Share your gratitudes

http://www.gratefulness.org/index.htm

This week a friend of mine posted this site on her blog. As I have been exploring creativity, I am finding the information here to be inspirational. Being grateful, even in the face of adversity, is the key to opening the mind to new possibilities. Lately, quite a few things have happened that derailed my gratitude train. It only takes a short while for me to be off the track, before I start using my tools to hop back in the groove. I start listing my gratitudes to help tweak my attitude. I also call friends and take a deeper interest in their lives which helps me get out of myself. And, of course, I do art to help my brain switch to the right side... the creative side! When I get in touch with my creativity, I can see solutions to problems that I may have never thought of before.

What do you do to "get grateful"?
Is there one friend that you haven't talked to lately that you would be willing to call in the next 24 hours?
What is one thing you are grateful for right this second?

Enjoy the site link above!
Have a creatively fearless day!
Josie

Do Something Different Today!

The last poster on my previous blog entry asked a question. Thank you Elisabeth! She asked me what has been my biggest challenge in my art career. This started a mind movie of instances where I risked leaving my comfort zone to do things differently. At one point in my life, fear knocked and I answered. I let fear in the door and her presence covered me like a glove. I stopped drawing, painting, sculpting....even thinking about doing art was off limits. This went on for ten years. I was locked and blocked from my creative spirit.

Then, while working with Marta Weiskopf through my connection to Fearless Living (fearlessliving.org), I found ways to start risking again. I got back into my art studio and produced some of the best work of my life. I will always be grateful to Marta for her support! She has, over the years, encouraged me to finish a children's book that I started in 1994. This is on my "bucket list" of things to do before I die. So many things are on that list. Here's the key: Risk, Do, Create, Move Forward.

My biggest challenges as an artist have always been wound up with fear in some way. The absolute biggest challenge was the first day I walked into a local restaurant and asked the owner to show my work. I didn't even have enough work for a show, but I knew if she said yes, I was on my way. Well, she did say yes and I worked for three months to get a good show together. It was the first time in ten years that anyone had seen my work. Since then, I have had many shows and continue to risk and create to move myself forward.

So, what will you do today that makes you take a risk? What small step will you take that will move you past your fears? What is a dream you've had that you've never acted upon?

Fearless Creativity

Creativity:
JK Rowling on the Importance of Failure and Imagination

Welcome to a new creativity blog!

My name is Josie Sullivan and I am an artist and creativity coach. My dream is to create a space here, where others in the arts can come and discuss all sorts of creativity. As a Fearless Living Life coach (fearlessliving.org) I'm here to tell you, that when that same old fear of failure jumps in the room, that's when it's time to get busy. I'm grateful today that I know what to do when this happens...face it and do the dream anyhow. That's what I help others to do who are paralyzed by fear and want to walk forward through all of the risks to achieve their dreams.

I found a lovely speech that I will be featuring today by J.K. Rowling. She was giving the commencement speech to Harvard this June and she talks about the importance of failure and imagination. I am including the links (it's in 3 short parts) and I invite you to enjoy her amazing way of expressing herself and her ideas. You may want to grab a notepad and some tissues.

Part one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L445BmUEXH4

Part Two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kh_tSiqL1U&feature=related

Part Three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqGotirF20w&feature=related


Please come back and feel free to comment on it! What do you think about failure? Imagination? Creativity? Fear? Did parts of her talk raise the hairs on your arm?
Did part three bring up any emotions? If so, why?

Here's to Fearless Creativity and beyond!