few marketing campaigns that I use this excuse on.  The second runner up is time.  “When I get a little extra time, I’m going to . . .”

So, are you ready to put these excuses aside and start marketing to earn more money from your art?  The secret is Read the rest of this entry »

Whether we admit to it or not, we as humans love things like gossip, soap operas, eavesdropping, sharing secrets, peeping, and Entertainment Tonight (basically, everything on the E! cable network). And let’s not forget People Magazine—yes, I read it religiously every week. Why are we obsessed with this as a culture? It’s the human interest. It’s finding out about OTHER people’s lives, the intricacies, the quirky little details, the strange ways of being. Sometimes we’re looking to see how DIFFERENT others’ lives are. Perhaps we’re aspiring to be like them, or maybe we’re ridiculing them. Sometimes, we’re just looking to see how SIMILAR their lives are. (“Hey, celebrities go grocery shopping too?”)

For whatever reason, we stay glued to the minutest details of peoples’ lives. It’s something you should think about implementing to attract clients. Don’t laugh, I’m serious. You can use this deep ‘human interest’ need we all have to your advantage.

How? By letting people into the little details of your OWN life. Read the rest of this entry »

Working in theatre, you learn quickly that the show must go on.  Really . . . no matter what.  You plan for the worst case scenario and hope for the best.  However, no matter how much you plan or prepare – something will go wrong and you learn to adapt; making lemonade out of lemons.  Often the audience doesn’t realize that there is a problem.  The actors know the set hasn’t flown in as it was rehearsed over and over again, but the audience is none the wiser

As I mentioned last week in my eZine newsletter, this past weekend was the Cal Scots Scottie Collectible Convention – which I planned, organized and hosted.  And, no matter how prepared I could have been, things did go wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

I do feel like I’ve gone to the dark side, performed some sort of mortal sin and put Borders out of business (three stores are closing in the Los Angeles area).  Why all these feelings?  Well, two weeks ago, I got a Kindle.

Although I am often times on the cutting edge of new technology, I was not an early adopter of the eReader technology.  In fact, I was pretty dead set against the idea of a device replacing the experience of holding and reading a book.  The feel of the paper, the quiet sound of the pages turning as you travel with the author into his imagined world.

However, what I’ve to come realize is that Amazon is not “replacing” the book, but rather enhancing the experience of reading.  The weight of the current version of the Kindle is about that of a paperback book.  It is slightly larger than a paperback, but thinner and it fits neatly in my purse – like a thin day-runner (when those where so popular).   Read the rest of this entry »

We get so busy in our lives, performing our daily juggling acts of home, work, exercise, down-time, that we rarely take a step back to see if the circus has left town without us.

In my last article, I shared with you all that I am taking the Brave Girls Club online Soul Restoration course (www.bravegirlsclub.com).  This 6 week course is drawing to a close and what it has given me is a lot of perspective on my life and how caught up I am in the routines that I truly do not enjoy at all.

I am a doer.  I have always been good at doing.  Have a task that needs to get done, give it to me and I’ll get it done.   This is not necessarily a bad thing; however, it has created a laundry list of activities in my life that truly bring me no joy (including laundry itself). Read the rest of this entry »

As many of you know, I love to learn.  So, I am taking a 6-week online Soul Restoration course put on by the Brave Girls Club (www.bravegirlsclub.com).  I took the course for a number of reasons, but mainly because it sounded like fun – 6 weeks of crafting projects exploring your own inner child (what more does a girl need).  I am 4 weeks in and I have to say I am having fun creating and writing, but I am also learning a lot about myself.

This week’s topic is looking back at women in our own history who did it anyway – despite the odds against them.  I have a lot to draw from as some of my relatives came across country in covered wagons – leaving friends and family behind – to fulfill their dreams of a better life.

As I gave this more thought, I realized that I also came across country leaving friends and family behind to fulfill my dreams.  Of course, I had an air conditioned car and there were lots of Motel 6’s along the way – as this brave girl does not “camp.”  I moved to Los Angeles in 1992, just after the riots.  People said I was crazy, Read the rest of this entry »

Post written by Leo Babauta.

How do you find a balanced life when you’re overloaded with work?

How do you switch off work when you’re away from the office?

The answers to these very common questions are elusive. It’s never an easy thing. But once you do find this balance you’ll find enormous benefits: more enjoyment of life and better relationships and less stress and a better quality of life overall.

A reader recently asked:

“I’d love to hear advice on how people who work full-time jobs can still manage to attain a well-balanced life. Especially in roles that give you sales targets, monitor you, and can be very stressful. I know it’s best to switch off after working hours, but sometimes (as humans) it is tough.

In Hong Kong, part-time jobs don’t pay well here and are tough to find, and full-time jobs often require overtime and are very stressful (it’s the Hong Kong norm to squeeze out as much as you can from an employee). In this corporate jungle, a part-time would be a perfect job for me (say 9-3 everyday); however it’s very hard to find jobs like that – it’s just not how the job market here is in Asia.

So how does one keep their calm and be grounded and still make time & energy for family, friends, myself, hobbies, interests and let’s face it – sanity? How does one learn to ‘not keep goals’ when that is what is expected from 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. 5 days a week? It’s tough to be 2 different people at work and outside of work.”

That’s a tough one. I should note that in many countries — including the U.S. — this is a common problem even if it’s not as pronounced as in Hong Kong (for example). We all face these problems whether we’re employees or self-employed or free-lancers or own our own businesses. Read the rest of this entry »

I just got finished loading my car with my ceramics (and all the other stuff that goes with it) for a show I am doing later this afternoon.  I have a VERY long/narrow driveway, so there is no way for me to back my mini-van to the garage without damaging the side of the house or the sides of the car (not to mention the fence in the way which keeps the dogs contained).  So, I have to haul the stuff out to the van on the street.  To do so, I take great advantage of my friend Dolly.  Dolly is my hand-truck which allows me to move everything more efficiently.  Not only things I might not be able to lift and carry that distance, but she also cuts down the amount of trips.

Today, I was thinking about Dolly and how she really helps me leverage my work-load.  And then I was thinking about other tools I use and the power of leverage.   Read the rest of this entry »