Creative Goal Setting for 2010

A. Make a list of your CREATIVE GOALS for 2010.

-- Any projects that you've started and want to finish, ideas you've had but never started, projects that pay the bills, projects that seem unrealistic, dream projects and forgotten scripts. Make a comprehensive list.

B. Now, prioritize those goals.

-- Number them starting with 1. Which is most pressing? Which is most urgent? Which is most important to you?

C. Now, starting with Project #1, make a list of the steps you need to take to take that project to completion.

Example:

1. Finish Ghostwriting Novel

-- Ten pages a day for ten days

-- Collect photo images

-- Ask agent about how to insert into manuscript

-- Notes from author

-- Notes from agent

-- Final polish

D. Do this for each project.

E. Now, go back and assign dates for each of these steps. The date by which it will be completed.

F. Now, put the list away and close your eyes. Which project has your heart? Why aren't you working on that one? What can you do to make room for that project?

G. Visualize yourself at the end of your creative journey for that dream project, your heart project. What does it look like? Are you holding an Oscar in your hand? Are you signing books at the Union Square B&N? Are you shooting a film? Are you staring up at the marquee with your name in lights?

DREAM BIG!!!!

GOAL SETTING FOR 2009

This is Part Two of our Personal Inventory as artists as we move into 2009. You can use the information you discovered in Part One to help you set goals for 2009 and beyond.

You will 9 blank pages. Write one heading per page:

SPIRITUALITY
HEALTH & BODY
EMOTIONAL WELL BEING
RELATIONSHIPS
INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION
FINANCIAL SECURITY
CAREER (BUSINESS)
CREATIVITY
FUN

Then under each of these headings, write:

10 YEARS
5 YEARS
3 YEARS
1 YEAR

So your layout should look like this:

SPIRITUALITY

10

5

3

1

Do this for each page heading. Once you have your structure set up, it’s time to fill in the blanks. Sometimes, it’s easiest to start with the 10 year mark and work backwards.

Where do you want to be in terms of your spiritual development in 10 years? If that’s your goal, what steps do you need to take this year to head toward that goal? What milestones do you think will mean progress at the 3 year and 5 year mark?

Ask yourself these questions for each subject heading. Feel free to jump around – no need to do them in any special order – and leave things blank if you’re just not sure. Again, there is no judgment in this exercise – this is about seeing where you need to focus new energy or where you are spending all of your time. Also, you can list several goals or you can just identify one goal per year – it’s entirely up to you to use this map in a way that’s helpful to plan your own life. There are no rules.

Also notice that I have separated business from creativity – as artists, we often get caught up in production or business concerns and spend our creative energy in those pursuits. Creating work is not the same as selling work! Look at what happens when you separate the two!

Here’s an example of how you might fill one out:

CAREER (BUSINESS)

10 Year

- MOUNTAIN MAMA Production Company: funding, producing, creating films, tv, books and plays that further the empowerment of women, artists and Appalachians.

- Nominations for Pulitzer, Oscar and Emmy

5 Year

- The Constant Creator series has become new Artist’s Way.
- Ability to produce other artist’s work
- Play on Broadway
- Commercial Xmas movie creates financing for indie projects

3 Year

- Shot feature premieres at Sundance with theatrical release
- TV show on the air
- Mentropy is best seller
- Constant Creator series is completed and sold

1 Year - 2009

- Become WGA member
- Sell TV project
- Constant Creator proposal completed

FREE ARTS TUNE-UP

ARTS INFORMATION FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS & SMALL BUDGET ORGANIZATIONS

The Arts Tune-Up is free, but you do need to REGISTER through SurveyMonkey by clicking on this link: www.surveymonkey.com/lacac_atucc08

We are pleased to announce an "Arts Tune-Up" event for individual artists and small budget organizations. This free event is designed to put you in contact with arts consultants, working artists, and administrators who can provide information and answer questions on a variety of topics including fundraising, how to market and publicize your art, information on new loan fund programs for artists and organizations, benefit opportunities for artists, training programs for artists and organizations, board development for arts organizations, arts education resources, and much more.

Saturday, May 3: Culver City
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Veterans Memorial Park Teen Center
4135 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230

Parking is available and free of charge

HERE IS HOW THE ARTS TUNE-UP WORKS!

There will be several tables set up with an arts expert/consultant located at each table.
Locate the table that has the topic you want to learn more about and join that table. Each table discussion will last for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes an announcement will be made, indicating that that session is over. Then rotate to another table with a topic you want to learn more about as the sessions repeat. There will be a series of 5 round-robin sessions of 25 minutes each.
You are welcome to come by for one session or stay for all five.

Schedule Registration and Check-in: 9:45 – 10:00 a.m.
Welcome: 10:00 – 10:10 a.m.
Round 1: 10:10 – 10:35 a.m.
Round 2: 10:40 – 11:05 a.m.
Networking: 11:05 – 11:20 a.m.
Round 3: 11:20 – 11:45 a.m.
Round 4: 11:50 – 12:15 p.m.
Round 5: 12:20 – 12:45 p.m.
Wrap up: 12:45 – 1:00 p.m.

Topics for Artists:
Artist Residencies & Live-Work Housing
Arts Education In-School Resources and Working in Arts Education (K-12)
Cultural and Community Outreach
Fundraising for Individual Artists
Getting Your Sh*t Together
Health Insurance for Individual Artists
Legal Issues and Contracts, Copyright and Collections
Marketing for Visual Artists
PR (for Performing Artists)

Topics for Organizations:
Arts Education In-School Resources (K-12)
Board or Bored: Practical Tips for Engaging Your Board
Cultural and Community Outreach
Fundraising for Organizations
Legal Issues and Contracts, Copyright and Collections
Marketing for Organizations

AND MORE...

There will be lots of basic information for individual artists and small arts organizations. While seasoned artists, arts administrators and board members are welcome to attend, the information is geared more toward those people who are earlier in their careers and are looking for some basic ideas to help them with the business side of their work.

The Arts Tune-Up is free, but you do need to REGISTER through SurveyMonkey by clicking on this link:
www.surveymonkey.com/lacac_atucc08

inventory part two

Let’s continue with our Artist Inventory.

Think about these seven aspects of your life:

Your Personal Relationships
Your Physical Health
Your Spirituality
Your Career
Your Financial Security
Your Emotional Well Being
Your Thirst For Knowledge

Which of these are most important to you? Where is most of your time going? Does it match up? Think about the changes you might need to make to spend your time on the most important aspects of your life.

TODAY’S CREATIVITY CHALLENGE:

Pick your top three from the list above, such as:

PHYSICAL HEALTH
FINANCIAL SECURITY
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Then pick several short-term goals, long-term goals and a “stretch” goal for each, such as:

PHYSICAL HEALTH

Short Term Goals
- Stop Eating Sugar
- Take a Daily Walk
- Get Health Insurance
- Find a New Doctor

Long Term Goals
- Join a Softball League
- Have a Healthy Pregnancy
- Eat 6 Mini-Meals A Day
- Braces

Stretch Goal
- Learn To Surf

As you create your goals, keep in mind our agenda for the month: PLAY, LOVE, LET GO.

letting go

Maybe it's the let down from the holidays or maybe it's a crash after eating too many sweets for the past week but my thoughts today turn to the third "goal" of our month: Let Go.

I have an old leather chair that I inherited when my father died almost 16 years ago. It's outrageously heavy and I've been toting this chair from one side of the country to the other when it is too big to even fit in the apartments where I lived in NY and LA.

But I've held on to the chair because it has so much history, because it feels like a connection to family, because it feels like a connection to the past. And those three things are the EXACT reason why I should instead LET IT GO.

TODAY'S CREATIVITY CHALLENGE:

Look around your house, your work space, your apartment, your room. The things that surround you, the people in your life - is there something (doesn't have to be furniture!) or someone that you are hanging on to when your gut is telling you it is time to let it go?

Is it time for a trip to the Goodwill donation bin? Is it time to clear off that desk and get it organized for the new year? Is it time to swap out hand-me-downs for chosen pieces?

The things that surround you, the people that surround you - are they part of your future or your past?