Parker’s columns are like candy: read one—even a review of a book you’ve never heard of, it doesn’t matter—and you’ll be compelled to read the next. Unlike candy, however, these are not bad for you. Neither is anything else she wrote. As for her martini-fueled insults, well, the jury’s out. Either way, I am writing to encourage you to memorize some of her excellent quippage to use at your earliest convenience.&nbsp;

Dorothy Parker's Quips are Like Candy

“I hate almost all rich people, but I think I’d be darling at it.” (<a class="idea-content-link" href="https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4933/dorothy-parker-the-art-of-fiction-no-13-dorothy-parker">The Paris Review </a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;

For buying lottery tickets:  

“It’s not the tragedies that kill us, it’s the messes. I can’t stand messes.” (<a class="idea-content-link" href="https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4933/dorothy-parker-the-art-of-fiction-no-13-dorothy-parker">The Paris Review </a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;

For Friday nights:   

“Their pooled emotions wouldn’t fill a teaspoon.” (quoted in Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker )&nbsp;&nbsp;

For standing in the corner at parties: 

“Too fucking busy and vice versa.” (quoted in The Unimportance of Being Oscar by Oscar Levant)

For missing your deadline, answering emails, calling people back, etc.:

“If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style . The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.” (<a class="idea-content-link" href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/02/28/happy-now/#note-10715-3">originally published </a>in a review in Esquire , 1959)&nbsp;&nbsp;

For being asked for writing advice:   

“Not just plain terrible. This was fancy terrible; this was terrible with raisins in it.” (quoted in Chimes of Change and Hours by Audrey Borenstein) &nbsp;&nbsp;

For riding the subway in New York City:

“There’s a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.” (<a class="idea-content-link" href="https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4933/dorothy-parker-the-art-of-fiction-no-13-dorothy-parker">The Paris Review </a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;

For chiding that one friend who makes too many dumb jokes:

Embrace your inner teen and memorize some of her excellent quippage to use at your earliest convenience.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

entertainment

Entertainment

A Dorothy Parker Quip for Every Occasion

Every creative artist has their own audience, and while it varies from person to person, some basic guidelines can be followed when trying to reach out to your audience. If you’re like most performers, writers, coaches, or artists who want their creative work seen by more people, then this blog post may be just what you need! I will outline five straightforward steps that will help guide you in the right direction for promoting your work so you reach more people.

Marketing for Creative Professionals

The first step is to find out who your audience is and how they like to communicate. It’s important to know what matters to your audience – their likes, dislikes, struggles, interests, goals, etc. Basically, anything that will help you connect with them on an emotional level. Make sure you know what makes them tick – what’s important to them? What do they like? What don’t they like? What are their “pain points,” and how can you help them with those? Once you know these things, it’s much easier to tailor your messaging and style based on this information.

Identify your audience

If you already have a few fans, clients, or followers, you’re ahead of the game because you can ask them questions directly. <ul><li>What’s the single biggest result you want to have? </li><li>What is important about that result for you? </li><li>What are your biggest challenges? </li><li>When it comes to your career or business, what do you want to change in the next 30 days? (You could create a workshop around this for your followers!) </li><li>What sort of project would you like me to do next? </li><li>More than anything, what would you like me to know? </li><li>What are some video topics you’d like me to tackle?  </li></ul>

What does your audience want?

It is important to make sure that you are targeting the right platforms for your message. Platforms can be social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, where people will likely use them more often than they would their email or text messages on the phone. Or maybe you want to limit your platform to email or newsletters.

Choose your platform

Once you what makes them tick, it’s much easier to tailor your messaging and create engagement. What is engagement? For the sake of simplicity, engagement could be defined as ANY action you take on social media! Write articles and create posts based on what they want to hear and specifically what they’d like to hear from you . Speak directly to them, in the first person, using attractive headlines and images. Offer solutions that play off of their fears & hopes as well as speak to their values.

Engage Engage Engage

Building your online community takes patience, no matter how much social media content growth seems instantaneous on Instagram and Twitter. Like any other form of marketing or promotion work, it’s important to develop relationships by taking cues from what they enjoy about your product/service while also being consistent when communicating through different networks — they’re worth every ounce of effort spent because these people will likely be the source of life long loyal fans for you (especially if their needs are met).

Be patient and be consistent

If you're like most performers, writers, coaches, or artists who want their creative work seen by more people, then this blog post may be just what you need!

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

business

Business

creativity

Creativity

5 Steps for Marketing Your Creative Work

Many artists and creative professionals find themselves feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and even paralyzed when they cannot meet their work’s mental and physical demands. Stress is a natural part of life, but it can also be detrimental to your health and creativity if not appropriately managed. In this blog post, I will discuss how stress impacts our mental state and our creativity levels and share some tips on managing stress so you can continue being productive despite it.

Artists and stress

Stress is all around us every day. Getting caught in traffic, rush hour, dealing with difficult customers at work, screaming children, barking dogs, and demanding bosses; are examples of chronic stress. The stress we experience as creative artists would be considered a combination of chronic and acute stress because we are constantly dealing with deadlines, mental blocks, and other stressors that threaten our creativity levels. But on top of those self-imposed stressors, a creative professional may also have to deal with high levels of uncertainty in a competitive field.

Two types of stress

Stress can cause mental disorders because it impacts the neurotransmitters responsible for relaying messages between the brain and other body parts. For example, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates moods, and cortisol is known as the stress hormone. When we experience prolonged periods of high levels of these hormones in our system, they can disrupt mental health.

Mental health and stress

Physical health is also negatively impacted by stress. According to the Harvard Medical School, Chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity are all associated with unusually high stress levels in the body leading to adverse health consequences.

Physical health and stress

The psychological side effects of too little stress might also be harmful to us as creative professionals. It’s vital to understand that stress isn’t always negative. <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2013/04/16/researchers-find-out-why-some-stress-is-good-for-you/">Research shows </a>

Good stress

<ol><li>Eat Healthy and Exercise Regularly</li><li>Spend Time with Family Members & Close Friends</li><li>Practice Yoga</li><li>Mindfulness Activities</li><li>Belly Breathing Technique for Stress Reduction</li><li>Avoid Excessive Alcohol or Substance Use</li><li>Affirmations and Positive Self Talk</li><li>Laugh More</li><li>Get Plenty of Sleep</li><li>Keep a Gratitude List</li></ol>

Ways to de-stress

The right amount of stress can improve performance and health and is especially beneficial for improving brain function. Too much or too little will have negative consequences on both your mood and physical well-being, so you need to find your “sweet spot.” So, what do you need to manage stress as a creative professional?

Find your sweet spot

"Finding ways to cope with stress and avoid overwhelm is an individual journey and, luckily, there’s no shortage of research-backed strategies available. Try them out and see which ones help you lower stress while also remaining activated and creatively productive."

Dana P. Rowe

Many artists and creative professionals feel overwhelmed and paralyzed when they cannot meet their work’s mental and physical demands.

productivity

Productivity

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Managing Stress and Making Art

All of us have experienced creativity in some form or another. Like when you come up with new ideas, invent something innovative, develop an original plan – the list goes on and on. There are many books about how creativity is defined and how to teach people creative thinking skills, so I’m certainly not going to try and cover everything here. Having a few creative techniques at your disposal will make the creative process easier and hopefully get the creative juices flowing! This article shares 11 ways to get inspired.

What is creativity?

In 1985 Edward DeBono wrote a book which unveiled a problem-solving model consisting of six mindsets. The six hats represent different perspectives and have been identified by their colors: Blue Hat for rational, White Hat for logical, Yellow hat for positive, Red hat for emotional, Black Hat for negative thinking, and Green hat for positive. You can wear the six different colored hats to try on a different perspective. Each hat gives you access to information that is usually blocked by other perspectives and allows your mind multiple entry points in solving problems...

Six Thinking Hats Technique

Yep, you read that right. Take a minute and get unfocused. As the saying goes, “the best ideas come to us when we’re not even trying.” <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797618820626">Research studies </a>show that those so-called eureka moments often happen for writers and physicists alike during non-optimal states or when their mind is wandering. A simple way to open your mind and increase creativity is by staring at an object and allowing your eyes (and mind) to soften focus. Doing so will often help unlock solutions that might not occur if we were in a state of hyper-focused attention on one detail or idea at the expense of others.

Stop being so focused

Sometimes, it can be hard to deal with negative emotions, but here’s something to try next time you’re feeling down or grumpy: get creative. The creative process has been proven to help people get out of a bad mood because they focus their minds entirely on solving an issue or problem. Exercising your creative skills can help you forget whatever it was that made you upset in the first place. <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.687">Research has found </a>that positive and negative emotional states can actually boost creativity.

Get emotional

A mind map is a great way to come up with ideas and boost creativity. You can think of it as an informal brainstorming session that helps you gather your thoughts without worrying about being categorized or organized later. It’s an excellent tool for making connections between ideas, developing one’s intuition, and boosting creative thinking. Mind mapping is ideal for recording your wildest and craziest ideas without stopping to be critical or self-edit. You can always critique later on and generate new ideas by “piggybacking” your original ideas.

Mind map

According to Stanford researchers, walking helps with creativity and also improves sleep quality. The study found that when participants were given two hours of mild activity throughout the day, including taking a walk in between lunch and dinner, they experienced increased cognitive function compared to those who remained seated for the entire period. Taking a meditative stroll outside is one of the most effective techniques to develop new ideas or solutions. Getting present in nature is therapeutic and inspirational.

Take a walk

It’s pretty much common knowledge that meditation is not only restorative and encourages healthy brain function, but the contribution it made to my own creativity makes it a “must mention” here. You are the best judge of how you should meditate to improve your own creative thinking. Your body and mind will tell you, but remember that even five minutes can help you feel more centered and open-minded.

Meditate

It is common for job advertisements to mention the importance of curiosity, passion, and inquisitiveness. Employers want employees who have a thirst for knowledge; they are looking for innovative thinking skills or people who can think outside the box. What sources of information should you explore fully before starting the idea generation phase? Are you curious about all aspects or just some things? Is there a “something more” that you’re not considering here?”

Stay curious

"Successful people with a growth mindset have an optimistic approach to challenges instead of those who see them as insurmountable obstacles; these individuals also try new things more often and let go of old ideas more quickly than their less successful counterparts."

One of the most widespread misconceptions about creativity is that it's only for artists. In fact, creativity can be applied to any aspect of life.

Science-Based Tips to Boost Your Creativity

Personal branding is a strategy that creative professionals can use to stand out from the crowd and be recognized in their field. A strong personal brand statement will help you rise above your competition because it instantly gives people an idea of who you are, what you do, and why others should hire you.  The overarching goal of a personal branding campaign is to provide information about who we are and tell the story behind our products and services.

What is a personal brand statement?

Think of a remarkable personal brand statement like a killer song title or a logline for a movie. A good title makes a song instantly memorable (think, THE BEATLES: ‘Hey Jude’). And when people read a well-crafted logline (think, JAWS: ‘A police chief, with a phobia for open water, battles a gigantic shark with an appetite for swimmers and boat captains’), they instantly know what kind of story it will be about before even seeing any trailers or posters. Once you have a clear personal brand statement, it can guide career and marketing decisions and serve to keep you true-to-brand...

The value of a personal brand statement

<ol><li>Who are you? </li><li>What solution do you offer them? </li><li>Who needs and wants what you have to offer? </li><li>What’s the emotional impact of spending time with you? </li><li>What makes you uniquely qualified to deliver all that fantastic goodness?  </li></ol>

The Fives Elements of a Successful Personal Brand

Renaissance woman Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

Personal branding for creative professionals is different from other fields. Personal brands are a type of self-promotion, and they’re often used by designers, artists, architects, and many other creative professions such as graphic design or writing. A personal brand should focus on what you can do in your field rather than who you are personally (e.g., name, address, occupation). Personal branding for creative professionals is about the value you can offer to potential customers and colleagues.

Critical Elements of a Creative Professional's Brand Statement

"It’s important to note that a personal brand isn’t only a logo, a color scheme, or an elevator pitch, although those things are essential and can help support your online and offline brand. A personal brand combines your unique presence in all aspects of your life! Personal branding starts with who you are and how you show up in all contexts. A well-formed personal brand can be used to creatively express yourself or strategically communicate your skills, experience, values, and attitude. The elements you choose for your brand must resonate with who you really are!"

Whether you’re a performer, a writer, a visual artist, or a musician, personal branding is vital for anyone in the creative industry who wants to stand out from the crowd and be recognized in their field.

career

Career

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Personal Brand Statement

Whether you’re a writer, a performer, a musician, or an entrepreneur, creative life can be a complex one. And let’s face it, managing your mental health, balancing work and family commitments, or just trying to figure out what the next step is going to be in your career isn’t always easy. And that also goes for deciding what projects you should take on, ways to deal with clients and colleagues, where to spend time and energy. These are all big questions creatives have to answer every day—and sometimes they need help doing it. A Good Coach Is a Good Investment.

Investing in your creative career

Oprah has always been a vocal proponent of the emotional and psychological benefits that coaching can provide. Martha Beck, one of Oprah Winfrey’s first coaches, is quoted as saying, “Coaches help people find their essential selves and plot a course to their unique best lives.” Along wit, Serena Williams, Bill Clinton, Andre Agassi, and Hugh Jackman (to name a few). All these famous people know that a coach can help them achieve their goals better than they could on their own.

Play the big game, win the big prizes

How Do You Define Career Success?It’s essential to know what more career success means to you to get a clear picture of the coach you are looking for. There are many factors to consider. A potential coach may have any qualification from being professionally certified and holding relevant degrees, to having a variety of prior coaching experience, or maybe they’re a newly minted coach, which could bring yet another unexpected level of discovery and support.

Defining success for you

What Skills and Areas of Experience Could You Look For in Your Coach? Sometimes coaching specialties will include different career interests, such as business strategist, professional speaker, or executive coach. It’s essential to find a coach who understands your particular challenges there must be an organic connection so they can bring out the best in you!

What to look for in a coach

The first thing a coach will usually do is help you figure out what you want and need. They’ll ask lots of questions to get a sense of where your head is at, and then they’ll help you identify your goals and think about the best way to help you get there. The coach doesn’t give you the answers or make significant decisions for you. Instead, they’ll ask questions to help stimulate your thoughts and ideas so that you can be the one making those decisions. They’ll give you the tools and support you need to get clarity, focus on what’s important, and even create habits that help you move forward.

Working with a coach

“Everyone needs a coach. We all need people to give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” – Bill Gates

Bill Gates

A good coach will help keep your life and career aligned with what you want to achieve; they’ll be an unbiased sounding board for ideas and give clear feedback about where there might be some blocks or limiting beliefs holding back your progress. They’re also someone who’s going to encourage you when things get tough and remind you how fantastic your successes are when times are great! Hiring a coach is not just for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs but also for creatives.

What level of success is possible for you?

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist, Letters, 1973

Carl Jung

"For all the study, practice, hours, and hard work you have put in so far towards becoming a successful creative artist, why not hire yourself a coach who will not only help guide you through the tough times to get over your obstacles but help you move to that next level of success?"

A good coach will help keep your life and creative career aligned with what you want to achieve and give clear feedback about what might be holding you back.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

Why Creative Artists Hire Coaches for Career Success

Does your internal monologue play out on a television, in an attic, as a bickering Italian couple – or is it entirely, blissfully silent?  Claudia, a sailor from Lichfield in her late 30s, is not Italian. She has never been to Italy. She has no Italian family or friends. And she has no idea why a belligerent Italian couple have taken over her inner voice, duking it out in Claudia’s brain while she sits back and listens.

Identifying your inner voice

In order to understand how the inner voice works, you need to understand how human thought translates into action. “Whenever we do any action, our brain makes a prediction of the sensory consequences of that action,” says Loevenbruck. Say you want to fetch a glass of water. “Your brain sends the appropriate motor signals to your hand, but it also generates a sensory prediction of the command,” she says. “Before you’ve even picked up the glass, your brain has made a prediction of what the motor command will do, which means you can correct for mistakes before you make an error.

How does the inner voice work?

Loevenbruck explains that, for the most part, we hear what she terms “inner language”. But not always. “You can have expanded and more condensed forms of inner speech,” she says. “People may experience them as abstract representations of language, without sound … some people say their inner voice is like a radio that’s on all day long. Other people don’t have a voice at all, or they speak in abstract symbols that don’t involve language.” Loevenbruck can’t explain why some people experience the inner voice differently: we are at the limits of neuroscience...

The concept of inner language

Does your internal monologue play out on a television, in an attic, as a bickering Italian couple – or is it entirely, blissfully silent?

Understand yourself and those around you.