Signs you might need a breakthrough:

Beyond the Obvious with Mike Bailey

Arches Oil Paper

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Let's be real, rejection hurts! I recently got rejected and share the steps I went through to work through it.

Marie Forleo interviews Bryce Dallas Howard

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Do you ever experience disappointment because what you've made and what you WANT to be making aren't the same? Ira Glass speaks to this difference of "taste" and Todd Henry calls it the "Aspiration Gap." Everyone agrees that the way out to make a TON of work to grow your skills. But is there a gap between vision and ability that can never be closed?

Ira Glass on Storytelling

Todd Henry's book Louder than Words

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When was the last time you have a 'win' on your journey toward achieving your goals? In this episode, we explore the importance of frequent, small wins to keep our motivation and engagement high. The science of animal training, offers a helpful model!

The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden

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When was the last time you kept a promise to yourself? Most of us have a poor track record at honoring our own goals, but that can change. Today's episode is Part 1 in a series on keeping promises to ourselves. Because who can we rely on to achieve our dreams, if not us?

Strategy 1: learn to separate your thoughts and feelings from your actions. ACT! Don't wait for the ideal mindset or thought life to take action. Contrary to a lot of popular self-development, you don't need the right thoughts to take the right actions.

UnFu*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop (Amazon)

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What's new pussycat? Tom Jones' creative career is a reminder of what is possible for us as creatives: longevity, persistence and a desire to serve an audience with our creative gifts for an entire lifetime.

I saw Jones in concert and was BLOWN AWAY. The man still has it.

We need more examples like this! We need to seek out and absorb the lives and stories of those we admire who have stayed in the creative game and devoted their lives to their art. If you don't have any inspirational figures like this, you need to find some! We often lack motivation because we lack vision. Folks who are farther along than we are can provide that inspirational vision. But we must seek them out.

Tom Jones sings Leonard Cohen's Tower of Song

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Emotions can be tricky things! I share a special tool - and why naming specific emotions can make a difference for you as a person and an artist.

FREE FEELINGS CHART! (enter your email and an email with the link will be sent to you)

Susan David's book Emotional Agility

Paul Ekman's website

Inside Out Clip - Sadness Helps Bing Bong

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By examining the way novelists construct compelling characters, we can actually look at our own lives with a bit more objectivity and a little less self-judgment.

Adrienne Bell's book PlotMD

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I'm guessing that you, like me, have choices and decisions we wish we had stuck with or done differently - last month, last year, or a decade ago. If only we could get ourselves to make those wise decisions TODAY! How grateful our future selves would be!

Hal Hershfield's TEDx talk on "How Can We Help Our Future Selves?"

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Do you feel conflicted about engaging in social media? Do you feel like you need to be more or have it all figured out before you engage? Gary Vaynerchuk and Brené Brown have some helpful insight that applies to this topic.

Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

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