Time For A Chuckle: 21 Ways To Annoy Everyone

21 Ways To Annoy Everyone

1) Pretend to be one of the (Bart) Simpson family. Doesn't matter which.

2) Have an uncontrollable lusting for someone new every five minutes.

3) Pretend to be from different ethnic backgrounds every hour, and when people ask you about it, answer like a hillbilly would.

4) Act like a hillbilly. Period.

5) Improvise Italian operas.

6) Gossip about someone to their face.

7) Answer every question with a question.

8) Repeat yourself constantly.

9) Act like a member of the opposite sex.

10) Repeat yourself constantly.

11) Act like Mr. Flanders from The Simpsons.

12) Repeat yourself constantly.

13) Change what you repeat every now and then.

14) Use homonyms in your e-male that the spell cheque would knot sea as miss steaks.

15) Change what you repeat every now and then.

16) Talk to someone while looking at somebody else.

17) Employ in your casual banter extensive vocabulary that will befuddle thy contemporaries.

18) Change what you repeat every now and then.

19) One word: Caffeine.

20) Another word or two: Caffeine and Sugar.

21) stringwhateveryousayintoonelongwordsoitshardtomakeoutwhatyou'resaying.

If you love silly nonsense like I do, you just had a good chuckle, a guffaw or jello running out of your nose. A daily dose of laughter and joy enriches all aspects of life. It is a great stress reducer and encourages a number of physical benefits including the production of endorphins and disease fighting immune cells. Finding 'the funny' in daily life and the human condition heals and uplifts emotionally and spiritually too. When you laugh, you relax, feel energized and are able to see the lighter side of life.

A good giggle gets your blood flowing and raises your inner vibration. We live in a vibrational Universe. What you experience in life is a mirrored reflection of your vibrational level. It's the vibes, man! Healthy good vibrations create good experiences. Defeating bad vibrations create unwanted or 'less than' experiences. It's a simple as that. When you laugh you elevate your natural vibration, your self. In this way, laughter is like a magic wand that turns negative emotions, stuck energy and static thoughts into powerfully intuitive A-HA moments that propel you forward in your creative endeavors.

When you notice that you are anxious or stressed in any way reach for a moment that will tickle your funny bone. Watch a madcap movie, read a joke book, share some fun with family and friends. You will discover that you feel lighter and have a new and better perspective on any challenges you face.

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing." - Michael Pitchard


Valery is a Mindset Mentor & Coach who teaches people how to be the hero of their opportunity instead of the victim of circumstance so they can fully invest themselves in their creative endeavors. Her Inner Wizard process provides tools to tap into the greatest Coach in the world, your Higher Self, authentic voice & power. Empower the Wizard Within http://www.InnerWizard.com Free tips!

Who Are You? Misguided Blockhead or Masterful Wizard?

Who are you? Some say that a person is a product of his or her choices. Much like the causality dilemma of "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" that evokes questions about life and how the Universe in general began, who you are can be rooted in a circular cause and consequence pattern of experience.

Or is it?

The answer is, it depends. It depends upon how you choose. Are you creating your choices or are your choices creating you?

The decisions you make, the actions you take and the results you experience are originated in how you think. The outcomes of your choices shape your thoughts which influence future decisions. If you don't like what's going on in your life you have the power to change how you think to create newer and better outcomes.

Let's say you got fired. You walked into work one morning and was given an unexpected pink slip and was shown the door. At that moment you have a choice, you can blame your "idiot" boss, cuss out your co-workers or clients and make yourself feel better by telling yourself you don't need that stinkin' job anyway. Or you can recognize the moment as a learning opportunity, take a step back and examine why exactly you got fired.

If you choose to blindly attribute your misfortune to the acts of others you are left with no information to prevent the same unwanted experience from again happening. After some time you find another job only to be shown the door again a few months later. And the repeated pattern of experience continues. You become a resentful, bitter, perhaps depressed, person who can't hold down a job and thinks your fate is in the hands of misguided blockheads.

Is this you? No. This is a person who lives life on autopilot, powerless to achieve an inner calling. It not who you came into this world to become. Nevertheless, the revolving door of bad experience after the other has, however, become your life experience as a consequence of the choice you made to blame others for the loss of your job. Your choices are creating who you have become. You have become the misguided blockhead.

What if you made a different choice? What if you examined why you initially got fired? You would discover what, specifically, lead to your termination. You would discover what errors in judgment you might have made, what signals you missed or didn't act on, or what relationships you failed to cultivate. Armed with this new information, lessons learned, and better way of thinking you will make very different choices in your next job.

Is this you? Yes. It is the you in the process of discovering and expressing your full potential. This is who you came into this world to be, tapped into your personal power as the deliberate creator of your life experience. The question remains, which you are you expressing today? If you're not sure, check in with how you feel. If your tired and frustrated your choices are creating you. If you energized and fulfilled, you are creating your choices. Like an masterful Wizard, you are the alchemist turning your passionate dream into a real experience.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates

By the way, the answer to which came first the chicken or the egg is, the egg. It has something to do with zygote cells, DNA, and an illicit tryst with a rooster.

Valery is an Inner Wizard Mindset Mentor & Coach who teaches people how to be the hero of their opportunity instead of the victim of circumstance so they can fully invest themselves in their creative endeavors. Clients also learn how to root out self-sabotaging behavior that can land them in the National Enquirer! Empower the Wizard Within http://www.InnerWizard.com Free tips!

Tap Into Creative Flow Through Humor

Childhood is often referred to as a carefree and playful time enjoyed without a thought of responsibility. However, a more accurate look at the average youth experience reveals that children experience quite a bit of emotional and sometimes physical pain. Many children who live such a stressful childhood reach for humor as a coping mechanism.

A group of researchers at Texas A&M found that humor can significantly increase hope and that hopefulness helps people cope with stresses in daily life including illness. At professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY demonstrated in a medical setting that humor helps both patients and physicians cope. It is true, laughter is often the best medicine.

"Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on." - Bob Newhart

Many people who have had painful childhoods became masters at humor. Watch most any James Lipton interview with an actor on Bravo's "Inside The Actors Studio" and you will recognize the common thread of talented actors who have turned to their craft to cope with a difficult childhood. It is frequently assumed that comics and comedians used humor to deal with stressful childhood environments, particularly with parental conflict or a distant mother.

"Nobody became an actor because he had a good childhood." - William H. Macy

Rodney Dangerfield, was one of the funniest comics and actors who was raised by his mother. Growing up with a painful childhood found escape through humor. As a child, comedian George Lopez never felt like it was great to be part of a family. When first performed, at age 18, he made the audience roar with laughter. He felt like he was flying. It was the first time he ever felt complete acceptance and love.

Jim Carrey knew hardship as a child. His mother was often ill and Jim spent many hours near her bedside spontaneously performing funny routines to make her laugh, make her feel better. Chris Rock based his show "Everybody Hates Chris" on his painful childhood memories growing up as the only black student in an all-white school in New York City. After comedian and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres' parents divorced she helped her mother cope with depression by making her laugh. A surprising number of comics have such faced hardships as children, yet managed to find their personal salvation through laughter. They continue to cope with childhood memories, and provide our entertainment, by making us laugh. Often this laughter helps us cope with our own painful memories.

"I found I could make her happy, and she wouldn't be crying anymore," When you're a kid you don't usually have that kind of control over your parent, but I could change her emotion, and that was amazing." - Ellen De Generes

"Life can be a bummer -- full of hurt and pain and sadness. It's part of it, and important to put it in perspective. Have a sense of humor as much as you can." - Ellen DeGeneres

We express laughter through the body, through emotions and with our spirit. Laughter evokes an internal flowing that is life-affirming. A hearty guffaw can improve blood flow, according to a study from the University Maryland. When you enjoy a good laugh, your body relaxes and triggers endorphins that promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. Laughing also helps to break down stress hormones and build up hormones associated with happiness.

So if you're having a day when your frustrated, stressed out, anxious or just plain stuck, watch a few funny YouTube videos, go to a Comedy Club or spend some time with people and things that make you laugh! Get your blood flowing, your heart beating and step back into the rhythm and flow that is the essence of the playful creative spirit.

You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it. - Bill Cosby

Valery is a Superstar Mindset Mentor & Coach who teaches people to tap into their inner power & wisdom, get out of their own way & fully invest themselves in their creative endeavors. Clients also learn how to root out self-sabotaging behavior that can land them on TMZ! Empower the Wizard Within, http://www.InnerWizard.com Get Free "Empower the Wizard Within tips"!

Your Exhaustion is Really Inner Critic FEAR

Many people come to me complaining that they're tired, exhausted, unable to find balance in their life. Some have incredibly busy schedules and others live a life of casual leisure. Yet, both are exhausted. I also know people who have either busy or leisurely schedules who are not tired, they are full of energy and rarely, if ever, tire. What's the difference?

I've discovered that those in the chronically tired camp live 'should be' lives. They fear they are not good, smart, talented or whatever enough to live life centered in the truth of who they are, on their terms so they adopt a way of life that meets with who they think they're supposed to be, what they're supposed to do and have. One can get very good at living a 'should be' life but it is exhausting. I takes a lot of work to live contrary to your natural preferences and talents; against your purpose. It is a life spent swimming upstream - and that's exhausting!

"Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself." Samuel Butler

Those who live authentically, aligned with their purpose, enjoy a seemingly inexhaustible source of energy. Aligned with purpose, energy is always there to do whatever inspires you. You never get tired, and each day is met with a sense of joy. No matter how busy, days unfold effortlessly, a flow with the stream of life.

If you are exhausted, too tired to create you are really stuck in Finding Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) why you cannot honor and give voice to your authentic self, your purpose and unique abilities that are your birthright. If you are giving power to that monkey minded Inner Critic chatter telling you that you cannot do or express what your heart is calling you to create you deplete your energy source, your Inner Being, Higher Self or what I playfully call the Wizard within. If you think too much and fail to take action, fear makes its home within you. You become exhausted as you work against your natural flow. You stand still in your journey to actualize and express your full potential.

"The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have." - Norman Vincent Peale

Go from tired to inspired by giving power to the Inner Being voice within you. This is the voice that knows you by heart, knows your personal passions and greatest desires. Ask what your Inner Being wants to do and create and take one step in that direction. Then take another step. And another. Soon you will be living your life authentically, in alignment with what you are here to be, do and have. You will have turned around to flow easily with the stream instead of paddling exhaustively against it.

“I'm so tired, but I can't sleep...standing on the edge of something much too deep...funny how I feel so much but cannot say a word...we are screaming inside, oh, but we can't be heard...so afraid to love you, more afraid to lose...clinging to a past” - Sarah McLachlan

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor and Coach who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles that often come packaged with the life of a visual & performing artist. Clients learn how to express their full potential deliberately & responsibly to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Empower the Wizard Within to actualize and express your full creative potential. http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Empower the Wizard Within tips"!

Creatively Blocked? Let Go Of It Has To Be Good

There you are again, staring endlessly at the blank canvas or page. Perhaps you are sitting at the piano, clueless as to where to place your hands. Are you struggling with how to develop your character in the role you've just landed? Are you frozen with a creative block, stuck in procrastination, scared that you've reached the end of your talent and will never have a creative thought ever again? If so, you are creatively blocked. You've reached a dead end and you're spent, depleted of all creative energy. Petrified, you struggle and struggle to come up with inspiration only to expand your fear into high anxiety. "If I were any good at this it wouldn't be so hard!".

Ah, there it is. You've Found and Excuse And Reason (F.E.A.R.) to hold yourself back from your creative flow. "I'm not good enough!" What is, exactly, good enough? According to whom? What does it mean to be good enough? Is it perfection? Is it a natural ability to create spontaneously at any given moment? Is it receiving awards and applause for your talent from associates and the public?

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

There is no greater waste of energy for a creative person than to worry about whether or not one is good enough or talented enough. You are talented. Period. Sometimes you get in the zone of creativity easily and sometimes you don't. Sometimes you create a masterpiece, sometimes you create something that stinks up the room. All of it is part of the creative process. Every step in that process has value, expands your creative vision, talent and work flow. What you bring with you to the work in front of you is contained in the last piece and the ones before that - including the rotten eggs.

"The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable." - Robert Henri

If you're mired in creative block just begin. Write, paint, emote, play anything. Let go of the notion that whatever you are developing has to be good. Be willing to create a major flop. Get silly. Get naked. Do something, anything, that will move you beyond the frustration and stress of having to create something good. Just get into the process and let go. Let the work unfold as it will rather than place limitations through the right or wrong, good or bad of it. Let go and flow.

"I tamed my personal art demon – the tendency to think about painting rather than actually painting – by throwing the stuff on the blank paper and telling myself I didn't care about the end result. I believed it and was saved." - Rich Hawk


Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor & Coach who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles that often come packaged with the life of a visual & performing artist. Clients learn how to express their full potential deliberately & responsibly to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Empower the Wizard Within to actualize and express your full creative potential. http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Empower the Wizard Within tips"!

How to Slay the Fear Monger Through Creativity

Fear cripples creativity. Nothing new there. We've all experienced fear as we reach for inspiration, motivation and satisfaction. Fear dwells at the bottom of the pit of desperation. Fear is the lowest of lows.

I have a client who came to me and said that she felt like she was stuck in a vat of peanut butter, unable to make any headway in her career as artist. She was frustrated, exhausted and, most of all, disappointed in herself. What little energy she had left was spent beating herself up emotionally about her failure to create, her inability to birth an inspired idea. She hadn't completed a painting in months.

Many people experience highs and lows, some more extreme than others. To sustain creativity during the ebb and flow of the emotional spectrum it is best to "Keep on keepin' on." Creative musicians such as Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, and John Lennon have written songs about the necessity of forward movement to keep from drowning in fear or desperation. If you don't swim you'll sink! Swimming in a forward direction is optimal. At the very least, go with the flow.

"Nothing happens until something moves." - Albert Einstein

If your work depends upon your ability to create and tap into inspiration and you find the creative process elusive you may be dragging the reluctant along in the form of fear. Fear has stopped many dead in their tracks. The frightened Inner Critic chatters endlessly demanding that you hold yourself back, limit yourself to stay safe.

This Inner Critic is woefully misguided. What will keep you safe is not following the direction of the part of you that says NO to what you wish to create. What will keep you safe is to remember who you are, an empowered human being with the gifts and talent to create whatever it is that you imagine that is your birthright.

My client's primary fear was that she didn't have another creative thought in her. And wouldn't have another inspired idea ever. And in this fear she brilliantly created no creativity, no inspiration. The more she tried to force a creative moment the more she came up empty. Creativity and inspiration is delivered through the flow of life. You cannot force flow. Force is swimming upstream. Going with the flow is nature's life-affirming power.

"Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive.. the risk to be alive and express what we really are." - Don Miguel Ruiz

What is creativity about, really? Creativity has a lot to do with the willingness to take risks, small baby step risks that help overcome procrastination, the fears of rejection, failure and change. People fear change so they stay safe in the current comfort zone not willing to take one step beyond it. Fear of failure or success is a desperate attempt to stay put. The creative flow returns when you let go of your grip on your current comfort zone. Let go of your blanket of false security, false fears and resistance to inevitable change.

The funny thing about fear is that most of what people fear never happens unless they create the fearful experience themselves. Many people avoid public speaking because they fear they will drop dead of embarrassment if they forget a line, trip over the podium or evoke some other horrible public humiliation. I have seen many a speaker, even on live television broadcasted internationally, say or do something that ended up as a laughable YouTube video and not one of them has ever died as a result. Oh, they may suffer a bit of unwanted attention for a day or two. What many who have suffered deep humiliation have learned from the experience is priceless.

In learning that they did not die, that the world did not come to an end, they realized how silly their fear really was. Many people have even benefited greatly from public humiliation or even simple private criticism. We all admire and applaud the people who fall down publicly, dusted themselves off, and kept on keepin' on.

It's not what happens to you that shapes your life. It's what you do with what happens to you that creates your future. Whether you are an artist, writer, actor, musician or creator of any kind the important thing is to continue create art, write, act, or make music. Let go of any thoughts that what you create has to be good. Creativity is a process. Sometimes creating a stink bomb births inspiration for the rose.

"Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free." - Jim Morrison

Valery Satterwhite is a Creative Mentor who specializes in empowering people to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Learn how to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery developed a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower the Wizard Within to actualize and express your full creative potential. Subscribe today at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Empower the Wizard Within tips" too!

The Power of Your Power Point Presence

It's funny when and where inspiration strikes. My latest epiphany came to me while soaking in a hot bubble bath. I had to run from the tub soaking wet to write it down. I've learned that inspiration can disappear as quickly as it comes if not acted upon. This nugget of an AHA moment made me giggle. It came to me that our first intention of the day, and general way of being, is our Power Point Presentation.

No! I'm not talking about those endlessly long and often boring corporate presentations that we've all suffered through. I'm referring to how you show up in life, show up in your work, your craft, your relationships, your attitudes, beliefs and innermost thoughts. Are you showing up and presenting yourself from a position of power or have you given up your power and approach life and your experiences as a victim?

Where you struggle in life is where you have given up your power. Where you struggle in life is where you say NO to you, your dreams, your truth, and your authenticity. Some give their power in a misguided effort to go along and please others. People give up their personal power when they consider themselves a victim to the economy, the government, the glass ceiling, the starving artist myth, gender, age and social status perceived limitations. You have literally given up your power when you feel powerless.

Many people give their power to their own Inner Critic when they Find Excuses And Reasons to justify limitations in opportunity, ability, and self-worth. The acronym for Finding Excuses And Reasons or False Evidence (or emotions) Appearing Real is F.E.A.R. - FEAR!

"Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true." - Honore de Balzac

There is an important distinction to make. The word Power is not synonymous with the word Force.

The dictionary defines Power as:

- possession of controlling influence; "the power of his love saved her"; "his powerfulness was concealed ...
- ability: possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done
- one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority; "may the force be with you";
- might: physical strength

Force is defined as:

- coerce: to cause to do through pressure
- physical energy or intensity;
- push: move with force
- impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably;
- wedge: squeeze like a wedge into a tight space
- violence: an act of aggression

"Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it." - Warren Bennis

Power provides energy. Force consumes energy. Power is a product of intention. Force is a product of oppression. Power is personal, within oneself as opposed to a power over others. Power over others is almost always a product of people exerting force, not harnessing power. Indeed, people's misconception of what power is often leads to the very opposite outcome of what people seek.

Using force to take action requires a justification (thought) for that action. Often, that justification is negative and not best for all people. A big problem with the use of force is that force must always justified. You must find excuses and reasons for the use of force.

Examine how you show up in life. Do you present yourself from the point of power, the cause of your experience or as a victim, the effect of your circumstance? What is your personal Power Point Presentation?

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." - Audre Lorde

Valery Satterwhite is a Creative Mentor who specializes in empowering people to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Learn how to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery developed a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower the Wizard Within to actualize and express your full creative potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Inner Wizard Empowerment tips" too!

Blocked Creatively? Here's A Get Out of Jail Free Card

The most damaging restrictions on a creative person's freedom are self-imposed. What may have started out as a new idea, a new methodology, becomes routine, a habit, after awhile. Habits are the comfort zone. Once snuggled into a comfort zone there is a tendency to stay. However, this is not what a creator is here to do. Staying in a comfort zone habitually creating the same kind of thing over and over again does not feed the artist's soul. Comfort zones are safe. Comfort zones bore creative people literally to tears. Stagnation goes flies in the face of an artist's passionate desire to expand and express their full creative potential.

Habits are not limited to craft. The greatest crippler of the creative spirit is habitual thinking. Habitual thinking turns the innovator into the academician; passion into melancholy; fulfillment into despair.

"A ship in the harbor is safe. But that's not what ships are built for." - Anon

If an artist isn't personally evolving; stretching, growing, moving beyond comfort zones, then her art isn't evolving. Stagnation suffocates the potential creative expression that is the artist's birthright. Treading water in life, not moving in any direction, is exhausting! Swimming against the stream, holding back your full creative potential, is exhausting. Let go of tired old ways of being, thinking and doing. Rediscover the playful child in you. Approach your art with the wide-eyed wonder and awe of a child at an amusement park where everything is new, exciting, waiting to be experienced. Fear and judgment is left behind. Play is what turns the utilitarian into the discoverer of new interpretation, new invention. Play is the vital heartbeat of the creative spirit.

If you think you might be treading water in life or your artistic endeavors, give yourself permission to play. Play with your craft, indulge your passions, do a silly dance. Shake up your stagnated energy. Fully alive and present, be open and available for whatever comes next. That glorious state of being is the ultimate freedom.


Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering people to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Learn how to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery developed a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower the Wizard Within to actualize and express your full creative potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Inner Wizard Empowerment tips" too!

Stuck? You May Be Alice in Wonderland

Stuck? You May Be Alice in Wonderland

I encourage everyone to reread the stories that awed and entertained us as children. I guarantee you will find new meaning as an adult in the works of Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss, Frank Baum and his Wizard of Oz series, and more. These authors delivered powerful life affirming messages to us as children. Often we missed, or simply didn't understand the profound wisdom, in the words of our bedtime stories.

For example, like Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll in "Alice in Wonderland" reminded us to be true to ourselves, true to who we really are.

Caterpillar: Who are YOU?

Alice: This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. I -- I hardly know, sir, just at present -- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.

As children we wake up in awe and wonderment eagerly awaiting the new discoveries of the day. Pretty soon we find ourselves having to navigate the 'how you must live' book of rules put into place for us by our parents, teachers, and other influencers such as our schoolroom very best friends forever. We condition ourselves to meet the expectations of everyone else and forget to include ourselves; our true calling and deepest desires, in the mix.

"If you don't know where you want to go, it doesn't matter which road you take." - Cheshire Cat

The Cheshire Cat impressed upon us the importance of having a destination, a goal, in mind before we set out on a journey. Many people have forgotten this powerful advice. Never underestimate the wisdom of a cat. Even Eckhart Tolle, author of "The Power of Now" told us that he lived with a lot of Zen Masters in his life; all of them cats.

I often ask people what they want to achieve. Many will answer, "I want financial freedom" or "I want success". Pressed further and asked what financial freedom or success looks like to them they will often say "I could do whatever I want". Pressed even further to ask what, specifically, that life will look like I'm often met with a deer-in-the-headlights look of "I don't know, I haven't figured that out yet."

If they do have an answer it is usually based on getting rid of something they already have; extra weight, bad relationship or job, a stuck state of procrastination or melancholy. Here too, the focus is upon what they don't want instead of what they want. Imagine jumping into a taxicab in the middle of New York City and telling the driver to just drive away from where you are now with no direction in mind. Just wander up and down random streets with no destination in mind until you either run out of gas, money or patience.

This is not a way to live your life. Get very clear on where you want to go! Have that destination based on something you want instead of something you do not want.

"Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction." - Doorknob in "Alice in Wonderland"

You have an internal guidance system and map with directions within you. Yet many people fail to tap into this powerful resource. Your intuition will tell you if you are headed in the direction of your dreams and desires or not. All you have to do is listen and pay attention. Some people call this intuitive voice the Higher Self. We playfully call it the Wizard Within.

Your map with directions is held in the experiences you've already had. If you examine the experiences you had that you did not like you will discover what thoughts, choices and actions created those unwanted experiences. Now you know not to repeat that same pattern and where to make adjustments to create a different and better experience the next time. If you examine the experiences you had that you liked, you will discover the recipe to create that good experience over and over again.

It is important to leave all judgment aside as you examine your life. Everyone is always doing the best they can with the light they have to see. Examining your life experiences is the best way to add more light on your life journey.

"Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it." - Lewis Carroll

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering people to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably. Learn how to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery developed a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower the Wizard Within to actualize and express your full creative potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Inner Wizard Empowerment tips" too!

A Profound Empowering Influence: Dr. Seuss

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem & smarter than you think." - Winnie the Pooh

Some of the most profound and enlightening literature is found in the stories we heard and read as children. Philosophers such as Winnie the Pooh, Dennis the Menace and Dr. Suess taught us how to live authentically with confidence. And we often abandoned those lessons; pushing them aside as "stuff for kids". As we grew we abandoned authenticity, lost confidence and often lost our ability to play, create with abandon.

"The best thing you can do is get good at being you." - Dennis the Menace

That's our purpose in life; to express our full potential. Yet many people work hard, even throughout a lifetime, to express someone else's unexpressed potential. The people allow the should-ers, the people who tell them who they should be, what they should do and what they should have, dictate their life. And so they live a life unexpressed, with their story untold, their song unsung.

I suggest we treat ourselves to an afternoon or two, or twenty, devoted to revisiting the stories we read and adored as children. We marveled at these stories, these characters, because they called out for us to acknowledge and embrace who we are at our deepest core. We were inspired to live loudly and create expressively. Winnie the Pooh, Dennis the Menace and Dr. Seuss remind us that we are individuals with unique gifts to bring to the world. Our purpose in life is to....

"Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss.

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people in the visual & performing arts to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably. Empower yourself to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource/Marketing Directory" too!

Success Comes with a New Pair of Glasses

"Every man takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world." - Arthur Schopenhauer

Four people on four different street corners witness the same traffic accident. The police arrive and ask each of the four people to describe what happened. And get four different versions of how the event happened.

Which of the four witnesses is right about what happened?

All of them.

And none of them.

The same is true in life.

How we view ourselves, our world, and the events of our lives depends upon our viewpoint, the proverbial lens through which we see. The lens is the system of beliefs, expectations, and presuppositions we hold. You use this lens when you evaluate your circumstances and opportunities.

For example, let's say two people walk into an audition for a leading role. Both are rejected with equal harsh criticism for their character portrayal and delivery.

One actor returns home, depleted, and validates his belief that he'll never make it as an actor. He gives up his dream of a theatrical career and sets about finding a 'real' job.

The other actor returns home and quickly writes down the critical remarks. He studies the remarks and adjusts his performance. He rehearses and rehearses and rehearses the scene applying what he has learned from the botched audition. He then either secures a second audition with a better chance of winning the role or goes on to the next audition better prepared. He knows, with certainty, that he'll make it as an actor and that failed auditions are opportunities to learn and improve his craft.

Where one person sees limitation, the other sees opportunity.

How do you view your experience? Is it time to examine your 'lens'? Is it time for a new pair of glasses?

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people in the visual & performing arts to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably. Empower yourself to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource/Marketing Directory" too!

Who Am I Kidding? How to Stop Self-Sabotage

"Who am I Kidding?"

"Who am I to do this?"

"What am I thinking?"

"I'm not (fill in the blank) enough."

These are questions creative people in the visual and performing arts ask themselves every day. They are the questions that stop an artist from starting a project. Stop an actor from going out for a major audition. Stop a musician from completing a score.

A creative person doesn't like to be stopped so she Finds Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) to justify the stoppage and make herself feel better, even if only for a moment.

"The secret of success in life is to be ready when your opportunity comes." - Benjamin Disraeli

Yes, when you are finding excuses and reasons to say no to the work, say no to the opportunity, say no to your desires, you are in fear. The fear could be rooted in many misguided beliefs. You could fear failure, not believing that failure is a stepping stone to success. You could fear judgment, not able to separate yourself from the work . You could fear rejection, not centered in the truth of who you are.

Surprisingly what most creative people fear is the fear of Success. Fear of success can be just as paralyzing as fear of failure. Success is scary because it involves change. It is a move beyond the current comfort zone, a move into a vulnerable unknown territory. With success comes more challenges and responsibilities – and that can be threatening.

Even if Success is achieved, many people succumb to their fear of success and self-sabotage. You see examples of this type of self-sabotage nearly daily in the tabloids. Celebrities, politicians, business tycoons caught in the act of doing something that publicly damages their business , reputation and career.

"Who am I Kidding?"

"Who am I to do this?"

"What am I thinking?"

"I'm not (fill in the blank) enough."

And, if successful; "It's only a matter of time before they find out that I'm not really enough."

And that's where the self-sabotaging behavior comes in.

People fear that they may not be able to live up to their achievements. They're afraid of tasting success and then losing it. They're afraid of the humiliation that can come with such a loss. So, they find excuses and reasons not to move forward on the path to success in the first place. If they manage to achieve success, they will create some drama - an event - that will prove to their inner critic that the belief is true, they are not enough.

The Inner Critic loves to be right. It loves to be safe in the current comfort zone. It works hard to prove it's rightness and stay safe. If you are procrastinating or finding excuses and reasons then you are a victim to your own Inner Critic.

The good news is that once you've noticed your self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors you can do something about them. You can make different choices. When you hear that Inner Critic voice reminding you that you are not enough you can just stop thank it for 'sharing', and take a breath. With your next breath, ask yourself the following questions:

Not Enough? According to whom?

Is that true? How can I know this is absolutely true?

Are there any examples of when I have been enough? (Find examples. There are plenty of times in your life when you have been good enough. If you're reading this article you're reading skills are good enough!)

Who would I be, what would I do and what would I have if I was successful? Imagine that lifestyle vividly. In great detail. Feel it. Hold this vision of your life as a successful artist with you as you go about your life and your work.

And, most importantly, put one foot in front of the other and say yes to your work. Say yes to yourself as a creative being.

"Success supposes endeavor." - Jane Austen

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people in the visual & performing arts to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably. Empower yourself to trust your intuition, acknowledge your truth, and disarm your fear and self-doubt. Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource/Marketing Directory" too!

Integrity Ignites Effortless Creative Flow

"This above all; to thine own self be true." - William Shakespeare

What is integrity?
What does it mean to be in integrity?

If you look up the word "integrity" in the dictionary you will learn that it comes from the Latin word, "integer" which means "whole". Integrity is an unreduced or unbroken completeness, wholeness, totality, incorruptibility. It is an unimpaired condition and the quality or state of being complete and undivided. Integrity is found in a state of being who you are and, allowing others the same right.

When you are "in integrity" you are in alignment with who you are at your deepest core; your truth. In any area of your life where you struggle your thoughts and actions are out of integrity, you are not behaving in alignment with who you are.

"The voice within is what I'm married to. All marriage is a metaphor for that marriage. My lover is the place inside me where an honest yes and no come from. That's my true partner. It's always there. And to tell you yes when my integrity says no is to divorce that partner." - Byron Katie

To live in alignment, in integrity with who you are you:

- Speak what you know to be true even if it may cause conflict.
- Ask for what you need and want from others.
- Behave according to your personal values.
- Make decisions based on what is true for you, not the beliefs of others.

"Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do." - Don Galer

When you are in integrity with who you are, life flows seemingly effortlessly. When you are acting in ways that are not in alignment with your truth you don't feel good. You may be frustrated or upset. You may think less of yourself and beat yourself up over the choices you have made.

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?" - Albert Camus

Notice what you say to yourself and others. Be mindful whether or not those statements are in or out of alignment with who you are. Think and act in integrity with who you are and observe how your life transforms from one of struggle to creative flow.


Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people to succeed in their craft and business. She teaches people in the visual and performing arts how to tap into and trust their intuition, acknowledge their truth, and disarm their fear and self-doubt. No longer willing to continue as a starved creative spirit who lived conditioned inauthentic life Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource/Marketing Directory" too!

Show Up Naked - Honor Your Authenticity

"A poem is a naked person... Some people say that I am a poet." - Bob Dylan

When you show up naked, vulnerable, authentic and open, you allow others to genuinely see who you are. You've heard the old adage, "Actions Speak Louder than Words". It's true. When you fully realize that what you do is the fullest expression of who you are, you are enlightened. You honor the integrity of you. What you do honors your authenticity. You live consistently with the highest realization of what you know to be true.

Is your life experience is a reflection of your deepest authenticity?

"No legacy is so rich as honesty." - Shakespeare

When you live from a place of deep authenticity and let others to see your true self you a free. The proverbial chains of self-doubt and fear that hold you back from your fullest expression as a person, an artist, a creative spirit, are dissolved. You are free to create with abandon abundantly. Your inner most thoughts inspire you to fulfill your unlimited potentiality. You are energetically and enthusiastically engaged in each moment of your life. You feel good!

"No one man can, for any considerable time, wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one." - Hawthorne

Living an inauthentic life doesn't feel good. My people cover themselves up with trappings of who they are not, or who they think they 'should be'. And in the pretending comes the despair of the lie. The despair isn't created from lying to others, it is delivered through the lie to oneself. Dishonoring who you are. Doing inauthentically. Being a lie.

"To contact the deeper truth of who we are, we must engage in some activity or practice that questions what we assume to be true about ourselves." - A. H. Almaas

So, who are you? Who is this true self? Your true nature is the unconditioned part of the self that lies buried beneath the acquired traits, characteristics, and habitual patterns of your personality. It speaks through you as your Intuition, your Higher Self, or what I lovingly call your Inner Wizard. The conditioned part of you, the "supposed to be, should be, unexpressed" part of you is the ego, the Inner Critic. Unlike the inspired Wizard Within, the Inner Critic is full of self-doubt and fear. These to parts of you are integral a physical being, a human. Both play a role.

The question is, which part of you is showing up in your life expression? You may be asking, "If both parts are integral to me as a human being, am I not both the Higher Self and the Inner Critic? And the answer is no, who you are is the Higher Self, a full expression of your truth and potential. As a human in physical form, you've created this misguided Inner Critic to keep you safe, hold you back from fear and pain.

And now you might be thinking, "I need to feel fear, pain, self-doubt in order to create my art. I won't be the artist I am if I don't have fear, pain and self-doubt."

True. You can travel to the deepest depths of pain, fear and self-doubt, totally immerse yourself in those emotions to create your art without showing up in your life from that place. When you show up in the costume of pain, fear and self-doubt you are presenting yourself to the world inauthentically. You can remain authentic to your Higher Self and use the expressions of the Inner Critic as a tool rather than a way of being.

I invite you to explore the Inner Critic beliefs, expectations and vows that do not represent your truth. Try showing up naked in your life. Realize that when you fully connect with the Higher Self, the Wizard within, the one you've always known was there, you can create a profound meaningful relevant impact in your art and in your life experience.

"Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss


Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people to succeed in their craft and business. She teaches people in the visual and performing arts how to tap into and trust their intuition, acknowledge their truth, and disarm their fear and self-doubt. No longer willing to continue as a starved creative spirit who lived conditioned inauthentic life Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource Directory" too!

Stress Relief: Take Up Cog-Knitting

Granny may be on to something that our comparatively inexperienced presence may not be aware of. We often run to Granny for her sage, sometimes cryptic, wisdom. And Grannies knit. Are the two related? Would we be well served by picking up a pair of knitting needles and a skein or two of yarn? Perhaps, through knitting, we are really weaving together deeper levels of consciousness and self-awareness disguised as a misshapen turtleneck sweater. In other words, do we find relief for the monkey mind Inner Critic that serves up stress, anxiety, fear and doubt through cog-knitting?

We know that knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. Knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them.

Here are a couple of definitions of the word Cognitive found on the Web:

• The part of mental functions that deals with logic, as opposed to affective which deals with emotions
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cognitive

• The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.
www.jabcreations.com/philosophy/philosophy-definitions.php

• The process of perceiving, thinking, reasoning and analyzing.
www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp

• High-level functions carried out by the human brain, including comprehension and use of speech, visual perceptions and construction, calculation ability, attention (information processing), memory, and executive functions such as planning, problem-solving and self-monitoring.
www.epgpatientdirect.org/page.cfm/page/83/title/Glossary

• Relating mental awareness and judgment.
science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/other/glossary.htm

Cog-knitting, therefore, is the interwoven actions of cognitive thinking and knitting to weave and pull through the meanings we attach to the events of our lives that result in stress, anxiety, fear and self-doubt.

Granny doesn't just knit; she cog-knits. Calmly, serenely, peacefully as she creates something purposeful out of nothing. She creates AHA moments and baby booties; new levels of personal and cultural awareness and mittens. So, I suggest we engage in

So the next time Granny gifts you with the woolen scarf that you either want to wrap around your neck immediately or tuck away forever in the back of a drawer never to be seen again ("I can't go out in public wearing THAT!) take a moment, or ten, to discover the real gift in the creation. Spend time with Granny to avail yourself of her evolutionary journey of self-discovery. She has many valuable lessons to pass on and you might even learn how to cog-knit your own scarves and transformational discoveries.

Knit one, purl two everyone!


Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people to succeed in their craft and business. She teaches people in the visual and performing arts how to tap into and trust their intuition, acknowledge their truth, and disarm their fear and self-doubt. No longer willing to continue as a starved creative spirit who lived conditioned inauthentic life Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. Join now to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably at http://www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource Directory" too!

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Nurturing Creativity" at TED Conference

Many of you know Elizabeth Gilbert through her book, "Eat, Pray, Love" a fun and inspiring memoir of her self-awareness romp through the "I" countries; Italy, India and Indonesia. Last February she was a speaker at TED: Technology, Entertainment, Design - a conference that brings together the top influencers in those three areas.

I encourage you to watch this video of her TED talk as Elizabeth muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses. She shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. As you know, I call this genius the Inner Wizard. It's a funny, personal and moving talk for all who are interested in pursuing their creative dreams.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

The New York Times named "Eat, Pray, Love" as one of the 100 most notable books of 2006. In 2008, Elizabeth was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, by Time Magazine. As a prolific writer, Elizabeth is tapped into her Inner Wizard who inspires her to constantly reach for the unknown, put herself 'out there', and rededicate herself each day to the work, and life, she loves as a writer and story teller.

Asked "What was the biggest surprise about your journey through the "I" countries?" Elizabeth's response was:

"How well it worked. I found exactly what I was looking for during that year of traveling. In fact, I found more than I’d dared to hope for. Looking back on it now, though, I think that this amazing result was sort of inevitable. I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call “The Physics of The Quest” – a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: “If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you.” Or so I’ve come to believe. I can’t help but believe it, given my experience." - Elizbeth Gilbert

Those are these words expressed by someone with an empowered Inner Wizard who lets the Inner Critic come along for the ride - in the back seat, safe and powerless, with a bankie and a sippy cup.

You can find out more about Elizabeth Gilbert and her work at http://www.ElizabethGilbert.com


Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people to succeed in their craft and business. She teaches creative people how to tap into and trust their intuition, acknowledge their truth, and disarm their fear and self-doubt. No longer willing to continue as a starved creative spirit who lived conditioned inauthentic life Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique "Inner Wizard" methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential in their craft and business. Join now to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably at www.InnerWizard.com. Get Free "Artist Resource Directory" too!

The Inner Critic Kidnaps The Artist Soul

"Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your Soul." - Walt Whitman

For many artists, challenges are very personal. And one of the biggest challenges is the Critic in the room, the Inner Critic. This gnarly Inner Critic is the voice of your self-doubt and fear. It is the emotional ties that bind you, hold you back, keep you stuck, limit you in what you think is possible for you as an artist. This Inner Critic will critique and beat you up more than any audience or perceived expert ever will. If allowed, this Inner Critic will suck the life force right out of you.

"Being true to yourself is what feeds creativity, not self-doubt and criticism." - Diane Arenberg

Why? Because it is a very frightened little creature. It acts nasty as a defense mechanism. What it really wants to do is crawl under a bankie with a sippy cup where it's safe; where no one will bother him.

There are many 'not safe' zones for the Inner Critic. Here are a three:

1. Starting big project that you have never done before. (What if I fail?)
2. Having a bigger presence in the public eye than it has now. (It's only a matter of time before they find out I'm not really that good.)
3. Rejection. (If they reject my art, then they reject me, and I will cease to be relevant - or even exist.)

Fear that you're not being, or won't be, acknowledged as an artist will hold you back. Fear that you're not good enough compared with other artists will choke your expression. This fear may lead to anger, bitterness and even depression. Since you're art is an expression of you, this fearful held-back state of beingness will be reflected in your art. There is a vast difference between deliberately illustrating and expressing pain, desperation, and other negative emotions and holding yourself back in your artistic expression as a result of pain, desperation and other negative emotions.

Here are some acronyms for the word FEAR (F.E.A.R.):

Finding Excuses And Reasons
- Are you procrastinating?

False Evidence Appearing Real
- Are you blaming other people or circumstances for being stuck your lack of success?

False Emotions Appearing Real
- Are you beating up on yourself for not being 'good' enough? Here's a clue: If you're feeling 'down' then there's a good chance you're beating up on yourself.

And my personal favorite (drum roll please)

F@#k Everything And Run
- Are you thinking about quitting, giving up on your pursuits as an artist?

You can deny your dreams but the outcome will be quiet desperation. The desperation becomes the safe comfort zone. You're Inner Critic will fight hard to keep you where it feels safe. You may not like the desperate comfort zone that you find yourself in but it's what you know. Safe. No surprises.

"To see far is one thing. Going there is another." - Brancusi

If you find that your in a state of FEAR there is a little trick you can apply to help you crawl out of that dark hole. You can ask yourself the following two questions:

1. What am I getting out of staying in this state? You don't do anything unless you get something out of it. What is staying right where you are in your artistic process allowing you to do?

2. Who would I be; what would I do; what would I have without this fear? Use your imagination to visualize that life. Run with it! Breathe it in.

The only thing standing between you and want you want to create for your art and your life experience is you. It's time to get out of your own way. Or, head down to Wal-Mart and get yourself a nice bankie and sippy cup. Get several. You'll be snuggled in, warm and comfy, for a long time.

"Remember, with every doubt comes a hitch in the natural flow of being." - Ian Factor

Valery Satterwhite is the Founder of the International Association for Inner Wizards. She teaches artists of all kinds how to get out of their own way, eliminate personal and professional roadblocks, so they can fully express their artistic vision and succeed in the business of art. Empower the Wizard Within, tame the Inner Critic, unleash and Inspire the Muse. Get Free Artist Resource Directory today at http://www.InnerWizard.com.

Are You Creatively Blocked or Are You Resisting - How to Know the Difference

Artists of every kind; painters, photographers, sculptors and actors will tell me that they are blocked. When we examine their specific challenge we discover that often they are not blocked, the are really resisting moving forward. There is a vast difference between the two. If you're struggling with your creative expression and vocation here's a way to determine whether your are blocked or unconsciously resisting as an artist.

First of all, let's take a look at what the definition of 'block' is. A block, in this context, is an obstruction; something that hinders or prevents the progress of accomplishment. Resistance, on the other hand, is the action of opposing something; a refusal to comply. We also say that something is resistant when it serves as a protective coating.

If you are blocked creatively, you may have doubts about your work, your ability to be successful, your talent. If you are resisting, you have little energy or desire to be creative and take any creative action as an artist or in the business of art. Creative blocks will come and go. Resistance can become chronic.

If you want to know whether your challenge is a block or a resistance look within. Pay attention to your self-talk, that seemingly endless chatter that is with you throughout your waking hours. If this self-talk is telling you that you're not talented or good enough to continue further then this is a block. You are in doubt, perhaps, of your ability to create what you want to express in this particular work. You're stuck, not knowing what next action to take to progressively move forward. You masterfully create distractions to take you away from your art, practice, rehearsal, audition, important meeting. And you've been doing this resisting stuff for a long time. Clearly identify the thoughts that created this blockage, this boulder. Remind yourself that this inner voice of doubt, this Inner Critic, is just a little scared of moving ahead. You're starting to stretch beyond where you've gone before and this little Inner Critic is scared so it is holding you back through inaction, indecision. Choose to take one small step in that direction, and then another, and you'll discover that you're flowing creatively again.

However, if you haven't doodled a noodle, picked up a brush, sung a song, gone to an audition or tinkled the ivories in weeks and weeks and weeks, then you're in a state of resistance. This resistance needs to be closely examined too if you wish to move beyond it. Instead of being in doubt about what's possible you are frozen in fear. What if I fail? If I continue to be an artist as my vocation will I end up living in a box by the side of the road? What if no one likes what I create? What if my work (me) is criticized publicly? Why even bother, when I'll only be rejected again. Will I die, lose my soul, give up on who I am? Deep down inside, you believe that it will be the end of the world if you continue on your path as an artist. In this state you are resisting who you are. You are resisting your own creative expression. And I'm sure you're depleted of energy, exhausted, heavy hearted. Powerless to move forward.

Yes, you are powerless because you have given up your power. If you ask yourself what within you is creating this resistance you may discover that you are shoulding all over yourself. You tell yourself constantly with that self-talk that you should do this, you should do that and yet you don't. I'm sure you have Found Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) why you can't continue on in your chosen path as an artist that is your birthright. But the truth is, you've become a victim of your fear. You've become a victim of the circumstances, events, and experiences in your life instead of the powerful creator that you are. You may even be feeling an urge to eF Everything And Run (F.E.A.R.); quit being an artist, an actor, a musician, a writer, a singer. You may have decided to 'get a real job'. Truth is, you quit on yourself and that feels terrible. And you are beating yourself up over it. And that feels even worse. This is no blocking boulder, this state is a massive wall of resistance. You are so afraid that you've literally thrown a protective blanket on your burning desires.

Again, it's time to examine your thoughts. This time, you're looking for deeper fundamental beliefs about what's possible for you to achieve as an artist. Perhaps you are reminding yourself that "you'll never earn a living as an artist" or 'artists are not business people and therefore doomed to fail".

Are the thoughts true? According to whom? How can you know, absolutely, that they are true? Can you find any evidence to the contrary? Who would you be, what would you do and what would you have if you didn't have these thoughts? For example if you're Inner Critic is telling you that you'll never earn a living as an artist, own that thought. Bring it up from your unconscious self-chatter into your consciousness. Shine light on it. Examine it. Is this true? According to whom? How can this person or these people know that this is true? Is it absolutely true that you'll never earn a living as an artist? Is any artist earning a living? Find more and more evidence that artists do, indeed, earn a living. If they can, so can you. How would you show up in your day as an artist if you didn't have that thought? What would you do? What would you create? What would success look like to you? Now be that! Hold the feeling you have as you envision yourself as a successful artist within you. Show up in your life, and as you approach your art, in that feeling state. You'll be amazed at the new inspiration, new opportunities that suddenly appear, seemingly out of nowhere for you.

So, You have a choice to make. If you are blocked, you can move beyond it. If you are resisting, you can quit. Get a real job. Tell yourself that you really don't want to be an artist and stop whining about it OR you can dissolve your fear. Which do you choose?


Valery Satterwhite is the Founder of the International Association for Inner Wizards. She teaches artists of all kinds how to get out of their own way, eliminate personal and professional roadblocks, so they can fully express their artistic vision and succeed in the business of art. Empower the Wizard Within, tame the Inner Critic, unleash and Inspire the Muse. Get Free Artist Resource Directory today at http://www.InnerWizard.com.

Creative Empowerment: 6 Steps to Shape Your Life

You create your life as an artist uses color. There is no experience that you cannot change. In this miraculous life you are given the gift of a creative being. And with this gift that is your birthright you create your reality according to your beliefs. It is your creative energy that makes your worldly experience. The only limitations to what you can create are within the beliefs you hold.

You create your life through the inner power of your being. This creative power is, and always has been, within you. Affirm this magical power of beingness and use your creative abilities with understanding abandon. Honor your self as you move through your life and create your experiences.

Trust in the destiny and the state of grace in the person that you are. Even if you feel lost at times or have difficulties trust and believe in your powerful ability to create lemonade out of your lemons. Trust your inner self. You can't go through life not liking, rejecting or even fearing who you are and expect to grow spiritually and creatively. A life filled with rich color, beauty, energy and fulfillment begins with a very simple and important step. That first step determines which road you travel, what you create, for your life experience. Will you create your most delicious imaginings or will you create struggle and disappointment? If you want experience what you long for, what calls to you as a creative being, then that first step must be one of affirming who you are as an individual, your truth, personal boundaries and passions.

You make your own reality. You choose the colors, the textures and the artistic style that is the canvas of your life. You are constantly dipping your brush into your palate, the colors of which are based on what you believe about yourself, the world, and other people. How you arrange those colors on this metaphorical canvas are also based on these same beliefs. If you don't like the image you are creating, you must change you colors and arrangement. Using the same color arrangements over and over again that create what you don't like over and over again will never produce the creative expression you are reaching for.

Your beliefs follow you and shape your experience. Period. If you believe that you don't have the talent to create anything new and innovative, you won't. If you believe that you have to have money to make money, you'll never make any money if you don't have any right now. If you believe critics who tell you that you just don't have what it takes to make it then you'll never make it. Belief systems, the egoic programming that runs you (or what I lovingly call the Inner Critic) loves to be right. So, it is constantly on the look out for experiences that prove the belief that is holding you back. And where it can't find evidence, it will create the experience in the form of self-sabotage.

If you think that you might be running some of this buggy programming and have affirmed that this Inner Critic holds the power to create your life experience instead of you it is time to debug and disarm the thoughts and beliefs that aren't working for you. Here's a little formula that will help you change the colors of your life experience.

1. Be mindful.

Notice the thoughts and beliefs you hold. Notice that self-talk chatter. Pay special attention to thoughts that limit you in any way.

2. According to Whom?

When you identify a statement that undermines what you want to experience ask, "According to Whom?" Who, specifically, made this statement? "They" is not an answer. If you accept the source, whatever the source may be, as the definitive authority without question then you have turned over your power to that individual or thing. In any area of your life where you have let go of your personal power you will find struggle and dissatisfaction. Period.

3. Is it True? How do I know it's true?

Ask yourself if the belief is true. Do you know, with certainty, that this belief is true? Absolutely?

4. Look for evidence that supports the opposite of this belief.

For example, if you believe that you have to have money to make money look for evidence of people who started out with nothing and amassed fortunes. If you believe that you'll never make it at whatever you aspire to do, look at all the people who have made it. If they can, so can you. The difference between someone who has made it and someone who hasn't is the knowingness and firm belief that they would make it. It's really as simple as that.

5. Create a new belief based on this new evidence.

Based on the new evidence that you have found that proves that the old belief you held isn't absolute and isn't really true. Reframe the belief into one that supports you. For example, lots of artists have become famous, successful and rich. I no longer believe that as an artist, I'll never make any money.

6. Who would you be, what would you have, what would you do without this belief?

Imagine what your life would be like without this belief. How would it be different? How will you feel? What would you be doing? What will you have in your life that you do not have now? You can be, do and have all that you imagine by letting go of the beliefs that are holding you back from that experience.

You can use this formula to examine any area of your life that is not working for you. Explore the beliefs that are creating the experiences that you do not wish to have. Create new beliefs.

What colors will you paint on your canvas of life?

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau

Valery Satterwhite is the Founder of the International Association for Inner Wizards. She teaches creative people how to tap into their intuition and truth, disarm their self-doubt and fear so that they can empower the wizard within, inspire the muse, and fully express their creative potential. Get free mini-booklet "Discover Your Inner Wizard" and inspirational creative empowerment tips at http://www.InnerWizard.com.

Affirmations: The Most Important One

“Art is essentially the affirmation, the blessing, and the deification of existence” - Friedrich Nietzsche

While traveling the road of life's journey of growth and fulfillment many people recite affirmations such as "I am rich without a hitch" or "I am strong, I am safe and all is well." These affirmations are used to create and develop a positive attitude to life and what's possible for you in that experience. Even those that do not believe in the power of affirmations will say that they "can't hurt" so you might as well say them.

Affirmations can, indeed, hurt and continue to reinforce the very block that it is being used to overcome. For example if the next thought you have after you recite the above affirmation examples are "But there's a glitch" or "Who am I kidding?" then all you are doing in your continued recitation of the affirmation is to reinforce feelings of not being rich and not being strong, safe and well. All you really do in that case is reinforce the negative. And you continue to stay stuck right where you are without any forward positive movement on your journey.

Before you throw your hands up in despair, there is an affirmation that reinforces a 'can do' positive state of self-esteem and being-ness. It's very simple. Easy to remember. The total affirmation is one word. And that word is...

YES!

The word affirmation means saying YES to yourself, your creative expression, and the life you lead. It is accepting your own unique personhood, your own talents. When you affirm you declare solemnly and formally as true. You declare your individuality. You embrace your life, own it, and let it flow through you. You no longer resist it. The greatest strength you could ever have is in your ability to affirm yourself. This affirmation is the acceptance of yourself in your present as the person you are. Within that acceptance you include qualities that you wish you did not have. In that light, affirmation is the loving recognition of your own integrity and value.

Now, this doesn't mean that you like every piece of every experience that you have. Even with these experiences you can affirm your own life force. You can maintain your personal boundaries and refrain from saying yes to events, issues or people that trouble you. Saying yes in this context is not about accepting whatever gets thrown at you. You affirm your uniqueness, say yes to who you are, even at times when you say no. Saying yes to you is about being at cause. Declaring your right to make decisions. Deliberately creating your experiences and owning those experiences without judgment. Without resistance. If an unwanted event is experienced, you affirm yourself in that experience and through examination of that unwanted event reveal how you were at cause in that experience. And make the correction the next time around. When you affirm your life you have the complete understanding that you form your own experiences and emphasize your ability to do so.

That one little affirmation of yes, delivers to you the power to create anything you want to experience or produce in your life.

Say yes. Yes to what you've experienced. Yes to your right to want what you want. Yes to who you are. Yes to the full expression of your creative soul.

"The supreme virtue in art is soul, perhaps it is the only thing which gives it the right to be.” - Willa Sibert Cather

Valery Satterwhite is the Founder of the International Association for Inner Wizards. The ultimate mission of the International Association for Inner Wizards is to reconnect you with the incredible power that is already within you and to encourage you to recognize it, use it in your creative expression and rely upon this resource that is your birthright. We simply deliver back to you that which is already your own. Learn how to say YES! Get free mini-book "Discover Your Inner Wizard" today at http://www.InnerWizard.com.