One of my favorite characters from last winter's adventures. He's producing his own wind-powered bike.

Are you [hiring a creative coach] to take your photography to the next level or are you trying to build the blog?

As a freelancer with an inner entrepreneur who wrestles with an inner child and an eclectic, though demanding inner artist, this question has no simple answer.  As with most major decisions in my life, it depends on the day, the weather, the moon and sometimes the wind.

What it truly boils down to, the true core of the question, who am I and what do I do?  Or better yet, what do I produce?

I pose this question, because I’m feeling that need for full on production.  I’m approaching that time of the year when I tend to retreat- both literally and figuratively- and the production aspect of what I do kicks in.  Not in a monetary manner for clients, but in an artistic manner- for myself and for the sake of producing.

The winter months are my time for artistic endeavors, Walkabouts and wandering, reading and philosophizing and examining the state of my business and my approach towards its future.  I literally slow down- in all aspects of my life- and kick back a little.

And my friend’s question and my recent disengagement from the trusty old wifi has me truly analyzing my forward momentum.

Do I move forward as a writer?

Do I move forward as a documentary photographer?

Do I put the wheels in motion for a full blown production studio?

Do I build an online business around my blog?

Do I continue to juggle freelance work, commercial multimedia production and writing for a living and hope to squeeze out some documentary work in the “down time” and hope my clients actually pay their bills so I can fund the documentary work?

Or do I just put everything on the shelf and be a black and white photographer- in a darkroom, coddling her negatives and relishing in the fumes of fixer.  (Yes, I like that aroma- go figure)

Or- here’s a nice wrench in the whole argument, do I just retreat from the world, live off the land, relish in the beauty of small town America and do lapidary and photography- just for the sake of itself?

Oh, the tortured logic of an artistic entrepreneur.  Because really, they are all wonderful options.

So, I come back to the original question, and it’s not a new one to this blog.  Who are you?  What do you produce?  Why do you follow this line of work?  What’s your impact on the world?

And, if someone were to pull the plug on all the technology in the world and we were to revert to the mid 1990s- pre-internet boom- or even worse, the mid 1950s- pre-computer days- where would you be?  Or rather- who would you be?

What would you produce?  Why would you bother?  Who would benefit from your efforts?  Would you still be the insatiable entrepreneur- all Atlas Shrugged style or would you be the existential being living by a pond all Thoreau/Walden like?

As we approach another year and start to contemplate our plans for growth, the future and the big picture- maybe we should stop and reevaluate some of these fundamental questions.

Oddly, I pose these questions to myself often- but I never come up with a true answer.  And when an answer arises, it usually changes.

But what I do find is that vision- that dream future that I see and am walking towards- usually surfaces after the frantic ADD leaping from one possible career scenario to another possible business option subsides.  And once this Medusa-esque beast goes to sleep and I’m left with that one rational voice in my head, that true-self that quietly speaks up after the madness has subsided, I return to one thing.

Storytelling.  I am a storyteller.  I use images, words and sounds.  And I create.

That’s it.  You can have the rest.  Give me the time and space to create my art.  Give me a little food and a dry roof over my head (a train/plane ticket helps too) and I will just create.

Your turn.  What do you produce?  Why do you produce?  If you were take it all away- all the shiny bling of the internet, social media and the computer, what would you be left with?

And be sure to visit Farnoosh’s fabulous blog, Prolific Living, when you have the chance!  She prompted this post with her insightful questions.  Her blog is wonderful, so spend some time over there!

Our daily walk in the shadow of a 14K footer!

And while the move went smoothly (give or take a few weather systems), my ability to adapt has been challenged in several ways since I came to this quiet little town.  Here are a few of my recent adaptations.

Connection.

Connectivity is by far the greatest challenge in this move.  You truly do not realize how dependent you are upon the internet in this line of work until you can’t find a connection.  The local coffeehouse is wonderful, and for good reason, they do not provide wifi for their customers.  Being a strong proponent of community gathering places, I totally understand.

So, while walking through town on my first day here, I noticed the local pub had a wifi sign on the window.  Perfect.  And they’re open at 6 am for breakfast- even better.  So, the following day, I bundled up- did I mention the average temperature is about 15 degrees at this elevation- grabbed my backpack and walked down to the pub at 9 am.  Amazingly, a people were actually having a beer and playing pool.

Did I mention that I’m next to South Park- or the town where the cartoon was based? I can see a novel or a sitcom growing out of this town.

I grabbed a table next to the window and parked my ass there for hours. I ordered a ‘giant pancake’ (literally twice the size of my head) and a bottomless cup of coffee and commenced to getting my wifi on.

And I’ve been back almost every morning since.  I’ve opted for just the Sysco coffee sans ginormous pancake.  And I hate to admit this, but I really like it.  When I open the door to the pub, literally and figuratively called “Alma’s Only Bar” I kinda feel like Norm walking into Cheers.

I know who will be sitting at the bar, that the bartender will be having her coffee and chatting with the locals and that the chef will be sitting at the bar table with her laptop.  I join her in the mornings, we share a table and get to work.  And she always gives me such a warm welcome when I walk in.  There’s a fire blazing in the wood stove and the coffee is hot.

What more can you ask for?

The transition of the bar crowd vs coffeeshop crowd in the morning does take a little bit of an adjustment.  Luckily, I grew up in the restaurant industry and was a bartender for ten years, so I speak the language.  There’s no NPR or folk music playing, usually the entertainment news or CMT is on the bar television.  There’s no debate of politics, in fact there’s very little talk of politics at all. Unless the Rogue politician gone Hollywood pops onto the TV and the bar will fire up with the latest talking points spinning out of the media cycle.

But, a little color in the morning is a nice change of pace.  I met Uncle Johnny the other morning, who kept the fire stoked and the conversation interesting.  A former police officer from Pittsburgh, Uncle Johnny is the go-to guy in the bar and probably in the town. I have a feeling if I need anything, Uncle Johnny would be the man to ask.

When he introduced himself, I had to smile a little.  I had an Uncle Louie in Pawleys Island who could, and I quote “make things happen. If you need me to take care of somebody, you just let me know.  I know people.” Literally, his exact words.  Love it!

So, while my connectivity is still a little spotty, I am learning to adjust and hoping my online communities will understand my lack of availability at the moment.

My favorite "office" from last winter's Walkabout. I hope to be there in a few more weeks! Image from my Blackberry.

Work Schedule

As a location independent professional, I’ve learned to work almost anywhere when necessary. But even when not traveling, I have certain times of the day when my creativity emerges and I ride that horse for all it’s worth.  My new living arrangement (and it’s only for a few more months) is very small.  Tiny.  300 square feet tiny, with my dog and a roommate.  Yea, wrap your brain around that for a sec.  No bedrooms or quiet corners for this little night owl to dive into her writing and production.  Conundrum.

I have found the local coffeeshop- sans wifi- to be an excellent place for contemplation and writing.  I sit next to a giant picture window that looks out over Main Street and that mammoth 14K foot mountain by my house and work away.  Or try to.  I’ve met some wonderful people there and have gotten some writing done, but mid-afternoon is my least creative time and they close at six.  My most creative time is at night, and I’m hoping to find a little more rhythm there soon.

My other major work schedule adjustment relates to the first point of connectivity.  Not having evening access to the wifi- unless I want to be that girl chained to her laptop in the corner of the bar, sipping whiskey and being anti-social- has meant that I only check email once a day.  I hate to admit this, but I rather like that aspect of this new schedule.  It takes some getting used to, but I enjoy not being chained to the inbox.  So, I’m left to have conversations with my roommate in the evenings or read a book, both of which are rather enjoyable.

I do worry that my writing will begin (or is already) slipping with the lack of late night writing.  Hopefully my muse will adjust as well and as I find my rhythm here, I’ll be able to compensate for my challenging work schedules.

My winter chalet from last year. If I can adjust to this tight living space, I can live anywhere! Image from the blackberry.

Finding a New Market- or Not

My new town is only 30 minutes from Breckenridge, where people, business and social life abounds.  My plan was to drum up some local business to tap into when I’m not traveling. I researched the town prior to moving and lived here ten years ago, so I have some idea of what to anticipate when putting my freelancing self into this market.  But, putting myself out there requires one major element of a business that I am lacking at the moment- transportation.

If you’ve been reading this blog the past few weeks, you saw the lovely pictures of the Vintage Vanagon I so diligently navigated cross-country with the canoe/sail on top.  Well, she took a big shit last week and left her exhaust system in shambles on a mountain pass.  So I am sans wheels. In a town of 600 people, with a handful of businesses’ and no mass-transit to the next major town.

Oops.

And oh, did I mention the big mountain pass that you have to traverse, complete with hairpin turns and snow banks to get to Breckenridge?  Oyyy.

So the other night, when faced with the possibility of no wheels all winter, I did some serious spreadsheet forecasting of all the possible scenarios of living here with or without a car and running my business.  I highly recommend everyone do this often, particularly when you’re contemplating new avenues of your business or trying to understand where your opportunities lie.

My major question in this whole line of rationale was the following- was the Universe trying to force me to focus on just the online business by taking away the vehicle and the wifi all at once.  I understand that there’s the element of free will in here- and I can choose my own vehicle and such- but I tend to pay attention when things unfold and try to find the lesson within the mayhem.  By not having the distraction of the internet and having very limited options for income, I would literally HAVE to build my online business now and not mess around with more freelance jobs and “real” work.

My spreadsheets helped- tremendously.  I made about 10 different versions of the possible revenue streams and how they would budget out through the year.  I used Mac’s Numbers and their built in budget template and played out all the possible options.  I narrowed my possibilities down to three and then focused in on the one budget that was my ideal goal- both monetarily and for the type of freelance/online business balance I see myself juggling this year.

I then busted out the iCal and put all the budget milestones onto my calendar and planned out the following year!  Holy Crap!  And today, when I was beginning to stress a little about creating local fliers for freelance services and getting over the pass to network, I opened up the spreadsheets and looked at my calendar to see what I truly should be focused on.  And I did just that.

Funny how that whole planning thing works, isn’t it?

I know, seems rather obvious, but for this artistic entrepreneur, planning doesn’t always come naturally.  I can strategize like nobody’s business and I can visualize the big picture, but putting the tiny little steps necessary to get me there into action, well that’s a challenge.

So, back to my transportation adaptation.  Looks like someone will be driving cross-country- AGAIN- in two weeks.  My truck is going to have to make the journey out here, so this nomad can be mobile again.  Hitching a ride over that pass and to my desert town next month is not a task that I’m looking forward to.

Now, it’s your turn.

So, if you’re still with me, how do you adjust your work routines and schedules to a new location- be it on a business trip or a major move?

What are your necessary elements for productivity- no matter where you are?

Are you a serious planner or fly-by-the seat of your pants person?

Do you have spreadsheet planners for year long forecasting or a special method for bringing your plans to action?

What’s the strangest place you’ve worked in for wifi access? Go on, you can tell us!

Everyone has a passion and that passion can be a business- even racing farm animals is a viable business!

And that’s not a bad thing.  You’ve taken the time to learn how a business runs, made mistakes on someone else’s dime and made lasting friendships with colleagues and employers that will last a lifetime.

But, now you’ve got the itch.  You have to scratch it.  You have a different reality in mind for your future.  So, where do you start?

Identify Your Passion.

I’ve talked at length about passion on this site, so I’ll just refer you to a couple links to follow up on this point.  Passion is the fuel behind the 12-15 hour days you’re about to embark upon.  It’s the fire that lights under your ass in the morning and causes you to leap out of bed ready to dominate the world.

But how do you find your passion? Thousands of resources exist to help you identify that passion and finding the one that speaks to you is necessary before moving forward.

I was fortunate to have my passion arise at a young age.  My dad bought me my first SLR at the age of 10 and I never looked back.  That does not mean I’ve always been a photographer though.  My passion, is more of who I am and less of what I do.  I’m walking right into a contradiction here.

My passion does not necessarily mean that’s how I make a living.  It’s taken me many years to learn and accept this fact.  I do still make money using my camera, but my goal- what sets my ass a-flame- is the thought that my other revenue streams will one day fund my documentary photography work.  This vision is what propels me forward in my artistic entrepreneurial endeavor.

So, even if your passion is not the exact means of how you make a living, be sure that your passion is in bed with the endeavor you decide to make your own.  For without the fuel of your passion, you may not have the strength to make it through the dark and twisty places that you WILL travel down.

The crowds waits for the pic-racing to begin at the NC State Fair.

Visualize

Close your eyes for a few minutes and see your future self engaged in the business that you are striving to create.  What does that person look like?  What are they doing?  How do they carry themselves?  What is the joy that they are embracing while traveling down the path to entrepreneurship?

You must visualize yourself within the business or company you are creating.  Visualization relies upon the passion quite heavily, for it’s the excitement that the passion creates which formulates the vision of your future self.

Write this down, sketch it out, create a vision board and tell a few dear friends or family what that vision is and how you are going to make it a reality.

The little piggies wait for their turn to race!

Build Your Framework

To build a house, you draw up a blueprint, lay the foundation and then build the framework.  The walls and trim-work come later, once the building is sound and stable.  The same concept applies for your future entrepreneurial endeavor.

Write out your plan first.  The size and scope of your business plan will vary greatly depending on your type and size of business.  I started creating complicated business plans and never seemed to connect with the complexity and formality of it all.  If you are building a small, solo-prenur endeavor without outside investors, than your plan can be small and organic.

Get the basics down on paper- the mission statement, executive statement, the staff or support system, the goals of the business, descriptions of the products and services and an analysis of the target market for your endeavor.  You’ll find that certain areas are more important to your business structure than others, so be sure to focus on the areas the meet your needs.  Many resources exist for writing your plan, so find one that makes sense to you and dive in.

I use frameworks that I’ve found while reading Ladies Who Launch and The Organic Entrepreneur.  The styles of business plans presented in these books speak to the way my mind works.  You must know how your mind works in order to find the appropriate plan that you can bring to life.

Gather Your Mentors and Support Systems

Absolutely necessary.  You must, MUST, have people in your daily sphere of interaction that can guide you, provide support and be a sounding board as you navigate these tricky entrepreneurial waters.  Sometimes you just need someone to scrape you off the floor when you’ve fallen so hard you don’t know which way is up.  And sometimes, you just need someone to revel in your accomplishment over a glass of wine.

Find people who understand you, who comprehend what you’re building and why you’re building it and who have traveled down a similar path at some point in their lives.

When I was slogging through the path of a professional photographer, I hit a wall with my work.  I had no real network and no mentors.  Big problem.  I knew it was time to return to school, so I applied to one of the best schools in the country for photojournalism. And one of the major reasons I returned to school was to surround myself with people who were smarter and more talented than me and to build a network of colleagues and mentors.  And I did, and I love it!

You don’t need to return to academia to find such a network, your people are all around you.  Go to a MeetUp for your area of interest, contact someone who has been wildly successful at what you are hoping to build or attend seminars where the speakers are inspirational and accessible.

Be sure to meet people at a similar stage as you during these meetings and events.  Exchange contact information and really get to know them.  Your peers can be as valuable as your mentors.  I can not emphasize enough the value of having someone who understands your struggles and triumphs at this stage of the game.  Find these peers, connect with them and grow together.  You need them, more than you can imagine!

The little piggies race for cheese-doodles.

Build Your Online Platform

Your platform is huge- this is a big one!  Devote some serious time to building your platform for reaching your customers.  Everyones platform looks a little different and will vary dramatically based on your business and your target market.

Are your customers hanging out on Twitter chatting it up while they’re at work?  Or are your potential clients stay at home mom’s who use Facebook for hours on end to stay in touch with their friends and fellow moms? Do your potential customers even know what GoWalla or Tumblr are and will they ever use social media?

You must answer these questions before building your platform.  Identify the location of your customers and start interacting in that space.  Build your presence on this social media platform first and then branch out to another form of social media to expand your platform.

Scott Stratten, author of Unmarketing, made a fabulous point in his book that I wish I knew at the beginning of my platform building.  Focus on just one social media platform at time.  Build your presence on Twitter, make it strong and then branch out to Facebook or a blog.  This approach is not often mentioned, but makes perfect sense.  Why build a relationship with a person on one platform, then immediately send them somewhere else.  Stratten built his Twitter following to over 10,000 before he ever created a blog post.  By that time, he knew his audience well and could provide content that would benefit them the most.

Your platform should have at least a homepage or blog, a connection to Facebook or Twitter and an email subscription sign up for your site.  Remember, the online platform is often your first introduction to your potential customers or clients.  First impressions are essential and most people make a snap judgment on when visiting a website in about 3-5 seconds.

If you have the resources, hire a designer (and use WordPress if you’re building a website/blog) to make your online platform as professional as possible.  Be sure the design reflects your target market and create a uniform presence across all platforms by using the same color schemes, logos and photos of yourself.  And yes, those photos need to be professional as well.  Use the same avatar photo on all your platforms and be sure the picture is up to date and as professional as you can afford.

Now, Leap.

You’ve done the heavy lifting, you’ve identified your passions,  you’ve visualized your endeavor, your support system is in place and your platform is built.  Now, it’s time to just take the final leap and dive into the great unknown.  Just remember to keep that support system nearby at all times and keep your vision in the forefront of your thought bubble most of the time.  When you leap, remember that your wings will appear as you sail through the air and at some point, you’ll land in the place where your dreams live.  It won’t happen tomorrow, and might not happen for many years, but it will happen.

The following images were taken at the NC State Fair in 2006.  The wonderful folks at Hogsway Speedsway Pig Racing allowed me to tag along for an afternoon and photograph their business.  The love and affection they shared for their animals was very refreshing and does show that even the most unlikely of business ideas can be grounded in passion and successful!

Pig Racing – Images by Crystal Street

Even cute little piggies have networks! And these are happy, hippy pigs- grown free of antibiotics and growth hormones from Grassroots Pork in Beaulaville, NC.

Building a network can be done a thousand different ways- getting hammered at networking socials and talking to everyone in sight, going to multiple conferences in your niche, handing your business card to every breathing being that crosses your path or just talking about your business constantly.  To anyone that will listen.

Not really all that bad for building a network, though not ideal or necessarily efficient for building a quality network that makes engagement meaningful and enjoyable- for both parties.  And for those of us (yours truly included) who are slightly shy or introverted, building a network in that matter is not only daunting, but totally unnatural. Goes against our very fiber of being.

So, let’s look at networking from a different approach.  Let’s all be farmers for a minute and cultivate a garden of fabulous people to surround ourselves with- organically of course.

Plant.

We must plant the seeds that will grow our network. In order to plant those seeds, we must visualize what our garden will look like once the seeds start to sprout.

What will your ideal network look like?  Who are your Mavens, Connectors and Linchpins ?  Look at your industry and identify who are the big players.

Identify the qualities they embody. Write them down.  These qualities are important to your network for what reasons?  What, specifically, is the value of this person to your network?  Is it their experience, their passion, their network, their ability to innovate?  Shoot big, this is where you dream.  Even if this person doesn’t physically become part of your network, understanding why you value their work will allow you to identify their major contributions to society and, in turn, your life’s work.

If you could have your round-table of knights, who would they be and why would you invite them to sit at your table?  What type of conversation or innovation would you expect from them while sitting around your table?

Or, to stick with our garden theme- who would be the most nourishing people of sustenance that would give you the energy to move forward in your business and your life?

Now, look at how you might surround yourself with people that embody the qualities of your dream network.  It’s truly the qualities that these people embody that play a vital role in picking the right seeds for your garden.

Are you a budding entrepreneur looking to connect with innovators?  Check out a local TEDx event- or splurge for the mack-daddy TED conference and participate in the community.

Are you an amazing painter who is looking to connect with a mentor who can show you the ropes of producing art as both a creator and a business person?  Find a local art co-operative and become friends with the owner or person who started the co-op.  Volunteer, join the co-op and participate in the community.

When I reached a wall with my photography career and knew I wanted to pursue photojournalism as a professional, I knew that I needed a much stronger network of colleagues to work within.  I also needed the knowledge and skill level to participate in this community.  I returned to school at age 30 to study photojournalism at one of the top schools in the country.  And my network is one of the most valuable things I garnered from that time.  And these relationships go beyond the casual network of professionals, these are true friends and mentors who I cherish dearly and can turn to when I hit a career wall, or a “life” wall.

Physically plant yourself in situations that will allow you to cross paths with the people in your dream network- or with people that embody this network.  Have your knowledge and your expertise ready and plenty of professionally designed business cards ready to plant your seeds with.

My favorite tool for planting seeds is my Moo Card dispenser that attaches to my keychain.  When I engage in a meaningful conversation with someone and they begin to ask more about my work, or seem like a person who may gain from the work I’ve done- or merely a wonderful person to invite into my community, I just whip out my Moo Cards in their handy-dandy card holder and give them a card.  The action itself is a conversation piece- most people think I’m giving them a stick of gum or something.

Hound dogs have networks too. And are very vocal about it!

Water.

Water is necessary for growth.  Without water, we shrivel and die.  But how do you water a network?  Damn good question, let’s think about this for a minute.

Add sustenance and nourishment to your seeds- to your network.  Be of service.  Not for the sake of “you scratch my back, now I’ll scratch yours” but because you’re a good human being and you want your network to grow into good seedlings and plants- you want to attract like-minded, good human beings as well.

Be human.  Be real.  Be genuine.

Offer help.  Offer guidance.  Offer advice.

Your water, your sustenance to your network needs to be free of chemicals, contaminants, free-radicals and other nasty trace chemicals we find in our water these days.  What exactly does that mean?

Don’t be the sleazy douche-bag salesman that gives people the hee-bee jee-bees and makes them swear off the art of conversation with strangers.

Don’t use unnatural methods for building your network.  Avoid the auto follower Twitter options, don’t spam people with your Facebook account and don’t add comments on blogs that don’t add to the community.  Taking this offline, don’t stalk people at networking functions, don’t get drunk and sleep with the most influential people at your networking event and don’t starf**k at conferences.  (read the comments- pretty funny!)

Just be genuine and your seeds will get the water they need.

No horse networking metaphors, just like this photo.

Cultivate.

Again, this is pretty much what we just talked about- but take it to the next level.

By this point, you’ve planted the seeds, watered them, and your network is starting to grow.  This is a two way relationship at this point.  You’ve laid the groundwork, now keep the network growing by adding nutrients, trimming when necessary and keeping the pests at bay.

Interact with your network regularly through genuine conversations on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, emails and in person.  If your network is local, your interactions should be in person.  Be on everyone’s radar.  Be the go-to gal or guy.  Be reliable, interesting, dependable and fabulously creative.  Just be yourself and your cultivation will follow.

Harvest.

Harvesting may be tough with a network, lest you come across as a cannibal- or worse yet, a name-dropping spammer who just uses people to further their agenda.  That’s not why we build gardens.  Building relationships with people is not about using them as a means to an end.  If that’s why you’re building your garden, just go ahead, dump the Miracle-Grow on your precious plants and take a dive onto your pitch-fork.  Do us all a favor and don’t try to build your garden, OK?

Harvest your network with care and love. If you’ve grown organically and naturally, then when you need to call on your network to help you achieve a goal or grow your business, your network will respond.

For real life examples of this, look to Danielle LaPorte and her Firestarter Sessions, Chris Guillebeau and his small army or Naomi Dunford and her IttyBiz. ( affiliate links love in there!)  They each built an amazing network of people, grew it with care, cultivated with love (sometimes tough love) and then when they needed help from their network, people gave willingly- because they believe in the person behind the work and their contribution to the greater good.

Harvest time in the hay fields.

Rest.

Well, resting is open for interpretation.  You don’t want to rest too much, your network may fall apart.  But, you don’t want to overwhelm your network, they may whither and die from overexposure.

Every good garden needs time to rest between harvest and planting.  Same goes with a network.  Resting does not have to mean disengagement, maybe just a change in approach or a more Zen approach to interaction mixed in with the regular network building.

Maybe rest just means having coffee with people in your network.  Or sharing a glass of wine in a non-professional setting.  Or maybe rest means learning to surf or ski with someone in your network and has nothing to actually do with your business or your network.  (yes, Skool of Life – I’m anxiously awaiting my surf lessons and I consider that rest!)

Even little piggies need to rest. It's hard being a little piglet.

And, repeat.

So, dear seedlings and happy organic peeps, go forth and grow your network.  Use the basic principles of organic gardening and grow something special, meaningful and something that will nourish your soul in return.  Hell, why not plant an actual garden at the same time and take this little metaphor into the real world.  You may have to use a container garden, as winter is approaching, but all you need is a little soil, a seed, some water and a little love!

Go forth.  Plant.  Water.  Cultivate.  Harvest.  Rest.

Oh, and be fabulous in the process.

I’m open to any organic networking tips below- help us grow and leave a tip in the comment section below!

Organic Networking – Images by Crystal Street

The images in this article and slideshow are from my multimedia commercial work this past month and why things have been a little quiet here at the Storyteller.  The hay farm pictures are from my multimedia branding project for Westbrook Farms and the adorable little pigs are for a Whole Foods video I shoot and produced for their Farm to Market series.  Enjoy!

Me and procrastination are tight.  We co-exist on a level that is difficult to explain to many, particularly the responsible, type A personalities who have taken the To-Do list to levels I can only fathom.

One of my favorite last minute deadline photos.

I just can’t do it.  Lists- never.  To Do task sheets- forget about it.  GTD software- only when my back is to the wall and my spinning plates are about to spiral violently out of control and start decapitating people.

I’m wrapping up two multimedia projects at the moment and trying to ship them before I leave town for another week of assignments in another state.  I love both of these projects.  I truly enjoy digging into Final Cut and putting together the story that speaks to what and whom I documented.  I love it.

I’ve had 3 days to do what should really only take one, yet I’m still procrastinating.  I finally dug in last night, but not until after blocking all social media sites with Leechblock- for 24 hours, removing my email icons from my dock, spending all day at the coffee-shop, visiting friends, taking my truck to the mechanics and contemplating going car-less, watching part of Harry Potter (for the 50th time- seriously- its an affliction) and painting a fence.

While painting the fence (yes- I chose chores over multimedia production) I was trying to explain to my mom that I am the self-professed queen of procrastination.

She didn’t believe me, didn’t really think that was possible, so I rattled off some of my favorite last minute achievements over the years- the past 15 years.  These projects, some of my most successful, really came into their own while I was staring down a deadline.  I know exactly how long it takes me to do everything- and barring any unforeseen computer malfunctions, I always make it.

Last minute musical shoot! Details about the degree of my procrastination that produced these images is at the bottom of the article.

Why do we procrastinate?

I’ve read a few interesting books this summer that speak to this- the resistance and shipping come to mind from Seth Godin.  And yes, I completely agree that part of it is this artistic blockage that views success as some mortal threat to our existence or fears the failure of attempting some monumentus task.  Tim Ferris mentioned Parkinson’s Law in the 4HWW, which states that a task will swell in relation to the time given to complete it and if a short time is allotted for completion, pressure makes one focus on execution.  Makes sense.

But, while pondering the procrastination during my Karate Kid fence painting moment, I had to think that it’s something else.  It’s the adrenaline of performing under pressure. We journalists and photojournalists in particular, thrive off of performing at a high level of professional proficiency under stress.

Car chases in squad cars, drug raids, protest rallies with IDF soldiers, tear gas and rubber bullets, shooting in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans at a concert and having to get the image in three songs, dodging stock cars in the pit at NASCAR while trying to get the winning car- hell- even riding in the stock car at 175 miles an hour 6 inches from the wall- these are just some of the adrenaline rushes I’ve tasted while working as a photographer.

Sprinkle an absolute deadline in there and you have the adrenaline junkie’s crack cocktail.

So, I have to wonder, are some of us wired to need the extra stress while performing our art in order to really kick ass?  I can look back at all of my last minute projects and they completely rocked- some of them won some major awards or just became my favorite images out of hundreds of thousands.

Some of my most serendipitous artistic moments happened at the very last minute, when pressure was high and adrenaline was flowing.

Do our brains function better under stress- external and internal- self-imposed and from our obligations to others?  Does our brain focus harder when the pressure is weighing down on it?

Should we take this into account when creating or try to perform like more “normal” folks, with structured milestones throughout a project, detailed to do lists and scheduled work times?  Or do we just leap off the cliff at the pinnacle time of production and dive down the rabbit hole until we emerge- sweaty, exhausted and frazzled, holding our prized masterpiece created from the chest crushing pressure that had our hearts racing for hours on end?

Extreme pressure makes diamonds, right?  I’m just saying.

Folk Music – Images by Crystal Street

These images are from a last minute photojournalism project from my Studio lighting class at UNC.  We had an entire semester to complete this assignment and was supposed to be a major piece of work for our portfolio.  I spent most of that semester securing about $7500 in grants and fellowships to document cultural preservation of Tibetan Exiles in India and Nepal, so I was a little preoccupied.  Four days before the assignment was due, I headed out to document a three day folk music festival with a veiled threat from my professor that this project had better be amazingly ridiculous since I had devoted no time to the task all semester.  After two days of getting nothing, I began to contemplate the thought of failing my photojournalism class.  Not an option for someone, who at age 30, decided to return to school and go into debt to study photojournalism.  I was totally f**ked.  It was raining, I had nothing and my spirits were wallowing in the mud puddles that broke my monopod.  Sigh.

I hung out at the festival way past midnight- probably one of the few sober folks at this point- and wandered about looking for any little miracle to save my ass.  Low and behold, the lighting Gods produced a sheer miracle and a fog settled throughout the festival.  Each music tent with colored stage lighting began to glow and cast these ridiculous shadows.  I almost cried- seriously- someone was looking after my ass and just gave me pure photo gold.  I went ballistic and shot everything in sight.  The proverbial kid in the candy store.

A couple days later I sat in my professor’s office showing him my photos for the final edit.  He smiled, looked at me and basically said, “you pulled this right out of your ass, didn’t you?”  As a matter of fact I did.  Those images remain some of my favorite all time shots and one of them still hangs over my professor’s desk to this day.

So, procrastination can be your friend!  Embrace it and know that sometimes the procrastination has a purpose!

If you lived on this mountain in rural NC, Twitter might be a connection to the outside world!

Real offline relationships still lie at the core of our society and the irreplaceable values of face to face interaction and true in-person conversations will never die.  But, in today’s world, it’s possible to take the conversation online and connect with people who you would not have interacted with 6 years ago- due in main part to geographic restrictions.

As my time online increases and I continue to make meaningful connections using social networks, I have to take a step back and look at the methods in which this online conversation occur and how to build a network that truly reflects who I am- in the “offline world”.

Work/Play Balance

The Internets, at least for me, serve the purpose of helping me build and promote my passion skills- my photography and writing.  If I had to categorize my online time, 85% of it is professional and the remaining time is spent catching up with my offline friends through online communications.  And, of course, grabbing the occasional episode of Greys on Hulu, should my Thursday evening have an unavoidable appointment.

My journey through social media has reflected this as well- my online community surfaced around my professional interests- photography, visual communications, writing and biz dev (I’m going to replace the term entrepreneurship with biz dev- business development b/c for the life of me I can not spell entrepreneurship- ever).  My networks are filled with people who have an interest in any of these areas.

A little playtime while the adults build a greenhouse at Maverick Farms, NC.

I try to keep the work/play balance to that ratio.  For if I begin to have my play time online, then my day would be spent completely in the online world- which can’t be healthy.  Unless you’re Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

Building a Network

The other day I broke 500 followers on the Twitter.  Woo-hoo!  I felt rather special.  As I proudly tweeted my meager accomplishment a conversation ensued around building a network.  A fellow blogger who I communicate with rather regularly made the comment that he bet my number came about organically.  And well, it did.

If you build it...

But I’d never really thought too much about that.  He mentioned that he has used an auto follower to generate followers in the beginning of his Twitter building and wished he hadn’t done so.  I’d heard of such tools, but never used them.  In my beginning growth days, I would use the search twitter option and find people with similar interests and if they were posting interesting comments, I’d follow.  But after my growth started on its own, I stopped doing this.

So, my method for organic growth is rather simple. When someone follows me, a notification pops up in my email along with their avatar.  If they have a human face or an interesting logo, I click on their link and visit their page.  The next part is key- I see what they are saying!  I look for a balance of RTs, link posting with relevant copy and I see if they are having actual conversations with people.

If a happy balance of all three exists- then I follow back. If I stumble upon someone’s online content that kicks ass or is powerfully relevant- and their Twitter icon is on their page- I follow them as well.

Simple.  Natural.  Organic.

Picking out the weeds- one at a time!

Interaction

Interacting with your network is HUGE!  That’s the point, right?

But, there are ways to do this and ways to get your ass un-followed.  I really don’t un-follow people unless they are spammy, slimy or just incessantly posting things that I don’t interact with.  I try not to follow such types in the first place- hence the organic growth thing.

I lurked- for over a year- on Twitter before I dove in.  And then, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing or why it mattered.  I opened my Twitter account when it first came on the scene- and it sat dormant for a while.  This winter I fired it up when I launched the Storyteller- just seemed logical.  But I still didn’t use it right, I posted quotes, blog articles and a few RTs, but that was it.  And the actions were not a regular occurrence.

This summer I dove in headfirst.  I found people who were posting interesting questions and I answered.  I retweeted articles I felt could benefit others.  On occasion, I would just send a shout out to the person if I just spent an hour watching their keynote speech online or spent all evening with their podcasts.

I gave feedback on things that really had an impact on me and my biz perspective.  And a few of these shout outs gave interesting replies.  Conversations ensued and now we interact regularly.  In fact, I’ll be crossing paths with my online network in person this winter as I go on my western Walkabout.

That’s the power of the Twitter.  That’s why this shit really matters.  You’re building real relationships with real people using an online platform.

Building relationships, both offline and online, spreads a little joy in your life and hopefully some laughter too.

And as my blog and my network grows, people are reaching out to me in conversation and I just couldn’t be any happier about it! I love getting real feedback from people about my work and then I am able to engage with their work as well.  Which makes it all worthwhile.

So, to recap on this rambly Twitter article.

• Organic growth on the Twitter can be the most rewarding because you are engaging in real conversations with real people.  Reflecting your offline interactions.

• Choose your follows with a little bit of care. You don’t have to follow everyone who follows you.  If they look slimy or spammy don’t open the channels of communication.  If some creepy guy driving a chester-molester van slinks over to me in a parking lot and tries to strike up a conversation- I’m gonna politely walk away.  Same thing goes for the online world.

• Don’t just look at the number of followers the person has- we all started off with one follower. But if they follow a gazillion people and don’t tweet anything, beware. Or if they are following a gazillion people and none are following them back- yet they are Tweeting their ass off- well, I smell a little spam in the air.

• Don’t use auto-finders and auto responders on Twitter. Unless the sheer number of follows matters to your ego and your balls need that type of inflated support, just let your growth happen naturally.  As Twitter has evolved, so have it’s users.  So let your network find you and spend some time finding a network that reflects you, as a person.  And if you keep building fabulous content, people will find you!
  

• Provide a valuable conversation. Just like in the real world, conduct your conversations as though you’re sharing a coffee with someone. Provide answers, ask questions, give information and provide a little moral support now and again.  People respond to real people- so keep it real and keep it interesting. It’s not all about your blog posts or your marketing.  It’s about everyone you interact with and their lives too.

• Check your Mentions regularly and thank people, give them feedback and strike up the conversation. When I first started really using the Twitter, I sent a quick thanks to GaryVee to thank him for posting all those keynotes- they were quite inspiring.  And damn if he didn’t say a thanks back.  That’s impressive for someone with almost a million Twitter followers.  Same for Chris Guillebeau @ the AONC. He responds as well and I’m just amazed that these guys are able to devote their time in this manner to the people who engage with their content.  It truly speaks to the transparency and authenticity that is transforming business in the online (and hopefully the offline) world.

So, go forth, sow the seeds of conversation and Tweet.  Follow me on the Twitter, if you aren’t already, and let’s keep this party rollin’!

Getting the fields ready for the winter.

These images were taken during my time at UNC.  I was auditing an environmental justice class and as part of our service learning component, the class traveled to a small locally owned farm in the mountains of NC to help them complete projects and prepare for the winter.  Please visit Maverick Farms if you’re near Boone!  It’s both beautiful and delicious!

A young girl struggle to learn Hini in a beggars camp in Dharmsala, India.

So, we’ve gotten those basics under our belts, we’ve pondered the why and we’ve made our lists and dreamed. Now what?

I’m going to take a moment and talk about a few tools that can help propel you down that different path in life.

Let’s start at the beginning.

The Art of Non-Conformity

I am a big fan of Chris Guillebeau, as are many, many thousands. And here’s my story as to why.

For the past 15 years or so, I’ve lived far outside the box. Every so often I peer into the box, out of curiosity and a little fear of the unknown, but for 95% of my time, my life has been anything but conventional. I’m cool with that, I enjoy wearing my unconventional badge and I love to talk about the lifestyle and adventures. I’m a storyteller- right?

In 2008, I decided to make a go of commercial multimedia production, with the hopes of fully funding my documentary work and my vagabonding tendencies. I relocated, lined up a relationship with an ad agency, over-extended my resources, and landed flat on my face. I moved two weeks before Lehman Brothers tanked and took the whole f*cking system with them. Thanks for that.  And I was not prepared, mentally or financially to attack properly when this happened- I was still in launch mode, not survival mode- problem! While I slogged through a long ass winter of poverty (those granite counter-tops and hardwood floors in my rental were of no comfort when the jobs dried up and I was living off peanuts. Try spending 3 weeks with 12 cents in your bank account and see if you don’t make some radical changes.)

So, I started to really reevaluate my goals and my dreams and returned to my core passions. I began to go online and study the emerging blogs of that year. While pursuing JD Roth’s Get Rich Slowly blog and trying to up my financial literacy (always a priority- not my area of strength) I stumbled onto an article about travel hacking. Huh? So, I clicked the link and found my Happy Place. The Art of Non-Conformity.

Seriously? There’s a whole online community based on the way I’d always lived my life. I was fully aware of the 4 Hour Work Week (I re-read it about every 6 months or so) but had never heard of this little gem. I spent 2 days reading all the article I could consume on this blog.

Hallelujah- somebody gets my world. I downloaded Chris’ free manifestos and knew that this was different. This was going to help steer me in a direction I hadn’t anticipated when I left UNC to launch my multimedia business. This was taking me back to the why- back to the basics. And it felt like I was coming home- back to my true self and my passions for my art.

I hemmed and hawed over purchasing an actual e-book from his site. I had never done that before and I was afraid of purchasing something at that price point that I could not hold in my hands and flip through first. But, I sucked it up and bought Art + Money. Loved it. If these resources had been around 10 years ago- my life would look much different. (Not that I’m not happy with my life exactly as it is unfolding- I might have accelerated my path had these resources and the Web 2.0 been around).
That’s why I love the AONC and think you should spend some time with the site and his e-books and new print book.

A young boy studies alone at the Tibetan Children's Village which provides a home and Tibetan education for orphans who have left their families behind in China.

WordPress

Yep- it doesn’t get much better than this (though Tumblr is going to give this a run for her money in simple usability). When WordPress first came on the scene, I dabbled in the platform, but it was very much a programmers/coders world and I just didn’t think that way. I speak Flash and I muddle through HTML, and it’s not pretty. But due to the beauty of open source, WordPress has evolved into a game-changer for entrepreneurs, bloggers, artists and even big corporations.

With a few easy steps, you can have a website up and running and you are officially in business. That’s just unbelievable to me. I knew I would have to really learn WordPress because there was no way I could afford a designer to help build my site when I was just starting out.

So, I built many a blog (yea, I have a few in that blogosphere graveyard) and stumbled onto this e-book that talked about the nuts and bolts of the platform. While I haven’t read it from start to finish- this comes in handy when I get stuck. Digging into WordPress. Love it- and the blog is chocked full of info as well.

DreamHost

If you’re building a blog- and yes, you should start there, even if it’s just to get your feet wet before you really launch your side gig/full time job replacement business- please use a host that allows you to have unlimited domains, lots of server space, uses a one-touch install option for WordPress and uses a simple to understand admin panel.

Do not use GoDaddy. Please, just don’t go there. Unless you are fluent in the ways of the web and don’t mind wasting hours looking for shit buried in your admin panel- just don’t. I actually put in my contracts for web developing clients that I will not work with GoDaddy.

I use DreamHost.  Have for many years and they are awesome. They don’t bother with phone service for tech calls (though you can call them if you must) but they use an immediate email response for problems. And they’ve never let me down- and I’ve done some fascinatingly stupid shit to my web servers and domains during my development work! For 10 bucks a month, I get all the domains I want with unlimited emails and I can set up a customized wordpress site in 10 minutes or less.

It’s all about the Skins, Baby!   WP Themes!

A gazillion free themes exist for use in WordPress. And thus, a great place to start. I recently helped a client set up a Woo Theme that she had installed for free and their support and usability was great.

Once you’re ready to evolve and invest a little in your blog, go to Studio Press.  I’ve used their themes for years and just love them. And they’ve evolved their admin panels for friendly usability. They use a main framework (Genesis- which is what this blog is built on) and then have lots of child themes that go on-top of the framework and provide a custom look and feel to the site. I use these for my clients and they love them!

If you have the budget to hire someone (and I recommend this if you have no internet knowledge, limited time or just want to focus resources elsewhere) check out this blog post by Chris Brogan that lists some great resources for designers.  In fact, spend some time with his blog- jam packed with valuable business info!

The main point if you’re going the DIY route is to get a grasp on the basics of the WP Admin panel and where your content goes (categories versus pages versus widgets and sidebars) find a theme developer with lots of premium theme options and stick with them. It’s a royal pain in the ass to learn a whole new theme structure with each new web developer. Be sure your theme of choice provides ample support through forums. I recently jumped ship from a theme I’d used for a year or more because the support answers were rubbish.

Monks debating at the Main Temple in McLeod Ganj, India. They gather nightly to engage in the art of debating- and this type of debate is amazing to witness!

Social Media

Yep, it’s inevitable these days. You need to be active on the social media if you are going to launch any kind of business. Your specific social media strategy will vary greatly based on your type of business and what your target customer needs from you.

But you need to be active on Facebook and Twitter and you need to understand how to use them properly. Do not spam, do not constantly post only your shit and do not simply retweet.

Follow leaders in your industry and follow the people following them. Seek out people asking questions related to your field and offer them answers to their problems. Talk about personal crap (not too personal though- no need to air your dirty laundry on the Twitter/FB) find people having meaningful conversations and dive in.  Here’s a great article on using Twitter properly as a business.

And be sure to explore other niches related to your industry. Use www.search.twitter.com and type in terms related to your services. I am still amazed at the communities that arise based on a particular blog post and how they interact with me on Twitter! I love it! Learn what a hash tag is ( # ) and how to use it in your tweets.

Real world example- I published a blog post last month about the art of conversation and it touched on a random and meaningful encounter I engaged in with a man while sipping java at my local coffee shop. The article was retweeted by a coffee shop lover who has a blog about conversations started in coffee shops and community gathering spots. He contacted me directly about the article and we still converse about our shared interest- community gathering locations and coffee.

You may be thinking, “that’s all well and good- but that’s the virtual world.” Not really, these are real people with shared interests and I know when I travel, I will contact these virtual connections through social media and have in person conversations over real coffee one day. It is one of the main reasons social media needs to be approached as both an online AND an offline interaction.

I use both Hootesuite and Twitter to keep up with conversations. It looks something like this:

• I have 6 columns on Hootesuite . I have 5 columns for lists that I follow- divided into my main topics and they are only A-List bloggers. My lists include Lifestyle Design/Travel, Marketing/Social Media, Photography, Writing and Friends (friends and colleagues from the offline world).  And one column for my mentions so I can respond quickly to people asking me questions or mentioning me.

• I scan Hootesuite periodically throughout the day for links, conversations or trends on the internet.

• Once or twice a day, usually in the evenings, I go to the main Twitter page and just scan through all the tweets in my home feed. This is everybody. I find conversations I want to participate in and add my two cents. I usually converse with people of similar interests, bloggers, travelers, photographers and usually with those who are at a similar stage in their business development. I do reach out to A-listers on occasion and have had some great conversations, but these folks have tens of thousands of people interacting with them. Boggles my mind! Some nights, if I’m watching Jon Stewart and still working, I’ll tweet about that. I had a great conversation with a fellow traveler in Minnesota about Stewart and politics one evening.

• I use Hootesuite to post most of my comments and retweets, it’s just user friendly and allows you to also send them to the other social media networks connected to the app. I connected Facebook and LinkedIn with my Hootesuite, though I prefer the UI on the actual sites as opposed to Hootesuite for these two.

Find a Twitter app you like and get to know it. I have also used Seismic and TweetDeck and just prefer Hootesuite. They allow you to track the traffic to your tweets which becomes a valuable tool once you begin to strategize. But, they are looking to start charging for their service- so I may be jumping ship on that one.

I just started using the new Twitter interface and I have to say- it may give Hootesuite a run for it’s money. Much more user friendly than the original Twitter. I’ve been testing it this week and find myself going to Hootesuite less each day.

Wow- I just realized what a total internet geek I’ve become with that last paragraph! Hilarious!!

A word about social media- you HAVE to stay on top of the trends with these platforms. It changes rapidly and you can not rely solely on one platform in your strategy. Twitter can crash and Facebook can be hacked and all of them can be sold to Google, AOL or Apple and then you’re screwed.

I also love the Tumblr. I’m not going to dive into that now, but check out my Tumblr page and start your own. Totally free and insanely simple to use!

Basically, social media and blogging had some wild sex and a Tumblr was born!

On a rainy afternoon in McLeod Ganj, I sat inside a tight little chai walla with fellow travelers and we talked and debated while sipping on 0.10 cent chai. Fabulous!

Entrepreneurship

So, we’ve touched on just a few resources for The Why and The How. Now, let’s look at a few resources for The Biz.

The resources for your business will vary dramatically, so I’m just going to mention some core books and websites that have helped me along the way and are rather universal. I’m going to try and be brief- because this topic could take years to address. In fact, I’m writing a separate blog at the moment about this topic and will be launching it and a series of e-books surrounding artistic entrepreneurship over the course of the next few months.

Let’s look at some basic but invaluable books.

The E-Myth. I tackled this puppy about 6 years ago and loved it. I purchased his follow up books as well, which are more technical in actually executing the theories presented in the E-Myth.

The basic premise of the book is that you must develop a system for your business where you work ON it not IN it. And he uses the example of a lady who owns a pie shop and can’t understand why she works 18 hours a day and can’t see any tangible growth of her business. This is a vital text for your business and you should read it and UNDERSTAND it before you launch.

Rich Dad Poor Dad. Please over look the rather slick and cheesy looking covers on these books, they really are a valuable resource and compliment the first book well.

I have read several of his books over the years and particularly like Retire Young, Retire Rich and A Guide to Investing. Both of these books really made me think about business in a different, big picture sort of method. While I don’t implement all the principles and I’m not on a fast track path to being rich, the fundamental principles are very applicable to any business and the first book takes less then a couple days to read.

The Four Hour Work Week. I really don’t need to say too much here, this book is so mainstream now, its ridiculous.

But, it speaks to the value of its content. What I find fascinating is to see the actual results now of people taking his advice and implementing it within their own businesses.

The Organic Entrepreneur. I love this book! I’ve read many business books and this remains my favorite.

The book touches on the why and the how in a manner that is so compatible to the way an artist’s mind works. And she bases her path through entrepreneurship in this book on the seasons of the year. The Organic Entrepreneur is a fabulous book and I read it often.

The Fire Starter Sessions.  This one blew me away!

Danielle LaPorte, from White Hot Truth published an AMAZING resource for entrepreneurs and it’s applicable to various stages in your journey. I can’t recommend this highly enough and please go here to read more about my initial reactions to working with these sessions.

Financial books- find the ones that speak to your style and be sure to implement cash flow strategies for your business as you begin to travel this path.

I enjoy reading Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to Be Rich blog and the book is valuable as well. Again, the book is not about being filthy rich- all Monopoly money guy style- it’s about understanding your money habits and finding a financial system that works for your personality. The Naked Millionaire is also an excellent book (same author as The Organic Entrepreneur) and I just started reading Man vs. Debt’s book, Unautomate Your Finances and am liking it so far. Lots of excellent advice and strategies.

I find that, at least for me, studying various financial strategies helps me implement one that works for me. And while I still struggle with finding the perfect balance, embracing the money beast is imperative for your business endeavor.

Cash Flow is king in the business world, and if your cash flow seizes up along the way- so does your business. Believe me- I’ve been there often and know I’ll still be going there again.

Students take a snack break at the Tibetan Childrens Village. One industrious little fella kept sneeking cookies into his pockets to save for later.

I know I’ve missed some vital elements that I use often- but these are the basics. This entry could literally go on forever, but I’ll stop now.

Point is, find your resources and find the people you admire who are Crushing It (yep, there’s Gary V again) and studying what they do and why. Take away the elements that speak to you, make them your own in some fabulous unique fashion and run with it.

Side Note- some of the links in this post are affiliate links. In a recent survey on this blog, folks said they’d like to support the writings here through these links. I only link to products I’ve used and find beneficial. I’ve also established a store at Amazon that has all the books in my Art + Biz library in case you want more resources. Resources to Fire Up Your Artistic Entrepreneur.

The photos in this article are from my trip to India several years ago.  There’s no significance to the topic, I just love these trips and am longing for a return journey to the Tibetan community in McLeod Ganj & Dharamsala, India.  More of my documentary work can be found at http://www.crystalstreet.photoshelter.com

Sounds a little like fru-fru zen shit- I know, but honestly, how often do we give ourselves permission to just be who we truly are in our working lives?

A couple in Cairo just enjoying the evening calls to prayer and "just being" in the moment.

Take a moment and think about the actions you made your most recent work day.  How many of your actions were fueled by your true purpose and your “legacy” and how many of your actions just occurred because someone else thinks it’s necessary? Even when you know full well the action has no relevance what so ever, save filling the void of an 8 hour work day.

How many times have you stopped yourself from doing something in the past 48 hours because your little “Lizard Brain” chastised you for thinking about that action.  The judgmental gnomes in your brain took an action you were excited about, ripped it apart and did a comparative analysis of what some hypothetical person in society SHOULD do.  And the gnomes chastised the action as superfluous, irresponsible or childish and shot it down before you had the chance to bring that idea to life.

And that fledgling idea could have been the seed of something great.  Something fabulous.  Something that becomes the bedrock of your ass-kicking journey towards building your legacy.

For the past two days, I’ve given myself permission to just fully do an action because it furthers my ultimate goal.  I’ve spent more time than intended to on the Twitter. And instead of the normal “you should really not be engaging in this social media crap and doing something more relevant” dialogue, I just enjoyed the act of doing it.  And in the past 3 days, I’ve made some fabulous connections with a handful of people and had some great conversations.

In the past 3 days, I’ve spent more time then I intended on the Facebook.  And instead of the internal judgmental gnome stating that “Facebook is just a time sucker and for bored housewives and high schoolers and you’re a loser for spending so much time there,” I engaged with the Facebook.  I responded to people’s status updates, connected others with information, asked questions and got relevant answers that will help influence my next big project. And, a dear friend from my younger days asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding next year.  All on the Facebook!!

I gave myself permission to “just be” and I made some amazing progress with business and my passion because of that simple act.

This afternoon, as I sat in the backyard, enjoying an afternoon breeze and a cup of espresso, I decided to bump my plans for the evening until tomorrow.  At first, I chastised myself for sitting on my ass when most of my peers were enjoying the coveted “Friday afternoon happy hour- let’s consume lots of alcohol to start off our weekend warrior activities”- but then I took a moment and really analyzed why I was postponing my photo shoot.  I was finishing the AONC book (review to come shortly) and my wheels were just spinning about all the ideas that have been percolating lately that are going to help me build my Legacy.

And truly, driving up to the belly of the Myrtle Beach beast on a Friday night to shoot “Americana” scenes and redneck tourists acting ridiculous just seemed like the farthest thing from my desirable activities as I was enjoying nature with my dog and a great book.

So, I did something I don’t often do- I gave myself permission to indulge in what felt like the perfect activity for my energy. Now, I often indulge this energy- doing the right action for my mood- but I don’t often give myself permission for it.  I berate myself first and the internal dialogue usually goes something like this:

“Its a Friday night and you’re not even going out? Hell, you didn’t even leave the house today?  You just sat in your makeshift office and worked on the computer all day?  Is that healthy?”  States my internal judgmental gnome.

“How can you spend all that time on social media when there’s other busy work that you could be doing?”  Says my worker-bee gnome, cultivated from too many years living in a Puritanistic society.

“Maybe you should do something tangible- like take photos- so you have something to show for it at the end of the day!” My judgmental gnome chimes in, yet again.

And on and on goes my “Lizard Brain/ inner gnomes” as they reluctantly concede to the activity that I know my energy is right for at the moment.

That’s the normal pattern.

But today, I gave myself permission to just do what felt right.  Checking email a little later than normal, starting my workday at 11 am- and sprinkling it with social media interaction, setting a timer for client work to not exceed one hour today- so I can devote my time to building my empire and embracing a Friday night alone, with my little hound dog, sitting in front of my computer and building my business to support my life’s work.

Pulling a 12-15 hour workday- balanced with outdoor reading, walking the dog and a little podcast here and there- with no chastising for over-working or being a computer geek- not bad!

And I have to say, it feels fucking great to just give myself permission to do these things. I feel a little lighter and I feel as though my projects are moving forward and I’m riding along with them- instead of swimming upstream against them.

Have you given yourself permission to do something today?  Have you quieted the Lizard Brain long enough to allow yourself to reach into your creative core and pull out the truly powerful and relevant work you are meant to accomplish in your life?  What’s your best “Lizard Brain Smack Down” to keep the internal judgmental voices at bay?

Share them below!!  Get that Inner Gnomes out of your head- already!!  And don’t let the little bastards back in!!

According to Seth Godin, the marketing/book publishing guru, the lizard brain lives in all of us.  Its job is to keep us wallowing in the ego and can prevent an artist- or anyone for that matter- from achieving their highest goals. The lizard brain keeps us within our resistance and prevents us from properly using that resistance to go beyond our fears and anxieties to achieve our goals- to reach our own desired heights of work, art and life.

I’m reading Linchpin now, and seriously, its a must.  I’m too cheap to buy it- or trying to adhere to a budget at the moment- so I’m reading it periodically while I’m doing my computer work at Barnes and Noble.  And I believe I’m starting to really see some patterns of my own career that are present in this book.  But the passage that just hit home, that caused me to think “Holy Shit!  That’s me!” was this:

“When fear and resistance settle in, here’s the cycle my lizard brain forces me into:

Check e-mail box to see what people think of my work.  Answer them.
Check the tribes online site to see what’s going on.  Adjust if necessary.
Check my e-mail box.
Check my blog feeds to see what’s happening. Read the relevant ones, comment if necessary.
Check the status of my Squidoo pages.
Repeat.
I can do this forever.  It’s like adjusting a pair of sunglasses.  It never ends.  Artists never do this while they’re being artists.  When I put myself on the internet diet (only 5 checks a day, not 50) my productivity tripled.”

Wow.  That hits home.  So, I’m not the only one checking my multiple “inboxes, blogs and RSS feeds like a ADHD 7 year-old without her ritaline?  But, better still, this activity has a source.  There’s a reason this is happening.

And that, my friends, is the point of this article.

Finding the source of Resistance and silencing the Lizard Brain.

So, I’m not Seth Godin.  News Flash.  I’m not sitting on a body of work that is fabulous, has changed the way people market and brand themselves and has helped people build their own mini (or major) empires.  I’m also not in a financial position to not take action and sit with the resistance and just listen to the silence (though I do have some flexibility in taking off a day or two to do this)

I do this resistance activity of habitually checking every possible mode of communication online for multiple reasons.

One, I’m new to this and trying to grow a community around my work- social media has given me some leads and allowed me to connect with people and find a niche within my work.

Two, I live in an area devoid of creative communities and am stuck here for another couple weeks (after being here for 5 months).  Though my time has been insanely productive and I’ve enjoyed the company of family and friends, I do not have business mentors or fellow artists and like-minded creatives to interact with, so I must do that online.  A new concept to me.

Three, I think this habitual activity is the result of resisting the next step in my journey towards my goals.  And that’s the most difficult thing to recognize, understand and possibly rectify.  It’s much easier to just engage with the cycle of email inbox checking, floating about on Hootesuite, bouncing through links on blogs and scouring Facebook for an interesting and relevant conversation for my work.  Some of those activities have led to some amazing connections and new knowledge- but it is a major time-sucker.

And these are the excuses or justifications my lizard brain uses when I should really be doing something more productive.  My lizard brain is keeping me in the resistance because the thing that I envision, the thing- or several aspects of the next stage in my career- are not easy to do and they will require a ridiculous amount of time, creative risk and unknown outcomes.

And that’s scary.  It’s much easier to just stay in the trenches of surface interaction than to dive into the deep-end and try to swim. Or scarier still- to jump into the ocean and build you’re own boat while you’re treading water!  Makes me tired just thinking about it.

So, what does your lizard brain do to keep you wallowing in the resistance?  How do you counter balance the lizard and move forward with the next stages of being an artist?  How do you police your resistance activities and prevent the lizard from over-running your life, career and future path?

I think the winds of change are on their way and reading this chapter- coupled with the Fire Starter Sessions I completed last week- are helping to make the final push to silence the lizard brain and go be fabulous.

What would you do if you could silence your resistance?  Where would your life take you?

Tell me in the comment section below.  Let’s fire up the conversation and silence our lizard brains.

A little disclaimer!  In order to help support this blog- and keep the travels rolling along- I’m going to start introducing some affiliate links.  Basically, if you purchase a product linked on this blog, I get a small portion of the sale.  But, I promise not to recommend anything I do not believe in and have not used or read myself and found profound value from.  Thanks!

We’re not exploring the creative side of the writing- each individual will have their own path to stir up the creative juju and produce brilliance- but the actual, step by step logistical process to writing.

Buckle up, put on your logical thinking cap and let’s dive in.

When I began writing my blog, I really didn’t have a system and hadn’t stumbled upon anyone elses writing system, so, I adapted my professional photography workflow when applicable and winged it when not. Through trial and error and 9 months of writing regularly my system seems to be working pretty well- when the writer’s block doesn’t take hold. But that’s an article for another time.

Step 1. Frolic with your Muse!

I venture out into the world to drum up my writing material. My blog, for the most part, is based on my personal interactions with people and places while traveling. I keep a moleskin journal handy and jot down notes, headlines or just vague concepts for my articles. This step will vary based on your topics, but be sure to recognize and embrace your creative muse and allow time and space in your writing routine to frolic with your muse.

My Creative Muse- People Watching!!

Step 2. Let the music flow.

Your style may differ, but I can not write without music. And not just background noise floating around all “Sound of Music” like, but serious, techno-style Moby/Thievery Corporation beats. Long songs, complex musical structures, few words and powerful rhythms. And no ordinary headphones will do.  You are entering the zone- hoping to be sucked down the rabbit hole into the vortex of your mind- you need professional grade, noise canceling headphones that immediately send you into a parallel universe. This is of the utmost importance if you work in public locations, like coffeeshops, for every screaming baby and steamed cup of milk will break your concentration and pull you back to reality.

Main point- respect and cultivate your writing environment and be sure you have the proper tools to tune out distractions.

Step 3. Enter the WriteRoom.

No, the WriteRoom isn’t some dark, dank writer’ cave tucked away on the shores of Walden Pond (though that wouldn’t be bad) WriteRoom is my computer’s happy place that sends me into the writing zone and, if I’m lucky, propels me into the Flow.

WriteRoom is a down-loadable computer application that, when opened, turns the entire computer screen black and your computer becomes a word processor- circa 1985. It’s gorgeous! The dock is gone, no icons are screaming for distractions and no birds are Tweeting or emails dinging. Nothing. Just a black screen, green awkward font and my thoughts. I actually can’t write without it. Pony up, spend the $30 bucks, buy the software and go to your Flow.

Brings back memories- how can you not love the 1985 word processors?

Step 4. Write.

Yea, that’s a no brainer, but not always an easy thing to do. If I know what I’m writing about, I type in the headline- or a rough draft of a headline- and then write. I do punctuate and capitalize, but some people frown upon this as it breaks the flow of your writing. It’s personal preference- I just do it naturally. I do not correct spelling while typing and I turn off all spell check notifiers. That Red Line is a deal-breaker in my book and you’d be wise to do the same. I suck at spelling, I get that, I’m OK with that character flaw and I don’t need a constant reminder of my inadequacies while I’m in writing Flow.

Now, if you are staring at a totally black screen and no words are coming out of your fingers, then just write gibberish. Write about what you ate for breakfast. Write about the dickhead that cut you off on the way to the coffeeshop then tossed his cigarette out the window. Write about the next door neighbor trimming the hedges in her silky nightgown yesterday morning while the old timer sat on his porch across the street taking it all in. Whatever- it matters not- just write. After some time, you’ll find an article or a theme starting to rear its little head. Encourage the little theme to surface, nurture it out into the open and let it morph into your article. And whatever you do, DON’T STOP WRITING. You’ll know when you’re done.

Step 5. Save it!

Again, no brainer. But really, save the document- usually in a text format. If you’re not using WriteRoom (shame on you) write this draft in a text document program. The lack of formatting and options helps the words flow out. I use a naming convention based on the date and a slug related to the topic (YYYYMMDD_SLUG.txt). The file is saved in a folder with the same naming convention and the folder lives in a Category Folder that reflects the categories on my blog. Here’s a screenshot if that last sentence sounded like Mandarin.

My Folder Structure. It works. Use it.

I’ve used this naming convention for years with photography and it’s a necessity. Why, you ask? Why the anal file naming convention, oh work-flow-nazi? Well, when you use the following naming convention- 20100822_WRITINGWORKFLOW.txt (and yes, it must look exactly like that- YYYYMMDD_SLUG ) then your files will automatically order themselves chronologically in your folders. And when you’ve been writing for months- or years- and are trying to scan through hundreds of articles to pull out an old post for your portfolio, you’ll know exactly where to find it.

Seriously, I can’t stress this enough, if you don’t organize your writing files, you’ll have a train-wreck and your blog and writing will suffer eventually.

Step 5. Copy and Paste.

Now, WriteRoom is not the best for editing and does not format your text, so copy the writing and paste it into your word processing program, such as Pages for Mac or Word. I save the file using the same naming convention as above, IN THE SAME FOLDER, and then I hit my trusty friend, the Spellcheck! I like to knock this out right away so I don’t start off my editing with a reminder of my character flaw. Save it, close your computer up and go get some sunshine.

Step 6. Edit.

After some substantial time away from your article, three to five hours at a minimum, return to your computer, open up the word document and start the editing process. Just like writing, everyone will edit differently. Some will harp on the AP Style, others will obsess about it’s versus its and others will just gut the piece like a red snapper fresh from the sea. One of my professors at journalism school, a brilliant writer and historian, would print out his articles and physically cut sections together and tape them back the way he wanted them to flow. He’s in his 70s, so he learned to edit before computers!

Know your voice, know your writing style and edit accordingly. I know that my voice is unique and my grammar blows- at least for my blog articles- but that’s a more natural, conversational tone that I strive to maintain when editing. I know that my voice can reflect my years of bartending and my discovery of Eddie Murphy’s Delirious at the tender ago of 13. My vulgar use of the English language is one reason I don’t have my mother proofread my articles (and yes, my mom is a professional proofreader).

Step 7. Re-read it! Read your article. Read it again. Go on, one more time.

Step 8. Format for the Web.

Go through your article and find any points in the writing that might be well-served by a few hyperlinks, find them on the web and paste them into the article next to the actual place you’d like to place the hyperlink. This little step saves you time once you’re entering your article into your blog platform and will keep you from flopping around on the internet like an ADHD 7 year old without your meds when you’re supposed to be focused on publishing.

Step 9. Photos and Graphics.
Choose your photos or graphics and add them to your folder with the articles. Be sure the pictures are formated for the web (a 72 DPI resolution and sized no bigger than 900 pixels wide) and, for the love of god, be sure you have permission to use them.

DO NOT grab a random photo off the internet and make it your own. Not only is this tacky, disrespectful to the photographer and just cheesy- it’s also illegal. Illegal to the tune of $125K per copyright violation. Just don’t go there. Use Flickr’s Creative Commons section for free photos (with attribution) or learn how to take your own photos.

And don’t use sucky photos. We’re a visual society and we take quality images for granted- meaning- your readers expect quality photographs and if they come to your site for the first time and see shitty pictures, your words might not be strong enough to keep their eyeballs on your site. OK, I shall step off the photographer’s soap box now.

Step 10. Send it to the Web.

Finally. We’re ready to publish!! Open up your admin panel for your blog, click the new post and copy and paste your text from the edited version into your article. Cut the hyperlinks and paste them into the Hyperlink dialogue box, add your photos in the appropriate spots and add whatever special excerpts, thumbnails and formatting your blog requires. Then, hit publish. Go on, don’t hesitate! You’ve gone through the steps, your writing is brilliant and people will love it! Go for it!

Are we done yet??

No. Time to let the world know your life-altering prose are available for them to consume.

Go to the Ping.fm , visit the Facebook, fly over to the Hootesuite and send your article out to the world. In 140 characters or less, tell the world why your article matters and why they need to read it. Use Hash Tags to get your article in front of the right eyeballs and let it fly!

One more thing- BACK UP YOUR WRITING. Yes, back up your blog folder structure on your computer to an external hard-drive and send it to the cloud.

Now, you’re done. Uncork some wine, pop open a beer, brew some tea, sit back and take in your work. Revel the accomplishment of a fabulous article sharing your unique knowledge with the world.

Go forth and write.