October 15, 2012

The Creative Life Love List

art by twiggsdesign – click image for more info

This is my 50th post at Scoutie Girl!

Since Scoutie Girl is all about crafting a “creative life with character,” I wanted to celebrate by sharing 50 things I enjoy and have learned about living a creative life. Maybe you’ll see some shared loves…

The Creative Life Love List

HOME

1. I can make anywhere feel like home, be it a house, a rental car, or a temporary office.
2. I eat off the good dishes every day.
3. My home is a work of art.
4. The front porch makes just as good of a lunch spot as the dining room.
5. Some of my favorite things are thrifted.
6. Art from friends, family, and artists deck my walls.
7. A vacation is only a pillow fort away.
8. Pinecones and leaves serve as souvenirs.
9. Making a meal can be a creative act.
10. I practice philosophy through my closet.

RELATIONSHIPS

12. I’m surrounded by informed, intelligent, passionate people.
13. I meet world changers at events and conferences.
14. I’m married to a funny, kind, and generous man.
15. My sister and I like each other so much we invented our own holiday.
16. I can see my parents as really cool people, not just parents.
17. I’m curious about the people I meet.
18. I get that everyone has a story.
19. I have friends that have seen my good, my bad, and my ugly, and it feels good to be truly known.
20. Love, support, and inappropriate jokes are only a phone call away.

WORK

21. I share my office with two rabbits.
22. I’m inspired daily by my clients.
23. I’m a forever student.
24. My colleagues do life-altering work and are remarkable people.
25. I look forward to my work every day.
26. I’m energized by what I do.
27. When clients get results I feel on top of the world.
28. I have a clear vision and sense of purpose.
29. I’m the boss.
30. Did I mention that I share an office with two rabbits?

PLAY

31. I know how to play.
32. Taking a walk is a scavenger hunt.
33. Taking a walk with a dog is heaven.
34. I invented “playground yoga.” There’s lots of laughing and falling down.
35. I am not above prank calls.
36. Laughing until I cry is one of my favorite activities.
37. Sometimes you just have to hold your friend’s doll collection hostage. With a construction paper gun.
38. Lip synced dance routines are best done with the kind of friend who will put a strapless bra around her head and pretend the cups are cat ears.
39. When you catch a duck, be sure you know which apartment you’re going to put it in.
40. Good spouses cheat at Taboo.

PHILOSOPHY

41. Learn the rules so you can break them better.
42. Apologizing is an art.
43. Nothing feels better than being thought of.
44. It’s never too late. Applies to chasing dreams and sending wedding presents.
45. Honor your critter self.
46. Fail faster.
47. Fail better.
48. It doesn’t matter what they think.
49. Ask for the girly beer.
50. It all starts with gratitude.

What’s on your creative life love list? Share in the comments.

Gathering light,

Filed Under: Plot Notes Tagged With: , , 6 Comments
September 18, 2012

Finding Creativity in Lifestyle Limits

“Time Limit” by Casey Cotter – click for info

This is a guest post from Tivi Jones.

As a full-time entrepreneur, I’ve been contemplating a zany idea lately: Getting a full-time day job for the sake of limiting the amount of time I have for my business.

Why? Because I work well under pressure, structure and limited time periods.

A few years ago, I worked a full-time job, a part-time job and did freelancing on the side. My freelance business thrived, despite the fact that I only had 5-10 hours for it every week. I was also more involved in local organizations and hung out with friends quite often.

How did I do it all when now I feel like I can barely take my dog for a walk without the crushing entrepreneur’s “I should be working on my business” guilt?

Being self-employed full-time means my business is front and center and as a creative person, I’ll admit, sometimes I lose that creative spark. I often find I desire the ability to “turn it off” and walk away so that I can refresh my brain with socialization, entertainment and life — things that spark and inspire me to create.

What results could I achieve if I limited the amount of time I have for my business?

Would I streamline my processes? Dump inefficient practices? Produce more because I know my time is limited to do so?

According to Parkinson’s Law, work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Could full-time creativity be completed in part-time hours? Or is this small business suicide?

How has the transition from full-time employment to full-time entrepreneur or vice versa affected your creative output?

- – -
Tivi Jones is a Southern Belle who has spent the last decade creating business successes for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, US Department of Defense, Boeing and many “solopreneur” and small business brands. She thrives on positive energy and optimism and determinately believes in the power of having a career you are passionate about. Find her on Facebook and Twitter as well as her website.

Filed Under: Buy You, For You Tagged With: , , 18 Comments
January 26, 2012

Creating Congruence

Last week Tara Gentile shared a thoughtful post here on Scoutie Girl all about creating a lifestyle that is authentic to you.

It spoke to me, because I’m there. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about authenticity, harmony, congruence. About whether my values, desires, and what I want from life actually match up with my..yeah, life!

The one I’m living. Right now. Not the one I’m almost living, planning on living, or thinking about creating.

So, like Tara, I’m looking at the larger picture, the lifestyle picture. The location. The home. The jobs. The relationships. While there are so many foundational things perfectly in place, there are many things that just don’t fit.

That’s what happens when you start to take a close, close look at congruence.

What is incongruent inevitably rises to the surface. And floats there.

It’s been uncomfortable to sit with that knowledge.

If you’re like me, trying to wrap your head around how to bring congruence to the most massive aspects of your life might be overwhelming.

My head was spinning with all of it. And then I had an insight.

I can find congruence right now. It’s in each moment.

I’m not talking about making small, incremental changes toward your large goals. I’m not talking about saving up to buy the home that feels right in the right town, or methodically working toward your dream job. That’s another post for another time.

I’m talking about finding congruence, harmony, authenticity right this second, not only in what you’re doing, but in the how.

I may already be doing something that’s part of my life design, but am I going about it in a way that supports my values and desires?

It’s in the tiniest of daily choices (which apple should I buy? what book will I read?) and also in the attitudes, qualities, and awareness we bring to each interaction.

How I listen to my husband. How I speak to my children. How I brush my teeth.

How I practice yoga. How I prepare food. How I meet new people.

How I make art, or write. How I treat myself. How I clean my house.

I do these things every day. I get to choose how. I get to take a deep breath, and ask myself:

Am I doing this thing in a way that is congruent with how I want to create my life? If not, can I find a way to create alignment?

Am I bringing openness, patience, love, and expansiveness to these interactions? Or tension, hurriedness, aloofness, self-punishment?

The moment is right now, the moment is what is happening, the moment is something I can’t put off until the future. This moment is the time for me to be authentic. To find harmony. To create congruence.

Here’s to you finding congruence, right now, in this moment.

xoxo, Maeg

Filed Under: Creative Call to Action, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
January 10, 2012

How do you create a new lifestyle when the old one doesn’t fit anymore?

lomo

Click image for photo credit.

My life is changing. I embrace change. It’s cool.

My family, my location, my status… just about every part of my life seems to be in flux. This is a time when many people might bemoan uncertainty or question the Universe. For me, this is a time of opportunity.

My lifestyle no longer fits. Did it really ever fit? So it’s time to create a new one.

With change and uncertainty, there is the opportunity to discover new Truths. Even to create new Truths. I decide what will be True for me day by day, decision by decision.

Which means I have the opportunity to create a new lifestyle from the ground up. That got me thinking, “What exactly is lifestyle?”

For me,

Lifestyle is matching my values and philosophies with the look, sound, smell, and tastes around me & those I love.

Lifestyle is making the choices that reflect what you value and why you value it. Click to tweet that!

If I value freedom, how can I make choices that support that? I could live with less stuff in an easier-to-maintain home. I could make my business less time intensive. I could read books that continually inspire me to seek freedom.

If I value family, how can I make choices that support that? I could form relationships that lead to “family” all over the world. I could create the most loving home life for my daughter that I possibly can. I could invest in the products, services, and solutions that will make my own family stronger.

And if I value iced lattes, well, I might choose to invest in a great coffee machine and expert barista training. No, seriously.

So what about the indie lifestyle?

We’re women (and dudes!) who connect to an “indie” lifestyle. We think, act, make, and buy independently. It’s easy to think that lifestyle is defined by a set of Brooklyn/Portland/Austin ideals, vintage store clothes, knee high boots, and handmade mugs. It’s not. The indie lifestyle is being created day by day, by you & I.

Indie lifestyle is about knowing that you alone are responsible for the choices you make about your values. Indie lifestyle is about feeling confident that acting out of personal Truth will get you closer to the lifestyle you desire. It’s about not worrying about what others say you should do, think, or buy.

Today, I want to challenge you to truly create an independent look on lifestyle. Identify your “supposed tos” and look for desires that merely reflect cliches. Analyze where you are trying to recreate a magazine picture and discover your own unique Truth. Investigate whether your pursuits are triggered by your favorite blogs or whether they’re triggered by your internal motivations.

I’m taking on this challenge too. I have to. It’s time for me to create a lifestyle that works for me, my values, and my philosophies.

Does your notion of “lifestyle” match up with your internal desire, values, and philosophy? Tell me in the comments.

***
Mark your calendars! I’m hosting a #scoutiegirl Twitter chat on Wednesday, January 18 at 12:30pm Eastern. Chat with me about lifestyle in the You-Centered Economy Let’s talk about the values & philosophies influencing your every day decisions.

Filed Under: Plot Notes Tagged With: , , 18 Comments
April 23, 2010

why is this woman blankly staring out the window?

Green Sydney window light - interior fashion style
green sydney window light by lightroom presets

you might be asking yourself, “why is this woman staring out the window?”

it might be because she’s in that melancholy mood that follows a marathon session of reading design, craft, and lifestyle blogs that are just to pretty for words. the kind that make you realize that your house is messy, full of junk you don’t need, and doesn’t smell like cut flowers and gluten-free baked goods.

also the kind of blogs that made me make a statement on twitter to the affect of, “i’m convinced that all indie biz owners live in homes full of beautiful gray-ish natural light.”

i came across this jezebel post yesterday that sums it up just so:

Because, whereas Martha and her ilk may have preached a gospel of aspiration, this world is all about attainability. All these folks are young, on a budget, and, presumably, have day-jobs — or at least have the motivation to busy themselves with the less-glamorous end of their creative jobs (like uploading stuff, and bookkeeping) some of the time. Theoretically, you could do all this — you, too, could (and should) be living a beautiful life. But most of us are simply not skillful enough, or committed enough to beauty or, as I always end up morosely chastising myself, pure enough of heart to attain it — let alone make it look so good online.

yes, the blogs we read are hopelessly attainable. we really could be living those lives… and dear reader, if you think for one minute that i lead that kind of life, i’m so sorry to disappoint! yet, even as they disgust us with beauty and thrift and grayish natural light, we keep reading – in fact, we’re always hungry for more!

so what is it that keeps us coming back? what have you changed in your life because of a blog? answer: using the macro setting on my camera. a lot. why do these windows into others’ lives hold such sway over our day-to-day?

tell me in the comments. please!

Filed Under: blog notable, elsewhere :: links Tagged With: , , , , 13 Comments