Sometimes our anxieties about the future negatively impact the present. We anticipate 1-star Amazon reviews before we’ve written a chapter. We dread how little our new business venture will make before we’ve designed the product. But is all thinking about the future bad for productivity and creativity? Of course not. Natasha Crain commented, “I like to […]
Like most, I do my art in the margins. I have a day job, one I like very much, and so my writing and product making and speaking and platform building have to happen on the side. Some have called this a “side hustle.” I’m supposed to tell you that if you work hard enough, […]
![By Jan van de Cappelle (Holland, Amsterdam, 1624/1626-1679) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1024px-Ships_in_a_Calm_LACMA_M.2003.108.6-150x150.jpg)
Not long ago I visited an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum titled Master Painters. The focus was a collection of pieces from The Netherlands during the seventeenth century, a period known as the Dutch Golden Age. One painting in particular grabbed my attention: a stunning maritime scene of ships at anchor. I took in […]
Thank you so much for the supportive and generous response to my last post. When I started this blog a year and a half ago, I never dreamed I’d meet so many cool people. So again, thank you. Here we go: I hereby officially announce the Jump4Haiti campaign! It’s really happening! I asked a friend, […]
My 40th birthday is April 9, 2014. Thresholds like this have a way of putting life into perspective because we want our lives to matter. We want to make a difference. So what is it? What can I do? These questions have haunted me as I’ve thought about a worthwhile way to celebrate my 40th. […]
I’ve been honored and blessed to work with Phyllis Tickle on a few books. For those of you who don’t know her, Phyllis was the founding editor of the religion department at Publishers Weekly and is the author of numerous books. She is perhaps best known for popularizing the Divine Office with her Divine Hours books and for being […]
“The hardest part of the process is getting centered,” our instructor told us. My wife and I were fifteen minutes into a pottery class, watching our teacher push on a piece of clay as it spun. “But if your clay’s not centered,” she continued, “it will warp and your piece won’t turn out right.” Don’t […]
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” — Seneca
When writing is your dream job but not your day job, fitting it in the margins of life can be tough. Following are 22 ways to find more writing time: 1. When driving, speak into a voice recorder app. Transcribe it later when you have time. Or you could try a speech-to-text app.
The survey’s gone out, the results are in, and here’s one finding you can take to the bank: The number 1 reason by far that creatives give for not doing their art is “lack of time.” What’s the solution to that? Do we really need 22 clever ways to find time? Maybe, but I think what […]
