How Do You Make The Time To Creatively Express Yourself?

Author: Misty Shaw

How Do You Make The Time To Creatively Express Yourself?

Between work, family, and the many obligations of life, where's the time for YOU? How can you carve out the personal time to creatively express yourself? Do you have an inner artist that yearns to paint? Maybe you've enjoyed creating melodies with musical instruments. Is there a hobby you have enjoyed in the past, only to be shelved because of the obligations of everyday life? Your creative self can shine again, simply by making the time to get in touch with your inner creativity.

Your favorite activities may be sitting on a shelf, collecting dust. The items are there, waiting for you to pick them up again. Maybe you have an old sketchbook you can open up again--just draw a few simple doodles to get yourself into the "groove". Is that violin tucked deep in a closet, surrounded by its protective case? Maybe you can bring it out of hiding and play it for your children, allowing them to hear the beautiful sounds of a stringed instrument. If you're a writer, maybe you can maintain a weblog about a subject you're interested in, or creatively write fantastic stories in your journal. If you don't feel artistically talented, you could express yourself by updating aspects of your wardrobe. What colors and fabrics can you wear for those nice dinner outings? What can you change about about your everyday office attire that communicates success? What would you like to wear that would enhance your glowing personality?

Just by taking small steps towards your inner creativity, you will most likely "find" the time to express yourself. After those initial steps, a drummer may polish her percussive skills through hours of practice. The painter creates beautiful abstract images in acrylics to display around the home. The writer begins a process of penning a book to sell through the internet. About that wardrobe--maybe you have found the perfect ensemble for a nice evening at a jazz club. As you refine your creative skills in these areas, you feel great about yourself!

How can you keep these experiences of creativity going? You must be proactive in preserving the time for your creative self. The circumstances of your daily life may eventually crowd in on your creative time. You can schedule your creative time a few days a week, even if only for half hours at a time. When is the best time of day to indulge in your everyday activities? Early in the morning before everyone rises? How about sometime in the afternoon during a long break? Are the evening hours better for you? As you continue your modes of expression, you may experience increased amounts of time.

Now that you've found the joy in your creativity, it is up to you to protect your creative time.

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach, Toronto native

How Do You Make The Time To Creatively Express Yourself?

Transmute The Creative Killer - The Negative Chatter in Our Mind

Are you one of those people that believe you don’t have a single ounce of creativity in you? If you believe that you are not creative and that you don’t draw or paint or something like that - essentially what you are saying is, I trust and believe my negative thinking – it serves me well. Are you sure that is what you want to believe?

We are all creative in some way or another. Creativity is not confined to just artsy stuff. It's a lot more than the traditional things we typically associate to creativity but we are blocked from seeing it because of the chatter in our mind.

The chatter in our mind stops the creative juice from flowing. Everything stays the same when this happens and we can’t see anything more than we’ve been conditioned to see. Everyday will start to look a lot like yesterday, and inspiration will get harder to come by. And if there isn’t anything to inspire and to look forward to then all that’s left to preoccupy our time is chatter.

But what if we could turn off the chatter even if for just a moment, what could we see? Perhaps, we would see a world where everything is what it’s meant to be. No limitations, only our true intentions. We would be free to laugh and to play, to run and to scream “ice cream” or maybe climb a tree, but whatever it is we’d be unafraid of what may be. Freedom of choice and freedom of expression even today in some places is taken away. But we, here, surrender it to nothing more than the chatter. How can this be?

Creativity is our source of expression. It expresses who we are from the inside – our stamp of authenticity. If only we took care of who we are from the inside as much as we took care of the image we project on the outside, then maybe we wouldn’t believe all the nonsense we hear and would be free to express our true intentions.

Creativity is a choice. We can choose to believe we are not creative and let tomorrow look a lot like today - missing out on life’s precious moments, or we can choose to believe we are creative and experience all those special moments – like the ones that hit us square over the head with a blast of inspiration.

Turn off the chatter because everyone is creative. The life we dream is just on the other side of it. Let the creative juice flow again.

Bruno LoGreco life coach, toronto mentor & motivational speaker

Transmute The Creative Killer - The Negative Chatter in Our Mind

I had to take care of things and act responsible, it was the responsible thing to do

Everything happened so fast. One moment I was a child playing, and in the next I had to play adult. It happened so quick I didn’t even notice. Looking back I didn’t get to do what most kids did. I had to take care of things and act responsible, it was the responsible thing to do.

I forgot what its like to have fun. I was too focused on being responsible. I tried to please too many people to prove that I could and I forgot about me. Yeah, I did forget about me. I left me behind many years ago. But somehow I feel that is still I today.

I listened to those around me. Some were encouraging and some not. I heard some stuff so often I started to believe it, its hard not to. Then one thing led to another, and to another, and here I am. But it just doesn’t seem right. I feel there is so much more – much more to be discovered.

I feel the child in me want to play. It screams, won’t you come out to play? I can’t play I must be responsible and I’m too old to play. Am I - Am I really that old that I cannot play?

We all have an inner child. It is also know as your “higher consciousness” “divine self” and a few other terms. It is the creative, playful part of the soul that is often left behind in a traumatic experience. Anything from abandonment to abuse could create a traumatic experience and leave an unhealed wound within the soul. This can lead the inner child part of us to react to certain situations, and block our creativity.

The process of connecting with your inner child and opening the door for it to explore these feeling and the world can change your life in unbelievable ways. The process is quite simple but for many extremely difficult. It means looking into a mirror and acknowledging your existence.

Below is a short dialogue to begin the process of acknowledging your inner child. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. You may want to journal the experience.

1. Look into a mirror and make eye contact with yourself.
2. Begin by saying the following:
3. I know I haven’t been there for you, and I am sorry
4. I want to make it up to you
5. I didn’t know you existed but now I know and I want to build a relationship with you
6. With time I can prove to you that I will never leave you again
7. You don’t need to be afraid anymore, I will protect you
8. You are safe to play again.
9. I love you

We are never too old to play. It’s the playful side within us that create the beautiful wonders we see today. Don’t be fooled by age and what you heard throughout the years if you feel it within you then its time to let it out to play.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor

I had to take care of things and act responsible, it was the responsible thing to do

What Kind Of Life Would You Create If You Could Create Your Own Life?

Last night I created an amazing environment filled with beautiful energy. I picked seven unique individuals that posses specific personality traits and I invited them to dinner. Seven complete strangers to one another and everybody spoke to each. Looking from the outside it appeared like everyone was friends for years.

I am also known for creating my own life. I decide the kind of life I want and I create it. My best creation so far is when I was twenty-five. I decided I wanted to work in the Unite States in a global capacity. The odds were against me because I did not have a degree. Not having a degree meant I would not fall under the NAFTA Agreement. At age twenty-nine and still without a degree, I worked in New Jersey for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in a global capacity. I beat the odds.

Fast forward to age thirty-one. I decided to create an environment where I would come and go as I pleased, make enough money to pay the bills and to be my own boss. I wanted to be the “somebody” in “I work for somebody else.” But I also wanted to create something fulfilling and rewarding all at the same time. Even a naysayer said it would be impossible for me to become a life coach, but I still did it.

In May 2008, I began to recreate a childhood dream, a past dream of performing on television. And within a few short months I began doing exactly that and I have continued appearing on television ever since.

So you can see all that is needed to create a different life is a desire. A will to put one foot in front of the other and walk towards the life you would like for yourself. You must decide what you would like in your life regardless of how difficult you believe it would be and start walking towards it. The odds were greatly against me but somehow I succeeded. Maybe it was the lack of excuses?

Life is the opportunity to create whatever you believe is important to you. If you expect life to hand over what you believe is important on a silver platter, your entitlement is what will prevent you from creating and living the life you believe you deserve.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor

What Kind Of Life Would You Create If You Could Create Your Own Life?

My New Idea

I am so happy this morning. Seriously… I am in such a good mood! I am moving forward with my new idea. This past week I’ve been working towards solving a puzzle. The puzzle I am working on is very complex and has multiple layers and because of the complexity and the amount of time that it takes to solve the puzzle, I’ve been working around the clock. BUT... I am proud and happy to report that my persistence and determination paid off.

I had an ‘Aha' moment this week while learning to solve the puzzle. Do you know what an ‘Aha’ moment is? An ‘Aha’ moment occurs when you are working on something or doing something and you have an idea to solve a problem or to enhance an existing produce or service. Your heart begins to thump and you begin to drift into la-la-land with thousands of images racing through your head with every passing second. When you finally return to reality you begin to wonder why nobody has thought about your idea, and that is when you here the big DONG in your head.

This morning I registered my new domain names. I could not believe they were not taken. The first domain name is not a big secret: www.lifecoachintoronto.com. The second domain name I registered - that one I will not be sharing with you quite yet. If you want to learn more about the second domain name you will have to just keep returning to this blog as I reveal the idea over a period of time.

Oh, by the way if you are looking for a domain name and you are unsure how to pick one, pick a domain name that is relevant to your niche. Try to keep the name to two or three keywords and also know that most search engine skip three letter words or less.

Master Life Coach Toronto Mentor Bruno LoGreco

My New Idea

Create

It has been exactly two years since I left my career at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. I was at the top of my game when I left. I was negotiating multi million dollar contracts, earning a great paycheck, racking up my air miles and I was only thirty. My closest friends, except for one, thought I was out of my mind to even think about leaving my career to start a business with no promises, just a dream and hope.

I spent many lonely nights sitting in a hotel room, working all hours of the night and into the wee early hours of the morning. But many nights were also spent dreaming of a better life. A life in which I would create something for myself. Deep down in my soul, I could feel that there was more, I just wasn't quite sure how to get there. Then one day my business partner said that it was time and that she was going to resign from her job so she can start the business we'd been talking about for several years. That's when I resigned from my career too and I started down a new path, a path in which I would create the type of life I was going to live from that moment on.

My business partner and I both resigned our posts with no income, two mortgages, two cars, two insurance policies, and two sets of expenses from credit cards to house hold expenses and no job. The week that we resigned from our careers, we landed a consulting contract, followed by a second and a third. We had enough revenue flowing to pay our expenses and to create our new pet company, hero+destiny. We hired a designer, we flew to India so we can source manufacturing, and at one point we even entertained new outside partners. (That was a mistake) live and learn. Needless to say we made a few mistakes along the way that put us back, but not enough to make us quit.

Along the way, something else happened to me - with no distraction from the outside world, or as I call it, noise, my focus started to shift, literally overnight. On March 25, 2007 something spectacular happened to me, something I will never forget. Maybe one day I will write about it, but on March 26th, 2007 I was no longer the same person. My purpose was crystal clear from that day onward--to help others create the life they dream of.

Life two years later is truly grand! Over the past two years I have learned so much, more than I could have ever have learned working at a major pharmaceutical company with a title and a nice paycheck. No amount of money could pay for what I have learned in a short two years.

The biggest lesson I learned on my journey thus far: When a person has full control of their life, they begin to create the life they could only dream of.

CREATE: bring (something) into existence; cause (something) to happen as a result of one's actions;

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach Toronto

Create

Curiosity or Complexity?

Imagine for a moment that a child is being dragged, kicking and screaming, to an office of a professional therapist, with many diplomas hanging on the wall of a three thousand dollar monthly office rental in a major metropolis in North America. A confused child unable to comprehend the complexity of the situation it finds itself in, begs, shouting and screaming to be heard. The confused child only grows in confusion leaving unanswered questions in the mind, as no adult will listen. The child is too young to have a voice, and the only voice that is heard is that of a PhD, “take these pills, they will make you feel better.” The confused little person obeys the orders and swallows the pills.

The beautiful mind is an explorer by nature. Every one of us is born with two sets of instructions, which are contradictory to each other, curiosity and complexity. The majority of the population is trained for the complexity, the dialectic side of the pole. What happens to a child when influenced mostly by the opposite side of the pole, the creative side?

The dialectic, complexity side of the pole displays conservative tendencies, made up of instincts for self-preservation, self-aggrandizement, and saving energy. The opposite side of the pole, the creative side experiences, expansive tendencies which are made up of instincts for exploring, for enjoying novelty and risk—the curiosity that leads to creativity.

A developing brain is like a sponge. Hungry for information, storing every bit of information the brain see and hears, storing the information as pictures, about 35 pictures every second. Unanswered questions begin to leave holes, holes that will later lead to bigger holes, and like a disease, the holes will make their way from the brain to the heart and soul of the body.

Now add some medication to the brain and VOILA… we have a new and improved brain, obedient and calm, maybe a bit more intelligent, but with no way of expressing and exploring his or her creative side, leaving behind massive holes, in the mind body and soul.

Curiosity or complexity… you decide.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach Toronto

Curiosity or Complexity?