Get Real and Be Honest 1.1 2006/01/25 11:08:43.910 US/Central 2006/01/25 15:00:34.285 US/Central Mark Douglas Maxey m-squared@m-squared.org Mark Douglas Maxey m-squared@m-squared.org direction goals hinderances honest real This module is the meat and potatoes so to speak of this creative process. We must be honest and look within to see what his holding us back from realizing our dreams. Knowing this will help us eventually realizing our dream as an artist. By now you should have a solid understanding of what you seek with your art. You know what your art is, how you plan to get there, and possibly how you plan to join forces to see it come true. Now the dangerous thing is, at times we can be self destructive with our art and ourselves. We can be our own worse enemies. Knowing this and really taking time in being honest with our shortcomings, will help us move past our deficiencies . My personal demons can be time management. I tend to stay too busy and agree to do extra projects that limit the time I want with my own art. Knowing this, and keeping it on the front of my mind, I know when I need to cut back. When I want to do more with my music and singing, I know I must cut back on my habits which may limit the capabilities I know I have. Money can also be an issue. Knowing what tools I need to buy means I will have to sacrifice something within my budget to buy my tools. If I don’t take these precautions then I can be left with no tools or lacking of my basic needs if I misspent my budget. Being aware of our shortcomings or what stands in our way to our dreams can lead us to the right steps to be more disciplined. Other times it can be as simple as knowing it is not our habits or shortcomings, but rather the tools or equipment we need is standing in the way. If this is the case, then we only need to list the things we need to see our art develop. Understanding what stands in the way to our success only makes step-planning easier in seeing our dreams come true. Being honest with ourselves helps us understand the focus we need. By coming this far in the workbook, there is no reason to allow our self to keep us from realizing our dreams. So be honest in this part and list all the things in the way of you seeing your dreams come true. Then we can make a list and begin to move past those things. Each one we knock down or out of the way only brings us closer to our ultimate destination. A man I worked with for a short while, his shortcomings was his writing. He had the talent, he had the equipment. He just did not have the body of work he needed to see his dream come true. We decided he needed to write two songs a week. Sure, the first few weeks were not of the quality he sought, but his effort in doing this, he found he could write. In time, a short three months later he had the body of work to use for his art. Knowing what stood in his way only made him see what was really needed. You hear stories all of the time of writers or performers who do research for their craft on the internet or by reading books. But how much writing, performing, do they do with that knowledge? There comes a time to put into place the mechanisms to get your art out of your house and into the public arena. What is holding you back? Question: What do you think is holding you back right now in reaching your goals? Question: Finances? Time? Relationships? Habits? Procrastination? Question: What steps can you begin to take to see your art be seen by more people? Question: Where can you begin to research the venues that are indicative of your art? Question: Do you have the press kit or materials together for submitting requests to show?