WE ALL START FROM THE SAME PLACE

2019-08-23T02:22:34+01:00

How obsessed have you become with your social media following?

The amount of people on your email list?

Your overall popularity & success?

Are you comparing yourself to the people you admire, and wondering why your business isn’t growing as fast as theirs?

Are you wondering what it’s going to take to get you to the coveted 6 figure status?

I got a major download from the universe today, I know exactly what’s going on…

On my morning walk through the streets of Barcelona with my sweet dogs today, I was struck with this overwhelming feeling of a powerful realization emerging. I tend to be quite introverted about my musings, but my spirit is telling me that I need to continue sharing these ideas, these little gems…

I was thinking about my life and the successes and failures that I have had (or think I’ve had) over the years. I was remembering the wise words of some of the amazing visionaries and mentors that I have met along the journey, and just feeling their spirit of tenacity stirring in my bones.

We never really know what kind of effect we have on other people, or if anyone is even listening to what we say. Does that mean we should stop being ourselves, cave in and follow the crowd?

I was thinking about the concept of success and how this whole online universe has really changed the entire world. So many people trying to be seen and heard, make money, get rich, get famous. All overnight!

The digital landscape has become very, very loud

It embodies the chaos and the hustle & bustle of 42nd St in NYC times a bazillion.

On a daily basis, we get bombarded by emails, tweets, instagram likes and unlikes, follows and unfollows, periscope, snapchat, youtube, facebook…and it becomes a viscious cycle of social media obsession for attention and approval!

Are you guilty of waking up in the morning and looking at your phone before you even get out of bed?

No blame here, I do it too, and I am realizing how much it is affecting my personal equilibrium as well as my own ability to stay in alignment with my passion, power and purpose.

In the process of growing your own social media following, your mailing list and your business in general – are you comparing yourself to other people? I think it’s really normal to do so, but the thing is, you CAN’T! You can not compare yourself to anyone else if you want to stay sane and feel confident in yourself and actually make real progress!

I know that its easy to say that, and really challenging to stay focused only on what you are creating without all the noise in your head shouting at you telling you that you aren’t doing it fast enough, big enough, or good enough as him or her or them. I know!!!

We are living in a crazy time that is juicy + majestic + potent + insane  – all at once!!!

So the realization started to pour into my body as the flashes of faces of really successful people I have worked with appeared in my mind. A rush of love started pouring through my body and I heard the message, “we all start from the same place.”

It was almost like a mantra that kept repeating itself to me over and over so I could really absorb its full meaning, and I started saying it to myself out loud in the park with the dogs….we all start from the same place, we all start from the same freaking place!!!!!!!!

I just allowed that essence move through me like a calming bath of true awakening. I swam in the idea that it doesnt matter what anyone else that inspires me is doing or has done.

It only matters that I keep up with my own Daily Zen, the practice of showing up for my life and my work

The practice of continuing to expand and share my messages with other people in exactly the perfect way that is in harmony with my truth. I cant look at anyone else and compare myself to them, and neither can you (at least I hope you won’t, because it doesn’t do you any good).

You know the funny thing is I have actually worked with a lot of celebrities that most people would drool over and you would not believe how they perceive their own success. These are people who you would think “have it all” and the ridiculous thing is that they almost NEVER think so! They keep comparing themselves to other people, and challenging themselves to move higher and become better or more successful. They never feel like they have made it!

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As long as we are here on planet Earth, we are always going to feel there is more we can do. The secret is that we just have to be at peace with that understanding, and keep focused on the breath of life. Giving and receiving over and over and over.

I think if you want to build a successful business and a life that makes you smile from ear to ear, the big secret is to love where you are unconditionally and to just keep sharing from your spirit. Stop focusing so much on success (what you are getting) and keep your mind focused on what you give…and enjoy every moment.

So the next time you find yourself caught in The Land Of Comparisonitis, just remember even they started from the beginning, with zero fans and zero followers and absolutely zero people interested in anything they were doing or had to say!!! I promise, it will help you stay aligned with your own adventure.

WE ALL START FROM THE SAME PLACE2019-08-23T02:22:34+01:00

THE SECRET POWER OF WORDS (HOW TO BUILD A POWERFUL BRAND)

2017-02-22T01:25:51+01:00

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR TRUE VOICE YET?

Do you know who you are as a creator and entrepreneur?

Have you found your true identity?

Let me go out on a very small limb and answer for you…

Probably no… (but it’s really not your fault).

Here’s the deal –

Most cultures encourage us to play it safe, follow the crowd, and find a way to fit in.

Most modern families encourage their kin to get a good education, get a good job, find a nice person to settle down with, have a family and essentially play by the rules until you die.

So if you (daring entrepreneur!) have decided to follow your own path (adventurer!), take a gamble on your own ideas (risktaker!) and follow the road less traveled (wise sage!), chances are there haven’t been too many great visionaries to light the way.

Chances are most people who have found their true voice aren’t showing you how to find yours.

So to begin on this amazing adventure of becoming your best self who makes a great living from your own creations…

Are you taking risks, or are you still playing it safe?

Have you been hitting walls with your business and not really understanding why you cant get past them?

Are you afraid to be bolder, brighter and bigger?

Are you actually resisting your own prosperity and abundance – or are you owning it all?

Are you shining bright, or hiding in the corner biting your nails wondering what it’s gonna take?

DLM - BLOG - THE SECRET POWER OF WORDS 3- SAFE

SO DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

You can only get to that amazing place of true wealth/empowerment/alignment when you embrace everything you are.

When the words and the vision merge and you create your own symphony.

Let me explain…

Words are very powerful.

As a passionate writer and a lover of language, I truly understand this.

Identity is supremely strong, and most of us cling to our own.

Inside each of us, we tell ourselves a story about who we are, and what our identity is (then act accordingly).

We rarely expand beyond this or challenge our identity. EVER!

DO YOU KNOW YOUR BRAND’S IDENTITY?

We tell ourselves words and phrases that adhere to this identity, and build it up so other people can see that these words define us. We are afraid to own other words and other parts of our humanity because they challenge our status, and the status quo.

We reject certain words, and certain parts of ourselves because we have decided they are poisonous to our greatness.

But what if the foundational secret to becoming our most powerful self, to building our brilliant business empires, to creating our own lasting legacy lies in reclaiming our darkest selves.

What if in order to become brighter we must go deeper into our darkness?

This can be interpreted in the wrong way, so please stay with me on the journey here…..

Let me share a little story about the voice itself.

In order to train the voice as a singer, you have to do scales and all kinds of vocal gymnastics. I have been singing (and training with masters) since I was very young. In all my studies, the most powerful method I ever found to expand my vocal range and step into my true vocal power was by going deeper into the lowest part of my voice. By staying in the deeper parts, and places that are uncomfortable to reside, the top part of my range would naturally expand (without any effort). By relaxing into my darkness, the brightness would emerge.

My favorite methods were always taught to me by Indian Masters. They understand secrets that go beyond music and know that the voice is just an instrument for divine energy to flow. Just like your life (and biz) is an instrument for divine energy to flow.

So if you own the darkness, the light will expand.

If you own the things you don’t want people to say about you, it has zero power over you because you know you are everything (or as I like to say, “every color of the rainbow and then some”).

So why are we so scared of the ugly words? Why are we afraid to own them?

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These days in pop music and pop culture the artists who reclaim words and give them new meaning, are the pioneers of our time.

These rebels are willing to shake you up to get your attention because they know how to excite and agitate you all at once. They make it “safe” to say/sing things that are impolite, politically incorrect and sometimes downright nasty.

They make it good to be bad.

So I am wondering…

ARE YOU PLAYING IT SAFE IN YOUR BUSINESS?

ARE YOU AFRAID OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK? 

Are you trying to please everyone in the hopes that it will translate to more business? If you are watering down your (amazing) personality so you can fit into a box, eventually you are going to go mad and want to get out.

Eventually you are going to hate everything you are doing (no matter how much money it makes) because it won’t be an authentic representation of you.

It starts with clarity about your big “why” and your core values/mission. Then your passion and purpose flows down into your visual identity and the words surrounding that, so other people can really experience what you stand for and why they need to work with you/buy your products/services.

Without this identity, people have a hard time seeing you. Without clear definitions in words, other people will be the one’s to define you, and you might not like what they have to say. Therefore, it’s up to you to cultivate the culture of your brand and nurture it so it truly represents your ideals.

DLM - BLOG - THE SECRET POWER OF WORDS

In business there have been some amazing rebels and risk takers who use language to generate new brands that defy tradition and create new cultures. Sophia Amoruso, the creator of Nasty Gal, and the recent hit book “Girlboss” made it cool to be a different kind of girl than most other brands represented and she tapped into a whole community of females who identified with her vision. She built a business based on her ideals and now she’s the one setting the trends. Her current net worth = $250 million. Take that, playing by the rules!!!

So, if you are willing to take big risks, and be bold – the world is waiting for you.

If you need some help getting there, I’ve got your back.

Following your muse and doing something exciting and truly groundbreaking will definitely pay off if you know how to take whats inside of you and express it for other people to experience!

THE SECRET POWER OF WORDS (HOW TO BUILD A POWERFUL BRAND)2017-02-22T01:25:51+01:00

MY TEN TIPS FOR WORKING AT HOME

2017-02-22T01:25:51+01:00

For the past four years, I have been working for myself from my home office/studio in Barcelona, Spain. Before that I lived in Brooklyn, NY and had a home office/studio where I also worked part-time when I wasn’t running all over the city doing makeup or performing in clubs.

Let me tell you, when you work from home – it’s very easy to stay in pajamas with your hair up in a messy bun and no makeup all day because you know that unless you have a Skype meeting with a client, nobody cares what you look like, right?

Well, I realized I wasn’t operating at full potential and have made some powerful changes. I am not perfect so I sometimes slip and go back to old habits. I didn’t learn these things from being great at first – you really just have to start where you are and learn along the way. I see now that if I’d had my future self as a coach helping me back when I was making mistake after mistake, I would be a lot happier, richer, and more productive!

I also created some POWERFUL tools just for you to download FREE HERE to help you be much more productive. I’m a solutions creator. It’s called The Samurai Productivity Toolkit – ‘cuz I know you want to kick some booty in life and business!!!

Diamond life media- Samurai Productivity toolkit

The Samurai Productivity Toolkit will  help you:

+Track your time

+Create a schedule

+Set your intentions each week

+Create a Morning Ritual

+Define Your Week’s Focus

+Keep you on track

I wanted to share this information with you because I wish someone else who understood a creative wild woman like me would have told me all this much sooner. It would have saved me a lot of time, money and heartache. I know it will help you too – Let’s do this!

#1 – Create A Schedule

Yes it’s amazing to be your own boss. But sometimes you need to treat yourself like you actually work for someone else – and you do! You work for your clients and your tribe so it won’t work to be a slacker and just do whatever you want, whenever you want (unless you want to go back to your day job!). Now, one of the great benefits of creating your own biz and being your own boss is deciding when you want to work and how. For example, I am not really good at working on other people’s projects first thing in the morning. I feel really creative at this time of day, and I have discovered that its best for me to spend my time in my genius zone first thing in the morning which leads me to…

#2-Create A Morning Ritual

To me the first hour in my day is sacred. I have not always treated it as such. But I know from my own failures that when I start the day out with intention it flows into grace. Meditation, mantra, hot water with lemon, green juice and green tea – these are some of the things that connect me to my body, mind and soul. Writing in my journal is another one. I love Julia Cameron’s promt from her best selling book “The Artist’s Way” – to start the day with 3 morning pages. When I get this right, I feel powerful and purposeful. What do you need to do to feel like you have stepped into your strength and are living with passion and purpose?

#3 – Discover Your Power Hours

There are certain times of day in which I feel the most connected to my own spirit, and after several years of confusion and struggling, I have discovered that early in the morning and late in the night I am really internal and these are the BEST times for me to do my own creating for myself. It’s the time when most other people are quiet that I feel like I can really hear the magic. Specifically, writing songs, designing new products or programs, making art/designs/posters, dreaming new ideas…anything original that comes from my spirit. I also realized that one of the reasons I hated working at a day job was having to give these sacred times to someone else. GRRrrrRRRR!!!!! Like a lioness, I fiercely protect these sacred power hours and love that I get them to myself. When do you feel most connected to your spirit?

#4- Stay Liquid

I will be the first to admit, I am not a big drinker. Especially not alcohol. I prefer to eat. When I get invited to parties or dinners and  people ask, “what can I get you to drink?,” I’m secretly thinking – Who CARES!!! Do you have anything to eat?!! HAHAHAHA!!!! So even though I actually have been known for living for 92 days on juice just 2 years ago and many people know me as the juice girl, I forget to drink water. I eat a lot of raw fruits and veggies, so I think it might fill me up. I try to start the day off with a little ritual of 1 glass of water with lemon, a hot water with lemon and a green tea. (I said I TRY!!!) and then after that I usually make a juice and/or a smoothie (so you can see why I don’t really feel thirsty later in the day).

A new thing I am doing is to make several green teas in 12oz glass jars and keep one on my desk as I work. I have not been the most successful with this. (hey, at least I am honest!). I think I recently realized that plain water just isn’t turning me on. Does that happen to you? Adding in some lemon, mint, &/or orange slices is yummy. Drinking herbal and green teas works too. Green Juice gives you extra points, and if you want to stay energized all day I highly recommend adding acai powder to some pineapple juice. Forget coffee, which ages your skin, and strips 2 cups of water from your system leaving you depleted and haggard (remember, I am a makeup artist – I could always tell who drank even just one cup of coffee a day! GASP!). If you can drink coconut water, or make smoothies with them – you will stay well hydrated. Staying hydrated keeps your body and your brain working properly. When you get dehydrated you just cant think or function properly. I know, it’s happened to me. I tried using an app to remind me to drink (I think it was called Water Your Body) – but then it made me feel like a Stepford Wife every time it rang and I just could n’t deal with it. So I had to just figure out what would really work for me. The moral of this long story is –  stay liquid!!!

#5 – Get Fresh Air 

Ok this article is turning out to be an expose of all my faults – but honestly, if you are a wildly creative person like myself, you are gonna relate…and maybe even snicker to yourself. I am gonna raise my hand here and admit that I could actually stay inside all day and night working. I get laser focused (must be all the Zen training) and I can literally work for hours and hours and hours. Happily. By myself, so don’t talk to me! Leave me alone!!! BUT then I fell in love with these two furry children aka my dogs Bapuji and Lola and I am forced to get out of the pajamas, get dressed and take the fuzzy lovers out for their adventures (day and night). I honestly think if it weren’t for them I would not get any fresh air or exercise. I hate to admit it, but it’s true. I just LOVEEEEEE making things. I LOVE IT! I get high on creation. So that said, I realized after having my first born furry son Bapuji for almost 8 years now, that he kinda rescued me – and not the other way around. Right now I live in a part of Barcelona that is only a 6.5 minute walk from the forest behind the famous Park Guell. So basically I walk in a forest, up a mountain everyday. It’s a slice of heaven I never had in Brooklyn, and I cherish it as much as my dogs do. We look at each other up there – with big grins on our faces. I have found that these walks open my mind and I can think really well. Inventions and ideas flood through me and I feel rejuvenated. I love to record my thoughts on my phone in Evernote. It’s a part of my daily success and happiness ritual.

#6 -Take Breaks

I’m taking one right now – so I will get back to you on this.

HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!! Just kidding. But seriously, Take breaks or you will go crazy. Get your mind off of what you are working on for at least 15 minutes a few times a day. Dance or sing, get some sun, pet the cat or dog, eat/drink something healthy, watch The Ellen Show, Breathe. It does a business and a body good.

#7 -Don’t Be Ruled By Social Media

I know its difficult not to check your email or Facebook or Instagram or Twitter ten times a day. We all do it. But it can be a huge distraction, and an energy drain. I think in general creating rituals around most everything in your life and business will help to keep things in order and ultimately for you to feel like you are powerful, profitable and productive. Some ideas I have are: schedule the times when you do email and social media, set a timer when you are on social media and keep it to that time frame. I know that for myself Facebook is a place where I connect with a lot of clients and potential clients, and partners – so I try to go in there with intention.

The first step to anything is awareness, so if you are someone spending too much time on social media – the best advice I have is to start tracking how you are spending your time. That’s part of why I created The Samurai Productivity Toolkit for you. It has a really sexy but still very Zen time tracker printable that you can use every week in your life and biz. This alone will help you to realize where your valuable time is being spent, and you will probably make adjustments accordingly. The other thing is to use really great social media tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to do your posting in bulk, and to use any and all digital and physical tools that make daily life flow with ease.  This will absolutely save you and/or your assistant time so you can be as productive as possible.

#8 – Healthy Is Wealthy

If you work from home the kitchen is probably only a few steps away. It’s crucial to keep it stocked with fresh fruit, veggies and anything else that you think keeps you healthy and in alignment with your wellness plan. I make fresh meals all day and I have discovered a few time savers – and secrets that I can share with you. Smoothies are great throughout the day( at least once or twice) if you have a few recipes you like – why not section them out on a weekend and put all the ingredients into separate containers in the freezer – ready to go for the week. Just add coconut water, or freshly juiced pineapple or apple/orange juice and it will save you a lot of energy. You can do something similar with meals – for example – I will soak lentils or beans overnight and when I make my breakfast I get them on the stove and cook them – ready in time for lunch or dinner.  I always make enough for a few days. I even make fresh food for my dogs!!!

#9 -Make Plans With Friends

It’s extremely easy to become a recluse when you work home alone. I am all too good at it. I love being alone. So I highly recommend getting out your weekly planner and inking a few plans in your calendar. Go hear some live music, meet your friends for a dinner or a nightly adventure, and if you live in a great city schedule in some cultural events. When I was packing up my life and moving from NYC to Barcelona in 2011, I had this overwhelming sadness because I realized that I was always putting off those trips to the museum or the theatre because “I lived there” and I could go anytime. I would meet people who were in town as tourists for a week and they did more in that week culturally than I did in a year because I was ALWAYS working. One of the best things about being your own boss is that you COULD spend an afternoon at the museum if you want to. I’m trying to be a nice boss to myself and learn how to appreciate my life as well…otherwise time will just go by and one day you will realize you never went to that concert, took that trip, had the adventures you always dreamed about because you stayed in the land of dreams. Its about going from dreamer to doer. The best way to do this is to decide you want something and put it into your calendar. THEN, reverse engineer all the steps you need to take to make it happen.

#10-Clean UP!!! 

Let’s face it – it’s also really easy to leave clutter on your workspace when there is no one breathing down your neck telling you how to do everything…unless you are an obsessive-compulsive neat freak this tip won’t matter to you (or you will be cheering me on!) Now –  I am a Virgo woman who likes her Feng Shui’d and all that jazz, but I am also a wild-n-crazy creative samurai who likes to make huge messes all over the place. Ink, paper, brushes, pens, paint & glitter….beads, wire, rocks, feathers, fabric, musical instruments, cables, chords…yeah – I can keep myself occupied with creative ideas forever and ever! Keeping it real (which is my style all the way) I will let you know that I battle myself with #10. I love to make a mess and I hate to clean it up. BUT – I like things to be Zen clean. Always been that way. Finally accepting that I am a walking contradiction and honestly trying to love myself the way I am. I have taught myself to create forms and rituals that will serve me so that I can feel good about myself and be as productive as possible. I am NOT the kind of person who can work in a chaotic messy environment. It makes me itchy. So I try to end the day with a little ritual of cleaning up. (I said, I TRY!). I love working during the wee hours when most everyone is asleep – so sometimes I just don’t feel like cleaning up late at night and don’t do it. Then I wake up feeling mad at myself and have to clean up before I can start the day. This definitely messes with my morning ritual and my daily mojo. So like I said – learn from my mistakes. You will be better off if you just clean up and make the place nice. It never takes more than 10 minutes. You will breathe new life into your ideas and be a lot happier. Fresh flowers are a nice touch too. I think a clear mind and a clear space go hand in hand.

Don’t forget to grab your FREE productivity kit:

 I created The Samurai Productivity Toolkit for you to download FREE HERE to help you:

  1. Track your time
  2. Create a schedule
  3. Set your intentions each week
  4. Create a Morning Ritual
  5. Define Your Week’s Focus
  6. Keep you on track

I hope you were truly inspired and maybe even slightly enlightened by this article. Might seem very simple, but as my Zen Master’s have taught me – it’s the daily practice of simple things that polishes our rock into a diamond. It’s your job to transform yourself from a diamond in the rough to a shiny superstar and I truly believe in you.

Cheers to your success! I can’t wait to hear about them or answer any questions you have. Share them all with me & some cool pics of you using your new Samurai Productivity Toolkit in my new Facebook community “The Diamond Life Dojo” (100% FREE to join).

Diamond Life Media logo Shine Bright,

Ko-Shin brush painted signature

 

MY TEN TIPS FOR WORKING AT HOME2017-02-22T01:25:51+01:00

10 EASY STEPS TO REALIZE YOUR POTENTIAL NOW!

2017-02-22T01:25:52+01:00

The Diamond In Your Coal

Do you feel like you are living the life that you imagined for yourself when you were a child, and the world seemed filled with possibility and wonder?

I think most people would honestly say no…

That somewhere along the way, you lost hope, or forgot about your childhood dream. Cast away an integral part of your spirit to pursue “sensible” or “logical” things, to do what your family, culture, church, temple, or society has expected of you.

And now where do you find yourself?

How do you really feel about the life you are living?

I believe that when we are really young, we are like a seed – filled with a distinct potential. That under the right circumstances, we bloom into the very things we were born to be. That nothing really comes from outside of us. That it is all lying there internally, waiting to be discovered and activated. 

When we are young, our minds our gentle and receptive and we take risks without caring about this thing called “consequences” – and yes while some of these crazy ideas could hurt or even kill us, it’s the spirit behind this essential part of ourselves that we must connect with again so we can truly feel wildly and passionately alive right here, right now.

it takes intense pressure to create a diamond

Inside a piece of black, ugly, worthless coal lies a precious stone – a diamond. Looking at a piece of coal, you would never imagine that it could transform into a diamond. Like ourselves and our lives, we might feel as though we are as crude and unrefined as that lump of coal. We might dismiss ourselves and only see what exists now, and what has come before is all that could ever be, without realizing our true potential.

Our journey here is about awakening to our true potential. Blossoming into a fruit bearing tree. Transmuting our coal into a radiant diamond.

But how do we do it – if we can’t see the way and don’t know what we are capable of? How do we forge ourselves into luminous realized diamonds when inside we feel like a piece of coal?

10 steps to realize your potential now

Here Is My 10 Step Process To Realize Your Potential NOW!

1.  Consciously decide that you want to grow, to be open and willing to embrace change.

2.  Stop holding on to all your concepts and ideas, and LET GO!

3. Decide that you don’t fully know anything and be open to childlike wonder and newfound discovery.

4.  PLAY! Go have some fun and loosen up all that stuck energy so you can get into The Flow.

5. Decide that the most important thing is how you feel.

6. Start your day off right – sit down on a cushion and meditate for at least ten minutes. Breathe and just BE.

7. Detox your body and your mind. Eat foods that nourish your body and become a deliberate thinker of positive thoughts.

8. Clear the clutter out of your life and relationships – get rid of things you don’t need, and let go of negative toxic people.

9. Surround yourself with beauty and inspiration and people who lift you higher!

10. Say YES! Focus on the good. Keep your mind steady (meditation practice supports this) and know that by focusing on the good, more and more is coming your way.

every moment

These practices – though seemingly simple will absolutely transform your life on a daily basis. It’s not as much about what we do, but who we are and how we do things that defines us.

By being the person you want to be energetically, you will start to transform every aspect of your life and work.

Every small action leads to real results that accumulate over time. Eventually with the right circumstances your lump of coal will transform into a brilliant Diamond!

Shine Bright,

Ko-Shin brush painted signature

 

 

 

 

10 EASY STEPS TO REALIZE YOUR POTENTIAL NOW!2017-02-22T01:25:52+01:00

GETTIN DOWN ‘N’ DIRTY WITH INSPIRATION

2017-02-22T01:25:52+01:00


Do you ever feel creatively stuck?

Are you waiting for inspiration to strike

before starting (or completing!) your creative projects?

Do you feel overwhelmed?

 

But your deepest desire is to be creative. To produce something that is a pure expression of your own talents and passions, allowing you to live with purpose…

Sitting around waiting for something to inspire you before you get started writing your hit song, award winning novel, online program, or any other creative venture is the recipe for your own demise! The muse of creativity is only met when you are willing and ready to dance with her. Even if you don’t have a clear vision, the only way to learn how to ride, is to get on that horse, baby, and ride!

The heart of being a creator means tapping into your own connection with the source. It means learning to think for yourself and getting really excited by your ideas. It is about chipping away at the stone to unearth the masterpiece that was already inside.

Diamond Life Media Vintage Piano KeyboardLet me break it down for you:

You are going to fall.

You are going to produce a ton of crap that you will never want to share with anyone – ever.

You are going to create things that seem wonderful at first and years later realize were amateur, and wonder what the #$*!!! were you thinking…

But if you just actually keep showing up and dance with your muse, she will sometimes take your hand and guide you, write the song for you, paint that painting with you and one day without thinking you will step back from a genuine work of art in amazement that you had any hand in the matter.

 

Your creativity has to flow through you.

You are just the vessel.

If you don’t consistently show up to do your part then your muse can’t do hers. 

You have to commit your entire being to your desire, and make a daily practice of showing up to do the work.

So why aren’t you showing up to do your work?

What is in your way?

What is stopping you?

Diamond Life Media Zen Meditation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember the moment I decided to fully commit myself to becoming a musician and a songwriter… It was the dead of winter, and the snow was falling so intensely that my flight back to San Francisco was actually cancelled. I was sitting on the steps inside my mothers cottage stairs in Long Island and we were discussing my life plans after spending over a year and a half living as a monk in a Zen Buddhist Temple. Having truly witnessed my passions and personality, my mom has always known me best, and has the uncanny ability to cut to the heart of the matter (just like a Zen Master!).

We spoke about my love affair with music and my former love of acting – and how something inside of me had changed when I left New York and spent time in deep contemplation with my soul. I told her that I really wanted to write my own stories – not just wait around to be chosen as a player in someone else’s elaborate vision. I wanted to express my true voice. I had my own grand visions and I wanted to realize them, but I was scared shitless that I would never be as good a musician as I was an actress, even though it was in my blood. I was letting fear paralyze me and prevent me from committing to my heart’s desire. I was letting the doubt of ever being good enough stop me from pursuing my own calling. I was stuck in a moment of non-committal and it left me in a state of emotional overwhelm. When I get overwhelmed I lose the way and do nothing. So nothing great is able to happen through me.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”        

 ― William Hutchison Murray

On that fortuitous night given to me by the gods of snow, my mother pierced my soul with her love for me and her understanding of who I truly am.

She helped give me permission to step forth on my path, the courage to fail and the passion to succeed. She helped push me off my own ledge so I could soar.

In the years that followed my life changing decision, it was the intense discipline of Zen training that helped me spend my days and nights in a tiny practice room running scales on my piano and voice for hours and hours, struggling to get the music out of my head and onto the page.

By committing fully to my life’s passion, and showing up daily to do the work, the process of creating has unfolded for me, and I now live in a powerful, dynamic state of receptivity.  I stay open to receive, continually refining my talents, so I can be the vessel for inspiration. When that doesn’t seem to be working, I just practice the art of letting go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find my own creative process to be an experience of listening and responding. Connecting to my soul and to my inspiration by allowing the energy to flow. There are days when I don’t feel excited to work or connected to myself or anything else. I have also allowed myself time to disconnect from my heart’s passion to feel the bitter pain of it’s loss so I could know for certain that I am in love with the process and the experience, even more than the outcome. It is the daily work of showing up at my piano or my canvas or my notebook or my computer – that turns me on. It is the pure expression that fuels me as I attempt to create a work of art that pleases me to the bone.

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.” – Chuck Close, Painter

SO if you have been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, blocked, or uninspired recently – you might want to return back home to the agreements and promises that you have made to yourself.

Get out your journal and write about it.

Ask yourself:

What promises have I made to myself?

Am I 100% committed to my path?

If not, what’s causing my hesitation?

What am I willing to do to get unstuck?

Want to learn powerful techniques to help your creativity pour out of you like a rushing river?!! 

Diamond Life Media, The seven Samurai Secrets of Creativity and Productivity by Ko-ShinI wrote all about this in my book:

“The Seven Samurai Secrets of Creativity & Productivity”  

You can download your FREE copy of my book by clicking here. 

It is my deepest desire that you step completely into your creative power and access your full potential so you can live an extraordinary life filled with passion, power & purpose!

Are you ready to step up your game and take your life & biz to the next level?

Tired of living someone else’s dream?

Ready to say yes to all of the dreams you have brewing inside of you?

Need help figuring out exactly how to move forward?

Want some kick-ass strategies and support so you can finally make epic things happen?!!

Great News! I have just opened up room in my practice for a few more incredible creative entrepreneurs to work one-on-one and go deeper with me so you can experience absolute clarity, understand your path and purpose, become wildly creative and productive, and learn effective practical daily strategies to turn your ideas into full blooded reality and make great money doing what you were born to do. Click here to find out how we can work together!

I write to share my personal, creative, and spiritual journey with you so that I can help SAVE YOU immense amounts of suffering and wasted time. I write to illuminate your mind and your journey. I know that very few creative artists and entrepreneurs are genuinely sharing their process and this has created a terrible divide between the dream and the reality that you can create now. I know that for truly creative people, we are born to forge our own one-of-a-kind path and our own unique identity. Most of the world is not designed to help you become a self-actualized artist, creator, and human being. Most of the world you are now living in is designed to distract you from who you really are. I was born to remind you. If you liked this article and found it to be inspirational please share it with your friends on social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and or send it to them in an email. Thank you for helping share my work. 

Shine Bright,

Ko-Shin brush painted signature

GETTIN DOWN ‘N’ DIRTY WITH INSPIRATION2017-02-22T01:25:52+01:00

COLOR STORY BRAND INSPIRATION #2 – CINCO DE MAYO

2017-02-22T01:25:52+01:00

This week’s color story branding inspiration is all about celebrating today, the fifth of May! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This beautiful brand board is exciting and vibrant, full of color and passion. Juicy watermelon, bursting lemon, raspberry, apricot and the palest pink to round off the palette. It is all about embracing enjoyment, invoking excitement, feeling vibrant and living life to the fullest. Remembering to celebrate life everyday is really the secret to true happiness, and with these gorgeous colors, its easy to feel completely uplifted.

In creating your own brand, remember to ask yourself “how do I want my viewers to feel when they look at my website and printed materials?”  Each color represents different emotions and states of mind. Let me know how I can help you discover your perfect brand identity. If you love the board, please share it on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook!

If you want to learn how to access your inspiration – download my FREE ebook “The Seven Samurai Secrets Of Creativity & Productivity” HERE!!!

Diamond Life Media Branding Color Story #2 - Cinco De Mayo

 

Photo Credits: (from top left) Cinco de Mayo Party > weddingchicks.com / Burro > loveyoumeanitblog.com / Orange Ombre cake > lydiabakes.com / Balloon magic > Geronimo Balloons / Poppies > sarahwinward.com / Mexican Flower Crown > a-pink-dream.tumblr.com / Watermelon Smoothie > atasteofhome.com /  Watermelon Salsa > delish.com / Party Flags > tomkatstudio.blogspot.com

COLOR STORY BRAND INSPIRATION #2 – CINCO DE MAYO2017-02-22T01:25:52+01:00

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