In the “Go-Giver” (affiliate link) and several of the business gurus’ advice videos and self-help guides, one of the first pieces of advice you get is to provide more value than what you take in. At first glance, this means to avoid making money. After all, if you provide more than what a person pays for, you’re going to go bankrupt. However, what you’re really doing is providing people with what they need to achieve their goals or fulfill their needs in a better way. If you can do this genuinely and organically, you’ll find that you have a rabid fan base, who will help you succeed. To start, you need to defy or fire up the imagination.
Continue readingMonthly Archives: June 2020
I’m Not Creative: Monday Motivation
Have you ever said, “Oh, I’m not creative?” If you have said this, it’s probably because you have been conditioned to believe that you aren’t “creative” enough to make a living at it. When you started working in creative areas as a child, you didn’t have the talent to measure up to other kids in your class, so you were discouraged from doing creative things. Maybe you didn’t have the body type to be a professional dancer, or the manual dexterity to paint in the style of fine artists, or the ability to carry a note. This doesn’t mean you aren’t creative. It just means that our society values productivity over personal expression and self-actualization.
Continue readingPirate Plushie Penguins for 2017’s D23 Expo
In honor of Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean attraction turning 50, the Disney Expo 2017 held a contest for Pirates-related art. I convinced Jenya that we should try to win the prize using penguins in the “Take a Wench for a Bride” scene. I knew Disney was going to change the scene, sooner rather than later, but they hadn’t made an announcement. Jenya looked at some other scenes, but thought these outfits made for the funniest penguins. Because of the timing of the contest, Jenya had to make the pirate plushie penguins before the results about moving forward were in. We weren’t chosen, but we had all the penguins.
Continue readingUtah’s Ruby Snap Cookies Create Memories Worth Reliving
It’s Cookie Saturday, and you’ve got a cookie craving, but you don’t want or don’t have time to bake cookies what should you do? If you live in Salt Lake City, Utah, the answer is simple: Ruby Snap. The company delivers some of the best cookies ever made, and they’re open until 7pm on Saturday! If you don’t live in Salt Lake City, you still have options. Cookie dough is available in the freezer section of Smith’s, Harmon’s and Lee’s Marketplace. If you live even farther away, you can get the cookies by mail. (You’ll want to order before Saturday so they can arrive on time.)
Continue readingCreativity, Book, and Penguin Emporium Coming Soon
We are about a month away from starting our search for a physical location for our Creativity, Book and Penguin Emporium. (C.A.P.E.S. was already taken in Oregon, so I had to scrap my first choice in names. I’m open to suggestions.) While I would like to think that finding a location is the first step on the list, it’s really just a part of the jumble that we have to do all at once. We need to gather and/or create inventory, like penguins, and get the fixtures ready, like shelves and flat screens. We are still accepting indie author applications, and we will need to reach out to the authors we like. However, since it’s easier, I’m going to write this in a linear fashion.
Continue readingDisney Lego MiniFigs Series 1: Collectors’ Corner
(This article contains affiliate links. If you click on a link that goes to Amazon and purchase a product, you support our writing effort without having to pay more for the items you order. Thank you.) If you couldn’t tell by my numerous Disney blog posts or the books I’ve written about Disney (“Disneyland Is Creativity,” “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity,” “Penguinate! The Disney Company”), I’m a Disney fan. Maybe a little less well-known is I love Legos. They’re great for inspiring creativity, especially the basic sets that allow you to build what you imagine rather than following a set of plans and instructions. So, when I saw the Disney Lego Minifigs series 1, I looked at my budget and knew I had to have them.
Disney Lego Minifigs Series 1 Characters
Lego decided to start its series with three of the Big Five represented. Mickey, Minnie and Donald or among the 18 figures. They added Daisy to the group assumedly for symmetry in the release. In fact, only Maleficent and fan-favorite Stitch are without a partner of some sort. Buzz Lightyear has a Little Green Man, Aladdin has the Genie, and classic Alice has the Cheshire Cat. Grown-up Syndrome is ready to battle with the young Mr. Incredible, which I guess timeline-wise doesn’t really work. Peter Pan can take on his nemesis Captain Hook, and Ariel can sing for Ursula.
Appeal of Disney Lego Minifigs
Aside from the fact that they are Lego and Disney, the minifigs have an additional appeal of the blind draw. Not knowing what’s inside increases the anticipation. With each packet you open, you narrow down the one’s you want to get. Soon, you’re wondering if you’re going to get your 10th Syndrome, or if it will be one of the other three characters you need to complete the question. At the end, you hoping to get either the character you need to complete the collection or another of the best characters in it. When that final character is revealed… YOU WIN! It’s exciting and wonderful and fun. Some people would prefer to know what they’re getting, but others enjoy the thrill of the chase.
The Best Disney Lego Minifig
The blind draw gives the Little Green Man the advantage as the best Disney Lego Minifig in Series 1 because you can get a thousand Little Green Men and never have too many. It’s the only character where repetition doesn’t hurt, and in fact, it might help. Little Green Men always seem to travel in groups, except when they are selected by the claw. Some of the other characters seem to be available in other Lego sets if you can afford them. That makes Mickey Mouse a little less exciting though he appears to be in different outfits. The Cheshire Cat is cool, but I’m going to have to give the nod to the Little Green Man.
Collecting and Creativity
Why is collecting a part of our creativity? Ideas come from combining two or more things that haven’t been previously combined. Collecting allows us to have visual and tactile stimulation to improve connections. Oftentimes, people who collect items, don’t focus on just one thing or category. They tend to collect multiple categories of items over time. Perhaps, the most famous example of this is Ray Bradbury’s office at the beginning of Ray Bradbury Theater. He characterizes it as a place where he’ll never starve for ideas. Join us on Patreon for more creativity (and penguins)!
Did you collect and complete your Disney Lego Minifigs Series 1? What are you collecting now? Let us know in the comments.
Mr. Rogers and Impostor Syndrome
In the writing community, many writers, even successful ones, have a specific fear or anxiety. They are afraid that they aren’t real writers, and they wonder when their fans, publishers, agents, family and the public at large are going to find out that they are fake. When will people discover that the author’s writing is trash? It’s called “impostor syndrome.” For them and for anyone else who wonders if they are faking it, if they are impostors, you are not alone. In fact, Mr. Rogers also thought he might be a fraud, an impostor, and a fake.
Continue readingCommit to Moving Forward: Tip Tuesday
You got big dreams. You want fame. Well, fame costs, and right here is where you start paying – in sweat.
Lydia Grant (played by Debbie Allen) in ‘Fame’ (affiliate link).
You may not want fame, but whatever it is you do want will take commitment. If it’s worth having it won’t happen overnight. You’ll need to work for it. It will take time, perseverance, and change. To get through the long period of time when nothing seems to be happening or circumstances are blocking your opportunity, you need commitment. You need to look at where you want to be and keep that as your focus. It’s easy to slide into what’s comfortable. Comfortable keeps you from feeling pain, but it also numbs you to possible pleasure. Comfortable will keep you from experiencing the kind of life you were meant for.
On Being Comfortable
Most people will tell you that it’s okay to feel comfortable with where you. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what you have and what you have achieved. And if you’re happy with it, few will fault you with your stagnation. A majority of people want to be comfortable; they don’t need, or even dream, of reaching for their full potential. But resting on your laurels will keep you from a far more fulfilling life and way of being. Even if you are satisfied with your life, you can still move forward in your development.
Keep Moving Forward
No matter where you are with life, you can keep moving forward. All it takes is commitment to improving yourself. You don’t have to change your job or your family, but you may have to change what you’re doing in your free time. Change is hard. It takes courage to change and to create a new way of life for you to feel even more fulfilled. Commit to your next creative project, bring it to fruition, and keep moving forward.
More on Creativity
Join our Patreon for more on creativity and penguins. Check out my books: “Disneyland Is Creativity,” “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity,” and “Penguinate! Positive Creativity.” Follow this blog for more tips and posts about creativity, penguins, and books.
‘So, You Think You Can’t Draw’ Episode 2 Going Live
I’ve designed ‘So, You Think You Can’t Draw’ for people who think they can’t draw. It cuts down the essential shapes you need to draw anything and gives you time to practice them, so that you feel comfortable drawing. Episode one was released on June 15, 2020. Episode 2 will be released today. You already know how to draw; these will just remind you. The series is on Patreon only, so here’s what you need to do if you want to remember how to draw.
Continue readingPenguin Sweaters for Stuffed Penguins
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Willow and Patch both got penguin sweaters recently. Patch was being a model for our friend Checkers Penguin, who lives in New Zealand where it’s winter. The neat thing about these sweaters is that they are made from a pattern used for actual penguins. But why would penguins need sweaters?
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Penguinate! Positive Creativity 