Tag: creativity

Review

Feck Perfuction – Final Thoughts

Krista Walsh

Yesterday I wrapped up James Victore’s Feck Perfuction, and I have some final thoughts.

If you are a creative person, read this book.

If you are debating whether to start out on a new branch in life, read this book.

Basically, if you’re looking for some tough love to help you tackle your fear and just GO FOR IT, read this book.

From start to finish, these little one-page thoughts reinforced what some important people in my life have always told me/what I try to tell myself when the going gets tough.

Accept the fear, embrace it, love it, and do it anyway.

I plan to keep this book in my office and open a random page as often as I can for a fresh kick in the pants and an affirmation that I’m doing the only thing that will make me happy, no matter how terrifying.

Have you read this book yet? What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Review

Find your Inspiration

Krista Walsh

You guys know I love talking about inspiration. I love doing what I can to motivation people to discover and explore their own creative selves.

I’ve given talks about it (and I fall into the “more afraid of public speaking than death” group) because it touches such a fiery place in my heart so I can’t shut up about it.

I’ve written numerous blog posts about it.

I still don’t feel that I’ve quite hit on the right note to really express my own opinions/thoughts/passions about finding your art, your inspiration, your raison d’etre.

So until I do, I’ll send you off to James Victore and his kick in the pants book Feck Perfuction.

He goes for the tough love.

He promotes the idea that to live your life according to someone else’s wishes is to live unfulfilled and, therefore, what’s the point?

He pushes you to go after who you believe yourself to be, to embrace your weird, your voice, and have a f*cking opinion.

I’m almost halfway through the book so far after a recommendation from my husband, and I’ve already hit lots of quotations I just want to tattoo all over myself so I remember that risks are necessary for happiness.

It’s a short read, with full pages just doodles/mottos to remember and little one-page anecdotes to ponder over.

So if you’re looking for something to light the fire in your creativity and spur you on to finish/start your next project, pick this one up and give it a try.

Already read it? I’m interested in your thoughts! Let me know in the comments below.

There won’t be a post from me next week — it’s Canada Day and I’ll just be getting back from a weekend away, but I’ll be back on July 8th!

Thoughts, writing

Working Through Distract-huh?

Krista Walsh

Working under the dream conditions is, well, the dream.

The perfect view, the perfect volume level, the perfect temperature. No one walking into the room. The kids quiet. The pets asleep.

Ahh…

But how often does that happen?

And, honestly, how easy is it to work when you finally get there? Are you able to actually focus, or do you tend to find reasons to put off starting. Picking the right music, adjusting the height of your chair. Making sure the cat’s still breathing.

Distractions are everywhere — so how do you work through them?

I write my blog posts on Mondays while my husband sits beside me and plays video games or watches youTube videos. Despite the noise, despite his cursing and swearing after he gets his ass handed to him for the 30th time in a row playing Sekiro, I do my best to write some at least semi-coherent blog posts that have something useful to offer.

Some days, it’s not easy. The focus isn’t there, and watching him work not to throw his controller across the room is far more entertaining that figuring out what words to put on the page.

But I get there.

Usually.

My personal trick? Honestly? Persevering. Buckling down, tuning out as much as I can, and taking things one sentence at a time.

So, really, the same trick I use to get my work done on the best day.

Not to say it’s always like that. In coffee shops or out in public, I’m a headphones in, music loud kind of girl. Drown out all the ambient noise and pick my own poison.

At home, in the “best conditions,” I voluntarily distract myself with Spider Solitaire every 500-1000 words, slowly stretching out the break times, which makes it easier to focus in between.

The distractions never go away, so if we let them stop us, we’d never get anything done.

What are you methods of drowning out the world to tackle your projects? Let me know in the comments!