#1

Sometimes we forget to take account of what we have accomplished in the past and only see the current stumbling blocks or obstacles in front of us today.  Social media doesn’t help either since what other people are doing or accomplishing is shoved in our faces in high-res images as we scroll through the platforms. Sharing how amazing they are doing and surpassing all of the goals and achieving every dream.  I was speaking with a friend of mine recently about his TV show and all of the incredible strides he has made this year.  He had a situation where a friend of his that had been supportive of his program decided to stop.  My friend could only find the negative repercussions of this situation. So, I began reminding him of everything he has achieved in a relatively short amount of time.  Not to mention what he has accomplished years before with his show and performances. He was headed into a recording session and needed to approach it with a positive attitude and not let this small roadblock affect his engagement. I suggested that he write down everything he accomplished and reflect on that instead of dwelling on this one challenge.  This is great advice for me, and I think all creatives and content creators, no matter the format or outlets that we work within.  As creative people we are constantly thinking, looking and planning forward and don’t take much time to review our accomplishments. I was recently on a friend’s popular Podcast show and it forced me to look backwards as the interviewer was throwing questions at me.  I was being hard on myself before this chat, because I didn’t feel that I was being aggressive enough or finding the time to accomplish my outside creative projects.  Goals and ideas are magic stuff that also require action. But they are built on a foundation of previous accomplishments to move them forward. If they only remain as hopes, goals or dreams then their true potential isn’t realized – that requires action!  Personally, I have been trying to develop a new creative portal for myself through traditional channels to no avail.  I continued to present it to and discuss it with the power brokers, and they had no interest in what I wanted to do.  Then it hit me, why am I limiting myself? From my previous track record I have achieved a few things like writing books, podcast shows, writing for magazines and launching a TV show. In the majority of these instances very few people thought I could accomplish one of these projects much less all of them.  Granted some took longer than others, but that also makes the wins much more savory.  My point is that when others block us or limit us from achieving the idea we want to accomplish then we are forced to be more creative and come up with an alternative route to make it happen. Reflecting on my past accomplishments made me realize that if I do it myself then there are no limitations other than the ones, I set for myself.  Therefore, I can’t blame others for not seeing my vision if I’m not willing to personally invest in my idea and launch it.  And my friend that I mentioned earlier moved forward past his brief roadblock and will probably have his best creative year.  Celebrating our past achievements isn’t a narcissistic method to pat ourselves on the back, it should be a motivator to propel us on to the next level that we plan to achieve.  A good house can’t be built without a great foundation to secure it.