Book Review of Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert /Nightline Segment

UPDATE:

Here is the link to Nightline segment:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/eat-pray-love-author-back-big-magic-33998317

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As you may already know (since I blogged about it all summer here, here, and here), I was chosen to participate in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Magic Lessons podcast.  The podcast expanded on themes found in her new book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. 

Nightline, on ABC, will be airing a segment including an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert about Big Magic and my experience with the Magic Lessons podcast.  Eek! How exciting!  The segment will air on Wednesday, September 23.  Check local listings for the time, but in Michigan and New York, it will air at 12:30am.   

I was given a copy of Big Magic* which comes out on September 22^nd and is published by Riverhead Books.  I L.O.V.E. this book.  Love it!  I highlighted passages and tagged pages.  I was reading it as if I was studying for a big exam and did not want to miss one juicy bit of insightful inspiration.

As the title implies, it is about how to live a creative life without fear.  She examines the components of a creative life and how fear (or more accurately our fight with fear) gets in the way of embracing our creativity.

For instance, she personifies Fear as Creativity’s "conjoined twin."  So if we try to kill fear, it will inevitably kill our creativity. Elizabeth sets boundaries for Fear that she delivers in a speech directly to Fear before starting a new project.  How cool is that?! This metaphor totally reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in Eat Pray Love where she is meditating in the ashram in India and while meditating, invites each fear into her heart and accepts it with love.

Elizabeth also stresses the importance of living a balanced life while embracing creativity.  She talks about how people often follow the “tortured artist” model of creative living, and offers a different approach. Instead of thinking an artist needs to suffer, she suggests finding a path rooted in joy, curiosity, and self-forgiveness.

She talks about how balanced, curious people are consistently able to *do* the actual work, the real doing and making of our creative visions, instead of dancing around it with Fear.

As Elizabeth says, we become partners with Inspiration and Creativity as opposed to becoming their adversaries. This just made so much sense to me.  I would feel selfish for taking time away from the preexisting contracts in my life.  But when I made my contract with Inspiration to write my book, it felt concrete and solid, like any other contract I had with a tangible human being.

 The best part is that she doesn’t just talk about these ideas in a lofty, idealized way; she gives concrete examples of how she has worked these issues out in her own life.

It’s not very often that a creative person opens up so much about their approach to creative living.   I feel that most people live creative lives under a veil of mystery, eluding that the work magically becomes finished products.

Elizabeth talks openly about the choices she makes when she’s entered a new contract with Inspiration. She talks about her failures and how she reframes them.   Elizabeth also talks about how she truly defines success as a creative person (spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with money).

Most importantly, Elizabeth urges us to remain curious about life.  Regardless of whether you perceive yourself as creative or not, by stepping away from fear and towards curiosity, we are able to live juicy, interesting, and fulfilling lives.

Big Magic is in stores September 22nd. 

**I was not compensated for this post.  I just think that everyone should know about this awesome book.

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Since I am committing more time to writing my book, my blog might not be as active.

I have a newsletter that I will start sending in October.  You can sign up here.

You can always find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  I would love to connect with you there, too!

Magic Lessons Podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert: The Big Check-In Episode

You know when something so exciting happens and you want to shout it from every mountaintop?

But you can’t because it’s not the right time yet?

Well, I’ve been holding in some juicy news for over a month now, and I can finally share it.

**Takes a deep breath**

I met Elizabeth Gilbert this summer!! 

Remember when I was chosen to be a part of her Magic Lessons podcast that was in tandem to her new book Big Magic that is all about living a creative life beyond fear?

I posted on my blog that in that podcast, she gave me some amazing advice and the 3 assignments:

Create a sign for my studio (formerly known as my office) door to let my family know when I was working.

Polite, yet effective.

Hang this quote by my computer.

This quote.

Start writing my book.  I do not have a picture of this, but I do have over 13,000 words already - yay!

She said that she would like to check in on me during the summer to see how I was doing with the assignments.  I totally thought it would be another wonderfully inspiring phone call.

But it wasn’t.  

I actually traveled to New York City to meet her.

In person.

To have a conversation about writing and inspiration and how I progressed with my book.

EEK!

You guys, she’s the real deal.  She’s kind and warm and supportive.  And funny! Oh, goodness is she funny!

I can say that she is one of loveliest people I have ever met.

I still get choked up when I think about this.

You know, I had been meditating since last November to meet a mentor that could nudge me in the right direction of starting my book.

I never imagined that this is what the Universe had in store.

My heart is bursting with gratitude for this opportunity to have met her and the encouragement she gave me to become unstuck.

Take a listen to our in-person conversation in this episode of Magic Lessons.  Elizabeth sure gives me another huge surprise!  Also, be sure to hear how the rest of the women stepped away from fear and towards their creative endeavors. So inspiring!

If any of the other podcast participants want to connect, please email me!  I would love to hear about how this changed you.

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Since I am committing more time to writing my book, my blog might not be as active.

I have a newsletter that I will start sending in October.  You can sign up here.

You can always find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  I would love to connect with you there, too!

Putting Yourself Out There: My Listen to Your Mother Metro Detroit Audition

For the past four and a half years, I have been putting myself out there blogging and writing about my life and opinions.  I still feel that tingle of excitement and nervousness as I click the publish button.  Sometimes I get a comment, most times not, but either way, I never really see the people and their facial expression as they read my posts.

This all changed when I auditioned for Listen to Your Mother Metro Detroit. 

I first learned about Listen to Your Mother at a BlogHer conference.  The women that read at the open mic night were women I had admired, especially Wendi Aarons as she read her open letter to Brand Manager of Proctor and Gamble, manufacturer of Always Maxi Pads.

Later,I could see other favorite writers read their pieces on the Listen to Your Mother’s YouTubechannel.  I knew I wanted to be apart of this production.  I wasn’t sure how, if, or when it would happen, so I just kept my eyes open for any opportunity near me.

My chance came a few weeks ago.  I read a piece of writing that was extremely personal which took me forever to write.

As I sat in front of the producers, my voice trembled as I fought back tears.

Tears for when I remembered the experience as it happened.  Tears for sharing thoughts I don’t normally share out loud.  Tears because of all this took an enormous amount of courage for me.

I left the audition not really knowing what the producers thought about my piece. I did leave knowing this:

It takes guts to put myself out there, to create something, to be a maker. No matter what, I need to be proud of that.

And I was proud, but for the next couple of weeks, I tried not to refresh my email every hour 10 minutes to see if I had been chosen.

I am excited to say that I have been given an opportunity to share my story on stage with the first cast of Listen to Your Mother Metro Detroit.

I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this production and have a chance to work with some very talented writers.

I started blogging because I just wanted to write, share my story, and connect with others.  

This is a culmination of my intentions in a way I never dreamed of.

Haters Gonna Hate, Makers Gonna Make

Have you ever had your child, so full of hope and light, come to you with a situation in which an adult did not practice kindness?  And  instead of ranting with a colorful assortment of 4-letter words, you come up with a brilliant bit of advice that just sparkles in all of that muckiness?

The other day, Marie decided she wanted to start a business and sell her drawings. Not one to crush that entrepreneurial spirit, I told her to stay on our street  and to take her brother with her.   This was the first time I let them leave the yard without me – yikes

They returned with no art, a snack size zip lock bag full of change, and their eyes twinkling with pride.

I was surprised when, days later, Marie talked about a person who was not want to buy her art. 

“You know,” she reflected, “there was only one person who said he didn’t my want art.  He said that he had enough art and would not be needing anymore.” 

She didn't look wounded, just puzzled as to how someone would not feel compelled to want her creations.

I really only had one thing to say:

“Haters gonna hate.  Makers gonna make.”

Marie said that she needed clarification, so I added this, "Some people are not happy and are uncomfortable when other people's happiness glows from within. They try to take the shininess away so everyone is dull and unhappy like them- these people are the haters. But people who create things because it makes them happy - these are the makers. And their glow should never be dimmed. Haters gonna hate, and makers are going to make."

Soon after this, I had a run in with my own hater. This person did not practice kindness when talking about my very first appearance on live TV.  Because I was nervous to be on TV, I was super proud of this moment; yet I could feel shame and doubt starting to snuff out my light.  And to make matters worse, this happened in front of my kids.  I think the universe was testing me to see if I was listening to my babbling attempts to instill wisdom into my child.

I was listening because that’s when it hit me – I am a maker.  I make things with love.  Haters are not down with that.  Ever.  And then I remembered Marie’s reaction to her hater.

Marie looked at her hater with confusion because she could not fathom how somebody would  not want a drawing that she loved so much.  She was not second-guessing if her drawings were good.  She wasn’t looking for validation; she was looking to share.  Her light remained bright in the shadows of the hater.

 That’s when I decided that I was not going to allow myself to feel small.  I was not going to let my light dim.  I *can’t* let my light dim.  If there is one thing I hate more than a hater, it’s a hypocrite.

So I may choose to hang this in my office, my bathroom, maybe even tattoo it to my wrist, but I have to remember this when people are mean.