creativity

10 Quotes that Inspire

November 6, 2019 by Marcus Leave a Comment

quote I’ll be honest…

There are days when I don’t feel like writing. It’s not that I’m blocked, but that I’m procrastinating. I want to catch up on the latest season of Jack Ryan, or episodes of Prodigal Son. That’s a sign of two things: 1) I’m getting close to finishing something and not knowing what I’m supposed to do next; and 2) Doubt is trying to have dominion. And if I let doubt in, I’ll question my talent and my worth, and then start asking, “What’s the point?”

Inspired

Part of my morning ritual is to read a quote that inspires and keeps me motivated. I write the quote in my planner, and seeing it throughout the day gets me to the page. Today, I’m sharing ten of my favourite quotes that inspire me. Hopefully, they’ll inspire you, too.

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” – Rosa Parks
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” – Pablo Picasso
“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” – Earl Nightingale
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell
“Greatness belongs to those who have mastered the ability to focus relentlessly on their ambitions and act decisively towards them.” – Brendon Burchard
“If you dream it, you can achieve it.” – Zig Ziglar
“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” – Marie Curie
“Risk more that others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” – Howard Shultz

Do you have a quote that inspires you? Click Reply to share. I love hearing from you!

Are You Doing What Matters?

October 9, 2019 by Marcus 2 Comments

Twenty years ago, “I don’t know” was my standard answer to two questions: What do I want to do in life? And who do I want to be? And it would have been a lie. Back then, I was scared — ashamed, even — to admit I wanted to be a writer. Expectations had been set. I was supposed to secure a steady, nine-to-five job, settle down, and live happily ever after. Not chase a ‘silly’ dream. Not do something with no guarantee of success. No, I wasn’t supposed to do what matters to me.

The Dilemma

do what matters Fast forward to now, and that silly dream is alive and kicking. Because I believed in it, believed in who I could become. Around my day job, I’ve built a regular writing routine. I realized it didn’t have to be one or the other. When I made writing a priority — cut out the noise around me — my dream began to take shape. Focused, I was able to do what matters most to me.

Life is busy, and there are huge demands on our time. Sometimes we convince ourselves that there’s not enough time to pursue a dream or our heart’s true desire. Yet we’re constantly picking up our phones and checking in on social media, bingeing on Netflix or Prime Video (despite my best intentions, that’ll be me when season 2 of Jack Ryan debuts on 1 November), or hooked on series like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

Do What Matters Most

What if we wake up twenty minutes earlier or stay up twenty minutes later to put a little time in on our dreams? (Some may think I’m crazy, but I’m at my desk by 4:30 am at the latest, and in bed before 9 pm.) What if we take the time slot for one of our favourite TV shows and dedicate it to writing that book or starting the series of paintings? (When my partner flips to Entertainment Tonight at 7 pm, I put in my earplugs and read.) What happens when we carve out that little bit of time in our day to do what matters most? (Sometimes I slip away to a coffee shop to write.) If we don’t make time to do what matters most, we end up watching someone else live their dreams instead of building our own.

Did you progress your dream today? What one small action could you take that would help you make that dream come true? Click Reply to let me know. I love hearing from you!

Don’t Open the Door to Doubt

April 17, 2019 by Marcus 3 Comments

When I sit down at my desk in the morning, night is still fully in place. My companions are the muffled sounds of cars speeding down the Gardiner Expressway, the tick tock of the living room clock, and my partner’s snoring seeping through the walls. It is — living in a busy downtown Toronto neighbourhood — by all accounts … quiet. It’s the time of day I am most focused, when I can hear myself think.

I wrote this blog post last November. Then, the weather changed on a dime. Strong, 100km winds one day, then rain, and then the potential for snow. We feared winter’s ugly wrath, and that there was no way to sidestep it. All we could do was suck it up. And as Canadians, the plan executed flawlessly — was to spend the next few months complaining about how cold it was, how miserable it was outside, and how we couldn’t wait for spring.

Now, it’s April. The snow is (mostly) gone. It’s warmer (I’m running in shorts). The days are longer. And we’re still complaining about the weather!

And like we can’t sidestep winter or the early April snowfalls, sometimes you can’t sidestep doubt.

Don’t Open that Door

doubt I write frequently about doubt. Why? Because it’s a constant companion on my creative journey, especially when I’m nearing the end of a project, taking on something that’s outside of my comfort zone, or anticipating my editor’s critique of my manuscript. The biggest challenge sometimes is to not open the door to doubt.

There are times when it’s too tempting to let doubt in, and if we do it can throw us off course. Instead, maybe we need a little pep talk, and here’s what we could tell ourselves…

Dare to dream. Dare to imagine that we live in a world where we can — without the judgment of others, without asking for outside approval — be ourselves. It’s a world where we can follow our heart’s true desire. It’s a world where we can freely do what it is that we want to do and what we feel called to do. It is a world of hope and possibility.

What I Say to Myself

I am a writer. I say that with conviction. It is, today, an affirmation of who I am. I am a writer. Not because of my novels or other published works. I am a writer because there is, deep within me, a will far greater than my own that compels me to write. It is a calling. I have chosen to heed the call.

My day is not complete if I have not put in time at the page. It reminds me of the days when I went without having a coffee. I was cranky. (I don’t drink coffee now, so if I’m cranky it’s for an entirely other reason). When I do not write, or when I don’t write enough, I’m irksome and irritable. In a way, I lose my humanity. That’s why each day I show up at the page. If I don’t, I risk losing myself. Writing grounds me in the day, helps me to be present in the now. Writing, I hang on to myself.

Weather the Storm

Stay focused on the work before you. Perhaps doubt is trying to tell you that the road ahead is somewhat uncertain. Even so, you can’t let doubt have dominion here. All you can do is show up, begin where you are, and the rest will follow.

What challenges do you face daily in your creative pursuits? Are you weathering the storm? Click Reply or leave a comment in the section below. I’d love to hear from you.

How Do We Find Balance?

April 10, 2019 by Marcus Leave a Comment

We live in crazy times. Not necessarily crazy, but so much different from when I was a child. Technology has changed how we live and work. Politics are more divisive, and ugly, than I can remember. It’s a me-first world, and trying to keep up can leave you exhausted. And through it all, we’re trying to follow our own path, do what we love … be a beacon of hope in a world seemingly turning in on itself. To do that, to forge ahead, it’s important to bring balance to our daily lives.

Where We Were

balance When I think of my childhood, I think of simpler times. I was born in 1973. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Prime Minister. Richard Nixon was President of the United States. Construction of the CN Tower began on February 6 of that same year. I grew up with the Atari game consoles, Commodore 64 and Vic-20. As a child, playing for me meant swimming in our pool, playing a game of Hide and Seek, Tag or Red Rover, building forts in the woods or going for long bike rides. During the summer, my parents took us camping, or on day trips to see relatives living in other parts of the province. In July, we always picked strawberries followed by a picnic lunch. In the fall, we picked apples.

Where We Are Now

Life is crazy. We know we’re on this planet for a limited time, and many of us have big dreams. To become the Surgeon-in-Chief at Mount Sinai. A bestselling author. A successful entrepreneur. And we’re trying to achieve our goals while balancing work, family and other life issues. Before we realize it, we’re caught up in the hustle and bustle of life — trying just to keep up, and unable to resist the temptation to rush, rush, rush.

Add to that technology. Not just how it’s made our lives easier — online shopping and banking, high speed internet, self-parking cars — but also how it’s placed a, let’s use the word ‘burden,’ on us. Social media. We’re trying to study for the MCAT, get the kids out to hockey practice, or finish the edits to the final chapter of the novel it took two years to write. We’re already struggling to juggle work and home, yet it’s now expected to maintain accounts on several social media platforms if we wish to be successful. As if we’re not busy enough!

The question I keep asking myself is this: how do we find balance?

The Struggle Within

As a writer with a day job, balance doesn’t come easily. On my days off, I’m working hard on writing projects, building my platform and engaging with my audience. And I’m also investing time in other interests, like running, reading and cooking. It becomes almost impossible not to rush, rush, rush. I’m trying to make every minute off the day count. Is it a surprise that I often feel exhausted and overwhelmed? Not really.

I often equate (erroneously) increased productivity with success without really taking the time to see if I’m focused on what matters most. Yet it’s hard for my mind to compute that there are trade-offs, and time dedicated to one project/activity cannot be used for another. If I’m going to three hours on social media (I’m not on a social media diet), I have to realize — and accept — that maybe it’s going to take longer to write the first draft of a novel or complete the rewrite of a manuscript. It’s been that lack of understanding, ignorance even, about the importance and necessity of trade-offs that’s made me feel overwhelmed, like I’m stalled. Oliver Burkeman says it nicely: “[…] we make enormous efforts to ignore the reality of trade-offs — and, as a consequence, deny ourselves the best chance of a maximally fulfilling creative career.”[note]Oliver Burkeman, “Stop Trying to ‘Do It All,’” 99u[/note]

How Do We Find Balance?

We find balance by taking an inventory of our life. How are we spending our time? Are we focused on what’s important to us? And are we making time for the things, and people, we love? Finding balance isn’t going to happen overnight. It may take several attempts to get it right. In six months’ time, we might have to again reassess if we’re focused on the right things and make more changes. And remember … balance will mean different things to different people.

Over the years, this is what I’ve learned: when we find the balance that we need, there’s a natural ebb and flow to life. Everything comes together, and joy blossoms in our hearts. It gives us the strength and determination, if only for today, to keep on keeping on.

Have you found balance in your life? Click Reply or leave a comment in the section below. I’d love to hear from you.

I Know this Much is True

April 3, 2019 by Marcus Leave a Comment

Writing is hard work. So is being a painter, a sculptor, a dancer. We show up every day to do the work, to share our vision of the world in the only way we know how. When the time is right, we release it into the public domain and wait. Wait for third-party validation. Wait to be told it’s good enough, or that it sucks. And as we wait, we’re already back in the studio, at the piano, or in front of the laptop creating again. We’re living our dream. We don’t give up.

Reality Check

No matter how great we think our art is — a novel, a series of paintings, a dance choreography — not everyone will like it. Don’t believe me? Check out my book, The Flowers Need Watering, to see the ratings that range from 1 to 5 stars, and some of the cutthroat reviews. But you roll with the punches because art is subjective, and what we create won’t appeal to everyone. And my goal isn’t to create for the masses. It’s to focus on a small group of people for whom I can, through my writing, be of service. That’s what drives me. Not the 4 or 5-star reviews or glowing praise, but that I’ve been of service.

Do the Work

Whatever your dream, embrace it and don’t give up. Don’t run away at the first (or forty-ninth) failure. Don’t think it’s impossible because it’s taking longer than you expected to get where you want to go. Show up daily and do the work.

My first novel, Freestyle Love, debuted and flopped in 2011. I’d been so emotionally invested it (it was my first book and I expected everyone to love it) that I couldn’t see that it really sucked. Big time. Going through the process of self-publishing for my second book — and working with an editor — allowed me to see all the mistakes I’d made with Freestyle Love. And it did something else, too. It gave me the courage to try again. So, I rewrote Freestyle Love because I still believed in it and, with more experience behind me, I knew I could make it better. I refused to give up.

The Lesson

A few years ago, talking about the writing process with a friend, she asked me this: What are some things that you’ve learned along the way that would help other authors who are trying to publish their first book? While I geared my answer to writers, it applies to anyone pursuing a dream. This is what I said:

Art is subjective, so don’t take rejection personally. Be satisfied that what you put out for public consumption is your best work and let it shine.
Be persistent. Keep writing. Keep practicing. Show up daily to do the work. ‘Do the work’ is the important part because when you show up daily, you create a routine. And the more you write or dance or paint, the better you become.
Believe in yourself and in the work, and do it all for the love of it. It’s a challenge in today’s world, but try not to focus on your blog stats, Facebook likes, number of retweets, etc. While they are supposedly indicators of our success, they can drive you crazy if you feel like you’re not engaging enough or that no one is listening. Just be who you are, let your voice shine through and be of service. Focus on doing the work.

Bring the Magic

I know this much is true. The magic happens when you show up daily and do the work — not for fame, wealth, or recognition, but because it is the one thing you cannot not do. It is your purpose, your calling. That is the moment when the stars align, when your light shines.

What drives you to do what you do? What one thing could you do today that would move your dream forward? Click Reply or leave a comment in the section below. I’d love to hear from you.