keeping the channel open ....

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open  . . ."
- Martha Graham

(wonderful quote to kick off 2013 don't you think ... thank you Marina)

Getting this Puppy and YOUR Creative Biz on a Schedule for 2013

a life through the lens calendar 2013

To be honest I usually kind of wing most things and have ceased visioning and affirming anything specific for my business and life right now -

I trust that all the amazing stuff that is meant to find me will - I just need to expend the energy

(and I have found that expending the energy is more important than the precise thing I expend the energy on, in other words it doesn't matter so much what we do in the beginning, so much as we do something)

set the intention for JOY

(yes, JOY - not lower-casing this baby anymore - I'm ready for the real thing and if you are, too - remember grandma's advice "be careful what you wish for" because sometimes a whole lot of things have to move over and sometimes right on out of your life to make room for JOY and once you set these wheels in motion there is no wheeling this elephant out of your living room - JOY ain't goin' nowhere)

and get out of my own way.

This get out of our own way thing is crucial for us over-thinkers. Getting on a more clearly defined marketing schedule - and making some things more automatic will help. This doesn't mean that we aren't able to change things when we need to - what's the point of being a small and thus nimble business if we can't pivot on a dime after all - but having a plan is a plan in itself and even us "fly by the seat of our pants, trust the amazing stuff will find us" girls need one for some things.

Step 1. Get yourself a calendar - there are a gazillion amazing ones HERE and some you can even download and get started today

(this will also allow us to make multiple copies which we are going to need anyway)

Step 2. Add the big deal dates - you may think of some I have missed, my brain is still on 2012 time

(for most one-day holidays mark all dates from 1-2 months back, for Christmas go 3 months back, for seasonal events mark all dates throughout the season and remember Etsy's never ending wedding focus last year - I'm sure it made them some big bucks, handmade weddings are not going anywhere and are something people will always spend money on - they are somewhat recession proof - and most makers could use something geared to this)

• New Years
• Valentine's Day
• Easter
• Mother's Day
• Graduations
• Weddings
• Father's Day
• Back to School
• Halloween
• Hanukkah
• Christmas

Step 3. Take a look at last year's Chase special months (you can buy the real-deal 2013 one somewhere - this is the abridged list) - what's the stuff on here that is calling your name - what can fill in some gaps in your calendar - this stuff can provide some excellent publicity ideas when you approach blogs, etc

Start thinking about an annual charity event your biz can do - what are you passionate about? This isn't something to do when your business is making more money - this is something to do now.

Step 4. Add your show schedule

Step 5. Make a list of some print magazines that could feature your work and check their media kits to see what they will be writing about over the next year - scope the blogosphere for some blogs that should be talking about you

Now you don't have to do everything right away - this isn't one more overwhelming thing after an exhausting holiday season - this is something to make our making easier and this is just the basics anyway.

This will be fun I promise and we will feel infinitely better just seeing these little color coded events on our calendars - yes, I said color code - we must color-code and I do not take the word "must" lightly folks - we need markers!

And let's pretend all this stuff is being done by our assistant named ... Lucy or Harriet or Clementine

(yes, I am looking at those little oranges right now - how'd you guess)

and actually while we are doing this stuff we should get dressed in our officey best (Lucy would after all).

One day last year (actually I was working after going to a wake, so it may not be the best example) I got so much done when working "dressed up" that it made me think it would be a good idea to get dressed everyday ... I didn't actually do this, but I did think it ...

Next time I'll tie this stuff all together, for now just have fun with it.

more stuff I learned in 2012 ... the list goes on and on ....

poster from totally old school

2012 kicked my butt.

My mood right now is "BRING IT ON 2013!" - but this changes hourly - 60 minutes ago it was more like - BRING ... me a hot chocolate and my snugli ... (mommy? sniffle)

I really want to finish this countdown before Dick Clark does his ... is Dick Clark still doing that?!

And yes, I think I have lost lessons 8 and 9 somehow - we will just pretend they were highly personal and emotional lessons that I just can't bring myself to write about - instead of admitting that I just can't count.

#6 - Mental illness sucks. It is not something we deal with well in this country (maybe this is true everywhere).

David lived with us off and on (mostly on) for 8 months in 2012 - we were never able to get him on medication although he was having major psychotic symptoms and episodes.

Finally after a particularly bad episode that ended with him in jail for a long period he was accepted into a program to help keep people from returning to jail. They were able to get him on an anti-psychotic monthly shot (which costs $800 per month - he has 2 left before his samples run out) and into a new program and temporary housing (4 months before his money runs out).

Unfortunately the shot that helps with the voices also makes him aggressive and even more difficult at times. He continues to drink. Schizophrenia is a nightmare; so is alcoholism.

David was our first 2012 hurricane - he blew in and out of our lives and changed us forever and we are totally grateful.

#5 - We are totally unprepared to live without electricity. Hubs and I have been kidding ourselves for years about being somewhat self-sufficient - we're not.

On the other hand I have no interest in being a survivalist - if the world winds down to a handful of people wandering the planet, fending off hoards of hungry animals and killing each other for acorns - I would be totally happy not being one of them.

#4 - I need more downtime; more time to do things unconnected with business. I am going to make this happen. When we had regular jobs we had weekends and even though our weekends now may not always fall on Saturday and Sunday - we still need week ends (a time when our week ends).

#3 - I need to figure out this diet, hormone, environment, eczema, sleep, dry eye, nerve, memory thing - enuf said.

#2 - Now is the time  - I truly believe the old world is ending. Our planet has moved on. Maybe this is what it felt like as the dark ages moved into the renaissance - like things were falling apart or things were coming together and it all depended on how we looked at things - except it's even bigger this time because the stakes are so much higher.

We are the luckiest beings in the universe to get to experience this.

There won't be a guru or messiah coming to get us out of this mess (this is why Obama often disappoints us - he's a catalyst not a savior - he is just mirroring ourselves back to us) - the Hopi were right - we are the ones we have been waiting for.

We have to do the work ourselves - this can only happen by walking the path of conscious choice - discernment, non-judgement, non-attachment to outcomes and detaching from our stories. First step - a meditation practice if we don't have one. Deborah King's is one of my favorites.

# 1 - I am awake now.

And yes, some days I wish I was still snoozing, but we can't unknow what we know and yes, once we know better we do better and yes, to whom much has been given much is expected and yes, nothing about this is easy. It is simple though. Hard but simple. We can do this. Artists and creators (which is everyone actually) have to.

banner by remembered times

Bye Bye 2012 - the countdown continues ...

print by tammy olsen

# 7 Lesson Learned in 2012 - Releasing Attachment to An Outcome (or time to toss the vision boards)

Now I admit that just because I learned a lesson doesn't mean this isn't a process - nothing is so black and white these days for any of us.

This isn't 3rd grade where our times tables were burned into our brains

(except 7X8 - why do I always have to think about that one and by "think" I mean add 7 to 49 ... with my fingers)

things are much more fluid now.

Maybe lesson #7 next year will scream - BRING BACK THE VISION BOARD! Maybe not.

I am trusting now that life has bigger plans for us, bigger dreams than we can wrap our arms around right now - stuff we can't see yet because maybe there are still a few twists and turns in the road ahead.

This isn't about not setting any goals (well maybe it is in some ways) but about making the goals more about how I want to feel than where I want to be or what I want to happen (which has always felt a little like spiritual manipulation ala the secret) -

I will trust that if I just choose joy in the moment I will bring more joy into my life. If I choose more abundance in the moment (yes, I'm buying the damn blueberries even when they are $3.49 a pint!) I will bring more abundance into my life - I don't need to dictate how that abundance will be delivered.

I will take a lesson from my 3 year old niece Elise - who when bike riding on a windy day and told she needed a hat said, "I don't need a hat. I need a pin wheel."

I will make myself a pinwheel. Hell, I'll make myself a whole basket-full of them.