2016 is Going To Be Legen-Wait for it-Dary

This year is going to be big. And I mean big. Like Andre the Giant big. I’m hearing it from clients, business associates, people wild in the streets. I’m reading it in places and hearing people from all different cross-sections of life talking about how this is going to be a big year. Or maybe that’s what everyone says every year, and for some reason I just hadn’t noticed yet. I don’t think so though. I think it’s going to be a big year for the world.

At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks. You can make this year a big year for you. So what are you going to create with your big year? Ask yourself, if there were no limitations on my time, what opportunities would I pursue? What options might I exercise? What paths would I go down if I weren’t playing it safe? Because there’s actually nothing holding you back from creating those opportunities. The fact that you are dreaming about them (come on, whatever came into your head when I asked those questions, that’s what I’m talking about), means that they already exist and all you have to do is choose to act and move towards them. And at the end of the day, that’s what this whole creative game is about. Creating the most fulfilling life possible while you’re here on earth.

So what turns you on? What gets you up early when you don’t have to be anywhere? What’s happening in the world that you really care about? Because here’s a secret for you, when you align your passion, with purpose that makes a difference in the world, you are well on your way to a fulfillment beyond anything you’ve ever imagined. And the most amazing thing is that when you align those forces, the universe listens, and starts to bring you everything you need to make it happen. And I’m not talking about magic or voodoo or some cray shit. I mean literally, when you align your purpose with the things you’re passionate about opportunities will show up that you couldn’t have planned for and you will start to achieve the success you’ve always wanted deep down. I’ve seen it happen over and over, and there’s been book after book written about this happening. In fact, many of the leading entrepreneurs today talk explicitly about this phenomenon. When you do what matters to you, and that helps (people, animals, the planet) you will raise your vibration and good things will start coming to you.

You may be all, raise your vibration? What’s that? Well I need to refer you to one of my favorite books “You Are A Badass” by the ever charming Jen Sincero. Of course she’s writing about “the vibration” that’s been around for ages, and she writes about it in such a way that it’s so accessible I’m stealing the shit out of it. Here’s the premise, the world and everything in it is energy (not woo woo energy, I’m talking scientific atoms and molecules) and we’re all vibrating, on a micro level. Well when we’re down in the dumps and all we can see is the negative, we’re operating at what you might call a low vibration, and that energy kind of just sits there. However, when you’re operating at a higher vibration, or taking steps to raise your vibration, well that’s straight up magnetic. You are literally attracting other high vibration individuals and opportunities to you. I know this might sound crazy, and it’s seriously not. It’s happening all around you. All I’m asking is that you stop and observe your life, maybe the lives of those around you, and see if you can see what I’m talking about. Because once you see it, you can’t un-see it. And ideally, that eye opening will inspire you to continue raising your vibration and creating more and more.

And what does all of this have to do with being creative? Creativity, the act of creating is like a uber-activity in this high vibe game called life. It’s like a self propulsion motor, because when you raise your vibration creating comes naturally, and the more you create the higher your vibration will get. So I’m very into the vibration game. And I want to get you turned on to it too. So here’s a few things you can do to start attuning yourself to your vibration.

1. Try a bunch of stuff to help you start your day off at a high vibration. A few old standbys I like are taking a cold shower,laughing meditation, or a dance meditation. This is my favorite, because it’s so easy and fast. Put on one song that you love to shake your booty to, play it loud and dance your ass off while letting yourself feel whatever’s there to feel. Vibration raised.
2. Observe the people you associate with. Where’s their vibe at? If you’re looking to raise yours then you want to surround yourself with people who are vibrating at your level or higher. Might be time for some new associates.
3. Get really aware of your rhythms throughout the day. There’s likely a time of day where you slow down and get introspective or quieter. Don’t let this bring your vibe down. Be aware and do it intentionally, knowing your powering down so you can keep your vibration going for the rest of the day. Breaks are necessary.
4. Get conscious about what you’re putting in your body. I’m not saying don’t drink coffee, or do, or don’t eat sugar, or do. I’m saying raise your awareness about what the effects within your body are of what you’re putting in there. Because all of that affects your vibration as well. If you’re on a sugar or caffeine high (again, no judgement, just facts) it’s very likely you’re going to crash. That can be bad, or worse. And in the worst case, if you’re not conscious about it, it can drop your vibration in a big way. So make choices that allow you to be at the highest vibration possible at all times.
5. Consume consciously. Beyond what you eat or drink, remember that you’re consuming all the time. When you watch shows, or movies, or the music you’re listening to can also have a strong effect on your vibration. And I’m certainly not here to tell you what to watch or listen to, I’m simply suggesting that you pay close attention to the effect what you are consuming with your eyes and ears has on your vibration. And go ahead and listen to or watch stuff (at least some of the time) that raises that thing. Sometimes (and I may just be crazy) I’ll listen to a song on repeat simply because of how good it makes me feel. Nothing wrong with that. In fact I have whole playlists dedicated to raising my vibration. Music is some powerful stuff. Use it.

In short, there’s lots you can do to create an amazing life in 2016. So are you ready? What do you want to create this year? I’ve put together a little mad-lib style worksheet you can use to help you transition into this new year. Download that here and let me know what you thought in the comments. And enjoy creating the life of your dreams!

P.S. Yes, the title is a How I Met Your Mother reference. But I’ll get to that later.

Topics For Discussion

I started my 30D Challenge today. I'm writing no less than 200 words, every day in December. I hope to turn this into a writing habit, which will propel the content for all of my upcoming, and career-shifting, projects. One thing that came out of today's foray into writing was a list of topics I want to write about. I'd love to hear if these resonate with you, and why. Or if you have other ideas for topics I could write about that would be helpful to you.

1. Your Are Creative (No Matter What You Think)
2. Making Our Clients Our Collaborators
3. What’s In The Way of Your Creativity
4. There’s No Such Thing As Stuck
5. Thinking Wrong
6. Engaging Your Creativity to Reinvent Yourself
7. Creating A Fulfilling Life
8. Everyday Creativity

Leave replies in the comments please and thanks for listening.

New Work at Unseen Bean in Boulder

Kicking the dust of this here blog in anticipation of my upcoming 30D challenge (200 words a day for 30 days) and my good fortune to be showing work at Unseen Bean here in Boulder. So, without further ado, here's my show announcement:

I'll be hanging the work starting tomorrow (December 1st) and it should all be installed by the end of the week. I'm very grateful to Kimmy at Unseen for being on for showing the work without seeing any of it, and always for the opportunity to create work and share it. Here's a link to their site and a map of their location. 

I look forward to hearing what you all think.

Social Dilemna

So I'm thinking a lot recently about how to manage all of these, my, social outlets. For me it's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and then of course this blog. And my quandary is largely around the blurring of lines between business and personal posting.

A while back I realized that all the parts of my big rich life inform all the other parts. So the fact that I'm a dad, a sensitive man, a meditator, and of course all of my other artistic pursuits informed my work and moreover who I am as a creative. So Ive been ok with the blurring of these lines. However it doesn't sit quite right with me. I still ponder whether I ought to separate them out somehow. A few of the areas where I'm not clear about it include:

• Facebook. I have a Facebook page for my "business". Business FB pages don't allow you to be friends with individuals though, and so I have a bunch of friends (on my "personal" FB page) who are business related. 
• Instagram/Flickr/Facebook. Before IG I used Flickr a lot. Now I hardly use it at all. Though they technically serve different purposes and aren't actually synonymous. Theoretically I'd use Flickr when I have a whole album of pictures to share from an event or particular time and Instagram for more social one-off kinds of things I shot with my phone. Now FB is a place people share photos much the way you used to only on Flickr or Picasa. And I use IG and FB similarly, though I don't post everything I post to IG to FB. And occasionally I'll photograph something for work, like a work in progress, and post it to the business FB page. So IG ends up being both. 
• I use Google+ largely for work related things, though every time I open it on my phone it asks me if I want to post the most recent photos and sometimes I say yes so it ends up having images from my personal life as well as work in progress and other business related posts and reposts. Is that ok? 
• I barely use Pinterest, though this is a little clearer to me what I'd use it for. 
• Same with Twitter, though I use Twitter a fair amount. Not really with any images any more, and a definite blend of work and personal, though lately heavily weighted towards business related posts. 

So, what am I getting at? I guess I want to know what people think about this mix of business and personal. Is it ok to mix the two as much as I do, as I'm describing? How do you do it? I know I'm not the only one with this kind of questioning going on. Leave a comment. Give me your thoughts. 

Good Morning!

5 minutes of mindful breathing and focused prayer.

Water on the face.

RE pad mind dump.

To-Do Today plan for the day.

1 song freak out/let go/booty shake and pull on the Love of God (Hard!).

I feel ready to conquer this.

How do you start the day?

Lessons

Here are a few lessons I learned this morning.

1. When hiking for the first time in, well, months, set expectations carefully. Also, wear less than you would need if you were say, going for a walk. Wish I had a picture of how beautiful the sun was rising over Boulder though. 
2. When AT&T says that they are going to turn your phone off, you should probably go over there right away. I thought they had made a mistake on my billing cycle, turns out they had, and I had also. So we were both "wrong". My phone didn't work today though and so I lost an hour to sorting it out. Good news, the nice man helping me figured out a way to save $60 a month across the whole plan. Problems coming with silver linings. 
3. If you are planning on getting up at 6 to begin your spiritual practice of austerities and mind clearing meditation, you should probably go to sleep more than 3 hours before you are going to wake up. Otherwise you'll wake up at 7:15 and have to rush to do everything. 
4. Everything is as it should be. It's all about your perspective. Despite all of that, I managed to have a good hike (the first in too long), I got everything I needed to accomplished, I got $60 a month knocked off my mobile bill and I probably lost a little extra weight from all the extra sweating I did during said hike. 

I'm very happy with the way twentythirteen is shaping up already. I'm feeling inspired to write (amongst other things) and I can feel that it's going t take some time to get used to this. I'll keep slugging away at it. Meanwhile I'm more connected to Fiona, I have some very interesting work opportunities popping up, I have more to do than I have time for and that's the right problem to have. Thank God for my meditation practice which helps me clear my mind and focus my energy in the right next area. 

Short one this time. I'll probably try and get to it again this week. Thanks for listening. Pictures next time.

Here. I. Go.

Well, like so many others I'm sure I'm starting off the year with lots of intentions, one of which is to keep coming forward, and one way for me to do that is to get this ol' blog restarted. I feel totally new to it again, and it's a bit awkward, so bear with me as I get my feet under me again and get going.

So, twenty thirteen. I'm declaring this:

The Year of Responsibility and Prosperity
(With a Helping of Abundance)

My intentions for the year fall into several basic categories. 

FOR MYSELF

• Be more responsible in the following areas: Work, As a Father, As a Partner and as a spiritual seeker. 
• This also means to become MUCH more financially responsible. 
• This includes becoming D E B T  F R E E. Big goal. More on that later. 
• As I mentioned before, I have come forward in my life considerably in the last few years, and there has been some time this last year or so that I've been more focused within. It's time to start coming out again. This blog will be one of the vehicles I'll use to do that. 
• Create More. I want to spend more time in my creativity than in management or suffering avoidance. 
• Along with the creating, I want to play more. Really play, like a child. With a child. 
• With the two above, I want to stay loose. I tend to bear down and get all uptight. Less of that. More flexibility. 
• Exercise more. Eat less. 

WITH MY DAUGHTER

• Meditate play dance cry laugh cook connect. 
• Play More. As above, I tend to be a taxi driver, cook, helper, motivator or shepherd, and I want to spend more time being with her. Playing with her. Exploring with her. 
• The focus of my energy with her is to raise her up. Not to come down on her or be an overbearing force in her life. I want to help her find the wind beneath her wings and see her take flight. 
• And I really need to watch my reactions with her. I am finding when I tune in to her, with her, etc. that she often, or more often than it's actually true, she thinks I'm upset with her. That's my responsibility. 
• And similarly, I am pondering what my actions say to her. This is a new level of awareness I'm trying to develop. More on that below. 

IN MY RELATIONSHIP

• Be more playful and less serious. It's so easy to get wrapped up in things and to forget to play. 
• We're setting off this year intending to meditate together at least once a week. And with the kids a few times a month or as it feels right. 
• Take our kids into consideration in a whole new way.  
• Be more vulnerable. 
• Exercise more, eat at home, read and talk. 

SPIRITUALLY

• Get back to my daily practice. I'll write more about this in the coming weeks. Chiefly, begin and end the day intentionally and with God. 
• Meditate. Every. Day. 
• Keep DJing and participating in classes. 
• Keep bringing the tools and teachings of the path I'm on out to the world. 

IN MY CAREER

• This is the year of getting my career completely back on track. 
• This is an area where I desire to become much more responsible. This will include being more proactive about communications, timing, setting expectations, tracking time, etc. 
• It's time to get my social presence out there, finish the web site, and begin networking in a much more aggressive way here in Boulder. 
• This is the obvious area for me to really engage my creativity, and get myself out there as an artist, as a thinker, as a creative person. 

One of the key points I've been getting to after going over this list for the last week or so and sharing with a few people is this notion of being responsible to others. Considering others. This is a rich topic, which I'd like to write more about later, and what I want to say here is that it is by considering others that we find our own true work. If I make other people's well being and interests more important than my own, or at the very least be willing to truly consider them, then that is the work I want to be doing in my heart. It is not easy, at least for me. I am finding as I lean into this that it often leads to sacrifice. Mostly of what my preferences are. And that is where the really good stuff starts to happen.