7 Power Questions All Creators Should Ask

“What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
- Mary Oliver

Today at Creative Journey Cafe, we’re going to get a little bit deep. Why not? Clarity is a good thing, right? Right!

Below are 7 power questions that I think all creators should ask. Don’t panic if you don’t know the answers yet. Just stir them into your subconscious like sugar in your coffee, and see if over time your creative life gets a whole lot sweeter.

Ready? You sure? These are BIG questions now. Okay, Here we go:

1. What kind of creative legacy do you want to leave behind?
Why not start with the heaviest question of all? If our life is a parentheses in eternity, that means we have a limited amount of time to create and leave something behind. The key here is not to panic but to gain clarity, to start producing or being the thing we want to leave for the world. You might want to write that novel, or be the world’s greatest mother. Why not think it over?

2. Is what you’re currently creating an expression of who you truly are?
If the answer is no then you’re not moving toward leaving the creative legacy you desire. It’s very easy to get caught up creating for other people instead of producing work that is an expression of YOU. If you’re not carving out time to create from YOUR heart, you probably feel a constant nagging sensation. You feel unsatisfied. The only way to find peace is to do the work you were born to do and to share your talent with others to improve their lives.

3. What is your best skill, and are you doing that?
Do you know what you’re best at? Do you dismiss certain talents? Some people tell me they have no talent, but their personalities are warm, friendly and social. Guess what? That’s a talent! Use it!

4. What is it about you (and your style) that stands out from the pack, and are you doing that?
What can you do that I can’t do? Even if you’re surrounded by a dozen talented people who offer the same thing you do, what do you do better? Do that and you’ll succeed!

5. Are you clear about who (and what) your top 5 creative influences are?
Make a list of your top 5 creative heroes, then list their best character traits. Next, find the similarities between them. That’s you. Or rather, that’s who you want to be. This can immediately give clarity and purpose to your life and your creativity.

6. What 10 steps, if you took them, would earn you more money with your creativity?
There’s nothing like a little concentrated focus - or the power of an empowering question - to give you empowering answers. An additional question might be, What would I have to do to triple my income this year?

7. How can you volunteer your creative talent to improve the lives of those less fortunate?
There is no greater feeling on earth than volunteering your unique talent to improve the lives of the sick, elderly, or homeless. I guarantee, you will never again wonder what your purpose in life is.

Can you think of any other empowering questions for us? Leave a comment!

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I’ve gotta say, these iTunes TV spots are amazing. The colors, the silhouttes, the exciting music, and the editing - wow. Really creative, captivating stuff.

Here’s the new one (below) featuring Coldplay performing their new single, Viva La Vida. I can’t keep my eyes off this thing. I get a chill watching the band perform here too - the same way I used to feel about U2. Anyway, the first time I saw this ad I loved the song and immediately downloaded it from iTunes. Now that’s effective marketing!

Enjoy the video, and then tell us what you think about these ads. Do they sell you? If so, why? Leave a comment (below the video)!

“I used to call it Scrambled Eggs.” - Paul McCartney, referring to the working title of his famous Beatles song, Yesterday.

I’m convinced that a great title is one of the biggest keys to success for any book, movie, song, or business.

A great title gets you in the door. It sparks a flame of curiosity in your audience that makes them want to investigate further.

I’m amazed at how many Hollywood films are released with really boring, forgettable titles. Even with big-name stars attached, these movies are dead on arrival.

Basic
Man of the Year
Hollywood Homicide
Two For The Money

Do you remember those films? Do you care? Me either! Guess what? They all came out within the past six years and starred John Travolta, Robin Williams, Harrison Ford, and Al Pacino. They could be the best movies in the world but the titles don’t excite me enough to want to see them. They’re too bland and vague.

Compare them to these memorable titles:

Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, Mission Impossible, Back to the Future, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, The Karate Kid, Kill Bill, Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives.

Kinda grab you, don’t they? They’re intriguing, urgent, funny, interesting. They spark our curiosity. They’re also visual - they put pictures in our heads that tease us and make us want to see the action they promise.

How about hit songs?

Heartbreak Hotel, When Doves Cry, Werewolves of London, Sunday Bloody Sunday, All My Exes Live in Texas, Runnin’ With The Devil, Careless Whisper, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Lady is a Tramp.

Or some popular books:

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Conversations With God, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Alice in Wonderland, Green Eggs and Ham, Where the Wild Things Are.

‘Name’ titles tend to be popular and safe:

Charlotte’s Web, Carrie, Casablanca, Jerry Maguire, Ocean’s Eleven, Forrest Gump, Titanic.

Name titles make you curious about who the people are and why an entire movie or book is devoted to them.

Sure, there are many successful creations with bland titles. I can’t name one song title by the band New Order, but I can still sing their tunes. Titles like A Few Good Men, and Contact don’t elicit much excitement, but they have great plots and actors attached. Battlefield Earth is a pretty cool title, but we know what happened there. So who knows why some succeed while others don’t.

Why not strive to make your titles stand out? Why not make them memorable, catchy, intriguing, funny, quirky, or mysterious?

Give us a title we’ll always remember!

Thoughts? Leave a comment!

“Trust me.” - Indiana Jones

The new Indy movie is out this week, so I thought we’d celebrate with some creative lessons from our favorite swashbuckling archaeologist.

1. He’s the best in his field.
When you need an archaeologist, who you gonna call? Indy, of course! When the U.S. government needs to find the lost ark before the Nazis do, they hire Dr. Jones. Are you the Indiana Jones of your field? Why not go for it?

2. Nothing stops Indy from reaching his goal.
Not snakes, rats, Nazis, poison darts, killer swordsman, heck, not even Hitler himself. Do you let the Nazis in your life (or in your head) stop you from reaching your dreams? If Indy can shrug off a few taranchulas without batting an eye, surely we can keep working through a few minor setbacks or sniffles. We’ve gotta be more like Indy and keep crackin’ that whip!

3. He’s an adventurer, but he’s gotta pay the bills.
…So he teaches “part time”, like a normal guy. He works a job that he likes - a job that helps other people. This allows him to have his adventures and live his ‘truer’ life as a creative hero. Sound familiar?

4. He takes bold, creative risks.
Indy takes bold leaps of faith, whether it’s jumping across wide chasms or drinking from the Holy Grail even when he knows his face might melt off if he chooses “poorly”. He trusts his instincts and takes chances, “making it up” as he goes…

5. He can “let go” of the prize, because in the end it’s all about the creative journey.
How ironic: Indy nearly kills himself a thousand different ways trying to reach his goal, and when he finally captures the prize, he’s forced to let it go and move on to the next adventure. Think about it: at the end of Raiders, the army takes the ark, sticks it in a box, and hides it in a warehouse. At the end of Temple of Doom, he returns the Shankara Stones to the village, giving up “fortune and glory”. At the end of Last Crusade, he’s able to “let go” of the Holy Grail after the real goal is achieved - healing his relationship with his father.

Can you think of anything else we can learn from Indy? Leave your adventurous comment!

“You’ll see it when you believe it.” - Wayne Dyer

Are you open to magical things happening to you on your creative journey?

Do you expect little miracles? Do amazing things occur that you can’t explain?

Like the other day, when I randomly bumped into Bruce Springsteen at - wouldn’t ya know - a cafe.

I’m not kidding - I met The Boss.

Here’s how it happened:

I was in Concord, Massachusetts on Main Street, when I stepped into a cafe to use the restroom. On my way out I see Bruce walk into the joint with a young lady that I assume was his daughter. I was like, holy crap, that’s Bruce Springsteen.

He got in line to order his sandwich. I had to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me, so I got in line behind him. I knew it was him when he spoke - in that cool, raspy voice.

I had to say something. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. I’ve got most of his albums, including his new one, which happens to be called Magic. (It was right there in my iPhone.)

I found a moment when I wouldn’t interrupt him. I gave him a friendly pat on the back and whispered, “Hey man - just want to say thanks for all the great music.”

In retrospect, I can’t believe I called Bruce Springsteen “Man”, but it just flew out of my mouth. He seemed like such a regular dude standing there waiting to order a sandwich. I also didn’t want to blow his cover by yelling, “Hey! Aren’t you Bruce Springsteen?!”

Anyway, Bruce turned to me, smiled, and said, “Aw, thanks man, thanks a lot.” and shook my hand.

Have you ever wondered what you’d say to your creative idols if you ever met them? I decided a while ago that “thank you” would do in a pinch.

I confess, I was really tempted to keep gabbing with Bruce. I wanted to tell him how much I love his new album, how Hungry Heart was one of the first records I ever bought, how I used to listen to Thunder Road over and over and that I learned it on guitar. I wanted to take my picture with him. On and on.

But in the end I mostly wanted him to enjoy being a regular person in a cafe with his daughter, so I didn’t do any of that stuff. Shaking his hand was amazing enough.

I think that when you put your intention on something - intensely - over a period of time, you manifest it. So in a way, I’m not entirely surprised I had that dream-like moment with Springsteen.

Coincidence? Synchronicity? Law of Attraction?

A few weeks ago I ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen in four years - someone I’d been thinking about for two weeks, intending to email but not doing it. Then whammo - we bump into each other at the mall. I have no doubt - not a shred of doubt - that it was real magic. It was the result of invisible forces, the power of thought, something beyond logic or coincidence, because the odds were too impossible.

So…what about you?

Do you believe in magic? Do you expect it to happen to you?

Because I can’t help but think that if it happens once - if you experience it - that means it’s real. And no matter how many mundane days you have in between, you know those magic moments can happen again, around any corner, at any cafe.

Any magic thoughts to share? Leave a comment!

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
- John Lennon

Are you a daydreamer? Chances are if you’re visiting Creative Journey Cafe, you are. You were the kid in math class who used to doodle on your book cover, or stare out the window watching clouds drift by, right?

Daydreaming gets a bad rap, though, don’t you think? To the outside world, it looks an awful lot like wasting time.

But think about it - what would life be like if we didn’t daydream?

You might enjoy this quick story about my friend Ted’s dad - a published novelist:

One day his wife saw him sitting at the kitchen table, staring out the window, doing nothing. After an hour of this she had enough; there was housework to do and she let him know it. He slowly turned his gaze from the window, looked at her and said, “I’m writing.”

It all starts with a daydream, doesn’t it? The novels, the buildings, the paintings…

I remember one bright weekday morning several years ago, I felt inspired to write a poem. I’ll never forget - it was 10am, and there I was “goofing off” - daydreaming - writing this poem while all my ‘responsible’ friends were at their 9 to 5 jobs, wearing ties and bringing home the bacon. I felt totally irresponsible at that moment, yet excited about what I’d written.

Later that day I discussed this experience with my friend Pete. I told him that I felt guilty for writing the poem at 10am on a workday. He looked at me, almost confused, and said, “But that’s your job.”

Coming from Pete, who is one of the most responsible corporate types I know, those words meant a lot. It was as if I finally had permission to daydream, to be an artist, to live a life different from most people.

Of course, daydreaming isn’t enough if your goal is to publish that book, or become a great actor. Daydreaming followed by action is when the real magic happens.

Turning a daydream into reality is one of the most satisfying feelings we can have.

So…are you a daydreamer? What did you daydream into reality?

Be sure to tell us by leaving a comment!

I’ll let you off the hook right away. If you’re not a Prince fan, you can skip today’s entry.

However!

If you want to see something truly remarkable…
If you want to watch a true creative genius at work…
If you want to witness a creator who is completely plugged into higher spiritual forces…
Then you’ve got to watch this video! (below)

Let me set it up for you:
The video begins with Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and George Harrison’s son performing While My Guitar Gently Weeps as a tribute to George Harrison at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show from a few years back.

As you’ll see, Petty & Co. play for about 3.5 minutes when all of a sudden Prince beams down from the Mothership wearing a red hat and an electric guitar.

What happens next makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck every time I see it. Be sure to watch the whole video so you can experience what is, to me, abundantly and undisputably clear; there are talented rock musicians, and then there is…Prince.

Leave a comment!

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”
- Helen Keller

Want to know a great way to summon your best creativity?

Strive to make something undeniably good.

I realize I’m walking a slippery slope by saying this. I know it’s all relative. What’s undeniably good to me, might not be undeniably good to you. Two people can watch the same movie, and one person thinks it’s fantastic while the other thinks it’s awful.

But that’s not really what I mean. My point is…

Even if you don’t like The Beatles, you can’t deny it - they were undeniably good.

Even if Hemingway isn’t your cup of tea, you can’t deny it - his novels are undeniably good.

You recognize the skill, the craftsmanship, the ingenuity, the quality.

When I made my first picture book, I had no publisher lined up. I made all the pictures from start to finish. I had one goal: make the pictures undeniably good. Make them so good that no publisher could resist them. I realize that might sound arrogant, but it was a great goal. It gave me the fuel to reach a higher standard.

As I made each illustration, I showed them to my art buddies, many of whom are more talented than me. I knew I had to create work that was on their level. Something undeniably good.

Am I talking perfection? No way. There’s always room for improvement, and there’s always someone better or more skilled out there.

The point is to ask yourself if what you’re creating is something most reasonable people might look at and say, “Yup, that is undeniably good.”

If you can recognize good, professional quality, then you already know what it takes to do this. Everytime you admire someone else’s creation, you know what it takes.

Why stop there? Why not create something undeniably outstanding, remarkable or unprecedented? Sure, that might be for others to judge, and of course the primary goal is to create for the love of it, without judgement.

But it’s something fun to consider, isn’t it?

What do you think? Leave a comment!

“I’ve always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that, because then anything can happen.” - Miles Davis

Years ago I was listening to the radio when Steely Dan’s song Peg came on. I’d heard it a thousand times, but that day I noticed something particularly cool about it.

The guitar solo is completely nasty. It’s distorted, rough…messy…kind of all over the place. It’s the guitar solo equivalent of coloring outside the lines. It sounds totally improvised, spontaneous and free.

However, underneath the guitar solo is a silky-smooth groove. The bass part is tight and funky yet barely noticeable. It keeps the song moving.

The contrast between the ugly, unbridled guitar solo and the slick, orderly bass line combine to make a truly fantastic song.

Musicians know what I’m talking about. Combining different sound textures is like mixing different ingredients to bake a delicious cake.

Prince once said that when he creates a song, he considers each instrument - each sound - a color. When it’s time for him to choose a keyboard sound, he already knows what color he needs to paint the perfect tune.

Below is a video of Miles Davis and John Coltrane performing. As you listen, notice how at first your focus is on Miles and what he’s playing (because he’s on camera), but then ask yourself…

What is the piano doing? (Or even better, what is the piano not doing?)
What is the bass doing?
What is the drummer doing?

Focus on each instrument for a little while, and then marvel at how they combine to create something cohesive and amazing. Enjoy, and leave your comments!

Here’s a little something for Mom. And to all the moms out there…the ultimate creators, without whom we wouldn’t be here!