what • not (noun) [hwót nòt]
- Something same or similar
- Set of shelves
- Something unimportant
My head is full of dreams, schemes and whatnot –the possibilities are endless.
creativity
Find the shine.
Do you ever notice that waking up to a sunny day somehow implies it’s also a good day?
Yes, the pull of this positive energy is almost undeniable, isn’t it? It reminds me of our most important of jobs: to find the shine in ourselves. Every day.
What can help us find our shine?
Meditation. Want to try it? Join the Chopra Center’s 21 Day Mediation Challenge starting February 20. It’s free and a fantastic opportunity to experience a global consciousness.
Yoga. This mind-body practice keeps you in touch with what’s going on inside –plus you can get connected to a like-minded community at the studio, too. Mine is Maya Whole Health Studio. Love you guys!
Journaling. I’ve been writing it down ever since I was a young girl. Some like to blog or post or tweet … when I’m journaling, I’m really talking to myself, so I prefer to journal in longhand – try The Artist’s Way.
Music. Listening to it, singing it, playing it. Watching an episode of Glee. I’m very partial to gospel.
The intention is to open our hearts and see what’s really there with clarity. Now, that sounds like the makings of a good day, doesn’t it?
Goddess of creativity.
The gaming industry really does have some of the coolest job titles around. Consider Narrative Director, Narrative Designer and Narrative Producer. These folks do things like:
-Act as a resource for all things narrative related (this is one of my favorites)
-Write content and edit copy
-Understand story requirements and deliver on ultimate story/script goals
-Responsible for cinematic development
-Proven ability at successful multi-tasking under great pressure
-Teamwork, innovation, attention to detail, diplomacy, unbridled passion
-Ability to work well independently, too; set own schedule and work like a goddess on deadline
Wait a minute … this sounds soooooo familiar.
It appears that the gaming industry has found a fresh way to describe what so many creative types already do. Hmmm.
Fantastic image by Rojer
Life in six words … today.
Born
a
cowboy
in
another
life.
(inspired by Ernest Hemmingway’s shortest of short stories … and Oprah).
*photo of a painted advertisement on the wall of a building in Jackson, WY.
Rewarding opportunity.
No power. No internet. No phone. No cable. Emergency-only cell phone service.
Yes silence. Yes loving up my kitty-kids. Yes crackling fire and candlelight. Yes losing myself once more in the words of Mark Helprin … in the movement, the memory, the song.
Awesomeness-only from Mother Nature.
No greater yes reward.
Wall words.
While walking through Target one shopping trip, I spot this vinyl lettering art on display. I’ve always admired the wall words of museum exhibits –interesting bits of information printed cleanly on the paint. And now, I see an affordable version of this art for us consumers.
What a spark of creative energy!
I start thinking about a series of printed word craft projects. During my gig covering the children’s product industry I’ve written blurbs about WallCandy Arts –removable wall decals for kids’ rooms- and go searching for an adult version of the same e-tailer. Enter Wall Words. Here, you can choose your poison, customize your message … create something. I start to visualize some of my favorite inspirational quotes and go from there.
Special Note: Ramona in the Pines is the name given to our Northwest abode. Built in the same year as Casa Ramona, our long-time Southern California home, this house is so reminiscent of my beloved sanctuary, it’s named in its honor. Translated into Spanish, French and Italian, I fit the pieces together in a couple of hours.
Jobs out there.
I like to browse the jobs section of the Cirque du Soleil website –especially the On Stage section. Right now, there’s an opening for a Skipper (Are you a rope skipper seeking a new venue for your passion?) It’s funny how the needs of such a magical employer can bring you back to your truth.
Right now, I like the sound of being a Customer Experience Architect (Are you a designer of optimal customer experiences seeking a new venue for your passion?) You’d be responsible for things like:
-creating a business strategy for the customer experience across multi-channel product
-leading the cultural transformation of internal employees
-providing intuitive Experience Designs
-ideating contextual scenario designs used to drive customer experiences
-storyboarding ideas
You’d need to be qualified in things like Human Factor Design and User Experience Design. You’d probably need to be a Thinker, a Communicator and a Writer, I expect.
It’s funny how just capitalizing these roles makes them seem worthy of a salary.
Happy All-New Year
Happy New Year, everybody! Ah … after a couple of months away, I find this change refreshing and I’m inspired by it. Why?
Never underestimate the power of New. The most important words in a TV promo, for instance, are no longer time/date/station. They are New Episode. If you’re a fan, that’s what you want to know; if not, you can be with the help of some never-before-seen content. After all, you can watch a television series from all sorts of devices whenever you want to these days. Right?
I’m working on a new project –the reinvention of a brand familiar to the children’s product market. Adding the word new is an elegant, inexpensive way to get the point across instantly that you’re doing something of-the-moment; that a reader/user/fan is looking at something fresh.
Some may argue that new is an over-used concept. Really? New can have an incredibly long shelf life … as long as you’re delivering on the claim.
New is certainly not innovative. But it does deliver a topical call to action to customers that works.
Hercules’ true strength.
One of the most absolute joys of my creative life is writing and producing television and radio promotion packages for Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Never a day went by when I didn’t thank the gods for the opportunity (pun intended) – to cut promos with one of my great creative partners, J. Churchill Morgan, and the rest of the crew at Crawford Post in Atlanta, GA, to work with a most excellent show production crew in L.A., New Zealand and Canada … and to laugh -spontaneous and pure- throughout the entire experience.
Every once in a while, I look through my box of treasures from that time and reminisce: Gabrielle’s leather journal she carried at the beginning of her adventures with Xena; a box of homemade Hercules and Xena Christmas cards we wrote that we sent to the post production crew (Happy Birthday, Jesus! From Zeus, King of the Gods); song lyrics set to the Hercules theme music that were inspired by Kevin Sorbo’s fabulous mane (Hercules, will you help me please? I’m having a bad hair day!). Hours and hours … and hours … of fun times, which amaze me still. I can never call it work.
This is why I’m sharing a video interview with Kevin Sorbo, who talks about his life and his new book, True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal–and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life.
As I was experiencing one of the most productive and enjoyable times of my career, our main character –our hero- was at a precipice. And I have to say, as part of this crazy, glorious crew headed by Rob Tapert … never did Kevin’s pain encroach on us making a promo deadline, never did it show in the raw footage we screened, never once did we suffer while he was suffering. In Atlanta, at Tribune Creative Service Group, in the halls and edit suites, his work simply gave us joy.
And I’ll always be grateful to him for that.
Step by step.
My sister and her daughter walking the labyrinth at Seattle Center.
I’m reading a book called The Handmaid of Desire by John L’Heureux, and in it, main character Olga Kominska pauses most days, asking anyone around her to leave, so she could be alone “to do her thoughts.” When I first read this, I laugh out loud, mostly because I totally relate to her practice –realizing I “do my own thoughts” all the time.
If you’re a thought-doer, it could be very satisfying to change your way of doing thoughts every now and again. Try solving the mystery of a labyrinth.
“A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life’s journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to ‘That Which Is Within,'” quote Lessons 4 Living.
It’s a beautiful way to do your thoughts, plus it gets you off your ass and away from the computer … something I wholeheartedly support, since sitting all-day-every-day in front of one can silence your -well … your thoughts.
If you’re ever in San Francisco CA, walk the labyrinths of Grace Cathedral. Magnificent. Or visit the World-Wide Labyrinth Locator (love this) and find a labyrinth in your neck of the woods.
This way, you can do your thoughts with a new twist. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll have an aha moment.
Sageland Creative 