Hi ~
Hope you are having a good week, and welcome to the latest edition of Articulation.
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RIDING ON REJECTION: A MINI ARTICLE
In discussing the topic of rejection this week, I'm approaching it from two angles -- the experience of getting rejected, and the experience of doing the rejecting.
Getting rejected is never fun, and there seems to be no way around the fact that creative people must subject themselves to rejection regularly. Whether rejections comes professionally, when a submission is not accepted, or personally, when we feel like we just don't fit in, rejection is not exactly one of the "perks" of our chosen path.
I'll pass along something I heard a while back. Here's the anecdote: a salesperson works on commission, and gets $100 for every sale. Her average pattern is that one in every 50 attempts result in a sale, so she has to go through 49 rejections for each sale.
Guess what that comes down to? With every rejection, she makes $2.00.
While this pertains specifically to selling, can you think of ways that you can work it in to reaching for your own dreams? Say you're sending out queries to get a book published, looking for a modest five-thousand dollar advance from a publisher, even if you have to send out 100 queries before you get published, that still means you are earning fifty dollars every single time you get a rejection!
But the problem is, people don't usually send out 100 queries, or anywhere in the vicinity. They send out 12 letters, get back 12 rejections, and then give up.
Yes, it's a simplistic view and in some applications, you need to stretch the analogy, but it does put an entirely different spin on the whole "rejection" endeavor, doesn't it? You can tell yourself that with each rejection you are getting that much closer to your final acceptance. It is said that Edison tried more than 10,000 times to perfect the light bulb. When asked how he was able to persist during that time in the face of constant failure, Edison replied, "I didn't fail. I just discovered another way not to invent the electric light bulb."
And why SHOULDN'T you keep reaching further and further with each rejection? This week, Artella members are enjoying a Members-Only audio lecture by Karen Jones of BenevolentPlanet.com. In her down-to-earth, heart-to-heart style, Karen asks us, "If not you, who?" She speaks of her own experience with getting a publishing deal (sending out 12 queries, in fact) for her book to be released this Fall. She explains that if you send out a proposal, in object terms, you have a 50/50 chance of either getting accepted or rejected. Everyone talks about how hard it is to get published, but looking at it that way, those are pretty good odds!
In addition to a fear of being rejected by others, we also carry with us some pretty heavy baggage about rejecting things, ourselves. What are you rejecting? Are you rejecting change? Risks? Opportunities? Compliments? Out-of-the-box suggestions?
About two years ago, I had a total knee replacement on my right knee. Recovering from the surgery was an arduous, multi-dimensional process, tossing lessons at me left and right. There is one part of the recovery path that I will never forget. For three months following surgery, I had to take anti-rejection medication every day, and have my blood checked every week to make sure that the dosage of the medicine was behaving correctly in the context of my chemistries. It's quite fascinating to think the body -- which, of course, is full of metaphors -- needed this very rigorous, disciplined procedure in order to keep it from rejecting my new stainless steel knee. The body is so intent on rejecting CHANGE, that the rejection must be aggressively fought in order to counteract the resistance.
And so it is with us, I think. When we are faced with new ideas, new changes, new opportunities, new people, and new ideas, we have to work against our natural impulse to reject them. We can't take a pill for that...it's only something that can be fought with personal guts, perseverance, and grace.
The next time you find yourself on EITHER side of the rejection wave, take some action to help yourself ride it out. Don't be afraid to take that risk to get some outside help. Allow the embrace of a friend. Write in your journal. Read a book or take a course on self-empowerment (look at the Artful Links section below to see a free offer for Articulation readers from Coach Alicia Forest.)
Riding the wave is tough, but there is an unparalleled thrill in dancing upon the blue sea of living.
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MINI-MUSINGS- If you could turn "rejections" into a game...where each one only pushed us to reach further and further for what we want, how would your life look different?
- What are you rejecting, that is taking away energy from living your most joyous life?
- Think of how different people in your life handle rejection. What have you learned from watching them?
- When someone offers you suggestions to a problem, how do you tend to hear the suggestions? Is there anything you'd like to change about that?
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THIS WEEK'S ART-SPLASH!
Maybe it's just because I spent so much time working on the most recent print issue of Artella, the theme of which was "The Elements", or maybe it's because we've had some really strange weather the past week...but I have been watching the wind and thinking about what it means to have an external force moving, brushing, pushing, sweeping things around. This week's art-splash is called WindSome.
This is the link to view WindSome.
If the above link doesn't work, copy and paste this into your browser: http://www.artellawordsandart.com/artic72.html
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ARTELLA NEWS!
1. Next Session of Goalar EnergyTM e-course starts on Monday! Our most popular e-course is lifting off for another round on this Monday, and there's room for YOU, if you're ready to approach your goal from a different perspective to bring it all the way to fruition, with the support of a lively community to help you along the way.
Gloria Page, the author of Holy Moly Mackeroly (which is on an enormous exclusive sale at The Shoppes of Artella until May 22...Sale details are here!) took the last session of the course and said:
"I just wanted to thank Marney and each and every person who is a member of this course group. We went to new places together in more ways and levels than one! This Goalar Energy course was important to me and will continue to be important... I find myself thinking about the different ideas and trying to apply them and work with them. The tools we gained are timeless!"
You can read lots of other raves about Goalar EnergyTM and see all the details on the workshops page. If you have more questions, or would like to be connected with a former Goalar EnergyTM participant, just let me know.
Past participants have reached goals ranging from completing a writing project, learning a new art skill, decluttering a home, losing weight, healing cataracts (really! Goooo Adela!), writing a book proposal, finding a new job, and so much more.
I'd be so psyched to help you find YOUR way to your goal. So if you read the information about the course and something within you sings and sighs deeply, please join us in this opportunity! You'll love it!
2. Brand new e-Courses Announced! We've announced three brand-new e-courses on the Workshops page of our site that will be available June 1. The new courses, Miracle SoupTM and Creative ManiFestivalTM, round out a triad of creative prosperity courses (including the immensely popular Accounting Your BlessingsTM) for artists, writers, and creative spirits.
You can take any of the 30-day courses individually in a self-study format, or you can enroll in the comprehensive 3-month e-course, The Wealthcare PackageTM , which begins May 22. The Wealthcare PackageTM presents the three courses in an enhanced format including community and one-on-one support. For information about all of these offerings, go to www.artellawordsandart.com/workshops.html.
3. Artella 6 is skipping around the world! Many people are writing to say it's our most inspiring issue, yet. Have you placed your order?
3. Winners of Weekly Poetry Contest! Here are the winners of this week's Weekly Poetry Contest:- 4th Place - Marilyn Hansen, author of "Freedom", wins a 1 month Artella Membership!
- 3rd Place - Agnes Lutes , author of "Scissors", wins the above PLUS the Artella eBook, ExerSIGHS: A Self-Esteem Workout for Writers and Artists!
- 2nd Place - Lyse Stormont, author of "Flight of the Grasshoppers", wins all of the above PLUS The Artella eBook, Those Who CAN, Teach!: Uncovering the Workshops Inside of You, and guaranteed publication in an e-Artella issue!
- 1st Place - Paula Vander Schouw , author of "Soul Steps", wins all of the above PLUS featured listing on our upcoming poet's page, and enrollment in the Writes and Passages e-course.
Congratulations to all our winners! Remember that the next deadline for this free contest is tomorrow (Friday) at midnight EDT. Details are here.
4. Special weekend discount for new Shoppe artists! If you've been thinking of selling your work in The Shoppes of Artella, there's never been a better time. Through Sunday night (May 16) you can save $5.00 on your listing fee when you sign up to sell your work. Go to www.artellawordsandart.com/ShoppesInfo.html to find out how you can expose your work to thousands of customers every month!
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SHOPPES' CORNER
Our featured artist this week is Diane Armstrong, who has placed her fantastic Cultivate Life boxes on sale for this week. These handmade, fully customized boxes are the perfect way to cultivate everyday awareness of synchronicity and spirit! I have a few of these boxes myself and I am CONVINCED they are filled with magic...good things just naturally start happening when I've worked with these cards!
Take a browse at hundreds of handmade items at The Shoppes of Artella, or make a quick stop to our Specials page for a list of all our current sales.
My favorite discount?: Linda Vining added a special sale for the month of May, selling her beautifully serene digital/mixed media paintings unframed for 50% off!
And check out all of our new sets of handmade greeting cards...these beauties are only available at The Shoppes of Artella and they are absolutely fabulous!
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ART TIP OF THE WEEK!
When working in an art journal, altered book, or even on a single piece of watercolor paper, think about the ways that you can finish the piece with a creative edge on the page. Try ripping, attaching tags, folding page edges, making pockets that extend beyond the original page, punching designs, stitching the edge with a needle and thread or sewing machine, cover the edge with metallic paint, adding beads or fringe, or cutting a "see-through" hole to peak at what's coming next. Creative edges serve as unique "framing" for your composition!
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WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK!
Colors, like nature, are naturally poetic and lend themselves to deep writing. Use colors as the subject of practice writing prompts, or concentrate on adding more colors to the project you're working on. Use colors metaphorically ("she was hesitantly forgiving as lavender") just for fun. Play with renaming colors to give them a fresh and original name (violet might become "luxxymoor"; yellow could be "scentude"). If a character you're writing about could only see one color, which would it be? Write about that world.
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ARTFUL LINKS!
1.Here's a great deal exclusively for Articulation readers (that's YOU!) Personal and Business Coach Alicia Forest, founder of Inner Compass Coaching, is about to kick off the summer with the premiere offering of The Personal Freedom Program ~ 10 weeks, 10 Modules, 10 Teleclasses to Creating and Claiming Your Personal Freedom. As a special offer to Articulation readers only, she's offering the first class as a free sample. If you decide to enroll in the full program before the second class, you'll pay 50% off the total course fee (regularly $149, but only $74 for Articulation readers!) For full program details, visit this link. I'll also mention that I LOVE her "Weekly Directional" newsletter. It is superbly consistent with thought-provoking content. Thanks, Alicia, for extending this great offer to us!
2. If you're an artist interested in licensing your artwork, there is a PowerPoint presentation called "Licensing 101", found on the Web site of Mary Engelbreit, whose successful empire is the epitome of successful art licensing. Just go to the For Artists page and then go to the link for Licensing 101 at the bottom of the page. While you're there, be sure to take a look at her workshop page, which is always filled with great craft project ideas, recipes, coloring book pages, and more.
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Sending you a gust of wind that gently sets you down right where you need to be...
~stirring the sky,
Marney
Artella Founder/Editor
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