“You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” – Guy Finley | Happy Hump Day Creatives! In today’s podcast I continue to share some life lessons I learned during my brief absence, or as I’ve come to call them, “My Dark Hours”, in hopes to inspire and encourage. I talk about how adopting the right perspective, or rather understanding your situation, will give you the strength needed to move past the most difficult situations in your life.

“But there are always starts—a new essay, a new chapter, a new book. If you’re a writer, each blank page is a new start; and it never gets any easier.” — Barbara Abercrombie | Happy Tuesday Creatives! Happy Valentines day! In today’s podcast I continue to share some life lessons I learned during my brief absence, or as I’ve come to call them, “My Dark Hours”, in hopes to inspire and encourage.

“To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit.” — Jack Kornfield | Happy Monday Creatives! Today is the first episode of 2017 and I’m very excited to be sharing a bit of inspiration with everyone today as I update you on my whereabouts and the lessons I’ve learned thus far. This week will probably be the most intimate yet and I look forward to moving forward in strength in this wonderful new year.

“You may wish to change your life, you may be in therapy or religion, but your new vision remains merely talk until it enters the practice of your day.” — John O’Donohue | Happy Wednesday Creatives! We’ll be wrapping 2016 up with inspirational passages from Barbara Abercrombie’s book, A Year of Writing Dangerously. In today’s podcast, we’re reminded that all creative endeavors and outlets are opportunities to improve upon our craft and all we’re really doing is practicing.

“Don’t give yourself the excuse of feeling overwhelmed. You’ve come this far; now get on with it.” — Barbara Abercrombie | Happy Tuesday Creatives! We’ll be wrapping 2016 up with inspirational passages from Barbara Abercrombie’s book, A Year of Writing Dangerously. In today’s podcast, we’re encouraged to give ourselves credit for whatever progress we made in our creative endeavors for 2016, knowing that we’ll eventually reach our goals victoriously.

“Often misconstrued, authenticity is not about being an open book, revealing every detail of yourself without rhyme or reason. It is simply the act of openly and courageously seeing what needs to be seen, saying what needs to be said, doing what needs to be done, and becoming that which you are intent on being.” ― Scott Edmund Miller | Happy Tuesday Creatives! This week we’re talking about authenticity and what that means in the life of the Creative. Today we’re encouraged to embrace the burden of seeing what the world may choose to ignore and saying what needs to be said as we’re empowered to enact the changes necessary to make the world a better place through our creative expressions.

"Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never care about." — W.H. Auden | Happy Monday Creatives! It’s been awhile, but I’m back and ready to end the year with you all strong. This week we’re talking about authenticity and what that means in the life of the Creative. Today, we discuss the difference between originality and authenticity and why its important to distinguish the two to create our best work.

"When you come to the correct evening…take your manuscript out of the drawer. If it looks like an alien relic bought at a junk-shop or yard sale where you can hardly remember stopping, you’re ready. Sit down with your door shut…a pencil in your hand, and a legal pad by your side. Then read your manuscript over.” — Stephen King | Happy Thursday Creatives! Today is the first day after NaNoWriMo and you’re probably wondering, now what’s next? In today’s podcast we take some helpful and wise advice from the great Stephen King in which we’re encouraged to take a little time to breathe.

“Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It’s one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period.” — Nicolas Sparks | Happy Wednesday Creatives! This is it, the last day of our long arduous journey and we made it! Whether you end this day with a complete word count of 50,000, or not, pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself. No matter how perfect or imperfect, smooth or rough your journey was you committed to this task and now you can breathe a little easier. Today we celebrate one another for a job well done!

“Writing is the underpinning, infrastructure, point of departure, reason and pretext for all of it.” — Diane Keaton | Happy Tuesday Creatives! It’s day twenty nine which means the finish line is right ahead of us! In today’s podcast we’re reminded that although the work we’ve put in during NaNoWriMo may appear to be an utter mess it’s actually a necessary step for beginning the real journey of publishing our novel.