Being creative is trying on different shoes.
Art is going barefoot.
Stay Positive & Think About It
Garth E. Beyer
A Writers Depression: Just Write
I’ve tried my hardest not to insert what I am about to say in a post, but I simply can’t fight it.
I feel like I’ve run out of ideas, my creative brain engine has stopped moving and I am very close to just not writing today.
This happens a lot to many people, that’s why you see articles sparingly posted on blogs, why it takes a writer (a writer!) so long to finish their book or quite simply, for an artist to finish her project. Regardless, it happens.
It may be because I am writing so much during the day on my manifesto Start Schooling Dreams or maybe it’s because I’ve already gone through all the notes I’ve ever taken since I was in high school. The point is, I’ve hit a writers depression. I’ve written so much for so many days that I must have overworked my brain and now my mind has been forced to go cold-turkey on writing. It’s depressing.
Instead of losing hope, I’ve decided to force myself to sit in bed, grab my favorite pen and an old journal I used in high school that has only about 20 blank pages and I refuse to get up until they are all taken up with ideas, doodles, mottos, life tips and art. I’m going to battle depression with my devotion to write.
This is my post for today. I’m going to force myself to write and I hope you pity me enough to force yourself to do something too.
Today, let’s be depressed but let’s still ship something: our writing, our art, our small piece of a big project or at least a story about a time the world was against us, but we were too devoted to let it conquer us.
Stay Positive & Devoted (Just Do It)
Garth E. Beyer
Enlighten Others
Unlocking Potential: Interview #2
We’re now on our second interview of the Unlocking Potential series. This is a series of interviews I have given to a small pocketful of truly important and respected people. For some of these people, I have never really talked to 1 on 1 until I had the interview like interview #1 with Rose Kendall. Other people like today’s interview, I have only met twice in person and have had my expectations blown to the point I continuously keep in touch.
See, this is what the world calls for, what people seek when they need something. Linchpins, people who care, people who always do more than is asked and have absolutely incredible potential. Help me in unlocking even more potential by reading the following interview with Katie McBody.
Interview: Katie McBody
I’ve been lucky enough to come across this fitness Linchpin through an extension in the family tree. Katie McBody takes fitness to an entirely new level as you will notice in the interview below.
Q: Thank you so much for participating in this interview with me Katie. Before we jump into it, is there any background facts about yourself you want the readers to know?
I have always been active- but never knew my potential in the fitness world until I met my husband, he pushed me in the right direction and has helped me achieve many goals. I started rock climbing and skiing at the age of 4 and later in life I was an instructor in both fields, I was also a softball player into college and now I volunteer my time to coach kids.
Q: What is your life calling, your passion?
Fitness- our bodies were designed to move and I want to share my love of exercise with everyone (especially kids!).
Q: What three habits have you created to continue progressing in that passion?
1. Make time for myself- I schedule a couple hours a day to have alone in the gym/ track/ trail/ climbing that I can use to focus on pushing myself mentally and physically.
2. Involve family- my husband is active duty Army (currently deployed) but when he is home, we spend his lunch break together at the gym. Or we make time to go play soccer as a family with our 4 year old son. Our son also joins me on a lot of my track workouts and participates with modified exercises.
3. Set goals- even if they’re just little goals, accomplishing little challenges you set for yourself is a confidence booster and it keeps you motivated to keep going!
Q: Where do you find your inspiration?
I find inspiration from everywhere. My husband inspires me to keep pushing myself. We have a healthy dose of competition between us, which keeps us pushing our limits physically. I find inspiration at the gym, I’m fortunate enough to be able to train in a facility where a lot of Special Forces members train- so I watch them and try to “compete” with their workouts. I’m also inspired by my clients, especially the ones that show up and give it their all during our sweat sessions. It’s really rewarding to be helping someone better their life by getting them involved with something I’m so dedicated and passionate about.
Q: What is your motto? Why?
“Be yourself and watch it bother other people” I spent a lot of my youth worried about how other people viewed me. Getting older I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter. If you have “haters” it means you’re doing something right. I live with high moral standards and have found self confidence, I may as well be proud of who I am and stop trying to make other’s happy.
Q: What skills do you need to do what you do? How do you train those skills?
You need to get certified as a personal trainer, there are different routes (ACE, ISSA, etc) or college programs to get you there. And then you need dedication to learning more everyday. Be humble and realize that you don’t know everything, and you never will- so keep studying! I try to expand my knowledge and get certified in other fields (next steps is TRX and kettlebell certifications). Plus, I believe that a big part of being a personal trainer is looking the part! Would you want to take fitness advice from someone who was 40lbs overweight?
Q: What are three of the best benefits to exercise/eating clean?
The best benefits to leading a healthy lifestyle is the energy to always be ready to go! I love to fuel myself with good foods so I don’t feel sluggish during the day. One of my favorite fitness related quotes is “you wouldn’t put sugar in your gas tank- so why would you put it in your body?”
Q: What makes you unique, indispensable, a fitness artist?
I believe my level of competitiveness makes me unique- I don’t shy away from a challenge ever! I know I can be beat, but it makes me push harder. I’m indispensable because I have a vast array of fitness related knowledge and I’m skilled in other areas besides being a gym rat! I have worked as a ski instructor and a climbing instructor and I’m always excited to teach people new skills. I also have found a passion for teaching people to run, and run with proper form to reduce their chances of injury. Not too many trainers (at least that I have met) really take the time to teach the basics of how to run.
Q: As you know, my website is centered on life lessons. What are four life lessons you have learned from following your passion?
1. No excuses. Ever.
2. It’s okay to step out of your comfort zone- that’s where life happens. It’s also where greatness is achieved.
3. Set goals! Long term and short term. Reaching “mini” goals along the way is rewarding!
4. You can always do better- so keep pushing yourself.
Q: Anything else you want to add?
There are no excuses in the world of fitness. I believe in training without supplements- your results will last longer if you’re achieving it through eating well and exercising. Almost every injury can be prevented if using proper form- so if you’re new to weight lifting/ fitness please have a trainer show you form and technique.
You can “Like” Katie’s Facebook Page at http://www.Facebook.com/McBodyFitness or email her at mcbodyfitness@gmail.com
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Stay Positive & Fit in
Garth E. Beyer
Enlighten Others
Getting Promoted For Being An Artist
You don’t have to avoid factory jobs to live your passion. I started out a cog as a data entry clerk and within 4 months I was told to apply for a bigger better position.
I got promoted. Not because I followed orders and rules, not because I was obedient and disciplined but because I did more than was asked, because I got creative with it, did it quicker, was adaptive and because I manifested a passion that previously wasn’t there. I was a linchpin and that is my job security.
Notice, it isn’t just about creating something significant outside the cubical, it’s about creating the urge, the time and the passion to make art anywhere you are. In or out of a cubicle.
Stay Positive & Get The Most Out Of Your Box
Garth E. Beyer
Enlighten Others
Stop Trying To Make More Jobs
Making old jobs new and allowing creativity and freedom for passion to play in the jobs of our workers is what makes them new. It makes the old jobs work without the need to keep creating more jobs, especially when the jobs that are being created are just more of the old ones. It gets us nowhere.
More jobs are created when old ones are made new. These people, now with freedom, are able to advance in the job they are working at. In this advancement, they open doors for more people to enter a new job. One that is a stepping stone from which the original person has placed.
People don’t just create new jobs, all they do is create more of the old ones and less and less people are going along with it. (Which is one reason the unemployment rate continues to rise)
It is the creative people who introduce new jobs and I mean new jobs. Not more of the old ones. These people, these marvelous people, are able to follow their passion in their job, in doing so they come across problems we have never had before because we never let our workers have freedom to their potential, never let them be innovative. In their innovation, in their dire need to improve their job, and through their creation of new problems, they need new solutions and that is where new jobs come from.
When people are given the chance to be truly creative, they don’t develop small changes, they manifest huge ones. Ones that require help, a team, a tribe, other like-minded people who have a similar passion, who will work together to produce even bigger newer problems which then calls for more even more remarkably innovative people. And so on.
When we make old jobs new, we make new new jobs.
Making new new jobs will bring this -us, our neighbors, our coworkers, our politicians, our government, our nation, our friends oversees and those who look up to us- closer together.
In this sense, in this slight improvement to jobs, we make progress. Slight progress, but nonetheless, necessary progress.
Stay Positive & Progress For The Sake Of Progress Is Still Progress
Garth E. Beyer
Enlighten Others
Unlocking Potential: Interview #1
I get a lot of people telling me that I inspire them, that they like the way I think and the status-quo-breaking ideas I come up with and test. I admire that. It’s important to note that the motivation I get to inspire other people comes from being inspired myself, from seeing extraordinary potential in people who lose themselves in creativity and from the challenge I give myself to help these artists as much as possible.
With this now in mind, I will be showcasing a small handful of interviews over the next few weeks. These people are artists that I have kept very little touch with, in fact, I may not have talked to them in years until I messaged them recently inquiring if they would participate in an interview. These are noteworthy people, people whom I noticed there to be potential that I would hope to be cracked open all the way. So with that, I am handing you the hammer, the ability to connect, learn from, enjoy, and inspire these people.
Interview: Rose Kendall
The first person who’s interview I will be sharing is Rose Kendall. I met Rose in a Poetry 101 class over two years ago, never really talked in class other than when there were class discussions, and I still remember the passion she poured into her poetry. It’s easy to standout in class by dressing uniquely, being pretty and always participating. It’s not however, easy to standout in poetry. Rose does this and I hope you enjoy the following interview. Feel free to leave a note in the comments section or add Rose on Facebook.
Q: Now, I know your passion is writing. What type of writing do you love most and why?
My favorite type of writing is poetry. I love all types of writing, but poetry speaks the most to me because on one level it is trying to compact so many different emotions and thoughts into one small space, but on another level it can bring so many different ideas and concepts to the table in the subtle meanings of line breaks and punctuation. While I do believe that fiction also has a tendency to be descriptive, poetry is tantalizing because to me personally it propels the imagination like a movie, with the possibility of going in so many different directions.
Q: What gets you through the hard times of writing (depleted inspiration, writers block, time, emotion, etc)?
Listening to good music (I usually pick Sia, Damien Rice, Stateless, Florence + the Machine, and David Gray), closing my eyes, and thinking about what exactly the message is that I want to give off. Then I can usually come up with images that accompany that message. Most times it’s a good start.
Q: If you had to make your own writing prompt, what would it be?
It would be to take a piece of paper, fold it in half, and write on one side a list of nouns that are very common (like clouds, or sun) and on the other side list five adjectives you would never think to use to describe the noun. You will be challenged in so many ways you never thought were possible
Q: What do you want your legacy to be?
I want to be able to share with the world the sadness and anger I feel at the horrifying things that are occurring on a daily basis all over the world. As a society, I feel there are so many topics we are afraid to talk about for various reasons, so we sweep them under the rug (whether conscientiously or not) and choose to avoid them. Yes, they are hard topics, but if we are not made aware of them we will not be able to appropriate the change needed to stop these crimes from happening.
Therefore, I hope to shock my audience enough that they can’t decide if they want to get out of their chair and leave when I’m reading to them, or if they want to stay and consider what is really happening in the world. I would love to be able to travel around the globe and present to large audience my heart and my passion. I also want to continue to become published, and maybe one day be able to publish a whole book of poems.
Q: What determines a successful writing day?
A successful writing day usually is accompanied by a thought or an idea taking form into a poem, but very successful if a whole poem (or more than one) is written.
Q: Take me through a though process of a poem. Do you plan it out? Relate it to your life? Free write?
When I’m writing a poem I generally pick a topic I feel strongly about and concentrate on how I feel as well as why I feel that way. Once I come up with that, generally I will “see” what I want to write in my head. It’s like a movie, and at the risk of sounding like a schizophrenic, I have seen several of my characters chatting with me at the edge of the bed. Maybe less chatting and more just standing there and telepathically telling me their story. Either way once their story is being told it kind of just flows out. Some stories are harder than others, but most times I listen to a lot of calming or inspiring music to try to urge them to tell me. Sometimes when that doesn’t work, lines of poems come to me when I’m trying my hardest to sleep.
Q: What is the most helpful advice you have been given?
Keep a journal of all of the compliments and accomplishments I have made in writing. When I feel like I’m not a good enough writer, or I’m having a dry spell, I read them to remind myself how much I have accomplished. Also, keeping old poetry no matter how bad it is shows to me how far I have come.
Q: What advice would you give to other writers?
Do not worry about what one person thinks about your poetry. There will always be that one person (or a group of people) who are offended by what you write or think it’s no good. Keep working on your goals, and you can accomplish anything. Do not be afraid to have other people give you constructive criticism, it can make you grow in ways you never imagined.
Q: Would you care to share a poem?
After tonight
she’ll never ever again
have to wonder
what it feels like
to try to jump over a barbed wire fence,
catch her foot,
and slam her throat
into the wire
–it’s like climbing to the top
tippy top
of a tree,
* snap *
that first breath
you suck in after collapsing
back first, lungs turning black—
only his weapons are his words
and last night he decided
to see how many it took
before they wrapped around her neck
like his thumbs
squeezing
tightening
thrusting
until she’s one breath away
from dying.
and then he lets go.
She sees herself in the reflection
of the spit he sprays across
her face
the growl that echoes deep in the caves
of his lungs
and she remembers
how beautiful she once was
before the cancer
of the vacuum of his world
started eating away at her face
formed valleys and canyons
that were never there in her youth
even though she’s only 29.
when i first met her
she was perched on
the windowsill of my breaking heart
trying to kick her way
into the bullet-proof glass
surrounding my hope
and complicated things
like how I felt seeing
her teeth sprawled
across the living room floor
after last night’s fight
came too close
to leaving too much proof
so she lies
tells her friends that the dog
pulled her up the stairs and she tripped
(which dog she does not clarify).
but i can feel her,
see her floating nightgown
near the ocean on the edge of my bed
tangerine sunrises
screaming “helpme”
because even though
he’s a vacuum
trying to rid her of herself
of the filth she carries around
in the form of personality
she’s stronger than the marble
statue he wants to turn her into
and her beauty
is a cool breeze in the desert
he does not know how
to appreciate her love.
they always taught him
“be stronger than your fist”
but his fists are like concrete
and his words are like
espestice
eating away
at her lungs
liquid drowning her
under the tide he confuses
with affection.
so i pull her into my bed
twist her hair around my fingers
and show her
what a field of roses
feels like when it’s growing
just beneath your breastbone
and she’s blooming
i know i imagine
what her love would look like
as a photo on my mantle
–my prized wife
because she’s too beautiful
to be a trophy
she deserves to shine
like the sun.
so after tonight
i’m going to take her hand
twist out the fear
gently
and carry her
to the palace
she deserves.
and if he shows up
at my door
looking for her
i’ll blow his fucking head off.
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Stay Positive & Poetic In Your Own Way
Garth E. Beyer
Enlighten Others
Making Old Jobs New
The unemployment rate is despicable. It’s not because more jobs aren’t being created, they are. It’s the fact that the new jobs are replicating the ones that have always been used.
If we want the unemployment rate to go down, if we want to do real, honest and passionate work, if we want to look forward to work (something that is necessary to want the unemployment rate down), then we need to make old jobs new, not make new old jobs.
Currently, a worker’s pay is based on compensation, of the hours put into work. What it needs to be based off of is creativity deliberation, not compensation. Simple terms: paid to go in and make a ruckus.
Through that ruckus, we see improvement, new development, a fresh way of thinking, creativity and above all, results that mean something, not just numbers on a financial statement.
That doesn’t mean you need a new job, a better job or a second job, it has nothing to do with making more jobs, it’s about transforming new ones out of the old ones. It’s about doing the ones we do now differently, creatively and passionately.
We’re all self-employed even if we have a job, that’s a given, but to leave it at just “self-employed” doesn’t do any good, it doesn’t call for an action, a direction to take. We’re all “self-employed artists“, capable to be original in our thought processes straight to the core of what we create in our jobs.
Through our artistry, we can change, improve and develop our jobs into something magnificent. Something worth waking up for each day. It is through this that we can discover new ways to do the job better, more efficiently, uniquely and to serve and benefit people even more.
Most importantly, this is the way we can end the idea of an unemployment rate.
Stay Positive & These Are The Jobs We Want In The USA
Garth E. Beyer