Stuck Between Colors

Stuck Between Colors

by:Ken’Yonna Taylor

you say this is your time

theirs a fine line

between your time and my time

this is our time

you see me as black

and you think i see you as white

but i only see you as a person

that i no longer want to fight

we live in a world

where there used to be colored

but now its black and white

listening to the stories

it all seemed like a big fright

unlike some people who ran away

i will stay

i will fight fight for my rights

to be black in this crazy world

youre stuck between color lines

some people think im color blind

but im not

i just don judge people

by what color they are

i only accept people for who they are

5 Tips to Stay Inspired

1. Carry A Journal. No matter where I am or what I am doing I will have a little journal with me. It's in my purse, it's beside my bed... It's everywhere. Just carrying the journal is my constant reminder to write down ideas. Now, I don't use all the ideas I write down. For me, the act of jotting down ideas helps keep me in a creative mindset. The more ideas I write down, the more I have... and the better they become!

2. Find A New Muse. Oh my... the concept of a muse is so silly to me, but it really works! My current muse(s) can be anything from a band I'm loving to a movie that stuck with me or a vintage trend I want to re-create. A muse can be absolutely anything, but it's fun to find one with enough history to keep you studying for a while. The more you learn about your muse, the more inspiration you'll receive.

3. Develop A Creative Playlist. Several years ago I started painting on a daily basis. I had a favorite album at the time that I would play when I was working. Pretty soon I could only listen to that band when working... if it came on while I was driving it felt weird. I learned the value in having some comfort music to get me into work mode. This is especially valuable for people who work from home. Sometimes you need something to mentally put you into a creative state of mind and a playlist can most definiately do that for you! I like to have a different playlist (or favorite album) for every major creative season or project that I work on. These songs will bring back wonderful memories later on... trust me.

4. Refresh Your Workspace. This next one works wonders for me! One day I'm painting, the next day designing dresses and then working on a new art journal course the next... All of these different projects can make a studio VERY messy and that can cause stress.

My favorite thing to do when I need a pick me up is to rearrange just one little part of my studio. You don't have to clean or reorganize the entire space, but clear a table and arrange your supplies so that you have a fresh spot to work. If you need some extra happiness in your space grab a pretty bouquet of flowers from the grocery store or take a few hours to create a new inspiration wall. Refreshing your workspace can work wonders!

5. Prove Yourself Wrong! We've all been guilty of saying things like "I would love to, but I don't have time" or "I could never do that". These attitudes are so common, but they probably aren't even true. I know it sounds a little cliché, but if you believe you can do something... you can! It's a magical feeling to set a goal that feels a little bit impossible and then achieve it. I've marked quite a few things off my list that I used to believe I couldn't do. Proving yourself wrong is a great way to stay inspired because you'll be more motivated than ever when you meet your goal.

I hope these 5 Tips resonate with you. I love being inspired and want you to share the joy! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! elsie

http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/09/5-tips-for-staying-inspired.html

BEAT or be beat.


resilience. Comes after a real talk with oneself.
Aligned focus.




These are messages to myself.

Do not be so quick to compromise your IDENTITY for a cause. It MUST align with your cause because you cannot escape yourself. You need to THRIVE to succeed, not just survive. Because aiming just for survival and getting things done as needed is really a slow death.

K.O.S. Always pushing forward. No settling for less. Holding myself to a high standard. Being the person I want to be. And being the person I want my kids to be like.



Thank you God for your presence. Thank you for music.



Genuine happiness.

How to get motivated

What motivates you?

Have you ever had one of those days where you just don’t feel like doing anything? Work isn’t exciting you anymore and you feel lethargic & uninspired?

Haven’t we all! One of the keys to unlocking motivation is understanding your personal values i.e. what truly energises & excites you. Once you know what these values are then it’s simply a matter of planning your life around them. A quote that I love to demonstrate this idea is:

“never let the things that matter to you most be at the mercy of those that do not”

The most successful people on the planet all understand what their values are and live their lives in accordance with them. You’d be surprised how many of us though, live our lives according to other people’s values. We end up devoting a large amount of time to things that genuinely don’t matter to us which results in those feelings of de-motivation & sluggishness. If you’re living your life according to your values then you should feel naturally energized, positive & excited!

Simple Life Strategy: how to get motivated

Start by thinking about what you love spending your time doing, the things you love in your home, the things you always have energy to do no matter how tired you are, think about the things you find it easy to spend money on and look to see where in your life you are focused and disciplined and reflect on what the common things are that you love to think and talk about.

You might ask yourself the following types of Qs:

What parts of your life are you most satisfied with?
What characteristics do you admire the most in other people?
What brings you the most joy in life?
Once you’ve written down some of these ideas, you then need to spend some time analyzing which words seem to mean the most to you until you have a list of 6 or 7 values. Then you need to put them into order based on your personal priorities.

Some of my personal values are:

- health

- innovation

- learning & insight

- fun & adventure

I make a concerted effort to ensure I am factoring in these values every day in some way. When it comes to planning my week ahead I will refer to my values to ensure the decisions I’m making are in line with my values. For example if a friend invites me out to an event, I will assess how spending my time with that friend will allow me to live my values? Should my time be better used doing something else? And be careful not to confuse values with ‘pleasurable activities’. Values are not always about instant gratification – but they assist you to grow as a person in the long run.

Six Ways to Become Re-Inspired

Welcome to Day 2
with Isabel Foxen Duke

Isabel is a certified Health Coach and Emotional Eating Expert and is passionate about teaching women to not be crazy around food. You in?

THIS VIDEO ADDRESSES:

:: How self love can get you off the diet roller coaster.
:: How compulsive eating is directly related to lack of self love.
:: A big myth in regards to weight loss.

PREP SCHOOL

Welcome to Day 1
with Susan Hyatt

Martha Beck Master-certified life coach and author of Create Your Own Luck: Seven Steps to get Your Lucky On shares her juiciest tips for radical self-care!

THIS VIDEO ADDRESSES:

:: How to get around the excuse of “Not enough time”.
:: The Importance of self-care in self-love
:: A morning ritual worksheet for you!

Quotations for Living Life Fully
-Tom Walsh

Inspirational

But maybe, too, there are some unexpected and unwanted things in life that will bring you down if you let them, and instead it's possible to shift your perspective and see the positives. I still feel lucky, even more so, and I wouldn't now choose to not have the experience that I did. I know that the next time I may not be so lucky, but until that time comes I will strive to embrace all the positives in my life and try not to dwell on the negatives.

"Tea and oatmeal in love bowl and inspiration mug. The affirmations help with digestion :)"

"Inspired by one, powered by many."

Dream Big

Anything you desire to change on the outside must first be changed internally. The physical transformation happens later. Start by dreaming it up. Seeing the vision inside is the most important part and has to happen first.

As you create a goal, first understand what the destination looks like in your mind. Using all of your senses, flesh out every aspect of what will happen in your imagination. How does it look, smell, and taste? What sounds do you hear? What do you hear people saying? What do you say when you’ve made it? How does it make you feel to have made your dream come true?

Make this vision real by putting it plainly in front of you every single day, and then work on the next big question: What’s getting in the way?

http://healyourlife.com/author-james-p-nicolai-md/2013/01/lifeshelp/success-and-abundance/dream-big

Zadie Smith

When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation’. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle’. All that matters is what you leave on the page.
Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.
Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.
Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
Don’t confuse honours with achievement.
Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand — but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/09/19/zadie-smith-10-rules-of-writing/

I love this. "Period of gestation."

Remember that art requires a period of gestation. Accept moments of non-productivity as the yin that goes with the yang. Something wonderful may be brewing inside. Dream. Imagine. Allow it time to take form. When you revisit your studio, you’ll have a fresh infusion of energy. Always remember: the fire will return.


http://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Inspired-(for-Writers-and-Artists)

When you don't know what to do in life, inspire.

MOTIVATION ~ PERSPECTIVE

"Nobody said that it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."