Stop Making Excuses

Drop Of Water by Claudia H. Blanton

So dear fellow writers, creatives, and artists, I want to wake up this morning with a little kick in the behind.

Stop making excuses.

Say what?
You heard me right. Stop making excuses why you can not work on your creative projects, goals, and dreams. Stop that right now. Life is too short,  to waste another precious minute pondering upon the reasons why you can not follow through
The list of potential excuses are not going to get any shorter, just because you waited a month, a year, a decade to follow through. So stop, and do whatever it takes –  right now.

Keep The Dream Alive – Motivational Typography by Claudia H. Blanton

I am being hard on you here because I know how debilitating those excuses can be. I lived and breathed excuses. I would blame everyone and everything for why I do not have time, from lack of sleep to lack of resources, to not being good enough, or not having the right connections.

Guess what, if you do not do any of the steps needed to make your dream come true, you still will not have all of those things, and in addition to that, you will have a mediocre life at best. Do you really want that?
I did not think so.

So, say it with me, one more time.

Stop making excuses.

Start by asking questions. How about asking others for resources, or how they did it? How about getting your head away from that tv show and watch a youtube video on how others in your field made it? You will find, that many creatives do not mind sharing their “secrets”, which are no secrets through many platforms. Learn and then do.

I am rooting for you.

 

Blessings!

Claudia

P.S. Are you ready to take action? Then follow me to the free learning network Wealthy Affiliate right now!

Celebrate The Small Things – Writing Edition

“Today I am Grateful for…” Gratitude Journal by positivephrasesgifts

This week’s gratitude list includes a lot of things about writing.

First of all, I am grateful that I was able to plan out some blog posts for the next few weeks on topics I am interested in sharing with you. Because I am writing now for three sites (my design blog, my motivation/inspirational blog, and this one), the topics range from staying motivated even when time to follow your dreams are limited, to  some exciting features and interviews with artists and creatives which are writers, print on demand artists or  otherwise interesting people who are putting their creativity out there.

I am grateful that I had a chance to connect with them all and am happy to be of service to them while sharing their talent with the rest of the world.

I am grateful that we are living in the US, where it is okay to express ourselves through our creativity with an amount of freedom that is not granted in many parts of the world. Many bloggers, writers, journalists, and artists are jailed, disappear or were killed for their art. We can express ourselves safely and openly. For that, I am grateful.

I am grateful for the creative writers that work on the television shows that are coming our way this season. We are entertained by their wit, and sometimes depth, as they make us forget for a short while our own lives and emerge ourselves into the lives of their creation. Making television shows “take a village”, and I am awed by their talent.

Oh, and I am grateful that this morning the internet is back on. Had a little problem with the connection but the cable company came out and fixed it. Very grateful for those helpful people!

What are you grateful for this week? I am looking forward to connecting with you – and if you have not joined in with this wonderful group of bloggers, you really should – just simply add yourself to the blog hop list on our hosts – Lexa Cain’s – blog, and we will make sure we will stop by!

Have a great week!

Claudia

Stop That Re-Pin! 4 Things You Should Consider Before Hitting That Pin Button

Whether you are a Print On Demand Artist, a writer or have your own business, the power of owning a Pinterest Business Account is great and should be utilized to its fullest potential by everyone. But because it is easy to fall into the trap of spamming your followers, you have to have a certain level of other pins on your boards that are not advertising your products or services. One of many ways to so is to repin what other people have posted.

However, repinning a great infographic without too much thought can be counter-productive. Here are four points you should consider when repinning content to your Pinterest business account (or any Pinterest account):

1. Read the comments to the pin thoroughly. Just because the information is great, does not mean that the pinner’s thoughts on the subject matter fit your needs, the needs of your audience, or are views you want to convey. Better yet, change the description of the pin completely, and include your own information on it.

2. Check the link. A great graphic or image does not make a great re-pin. Make sure the pin does not lead to some questionable content or is a dead link.

3. Get rid off hashtags. While hashtags are wonderful for facebook, twitter, Instagram and a host of other places, Pinterest is not one of them. Get rid of all the cluttering hashtags before re-pinning the pin.

4. Keep your followers in mind. Consider if the majority of your followers of this board would benefit from the content you are about to re-pin. If it is only of  interest to you or is only re-pinned to not look spammy, don’t bother. Every pin you share should have a purpose and bring value to your followers. No exceptions.

Happy re-pinning!

Claudia

P.S. Check out my free Editorial Calender And Marketing Planner – read about it, and download it here! 

 

Community, Creativity And The Return Of A Cat – A Celebrate The Small Things Blog Post

Thank You Card
http://goo.gl/acFKYs

 

Another week has passed and it is again time for Celebrate the Small Things, with Lexa Cain, our wonderful blog hop host, who kindly takes her time to keep us all in check.

As every week (or at least that is the goal), I post what I am grateful for. And as usual, considering how busy we all are as a family, there is plenty to be grateful for.

I am grateful that I have had the chance to connect with some more RedBubble creators and co-created a few collaborative boards to highlight all of our creative endeavors. It is fun to work together with independent artists, and this is just another way, I am grateful that I can contribute to their success. And learn from them in the process.

I am grateful that the weather has found its usual rhythm of morning sunshine and afternoon rain. At least this way I can count on the weather somewhat, and adjust both dog walks and outings accordingly. I will miss the rain once we moved to Las Vegas, but I will not miss the mosquitos.

I am grateful that one of our neighbors has found her cat again, who had gotten out by accident. A skittish cat, and an indoor one to boot, this cat would not have done well on her own. I am glad she is home safe with her family.

I am grateful that I have had a chance to work on my own creative projects, even if it was only for a little while. I need creativity like breathing, so a day without making, or writing something is just not a day that goes well for me. Most of the days though, despite the busyness of all of the other things going on around us, I find the time. I have to make time.

What are you grateful for this week? Make sure you stop by Lexa Cain’s blog and check out all of the other wonderful people who participate in this blog hop.

Blessings

Claudia

 

 

Inspiration – Guest With Katy Tackes

Creativity thrives on inspiration, it is what propels us as Artists to reach deep and uncover the truths and gems within our chosen art.

I love asking fellow artist, what inspires them to create. This week, I had the chance to ask this question to Katy Tackes, Author of “Each Time She Wakes“, and “A Personal Creative Journal“. Here is her answer:

What inspires me the most?
Nature. Her beauty, will, desire to evolve, and create, and most of all, the way Nature connects us all with her thread of Love that flows through each of us.

Katy also told me, that she writes her stories to inject optimism into this world, and to remind us, that we are all connected.

With that positive, inspiring message in mind, check out Katy’s work here.

What inspires your creativity?

Wishing you a blissful day,

Claudia

Outline Your Story In 30 Minutes – A Book Review

Title: Outline Your Novel In Thirty Minutes: Discover Your Story DNA
Author: Alicia Rasley
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Rating: 2/5 Stars

While the questions in this book, which are designed for the reader to discover parts of their story, are interesting and have merit, the book is just that – a list of nine questions. There is no actual instruction on how to outline an entire novel, which of course would not be possible in thirty minutes anyway. I did not expect much to begin with, but at least some additional information on how to place the information the reader developed into an actual outline would have been nice. Don’t waste your time with this book, there are plenty of other, more in-depth volumes on the same subject that are much more helpful.

Disclaimer: I rented this book from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, and was not paid for reviewing it.