Creating Space - Saying Yes To Saying No

Genevieve and I had the great pleasure of spending time with Debra Baida, owner of SF based business Liberated Spaces. Deb is a professional organizer but also so much more. Her goal is to help her clients remove any obstacle, physical or emotional, that is hindering them from living a more conscious life. She is right up our alley! Deb's an incredible woman and I am so excited to establish a new friendship that will enhance our business, Creating Space and my own personal growth. Yay for new friendships and connections!

We had many great discussions yesterday but one that really stayed with me all day was about the power of no. Using the word "no" consciously and positively is one of the ways that you can control the rhythm and flavor of your personal and professional life especially when your universe seems offbeat. Saying no just takes a some conscious thinking, reflecting, confidence and forgiveness.

If someone offers you a new project, take time to really assess the time, effort and return. Maybe the monetary return is not great but will it enhance your portfolio? It is a friendship that you really wish to establish?

What does your "gut" say? If it doesn't feel right, then why? Is this feeling based on fear or does it really not fit.

How does this project or decision fit in the grand scheme of things? Does it relate to the life you are trying to lead or is it completely off course?

Give yourself ample time to think about it. Take a walk, ask for 24 hours to decide and discuss with a mentor or friend that understands your larger goals. Then proceed with confidence and kindness, knowing that you are following a well thought out, well loved path. There will be plenty of times to say yes.

Creating Space - Telling Fear To Hit The Road

One of my favorite reads has been Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. My copy of this wonderful book quite possibly did not survive the fire and man could I use it now. I have searched on line for some of my favorite lessons by Bayles and Orland and wanted to share them with you today. The messages are simple but sweet. I'll leave them for all of us to ponder. I hope that you love them as much as I do.

The poem in the head is always perfect.

Making art is chancy — it doesn’t mix well with predictability. Uncertainty is the essential, inevitable and all-pervasive companion to your desire to make art. And tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.

Try an insulating period: a gap of pure time between the making of your art, and the time when you share it with outsiders. (So it's not reflecting on *you*, just on the work that's in your past.)

When things go haywire, your best opening strategy might be to return — very carefully and consciously — to the habits and practices in play the last time you felt good about the work.

"When my daughter about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college — that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, “You mean they forgot?”" — Howard Ikemoto

The people with the interesting answers are those who ask the interesting questions.

Thank you Derek Sivers for sharing your favorites and mine