Marlo Johnson's Blog

When looking at the level of causation, society only really has one simple problem. And if just enough of us address it within ourselves, all other issues will be automatically and organically solved.

I understand the audacity of that statement, but this is important—if you have any desire whatsoever for a better world for yourself or for any of the beings here, I challenge you to really consider this idea:

The root of our planet’s imbalance is not a physical issue, but the way we choose to get our energy—our power, our excitement and motivation, and the sense of wellbeing we crave.

The default most of us were taught is to look externally for relief or upliftment—to things like careers, achievements, wealth, entertainment, religion, media, relationships, products, food, drinks, and drugs—and to draw it inward. This is a great way to sell us stuff we don’t need, but it’s not great for us or the planet—we are not just consuming things, we are consuming ourselves, the earth, and each other. This behaviour is painful, harmful, and goes against our natural state.

Seeking fulfillment through disempowered and lack-based behaviour can only result in unhappiness, addiction, codependence, guilt, shame, boredom, loneliness, greed, and other disempowered and lack-based feelings.

I know that your TV has told you otherwise infinite times, but you can’t access a positive state of being by using a negative state of being and its resulting negative behaviour. They are mechanically different things.

Even when we find the most pleasurable state possible through external means, we are still feeding off of energy that isn’t ours, in a mechanically negative, vacuum-like energetic polarity, and identifying with something that is shallow and fleeting. How precarious and stressful it is to rely on things outside of our control to feel good! And how destructive and self-subsuming!

Depending on how intensely we are identifying with the external, and how bad we think it is at any moment, the negative and lack-based states of being we experience can be very strong! And when we are not conscious enough to choose differently, it is these states that trigger our unhealthy, destructive, and exploitative behaviour.

We would never choose negative behaviour without first being in a negative state. This is why our state of being is so important—it is the primary causal factor in our lives.

We are not bad people for unknowingly behaving in a negative way, after being so pervasively conditioned to do so. Instead of being judgemental, perhaps we can see it like an electrical issue needing repair—a short-circuit perhaps—for it is often trauma or neglect that creates this faulty wiring, and we are just trying to survive and to feel good in the best way we know how.

However, our future is now at stake. We need to do better, and we can do better once we understand how. We can reverse our negative habits and embrace more of our organic selves whenever we choose to—we already do it naturally at our most playful and creative, so we only need to become a bit more mindful of the state of being we are choosing.

If we could remember to stay connected to more of our power, inspiration, and wellbeing within—observing and creating our experiences from that higher consciousness perspective, instead of absorbing and re-cycling the world around us through the ego-based mind—nothing negative or outdated could last.

All this positive shift requires of us is to notice when we are at all dissatisfied, then to go within until we find a more unconditional and detached sense of wellbeing. Then we can act—if we so choose—not from a state of lack, but of immense power.

This state of inner connection is where everything you truly want comes from, from the abundance to the bliss.

No matter how great your efforts or material wealth, if your inner connection isn’t right, you’ll never have the success, joy, or autonomy you want. You’ll never have the profound level of love you know deep down that you really want—and truly deserve.

Pure love, bliss, and other high levels of consciousness are only available through inner connection—through shifting into a positive energetic polarity—which is a highly joyful, charismatic, and attractive state.

The inversion of default energy flow, from outward seeking to inward connecting, is the entire key to rebalancing ourselves and the world—and to getting everything we really want.

If enough of us could stay positively aligned with our own power within, enough of the time, we would automatically stop allowing so much harm to the earth, to ourselves, and to each other. We would be organically and effortlessly inspired to uplift and love, rather than to consume and exploit. We would experience a profound level of contentment and bliss without needing more things to get it. We would begin to deeply and harmoniously thrive, because we would know our inherent and extraordinary power, and we would see how ridiculously weak and unnecessary our external efforts and methods of control really are.

We spend so much time seeking fulfillment and relief through external efforts—and through the consumption of things others created while they were connected within—but there really is no comparison between what we have access to within ourselves, and any kind of external action or second-hand energy source. Our inner connection is exponentially more powerful while being absolutely inherently effortless. Once you are tapped into that why would you choose another way?

I hope you will now consider how profound the change could be if enough of us made this important shift.

Take a moment to reflect—how would reducing something like greed or loneliness or insecurity specifically affect the cause you most care about? And how would this cause be affected by a massive increase in our creativity, self-empowerment, joy, and compassion as well?

I hope you will now consider if there is any way you could help add more momentum to this important paradigm shift. We don’t need everyone—that’s the beautiful thing. There is so much power in this way of being that it only takes a few to create immense change.

Consider making a decision now—if it resonates and feels intuitively right to you, decide to commit more deeply to your inner connection. Decide to be a being of positive power. Decide to let go of external seeking. Decide to stop feeding off of the energy of others. Decide to open yourself to unconditional wellbeing, satisfaction, and bliss. And decide to stop giving your power away to anyone or anything outside of yourself.

Create these positive intentions wholeheartedly—whichever ones feel right for you—and trust that you will find your way. You’re already partway there! You already know these things and you may even do them often. Just choose to be more aware from now on.

If you would like to get more practical and specific, here are some strategies you can use for deepening your inner connection until you learn how to simply feel your way into it on command. You’re welcome to save this list and refer to it any time you notice yourself in a state of negativity or lack. If the list is overwhelming, that is understandable! Just focus on the strategies that seem the most easy and fun to start with. You will know which ones you need.

Minimize your consumption of all media, especially if you’re letting it impact your mood.

Pause to meditate or focus on your breath often. Observe your breath without interfering. Relax and allow and feel deeply.

Create from your own intentions and inspiration within. Listen to the most exciting things that pop into your head. Don’t look to other people’s work for ideas.

Recognize when you’re feeding off of other people’s energy, and stop doing it. As much as you can, shift into a state of appreciation, contentment, and allowance. Respect the boundaries and autonomy of all beings.

Instead of coveting or lusting after people and things, radiate appreciation toward them. Embody the energy of what you desire. Shift into the state of being of what you think you lack.

Instead of using material or external things as a source of happiness or pleasure, let them simply remind you of how great you can choose to feel any time of your own accord.

Follow your passion. In every moment, as much as you can, focus on daydreaming, imagining the most exciting ideas that you can, and following them! If you are “too busy,” just use your imagination to make your daily obligations more fun.

Stop caring what others think. No one else has to live your life and they aren’t qualified to.

Appreciate and tune in to nature. Remember that you are part of nature. See yourself as a being of creation instead of a being of society.

Feel your feelings deeply. Listen to your body—don’t numb or ignore it. Live in your full body instead of just your head.

Find catharsis often. Speak or write or dance or sketch your thoughts and feelings until they lose all negative influence over you. Shake your whole body loose of them. Laugh.

Heal your triggers and transcend reactivity. Try using this list when you’re most upset, or research other strategies. Learn how to see the negative thought at the root of each negative feeling and assess how honest or empowering it is.

Embrace aloneness. Find fun creative projects or other ways to enjoy yourself that are self-directed and inspired. Learn how to be full of joy while completely still and quiet. You may even wish to try sensory deprivation.

Appreciate. As much as you can, appreciate everyone and everything. Feel satisfaction from head to toe. Learn to love all you have—both the joys and the lessons. Appreciate time, opportunity, and options. Be so full of love that it naturally overflows. If you must consume something, appreciate it as you do to create a balanced energy exchange.

Trust your intuition. Start small. Listen to the positive little impulses that occur throughout your day, even if you don’t understand the point until you do them—you will!

Make a list of your highest values and intentions. Filter your decisions through them instead of anything external.

Prioritize integrity. Let your actions reflect your authentic self and highest truth. Don’t compromise due to external pressure. Focus on inspired win-win solutions.

Set positive boundaries. Don’t cave to others when you know it’s out of alignment. Have self-compassion, and be a positive example of it. Understand that the rewarding of negative behaviour is a negative behaviour.

Feel thyself. Know what your authentic and ecstatic self feels like inside. Aim to feel like this as much as you can. Love yourself more.

Stop blaming and judging. Focus on what you can do to embody more compassion, consciousness, and self-empowerment in yourself first. Look at the deeper energetic cause of each situation, and heal all of the negative patterns that you can.

Don’t be a follower. Stop caring what the herd is doing. What are you really excited about doing?

Forgive everyone and everything. You don’t need to excuse or condone or enable anything. Just let go so you can heal and be free. Re-set your boundaries and level of self-worth when you do.

Relax. Relaxation is a big key to staying deeply connected, and should be a main priority. Employ self-care, research different meditation and relaxation methods, learn about your nervous system, and heal what needs to be healed. Find an effective way to relax deeply every day. Know that full relaxation is extremely important, and never feel guilty about focusing on this.

Be awe-full. Sit in awe of the miracle of existence, the vastness of space, the perfection of nature, your very is-ness, or whatever brings you into a state of deep wonder.

Wake up! Invite your full consciousness completely into your body. Be here and now as intensely as you possibly can. Identify with your observing consciousness, not your emotions, body, or physical ego-based personality. Be the BIG YOU! The you that has all the real power.

Because of the importance of this topic, please don’t hesitate to ask for further clarifications below. Let me know if you’d be interested in a book or a deck of mindfulness cards based on this post, or if things like that exist already and you want to recommend them to others! Your sharing is appreciated.

Thank you for considering this idea and doing your part to heal yourself and the world! You have more power to create change than you know.

If you could use more help finding your inspiration or creative power within, check out my books!

Create Now is a multiple choice guide for anyone who wants to establish an inspired and abundant creative practice, or to make a living by doing something else they love, without a long drawn-out process. It is a universal philosophy that can help you to thrive in your current world while simultaneously creating a better one.

Creative Alchemy is a series of fun experiments, rituals, and meditations for reminding you of your inner magic – with an explanation of how to transform your reality from the inside out.

Thanks for reading! If this post resonates, please share it with others.

Do you appreciate my work and want to see it continue? Here's how you can help .

Your morning routine sets the tone and direction for your whole day, and we know that how you spend your days are how you spend your life. So are you taking full advantage of this simple but life-changing opportunity for self-empowerment?

I know it's not always easy. Waking up is a huge struggle for many people, which often leads to a rushed morning and, consequently, a loss of much of the determination you could have over your life.

Some say you should never hit snooze, and that you should just push yourself to get up right away. If that works for you, great! I'd like to propose another option though—a quick and easy trick for those of you who love the snooze button too much to give it up. 

For one week, when your alarm goes off in the morning, hit snooze. This is your first win of the day! Great job.

After you hit snooze, before looking at your phone or getting distracted by anything else, immediately start daydreaming about what you could do with your day. Think of the most exciting things you can imagine! Don't fight to keep it realistic, just be creative. What would be fun? What would you do if you had no limitations, no responsibilities, and endless time? Daydream about all the things that would make you want to spring out of bed. 

After the alarm goes off the second time, and before you get distracted with emails or texts or anything else, get focused, plan your day for real, or just get up—and keep the energy of creativity and excitement going as long as you can. Maybe your exciting ideas will influence what you do with your day, or maybe not. Give it a week and just see what happens!

If you need it, make sure you have a reminder to do this challenge when you wake up. Change the alarm title on your phone, or put out a note or something you'll see right away that will jog your memory.

Let me know how it goes! 

For a deeper morning ritual for inspiration and aligning with creative flow, you may also want to check out Create Now!

Do you appreciate my work and want to see it continue? Here's how you can help .

Your morning routine sets the tone and direction for your whole day, and we know that how you spend your days are how you spend your life. So are you taking full advantage of this simple but life-changing opportunity for self-empowerment?

I know it's not always easy. Waking up is a huge struggle for many people, which often leads to a rushed morning and, consequently, a loss of much of the determination you could have over your life.

Some say you should never hit snooze, and that you should just push yourself to get up right away. If that works for you, great! I'd like to propose another option though—a quick and easy trick for those of you who love the snooze button too much to give it up. 

For one week, when your alarm goes off in the morning, hit snooze. This is your first win of the day! Great job.

After you hit snooze, before looking at your phone or getting distracted by anything else, immediately start daydreaming about what you could do with your day. Think of the most exciting things you can imagine! Don't fight to keep it realistic, just be creative. What would be fun? What would you do if you had no limitations, no responsibilities, and endless time? Daydream about all the things that would make you want to spring out of bed. 

After the alarm goes off the second time, and before you get distracted with emails or texts or anything else, get focused, plan your day for real, or just get up—and keep the energy of creativity and excitement going as long as you can. Maybe your exciting ideas will influence what you do with your day, or maybe not. Give it a week and just see what happens!

If you need it, make sure you have a reminder to do this challenge when you wake up. Change the alarm title on your phone, or put out a note or something you'll see right away that will jog your memory.

Let me know how it goes! 

For a deeper morning ritual for inspiration and aligning with creative flow, you may also want to check out Create Now! 

There was a time in my life when I longed to make a big change in my career—to find what I was really passionate about and follow it. I had the freedom to choose whatever I wanted to do, and to do it! The only problem was that I was in such a dark place, that I couldn't feel passion for anything.

Maybe you're there right now, and you're tired of hearing crap about following dreams, because you just can't. 

Maybe you want to follow your highest excitement, but you are so depressed that you can't feel excited about anything. I know how frustrating that can be. It can add a whole new layer to your feelings of worthlessness.

When you're struggling just to survive, whether with depression, poverty, illness, or something else, it can be hard to imagine a way out—never mind a way to live some dream life. I've been through all of that and more, and found a way out. I found more than I believed possible.

I'll tell you what I learned.

When you’re deeply unhappy, trying to be happy might be the worst thing to do, and anyone that tries to insist otherwise to your face also risks getting punched in the face. It’s like someone showing up to make balloon animals when you’re bleeding to death. In my experience, this “just be happy” attitude leads to feeling like a failure—and more unhappiness. Happiness can’t be forced. It’s also not usually that important to someone in a crisis anyway.

Finding your passion is almost impossible when you're too depressed to feel anything, but you can find things that make you feel a bit less horrible. You don't need to make a huge leap from depressed to everything being perfect and amazing. Just do your best to stay pointed in the right direction, and see where it leads. 

As difficult as it is, this can mean letting go of your old passions. When you become unable to do what you used to love, you have to find a way to let it go—at least in the form it once took—so you can find what you will love doing now. This isn't necessarily bad. It's even how I became a published author, because I needed a creative medium I could do from bed. 

It's important to remember that creators need to create, and we are all creators. Neglecting creativity because you feel bad will only make you feel more depressed and out of tune with yourself. Making something every day just to keep things flowing is important, even if it’s just a page of atrocious writing about how much everything sucks.

No matter how terrible life seems, you still have control over your state of being, and that is your greatest tool. It can be an enormous help to you, but you need to learn how to address it from the roots.

So how do you climb out of the deep, dark, pit you're in when it feels like there's a thousand pound boulder pinning you down?

For now, make your new goal not about happiness or passion, but neutrality and flow.

It sounds boring, but it's extremely not.

Neutrality is power and control. It's freedom. It's a blank slate that gives you the choice to do what you want and feel what you want. Fuck happiness. That takes the pressure off a little, doesn't it?

And when I say flow, I just mean to keep your energy flowing rather than bottled up. Let things out—continuously. Letting things flow out is the first step to letting happiness, inspiration, and other good things flow in.

Once you've decided to begin this exciting quest for neutrality and flow, how do you do it?

Basically, you need to stop giving a shit about what doesn't matter—which is almost everything. When you feel heavy and negative and depressed, you're investing too much energy into something worthless—like ideas about how shitty you are or how shitty life is. None of that is going to help you, and it's time to deal with it.

If you want out of the darkness, the key is in the darkness. 

When you feel something is off, whether it's just a little or it's an extreme emotional crisis, that's your signal that something is wrong and you need to acknowledge it.

Bringing your darkness into the light is how you bring yourself into the light.

What would help you address and let go of what feels off? If you can find a strategy you like that helps you process negativity you can feel gradually better, and one day you will suddenly realize you are happy enough to find your passion and follow it!

When thinking about what strategy you'd like to use, remember that the idea is to go fully into the negative feeling to demystify it and let it run it's course—so preferably choose something ridiculous and angsty, not something that merely distracts you.

Write bad poetry, rant in your journal, or draw how you feel. Let it out while looking it in the eye. Be brave. Don't censor yourself. And try not to judge.

Then let it go. Get rid of the art or bad poetry or rant. Learn from it and move on. Find the neutral place where you understand that none of it mattered. Be more badass. Be honest with yourself—which basically means remembering that you're better than all of your crap. 

Once you have a system for facing the darkness, it will only get smaller. If you keep at it long enough it will one day be gone, leaving only a light space that you can fill with whatever good things you want. 

When I reflect on how things once were compared to how they are now, it's hard to believe. I never would have thought I could feel a light space instead of the heavy darkness there was. But I do. I know that you can too.

I know it probably sounds like merely a sales pitch, but please read this part too. I wrote Create Now to help people through all of this, and other struggles common to artists and creative types. It has proven itself to be a transformative and inspiring book. It has helped me from extreme depression and anxiety to extreme inspiration. It's powerful and it works.

If you need an easy and clear system for addressing your darkness, finding purpose, excitement, and inspiration, I don't know of a better option. I'd give everyone a copy for free if I could, but I'm not Oprah. So if you need help, consider finding a way to get it, or borrow it from the library. If you know a creative type who is struggling, it might be a nice gift to them too. It's not a preachy or difficult book. It's mostly just fun and encouraging!

More info is at marloland.com/createnow

In creative work (and even life in general) it can be challenging and confusing to know what to do, or what to create, if you don't know why you are doing it in the first place. You may feel dragged along, working out of fear or obligation, and not really getting anywhere. You may feel scattered or blocked. You may even feel like everything you do is pointless.

This can all be reversed though. Have you ever looked at what truly inspires and fulfills you on a deeper level? What would get you up in the morning and fill you with excitement? What would make you feel the most joyful and alive?

Creating a mission statement allows decision-making to become easy. You simply choose the options that support your passion, your mission, over everything else. You can cut out distractions, giving yourself clarity and the power of focused intention.

A specific purpose also opens the path that lets inspiration flow, and allows you to focus yourself enough to achieve a flow state. Creativity is not random—it requires something specific to express or solve.

You mission statement also allows your work to be cohesive, so you may discover your voice, and express it in the way that is the most clear to others. This helps you to establish yourself in a niche and build your most receptive audience.

Eventually you may find yourself a highly renowned expert in your field, making a huge impact by doing what you love, and being well-valued and supported by others. If this is something you want, you truly do need to find your focus first. 

To focus yourself in this way may seem limiting, but it is precisely this limit that allows you to align yourself with your truth, so you may feel the most powerfully inspired.

If you don't have a mission statement yet, I encourage you to make one right now. Don't pressure yourself to come up with the one thing you focus on for the rest of your life, and don't be too serious. Just choose something fun and exciting, and see where it leads. Your focus will likely evolve over time.  

If you feel stuck in a place where you're too overwhelmed with obligations to find the time or energy to focus on what you really want, that's okay. I would still suggest creating the mission statement that resonates most with your passions, even if it's not practical right now. Once it's written down, use it as a reminder to slowly start applying it to different areas of your life. A year from now, you'll be very glad that you did!

If you really don't know what you want to do or what inspires you most, make your mission to discover what you want your mission to be. Make it about getting more in touch with your true self and what you really love. This essential inward travel is what sets the course for your most authentic and exciting outward expansion.

If you want more guidance on what to do with your mission statement once you have it, check out Create Now.  

How can you get that large or neglected creative project done NOW, without the guilt of neglecting everything else?

I don’t use this strategy every day, but I do use it when I’m writing a book, have a deadline approaching, or just want some extra strength immersion in that intoxicating buzz of creative flow.

It’s powerful but simple – when I want to prioritize a certain project, and get it done as quickly as I can, I do it first and ruthlessly ignore everything else. This means scheduling a time, preferably right upon waking up, and not doing anything else unless completely necessary. No computers, or phones, or even talking to anyone if not needed. Most importantly, HOLY CRAP DO NOT CHECK FACEBOOK, TWITTER, OR THE NEWS! This is especially important during stressful times – creativity really does require retreating from the outside world for awhile, and you can’t do this if your brain has decided that there are impending dangers you must immediately attend to.

Fear is the root of creative block, so why subject yourself to it just before getting to work?

We’re so used to the hyper-connectedness of our society that it almost seems wrong to unplug. People expect you to always be available to them, and to respond quickly. But does that mean you have to? Perhaps this is a belief worth questioning. Why do we feel entitled to each other’s attention, time, and energy, right now? And why do we feel obligated to give it, too?

Whether you think it’s right or wrong, it’s definitely an obstacle for a self-motivated creative. You could be neglecting the most important work of your life, just because of something like FOMO, someplace like Twitter. Or fear of someone getting mad because you didn’t get their text. Doesn’t that seem silly?

What about the fear of missing out on amazing creative discoveries, life-changing inspiration, or the profound epiphanies often experienced with regular creative sessions? It’s all there waiting for you to start paying attention to it.

With creative work, there’s something special about being totally unplugged, waking up early, and getting right to it before anyone or anything interferes. I’m not a morning person at all, but I will wake up enthusiastically for this. Without coffee. It’s life-changing.

If you dream about going on a creative retreat, this could be the perfect DIY version. 

Block off some mornings, even if you have to get up extra early, and make sure everyone knows not to disturb you.

Turn your phone, computer, and any other devices off before bed, and when you wake up, leave them off! Take care of your basic needs, do some meditating, journaling, or whatever rituals you need to do to be ready to work, then begin your creative project. Leave your devices off until you’re satisfied with your work session. 

Sometimes for me this means leaving my phone and email off all day, and nothing bad has come of this yet. 

Obviously if your task involves your computer or another device you can use some common sense here – maybe you can power up your laptop and leave the internet off, or at least stay signed out of email. Be strict, for your own sake. 

Not only do I survive when I go whole days without my phone and email, but I feel like a new person. The usual stream of inspiration becomes an all-encompassing cloud of creative power. Time-wasting habits are broken. Anxiety drops down to zero. 

Imagine the profound effect of doing this every day, every morning, or even just once a week!

If you hate mornings and are thinking about trying this at night before bed instead, here is my word of caution: if you are truly in a state of flow while creating, you might find that your brain is so stimulated that you won’t be able to sleep afterward. This side-effect of creativity is a great advantage if you decide to try a morning session though! Especially if you’re excited about your work (which you should be).

Do you give enough time and space your creative life to bloom? Do you prioritize the work that is most important to you? You deserve it, guilt-free.

Now that the main bulk of editing for my next book is out of the way, I have some free mental space to spend on writing something new. I can only write so many blog posts, however, so I decided that I will focus more of my energy on something more exciting: writing competitions!

I already have a few pieces underway, but there are a couple of challenges: to submit all the work I'd like to will take countless days of writing exclusive new things and will cost hundreds of dollars in submission fees per month.

I could just put it all on my credit card, but I thought I'd try a more creative solution first.  

If you would like to sponsor me for a writing contest, I'd be willing to work toward winning us both a prize.  

If you'd like in on this, send $50 Canadian (or more if you're feeling exceptionally generous!) and I will put you down as the sponsor for the next major contest I enter that isn't sponsored yet (or possibly two smaller ones) and let you know which. The $50 goes toward the entry fee, and any extra will buy me coffee while I write (or wine afterwards!).

If I win anything, you'll be the first to know, and I'll send you a prize! It will be my choice as to what feels appropriate, but I'll make sure it's special. I will include a signed copy of the winning piece whenever possible, or a signed copy of my book if not.

If you'd like a shout-out on my blog or social media after you donate, let me know! I'd be glad to declare my immense gratitude publicly.  

• Pay me with a credit card via Squarespace

• Pay me with PayPal 

$50 Canadian makes you my exclusive sponsor for one major writing competition, or two smaller ones, depending on availability. You are definitely welcome to sponsor as many competitions as you'd like!

I always try to write things with value, so any work that doesn't win will be used somewhere, somehow, whether it is used for another contest, submitted for publication somewhere, or something else. It will not go to waste! 

This is a limited time offer, and may come down at any time within the next few weeks.

Thank you so much for your support, whether you sponsor me now, have purchased my work, donated to this site, or helped bring my work to others. I could not do it without you! 

Once I learned how to embrace the paradox of productivity, I produced far more (and better) work by being lazier. Here’s how...

Throughout many of my 12 years as a creative freelancer, my main focus was on just getting things done and getting paid. I worked constantly, and said yes to a lot of jobs outside of my area of interest that I wanted to say no to, just because I needed the money.

Placing such a high priority on income and productivity caused my well-being to suffer immensely. Instead of talking about the depression, burnout, and destruction of my health (before I even turned 30), though, I’m going to tell you what I did about it.

In August 2015, I began a year-long experiment entitled “A Year Without Work.” The basic idea was to stop doing things for money that I would never consider doing for free. I would focus on doing only what I loved, in the most pure and idealistic way I could, then later see if there was a way to monetize it so I could still live. That may seem unrealistic to some, but I felt I needed this level of discipline to get back on track.

On the first day I was so excited! I could finally dive into some art and writing projects I had been neglecting for most of the last year.

But I failed completely. Here’s why:

To allow access to the most inspired mental state and maximize creative flow, I use a method that requires a certain order of operations; the first thing is to prepare physically, mentally, and emotionally. (The exact steps are in my book) When I began to do this, I discovered that I was in no shape to make my best work. I wasn’t even close. All kinds of things I’d been too busy to notice came to the surface of my awareness. I was exhausted, stressed out, and repressing all kinds of things that had been bothering me. Like when you go on vacation but can’t relax, clearing my schedule made it all completely impossible to ignore.

I was quite frustrated at first—I just wanted to make awesome things, but I couldn’t.

Eventually, I gave in and went with the flow. I rested. One by one, I began unraveling all the pent-up things I had ignored. When I thought I was finished, I’d wake up the next day to some new challenge to face. It seemed like it would never end.

Even after giving it my complete attention, this process took several weeks. My productivity level was at zero. I accomplished absolutely no creative work, and I was using up my small amount of savings to do it. I felt like a huge failure, and a disaster of a person.

But it turned out that it was all worth it.

At the end of this process I was finally in the right state to create, and suddenly I was on fire! I turned my phone off and wrote obsessively from early morning until late afternoon for days on end. No alarm. No coffee. I just needed to get it all out.

My first goal was to finish some neglected book projects—over several days I compiled all of my best ideas, did some outlines and samples, created a finished package for my editor, and sent it off. One project was chosen: a partial draft I hadn’t touched (or thought about) for several months, which went to acquisitions and was accepted. (Coming Spring 2018 from Chronicle Books!) If I’d stayed on the path I was on, too busy, tired, and depressed to do my personal work, this never would have happened.

If my focus remained on productivity and keeping busy, I wouldn’t have given myself the time I truly needed to complete my deep inner work and to be my best self—the version of myself that feels inspired, gets up early to work because I want to, and makes meaningful and unique work that people appreciate.

I had to forgive myself for my perceived failure. I had to love myself enough to address my deepest needs, however unrelated to my goals they seemed. I had to give myself permission to do nothing.

The paradox is that allowing myself to do nothing, to give myself the freedom to be lazy, and letting myself address my personal needs first, is what enabled me to accomplish my best, most positive work, and in great quantities! I now feel so motivated and inspired that I can barely stop myself from working all the time.

I am the most productive I have ever been because I no longer focus on productivity — it is merely a byproduct of focusing on the work I most love, and taking care of myself to be well enough to do it.

Plus, I am more happy and healthy than I’ve ever been, which only feeds the cycle of creation. I used to only really rest and recover just enough to get back to my to-do list. I was never completely well. I was just well enough to hustle, until I broke, and then work became impossible.

To perform at your peak level requires paying careful attention to your needs—not sacrificing them. Depending on your conditioning, it may seem counter-intuitive at first, but this is an important shift in mindset for anyone wanting to do challenging or highly creative work. Then when you focus on the work you love, you actually can build a life out of it. You become unstoppable.

I know how challenging it can be to take better care of yourself and to get out of survival mode when you’re up to your ears in hustle or can barely make ends meet, but I’m here to help. If this productivity philosophy resonates with you, and you’d like to give it a try, you can check out my step-by-step guide: Create Now!: A Systematic Guide To Artistic Audacity, available everywhere books are sold—including Amazon: amzn.to/1NTMGmq —Find your focus, unleash your highest creativity, share your work, do good, get paid, and more.

PS: Kindle and eBook versions of are on sale!

You need to do it. So how do you build valuable connections within your comfort zone?

I used to hate the idea of networking. It sounded like disingenuous, awkward horror. I wrote it off for a long time. I later realized that there are different ways to do it, and expanding upon what you already do as a human interacting with other humans makes it way easier. It’s also pretty crucial to any professional practice! Let’s be honest. We all need other people to have a career of any kind. Success does not happen without help.

So how do you build a supportive and valuable network when you think it’s the literal worst?

1. FORGET ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT

Before you take action you may need to shift your intentions a bit. It can seem counter-intuitive, but if you’re too focused on the things you want, like getting money or exposure, it makes things more difficult. For the most valuable and authentic connections, you need a more community-based mindset.

Think about it from the perspective of potential clients for a minute. What do they want? What do they not want? If you look at it purely economically, people don’t want to hire or buy from the people solely trying to get their money. They do want to give money to people providing something of value that they want or need. Or they want to support people or causes they care about.

To receive something of value, your focus should be on providing something of value.

2. FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Where can you find the people who are into what you’re into, who live on the same wavelength as you, and already get what you’re about? Whether you find them online or in person is up to you! Connect with them, support them, and build long-lasting friendships with them. Be a positive asset in their lives, in whatever way feels right to you. Use your imagination! How do you most like interacting with people?

3. PROVIDE VALUE

Find ways that you love to help people, then help! Solve problems. Create beauty. Add value. Be a part of something bigger than yourself. There are an infinite number of ways to do it, just keep it genuine. This should be part of your business model anyway, but it’s important to be there for your community outside of that as well.

4. APPRECIATE

Show gratitude to people – even ones you don’t know. Write to the people who inspire you, and tell them why. Leave good reviews. Promote people you believe in. Buy someone a coffee. Send flowers. Thank everyone who helps you. You are planting seeds that may bloom into invaluable long-term connections, clients, mentorships, returned favors, and more.

5. BE WHERE YOU ARE

If you’re around people, whether grocery shopping or at a party, be open to connecting with others. Let serendipity do its thing! It can take practice, but learn how to talk to strangers. Ask genuine questions. Say nice things. Even if you find it awkward at first, talking to people is a skill you can learn. Do some research on how to do this if needed.

6. SHARE YOUR PASSION

Create awesome stuff and tell people about it! If you’re excited about what you’re doing other people will be too, and some of them will want to support you, help you, or promote your work. Not everyone though! It’s easy to get carried away when talking about things you love, so remember to pause during long-winded explanations in case people want to ask questions, change the subject, or flee! That’s okay too.

7. LET GO AND FLOW

The more you can relax, let go of expectations, and enjoy this process, the more successful it will be! Don’t worry about being perfect. Don’t worry if people don’t respond the way you want. Just keep going and do your best!

In the end, the connections we make with other people are going to make or break us, so it’s wise to do it wisely – with integrity, self-respect, and an open heart.

Want to connect with me? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or find my contact info and social links at marloland.com/connect

Further reading:

Create Now!: A Systematic Guide to Artistic Audacity, Phase 3 – Sharing Your Work

For the month of February, Chronicle Books has chosen Create Now!: A Systematic Guide to Artistic Audacity as one of their featured eBooks! This means that you can find it in eBook and Kindle formats for $1.99 at the following links, or just search your preferred eBook store. Prices may vary between countries and platforms. See chroniclebooks.com/ebooks for more featured titles.

Kindle • iTunes • Nook • Google Play • Kobo

Create Now! eBook preview (Kindle is not quite as pretty)

And as always, paperbacks are still available everywhere books are sold. More info at marloland.com/books.