Something I wrote during one of my Daily Fiction Writing sessions.

Something I wrote during one of my Daily Fiction Writing sessions.

Hey there rebel!

OMG, it's been an amazing couple of weeks... 

You know how sometimes you get stuck in your craft? Like you've fallen into a really bad pattern or habit that prevents you from enjoying it? Or one that prevents you from even doing what you love the most?

Yeah... I fell into a bad pattern with my writing, so my solution was to start writing every morning, just 500 words, with a writer friend of mine.

We meet, we encourage each other, and sometimes it's more than 500 words, but the point of this exercise is not to write the best thing or the most words, but to show up and relax into it. To get into flow without caring so much about the outcome, as we so often do when we blog and write for money.

My goal was to stop caring so much about how good or bad my writing is.

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What if you can't stick to a schedule or a deadline? This is for the rebels.

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What if you can't stick to a schedule or a deadline? This is for the rebels.

Let's be real here...

Most of us can't stick to a lot of things, being rebels and all.

I remember the agony of University and how I would start all of my papers at the last minute, even though I had had months to prepare and start writing.

Instead, I would start the previous night or the weekend, and have to be ready first thing on Monday morning or the next day. And it was excruciating. I mean, it's one thing to prepare for months and start writing the last minute. I'm talking that both preparing and writing would happen at the last minute. I would also start cramming information the last minute before a test.

I'll never forget this one time when I went out and partied the night before a big test, got insanely drunk, threw up, passed out, woke up in my room without a key for the front door OR my ID card, which I would need for the test...

Want to make 2018 amazing? Stop setting resolutions, set a foundation.

Want to make 2018 amazing? Stop setting resolutions, set a foundation.

Hey rebel, happy almost 2018!

What people usually do at this point is go forward by setting resolutions they will never keep because they don't have the foundation for it.

I could tell you all about my plans to teach more than I coach in 2018 and how I'm aiming to move to the UK and open myself up to the world again, but these are plans and goals, ones I can only accomplish if I have a strong foundation backing up my future actions. Wishing for things will not make them be.

I propose an alternative - what if instead of setting goals we can never follow through with, we set the foundation for making them happen?

Now the question becomes: 

What could be a strong enough foundation for future success? 

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Hey rebel, are you doing creativity backwards?

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Hey rebel, are you doing creativity backwards?

We all know how creation works...

You create a planet, populate it, and rest on the 7th day.

Or if you're a mere mortal, creation works like this -> first you got the idea, then you grab the tools, then you bring it into existence, and finally you get to figure out what you're gonna do with it and who's going to benefit from it.

Right?! 

Well, these days the process goes differently...

First you get an idea, then you figure out how to package and market it, then you might even presell it, and all that BEFORE you create it. This is probably why we spend our days overplanning and underdelivering. Some of us will abandon projects before we start them and jump from idea to idea, plan to plan, before we ever get to create our unfortunate, miscarried masterpieces.

When you have many dreams, which one do you choose? Take this test.

When you have many dreams, which one do you choose? Take this test.

See if you can relate to this...

You used to be a big dreamer. When you were little, you would wake up and proclaim what your new dream was, or maybe you were the quiet sort, who would go directly to the store and buy whatever materials you'd need to kickstart your dream career. And mortify your parents.

Archaeologist, actress, film director, veterinarian, dog walker, astronaut.

As children, we all have these big dreams, and as we grow older, we go through different ones, outgrow them, and move on to the next one. In the process, we sometimes lose ourselves or get stuck somewhere.

Problem is, the world can't always accommodate our crazy dreams.

And it's not like we can be ALL THE THINGS...

How I managed to complete my project with the non-negotiables method.

How I managed to complete my project with the non-negotiables method.

Sometimes I'm too creative for my own good. You know the type...

Head buzzing with ideas, various projects on the go, getting bored quickly, etc. Which is why I couldn't complete a book draft FOR YEARS. 

You see, apart from having my own creative business, I write science fiction and lately fantasy novels, and by that I mean I write incomplete drafts that I can never finish because I'm already onto the next book. Naturally, this is a recipe for never getting published, which happens to be my biggest dream.

Why can't I just push myself to finish the damn thing?

Because it's BORING!

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Is your brand not focused enough? Here's how to niche, the rebel way.

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Is your brand not focused enough? Here's how to niche, the rebel way.

THE OTHER DAY I WAS TALKING TO A FELLOW CREATIVE REBEL ABOUT NICHEING... 

But first things first: What IS a niche?

To niche, or niche down, is to make your brand very specific, as in covering a specific topic or bringing a specific result to a specific audience.

Anywho, so my friend was saying that she had just broadened the topics she covered and was afraid that made her brand too vague and unfocused. And since all the experts advise to do the opposite, she was worried.

A lot of us worry about this because we love a lot of things and we don't want to "super niche" like the experts advise. As a result, most of us worry that our brands are too general and unfocused, that we don't have a niche, that we're confusing our people, etc. It's a perfectly natural feeling to have.

However, worrying about it doesn't mean that we should blindly do whatever the experts tell us. Especially if you're multipassionate and nicheing down equates to getting into a super tight catwoman suit. Or a shrinking box.

So if you feel like your brand is not focused enough and you don't know how to niche it, I'd like to propose an alternative way to "niche." 

No time, money, or mentors? You can still start your business.

No time, money, or mentors? You can still start your business.

I've been asking questions on twitter, and this one thing kept emerging when it came to starting a business.

People are not starting their businesses because they have no money. Or they have no time. Or they have no mentors. Or motivation.

But mostly, money.

And before we start to tackle each of these in turn, can I just say...

You know those are excuses, right? You know people have started businesses with nothing, and from nothing they got everything.

Right???

If you go to your heroes - Richard Branson, Seth Godin, Marie Forleo, Danielle LaPorte, Gary Vaynerchuk, Chase Jarvis, Jeremy Cowart or whoever you idolize, you'll find that they made something great out of nothing. My favorite authors had full-time jobs and still managed to publish their books. My favorite rebels bootstrapped their businesses for years before they could really invest. 

My point is, if you really want something, you will find a way to do it. 

"Being multipassionate, how can I bring all of my interests together?"

"Being multipassionate, how can I bring all of my interests together?"

This is a question I get a lot.

When I talk to people who apply for coaching or just follow my blog and newsletter, I almost always get this questions from fellow multipassionate rebels, so today I've decided to answer it in detail. 

It is my hope that this article will help you build the multipassionate life of your dreams, or at least start you in that direction. :)

Because having many passions is not an obstacle on your way, it's an opportunity to carve your unique path.

Now, first things first... 

Do you hate tooting your own horn? Promote your creative business in authentic ways.

Do you hate tooting your own horn? Promote your creative business in authentic ways.

I got this question in my inbox:

I have just started my own [creative business] and I'm not really sure how to market myself? I think I know what I have is good, but I hate singing my own trumpet, so do you have any advice for that?

This is a really common question and I want to crack this and help anyone who has this particular problem. You're not alone, a lot of people feel the same way at the start of their own business. We have been conditioned to compliment others, but not brag. We have spent our online careers promoting others, but not ourselves. And now it's seriously getting in the way of our progress.

Because you can't grow your business with this particular damaging mindset.

OK?