Guest Posts
Creatives Need Support
Creatives Need Support by Connie Kottman Everyone is creative in some way. Yet some people are recognized for special creative abilities from an early age. The visual arts, music, writing, design and performance, are just a few of the disciplines that continue to transform our world daily. Creatives bring the gift of new perspectives to the world, often challenging the status quo in large ways through their works, and in even small ways through the way they dress. Some creatives, rather than challenging society, simply call the rest of us to notice things that most people take for granted. Their paintings, their music, their words, shout, “Look here! Pay attention to this! Don’t forget, people. Be mindful.” Creative people are indeed sensitive souls. Our sensitivity is what gives us our heightened awareness of the world around us, and enables us to interpret shared experiences in new, previously unimagined ways. It can also make us seem self-absorbed, anxious or distracted. Or even baffling. All creatives are driven to create. We may credit different sources of our drive or inspiration, or not know where it comes from, but generally we acknowledge there is a source that feeds our creativity beyond our own conscious mind. Creatives often go into a zone where, while we are creating, time seems to stop. Sometimes these moments of epiphany are few and far between, and we have to discipline ourselves to keep creating through the less inspired moments. We may become moody during these times. Creatives need support from those who love them. This allows us to thrive, and create our best work. What are some ways you can support the creatives in your life? Love us for who we are. We often feel misunderstood. Sometimes we don’t understand ourselves. Be open-minded about us as individuals. We may look different or even choose non-conventional lifestyles. We may mingle with others that don’t fit into neat molds as defined by society. Or we may seem very “average”…until you get to know us! Please don’t judge us. Give us space and time to create. But bring us cookies and tea once in a while as we pound out that manuscript. Text us and ask how the painting is coming. Encourage us to get past our fears and take risks in the world. Encourage us to bring our creative work to completion, mail it off to the publisher, post it online, or share it at an open mic night. Our work is meant to be shared but we may have a fear of taking that step. Acts of creativity are fraught with risk and fear. What we create, after all, comes from deep within and is a direct reflection of us. Our creations are sort of like children. And like our children, at some point we have to let our creative work go and make an impact in the world. Remind us of that. Go to creative places or events together. Visit an art fair, or the latest museum exhibition. Go to concerts and live performances. Go to a botanical garden or a restaurant known for its fine foodcraft. Talk with street performers. Feed your creative’s soul. You might find your own creativity awakening as well. Speak the truth with love. It may seem like our latest creation sucks. But maybe you just need to understand where your creative is coming from. Ask gently about what the painting is about, or what the poem is referring to, or how they chose to include a certain sound in their music. If you know that our latest creation is not our best work, it’s also better to challenge us with love than to dismiss it. We need constructive criticism. As long as it’s constructive. Helpfulness is good. Sugar coating is bad. Don’t feed our egos. Sugar coating the truth or your confusion under a insincerely mumbled, “yeah, it’s great.” does not do your creative, or the world, a favor. We creatives should not be coddled by those who love us. Because then we get big heads, present our mediocre work to...
Read MoreHow I STARTED Beard Sauce
How I STARTED Beard Sauce by Megan Lee Webb I was pretty surprised when I was asked to do a post on starting a business. But then I remembered that I HAD started a business, Beard Sauce. I guess it’s just one of those things that happened that was so surreal and amazing that I don’t feel like any of it was me. But the reality is, I did it! I actually did something that I set out to do. A child doesn’t know how delicious candy is until she tastes it. So she can go on living life for a few months or years not knowing about the fantastic experience of sweet confectionery, but as soon as she gets her little fingers on a chocolate bar, she will always want more. That taste will forever be imprinted in her sensories. That’s kind of like what successfully starting a business, project or dream is like. You just have no clue how much joy you are missing out on until you accomplish something that you had no idea you were capable of doing. That finger-lickin’ sweet taste of carrying out a dream is a taste you are now familiar with, and you crave more of it. So, how do you Start? Well, we’ve spent months figuring that out and talking about it, right? We have compiled a vast amount of ideas and resources on how to do this, and I’ve watched it changed people’s lives. What did I do? How did I, in detail, apply ideas and theories and Start? Here’s what I can remember. 1) Take Advantage of the nerve. My whole life, I’ve had moments where I’d get an idea for something and actually had the nerve to take action towards making that idea a reality, but the nerve didn’t last long. I would over analyze it and, after a day or so, the nerve would be gone and I would tell myself, “I’ll just write that idea down for the future.” I had lots of days like that when it came to Beard Sauce. There were mornings where I’d wake up and have the nerve to START, and then I’d just go about my routine and become my usual, cowardly self . And then there was that one morning when my Pastor showed our church staff a TED talk about asking people for help, and the nerve re-surfaced. The nerve was so strong that I just couldn’t turn it down, and that night we made the video for our Indiegogo Campaign to raise the starter money for Beard Sauce. Another word for “the nerve” is simply COURAGE. And courage is the result of putting fear in it’s place. When we fear the Lord instead of failure, we are compelled to do what He has made us to do. 2) Get over your pride and ask for help. If you want your vision and your dream to get in front of the eyes of the world, you gotta get over the stigma that asking for help is strictly for people who you refer to when you use that term, “bless their heart”. We all need it, and asking for help is a wonderful tool that will create a humility in you that will carry on into your business well after your needs have been met. This sure as heck applies if you are using a crowdfunding site to launch your business or project. The number one reason the Beard Sauce Indiegogo campaign met and surpassed its $ goal was because we consistently asked for help using various social media platforms. And when I say consistently, I’m talking every 2 hours or so. We had a constant stream of updates and calls to action, and got it in front of as many people as we possibly could. A girl in my town, who I’m now good friends with because of this, saw the campaign, posted it on reddit, and we had a $100 donation because a guy saw her post! We had friends and family members call their friends...
Read MoreMile A Day 5K
Mile A Day 5K by Ben Dempsey Two months ago, I started a fitness challenge. The only requirement? To be active for at least a mile a day by either walking, running, cycling, or swimming. 75 people jumped onboard and started encouraging each other in the Facebook group. They also started Tweeting and tagging pictures with #mileaday. During those two months, the group grew to 120 people. And the really exciting part? We have conservatively logged over 6,100 miles together! For the third month, I wanted to make the challenge even bigger. I decided to organize a virtual 5K, with all of the proceeds going to charity. I have worked in the healthcare industry for 13 years, and have had the pleasure of working with pediatric patients fighting cancer. Childhood cancer gets overlooked when it comes to specialized fundraising and research. I chose the Rally Foundation to be the charity of choice for the virtual 5K, because they are leading the fight against childhood cancer. I am excited about the difference this group will make via the virtual 5K. It’s a great way to support a good cause, and also have a reason to get out and exercise to improve our own lives as well. You can join the #mileaday group to follow along, and prepare for the 5K. Some members have also utilized the C25K (Couch to 5K) app to help prepare for the distance. Here’s how you can get involved: Mile A Day 5K 4 Charity When: November 23rd, 2013 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. How: $10 entry to walk, run, or cycle 3.1 miles via Razoo Fundraising Page If you have questions, you can also contact me at [email protected]. I’ll be cheering you on as you join us in the virtual...
Read MoreTurn Your Average Goals into SMART Goals
Turn Your Average Goals into SMART Goals by Ryan Eller Goals, we all have them…but few of us know how to set proper goals. The problem is that we don’t make SMART Goals. I was facilitating a workshop recently about goals, and participant after participant shared their goal with the group. They went something like this: My goal is to be happy. My goal is to be rich. My goal is to go to college. Some would think these goals are great goals, but as I sat listening to others share, I could only think about how poor these goals were. Most people’s goals are ridiculously ambiguous. How do you measure happiness? When do you want to graduate from college? And with what degree? Where do you want to go to college? If you set a SMART Goal, you will answer these questions by removing the ambiguity and making it specific. Specific One way to make your goal a SMART Goal is to make it more specific. I typically lead workshop participants in the Triple S activity. The Triple S activity takes your goal and makes it much more specific. Go ahead and try it out…write your goal down. I will use the “Go to College” goal as my example. Original Goal: Go to College 1st S: Make it more specific. Example: Go to the University of Georgia. 2nd S: Make it even more specific. Example: Go to the University of Georgia and major in Accounting. 3rd. S: Make it even more specific. Example: Go to the University of Georgia and major in Accounting and minor in Financial Planning. The Triple S Activity will help narrow your scope and improve your goal. Isn’t the third example a much better goal than the original goal? Make your goal much more specific and you will be on the first step towards making your goal a SMART Goal. Measurable Have you ever had the goal to lose weight? It is one of the most common goals on the planet, but is rarely achieved. If your goal is to lose weight and you lose 0.0001 pounds, did you achieve your goal? Of course you did! Your goal was to lose weight and you did! Congrats! Go ahead and eat that burger…you deserve it. The truth is you need to make your goals measurable to make them SMART Goals. If you change your weight loss goal to “I want to lose 10 pounds,” you immediately have a better goal. And when finished, you want to able to say, “I have finished this goal.” In our previous example, if you change our college goal to “I want to graduate from the University of Georgia and major in Accounting and minor in Financial Planning,” it makes it measurable. You will either graduate or you won’t graduate, either way it is measurable. Attainable When you make your goal attainable, you are really determining if you can actually achieve this goal. Let’s be honest, some people are either super secure in their ability or just plain crazy. When we determine if our goal is attainable, we must also be realistic. I would love to be the starting QB for the OU Sooners. I have always loved the team, and I think I could be the guy to help Bob Stoops win the next elusive BCS title. However, if I was making a SMART Goal, I would check to see if it was attainable. Can I throw a football more than 15 yards? No. Can I run faster than a 7.5 40-yard-dash? No. Can I read defenses without getting smashed by a 250 lb. linebacker? No. I could try with all my might and try to make my goal a SMART Goal, but I would never be the starting QB for the Sooners. Regardless of your SMART Goal, it is utterly important to remember that it is 100% up to you if your goal is attainable. I cannot tell you that you can’t achieve your goal. Neither can your parents, or your teachers, your friends, or even your enemies....
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