I was listening to Rich Roll's podcast (my favorite podcast) yesterday and he mentioned The Artist's Way. I haven't thought about that book and all the lessons it taught me in a long time. The Artist's Way has been one of the most influential books I have ever read. In reading The Artist's Way, the author, Julia Cameron, mentored me during a time in my life when I wanted to be a writer so bad I could taste it and I had a lot of painful memories that I needed to get out of my head, but I couldn't call myself a "writer" because I hadn't published anything. In the book she encourages journaling in what she calls "Morning Pages" and she says if you write, you're a writer. That freed me to just write without having to get an MFA.
Another thing Julia encourages us to do is "Artist Dates" where we go by ourselves to a place we want to go that inspires us or brings out our creativity. I did that yesterday. I went to see WILD by Cheryl Strayed. I was the only person in the theater. It was like I was on the adventure with her. I cannot imagine walking alone in the desert for three months just like I can't imagine climbing Mt. Everest, but the thing I take away from the people who do it is that you need to push yourself beyond what you think your capable of doing so you can see that you're stronger than you think. You will be amazed at the discoveries and opportunities that awaits you on the other side of the obstacles you overcome.
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