I love Karen’s colourful, emotionally evocative paintings. I am delighted to feature her in this post, where she expresses what led her to create this painting, and how her artistic works feeds her spiritually.

Karen writes:

This painting was inspired by Eminem’s song…’Love the Way You Lie’…All about Life and it’s bumps and bruises and sometimes drama…not the kind I like…

It’s also about finding a softer side of life with gentle drama and the sweetness of all the good and bad…

It is a big roller-coaster ride and brings me back to the starting place…sunsets and rainbows and sadness and frustration and LOVE…
It’s life…

I have been actively acknowledging my creativity for about five years…Before that time it was asleep in me…I feel more awake now than I have in years…

I have discovered that creativity opens me to recovery…Recovery of the me in me… A struggle helped me realize my desires…I was forced to wake up or just give up…I choose to wake up.

My art is inspired by books, music and experiences in life and how they impact on my emotions…and my biggest inspiration…nature…

Karen Lee … Art is in her heart…
Karen Lee has been experimenting with different art forms approximately thirty years and consciously and actively for the past five years. Her motto is ‘Just Begin’…Be a Beginner.”

She studied Visual Arts at Seneca College and has participated in some experimental courses through the years. Karen Lee works mainly in Acrylics and Mixed Media and also enjoys watercolour and oil pastels…

She has learned that squelching this desire to create, would squander her life… Karen Lee hopes that her work may inspire your own inner creativity as we are all artists in our own unique way.

I’ve aimed this post to deliver some value, some insight, and some fresh perspectives to you guys. I’ve been on a hip-hop kick lately, and this is a very personal post for me, show-casing some lyrics that really resonate with me personally. Not only that, this is often a controversial discussion starter. There are some very passionate literary folk who I’ve found are a tad sensitive if you suggest that… heaven forbid… times change and things evolve.

Mercutio: If love be rough with you, be rough with love;
Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.

If applauding hip-hop in the same breath as a nod to Shakespeare bothers you, I really recommend you just skip this post, but I really feel there’s a lot of good in the words that follow.

I won’t make many direct comparisons, but they’re there if you want to find them.

All set?

Rap Is The New Shakespeare

…or at least very similar, serving a similar purpose.

They both use meter, are based on rhyme, and blend music and language to create unique narratives.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it’s all in your perspective. Allow me to offer you a valuable, fresh perspective The world’s artists, musicians, and writers offer us incredibly powerful insight, often way ahead of it’s time.

Some of life’s best insights come from the world’s poets. Shakespeare, Elliot, and… Jay-Z.

Huh? Did I dare just compare a ‘baller like Jay-Z to iconic historical wordsmiths? Yes, I did. And with good reason. For their time and their generation, Shakespeare and Elliot moved the people, evolved society, added words to dictionaries, and more.

Rappers have done the same thing.

Jay-Z has more records sold than Elvis, California passed the “Donda West Law,” as a tribute to Kanye West’s mother. Oxford has added ‘bling-bling’ and ‘jiggy’ to it’s pages.

Not only that, but over the years, hip-hop has taken a generally frowned-upon art and elevated it to a big part of what got Obama elected. This is not some useless artform to write-off as ‘trash’ or ‘noise’ or ‘not for me.’

Because it could be for you. If you can imagine living through 10 more years of life, it may surprise you what changes can occur and where you end up finding value. I’d love to think that I had a part in encouraging you towards something beautiful.

What do you think literary historians and archaeologists of the future will dig up and find, copies of whoever the latest and greatest poet is of our generation, or Eminem’s incredibly moving “Not Afraid” ?

The easiest way to see the beauty in hip-hop is to treat it more like a sonnet; like poetry. Write it down, break down a line or two, like way back in English class, but cooler. Let’s jump right in to one of the biggest releases in hip-hop to date…

Jay-Z And Kanye West – Watch The Throne [wiki link]

Jay-Z And Kanye West working together, (if you’re not aware, these are two of hip-hop’s greats) have just last month, released their first collaboration album: “Watch The Throne”, and it is expressive, deep, and powerfully moving. These two are shining examples of artists who understand the DNA of art, audience, and success. To me, they exemplify clear examples public, symbolic, leading-edges of hip-hop, and I`d love to do for other artforms something like they`ve done for hip-hop, maybe you would too.

If you want to hear these tracks, they are all available on youtube, last I checked. If you’ve ever wondered what hip-hop lyrics actually mean, and you’d like to go a little deeper than RapGenius.com`s explanations, follow along.

The amount of word-play, layers and the pacing, flow and rhythm of the words is extremely artful.

Rap is sometimes labelled as lowest-common-denominator stuff, but this top-selling album delivers smart commentary after smart commentary.

Some of Shakespeare’s greatest tales can’t match the pathos in Jay-Z’s life.

The amount of biblical references in Why I Love You is pretty substantial, and although some may label it presumptuous, I feel strongly that many artists (these two rappers in particular) have an incredible grasp on Law Of Attraction and divine inspiration. I even wrote a 9 part series on this.

How much father and son drama did Shakespeare give us?

Jay-Z started a club in Vegas, called the 40/40 Club, a twin to his successful New York location, but eventually he felt he had to let go of his investment and‘let it die’ despite his deepest preferences, trusting that the loss would work out somehow. He mourns the loss of his dream..

David Amidon of PopMatters had this to say about the album, which I felt was very fitting: “[Watch The Throne] “succeeds in giving us both sides of both artists—the braggadocio and the social consciousness—in nearly equal measure.” This is the kind of paradox Shakespeare could craft. Things that were simultaneously epic and inappropriate.

So there we have it, fantastic
Jay & ‘Yè so climactic
Rhymes cuttin’ all the static
Automatic, gotta have it
And if you read every word
Yo’ mind soars like a bird

Jason works with creative entrepreneurs who feel talented but not-yet-successful, helping them live wealthier lives.   He speaks, writes, and blogs 300+ posts at SpiritSentient.com and offers depth-based art + success-coaching. He’s been featured on TodaysToronto.com, Building Digital Empires, and IntuitiveSoul Radio. Follow him at @jasonfonceca.

This has certainly been a big question for me.  And it’s been a big one too for many of my clients.   I’ve spent thousands of dollars in my search for a solution to this problem. Only recently have I put together a way that works consistently. To find out more, go to:

http://katiecurtin.com/programs/money-matrix-magic/

Belief patterns encoded at the cellular level  play a key role. But how do you get rid of them on a consistent and permanent basis?  Affirmations and visualizations while useful for some, just don’t  work for others.

I’ve experimented with wide range of techniques, including NLP, Financial Alchemy, and the Energy Therapies such as EFT, Z-Point for Peace, and the Healing Codes. Over the years, I got better and better with changing people’s “inner game.”

But it was only recently that I put together all the pieces and began to get consistently outstanding results. So much so, that I knew that I had to get this work out more widely and allow more people to experience the benefits.

I’ve launched a special private coaching program called Money Matrix Magic. To find out more, visit:

http://katiecurtin.com/programs/money-matrix-magic/

I’m offering it at a reduced rate for the first 10 people who register.  To find out more, about this powerful program, visit:

http://katiecurtin.com/programs/money-matrix-magic/

Yes I so much admired her bravery in undertaking such a big and challenging project.   But I begged of her ” do it differently, and whatever you do please don’t call it a  telesummit”.  By any other name it would sound so much sweeter!

Yes, and please not hours and hours of talking heads.  Some creative interludes, poetry, songs, whatever…. shorter punchier sessions.   A spa day, or retreat week for the soul – not a telesummit for the burnt-out brain.

My friend fortunately did not take offense.  She  emailed me later thanking me for my suggestions about how to make her online event something more “sizzly.”   Being how she’s such a creative soul, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for her “UN- Telesummit! ”   I’ll tell you more when I hear.

Michelle is brilliant. The work she does reclaiming the power of the fairy tale and the mythological realms is extraordinary.  I am signing up, as I love all her workshops and haven’t had a chance to do one recently. Would love to see you there!  Michelle describes this weekend workshop below:

“In fairy tales, fairies, fairy godmothers and godfathers play a vital role in people’s lives. They show up at birth, during critical times of life, and at death. Who are these peculiar figures? In this lively weekend workshop, we’ll meet them through you. Choose a character who fascinates you and we’ll gather them together to explore their stories—what they mean to you, and what they mean to us.”

Dates: Saturday, May 14; Sunday, May 15, 2011

Times: Saturday 1:30 – 4:30 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm

Venue: Northern District Public Library
Fee: $120

Space is limited so sign up soon!
 Go to: www.storytellingtoronto.org

Photography by Lindsay A Miller - www.TheMarketingPhotographer.com

There’s a lot being said right now about being authentic and real in your business practice and marketing. It’s another thing actually letting your guard down and being vulnerable in a way that opens the heart up of those you come in contact with.

Patrick Dominguez, provided a most endearing and powerful examples of this at the 2011 “Big Shift Experience.”

Patrick shared with us how his theme for 2011 is ” vulnerable visibility” and that in keeping with this theme he had agreed to be an integral part of the onstage part of this event.

You see Patrick usually likes to be behind the scenes. He’s a brilliant marketing person, who had stayed clear of public speaking and from being centre stage.
The thought of speaking in front of us all, had him in total fear mode in the time leading up to this event.

You would have never known it. Full of humorous stories, sharing his fears and his hopes and life experiences, his presentations were some of my favorites of the weekend. And believe me there were a lot of top-notch speakers!

For a number of years I was an adjudicator for the Canadian speaker’s bureau “Speakers Gold” yearly talent search. I witnessed a lot of talented speakers, with compelling stories, and many years of experience doing public speaking.

But what I witnessed with Patrick, was an amazing ease on stage, with an absolutely natural style.  He was free of staged” gestures, an overly memorized presentation, and  of any of the cliches often reverted to by some motivational speakers.

Out of facing one of his deepest fears, he had become a master in stage presence and authenticity.

Bravo Patrick. You inspired us all.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Almost unanimously, leaders in the world of marketing and promotion, use a software program which you can set up for free, and which can be customized to promote your projects, service, and products. You can also set up a membership site, and sell your products from this site.

The name of this software is WordPress, and there are two ways you can go, either with WordPress.org or WordPress.com.  With the WordPress.com  you get free hosting, with the other you pay a small monthly fee to your own hosting company.

I advocate you get  WordPress.org with your own hosting, as it’s only with this version that you can do all things you need to do as a creative business venture.

With WordPress you can create blog posts,  as well as web pages which feature your program, services and  artwork . You don’t have to be a techie to quickly add  text, photos, and videos to any of your pages or blog posts.

Although you can set it up yourself,  it’s probably easiest and most time and cost efficient to hire somebody familiar with the software to do this.  They will be able to help you with the initial setup so that it has  the look and feel you want, and some of the features  and plug-ins you need to promote your business.

You can easily  get somebody to setup your WordPress website and blog  this through going to such sites as www.elance.com.  It can cost you anything from $50 – $300, to set up the basics you need.

As you learn about how to promote your business, and add products and services, you can further customize your WordPress site. You can also link it to your social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Finally, as  a creative person you obviously want your website to look good. You may be wondering whether WordPress sites can meet your artistic expectations.

Believe me they are immensely flexible, and with the right tech and design help you can showcase your work in a great number of dazzling ways.

However,  you must also remember, that the prime object of the site is to promote and sell.  Make sure to learn how to do this effectively rather than thinking that the beauty of the site will sell your wares on their own.

It’s an old cliche in the marketing world that some of the ugliest sites sell better than the most beautiful. I am not arguing that you create an ugly site. As a creative person,  it’s important that it reflect your aesthetic values. However there needs to be a balance between the look of the site, and it’s functionality as a promotional and sales tool.

When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.
~François de La Rochefoucauld

“Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events not of words. Trust movement.” –Alfred Adler

There’s all kinds of places you may get stuck in carrying a big creative project to successful completion. One of the hardest parts can be stay committed day in day out until the project gets done.

Commitment is not just saying yes to a project one day when you are inspired. It’s like a marathon. You never get to the finish line feeling good all the way… sometimes it’s just painful.

But the end result is worth it, and leaves you with a deep feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration.

Commitment to a project takes saying yes to a project day after day, whatever the challenges that come up. It’s that ironclad mindset that you are going to do whatever it takes to get there.

To do that you have to be so much in love with your project, that you are willing to go past your comfort zone, risk yourself, and risk failure. It means you have to work tirelessly to put you vision in action. It will require all your courage, patience and endurance.

In a culture that encourages instant gratification and where there are infinite avenues to distraction and diversion, it takes a lot to be committed to a project.

It involves you not just saying yes to the project but no to all the things that can veer you off course. Sometime that may mean saying no to things you normally might want to do, like staying longer at a party when you want to be fresh for your project in the morning.

Or for those of you, who are modern renaissance souls it might involve saying no to a lecture or teleclass on any one of the many topics that fascinate you. Or it may mean for a short while to put aside certain other creative interests to get your present project done.

Some questions to ask yourself when you are considering committing yourself to a big dream project are:

Does the project engage your passion, and give you enough sustained pleasure, that you are motivated to take action, even when the going gets tough?

What kinds of things might you need to do that would require all your capacity of persistence? All your qualities of courage?

What could easily get you off track and distracted from finishing?

What would you have to say yes to achieve this dream project? What would you have to say no to?

Answering these questions in the first phase of a project can help you assess whether you have the necessary commitment to bring your project’s vision to completion.