what do you want to do more?

iwanttowritemore

I’m going to put on my Captain Obvious hat for a moment and let you all know: I really don’t blog very much. I wish you knew how much I said, “I want to write on my blog more.” I started emailing myself blog ideas, which was at least a start. I’ve even fired up a google doc with a list of blog post titles. It’s a nice list. It remains unwritten.

I’m writing this post because the other post that was sitting top of mind didn’t want to write itself this morning. I kept coming back to a concept that I have been thinking about a lot over the last few months:

Whatever it is that you’re doing, you want to do that more.

OK. You’re probably confused right now. In fact, that was the response of a friend* when I said, I really want to blog more, but I end up just staring at the wall / surfing the web / doing nothing.

Whatever it is that you’re doing, you want to do that more.

Unpossible, I thought! That cannot be so. I must want to do all things all the time. I simply cannot just stare at the wall, surf the web, do nothing.

I want to let you in on a little secret. You can do that. I wouldn’t advise it 24/7, but sometimes… that’s just what you need to do.

Last year, you might remember that I had a series of blog posts on mentoring. In one of my posts, I talked about how forming an accountability group is a good way to open yourself up to support from others. That support goes both ways. In the group that I belong to, what started as an accountability group has shifted into a year of intention. And that has made all the difference. (Thank you Robert Frost.)

The truth is, we spend a lot of our lives, too much, in fact, doing the things that we think we should be doing, producing things that don’t need to be produced, completely forgetting to stop and just notice the world around us — which might be the color of the sky, the way a good friend makes you feel, or the cup of tea that you’re sipping.

We are forgetting to just be.

It has been my experience when you focus a little more energy on just being, everything else begins to shift. I wanted to write more, so I just started writing. In my journal, for myself. And now I’m writing this post. And when I have something else I want to share publicly, I’ll come back and write more.

For now, I’m just trying to be.

I hope that wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, you are doing the thing that you want to do more.

*My friend is Alla Zollers, who is also a life coach. She is amazing, you should talk to her.

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action station: maryann devine of kindergarten mind

I am excited to unveil a new feature on Stellargirl — Action Station! Where does your creative magic happen? What does your creative space look like and how do you feel in it? I am thrilled that the first featured Action Station is from MaryAnn Devine of Kindergarten Mind.

There is no one better to kick off this adventure than MaryAnn. She has been a friend to artists in Philadelphia (and around the world) for quite some time. MaryAnn leads the Society of the Secret Play Date and believes in bringing more curiosity and play into your life and business.

Maryann is an awesome-illuminator and perspective-shifter who creates the ideal conditions for discovery, and safe spaces for growing your creative genius. Find her online at kindergartenmind.com and @maryanndevine on twitter.

And now, I turn the floor over to MaryAnn!

I love the idea of Action Stations. Is it excessive to have not one but three? (Nope, never! ~Roz)

Action Station #1 (code name: The Studio) is like an art preparedness kit. It’s a big table in my living room that’s ready for me whenever I want to draw or paint or make something.

Right now it holds a pile of index cards (the canvas for my Nano Play Dates), markers, oil pastels, scissors, glue, a box of scrap collage materials, and nail polish colors that are enjoying a second career as quick-drying paints.

One of the things that makes Action Station #1 so effective — I use it every day — is that it’s in plain view. I pass by it multiple times a day. I sit across from it at Action Station #2. So I’m always reminded that I can go over, pick something up, and play, right now.

Action Station #2 (code name: The Writer’s Lair) is the comfy chair situated across from Action Station #1. I hunker down there with my cup of Cafe du Monde and a pile of notebooks every morning.

It’s where I plot and scheme for the coming day, where I journal, where I wrote posts and other sorts of Kindergarten Mind-related scribblings, and where I day-dream.

Action Station #3 (code name: The Nerve Center) is where I do my business-y business.

It’s the little desk in my office where I do pretty much everything I need to do, computer-wise. It’s also where I sit to teach my teleclasses and have long-distance one-on-one sessions with clients.

In contrast to The Studio, Action Station #3 is always very clean and organized. Calm-inducing.

Besides the lappy, there are the typical pens and pencils, but also practical tools like a shaved vetiver and shaved vanilla-scented candle, a Tokidoki figure wearing a cactus jumpsuit, Zuni horse fetishes, greenery on the windowsill, and magical perfume-y potions from Aardvark Essentials.

Practical tools for inspiration, I mean.

And to the left and right of Action Station #3 are big, circular, chalkboard wall decals that invite me to write, prints by Zoe Strauss and Joy Feasley, and labyrinth paintings by Dave Rowley.

Thank you SO MUCH to MaryAnn for sharing her Action Station with us! If you liked what you saw, perhaps it’s time for you join the Society of the Secret Play Date.

If you would like to have your Action Station featured on Stellargirl, send me an email roz[at]stellargirl.com. So excited to see where you create action!

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i want to ride my tricycle

I want to ride my tricycle.

Queue Queen’s bicycle song and replace it with tricycle. This song will get stuck in your head like nobody’s business. Sorry about that.

I unwittingly made an analogy this morning when discussing my current career path. I said something to this effect: “I feel like I used to ride mountain bikes and now I’m riding a tricycle.” As though this was a bad thing.

Most days I wake up excited that I get to work for myself. Truly. Let me give you a little history. I have had a lot of jobs, some really great ones and others that were not exactly “a good fit.” I was the person who dreaded the feeling I got on Sunday nights, and I didn’t always like, ahem…authority. I carried on best I could, learning lots of cool stuff and making many friends along the way.

About two years ago, the stars aligned enough that I was able to go independent, as it were. It’s been an adventure for sure. I’ve had to learn the most basic things (how to create an invoice), as well as develop and refine more complex skills in technology, strategic thinking and design.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a multitude of clients of varying shapes and sizes. Freelancing is, and should be, a work in progress. Part of this continued experimentation is learning what it is that you like to work on and who you like to work on it with. I have caught myself saying recently that I’d like to work on more “bite-sized” projects. I think the subtext there is that I just like that feeling of getting things done. And if there’s more work and everybody is getting along, let’s do some more!

When I mentioned the tricycle analogy this morning, it felt small. Less than. Subpar. Not enough. I mentioned it again later and it felt slightly better: I didn’t want to ride the mountain bike anymore, I chose this. I mentioned it a third time (3x is a charm as you know) and BAM!

I realized that tricycles are awesome.

They’re shiny little red joy vehicles. They help people get started, learn something new, take the next step, play, laugh, smile. They take you places! These are the things that are part of who I am, what I care about, and what I want to create. Suddenly the idea of riding a tricycle doesn’t sound so bad.

In the wise words of Freddie Mercury…

I want to ride my tricycle 
I want to ride it where I like 

photo credit: abbyladybug via photo pin cc

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you are allowed

I’ve been talking about the process of allowing with too many friends lately not to share it on my blog. If you needed a reminder, here you go. Enjoy.

If you think that because you just earned your PhD, you can’t be a makeup artist, well, you can. You are allowed.

If you listen to a collective voice and want to walk to the beat of your drum, go for it.  You are allowed.

If people tell you you’re a great painter, but you really love photography, take more pictures. You are allowed.

If you want to make money, possibly lots of it, doing what you love, go right ahead. You are allowed.

If you want to get rid of everything you own and travel the world, amazing! You are allowed.

If you want to stay home and watch tv, that’s great, too. You are allowed.

If you want to eat meat or wheat or cheese, enjoy! You are allowed.

If you want to quit your job and open a bakery, yummy! You are allowed.

If you want to turn down a job to follow your own path, enjoy the adventure. You are allowed.

If you don’t feel like staying up late, go to bed early. You are allowed.

If you need to turn off all the noise around you so you can truly hear again, by all means, do so. You are allowed.

If you need to look inward so that you can look forward, it’s amazing, do it. You are allowed.

If you want to go slower, slow down. You are allowed.

If you want to go bigger, reach for the stars. You are allowed.

If you want to unsubscribe or unfollow, it’s just fine. You are allowed.

If you want to wake up smiling, how wonderful! You are allowed.

If you need to be honest, do it with kindness. You are allowed.

If you just gotta give it a try, go for it. You are allowed.

If you want to learn something new, weird and crazy, how awesome. You are allowed.

If you want to be you, that’s perfect. You are allowed.

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what’s on your action station?

During the winter of 2010-2011, after a very big creative project, I hunkered down and watched all five seasons of Battlestar Galactica. It took some time, but believe me, it was totally worth it. This isn’t a post about Battlestar Galactica though (I’m sure you’re disappointed). It’s a post about … Action Stations! If you watched the show, and if you watched it in rapid succession, you became familiar with the alarm sounding the pilots to get to their jets for battle.

Its sounds a little like this: [click to listen]. Hear that enough and it starts to play in your head at random times of the day!

Years later, it has stuck with me, but I’ve adopted a new meaning for it. To me, an Action Station is your work area — where all of your creative goodness comes to life. It’s where you take action! My Action Station has an assortment of the following: an orange mug of colored felt tip pens & highlighters, a zippered pouch for when I take my favorite pens & markers on the road, a stapler, a pad of graph paper, post-it notes, a glass of water, a box of tissues, a manila folder or two, a binder with whatever the latest creativity worksheets I am experimenting with, at least one book, headphones, speakers, whiteboard markers & a whiteboard (complete with sketches and / or words of intention).

action station!

What’s on your Action Station! Tell me in the comments and please link to a picture if you can!

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