BREATHE./Find the Fear in the room and face it./Its presence says the work is important./Everyone is afraid. It is nothing to be ashamed of./Things that make you afraid reveal your heart./Scared is OK. Paralyzed is not so much. Do what you must to move—to take even the smallest step forward each day./You are not your work. The things we create are not who we are./BREATHE./Leap, if you hope to fly./Do the hardest, scariest thing first. No matter how badly it may go, you won't die. You’ll learn something about the work and about yourself./Practice compassion for yourself and for others./Stay open. Listen. Don’t be so afraid of hearing the worst that you don't stay present to the possibility of hearing the best./Be willing to deal with the consequences of your choices./Be humble enough to ask for support./Cultivate Courage, Confidence, and Compassion. Commit to physical, spiritual, and intellectual practice./Enter the work boldly believing that there are 1,000,000 ideas in the air./BREATHE./Don’t drink the Kool-Aid of approval seeking. To hell with what others might think./Burn the tape that plays “I am not good/not smart/not worthy enough to be among the good and talented. I deserve to be left on an ice floe to die.” Melt the Ice Floe./Try on as many ideas as you can. Be artistically promiscuous./Practice healthy detachment. Lower the stakes—not the bar./Tenacity is showing up. The willingness to show up changes us. Be tenacious./Equivocation is poison. Have something to say. Be brave enough to say it./Use your art to change the world one project at a time./Give what you have./Don’t wait for everything to be perfect. Start with what you have to offer today. It will be more than enough./Don’t erect altars to your failure. Police your self-talk. Root out: “I can’t . . . I’m not . . . I’m afraid that . . . ” They are fear words./Make a choice. And act./Prioritize Joy in the doing./Expect miracles every day. You are built for Success./Know who you are at your core—courageous, competent, strong, free./Celebrate the opportunity to shine. BREATHE. Then, leap again.
(c) Valerie Curtis-Newton, 2015
It's it possible to get a print of this? So beautiful
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ReplyDeleteGood morning- I'm wondering if it would be permissable to use your creative manifesto as a mural in a private business with proper credit attributed? Thank you.
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