Tag: #CreativeMotivation

See the Dream to Seize it: Week 8 in Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream Free Creative Course #MondayMotivation #SeizetheDream

Published on by Candice Coates1 Comment

Your vision is your ability to see clearly . . . while your dream is what you are focusing your clarity upon.

Hello Creatives and welcome to Week 8 of Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream 12-Week Creative Course.

This week’s module is designed to help you see the Dream that you are on the journey to make a reality.

You might be thinking, ‘hey, what is the difference between seeing my dream and capturing my vision?’. Here is the simple answer.

Your vision is your ability to see clearly the direction you want to go while your dream is what you are focusing your clarity upon.

In Module 4, we asked ourselves the questions that led us to clearer vision; why are we on this creative journey aiming for this creative goal. We created our “Vision Affirmations.”

In Module 5, we took things a step further by bringing focus to the direction we are headed. We looked up artists or writers, designers or athletes (whatever your creative goal dictated) and we made our “Creative Statement,” which is the voice or sound we what to share with others through our creativity.  (Stay tuned for my Creative Statment and the Artist that inspire me in a later article.)

Continuing with those you admire: “CREATIVE STATEMENT GUIDE”

  • Select 3 to 7 artist, writers, or people within the creative field you admire.
  • Describe the feeling that their work evokes in you.
  • Taking the list of descriptions, compile one, solid, creative statement.
  • Using this “Creative Statement,” Select one piece (be it a recipe, architectural rendering, short story, painting) that you think best embodies the statement you’ve created.

In Module 6, we took stock of what we had on hand and compiled our creative arsenal.

Now, if you haven’t created your “Creative Statement,” or found the piece that best embodies that, no worries. There is still time. Remember, to work this journey at the pace that is best suited for you. But do hold yourself accountable so you don’t lose momentum.

Also, if you find that there isn’t one piece of work that captures the statement you’ve complied, no worries there either. You can always create your own!

WHAT IS IT TO DREAM?

Dream: A dream is compiled of images, a state of mind, and a cherished ideal or aspiration.

In this creative course, vision is the lens and to dream is the beginning action.

ALLOW YOURSELF TO DREAM

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. ~Habakkuk 2:2-3

Dreaming requires concentrated thought. It requires you to take the time and allow your ‘vision’ to be seen in a way that is specific, so much so that you can repeat the dream over and over again.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his famous speech, said: “I have a dream.” What I believe about that statement is that he took the time to be specific about his dream, and then he took the time to meditate upon it over and over again. By so doing, he was able to bring that dream to pass.

The Prophet Habakkuk had been given a dream and with that dream, he was instructed to write it down.

We, too, have to take the ideal image that we have for our goal, meditate on it often, and by all means, write it down!

CREATIVE FAITH IN ACTION

  • Look at your Creative Statement from Module 4. Begin to see in your mind (Dream) the ideal expression of what that would. Example: Are you seeing a series of romantic novellas? Are you seeing a series of paintings? Whatever it is, allow that dream to grow and do not hinder it.
  • Now, whatever you are seeing, WRITE IT DOWN! (Especially if you are feeling timid about what you are dreaming up, you must write it down so that you don’t psych yourself out about it.)
  • Create a Vision Board if writing is not what you need to do, or do both.
  • Continue to study the Creatives that inspired your “Creative Statement”. Refine things as the need arrives. The more you dream that more clarity you will have.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

ADDITIONAL READING

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS

  • What does it mean to dream to you?
  • Are there any dreams that you’ve had in the past that you’ve given up on? Why?
  • What do you think God has to say about your dream(s)? Why do you feel that way?
  • What advice about taking hold of your dream would you give to a friend or your younger self?

Please share your wisdom and advice in the comments below.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS 12 WEEK JOURNEY, SEE Gearing Up to Prepare for Your Creative Success: Seeds We Sow

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Paving the Way to Success Intro to DIBDC!: Week 7 of Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream FREE CREATIVE COURSE #MondayMotivation #SeizetheDream #CreativeMotivation

Published on by Candice Coates1 Comment

Hello Creatives and welcome to Week 7 of Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream 12-Week Creative Course.

I am super excited about this middle ground of our creative journey as it is the place where we start sowing the seeds that we have collected over the past six weeks.

If you are just now joining this creative course, no worries! Take your time, but I urge you to start from the beginning. Each step until now is crucial to the cultivation of your creativity.

INTRO: DIBDC!

This week we are going to prepare ourselves to really dig deep into DIBDC!. For over a year now, DIBDC! has been my closing salute for most of my post. For the following final five weeks of Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream, we are going to dig into each point of DIBDC!, applying the principles we’ve learned from previous weeks.

WHAT IS DIBDC!: Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

  • DREAM: Taking the ‘Vision’ we have declared, we are going to streamline it even further, making it bigger, while keeping it uniquely fashioned for who we are as creatives.
  • IMAGINE: Pragmatically see the limitations that lay ahead and learn how to grow beyond them.
  • BELIEVE: Talk yourself into it! Learn how to apply your faith to the creative calling that you have.
  • DO: (This is different from the previous ‘Do’) Learn how to get your hand’s dirty and begin to sow!
  • CONQUER!: Learn the steps to not only initiate your vision and dream but to conquer your goals through planned follow-through.

IN PREPARATION: 

Again, if you haven’t already, take the time to go back and read the previous week’s modules and answer the questions. These will help you to bring your creative vision into focus. Links to each module are below:

Intro: Gearing Up for the Journey

Week 1: Divorcing Perfectionism

Week 2: Building Memorials

Week 3: Establishing: Vision, Voice, Doing Intro

Week 4: Capturing Your Vision

Week 5: Tuning Your Creative Voice

Week 6: Do The Groundwork

MUSIC INTERLUDE:

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS:

  • What have you learned over the previous weeks that has helped you most in your creative growth?
  • Why do you think that is?
  • What encouragement can you give to others on the path to creative success?

Please share your wisdom and advice in the comments below.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS 12 WEEK JOURNEY, SEE Gearing Up to Prepare for Your Creative Success: Seeds We Sow

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Doing the Groundwork: Week 6 in Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream Free Creative Course #MondayMotivation #SeizetheDream

Published on by Candice Coates3 Comments

Hello Creatives and welcome to Week 6 of Sow the Seeds & Seize the Dream 12-Week Creative Course.

This week’s module is designed to help you begin to do what it takes in order to bring life to your creative dream and vision.

In order to do anything, we must accept the fact that change is required. Many of us balk at the very word ‘change’ because it generally means that we are going to enter into a season of discomfort and the unknown, which requires a greater level of faith on our part.

Change in life requires decision making, which means we have to be decisive. If we want to live and seize our dream we have to make the necessary changes and stick with them.

In our creative process, and dare I say life in general, vision is where you take stock and figure out what it is what you want, the voice is the sound you want to make, the impact you want to create, the identity, if you will, of how you want to present this vision that you have.

TAKE HOLD

Doing, at this level is more pragmatic and mental than it is a physical action. Your ‘doing’ is not just found in the tools or the actions that you use to implement what you want to do. This level of doing begins first with:

  • Seeing what you want to do
  • Acknowledging what you have on hand or available to you (Your current tools)
  • And then determining what you need to let go of in order to obtain what it is that you have coming in your next level of creativity

LETTING GO

You need to determine what it is that is holding you back, and there are things that hold us back like weighing anchors. Here are some things that could be blocking you from taking hold of your God-given dream:

  • Relationships: You will only be as strong and capable as what you are connected to.  Being linked with people you’ve considered ‘friends’ whose aim is only to discourage instead of encourage, will always keep you down. We do ourselves a disservice when we allow others to constantly speak death over us and our dreams. Wisdom urges us to create distance from such relationships. (Proverbs 12:26)
  • Wrong Thinking: Wrong thinking which generally is the greatest culprit, will always keep us down. Yeshua Jesus tells us be it unto us as we believe, and His word further warns us that as we think in our heart so are we. What are you allowing your heart to say? (Matthew 9:28-29, 8:13; Proverbs 23:7)
  • Old Wounds: It could be that we are holding on to old wounds that we have not allowed the Lord to redeem in us.
  • Tangile Blockades: Or it could be something as tangible as living in clutter. Cluttered environments easily stifle our movement since we have limited space to move. Decluttering is a big part of letting go.

The root cause of many of these “blocks” tend to be the words of others. Hence why we must be diligent in guarding our dream. Everyone can’t be trusted with your treasure and some ‘friendships’ or romantic relationships could really be the toxins that are preventing your growth. We need to be willing to prune even if it hurts.

NOTE: I am not speaking about marriage, here. For goodness sake, do not leave your spouse in order to become a painter, or cut your mother completely off because she thinks being a writer is a waste of time. These relationships are sacred and require a completely different level of wisdom to work through. 

Simply put, you need to take stock and decide what or who it is that you need to let go of in order to take hold of what it is that I have in mind for my vision. This is the biggest part of doing. It is not easy but it is worth it!

As Tamara Lowe put it:

If people don’t respect what you bring to the table, let them dine alone.” ~Tamara Lowe

CREATIVE FAITH IN ACTION

Whatever medium or creative path you are embarking on, determine what you currently have available to you.

  • Artist: If you have paper, paint, ink, clay, etc, take stock of it
  • Writer: If you have an idea for a story, write it down
  • Begin to make a dedicated create space for the road ahead

Also prayerfully consider what is holding you back. If you need to distance yourself from relationships, receive healing, renew your mind, or declutter, now is the time to do so.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

ADDITIONAL READING

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS

  • What have you found is the most difficult part about change?
  • Is making a decisive decision something that you struggle with especially when it means change will be a result. Why?
  • Out of the list of ‘blockers’ which do you think has been your greatest obstacle?
  • How can you begin to see Christ as being bigger than this obstacle, today?
  • What advice do you have for other creatives struggling with similar challenges of change and creative blockers?

Please share your wisdom and advice in the comments below.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS 12 WEEK JOURNEY, SEE Gearing Up to Prepare for Your Creative Success: Seeds We Sow

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Intermission Week: Creative Catch-up Week #SeizetheDream #CreativeEncouragement #MotivationMonday

Published on by Candice Coates5 Comments

Hello there Creatives! I hope you have found the last few weeks of this course to be encouraging, introspective, as well as motivating.

This week I would like to give others who are new to this content the chance to catch up before we continue with the journey. Just like marathon runners, we all need a water break.

Take this Intermission Week to:

  • Look back on what you’ve learned and discovered thus far about your creativity
  • Gain a greater idea of where you want to take your creativity
  • Answer the course questions from previous weeks if you haven’t had the chance to already.

Previous Week’s Journal Questions:

INTRO WEEK: Gearing up for the Journey

  • What steps have you taken to walk into your creative dreams thus far?
  • What were/are some things that were/are holding you back?
  • What advice would you share with others who have struggled to take hold of or regain their footing in conquering their dreams and goals?

WEEK 1:  Divorcing Perfectionism

  • How have you defined perfection?
  • How has your definition affected your creativity?
  • What advice would you share with others who have struggled to take hold of or regain their footing in conquering their dreams and goals?

WEEK 2: Building Memorials

  • What memorials do you have that have helped you take the steps toward your Creative Dream & Vision?
  • How have past victories hindered or enabled you in your creative growth?
  • What advice would you share with others who have struggled to take hold of or regain their footing in conquering their dreams and goals?

WEEK 3: Establishing

Again, take this week to let your creative mind wind down, refresh, and focus. I will see you next week with the Creative Module for “Vision.”

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Establishing: Taking the Path to Vision, Voice, & Doing #SeizetheDream #MondayMotivation #CreativeEncouragment

Published on by Candice Coates4 Comments

*To see previous course encouragements see the Course Content Page.

Hello, again Friends! I am super excited to be diving into this part of the Sow Seeds & Seize the Dream Creative Course. My prayer is that the previous week’s assignments and questions have gotten your creative juices flowing as well as prompted you to take a deeper look into who you are as a Creative.

Discovering the courage to create, getting in touch with the core of our creative passion, requires us to go on a journey, not only through the mediums by which we choose to express our creativity, but also a continuous inward journey into our souls and identity.

One of the most important aspects of ‘travel’ preparation is to establish several things. To establish is to prove the truth of something by sound and certain facts.

pexels-photo-297755

If you plan to take a trip out of the country, you must establish by proof, your identity, your place of citizenship, and declare why you are traveling into the territory you are headed.

In this Creative Journey, we are establishing:

  • Who we are
  • Where we are
  • Where we are going
  • and declaring why we are going to that destination in the first place

In this next phase of this course, and over the next three weeks, we are going to Establish our way through Vision, Voice, & Doing.

With any new adventure, one must not only explore the lay of the land but also establish who they are before they take the first step forward.

WHO YOU ARE:

Before the Lord God Yeshua Jesus took His journey into the wilderness (the place of new adventure), before He began His three-year ministry that would change the world for all eternity, He was established by the affirming Words from Father God.

He was affirmed by God that He is His Beloved Son in Who He is well pleased. (Rough paraphrasing of Matthew 3:16,17. In Matthew 4:1 He is then led into the wilderness or steps into His adventure)

I am a firm believer that whenever you start something new you must always remember your beginning because if you miss a step, find yourself facing discouragement, or forget the original directions, you can always refer back to the beginning.

This is what establishing one’s self is all about, leaving a breadcrumb back home, remembering who you are, and what your purpose is. Yeshua, being tried in the wilderness under an oppressive hand of doubt HAD to remember the beginning in the face of His trying. Through it all, He was established in His place in God, that He is His Beloved in whom He is well pleased.

This beginning is remembering who you are. You are a Creative with a vision and a seed, worthy of sowing, worthy of tending, and full of worthy fruit!

WHERE YOU ARE:

Where you are is at the beginning of a worthy journey. You are not where you want to be, but you are positioned to get to that place if, and only if, you are willing to commit to the process.

In short, whether you’ve been creating for many years, or you’ve just decided to answer the call to a creative dream that has been in your soul for decades, you are beginning with a clean slate from this moment on.

Remember who you are, but put your foot at the starting line, with the expectation of gaining something new as your grow.

WHERE YOU ARE GOING:

This is a question that only you can answer, and it is a great time to grab your journal and really ponder the answer (Below I will give you an example of how I’ve answered the question of where I am going.) Where you are going can only be determined by what you want, what your ultimate goal and purpose is.

DECLARING THE PURPOSE IN OUR DESTINATION:

Again, why are you taking this creative journey? What creative seeds are you determined to plant at this level of your creative growth?

VISION, VOICE, & DOING:

For me, ICFTS began as a means to recapture and reawaken my creative voice and muse. In so doing, I wanted to encourage others to do the same.

Who I was is who I have always been–a creative person. Where I was was in a place of stifling stillness, but eagerness to create. Where I was going was in a place of creative vulnerability by stretching my wings and showing all my creative processes, messes and all. My purpose was to take back my creative light and encourage others to shine as well.

I was made better able to do both of these things by declaring (putting into words) my Vision, Voice, & Doing. 

  • Vision: My vision is to grow and take advantage of artistic freedom. As an artist, I would like to harness a new level of artistic expression. I want my writing to flow easily from my imagination into typed or written words, without hindrance, and over thinking. I mostly just want to have fun with the process in general. As I discover these things and sample different avenues of expression I will share.
  • Voice: Even as I create with freedom, I want to do so with purpose. I want to discover the ‘voice’ of that purpose and speak it loud and clear.
  • Doing: I want ICFTS and my creative journey to be the catalyst for the creative and spiritual journeys and discoveries of others. I want to inspire my readers and watchers to create and grow, and inspire others to create and grow. I want to discover more of me and I want others to be inspired to discover more of themselves.

I put into words my Vision, Voice, & Doing, two years ago, and from I have definitely seen the fruits of my declaration.

CREATIVE FAITH IN ACTION:

Now it is your turn. Next week we are going to dig deeper into declaring Vision. Until then, in your journal, try to define and refine your declared vision.

  • What is it that you are seeking to do?
  • Why are you moved to do it?

SCRIPTURE FOCUS:

ADDITIONAL READING:

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS:

  • Please share your wisdom and advice in the comments below.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS 12 WEEK JOURNEY, SEE Gearing Up to Prepare for Your Creative Success: Seeds We Sow

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Building Memorials for Creative Success: Week 2 #SeizetheDream #Goals #MondayMotivation #CreativeMotivation

Published on by Candice Coates3 Comments

*To see previous course encouragements see the Course Content Page.

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” ~Joshua 4:4-7 NKJV Bible Gateway

Memorial. A memorial is something that we set up to remind ourselves of important events or happenings in our lives.

Wedding bands are memorials of covenant relationships with one’s spouse. Diplomas are memorials for academic achievement. Gravestones are memorials declaring the life and death of a loved one.

No matter the type of memorial, all of them have the same purpose, and that is to call us to remembrance.

Every memorial that is set up in our lives will either spur us on to a healthy and whole future, or they will hinder us from taking the necessary steps we need in order to truly walk in our desired creative success.

As creatives, and for those of us who are people of faith, we must be mindful of the kinds of memorials we are setting up in our lives. Are we establishing reminders for success, or stumbling blocks for failure?

As we walk into the second week of this creative journey here are 3 Memorials we need to investigate; Past, Present, and Future.

Past: Where You’ve Been

  • Learn to Forget

The memorial of the past consists of its fair share of victories as well as failures. The beauty of looking back at our past is that we get to acknowledge it for what it truly is–Our past.

Sometimes our past victories can become as crippling as our failures. Remembering the ‘good’ that we did in yesteryear can sometimes be the fading glory that prevents us from pressing into the present opportunity for ‘greatness’ in tomorrow.

We can become so intimidated by our past success that we feel as if we won’t be able to reach that former glory let alone exceed it.

In Philippians 3:13-14, the Apostle Pauls says:

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

As creatives, seeking a greater dream, we must, like the Apostle Paul, realize that we may not be at the level of success we’d like but we cannot let yesterday keep us from aiming for that level either.

We must learn to forget those old failures as well as put our past victories in their proper perspective if we are going to take hold of our future success.

  • Learn to Remember

In the same token, we have to keep stock of the victories we attained especially when the odds were against us and it seemed as if we were not going to reach or goals.

In Psalm 23, King David says of the Lord that His rod and His staff comfort him (Psalm 23) Some text suggest that the staff that David carried and referred to was a patriarchal staff passed down from father to son. On this staff were the victories over trial, and the mighty works that God had done for His people.

Being able to look back and remember how in the toughest of times we still achieved our goal is a comfort and an encouragement that urges us forward into our next victory.

If we overcame yesterday, we can surely do so today!

Present: Where You Are

Many of us creatives have found ourselves having a desired destination in mind but finding several reasons today for why we cannot get there. This often comes from looking at what you have in comparison to what you think you need, and then counting yourself out.

When we begin to see our present as insufficient in light of what we what for our future, and thus determine that it would be useless to make steps to contradict the insufficiency, we position ourselves for failure.

This is obviously not the kind of memorial we want to build.

If you are a person of faith, you must believe that the God of Creation not only gave you your creative dream and vision but that He is also aware of where you are and what you have, even in the face of what you ‘think’ you need.

Hebrews 13:5 says,

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”~ NKJV

To be content with our present does not mean that we are ‘satisfied,’ nor that we are deciding to just lay day and allow life to happen at whim. Rather it means that we have taken stock of what we currently have in hand, and with the minds of faith, courage, and ingenuity we are trusting a power greater than us to bless our steps of faith.

When we learn to move with and beyond what we have, seeing opportunity instead of lack, that we grow in our creativity and ingenuity. Genius is born when we move in faith and courage where we are with what we have available to us.

  • Remember that presently you are___________/you have_____________but you shall______________because you have faith.

Future: Where You Are Going

Where you are going is determined by how you think and what you see in your imagination. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks in his heart so is he.

In order for you to sow seeds for creative success, you must:

  • Learn to see yourself as successful
  • Learn to see yourself victorious in your vision
  • Learn to see yourself beyond the current odds

Overcoming roadblocks build strength, faith, and endurance. Building proper memorials enables us to do that.

CREATIVE FAITH IN ACTION:

  • In your journal, take the time to write down your memorials. Using the principles outlined in today’s course write down:
  1. Where you’ve been
  2. Where you are
  3. Where you ARE going
  • Speak your success: Using an index card, write down five affirmations about the successful person you are. Example: I am a success. I am original. I am courageous. Speak these out loud to yourself especially when you are feeling discouraged.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS:

ADDITIONAL READING:

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS:

  • What memorials do you have that have helped you take the steps toward your Creative Dream & Vision?
  • How have past victories hindered or enabled you in your creative growth?
  • What advice would you share with others who have struggled to take hold of or regain their footing in conquering their dreams and goals?

Please share your wisdom and advice in the comments below.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS 12 WEEK JOURNEY, SEE Gearing Up to Prepare for Your Creative Success: Seeds We Sow

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!