February 2016 - tiffanyprochera.com

marie-forleo-b-school-founder Hey guys!

Let me put something out there. Fear is a natural part of life, almost a given. Whenever we experience any amount of uncertainty in our lives, it has the great potential to manifest as fear on some level . And as creative people desiring to innovate and try new things, that uncertainty and, by extension, fear can seem to be a daily occurrence.

It certainly is for me. I know that every time I start a new project or sit down to work, I wonder if it’s what I’m supposed to be doing, if I’m going to be proud of it, if it’s going to be successful. All that jazz.

So, how do we deal with it? Do we wish the fear away? Do we just pretend like it doesn’t exist?

I am a big fan of Marie Forleo, a business guru from New Jersey who teaches entrepreneurs to create their businesses from a place of love and compassion and a true desire to contribute goodness to the world. I took her B-School course a couple of years back and it has totally changed that way I do things. Even this existence of this blog is a result of her wisdom!

Marie’s latest blog post, an episode of MarieTV, is all about working with through your fear – not trying to wrestle it to the ground.

And how can you do that?

Well, the secret is a process called “flashlighting”. Instead of focusing on how scared you are, painfully second-guessing every stroke of the brush or every word on the paper and how it will make or break your career, try focusing outside of yourself. Put your attention on the work and the story you have been assigned by the Muses to tell. Put your attention on the people who are going to be moved and inspired by what you are doing. In doing so, you mission as a creator will become more clear and you will be inspired to move past your fear and attend to your divine purpose.

I highly recommend you check out the complete episode of MarieTV here and consider registering for the upcoming B-School if you are a creative person striving to build a business that changes lives!

In some Swimming Tigress Music News, I’ve got a couple of new instrumental tracks for y’all. Check out the videos and then if you are interested in using these track for your next project or need a composer to do a custom score, get in touch through the contact page!

big magic 2 Hey guys!

Right now, I’m watching Eat Pray Love for about the 6^th time on TV. I love the sense of adventure and reinventing yourself! And, well, who wouldn’t enjoy eating a margherita pizza in Naples?!

So, of course, today’s blog post has to be about Elizabeth Gilbert.

I recently read her latest offering, Big Magic – all about the mystery and magic of creativity – and every chapter seemed to bring a new revelation or point to ponder. Some ideas I am absolutely on board with, others I’m just not sure how I feel about them yet.

Have you ever thought about what you expect from your creativity? Do you expect your creativity to bring you world fame? Have about millions of dollars or at least a reasonable living? How about a different understanding of the world, a greater sense of meaning that you can then share with others?

Well, how about this? Gilbert’s take on creativity is that it, in fact, does not owe us anything.

According to Gilbert, each idea is is a living, breathing entity looking for a place to happen, on a search for expression, and you should feel incredibly honoured if it chooses you as its channeling vessel. If you ignore it, it will move on to someone else – she has a crazy story about an idea that left her and found a new home – and if you expect anything from it other than the joy and frustration that comes with the act of creation itself, you are stifling it and potentially scaring it off.

Can’t say I’m not guilty of all of this myself. I have passed on ideas because I didn’t take the time to write them down and then, of course, forgotten them later on. I’ve had expectations that a work is supposed to be my break out thing, that it’s supposed to make me x amount of dollars within the year, that it’s going to affect specific people. I’ve even wrestled songs and stories to the ground to make sure they convey the message I want them to convey, which may not be the message they came here to convey.

So, apparently, a more effective goal might be to embrace and invite creativity – even woo and seduce it – and if you somehow get paid or get recognized for it, great. And if that happens on a relatively frequent basis, you might be secure enough financially to quit your day joy and engage in it full time. But you should never place such pressure on it because the work, the creativity, needs to be what it’s going to be and not what you want it to be.

So, my question is, what is your relationship to your creativity? What kind of expectations have you placed on it? Are those expectations working for you or is it time to, perhaps, re-evaluate, reschedule and reconfigure so that you get the best of all worlds?

I will leave you with that thought for today. Enjoy and please share your thoughts in the comment section below! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!

Archives for February 2016

Dealing With Fear – Some Tips From Marie Forleo

Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic” and Weighing Down Your Creativity

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