In the last post in this series, we talked about how developing the ability to say “no,” and protect our time, is important for making the kind of progress we want in our creative work.
In this post, I’ll discuss how it can help our creativity to set another kind of boundary — to stop blaming ourselves [...]

If someone told you that a piece you wrote is garbage and you’re a moron for writing it, could you object to their behavior?
When I work with people who are having trouble starting a project, this is often an area where they feel blocked.  They don’t trust their ability to protect themselves against mistreatment.  They [...]

What?  How can boredom be a gift?  Isn’t boredom what we read blogs and mess around on social media to avoid?
Let’s think for a moment about the situations where boredom arises.  Do we usually get bored when we’re doing something empty and meaningless?  In my experience, the surprising answer is no.
Look at your own experience [...]

I think we’d all like to believe that we don’t care whether anyone pays attention to us.  We’re heroically forging our own path, and if other people don’t care about what we’re doing or think it’s important, that’s just their loss.  But if we’re honest with ourselves, I think we’ll see that the reality is [...]

I’ve published a guest post at Kala Ambrose’s Explore Your Spirit blog called “A Spiritual Solution to Writer’s Block.”  I talk about how just allowing the creative blankness we experience in our work to be, rather than fighting it or running away from it, is the best way to reconnect with our inspiration and imagination.  [...]

(This piece is an “unofficial sequel” to my last post, “Why I Don’t Force Myself To Be Happy.”)
Do you feel like you’re only creative in certain moments?  I’ve worked with several people who said they only produce decent work at specific times of day, or when they’re in particular moods.  The rest of the time, [...]

I’m pleased to share my interview with Marelisa Fabrega, the author of “How To Be More Creative: A Handbook for Alchemists.”  Marelisa, whom I’m sure many of you know already, is an attorney and blogger living in Panama.  Her book is brimming with perspectives and techniques for stimulating your creative instincts.
In this interview, you’ll learn:
* [...]

I’ve published a piece over at The Positivity Blog called “How To Get Comfortable With An Empty Mind.”  It’s about how we can access our creativity and motivation by learning to accept those moments when we don’t have any ideas. I hope you enjoy it!

One of the most liberating realizations I’ve had in my life is that I’m not responsible for my ideas.  In other words, I can do very little to make myself become creative, except for keeping my mind open to receiving insights, and writing them down as they come up.  In this post, I’ll talk about [...]

(This is the third article in a series on cultivating creativity.  If you find this article helpful, you may also enjoy Part One and Part Two.)
I’ve written a few articles about stimulating your creativity by letting go of the need to be socially acceptable and fit into a conventional social role.  Today, I’m going to [...]