People tell me all the time (and they tell YOU too) how hard it is to carve out time to do your create projects.

Each of us has a different approach… and when I saw this by Seth Godin, I just had to pass it along.

I don’t know if I would say you’d have a different approach to competing… but I do like the idea of changing and reframing our view of Time.

[I once had a supervisor who, when I complained of not having enough time, asked me to start saying, "I have time." It really didn't change how much time I had (have), but it really helped my perception. And it relieved some stress too. I still use that trick on occasion, when I feel pressured.]

Here’s Seth Godin:

One way to do indispensable work is to show up more hours than everyone else. Excessive face time and candle-burning effort is sort of rare, and it’s possible to leverage it into a kind of success.

But if you’re winning by cheating the clock, you’re still cheating.

The problem with using time as your lever for success is that it doesn’t scale very well. 20 hours a day at work is not twice as good as 18, and you certainly can’t go much beyond 24…

What would happen if you were prohibited from working more than five hours a day. What would you do? How would you use those five hours to become indispensable in a different way?

Go ahead, try it. Just for a week. See what happens. Even if you go back to ten, you’ll discover you’ve changed the way you compete.

Take these one by one… look at this wonderful list.

Some will be just what you need to hear/see right now. Others are not for you.

But mainly, I’m thrilled to know these kinds of things are on the Web … and I just had to pass them along.

Click here: 105 Absolutely Free Online Business Videos & Lectures

I know you will appreciate this very simple video-drawing-flip-chart… not to mention the message!

Just click on the drawing (you’ll see a white arrow) and click each time to flip to the next page.

Well done!

Let Out the Creative Beast – by Betsy Streeter

Haven’t you noticed this before? I have … but never would have guessed…

Read: … Why Creative Folks Blink a Lot (article from Psychology Today) by Scott Barry Kaufman…

Concluding lines:

“… At any rate, this study is important. Next time you’re chatting with someone and they seem to be blinking an awful lot, instead of looking at them like they are crazy, hire them. Chances are, they’ll be flexible thinkers.”

I just thought it was something I got in my eye … ha ha … go figure!

John talks about songwriting, and the music business, in general, at CareerCampLA … an “un-conference” that was held last Saturday, March 27, 2010, in Northridge, California.

It’s about 45 minutes… video made by our friend, Joseph Welch (age 12!) …

Click here:   JOHN BRAHENY speaks about SONGWRITING, and the MUSIC BUSINESS

Enjoy!

For some reason, I’m finding a ‘rash’ of current articles about something you may have experienced…

As you know, brainstorming sessions are when/where people get together to focus on a specific topic, and are asked to volunteer their thoughts, feelings, ideas, reactions, etc.  Studies are showing that they may not be as productive (creatively speaking) as we once thought. So goes the current assumption…

In my opinion, the “success” of the sessions depends greatly on a myriad of factors including physical location, amount of time provided, the leader (who is aware — or not — of all these factors), the participants, and most of all, the pressure or stress of any expectations anyone has! (Whew!)

The articles I’m finding, basically tell us that we are each so busy wanting to be in agreement, maybe with a leader, or a stronger personality in the group, that the so-called creativity is diminished.

I can’t help but wonder what kinds of groups are being assembled… and what the directives are, once they’re gathered together.

Someone needs to say, somewhere in these articles, that there is a vast difference in how brainstorming sessions are run (or not run).

In the meanwhile, here are links to two articles about why ‘traditional brainstorming’ (what is that?) might not be providing the creativity one had hoped… I am so not surprised!

http://behavioralhealthcentral.com/index.php/20100330218207/Clinical-News/brainstorming-and-creativity-do-not-go-hand-in-hand.html

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201003/brainstorming-may-discourage-creativity

More to come… including stories of successful brainstorming sessions!  Yes! They CAN happen!

And no, this isn’t for April Fool’s!

But, for those of you who do write fiction … and for those of you who make art … take a look at this site.

Click:  A FLY IN AMBER.

They seem to have some interesting stories… and art… and might be open to publishing your work too.

They are a monthly … so look through the archives to see various examples.

Read the requirements for submitting… and let me know if you do get something published here.

Also, let me know if you know of other quality sites that are good for writers… thank you!

Thanks to Joseph Welch (age 12) for taking a video of my class, last week, at CareerCampLA!  More info to come…

It’s titled: Career Path Patterns (or Why the Corporate Ladder May Not Be For You) … approx. 40 min.

I hope this will give you an idea of what I do! Enjoy!

OK, it’s true. I’m a sucker for articles like this… especially when they advise me to shorten my emails (down to 3 or 4 sentences) because I am a bit wordy… as you might have noticed!

And I like it when someone else reminds me to B-R-E-A-T-H-E … because I do tend to hurry.

So check these out… from one of my very favorite blogs, ZenHabits.net.

CLICK:   13 SMALL THINGS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR WORKDAY!

Here’s another good one I found online at the Huffington Post … good to read this article whether you’re a singer or non-singer.

Arthur Rosenfeld writes How to Heal Yourself with Your Own Voice.

For those of you who chant or “ohmm” in your meditation practice, you’ll find this very interesting! Six healing sounds that affect different organs in your body…

Enjoy…