Live Your Life Be Free!

A lot of us choose  professions such as design, writing, marketing and entrepreneurship because we are creative. We want to use that creativity to express ourselves and somehow help the world. But somewhere along the way in our careers we get distracted with the need for survival or the ambition to win and we lose sight of the big picture. Isn’t it all about creating and helping? How did it become all about moving up the hierarchy, playing it safe, settling the score with a colleague or trying to look good?

I got this article, The Art of Business from Creative Pro sent to me yesterday and I think it is offers some excellent tips on how to bring art back into your life.

I like the way that it focuses on the need to look internally, such as developing a one-year plan, but it also discusses external things such as teaching or using your talents for non-profits. It doesn’t suggest making dramatic moves or  even going to therapy…  it just offers practical advice on how to enrich the creative side of your life.

My sister and I went to a spa called the Pillar and Post in Niagara-on-the-Lake to celebrate New Years. Normally for this holiday I go out to an overpriced bar, dress in something tight with matching uncomfortable shoes, get drunk then feel like shit the next day. This time we hung out for 24 hours in soft white robes, were massaged by two handsome men and felt replenished and revived the next day.

We have been stressed lately – she works as a school psychologist up in Barrie and has three kids ages 5,7 and 9. I am a Marketing Manager in Toronto with my own worries – such as a break-up from a two-year relationship and a recent job-change. My sister showed up at my place late, and we argued about whether or not we should pick up tea and coffee and we argued about directions. But somehow, we got to the spa on time for our first massage appointment and even got to check in to our rooms first.

We went to the spa past the pool, changed into our clean, white robes and went into a kind of lounge where about ten other people were sitting and sipping tea in their robes as well. They were all lolling around on the comfortable pillow-filled couches as if it was their own bedrooms. It was a bit disconcerting to know that they were all naked under the robes (especially since seeing some of them naked would not be a pretty sight) but we tried not to think of it.

My masseuse was a handsome, red-haired ex-welder. Being "good with his hands" he preferred to use his skill on the human body rather than on metal parts. I tugged on my robe and said fleetingly "okay – I guess I will take this off then" with a laugh and he said "it’s not like that!" in a bit of a panicked way. He walked out the door and instructed me to take off the robe and cover myself with a blanket. I’ve never had a massage like that before – but I felt so wonderful after that it was difficult for me to walk. My friend says that having a massage therapeutic, and is as healthy as eating a piece of broccoli (and much more pleasurable).

Afterwards, my sister and I went to the room and caught up on each other’s lives for a few hours until our manicures. I’ve never had a manicure before in my life since it seemed like a high-maintenance-woman thing to do – but hey – we were in the spa so why not try. The two manicurists seemed like best friends, and my sister and I are as well. All four of us talked, shared crazy stories from our lives laughed a lot and voila… an hour and a half later my sister and I had gorgeous French-Manicured nails .

For dinner we got room-service so we could continue being in our robes, ate it by the fireplace in our room and ordered a movie. By 10:00 pm I looked over at my sister and she was sleeping with her glasses clutched in her hand. The next morning she said that she had never fallen asleep in a movie before – so she was just that incredibly relaxed! Neither of us really cares about the midnight-counting down thing – so we were fine with both being asleep at midnight.

The next day we went to the outdoor hot springs and I did some laps in the pool until it was time to go. We both had small scratches on our French Manicures by the time we left – but who wants perfection. We were relaxed, happy and ready to take on all of the stress that was surely soon coming back at us upon our return home. That night I went to The Drake with a friend and saw all of the hung-over New Years day people scuttling around with their heads turned down denoting that they feel like shit – I remember so many of those for me. Right now it feels much better to de-stress and strengthen instead.

We have all been there. It is New Years Eve at a party or club and everyone is counting down in those loud drunk voices. The anticipation builds and kissing partners draw tighter together as we get closer and closer to "one". Then someone calls out "no – it’s the wrong time". The person’s watch that we were counting down to is not the exact time – so we start the countdown again a few minutes later. But wait a second… we were ready to celebrate two minutes ago – but now you are telling us that it is not the exciting minute yet? It makes me think that this whole New Years thing is not what it purports to be – it is a sham.

There are a number of people in my life, both friends and family, who are quite happy to kiss 2006 goodbye. New Years will be like cleaning the slate and preparing for something fresh, different, and hopefully better. For them, 2006 has played out like a season of Desperate Housewives: deaths, marriage issues, career problems etc. One friend is burning his day timer from 2006. Another friend and I are going to a spa tonight, to relax away the worries of the year with a massage and a manicure. Then there are the resolutions… to lose weight, to get in shape, to start a book and to go in a new career direction..,..

But – these numbered celebrations don’t really make sense. Why does it matter that we are no longer typing a "6" after the "200" and when we float over our computer calendars on our toolbar it says "2007"? Why are we so excited about it? We could declare New Years at any midnight of the year that if we wanted – and clear the slate for something new. Instead of waiting for the "New Year’s Number" to come up, we could do it after actual events in our lives, happy ones and sad ones, and declare a personal New Years to start fresh. In fact, we don’t even have to wait until midnight… we could create a personal New Years every hour or minute or even every second.

Yes, I know… there is some momentum created around millions of people celebrating the New Year at the same time. Even then, it is all in our respective time zones anyway. I guess the momentum for me is only in the EST including fellow Torontonians, New Yorkers, Miami residents. By the time we get the momentum from the San Franciscans and Vancouverites – we have already gone home and the hangovers have begun – sorry guys. Like in the elections, we have lost interest by the time the West Coast is ready to contribute.

The idea is that all of these number celebrations are arbitrary – including birthdays. We assign certain meaning to certain ages, but what does it matter? We are only celebrating those years in the calendar that is generally accepted in our culture anyway. We are also attributing roles and responsibilities for those ages based on our personal scripts.

So happy December 31, 11:59:59… if that matters to you. If not – I hope you have many great personal New Years in 2007.

I was inspired to volunteer after going to the Framework Foundation  event where one of my classmates from  my MBA class was a Director. The idea? The organizers auctioned off beautiful modern art with a twist – instead of bidding money we bid volunteer hours. I could not commit to a regularly scheduled time (I am already over-committed with my business, dating and social life) so I decided to find events during less busy times that I could dedicate a block of time to instead of worrying about a regular weekly commitment. I could not believe how varied the experiences were… I have ordered them from most fulfilling to least. 

Santa Clause Parade for Sick Kids

How Discovered: Found out about this while cruising the Sick Kids Foundation Website.
What it was: Job was selling Sick Kids pendants, hats and DVDs to people attending the Santa Clause parade in downtown Toronto.
With whom: Volunteered with my friend Sylvia who is an incredible sales person.
Experience: In just two hours we raised over $600, far more than any other of the volunteers. It felt great because we could have slept in and done nothing but instead we used our sales and marketing expertise to help raise money to help sick children. The event was well-organized and the organizers sent a nice card at the end.
Do it Again?:  Definitely!

International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront

How Discovered: My friend heard about it on the radio.
What it Was: Selling books at the International Festival of Authors.
With Whom: I did this one on my own.
Experience: Since I was on my own, I got to know the other volunteers and we shared our love of reading between book-buying crowds. It felt good to support the authors and to meet people who are passionate about reading – but I wasn’t helping the world as directly as I was when I was raising money for sick children. The organizers seemed a bit stressed and there was a lack of information-flow, which resulted in some egg on our faces, but in general it was pretty smooth. As a bonus I got to meet Harper’s editor Lewis Lapham.
Do it Again?: Probably.

Nuit Blanche for the French Consulate 

How Discovered: Found it through an ad in Craig’s List.
What it Was: Greeting people who sponsored the event at the Mars center and giving people information.
With Whom: My friend Nadia who has family from France.
Experience: From the beginning, the night did not feel right. My friend and I got some great shirts from Lacoste since they wanted us to work at the door (this honor was bestowed partly because we are fashionable and partly because we speak French.) We did not know the price we would pay for those shirts – we were not allowed to move away from the door for one minute, or else the Lacoste sponsors would get aggravated. Also, the organizers did not trust us with the money or the giveaways, so each of us always had to be with these awful, socially-inept women who treated us as if we were janitors. Although I thought the event was supporting art, my function was so sponsor-driven, it felt much more like work than like play. Plus we were not treated with respect. The only redeeming thing about the night is that I got the shirt and I got to stand next to Mayor David Miller.
Do it Again?: Never! Not if they paid me!

There are over 100,000 blogs created every day according to Technocrati. Wow… that is a lot of new voices instantly communicating to the world – one thing they could be communicating is corporate secrets. A consultancy called "The Attention Company" discussed what that means from a business perspective in their presentation Out There.

In their survey, 8% of people thought it was appropriate to share trade secrets through a blog and 39% thought it was appropriate to share opinions about the performance of the company. It is obvious that this information could affect both competitive positioning and share price.

Blogs are a modern-day medium for secrets – bringing the water-cooler gossip to the world, instantly. The internet allows people to share their stories openly, without the permission of an authority. The conservative PR department, which in my experience sits right next to the legal department, no longer controls the way that employees represent the company to the world.

According to The Attention Company, people who are “Out There”, meaning those who consider it okay to criticize their organization online, have very unique opinions about competition and their organizational lives. They think that knowledge resides at the bottom of the organization, endorse transparency and are not trusting of those that keep secrets.

These people sound a lot like the traditional non-conformists who want to have a voice and don’t want to be tied down by rules. We have all heard stories of employees who were fired for having a blog but with 100,000 being created a day, it seems impossible to keep the “out there” people at bay. Like any “vice squad” trying to rid an area of crime knows, once you bust one criminal, another appears to pick up where he left off.  The presentation concludes that companies should accept the new reality and use the “Out There” people to drive internal innovation and communication. In other words, you are being watched so you better behave!

Outside the business realm, what does it mean to have no more secrets?  We all have family or personal secrets that could get us in trouble. This makes me think of the Girl with a One Track Mind. A British woman, who once worked on the set of Harry Potter, published her sex life online to later have her identity revealed by mistake. Her blog discussed having multiple partners with intimate details.

Because of the social stigma associated with women enjoying the sexuality, she was afraid that she would be treated like an outcast. But she wasn’t – in fact many of her friends and family members supported her. So, it is possible that revealed secrets about who you really are can lead to greater acceptance and more connection with the people that you care about. It will be interesting to see how a world with fewer secrets will look. But as an “Out There” person myself who “doesn’t trust those who keep secrets”, I am looking forward to it.