Interview at Write Free

 

Write Free is a site I especially recommend to writers. Jordan Rosenfeld and Becca Lawton inspire, motivate and guide authors through the journey of writing, applying the principle of like attracts like. Their newsletter is extremely useful and interesting. They also offer an excellent workshop that makes you commit with your writing and your aims. While doing one of their workshops, Thriving Together was born. To learn more about Write Free:  Go to site.

 

Below is the interview that appeared in their April 2009 newsletter.

 

Patricia Schiavone: The Creative Interview 
 

WF: What ways does creativity manifest in your life?

Well, it is a true pleasure to answer this question, because it makes me feel especially fulfilled. Right now I deliberately create my days. I design each day so that they include my present interests: editing work, virtual assistant work, writing, playing music, being a good mother, and becoming a good daughter. Each of these involves a huge amount of creativity. When I go to bed at night, the feeling of achievement is extraordinary. I must say this has not been always so, which makes the whole adventure much more enjoyable.

 

WF: What kind of time do you give to your creative endeavors?

Ninety-nine percent of my time. That one percent I have not managed to transform into a creative endeavor is the time I spend in the supermarket.

 

WF: What other responsibilities do you have from which you have had to carve out a creative life?

Interesting question, but I am afraid I have changed my point of view now and I do not see my responsibilities as something from which I have to carve out my creative life; they are part of my creative life.

My biggest responsibility is to be a good mother and help my son, in all possible ways, to become a good and happy person. I swear this responsibility is the area of my life that demands more creativity than any other. You have to be very creative to find the balance between being supportive and giving freedom, being allowing and protective, educating, and letting live.

I also have to pay bills, but in order to pay them I have become amazingly creative, so I believe responsibilities and creativity are not on opposite poles.

 

WF: How do you define success?

Success is to lead the life we want to live. It is not about achievements, it is about the manner of traveling. I am successful if I have joyful days.

 

WF: What did your path to success look like?

For thirty-seven years, although I had positive moments, I mostly focused on lack and fear. When I was a teenager I started to play the drums. That was what I wanted to do professionally but I got afraid, I thought about the future, and I took an executive secretary course that lasted two whole years. It enabled me to pay my bills. I stopped playing and I left most of creativity in some hidden corner of myself.

I worked as an executive secretary in different positions. Though the jobs were interesting, I did not thrive in them. But I lived that way for twenty years!

It is ironic to realize that in those twenty years I could not save one penny. I had sacrificed my happiness for money and I could only, and hardly, pay my bills.

Two years ago I received an awesome present. A book called Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting. Just reading the title, my whole self shook. Once I read it and applied its content to my life, absolutely everything changed. . . in the blink of an eye.

Today I work from home; I enjoy every single thing I do; I still pay my bills; I am playing the drums in an awesome band; and I always wake up excited with the day I have ahead. Last but not least, I have free time.

 

WF: Can you remember the first time you “claimed” yourself as an artist/writer?

At present there are two areas of my life that can objectively be called artistic: music and writing.

In the music field, that first time was after one rehearsal with my band, when I was extremely relaxed when I played and really enjoyed the three hours of music. I left the rehearsal saying these words: “Now I know I am a drummer.” The feeling of fulfillment made my chest burn that day and still does when I remember it.

In the writing field, it was when I saw the PDF of my e- book, not long ago. I read it again and thought: “Well, I did have something to say and I was able to put it into the form of a book.”

 

WF: Do you set goals or intentions for your writing life? If so, describe what this looks like. Does the process of setting these intentions help you to achieve them?

I set intentions for my whole life every day. Long-term intentions, shorter-term intentions, and daily intentions that I write in a nice-looking notebook. While I write them, I feel extremely happy because I know I am designing my future and my vibrations go up the scale immediately. As soon as I open my notebook, I feel a rise in my vibrations.

Also, whenever I need a boost in my mood, I simply open this notebook and re-read what I have written in the past, the awesome things I have achieved already, and there I am up again.

I am a firm believer that setting your goals is key to achieving them. Once you put them in black and white, you are clearer about them. That enables you to take better, inspired action towards them. Suddenly, at some point, you realize you are there already.

Let me give you one example: I wanted to write this e- book for a year or more. Once I stated this goal in black and white, it took me two months to have the e- book ready, to learn how to make a web page, start selling it, and reach people I am sure will benefit from its contents.

 

WF: How does being creative make you feel? What would be missing from your life without it?

In short, being creative makes me feel alive.

The feeling of fulfillment I get when I witness one of my creations (my e-book, the themes from the band, my eight-year-old wonderful son, my work) is something I don’t want to stop feeling ever again.

When I look back at my old life, I get the image of a dead, breathing person. I breathed and walked, but I was not alive.

 

WF: Whose success inspires you? Is there a higher level of creative success you would like to achieve? What is that?

I don’t have one example I want to reach. I want to keep walking in this same way and keep enjoying it to the fullest.

 

WF: What suggestions would you give to others who hope to achieve a satisfying, meaningful and self- supporting creative life?

To state in black and white what they want for their lives is key. They should make up their minds about their goals for the long term and for the short term.

Once goals are clear, they should be ready to take inspired action.

 

WF: This month our theme is “making time.” How do you make time for all that is important to you and still be creative? What helps you achieve balance?

Well, I’ve always been quite organized. I am the to-do- list kind of person. But to-do lists are often not enough.

I learned that to-do lists must be sensible. Do not include too much on your to-do list or you will get frustrated.

Something I am living after lately is a concept I learned from a conference given by Mr. Randy Pausch. I learned that instead of doing first what is urgent, we must do first what is important. Sticking to that has been extremely helpful and positive and has given me room for much more creativity and tangible results.

Meditation and visualization have helped greatly, too. I have more energy and my mind is much clearer about what is important and what is urgent. I have proved to myself that whenever I visualize my intents, the Universe finds its extraordinary ways to deliver them into my hands.

 

WF: Tell us about your e-book Thriving Together. Where did you get the idea for group visualization, and how has it worked for you?

The idea for group visualization originated in the books and articles about personal development that suggested that visualizing our goals helps attract their manifestation.

I shared this information with others and we ended up making an awesome visualization group that included members who lived in the same city and one member who lived across the continent.

By sharing our intents and visualizing simultaneously, we achieved goals that astonished us. I manifested extraordinary things that seemed impossible before that, and so did the others. The list is really interesting: boyfriends, money, trips, degrees, publications, new computers, houses, weight loss, new professions, and more.

Also, the good feelings triggered by the sharing were fantastic, boosting our daily moods in ways that surprised us greatly.

We did it for a year. Then the group dissolved but I went on practicing this with other people.

Thanks to group visualization, I have manifested countless things. One of the greatest was quitting a 9 to 5 job that did not make me happy, and earning my living doing things that don’t feel like jobs at all, things I enjoy and savor every day.

I felt the need to share this experience with others, simply because every person who joined me in the practice found it extremely useful and manifested important goals. I am convinced that people’s lives will be much more enjoyable once they embark on group visualization. I anticipate with delight many groups blooming around the globe and manifesting joy and happiness for the participants.

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