Hi ~
Hello and happy week to you!
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Just Do a Little It: A Mini-Article
It's hard for me to believe it, but the participants in the first session of the "Create Your Own YOUniversity" e-course will be "graduating" next week! Most of them have completed their focus groups (thanks to many of you, in the Artella audience, who participated in them) and are ready to move forward with presenting their own e-courses, eBooks, and virtual workshops to a larger audience. I have grown to care about each and every one of them and will continue to champion their work, products, and projects!
In looking back over the four months that I have spent with these students, what excites me most is that these amazing people have created products from scratch! They birthed these projects by balancing the art of DOING with the art BEING, what many traditions would call "masculine" and "feminine" energies. Since this weekend is when we celebrate Father's Day, I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss the DOING side of birthing a project.
Nike famously says "Just Do It", a phrase that has both blessed and cursed us. This catchy phrase inspires us to cut through all the muzzy thinking to proceed to the DOING. But because this little phrase makes it sound so simple, it can induce even more frustration when we feel stuck, as we sit around thinking...
Why can't I "just do it"?
Why is everyone "just doing it" but me?
When we are feeling lost in just-do-it-land, I think it is because our "it" is too big. If we can break down the "it" into really steps, then picking ourselves up into action is much easier.
In other words, "Just Do a Little It".
In the Artella e-course Goalar Energy, we break goals down into "leaps" and "micro-steps". Leaps are smaller steps into which a larger goal is broken down. A micro-step, then, is the smallest increment of action related to the leap.
For example, if the goal is to find a new job, the first leap might be to make a phone call to a potential contact. Then the micro-steps might include things like get out phone book, look up number and write it down, write notes to have on hand during call, make the call.
In Goalar Energy, my rule about microsteps is that if you can't do it in five minutes, you haven't broken it down small enough.
There are a few reasons why it is very helpful to do this deceptively simple exercise of breaking down a goal in this way. On an emotional level, breaking a leap into micro-steps makes it more manageable and less intimidating. On a tangible level, determining micro-steps means that you can MOVE FORWARD with your goal, even if you are living a very busy.
If you have predetermined tiny steps that can be accomplished in small amounts of time, and scheduled target dates for those items, it is much easier to keep the commitment to do them. It may seem silly to make "get out the phone book" the only thing you toward your goal on a particular day, but that is one step closer than you were when the phone book was still tucked away.
With the phone book out by the target date you assign it, you are more likely to do the next micro-step – looking up the number and writing it down – the next day. And subsequently, if the number is written down for you, you're much more likely to prepare notes for the call and eventually make the call.
In Goalar Energy, I encourage people that it doesn't matter how long a single leap or micro-step takes -- a progression such as the one above could be accomplished in a single day, or it could take a week or more. What is important is that we assign a target date for each micro-step and hold ourselves accountable for doing it.
This week, take a minute and break down one of your current goals in this fashion. And then make the intention of doing one of your micro-steps. Remember, if you can't do it in 5 minutes or less, you aren't thinking micro enough.
Just as we are descendents from our fathers, our successes are descendents of our actions. The old proverb, "Great oaks from little acorns grow", reminds us of the potential destiny of small starts.
Now go out there...and Just Do a Little It!
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MINI-MUSINGS- What task is in front of your right now that feels the most overwhelming? How can you bring it down into tiny increments?
- How can you reward yourself for successfully accomplishing micro-steps?
- If the idea of "Just Do a Little It" resonates with you, how can you keep the message near you this week? Can you artfully create a poster or sign? Select a symbol that you see often that will serve as your reminder? Get a buddy and send emails to remind one another to think small?
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THIS WEEK'S ART-SPLASH!
Call them "do" and "be", call them masculine and feminine, call them the hare and the tortoise...it's all about balance. This week's art-splash,
Energizer Within , is a little kick-in-the-butt ditty. :-)
You can find it at www.artellawordsandart.com/artic77.html.
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ARTELLA NEWS!
1. e-Artella #e-6 is out! We have released the newest e-Artella #e-6, in her 87 pages of glory (Check out the issue's Table of Contents by clicking the little cover of #e-6 on this page!
This issue is available to download for just $4.95, which may be the supercoolest bargain on the Internet. Check out what Jolene Elliott said:
"I am on sensual overload after downloading eArtella-6.Marney, words are failing me --I have NEVER seen anything like this issue, ANYWHERE! You and Deb, and all the unseen mighty Artella gremlins have outdone yourselves with this production!!! I am SPEECHLESS. I MUST print this issue out for safekeeping. It is a GEM. Your layout and design absolutely blow my mind! This is INCREDIBLE."
Sounds like a lot of fun for less than $5, right? :-)
Go to www.artellawordsandart.com/ZineIssues.html to order!
2. Special YOU * U offer! If you are considering enrolling in YOU * U (see above article), I have a special giveaway that I'm offering for the very first time. If you are seriously interested in the course because you feel that you have an eBook or ecourse inside you that is ready to become a full-fledged product, I'll send you a sample chapter from the 200-page textbook that will give you a true taste of this exciting course.
After reviewing the chapter, the choice is completely yours...and no matter what, you can keep the chapter and work through it in your own timing. The $100 discount for the tuition is good through the end of June, so there is time to grab both the free chapter AND this great price.
For more information about YOU * U read about it at www.artellawordsandart.com/workshops.html. Then, simply send me an email introducing yourself and briefly explaining why you are considering YOU * U. I'll send you back this fabulous chapter that, on its own, has the potential to launch you into exciting new career directions.
3. Weekly Poetry Contest Winners! Our winners of this week's poetry contest are:
- First Place - Mary Rowin for "Memory Weave"
- Second Place - Jenny Ryan for "Splendiforous Life"
- Third Place - Ann McGovern for "Halfway"
- Fourth Place - Kim for "Dreams"
You can read this week's winning poems right here...and I invite you to browse our Artella Poetry Gardens of Fame to read the poems of all Artella winners. Note that the deadline for this week's contest is TONIGHT at midnight, EDT!
4.Only FOUR copies of Artella 5 are left! There are only FOUR copies of Artella 5, Winter Magic & Muse available...and then it will join issues 1, 2, and 3 as being sold out forever. The sold-out issues have already become "collector's editions" and are garnering big bucks when sold on eBay...so be sure to grab this opportunity by buying one of the final copies at pick one up!.
5. Did you download your free eBook? If you have not yet downloaded the free 57-page eBook, Artella Mae's Altered Ancestors: 50 Techniques for Using Vintage Photos in Art, you are missing out! To download the book, go to www.ArtellaWordsandArt.com/AlteredAncestorsBook.html, and fill out the BOTTOM form (since you already receive Articulation, you don't need to fill out the top form.
Feel free to share this link with ANYONE, as Artella Mae really enjoys spreading her wings far and wide! :-) This free book is packed with photos and how-to's that are appropriate for everyone - beginning artists to professionals. Stay tuned for more "Artella Mae" products coming soon...
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SHOPPES' CORNER
Our featured seller this week is Purseverance Purses, which consists of myself and my good buddy Deborah Eger! Check out our funky handmade handbags!
We've been expanding! Our Special Services shoppes has expanded in many exciting directions, now including services including Web design and updates, copywriting, editing, custom animal portraits, Spanish tutoring and translation, Feng Shui consultations, and creative project coaching.
If YOU provide a special service, find out how to partner with The Shoppes of Artella to expose your work to thousands of customers every month.!
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ART TIP OF THE WEEK!
If you've never tried to combine words and art, start by simply adding ONE word to your artwork to emphasize a theme or add a surprising twist to the piece's meaning. Cut out words in magazines, or create your own with rubber stamp alphabet sets or using an artistic font on your computer. Check the Artful Links section for some resources for fonts!
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WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK!
And along similar lines, if you've never tried to combine words and art, try add a single image to a written piece to highlight a particular aspect of the work, or create a collage to illustrate the piece. Even if nobody ever sees your collage but you, this is a great way to deepen your connection with the imagery in your words, expanding your sensory vocabulary and perhaps uncovering new meanings and layers in your piece. And don't rule out submitting your work to Artella! I'd love to see what you come up with! |
ARTFUL LINKS!
1. Here are some favorite sources where you can download free fonts:
-Scriptorium hasnew fonts to download each month.
-Font Garden has severalunique handwriting fonts.
-Font Head is a professional sitefrom Print Magazine with a few free fonts.
-Font Diner has some fun and quirky options.
-Abecedarienne has some unconventional, artsy options.
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Happy Father's Day to all Fathers!
~in balance,
Marney
Artella Founder/Editor
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