Project #3: Amplifying Your Post

My latest blog post was inspired by a Facebook post that asked "If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your life?" This caused me to think through what my big goals are (see post below).. which then led to my thoughts around "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" The truth is I have been afraid. I've been terribly shy about sharing my blog.. and it's sad because it's a topic that I know is SO important.

This class has been the push I've needed to get my blog out there! (I had to do my homework after all!) This morning I shared my blog with my 283 Facebook friends. The response was incredible! A few hours later: 24 likes, 4 shares and several supportive and enthusiastic comments including my favourite: "As a mom and educator, thanks so much!"

I also tweeted it and shared with a private Live Journal group I'm part of.

What I've learned:

people I didn't expect to respond (for example, friends that don't have children), responded with great enthusiasm for the topic (despite not having children of their own) > never assume what people are interested in or not interested in
thought provoking subject matter seems to resonate most with broader audiences
if you're passionate about something, chances are other people are too and want to read what you are saying

Post can be found online here: http://keepingcreativityalive.com/?p=806

What Would You Do With Your Life If…

by LINA on MARCH 13, 2013

“If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do with your life?”

A good question, isn’t it? It’s a question that a Facebook friend posted earlier today and one that you’ve probably thought of at one time or another. It’s a question that raises other questions, like:

What am I good at?
What do I value?
What am I passionate about?
What do I really want to spend my time doing?
How can I make a difference in this world?
What is my life’s purpose?

[video embedded in the post]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siu6JYqOZ0g&feature=player_embedded

Part of me wants to believe that it’s as easy as it seems in this video. What do I mean by that? Well, it seems to me that in order to fully follow your heart’s desires you need a few.. let’s call them ‘things’. Things that, to me, are far more important than money. In order to follow your dreams you need to:

trust yourself
have faith
be brave
let go of fear
be confident
be persistent
work hard
stay focused
stay true to yourself
give yourself permission to fail and try again

Let’s be honest though. Money is a factor in pursuing your life dreams. Sure you can pursue your interests and try as you will to make your passion your work, but if you’re passion is to be a musician and drive a motorcycle around Europe playing gigs, how do you make that happen? I suppose you can perfect ‘The art of asking’ like Amanda Palmer, but if you’re not into couch surfing and passing out a collection hat during concerts there’s always Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.

Check out some of the kickstarter projects and you’ll see that the people who possess many of the above qualities (trust, bravery, confidence, hard work, focus etc.) are the people that have reached and exceeded their project goals. Two of my favourites are Manly Marks. A Letterpress Project. and The 120 Pinhole Project. Both have far exceeded their goals already! Perhaps these are creative projects and not necessarily life purpose goals, but nevertheless Kickstarter is a 21st century means of achieving goals that in many cases work toward that ultimate purpose in life, especially if it’s a creative endeavor. It’s pretty awesome, really.

All that said, rather than asking “what would you do with your life if money wasn’t an issue” I prefer the question: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

Maybe you’re already doing it? What would you do?

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Don’t correct! …Oops, did I just correct you?

by LINA on MARCH 8, 2013

Like all parents in this world, I’m learning as I go along. In the early days of my first child’s craft projects I’d hover over her making sure that she did as she was ‘supposed to’.. putting the marshmallows on the lines just so and making sure the eyes went in the ‘right’ place. I’ve long tossed that approach out the window in favour for not just creativity’s sake but for the sake of confidence building.

Early on I realized that when I interfered or corrected, I was taking the joy out of the experience. A shift would occur in my child in which she would immediately lose interest. She’d give up her power and didn’t want to play anymore. She felt like she must have been doing it wrong, or worse couldn’t do it at all and didn’t want to even try. Think about when you are trying something for the first time and struggle a bit. If you had someone standing over your shoulder ready to intervene you’d probably lose your focus and motivation too. I know I would.

That’s why today I make every effort to stand back and observe. I resist the urge to assist by taking joy in watching discovery unfold.

The FRAJIL photo above.. let me tell you how that came to be… V’s aunt, a trained Montessori teacher (and Masters in Montessori Grad!) was over for a visit. Violet takes great joy in giving people gifts and especially to those she have an extra special place in her heart for, like Katie. Violet create a gift for Katie using the play dough we made the day before. To be honest, I can’t remember what it was.. I’m not sure I even got to see it before it went into this envelope. In fact, knowing V it was probably meant as a surprise for Katie to open when she got home! V sealed the envelope but made sure to announce to Katie: “you have to be very careful with this!”

I was only half listening at the time, but I think I piped up and said “You should put a sign on it that says FRAGILE.” V immediately ran over to her Art Station to grab a marker (looks like we need new markers!) and asked how do you spell FRAGILE? Katie, being the amazing teacher that she is, started sounding it out “FFFFF.” Violet listened carefully then put her head down to write the letter associated with each sound one after the next. Once she was done she proudly put her marker away and handed the gift to Katie who now had the reminder to be careful with her FRAJIL gift.

We, adults, sort of smiled at one another feeling proud of V’s interest and motivation to write. Without Katie in our lives I’m pretty sure I would have corrected V in the spelling of FRAGILE but I’m so glad that’s not the case. Being right about the spelling is so much less important than building the confidence in trying and sustaining the interest to learn. The correct spelling will come.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts at: http://keepingcreativityalive.com/?p=803

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Why do you blog in the first place?

I started Keeping Creativity Alive as a place to collect and gather all of my research and thinking on the topic of nurturing creativity in children. Since then, my passion has continued to grow and evolve and I’ve decided that I want to spread my learning on this very important topic to other parents for the love of creativity and building creative confidence in our children! Come visit and let me know what you think! http://keepingcreativityalive.com

3 exemplary blog posts (from other blogs I like):

Kate’s Creative Space is a blog that I can’t seem to get enough of. I love the creativity, the fun and clever voice that comes through in the writing and most of all the inspiration in her highly successful executions of each project she showcases. She has a nice mix of ‘here’s a really cool idea’ and ‘this is how you can do it to’ and she’s just so friendly and personable – I know because I once asked her what camera she uses (because her photos are so fabulous) or maybe it was what printer she uses, and she wrote me a nice email back.

I like this particular blog post because it breaks down her process which I think is a really nice thing. She demystifies her graphic creation process and isn’t afraid to admit that she uses Powerpoint!

http://katescreativespace.com/2013/02/17/behind-the-blog-design-elements/

Jennifer Dwyer happens to be a yoga instructor at the studio I go to. I stumbled across her blog one day and was a bit surprised by what I found, in a good way. She’s a beautiful, fit and strong, and kind person (I knew that from the limited contact we had) but her blog expresses a lot of what we all feel whether it’s vulnerability, stress, reflection, happiness, procrastination, creative blockage, and on and on. She’s just very real and that’s what I like about her writing.

http://jenniferdwyer.ca/2012/12/03/some-much-needed-advice-on-writing/

My third pick is sort of a cheat because it’s a few blogs, but I feel like I can group them because they share similar qualities: all are successful and been around for a while. They represent the epitome of running a blog successfully. I feel confident saying this because a) they have huge followings, b) they have major advertisers and sponsors and c) they make a living from their blogs and in some cases have a team behind them. The 3 blogs are: Design Mom, Design Sponge and Apartment Therapy.

The reason I like them is they are full of inspiration and eye candy! They’re just easy to look at. It’s all positive. It’s all happy and good. There’s plenty of entertainment with varied blog posters and updates throughout the day. They all ‘curate’ information from all over the world that showcases great design, ideas, innovations... all things I’m passionate about. I also like that they approach their blog posts in informative and/or interesting ways: through beautifully crafted videos, interviews, tips, DIYS, before and afters etc.

Video:

http://www.designmom.com/2013/03/olive-us-episode-20-how-to-be-two/

Interview:

http://www.designsponge.com/2012/11/whats-in-your-toolbox-jesse-ragan.html

Money saving tips:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/homekeeping

Lina Pugsley

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