9 Tips to Freedom and Prosperity for Artsy People or Everyone Else
Published by Megan on Tagged Tools & Tips, Basic Information
I’ve read so many self-help books, listened to motivational CD’s, hired coaches, gone to seminars and was left feeling like I had received something very beneficial, yet I had to admit to myself that it wasn’t what I really wanted to hear. It was the same things from the standpoint of “you just gotta do these things! If you do these particular things, you’ll be successful….” blah blah blah. There is truth throughout them all, but for someone like me who is very organic, dynamic, spontaneous and a bit scattered at times, many of the tips were too rigid, and when I “fell short” I also allowed myself to feel defeated, and in turn unproductive.
By now, many people are beginning to realize that their beliefs coupled with their dominant vibrations (emotions) will create their reality. I have a confession. I love to feel free, happy, jovial, whimsical, airy, and often times aloof. I enjoy those sensations, therefore, they move, carry and many times dictate my whereabouts and actions. Conversely, when it comes to sticking to something, it gets to be a little challenging and tricky for me.
The purpose of this post is to harness all of the amazing tools that I have collected from the masters (those who may not be as crazy as me) and put them in a framework that can bring some logic, reason and practical application to the many faceted and “not-so-practical” artisan like myself.
I’ve compiled a list of standard success principles that just can not be avoided, but I’ve added the artsy twist that seems to work for me:
1. Start Early
I’m just going to be frank. Wake up and get up in the morning!–lol When you start your day earlier, you usually have more energy and daylight hours to work with. Your body’s natural cardigan rhythm usually coincides with the sun. You can burn the candle in the evening, but that’s when the body naturally starts to calm down and begins preparing for sleep.
I like to focus on my health and body when I first wake up. I pay attention to my breathing and how my body feels initially. I’ll pray, meditate, set intentions, go through a bit of Ho’oponopono, and/or do some slight yoga. I get the body moving, the blood circulating and my breath going to wake everything up. This sets my day off with an energized and fueled start. If I wake up late and miss this, the rest of the day is a bit wacky, challenging being present and balanced.
Getting up early helps get “out of the blocks” fast, keep you more focused, and allows you to operate on a more steady pace.
2. Have a Plan (even it it’s small or short)
I’ve heard the phrase, “If you fail to plan, plan to fail.” In my opinion, that is so harsh. That would make me want to defeat the odds and succeed without planning. To make this statement digestible, consider the plan itself. Your plan could just be for a certain frequency. It may simply be for a particular task. It doesn’t have to be your entire life that you’re planning. Of course, that helps, but that can be overwhelming and a bit annoying for people who like to “flow.”
I like to use a planning sheet that I created that has a space for me to jot down very small incremental steps to the overall big picture on a daily basis. As long as I stick to writing my “stuff” out on these little papers, my scattered nature can be directed in a systematic way that is captured on paper. Anyone who would like a sample of this planning sheet, just send me an email with “Planning Sheet” in the subject and I’ll send it to you.
3. Be Consistent (elephant)
This is where I have the hardest time usually, and my planning sheets help me to be consistent. With anything that you do, whether its starting a business, learning a new trade or skill, or taking a class, it requires doing on a regular basis. Now, YOU can define what regular is. Regular can be every Tuesday, daily or 2 times per week for a particular task. As long as you’re doing something related to your plan; however big or small it is, regularly, you’ll be one step closer to what needs to take place next for your benefit. Just like the familiar answer to the question, “How do you eat an elephant?” take one step (bite) at a time toward your goal. If you don’t take the steps consistently, then you can guess what the outcome will be.
4. Practice
To make what you’re doing stick, you gotta do it again, and again, and again, and again…you get the picture. This is where I start to lose it! Repetition is boring to the scattered-brain! But, if it’s something that intrigues you and draws you in so that you want more, you can use creative repetition to drive the point home. For instance, when I’m practicing a piece, there are certain sections that just get on my nerves to play; however, I know that I have to work them in order to be able to play them. So, I change the way I play it each time to make each repetition a little more interesting. Once I work through the fingering, intonation and bowing, I vary the phrasing and the interpretation, I also vary the tempo (speed). I experiment with dynamics (volume) while all the while repeating and drilling the fundamentals of the fingering, intonation and bowing.
Change up your work out routine so you stick to working out. Switch the flavor of your water often so you stick to drinking water. Use different color pens when writing out your planning sheets so you’ll keep using them. Find interesting ways to listen to, read, or view your affirmations so you’ll keep creating and believing them.
5. Be Patient
With change comes challenge and discomfort. Don’t give up too soon and don’t beat yourself up for straying a little away from the plan or not practicing enough. Concentrate on “now” and the best “now” that you have to offer and be happy about it. It takes a little bit of adjusting for something new to stick in your psyche and in your immediate space. You may fall short a bit, but realize its part of the learning and growing process. When a baby falls when they’re trying to walk, do you get impatient with them, or do you lovingly allow them to pick themselves up and try again? Do the same with yourself. No judging please!!!–lol
6. Be Accountable
The ego likes validation and sometimes competition. Eckhart Tolle said that, “Your need to win drains you of power,” and that is so true. But often times that little nudge, kick or word of encouragement to keep pressing helps you to stick to whatever it is you’re working on. In his case, working on being “present” is still something that is going to be challenging for most people. To have an accountability partner to share experiences with and bounce ideas off of is wonderful. Knowing that they aren’t going to smile at your excuses, you take the extra stride to make sure that you don’t “fall short” in the eyes of whoever is holding you accountable. You can hire a coach, an expert, or you can even meet up with a total stranger who is on a similar path and become accountable to each other. It helps you stay on track.
7. Be Flexible
Many times when you plan, changes and variations to the plan beyond your control can occur. Instead of getting huffy and puffy around the fact that your plan got messed up, relax those emotions and bend a little. Allow some room for adjustments to take place and make them accordingly. Resisting the change can make matters worse and really halter your productivity all together. Some stuff may seem too big to handle, but remember that everything happens exactly how it’s supposed to and really strive to extract the lesson from the change. Keep it moving.
8. Start and Stay Positive
When you’re inclined or inspired to do something….ACT! Creative people often times get bombarded with ideas that come flooding in many different forms that have to be released. Often times, this creativity is suppressed and not directed into anything productive. On the other hand, many times the expression is allowed to be channeled but then we get discouraged because we start criticizing and down-talking the result. Fortunately, artistic people are unique in the sense that they can tap into Creative Intelligence a little easier than others and therefore can spearhead many phenomenal projects. At the same time, if not careful, they can be overly critical and sabotage a masterpiece before it even gets expressed.
Begin when the impulse and impetus is there and just let it happen. Follow Source Energy, being used as a vessel and trust that everything is working out accordingly. Keep all of your moves enveloped and wrapped in positivity. Keep the bob afloat in the water as you allow Source to carry you downstream.
9. Celebrate Success
Remember that each step whether forward or backward is another vantage point, opportunity, learning experience and success. Celebrate that always! As you celebrate, you heighten your frequencies to attract more to celebrate, and your life continues to unfold beautifully.
I’ve found that working these 9 principles keeps me grounded and moving in a steady direction without feeling like an idot!–lol. Tweak them whichever way you need to in order to stay on track.
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May 5th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
This is such a great guide to living the best that you can starting from the moment you wake up. I will put this to good use….and remember to celebrate my life each day.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Thanks Teri! This was one of those ones I just HAD to share because Lord knows, my brain can be waaaaay too many places at once. I know I’m not the only one who could benefit from this!–lol
May 7th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Very powerful and an insightful message that needs to be expressed. It doesn’t matter how many times we hear principles like these, they always come again at the exact time you need to hear them. And trust me, I needed to hear them again. Thank you for being a blessing. :o)