Set Your Creative Goals

Today's the eleventh day of 2014! Have you set your creative goals? What's that you say? You don't know what your goals are yet? Well get to work. I know, you were partying on New Year's and needed the next few days to recover. Then you spent last week catching up on work. Then there are all the bowl games, snow in the Northeast, and your last opportunity to binge watch all of "Breaking Bad." I'm not saying all of those aren't worthy or important activities. However, if you want to become a content creator, the first step is to actually create content. Write a poem, or a chapter of your novel. Finish that screenplay scene, or create a video. Grab that canvas out of the closet and start painting! Of course you can choose what content you like to create. But unless you're creating or writing or the time, you're not an artist -- you're someone who hopes someday to be an artist. This year, resolve to create specific times in your schedule to create. Drop an appointment in your schedule, just like you would for a meeting at work, doctor, or dentist. Don't take calls during that time, or check Facebook and e-mail. Make it your time to create. Even if nothing happens the first few times, keep that appointment on your schedule. Eventually, it will become your most productive time. Finally, set a creative goal for the year. Decide to finish your screenplay, novel, book of short stories or poems. Give yourself a date to finish by. Then break the overall task into segments. If you just finish a chapter for your book each month, by the end of the year you'll have a 12 chapter book to sell. Creators create. That's our job. Make sure in 2014 you give yourself time to create and a goal to achieve. You'll be amazed at the results. Write and tell me how it's going, and what you accomplished.