Unleash Your Creative Spirit
When I was a little girl, I was great at telling stories. I had tea parties 
with my imaginary friends, my Barbie dolls had rich, full lives, and thanks to me, Nancy Drew never ran out of new mysteries to solve. I also filled notebooks with dozens of essays and short stories. (My momma may have said some of my stories were fibs and that many of my essays were the result of a wild imagination, but let’s not digress.)
Whatever I was doing though, the greatest toy I had wasn’t the tea set, the doll, or even the perfect pen.
It was my innate creativity.
For many people, creativity means that you have to make something great. You’re only creative if you’ve painted an artistic masterpiece, penned a best-selling novel, or starred in a blockbuster film (that you also wrote and produced).
I have news for you, sister: that definition of creativity is just, plain wrong. Everything you do requires creativity. Every action, every word, and every choice you make is part of your creation. You are creating something each and every day, even if you feel out of touch with your creative spirit.
If your acts of creation have become forced, tiresome, or are happening subconsciously, it’s time to take a new kind of action. It’s time to take your creative spirit by the hand, and nurture it. It’s time to let your muse sing, and your imagination soar.
Sometimes it’s difficult to imagine the life of our dreams.
We fence ourselves in with concepts like “balance,” “security,” “less busy,” or “rested,” but the reality is that living consciously, and attaining the life of your dreams requires that you draw on your creative spirit.
Rather than staying grounded in the mundane world of should and expectations, you explore ideas by dipping into the rich well of imagination and desire.
One of the best ways I’ve found to ignite – or reignite – your creative spirit is through the practice of writing. My coaching clients write on a regular basis. Sometimes, they keep a record of their gratitude for the blessings in their lives. Sometimes they’re invited to complete an exercise describing a fantasy day or explaining their definition of success. From a seemingly simple prompt or activity, one elegant idea is born, and it can transform the way you approach yourself and your life.
I love my life, and I don’t mean just the parts where we’re spending weekends together at home, or the time spent traveling. I mean, I love my every day life: my work, my trips to the grocery store, and being a partner to an amazing man. The rebirth of my creative spirit that led me away from an unfulfilled, unhappy, lonely existence and into this wonderful life sprang from the written word.
Recently, I’ve been writing about a series of courses to help people find clarity and boost their creativity. My first course, about the relationship between clarity and clutter, began this week. Right now, more than two dozen amazing women across the United States and Canada are clearing their physical spaces and reorganizing their mental spaces at the same time, and we’re all having a great time.
A repeat of the Clutter Busting class begins on February 5th, and I’ll be offering more courses throughout the year, including a journaling class set to begin on March 8th.
I’ve also been cooking up some creative magic with my dear friend Melissa Bartell. Beginning on February 7th, we’re kicking off the first of nine classes designed for the Writer in You with “Kindle Your Writing Fire: 30 Days of Creative Sparks.” Though initially geared toward bloggers, this course is an excellent way for anyone to begin – or begin again – a regular writing practice.
In Chinese astrology, 2012 is the year of the Dragon. My wish is that you embrace that blazing energy, unleash your creative spirit, and set the world on fire.
Size Doesn’t Matter
At Least When It Comes to Clutter
With my first eClass beginning next week, my thoughts have been centered on what it means to be clear about the direction of your life – all kinds of clutter.
I’ve talked about the turning point in my life, when I finally got that no amount of stuff will make you happy, and I’m betting when some of you hear the word “clutter,” you think of an episode of Hoarders or Clean House or crazy cat ladies. You envision closets stuffed with a century of clothes and “Mount Wash-More” in the laundry room. You imagine guests arriving, but being unable to walk into a room because of crap on the floor and piles of papers and dishes on the counters.
This is clutter in the big sense of the word.
And ten years ago, my world could be described in that way. If we were having guests, there was an hour of panic as things were stuffed into closets and under beds.
When I learned to love myself – the real me – I began to shed clutter and get the bulk of my physical world in order. As my physical world began to shape up, my doubts about my purpose on this planet began to shape up too.
Life crystallizes when your physical space is in order.
But that isn’t the only clutter I had in my mind’s eye when I was creating this course.
“Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor—it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.” — Peter Walsh
We live a pretty uncluttered life, in the big sense of the word. My bed is made daily. An unexpected visitor could pop over and I wouldn’t be embarrassed. In fact, I could quickly produce a snack and a beverage without needing to dig around for it.
Nevertheless, there is a reason I chose “streamline” as my bonus word for the first three months of 2012. My days are not as productive as they could be, and much of that productivity loss is due to clutter in the smaller sense of the word.
The last quarter of 2011 was busy for JB and I. We made three trips to Chicago, spent a week in New York, and a long weekend in DC. We went to holiday parties and had a houseguest. We also completely redecorated the dining room, the living room, the family room, and breakfast nook. In all that busy-ness, I fell out of many of the routines I have in place that keep me organized.
Papers didn’t get filed and new files weren’t set up for all the new purchases. When I went to pull a pair of scissors out of the “junk drawer” in the kitchen, I found receipts, pens, gum but no scissors. I baked four cakes and twelve dozen cookies in a week, but had to dig around for the cinnamon – a must in everything I bake.
And I don’t even want to mention the disorder in my closet.
Some folks may see these pockets of small clutter as no big deal and part of living an average life. Who cares, right? Everything I mentioned is in a place that can be hidden away if an unexpected visitor popped by.
But what if I told you that each pocket of clutter I am accepting as “normal” was what was really distracting me from my best work?
Our minds are creative creatures. That old lizard brain wants to keep us safe and unchanged, and clutter helps keep us from stepping into our best possible living.
Big clutter and small clutter – this is a case where size really doesn’t matter.
Everything has energy: the cup we drink our coffee out of, the outfit we wear to work, our beautifully made bed and the stack of laundry. We need the energy in our lives to focus on our work, for our dreams, for challenges and for staying healthy.
Every time we encounter something in our world that is undone, incomplete, or overdue, our energy to focus on what matters the most is drained.
We need to pay attention to what we are telling our subconscious minds when we hold on to clutter. Every time you open a drawer and have to look for something, your mind refocuses. It turns to the task of finding scissors and distracts you from writing that chapter of your book, that blog post, that sales letter or the perfect line of a song.
When energy is consistently flowing out to things that don’t really matter or to things that distract you, you have to play tricks in order to get by. You have to “get more” things to keep your energy up.
I could decide to “get organized” and to do it all NOW. I would start the day with a couple of back-to-back Venti Mochas from Starbucks, launch into hyper mode, and run around like a crazy woman clearing my spaces. I’ve done that before and ended up somewhat organized. I also end up exhausted and no clearer in my thinking beyond “clean”.
Or. I can do what I know works – and what 30 Days to Clarity: Clutter Busting Edition can do for you: get things streamlined, de-cluttered, and organized in small, steady doses.
This approach allows us to slowly add routines and build a momentum of organization, without the exhaustion at the end.
It also adds to – instead of draining – that precious energy.
Getting clear in your life by dealing with your clutter – big clutter and small clutter – will allow you to direct your precious energy towards creating the clear path to a life lived in the zone.
Just think: You and me (and more than a dozen kindred spirits). 30 Days. 30 Minutes (or less). Clearing space. Clearer thinking.
(Click here to join me – class begins Monday, January 22.)
It’s going to be a blast!
Seeking Treasure?
When I was a little girl, my mother would soothe away a bad day by buying me a new Barbie, a Nancy Drew book, or new barrettes. She would make up after a fight during my teenage years by buying me a new pair of shoes or a sweater. When I became an adult, I was convinced that the answer to soothing negative feelings was the purchase of new linens or a sweater. I believed that happiness could be found with purchased treasures. Soon, my home became filled with knick knacks, dishes, and way too many clothes.
When I was in my 30s, I discovered that no amount of stuff would make me happy.
I began shedding things in all areas of my world. I got divorce, and about a month after it was final, a good friend of mine spent several hours helping me get rid some of the stuff that cluttered my world.
After we finished, we dragged everything to the curb. I still recall standing there looking at the piles of unnecessary and useless stuff that I didn’t love and didn’t need yet had spent untold sums of money on. I wondered how I could have believed that the piles of possessions could fix my marriage or make me feel happy or secure. At that moment, gazing upon trash, I was wowed at how my heart felt.
My heart soared for I had rediscovered faith in myself, not possessions.
I learned that in order to begin living the life I knew I was meant to be, I needed to begin to let go of perfection, as well as allow myself to feel.
There are many reasons that people surround themselves with stuff.
Sometimes, buying something makes you feel good for a little while. Sometimes, we think that if we have enough money, we will be happy. Sometimes, we think that with the right brand of jeans or shoes, or the newest cell phone, we won’t be sad or lonely.
Though I shed a lot of stuff in those first few months after my divorce, as time passed, I discovered that there was still some clutter in my world.
When I was in my 40s, my mother died. If you’ve read my blog before, you may recall the epiphany I had shortly after her death.After my mom died in the summer of 2010, my sister and I helped our father clean out Mom’s closet. I was saddened at the volume of stuff. We ended up with twelve 50-gallon trash bags full of clothing, shoes, belts and handbags. Many of the clothes still had the price tags on them. Lots of the shoes were unworn.
I’ll be honest. My mother was an unhappy woman. No matter how many new clothes and pretty shoes she had, she couldn’t find satisfaction in life.
I realized that no amount of stuff will make you happy.
And in fact, too much stuff can actually stand between you and the most amazing life that you were meant to live.
Everything has energy. Everything from the clothing that you wear, to the books on your shelf, to the coffee cup on your counter.
After Mom died, I really got the fact that everything in my environment had energy.
I began to shed stuff.
Six months after Mom died, I sold my house in Texas. I reduced belongings filling 2000 square feet of space down to a 5×5 storage space, what would fit in my car, and the couple of suitcases of clothing I had brought to Ohio on previous trips.
I discovered that happiness and satisfaction came from within.
Look around you.
Have you been filling your space with stuff to make yourself feel better? Do your surroundings enhance your life or make you feel stressed? Is your wardrobe made up of tasteful pieces that you will wear for seasons to come or is it crammed with items you rarely wear?
If you are seeking treasure, I can tell you where it’s found.
The treasure in your life isn’t stuff. It’s YOU.
YOU are an amazing individual with a beautiful soul and a great heart. You have special gifts to share with those around you. You may just need to dig it out under the things you’ve got covering it up!
Clearing clutter out of your physical space is a step towards getting clearer about your purpose in life.
It’s challenging to life your best life when you are surrounded by too much stuff. It’s also overwhelming and can be challenging as to where to start.
What if I could help you?
I may not be able to come over and help you sort through your closet, but I can be there in spirit. On January 22nd, the first series of my 2012 eCourses will begin: 30 Days to Clarity: Clutter Busting Edition.
In order to make space in your life for the new and brilliant to come in – you have to release the old and crusty. Each day of the program, you’ll get an inspirational note with a task designed to take 30 minutes or less.
And I’ll let you in on something: I’ll be de-cluttering and organizing right along with you. My most disorganized spaces are my closet and my top desk drawer. What are yours?
A Glimpse at My Compass and a Secret Revealed
Over the last few weeks, I have been walking you through the process of 
choosing three words to serve as your guiding focus for 2012. Beyond simple words, though, these are words culled from a thousand, drawn from the depths of who you are at your core and what you really want for this precious, beautiful life of yours.
You named your rudder by clarifying your personal values, you got in touch with your anchor (aka your heart’s desire) by clarifying how you want to feel, and you defined the actions that you need to take to be true to your values while moving towards how you want to feel so that action will serve as your sails.
Some of you may still be working on this process. If you are, I want to congratulate you for doing this in your own time instead of being a slave to the calendar page. Find your own beautiful rhythm and take your precious time.
This week’s blog post is going to be more personal than most of those here, as I had promised to share my personal compass with you. I’ll be vulnerably honest here about two facts: One, I had a hard time narrowing down my words and have been meditating over eight colored notecards for what feels like ages; two, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go public as I have been contemplating the balance of transparency and vulnerability over the past few months.
But here I am, choosing to be both transparent and vulnerable.
I believe in the power of your intentions out in the Universe. I believe that the velocity of power that is created when we “share with the class” creates a special energy. I believe that I am best able to serve my clients when I am transparent about who I am at my core and what is valuable to me.
The value I chose to serve as my guide for 2012 is “passion”.
If I am not passionate about my life, my projects, and each and every client I work with, then I am of no service to myself or others. Passion is a driving force in every area of my world.
In 2012, I want to feel “love-struck”.
I love my life. I love coaching and writing. I want not just to love the areas of my life, but to be in love. This year, I will romance everything in my world, as I know that if I don’t feel love-struck about something, it’s the clue that it needs to go.
No matter what I do professionally, I will always have the heart of a writer. Having the stomach of a writer, however, is a bit more challenging. I want to embrace that challenge head-on. The best moment of my year, at least with my clothes on, was the completion of my ebook. I have an undying passion for words and I know that there will always be a deep need to read the words of the wise and share the words that reside within me.
My powerful action word for 2012 is “write”.
And now for a secret: I am cheating and have added a 4th word for the first quarter of 2012. For everything I desire to create and for it to feel successful – by my definition of success – I need to add an additional action these first few months: streamline. There is tremendous power in routines and I need that power so I can rock my days by being more productive.
So, in order for me to embody passion, feel love-struck, and to write in 2012, I need to simplify and streamline my daily world.
Let me share a little.
In addition to one-on-one coaching, I will be offering two series of e-courses in 2012 about subjects for I have immense passion: clarity and creativity.
The thought of being clear – and helping others find clarity makes my heart swell with love and joy.
Helping others re-ignite their creative fire makes me fall in love with the power of the creative process every damn time.
Beginning on January 22nd, the first series of my 2012 eCourses will begin: 30 Days to Clarity: Clutter Busting Edition. In order to make space in your life for the new and brilliant to come in – you have to release the old and crusty.
Each day of the program, you’ll get an inspirational note with a task designed to take 30 minutes or less. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
I wrote it for those of you like me: wasting your precious energy searching for the scissors in the junk drawer.
“Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor—it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.” — Peter Walsh
No matter how organized – or disorganized – you may be feeling now, by the end of the course, you’ll feel worlds lighter. It also promises to be a fun, effective and affordable way to make space in your life for what matters most.
Life crystallizes when your physical space is in order.
With “streamline” as my secret word for the first quarter of the year the creation of this course has helped me streamline my physical world as I help others free up energy and space in theirs!
So, now I’ve shared with you my personal compass, a secret, and a sneak peek at some of my plans for the coming year. What about you? Tell me about your Compass, the one thing you want to accomplish this year, or maybe even a secret. I hear confession is good for the soul.
PS – There is still plenty of time to Create Your Compass for 2012. What’s keeping you?
(Image Notes: I wanted to share an image that embodied my compass for the year. This is me exploring the Aviation Trail in the Dayton area with JB. Passion. Love-Struck. And my personal writings are often touched by him and my love of early aviation)
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Meet Debra
Debra has helped executives transform their lives and businesses since 2003. Her no-holds-barred style of coaching has helped clients shed old beliefs, step up to the tee box, and live in the zone.
Learn more about Debra here.
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