Prepare To Be Mystified!

"When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it - don't back down and don't give up - then you're going to mystify a lot of folks." - Bob Dylan

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been blogging in the last two weeks. Empowered by my Inner Wizard, I am busy joyfully creating a new and even more powerful website jammed packed with new goodies for you! For those of you who are new to this blog, the Inner Wizard is your unique expression of the human spirit. Some people call it a Higher Self, Inner Being, Soul, Heart-centered God force, or any number of other names that describe the voice of authenticity, intuition and the source of inspiration within each and every one of us. I playfully call it the Inner Wizard.

The outer expression of the Inner Wizard is:

Worthy
Inspirational
Zealous
Authentic
Responsible
Deliberate

My gut, my intuition, my Inner Wizard has been calling me to allow it to come out and play, to boldly and fully express herself. Stay tuned. I will keep you posted.

“Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.” - Alan Alda

Excerpt: For the moment I'm busy playing in the 'kitchen' with my Inner Wizard cooking up a new and delicious website jammed packed with goodies for you. Stay tuned!

Valery is an Inner Wizard Mindset Mentor & Coach who teaches people how to be the master of their opportunity instead of the victim of circumstance so they can successfully achieve what their heart is calling them to become. 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"!

Where Emotional Fear Comes From And How to Move Beyond It

Fear.

Fear is THE source that holds you back, how you get in your own way, from fully and successfully investing yourself in your creative endeavors. You may have found excuses and reasons that are external to you to explain why you can't do what you want to do, have what you want to have and do what you want to do. It's the economy, the glass ceiling, the proverbial boys club. You "can't because" you're not young, old, pretty, smart, rich, savvy, talented, connected, whatever - enough.

Balderdash. The acronym for these Found Excuses And Reasons is FEAR. So, where does this fear come from?

I am not talking about the natural fear of a real danger such as a fire or any other real life threatening situation. Those occurrences are normal. In real danger, the body naturally prepares itself for a fight or flight response. All fear is an uncomfortable strong emotion evoked as a response to an awareness of a perceived danger. Unrealistic fear is rooted in an individual when he or she recalls past fears or events and projecting them into a current situation. This type of emotional fear is often how people cope with conflict. What is feared is voiced by the Inner Critic within who misguidedly holds you back to keep you safe. The thing is, you are in no real danger. The perceived threat is imaginary, not real.

“If you're frightened of leprechauns, the best thing to do is to get yourself a little leprechaun outfit and see how big they are. And then you'll go, 'Well I see. That's like bein' frightened of a hampster." - Craig Ferguson, Actor, Comedian, Talk Show Host

Irrational emotional fear is a response to a perceived threat to your security, safety or survival. Fear manifests in feelings of anxiety, nervousness, procrastination, insecurity, lack of confidence, worry, shyness, stress, panic or terror. People fear pain and suffering of any kind. Death, conflict, failure, humiliation, the unknown, invalidation, and exploitation are some of the many fears people hold. Fear impacts physically and mentally. It influences your thinking and actions. Reacting to and acting on irrational fear is akin to yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater when there is no fire. You miss the movie and piss off a lot of other people.

Much of what is unrealistically feared developed before the age of six. You came into this world fearless and bathed in love and attention as an infant. Every little move you made was notice, acknowledged, honored and applauded. As you got older - not so much. Your first step was celebrated but not your hundredth. Instead of all your demands being met you began to hear the word no. What happened? How and when did you begin to lose the love and acknowledgement that was once abundantly given to you? Perceived loss of loved is often the first fear that develops in a young person.

Parents, teachers and other influencers projected their own fears onto you and, as a young naive student of the world, you never questioned what you were told. Often, you misinterpreted what you were told or what you saw and heard. "Don't talk to strangers" could have been interpreted as "People you don't know will hurt you" and now you have a fear of speaking in front of or being with a lot of people you don't know. A belief in "No one likes a fool" can turn into a fear of doing anything that might embarrass or humiliate you. People with this fear have difficulty communicating freely with others of exposing what they believe to be weaknesses. Many will avoid building professional and personal relationships in fear of being exploited. A parent's casual comment of "money begets evil" will work against a person if they fear that if they become wealthy they will also become evil.

Fear is a coping mechanism to keep you safe and comfortable. And what is safe and comfortable to you is right where you are now. You may not particularly like your current circumstance but its what you know and so it is safe. Stretching, growing, moving beyond this zone into the unknown area of greater achievement in any area of your life is downright scary to that Inner Critic who works very had to keep you safe. Any move you make that will take you out of this zone of comfort will be fought against by the voice of this inner six year old who is still very frightened.

Ok, that's where fear comes from. How does one move beyond it?

It's not as hard as you might think. First and foremost, be mindful of your emotions. Your emotions are indicators of how you feel. If you notice feelings such as physical and mental tension, a knot in the stomach, stress, anxiety, restlessness, heart palpitations, lack of initiative, low self-esteem, indignation and resignation know that you have moved into fear. In that moment examine the event that triggered the emotion. Events in and of themselves do not create stress and other fear-based emotions. What triggers the emotional response is the meaning, the interpretation, you give to that event.

For example, someone who agonizes, worries, feels sick, etc. before a presentation or meeting that could advance their career may have made the event mean that their career will be ruined forever if the outcome doesn't happen as hoped. This person may think that they will be criticized, laughed out of the room and end up starving, begging for food, on the streets of Los Angeles. Whatever is going through the mind of someone in fear needs to be identified and examined for its validity. Is what is feared, real?

Fear is faith that it won't work out. Yes, it is within the realm of possibility that someone could ruin their career with some unimaginable and freakish display of behavior during a meeting. Is it likely that the person who is in a state of fear and anxiety over the meeting will behave in this manner? No. Even if they did turn their career into a train wreck is it life threatening? No. So, consider what really would happen if the presentation did not go well? Does that outcome create actual pain and suffering? No. Whatever pain and suffering that may occur after a dismal presentation is brought upon a person by themselves - again through the meaning they have attached to the undesired outcome. Who knows, the crash and burn of one career opportunity may open the door to a career move the results in unprecedented success!

"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me." - Erica Jong

In the examination of what is feared it is also beneficial to consider what would happen if the event went as desired or even beyond expectations? What would you have, who would you be, what could you do? Feel the emotions that come with that desirable vision. Feels good, doesn't it. Good feelings are not fear based. It is when you feel bad that you are likely in a state of fear. Notice, too, whether or not there is any trigger or anxiety over your vision of a good outcome. Look for meanings you have placed on the positive outcome.

For example, some people fear success because they believe that it only a matter of time before others discover that they are not good, talented, worthy, whatever enough to have such success. Or, a successful person may fear they won't be able to maintain this level of success and will be ridiculed when they fall back a rung or two or ten down the ladder of achievement.

Is the fear universal? In the above example, can you think of anyone who blew an opportunity big time and went on to enjoy a successful career? There are plenty of examples. All you have to do is read the entertainment tabloids to read tales of those such as Robert Downey, Jr., Mickey Rourke, who behaved really badly and later went on to create masterful performances that catapulted them back into award winning stardom. You will be able to find similar examples in any industry.

You are not the sum of your fears. You are not whatever you think you lack or are not enough of. Those thoughts and feelings embody the Inner Critic part of you, the ego, the voice of your self-doubt and fear. You are not the sum of your strengths. You are not just what you are passionate about and whatever you know you're really good at. Those thoughts and feelings embody your Higher Self, or what I playfully call the Wizard Within, the voice of your intuition and truth. You are all of those things integrated into a whole. And your first responsibility in this life is to honor, acknowledge and unconditionally love your self as the integrated whole.

The shift is in what parts of you do you give your power to. If you let the egoic part of you choose how to react to the events of your life then you become a victim to it. If you hold your power within your Higher Self you will listen to that calm, wise part of you that observes and examines your emotions and initial reactions and chooses to act in alignment with your higher values and greater good.

The bottom line is that whatever holds you back from the life experience you desire and do not have is rooted in egoic fear. That's ok. It is natural to react to fear. Just examine your fears, identify whether they are real or imaginary. If they are real, run! If they are imaginary, instead of the knee jerk response of "eFF Everything And Run (FEAR)" remove the scary trigger by taking a deep breath and taking one baby step in the direction of your fear. Instead of looking at what you fear as something to avoid, see it as an opportunity, perhaps an adventure. And take another baby step. Before you know it you will have moved beyond your fear to discover that what you feared is what your heart was calling you to become.

It's the heart afraid of dying, that never learns to dance;
It's the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance;
It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give;
And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live.
- Bette Midler “The Rose"


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

2 Ways to Discover Your Raison D'Etre - Reason For Being

Raison D'Etre is French for reason, or purpose, for the existence of someone or something. Each and every person comes into this world with a purpose, unique talents to achieve that purpose and the inner wisdom to guide them along the way. This is a birthright. Without exception. Since everyone walking this Earth exists, you would think that everyone knew his or her purpose in life. Unfortunately many people are disconnected with their Raison d'etre and are plodding along, successfully or not, spending their life energy and time doing something that may feed themselves and their family yet starves their soul.

We do not live in an either/or world. We live in an "and" world. You can do both. Simply put, the reason you are here is to express your full potential using your unique qifts. You are here to tap into the intuitive driven passion that achieves the purpose of bringing forth your unique gifts out into this world - expansively. For those that feed their soul, do what makes their heart sing, work is play and each day is an opportunity to express to the world who they are, what they are here to do. Life flows seemingly effortlessly. Even with the ups and downs, twists and turns, life is fulfilling and worth the ride!

For those who live off-purpose, doing what they think they 'should' be doing, live can be exhausting and unfulfilling even if successful. Those who have turned their back on their raison d'etre feel like something is missing and will sometimes joke that they "still don't know what they want to be when they grow up" well into adulthood. If you struggle to find joy, energy and satisfaction in your work and in your life you are living off purpose. You are not living a life in alignment with who you are at your deepest core. Chances are you don't even know what your unique talents are let alone use them. The funny thing is, many people don't see what their special gift is because it comes so easily for them. They find it so easy and effortless to do what they excel at naturally that they think everyone can do it. It doesn't occur to them that this unique talent is theirs as a birthright with which to express themselves and build their life around.

"Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot, seek the path that demands your whole being." ~Rumi

There are two simple ways to get a glimpse at who you really are and what your unique gift is to share with the world:

1. Think back to when you were a child. Who did you admire or aspire to be? Was it a famous person, a character in a book or movie, a relative or teacher? Who awed you, made you stop and pay attention? Once you have identified this person, what attributes of this person impressed you? Were they brave, funny, larger than life, strong, loving, free, giving, smart? What was it about what this person or fictional character did that called out to you? List as many attributes and actions as you can.

For example, as a child I was awed by a character I saw in a movie on TV, "Auntie Mame". Auntie Mame was a woman who was eclectic, fun, fashionable, surrounded herself with wonderfully odd creative and talented people, traveled around the world and experienced fun and fascinating events in her life. She lived this rich in experience life and mentored others to do the same. Oh, how I wanted to be Auntie Mame! However, I didn't see myself then as being extroverted enough to put myself 'out there' as she did, take risks and stand up for who she is and what she believed in. As an adult, I reconnected with my truth and now live a life centered in the truth of who I am, enjoy rich delicious experiences, am surrounded by a wonderfully eclectic group of talented people and mentor others to live their lives as richly whatever that means to them.

Who you aspire to be, what speaks to your soul as a child, is a mirror of who you are. You love what you see in that person or character because it is a reflection of you! Show up in your life expressing your Inner Auntie Mame, Ninja Warrior, your hero.

2. What energizes you? Think back to a time when you were 'in the zone'. You were totally present, in the moment, doing whatever it was that you were doing, enjoying it fully without any sense of time and space. You were totally focused and bursting with creativity. These 'in the zone' experiences are windows to see your special gifts, your unique talents. You are energized, firing on all cylinders. These are the moments that you are expressing YOU fully.

"The best thing you can do is get good at being you!" - Denis the Menace

As an example, here is an anecdote about Krista Vernoff, Head Writer and Emmy Award nominee for the television show, "Grey's Anatomy". Even though she loved to write, Krista thought she was supposed to be an actress. She held a belief that one had a better shot at making a living as an actress than as a writer. Bar-tending was suggested to her by many well meaning relatives worried about her career choice. She got quite good as an actress and was making a living at that craft. Still, she couldn't tear herself away from writing. Writing came so easy for her that she didn't give herself much credit as a writer. "You have to work hard for a living" and she was definitely working hard to be a working actress. For Krista, being an actress was exhausting! Writing was playful, what she did for fun, what she did to feed her soul. Success as a writer was always a certainty.

One day a fellow actor in a play noticed that Krista would run to her dressing room to write whenever she wasn't needed on stage. Most actors lived to be on stage where Krista lived to be offstage where she could write. Once this fellow actor commented on this upside-down state of affairs, Krista realized that if she was going to live a fulfilled live she must acknowledge and honor who she is - a writer. At the end of the play's run, Krista devoted her life to expanding and express her raison d'etre - to write!

When you commit, give your full attention and energy to standing firmly centered in the truth of who you are, life is magical. You have fed your soul, you are whole. As a complete person, you have the inner resources to give to others whether that be through your craft or through your presence in their lives. You have the energy and desire to share you with the rest of the world. You live life on purpose, in the zone, and tapped into the passion and wisdom that is yours and yours alone. This is what you are here to do. Find a way to spend more time doing what gets you ‘in the zone’.

If you are not satisfied or fully engaged in your life you have a choice. Will you remain committed to this unfulfilling life or will you discover and commit to your raison d'etre. A fulfilled life begins when you go beyond the outer threshold of your comfort zone. The choice is yours.

"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 is a Superstar Mindset Mentor & Coach who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles in the life of an actor, artist, performer & creative entrepreneur. Clients learn how to tap into their inner wisdom & get out of their own Inner Critic way; stop self-sabotaging behavior. Empower the Wizard Within, inspire the Inner Muse. http://www.InnerWizard.com Free "Empower the Wizard Within tips"!

Struggling-Anxious-Procrastinating? Stop Telling Your Inner Being to Shut Up!

How much time and energy do you spend treading the proverbial waters of the stream of creative expression and meaningful experience? How often do you ride the roller coaster of two progressive steps forward and two steps back in your efforts to expand beyond your current unfulfilling comfort zone? What do 'over the rainbow' masterfully successful people have that you don't have?

The answer is simple.

The people who awe and inspire us with their brilliant performance in any area of their life listen to, acknowledge and honor the intuitive inner guidance that knows their truth and is their birthright. You've heard this voice of wisdom before. It was that calm, knowing, gut instinct that you ignored that resulted in an experience you rather not have had.

"You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you're confusing courage with wisdom." - The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum

Those who continuously struggle to get ahead, express their full potential, have Found Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) to tune out the voice of their Inner Being, Higher Self, or what I playfully call the Wizard Within. Instead they listed to their Inner Critic, the egoic voice of their self-doubt and fear who works very hard to keep them safe right when they are. Even if unsatisfactory, the comfort zone is what is known and therefore safe. Anything beyond, over that rainbow, is unknown and downright scary.

To drown out the voice of the Wizard Within the Inner Critic serves up excuses and reasons to devote focus and energy to unproductive habits. Addictions to alcohol, drugs, Internet gaming or surfing, over eating, excessive shopping and chronic over sleeping are some of the ways people turn their back on what their Inner Being is calling them to become. Struggling anxious procrastinators have become experts at say no to who they are, what they are here to express, at their deepest core.

Fulfillment is experiencing the full expression of your potential. Whether it be struggles with your career, craft, relationships or finances when you allow yourself to show up in life out of alignment with your truth and purpose know that any excuse or your Inner Critic delivers is meant to keep you stuck right where you are -right where you no longer want to be.

Your Inner Being knows that you will always be safe. Your Inner Being knows that already within you is the wisdom to turn your dreams into reality, achieve your purpose in life. Your heart would not long for an experience that does not express the real you and what you are here to express. The only one stopping you from achieving that reality is you!

So you have a choice. You can tap into and empower the Wizard Within or you can remain committed to drowning yourself out, keeping yourself small. One choice leads to a life well lived, a story well told. The other leads to a life of quiet, or not so quiet, desperation. Which will you choose?

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." - Henry David Thoreau

Valery is a Superstar Wizard Mindset Mentor & Coach who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles in the life of an actor, artist, performer & creative entrepreneur. Clients learn how to tap into their inner wisdom & get out of their own Inner Critic way; stop self-sabotaging behavior. Empower the Wizard Within, inspire the Inner Muse. http://www.InnerWizard.com Free "Empower the Wizard Within tips"!

How to Unclog Artist Block

It’s a devastating thing for an artist to feel they’ve lost their inspiration, to encounter a creative block. But suffering from artist’s block doesn’t mean you’ve lost your artistic ability. Artist block can be overcome.

Invariably it will happen. It's something that happens to all creative beings and all beings are born to create something. Within each purpose beats a heart that longs to be, do and have in this world. When a creative person suffers from an artist block or has lost their inspiration to create it is a devastating experience. Life energy is seemingly drained and the person is left empty in desperation.

Then fear takes over. Fear that there is no longer purpose in life, no reason for being, no hope for the future. Someone who suffers from artist block will Find Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) why she cannot possibly create that day or 'should' give up the dream to pursue some other, inauthentic, vocation. Or, she will despair day in and day out over the inability to create and the lack of inspiration. In this despair she will further drive that which she longs for even further from her reach. It can become an agonizing and soulfully vicious cycle of existence.

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Winston Churchill

If your heart literally aches from artist block then know this: your truth is that you are an artist. That's why your heart aches. You are not expressing who you are at your deepest core. You were born to fully express your artistic potential. Anything short of this achievement will leave you feeling a little less whole, striving to reach for an expansion of your artful communication to the world.

In that moment, the moment you are awash in this truth you have a choice. You can choose to ignore this truth, give up in fear and go find some other life to live; creating someone else's truth. You can beat yourself up over your lack of inspiration further driving you away from what your heart is calling you to become. Or you can take a deep breath, center yourself in the truth of who you are, and ask your inner being what it wants to express. Then pick up your script, your paint brush, your instrument, your pencil, seat yourself at your computer - place yourself in a position where you can begin whatever it is you wish to create.

"To know how to choose a path with heart is to learn how to follow intuitive felling." - Jean Shinoda Bolen

If inspiration doesn't present itself immediately that's ok. Every bit of inspiration that you long for is already within you. All you have to do is allow it to flow. The more you resist your block the more power and energy you add to this block. Allow yourself to be blocked for the moment and begin anyway. Try a new approach to the character you're portraying, put some paint on the canvas, write the next line in your book even if the line is "I have no idea what comes next" and then take another step until the expression flows. Allow those first few forward movements to be real stinkers if that's what needs to get out of the way so your creativity can flow again. Let go of any judgment that what you create has to be good. Sometimes it is the woefully errant advancement that will lead to the opening of your creative resources once again.

Let go. Know that blocks are inevitable and that you have all the power you need within you to fully express your artistic potential. Honor your truth and your will be and act in the direction of your dream. You will live in alignment with your purpose in life following your own inner wisdom, the voice of your intuition, your higher being, your muse.

"There is neither painting, nor sculpture, nor music, nor poetry. The only truth is creation." - Umberto Boccioni

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"!

The Key to Creative Flow: Learn the Four C’s To Enhance Your Creativity

Just as learning your ABC’s are fundamental to a basic education, learning the Four C’s of Creativity are essential to life as a powerful and deliberate creator of your art and your life experience. If you are not living a life abundant with new inspiration and enthusiasm for your creative challenges then it is likely you are missing one of the C’s, a key ingredient to the recipe for boosting your creative flow.

The four C’s of Creative Flow are:

1. Centering

”The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.” – Albert Einstein

When you are centered, in alignment with the truth of who you are, life flows effortlessly. Your moments are largely spent “in the zone” of your creative spirit. You are engaged, unaware of the passage of time and firing on all cylinders of your artistic expression and life potential.

When you are un-centered, not in harmony with your authenticity life becomes a tiresome and often anxiety ridden struggle. You work exhaustively trying to fulfill the inauthentic expectations, the ‘shoulds and must do’s” demanded of you by yourself and others. Your heart longs to express and create one thing yet you hold yourself back to pursue another, often perceptively safer, path.

You may get brilliant at creating these false expectations but they will leave you unfulfilled, living a life of desperation.

2. Choice

“How you choose to respond each moment to the movie of life determines how you see the next frame, and the next, and eventually how you feel when the movie ends.” – Don Childre

Once you acknowledge and honor your truth, stand centered in the truth of who you are, it is necessary to base the choices you make and the actions you take upon this truth. If you step off your center, make a choice that is not in alignment with your center then you will struggle. Your creative flow will be blocked leaving you frustrated and unable to fully and effectively express yourself in your work and in your life.

If your choices are not grounded in your center, your core of being, you will not create the outcomes you desire. A choice acted upon and based on your truth will deliver the outcome, and experience, you want to create. A choice to take a different path, limit yourself and your possibilities in any way will create “less than” or even a train-wreck of an experience.

Choices that speak your truth feel good. Choices that belie your truth feel bad. It’s as simple as that.

3. Commitment

“The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” - Vince Lombardi

If you show up in your life centered in your truth, making choices that honor that truth you must commit yourself to honoring the choices you make. If you quit or hold yourself back in any way then you have made a new choice that is not in alignment with your center. You have strayed from your path of authenticity and the road to creating the art you wish to express and experiences you desire.

Staying committed to yourself requires trust in and love of yourself. What you long for is your birthright. It is what you are here to create. It is your purpose in life, that is why you feel its calling deep within your soul. Even if the journey is a bit arduous, if you are committed to YOU the experience will be exciting and fulfilling.

4. Challenge

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon

It is a challenge to stay committed to your choices and center of truth. You will be called upon time and time again to stretch beyond your current comfort zone. Moving beyond what you know is unknown and, therefore, scary. In your fear you may Find Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) to step back from your commitment, your choices and your core of being.

You may not like your current comfort zone and say you want to achieve certain goals but if you discover that you are serving up excuses why you, others, or circumstance prevent you from maintaining your commitment then know that you are in a state of fear. Just take a deep breath. Breathe out. Center yourself. Listen to what your inner being wants. Let go of the voice of that incessant Inner Critic who works hard to keep you safe. Keeping you safe to this well-meaning yet woefully misguided egoic part of you is to keep you right where you are. It’s what you know so it’s safe.

There you have it, the four C’s of Creative Flow. As with learning how to ride a bicycle, you may fall on your butt a time or two as you apply these lessons in your life. That’s ok. Just brush yourself off and get back on your bike! Enjoy the ride.

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"!

Stuck in a Creative Rut? You May Be Following Fools Rules

Life is a game. Whether you enjoy life or not depends upon the rules - your own personal rules of life.

Whether you realize it or not you guide your life, make your choices, based upon a set of rules you selected for yourself in early childhood. These rules were based on misinterpretation or complete unchallenged acceptance of whatever was seen or heard. A well-meaning relative who tells a child "Don't be stupid" as she is about to put mustard on the cookie dough becomes Rule #1: I AM STUPID. A teacher's remark that a child is not performing to her potential becomes Rule #2: I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH. A well-meaning parent's warning "Don't talk to strangers" becomes Rule #3: STRANGERS WILL HURT ME.

“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.” - Henry David Thoreau

The rules you have taken on for yourself that do not support you hold you back. If you believe you are stupid you will not attempt creative challenges that require intelligence. If you think you are not good enough you won't allow yourself to reach for what you desire to achieve in your craft. If you think strangers can inflict harm you may resist public speaking.

Your Inner Critic, often the fool, is the manager of these rules. Since you adopted these rules, you can change them. You can take away the power your Inner Critic has to shape your choices and possibilities around these rules. You have the power to create NEW RULES!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.” - Dr. Seuss

Be mindful of the thought patterns and internal belief systems (your rules) that form the decisions you make, the direction you take in life. If you discover that they are negative and unsupportive take note. If, for example, you recognize the "I am stupid" rule being served up by that Inner Critic of yours, look for evidence of a new rule - "I AM SMART". Examine your life and look for experiences where you made a choice that benefited you and others. Look for examples of the opposite. Create a newer, better, rule to believe in.

“The rule which forbids ending a sentence with a preposition is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put.” - Winston Churchill

Project this exercise out into other areas in your life. For example, if you believe that women over 40 years of age cannot get a good role in a movie look to the many women over 40 who are, indeed, getting great juicy parts in major motion pictures. Meryl Streep, Heather Locklear, Diane Lane, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cindy Crawford, Glenn Close, Ellen Barkin, Marcia Cross, Helen Mirren, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Lauren Graham, Mary-Louise Parker, Frances McDormand, Laura Linney, Dame Judi Dench, Sally Field, and Emma Thompson are just a few of the many women over 40 who are actively working and enjoying successful acting careers.

“Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule. Nevertheless one had better know the rules, for they sometimes guide in doubtful cases, though not often.” - Samuel Butler

Your Inner Critic whispers your old misguided set of rules to you when you are about to stretch beyond your current comfort zone. This frightened little child within works hard to keep you safe although it is very misguided on what will keep you safe. It fears change of any kind. Change is unknown and therefore frightful. Rely on the power that you have within you that is your birthright. I playfully call this internal resource of self-esteem and wisdom the Wizard Within. When in doubt, ask what your Wizard Within would choose to believe and do. Change your rules to change your life!

“We all know, from what we experience with and within ourselves, that our conscious acts spring from our desires and our fears. - Albert Einstein


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"!

How to Get A Grip on Your Inner Critic

Ever want to tell someone to get a grip? Tell them that they have run amok in their minds and are not facing reality? Stop them from completely 'losing it' and self-destructing? How often have you told yourself to get a grip only to later serve up more and more justification for your misguided thinking and emotions? Your very own self-sabotage?

How do you achieve a centered calm presence when your life experience is flung in scattered directions, randomly, leaving you with anxiety, fear, depression or utter confusion? Or worse yet, your frozen in action; completely stuck. Trapped in the mire of your own monkey mind.

You get a grip on your Inner Critic by letting go of the grip it has over you.

"People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them." ~George Bernard Shaw

You create your experience through the expression of the essence of what you think about, whether it is something you want or something you do not want. Your Inner Critic is often the originator of what you think about. If your focus and attention in upon that which you have and do not want, you will create more of what you do not want. If you allow your thoughts to be occupied with worry then you will create an experience that reflects what you fear.

Your Inner Critic serves up these seemingly automatic thoughts of worry, fear and other anxiety to hold you back and keep you safe. He has you in his grip as if you were a child about to run into the street. He holds onto in fear of your safety for if he were to let go you would surely die. And you live, frozen in place or creating more evidence to support the stronghold the Inner Critic has over you.

To release the Inner Critic grip tell him "You're not the boss of me!" Reclaim your power. In that powerful you stand centered in the truth of who you are and committed to your passion, your gift that you are here to bring forth into the world. You will remember that there is nothing that you desire that you cannot achieve, and there is nothing that you do not want that you cannot release from your experience.

Recognizing the connection between what you think and feel and what you create for your life experience weakens the fearful grip you hold upon yourself. You can release the grip by taking responsibility for generating the thoughts and feelings that will deliver more of the experiences you desire and less of what you do not want to occur in your life.

What is your dream, your deepest desire?

Speak and act in the direction of that desire. Any thoughts, feelings, emotions you have that run contrary to that desire is the work of your Inner Critic. He in then in control of the decisions and choices you make moving forward. It's easy to tell if your Inner Critic has a grip on you or not. When you are victim to his power, entrenched in his grip, you do not feel good. It is as simple as that. Uncomfortable feelings are clear indicators that your thoughts are not in alignment with your dreams, your desires. The choices you make based on those thoughts will not result in the experience you want to create. Fear based thoughts will lead to self-sabotage. Without exception.

"Every speaker has a mouth; An arrangement rather neat. Sometimes it's filled with wisdom. Sometimes it's filled with feet." - Robert Orben

Whatever you are paying attention to, whether it be remembering the past, observing the present or thinking about the future, you use to plant the seeds for what you will experience in that future. How you show up in your life is what you create. Do you show up in the clenched fist of your Inner Critic or will you present yourself standing firm in your own power, speaking and action in alignment with the fullest expression of your authenticity, your truth?

Release the Inner Critic grip to free yourself to create from your heart instead of your Inner Critic monkey mind. With this freedom comes expanded possibilities and unlimited potential.

"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." - Henry David Thoreau

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor 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"!

The One Step Remedy for Anxiety

Anxiety! It has power. It has the power to stop you cold, in your tracks, as you freeze in your attempt to move forward in your life. Your anxiety gets in the way of you being, doing and having what you want in life.

What is anxiety? The dictionary will tell you that anxiety is a sense of apprehension and fear either real or imagined, resulting from anticipation of a threatening event or situation. Often states of anxiety are marked by physical symptoms such as sweating, tension, and increased heart rate.

Do you want to know the surefire way to relieve anxiety? Do the thing that makes you nervous!

Events in and of themselves do not cause stress. It is the meanings you attach to those events that creates your stress and anxiety. Worrying about some event is nothing more than adding layers upon layer upon layers of made-up meanings, imagined possibilities (not probabilities) that might deliver an untoward experience. Even these seemingly unfortunate experiences are merely events that you will have or will attach meaning to.


For example, if you are anxious, stressed out over giving a presentation, auditioning, standing proverbially naked in front of someone who can sit in judgment of you, you have added several layers to the mere event of being in front of people showing yourself and your work. First, you assume that you and what you present are one and the same. Then you add a layer of what you present will not be received well. And you top it off with layers of certain humiliation or a life ruined. Bollocks! Made up nonsense!

Let's say your deepest fear is realized. You are booed off the stage. In that moment you have a choice. You can sink to the lowest pit in your stomach and remain there for eternity. Quit your dream of becoming whatever it was that you were seeking to accomplish with your performance and live out your life in quiet desperation or restless agitation filling your days with stress and anxiety over what could have been.

OR -

You can take a deep breath and embrace your humanity. You were born to fully express your potential. It's why you were given the tools of a burning desire, a passion, and unique raw talent. These gifts are your birthright. Developing these gifts takes a bit of practice. With practice comes trial and error. Errors, mistakes, and downright bellyflops are all part of the natural learning process. These 'events' can be perceived as disastrous, life-ending. Or they can be viewed as life-affirming opportunities to grow and expand your authentic expression, bring forth your passion into reality. The way you see the problem is the problem. Every morning you have two choices, continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase your dreams. The choice is yours.

"A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery." ~ James Joyce, Ulysses

It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has created it. You can't shrink your way to greatness. What you fear, what you resist, is what your heart is calling you to become. If you have the courage to step outside of your comfort zone, you will not only be amazed by the new and inspiring possibility and potential of the world, but also with the wonder and amazing power that lays deep within yourself. Once this new vision and awareness has taken hold, it has to be trusted, it has to be given complete faith. To turn away from it and to engage in self-destructive acts of attached meanings, anxiety and stress is perilous. You don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going.

Let go of the hold you have on your own life through your anxiety. Stop getting in your own way of your success and life fulfillment. Let go of your attachment to the meanings you have created to become the ties that bind you. Let go and flow.

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." -- Lao Tzu

Act and speak in the direction of your dreams. Don't just dream it. Be it. Put yourself out there. Do the thing that you resist the most. If you fall you will learn how to walk your walk better the next time. To reach your destination you must be willing to put one front of the other and take each step that will deliver you to your heart's desire.

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor 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"!

The Key Driver of Creative Success

What drives you to succeed as a creative person? Is it the dream of fame, wealth and recognition? Is the thought of seeing your name up in lights what propels you out of bed in the morning? Having such a strong and clear goal is a definite motivator and, if you work hard and pay your dues, you can absolutely achieve that goal. However, if you want to be successful without the feeling that you are battling your way through life your motivation to get out of that comfy bed in the morning has to come from somewhere else. There must be an even bigger motivating driver.

To have ambition and want to be successful is a fine thing but it isn't enough. Ambition and want are just words that describe desire. To understand WHY you have such desires is quite another thing. True genius, true art in any form, comes from passion. Great actors aren't great because of their technique. Anyone can learn technique. They move an audience as great actors because of their passion. Passion is the driver that motivates every bone and breath in your body to achieve.

"My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose." - Bette Davis

If your desires are not in alignment with your passion you can be successful but you will not be fulfilled, satisfied. You will live a rich famous life and still yearn for the elusive thing. You will get up in the morning wondering what is wrong with you. You have all that you desired yet you feel that there is still something missing. You are missing the nourishment that feeds your soul, your heart.

Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it. Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart. When work, dedicated commitment, and pleasure unite to become one and you reach into that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible. Through the experience of devoted passion you will reap richer stores of knowledge than any text-book or course of study can give you.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This dedication to authentic passion always and absolutely carries a demand and a responsibility. It is up to you to honor and stand centered in the truth of who you are. Speak and act in the direction of your innermost passions. If you do not, you are betraying your own authenticity. If you are Finding Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) why you cannot pursue your passion you are hiding your true estate. You are acting in bad faith. You are 'dissing' you.

Now it must be said that passion without action is just a dream. You actualize your passion, bring forth the dream into the world, you must do something! This is where the Inner Critic can, and often does, step in to hold you back. What if you really put yourself 'out there' and stood naked to the world boldly following your heart's desire and fail? What will happen then? Will you just whither and die? If not, who will you be? Very scary thoughts!

You will not die. Your commitment to your truth and passion will motivate you to respect your actions and your reaction to the opinions of others. Failure is just a stepping stone on the road to success. Your passion will motivate you to look at the proverbial rocks you tripped over, examine them, and overcome whatever obstacles that get in your way. You will love the process of making mistakes, learning and growing as you expand and fully express your passion and talents that are your birthright. Whatever struggles you encounter will be met enthusiastically for they are definitely worth the ride of your life!

“Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel. Our reason is the pilot that steers her. Without winds the vessel would not move and without a pilot she would be lost.” - Proverb

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor 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"!

The Hidden Enemy of Talent

"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. When you act out of fear, you create what you fear. All of my clients have been praised and admired for their talent. You'd think that they have plenty of self-confidence and assurance in their abilities. Unfortunately the exact opposite is true. They believe that they are supposed to live up to some ideal image and whenever they don't think they've measured up to this self-imposed standard they suffer from shame, anxiety or depression.

You were born with a special gift, a unique talent that is yours and yours alone. Each person has this call of the power to do something magnificently and uniquely and no other person has this exact same gift. Nurturing, expanding and applying your talent seems effortless to you even if it appears arduous to others. Obstacles are merely playful invitations to use your talent more expansively to overcome them. And you do.

Your achievement is exactly proportioned to the extent of your trust and belief in the power of your talent that is your birthright. And since the skill comes easily for you, you think that it comes easily for everyone. You are blind to the fact that you have exceptional talent. Too often, brilliantly talented people live in fear that they will be found out for the fraud that they think they are. "It's only a matter of time before they realize I'm not as good, as talented, as they think I am."

"I believe that traditional wisdom is incomplete. A composer can have all the talent of Mozart and a passionate desire to succeed, but if he believes he cannot compose music, he will come to nothing. He will not try hard enough. He will give up too soon when the elusive right melody takes too long to materialize." ~ Martin Seligma

The world is filled with talented and gifted people who produce nothing. They are frozen in unwarranted and misguided fear. Too often the response to this internal fear comes in the form of self-sabotage, creative blocks or procrastination. When you fear you hold back your fullest expression of your talent. You say NO to who you are. You reject yourself. You start beating the drum of you're not whatever enough. This Inner Critic of yours loves to be right so he will create an experience, a self-imposed belly flop, to provide further evidence that, indeed, you are not enough! Ya See! I told you so! What were you thinking?

Yes, who are you to think that you are extraordinarily talented? And you shrink back into the safety zone of mediocrity where there are no expectations.

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?" ~ Benjamin Franklin

It's not whether or not you are talented enough. You are talented enough. There is no greater waste of creative energy than to worry about whether or not you've really got the chops in your craft. You do. Expressing this talent to your fullest potential is what you are here to do. You are passionate about your purpose in life. You become physically and emotionally ill when you disconnect from this purpose. So devote not another nanosecond to whether or not you are talented. You are.

The truth is, your deepest fear is not that you are incompetent or unqualified for the work that you do, the dreams and aspirations that make your heart sing. Your deepest fear is that you are, absolutely, the powerful and enormous talent that you know you are at your deepest core. With all of that power comes tremendous responsibility and that's enough to scare the living daylights out of most.

Acknowledging and accepting the responsibility to honor yourself is the key to your freedom. It opens the door to fulfillment, satisfaction and pure joy. Cherish your gift, embrace your talent. Honor yourself by saying YES to who you are. Withholding your talent doesn't serve the world. You are meant to shine your magnificent light.

And when you shine your light upon yourself, as you express your unique talent, centered in the truth of who you are, you are a shining example for others to do the same.

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~ Erma Bombeck

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor 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"!

Why Successful Actors Self-Sabotage

I opened up Sunday's Parade Magazine and read an article about "The Mixed-Up Life of Shia LaBeouf" written by Dotson Rader. Shia is a 23-year old wildly successful actor who's latest film is "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". I saw the irony in the title of the article and the title of the movie.

Like many people, successful or not, Shia is searching to find his place in and the meaning of life. He is struggling with honoring his own authenticity and has no answers about who he is and what he is here to contribute. Already at such a young age Shia has achieved the holy grail of wealth and fame. So how can someone who has achieved so much, has the recognition and financial freedom most people long for, be in such emotional pain?

According to Rader, “I don’t handle fame well,” LaBeouf says. “Most actors on most days don’t think they’re worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it’s a God-sized hole. If I knew, I’d fill it, and I’d be on my way.” Already a self-proclaimed alcoholic, Shia says he doesn't know what he's doing as an actor or why people like him. Shia thinks acting is a con game of luck and ambition. Shia became an actor for the money only to discover that the money, abundant as it is, doesn't satisfy the deeper fulfillment that can only come from self-awareness.

Shia's total self-worth is wrapped in whether or not people on the street recognize him. He desperately seeks validation from the opinion of others. If the flame of fame is extinguished who would he be? If Shia believes that he is not worthy of the wealth and fame he has received then he will continue to self-sabotage until he has no more wealth and fame.

A person who self-sabotages has the mindset of a victim. If you're identity and self-esteem is dependent upon others in any way then you live the life of a victim. A victim's life can only be one of desperation and anxiety.

Victims do not take responsibility for their own life experiences. Victims surrender their personal power over to other people or other things. "It's the economy, the glass ceiling, or 'the system'" is a typical mantra of the victim. Something outside of them is the reason the victim lives a seemingly meaningless and often destructive life. Wallowing in feeling victimized can be appealing. Being a victim can be used to attract attention to oneself. If your self-worth is tied to the amount of attention you get from others then you have set the stage for a lifetime of victimization - mostly generated from yourself!

"I have never been contained except when I made the prison." - Mary Evans, 1888-1976, British Actress

The moment you give up your personal power to someone else is the moment you become a victim of rather than the creator of your life. Each and every person has the power to create what he or she wants to be, do or have in life. How you show up in life determines your life experience.

People with a victim mentality feel powerless to make changes in their lives because they think that the elements of their lives are out of their control. People with a victim mentality often self-sabotage to provide further evidence of their victimization. A victim points at someone else or some other thing as being responsible for all his or her pleasure and/or anguish. People with a victim mentality think their actions are justified because of what others have done to them. What a victim does not realize is that he is only a victim to his own thoughts and belief system, not anyone else.

The victim shows up in life as a victim and is, therefore, victimized. If not by others then by himself. He becomes victimized by his own woefully misguided Inner Critic. The Inner Critic is a byproduct of your conditioning, compulsions and secret agendas. People who self-sabotage surrender to this inner tyranny. Such a victim is unable to see objectively into the nature of reality and into the nature of his own authentic inner being. When you are not fully conscious to what you are experiencing you won't fully realize the extent to which negative impressions are infiltrating your life with which you are acting upon.

To transition from the life of a victim to the life of a powerful being who deliberately creates the life experiences she chooses you must discover and honor who you are at your innermost core. Your thoughts and actions must be in alignment with this truth. You must stand centered in this truth of who you are. Eliminating self-sabotage depends upon your integrity with your truth. You must end the internal war between what is often called your Higher Self and your Inner Critic with the Higher Self prevailing. You must take full responsibility for the life you live, appreciate the gifts in the lessons learned from your mistakes, and passionately pursue your authentic dreams for that is what you are here to do.

If you show up in your life in integrity and alignment with your authenticity I promise you a life of fulfillment and utter joy.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor 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"!

The Key To Expressing Full Creative Potential

“Love is a force that connects us to every strand of the universe, an unconditional state that characterizes human nature, a form of knowledge that is always there for us if only we can open ourselves to it” - Emily Hilburn Sell

You were born with a magnificent gift. You came into this physical world bundled with all the wisdom and tools to create; create your life, create your artistic expression. If you are having any difficulty in expressing your full potential in any area of your life you have said NO to this gift that is already within you while at the same time desperately and often painfully search to find it elsewhere.

The life affirming gift that I speak of is unconditional love. Where you struggle, where you hold back your ability to create is where you have let go of unconditional love; unconditional love of self.

Yes, you were born as pure unconditional loving consciousness. As a child you had not yet learned to judge. A child's love of self is simple and pure. A child feels worthy of what she wants and needs. A child is exuberant in expressing love for others. To a young child, the world is an open door to all that is possible. And as a loving consciousness, he seeks to create that which he loves.

As you grew you took on ideas and beliefs largely based on past experiences. You developed expectations and placed conditions on love in ways that a child would never conceive of doing. Conditional love may come and go. You may love a hot dog or a friend today, but not tomorrow. Unconditional love does not come and go. It just is.

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." - Thomas Merton

The minute judgment in any form enters the experience of a child, conditions are placed upon love. Without realizing that your very existence has value and is a critical cog in the ecosphere of the Universe you sought to identify your worth, your place, in the physical world. You measured yourself and your contribution as 'more than' or 'less than' others. You misguidedly rated other people and other creations in the same way. And you struggle.

Sometimes you treat yourself like you are an unworthy person taking up space, here slogging your way through your days, your craft, your relationships, in order to prove some sort of worthiness to someone else. It is a futile way of life. You can never feel worthy, good, smart, talented, creative enough if you hold back unconditional love for yourself. Where you judge yourself, you hold back unconditional love.

Your purpose in life is to express your full artistic potential using the bundle of talents, wisdom and tools that are your birthright. You are here to create your contribution to the enrichment and quality of existence. This creative contribution does not depend upon the approval of others. No fully expressed artistic potential will ever be achieved by seeking the approval of others for they all desire different things of you. Your fulfillment and satisfaction as an artist will come from the unconditional love of self that gives birth to and guides the purest actualization of You.

Yes, mistakes will be made. Bad choices will be met with unpleasant experiences. "Should-a, would-a, could-as" will abound. Undesired situations come with great gifts in the valuable transformational lessons that can be learned from them. In all of your trials and tribulations, you are always doing the best you can with the light you have to see.

"Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich." —Sarah Bernhardt

Unconditional love of self is the light source. Where there is darkness, unconditional love is withheld; judgment and admonishment has taken its place. Knowing and accepting, at your deepest core, that you are always at the perfect place even if you are experiencing any form of difficulty and anxiety powerfully shines light on any experience so that positive growth springs forth from that place. Shining light on yourself and your experience instead of beating yourself, and others, up in blame, shame and judgment is an act of unconditional love.

The way some people find fault, you'd think there was some kind of reward. There is no reward in judgment; only darkness. One cannot create where there is no light, no energy, no love.

The path to unconditional love of self is understanding that you are always doing the best you can. You do not get out of bed in the morning thinking about how you can screw up your, or other people's, lives that day. You do not deliberately create your bad experiences. You are doing the best you can based on how you view yourself and the world at the time. If you don't like the experiences you are having, if you don't like being stuck or struggling in any area of your life, examine your judgments and expectations of yourself and others. Where are you withholding love? Where are you cutting off authentic expression? Where are you holding back your full potential? Where are you denying, saying NO to you?

"Love is, above all, the gift of oneself." - Jean Anouilh

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mindset Mentor 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"!

Allow, Instead of Seize, the Day

I've been giving a lot of thought to the various messages we've received over the years and generally highly regard. Many success and self-help experts have told us that we need to "Seize the Day". "Carpe diem" they tell us.

Well, what the heck does that mean? How does one "seize the day"?

"Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live." ~Margaret Fuller

The dictionary defines the word seize as:

- take hold of; grab
- take or capture by force
- assume, seize and take control without authority and possibly with force

What are we supposed to do? How does one seize a day? Do we wake up in the morning ready and willing to force the desired events and goals of the day to happen? Do we push ourselves and other people to get things done when and in the way we want them done? Do we stay attached to how our day must unfold?

If that's what "seize the day" means then I'll pass, thank you very much. No seizing of days for me! Too exhausting! And I've learned that whenever I force anything to happen I usually don't get a good result over the long term.

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." - John Milton

I have learned to "allow the day". Allowing your day is to be open to all possibilities. It is showing up present, and in the moment, ready and willing for whatever comes next. When I detach from how a day must happen I permit the events of my day to unfold in ways I might not have thought of.

Allowing my day doesn't mean that I have no goals, objectives or intentions for my day. I wake up each and every morning with a clear vision of what I intend to create for that day. I just let go of how it has to happen and allow intuition and inspiration to guide my thoughts, choices and actions that will deliver the desired outcomes I have intended for the day.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams

Have you ever wanted something and had no idea how you were going to get it? And soon there came the day when you got it? You had a clear vision of what you wanted and focused upon that thing or event that you desired. Intuition and inspiration gave you ideas that you took action upon and before you knew it, you got what you wanted. Or, the thing or experience you desired came to you as an "out of the blue" opportunity.

"Out of the blue" coincidences are not random coincidences. Without getting too metaphysical, I call them meaningful coincidences because they are the seemingly miraculous fortunate events that deliver what we desire. We could not have planned for that event to happen in the way it did. When you detach from how, you open up to the possibility of a meaningful coincidence.

Instead of using a lot of energy running around trying to seize the day try setting a clear intention and then just allow your day to unfold. Allow your intuitive messages your inner wisdom, what I playfully call the Inner Wizard, to orchestrate the how of what you intend to become reality. It is important to take action on this inner guidance because intention without action is only a dream.

"The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mode of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up." - Charles Morgan

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!

Stuck In A Powerless Comfort Zone? How to Magically Move Forward

"'People will suffer almost anything as long as it means they don't have to change." ~ Deepak Chopra

Life is a series of ups and downs, twists and turns. You can approach the roller coaster of life with arms high in the air; willingly and ready for whatever comes next. Or you can grip the handlebars and fear for your life. The choice is yours. A "next" is guaranteed if you are still breathing. As such, change is inevitable and certain.

Yet so many people fear change. Even as masters of our own destiny, deliberately choosing our own paths can sometimes be intimidating. Everyone has the ability to create positive changes in their lives, yet distorted fear-based perceptions often lead to the treadmill of a stuck-in-a-rut comfort zone of existence. Many people believe that they are inadequate or incapable of handling a new situation. New situations, entering into new zones of being are, therefore, are scary. Even if a person doesn't particularly like their comfort zone, like an old worn-out baby "bankie", it feels safe.

When a strong self-worth is in place, change is seen as a welcomed opportunity for growth and personal fulfillment. Enthusiastic creative energy is activated instead of debilitating fear. The person with a growth mindset eagerly reaches for a continuous flow of new positive experiences, while the person with a fixed, fear of change, mindset will dig-in and stay put in current patterns of behavior that generate more of the same stuck-in-a-rut experiences. Fear of change is the work of your Inner Critic, the voice of your fear and self-doubt.

There is a way to tell if you're resistant to change; dragging the reluctant along as you go about your life. You have an inner guidance system that I playfully call your Inner Wizard. This is the voice of your intuition and inspiration. As your Muse it serves up emotion to tell you if you're resisting or embracing change. If you feel uncomfortable, lethargic, anxious or more extreme feelings of desperation and depression your Inner Wizard is telling you that you are holding on to a comfort zone that is not working for you even if you feel safe within it.

If you are willing and available for growth and change you feel good. You great each day with renewed energy and wonderment. It's that simple. If you feel tired and unfulfilled then you have given your power to make positive changes over to your Inner Critic who is unyielding to any sort of change beyond where it feels safe. If you have given up your power, then you are powerless to change your circumstance - until you reclaim your power.

To reclaim your personal power, examine your comfort zone. There is power in writing down your examination discoveries in a journal. The writing process takes moves the flying monkey-mind thoughts of the Inner Critic and puts them onto a page where you can look and examine how you make choices, what criteria you base your actions that deliver the existence you are experiencing.

What, specifically, are you afraid of? What stops you from moving forward in the direction of your dreams? Fear of change begins to lose its power upon this initial examination. As you dig deep into the underlying thoughts and believes that generate your fear, their power to limit you begins to diminish. Deliberately look for evidence that contradicts those thoughts and beliefs.

For example, ask yourself,
- What's the worse that could happen?
- What would happen if the worst happened?
- How realistic is that?
- How can I know, absolutely, that the worst will happen?
- What positive experiences could come out of the change?
- Can I point to any positive examples of people doing those things, living that experience, now?
- How realistic is the positive possibility?
- If other people have done it, why not me? (check for and examine further Inner Critic self-doubt on this one)
- Who would I be, what would I do and what would I have if I had a positive change outcome?
- What is one thing, one simple thing, I can do in this moment to move forward positively into a new and better comfort zone?

Then do that one thing. And the next.

Before long, you'll realize that what you feared was a misguided belief, not a truth. You are stronger and more capable than you gave yourself credit for. No longer enslaved by your Inner Critic, you have regained your personal power and a healthy sense of self-worth.

Pay attention to your emotions as you continue to move forward. Trust in yourself and the creative process of life. Tap into your inner wisdom, your intuition, your Muse, and the Wizard within for guidance and support. You will always be safe.

Perfectionist? Meet the High Achiever

"Art knows no limit, and the artists will never achieve perfection." - Bente Borsum

Bente Borsum is a talented actress who performed with the Norwegian National Theatre and was a director of the Norwegian National Drama School. As a mentor and teacher, she works with younger artists who need professional expertise and encouragement. I found this quote, one of many, to be particularly profound because so many talented people hold themselves back from their work, their full creative expression in search of perfection.

There is a distinction to be made between a high achiever and a perfectionist. The former strives for excellence while the later accepts nothing less that the impossible perfection in themselves and their work. High achievers are motivated by their goal. They relish in the challenge and are energized by the quest.

The perfectionists, on the other hand, beat themselves up with criticism and failure in the unattainable goal of perfection. They hold onto their imperfections and wear them as badges of their shortcomings and failures. The perfectionist is often frozen in the fear of presenting anything less than perfect to the world, including themselves.

This is a crime against humanity. When a person holds his or herself back, never finishes a creation because it never reaches perfection, the rest of the world is deprived of that creative expression. We see this not only in the art world, but in the broader perspective of all creations of mankind.

Pressure on children to achieve is rampant, because parents seek much of their status from the performance of their kids. The pressure is delivered in the form of criticism. Children often believe that in order to be loved they must be perfect, an impossible goal to reach. In order to be accepted in their industry, their work must be perfect. The pain of rejection is the pain of being unloved, a fate to be avoided at all costs.

Perfectionists seek the unattainable perfection in themselves. In their failure to achieve perfection they withhold love of self. And hold back their creative expression and take it with them to the grave.

The perfectionist is well served by modeling the motivational energy of the high achiever. A new perspective and a new goal of excellence rather than perfection will revert the downward spiral of self-loathing and the procrastination that comes with it to an renewed zest and passion to create. Inspired innovation is renewed, creative ideas are turned into reality and the mankind and the world benefits in the richness and gifts of the human spirit.

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!