 Yuko-En Garden, Georgetown, KY. Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins Prioritize Your One Thing For Greatest Impact Gary Keller’s #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller, The One Thing The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results offers powerfully effective advice on working toward goals. Keller suggests the power in prioritizing boils down to choosing only ONE thing to focus on at a time. But Keller’s real gem of wisdom is his strategy behind how to select that one thing. Keller’s guidance is to choose the one task that has the most powerfully direct effect on reaching your specific goal. Plan your day, week, month, quarterly actions around this one prioritized goal. Goodbye multi-tasking. Close out all other programs, postpone meetings, let your people know not to disturb you, shut the door, and do that one thing without interruption. That one thing has to be something that will make the greatest impact or momentum toward reaching your desired goal. Do Things That Matter Most To You And Let The Flies Go Once you choose one thing to focus on, know that you will have to let other things slide to complete that one thing. That’s the art of prioritizing; you don’t do every little thing, or take every call, or answer every email, like swatting flies as they appear at a picnic lunch. Really. How much good does all your arm-waving do, anyway? Flies will always be there. Or they’ll come back. They know where to find you. It takes adjustment to let go of tasks you’ve habitually maintained, despite how little impact they make on what’s important to you. We’re so used to being busy. But not necessarily productive on the things that matter. Get in the habit of concentrating solely on that one thing that moves you closer to your ultimate goal. Keep your attention on that one job each hour/day/week until you complete it. Then move to the next most effective thing. Sacrifice The Lesser Things On Your To-Do List I love this strategy. I must confess I fall off the one-thing-wagon at times. But when I make the effort toward my most important daily task in this way, and stay the course on that one thing in front of me, I accomplish what is necessary for my success. And it makes me feel great. I struggle with letting go of juggling an endless supply of other tasks to attend to my mission of prime concern. But I find those other things are far less meaningful or enjoyable, and definitely don’t have as much impact on my big goal as my top assignment. Failure And Your Problems Are A Powerful Catalyst To Your Success I recently spoke with University of Kentucky Associate Professor Ryan Hargrove, of the Department of Design and Agriculture on the creative process. Hargrove teaches metacognition and creative thinking through his class, ‘Living On The Right Side of the Brain.’ [Listen to the podcast of my interview with Hargrove on the creative process.] Hargrove shared that creative thinking leads to successful outcomes, whether it’s a problem to solve or an inspiration for a new creative project. Through his work with students, and collaborations with creative professionals, Hargrove has found that a key aspect to creative flow is allowing for and valuing failure as part of the process. Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable When failure is used to reflect on your way of thinking, to consider what went wrong, it often functions as the catalyst for a new approach. Hargrove says it’s important to be willing to endure the discomfort of a problem state, or a failure, as that area of awkward ambiguity or angst is where a creative solution or inspiration springs forth. Instead of being a reason to quit, failure can lead to extraordinary success. This is due to the significant mental effort of reflection on your previous approach to the problem. Analyzing a failure results in learned lessons and knowledge, allowing fresh perspectives to emerge. How To Use Failure As A Springboard To Success Sticking with this process takes you past your comfort zone, to think differently than you have until this moment. Working through a problem or failure is a critical and powerful means to creativity and solutions. So don’t worry about failures or new obstacles that arise on the way toward your goals. These allow you to expand your creative vista and reach beyond your current condition. This is the kind of energetic momentum necessary to reach your bigger goal. It Ain’t Over Until You Decide It’s Over Don’t get too comfortable with your success, either. Each time you reach a goal, you’ll have to start the process again from the top. For every victory gained, you’ll have the next level’s box of new, perceived restrictions to surpass. But continuing to extend and multiply your goals will open your path to a new sense of accomplishment. Each new measure of success provides yet another shot for you to further expand yourself. You’ll only feel a plateau until you reset your goals outside that box. The sky is the limit. Oh, wait! Not anymore! Share your thoughts in the comments below about this approach to reaching your goals! Share this with a friend on social media or email! Recommended articles: How To Live A Life of Joyful Creativity Why Should You Dream Too Big & Harness Your Powerful Imagination? Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive My Top Tips For Winning Over Your Insomnia Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential
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 Photo at Lexington Arboretum by Jenny Leigh Hodgins by Jenny Leigh Hodgins I’m focused on becoming my best self. I’ve started working with a life coach as a way toward manifesting my potential and maintaining balance as an artist, entrepreneur, volunteer, and caregiver. My life coach, FayAnne, has me immediately paying attention to my values. Top on my values list is creativity. Some people have difficulty owning their sense of creativity. I am alive with it. I love it. I live it. It is my religion (or at least an expression and reflection of my Buddhist practice*). I have no problem stating unequivocally that I’m a creative person. I exhale creativity. It’s always been part of my daily life. I write (blogs, poetry, non-fiction), compose music (orchestral, piano-based, musical theatre), use my photos (nature) for my Instagram mini-blogs, and online content. I’m also a gardener, decent cook, public speaker, and explore painting on canvas for fun. Where I struggle, though, is taking care of my creative self. Or even recognizing that this is a treasured part of who I am as a person. To me, it just IS. FayAnne guides me to see that my creative, energetic, encouraging, strong, compassionate, inspiring self is a gift to others 🤭 because I, like all artists, have the power to connect deeply, uplift and help others tap their empowered self. I’m learning it is important to protect and support that aspect of me; that constantly, creatively expressive artiste. 👩🎨 We must take extraordinary care of this creative force that is within each of us. We must deliberately guard this beautiful treasure from over-stimulation. Sometimes we must allow silence. A moment to feel our breath rise and fall. Space. An area to absorb our surroundings and internal activity. Time. For our experiences to settle in. Solitude. To refresh our energy. As self-care practice, my coach asked me to make a metaphor for this. The metaphor I chose, for my whole being, encompassing my creative flow, physical health, spirituality, emotional and social world is a symphonic (as in composition of many harmonious parts) OCEAN. 🌊 OCEAN has alternating colors of blue, green, and glistening bright white waves that gush, crash, build, surge with fluidity, sooth, calm, or gently flow. My creative process, including writing, composing, taking photos and designing my visual content are part of OCEAN. All my online biz tasks are also part of OCEAN, including technical, technological, administrative, marketing, and planning. Nothing is separate or compartmentalized. This is a new way to think for me. Generally, I, like most artists, separate creative flow from business or administrative tasks. But this OCEAN view makes sense to me as I am ONE person that encompasses ALL these tasks and creative projects. It makes sense to see every task in my daily routine as part of the flow from that essential core at the center of my life. YourCreativeChord is OCEAN. It is a place you can get ideas, strategies, and encouragement about a variety of topics. I pour all of my experiences with piano, music, creativity, caregiver and spiritual wellness into this OCEAN called YourCreativeChord. Though each section is a separate world unto itself, each world also connects to this one whole, harmonious collective force; OCEAN. If we met at a social event, we may discuss a few things that we have in common, like gardening or writing. As we continue learning about each other, we discover that we both have a multitude of interests, talents, jobs or skills. The integration of all those branches is revealed in our unique personalities. Just as we each have various interests that are encompassed by our individual lives, my offering to you through YourCreativeChord is ALL ONE THING. The creative, spiritual, emotional, physical are all interconnected and feeds the whole life; It’s all one thing! As you explore my content, you’ll find connections between all these topics that relate to the one thing that is YourCreativeChord. I’m describing the interconnectedness of life, but also how learning effective piano practice strategies, building caregiver support, spiritual wellness and opening your creativity are two but not two. They are uniquely separate and yet all connected to the same essential core called LIFE. Another way to see this bond is to recognize how expressions of the creative life stem from the same impulse within our lives. My life coach gave an example of seeing something within the visual as audio; A flower as a melodic phrase. A harbor view as a pattern of rhythm or dynamics. A song as a color. These are all expressions of who we are as human beings. I’m an artist, a musician, a composer, a cyclist, a pianist, a writer, a poet, a spiritual facilitator, a daughter, a sister, a friend. Your specifics may vary slightly; a film composer, runner, guitarist, painter, photographer, fiction writer, rapper, spiritual seeker, son, brother, father. These all spring from within the same vital center within each life. That means there is nothing to separate me from you, or either of us from the connection to creativity or wellness. This OCEAN is not just about the arts, either. My social, financial and business goals are part of OCEAN. My success in all these areas comes directly from my OCEAN’s momentum of creative output, spiritual wisdom and physical energy. My personal challenge is learning that I can’t boss OCEAN into doing something! As a creative process, the OCEAN is not concrete or finite. It has expansion. It ebbs and flows. Allow this. Don’t judge. Don’t attempt to push the OCEAN around like a Bossy Boss. Get out of the way and let it flow. Let it morph in its natural, creative, spiritual, emotional and physical way of choice. Part of this process is learning to TRUST that creativity—OCEAN—the one thing—will be able to head in the direction and generate the success and the social, business, financial or artistic victory I desire. I’ve experienced this. Things happen when I clarify that it’s all one thing. When I TRUST my sincere intent to speak from the voice of my OCEAN to the world around me--things resonate, connect, and guide in the best and most positive way. I’ve transformed music classrooms, chorus rehearsals, musical performances, speeches, relationships, and readership based on my ability to trust my inner voice in this way. I’ve had audiences express emotion through tears and standing ovations, readers send messages of deep gratitude and relevance, students rise up to pull out creative brilliance and explosive energy, jobs and/or clients suddenly available, and people open up--all in direct response to my TRUSTING the OCEAN and that everything is ALL ONE THING. This is the power that artists wield. And in my opinion, we are ALL artists. Some of us are just a few steps ahead in the zone of getting accustomed to our connection to this OCEAN. This is what YourCreativeChord is all about. My inner journey to connect to your inner life, to tap into and empower our best potential, greater selves. We get there instantly, leisurely, methodically, and randomly through various ways, niches, branches, and aspects of this one thing we call life. Welcome to YourCreativeChord. IT’S ALL ONE THING. Recommended articles: Why Should You Dream Too Big & Harness Your Powerful Imagination? Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential How To Use Self-Care To Feel Happy 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive To Climb Again My Kilimanjaro *Although I'm a proud member of SGI-USA, I'm not an official spokesperson for SGI-USA. Though I base my actions on my personal Buddhist practice as an SGI-USA member, my online business and content associated with YourCreativeChord is not in any way affiliated with SGI-USA.  Let's learn to ride the waves! Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins Is your creative flow clogged?
Or do you just want to tap into your creativity? Do you fight with insomnia, negative self-talk, overthinking, or depression? Do you struggle with how to progress as a pianist? Are you having difficulties keeping up with your caregiver responsibilities? Are you searching for a joyfulness in your daily life? I've struggled with all of these! As an entrepreneur, caregiver, composer, writer and hobbyist nature photographer I share my personal tips that work for tapping creativity, and spiritual wellness! I also interview other professional creators, from artists to writers, to composers and creative experts. And it’s not ALL about struggle! There are moments and even full chapters and books about riding that wave of joyous creative output, refreshed balance and spiritual momentum! I offer TONS of valuable FREE content on empowering strategies for nurturing your creative and spiritual wellness that I have used and still practice. All of these topics, from music to creative flow to handling stress and strengthening spirituality, are branches from the same roots. Everything is interconnected. It all flows from the same core of spiritual, physical and creative energy. When we take care of one area, it reflects in other ways, too. We're complex, deep, light, funny, serious, talented, methodical, rebellious, sensitive, bold beings, and everything in between! The different things I blog, talk about or teach, reflect the holistic interconnectedness of a creative, healthy, spiritually well and whole person. Like YOU! Check the ABOUT page to learn more about why I'm the perfect person to offer empowering strategies for creative and spiritual wellness for you! I'll keep the great value rolling out for you in my blogs, podcasts, products and courses! Creativity and spiritual wellness are worlds that EVERY HUMAN has the potential to explore and THRIVE. Join TEAM YCC and let me show you the way to prioritizing your life so the creative juices pour forth from a solid life-state of strength and compassionate wisdom. As a creativepreneur, caregiver, Buddhist, single 50+ woman, I have MY particular journey. The reason I’m launching YourCreativeChord is to SHARE what gives me creative and spiritual energy so that YOU can be empowered, too. We have the ability to use every difficulty we experience to encourage others. This is what the Buddhist concept of 'karma into mission' means to me. We have our unique set of challenges so that we can learn how to manifest our full potential. In the process, we become leaders by example, helping those around us stand up, too! My goal is to use my personal journey, skillsets, talent, experience, and awareness to create as much value for you as possible. SIGN-UP HERE FOR MY MAILING LIST to be the first to hear of new content, products and courses! I’m SO excited to see where we go, to learn from you as well, and to share how we grow in our creative, spiritual wellness together. Feel free to SHARE this with others who may benefit from this info! Thank you! SIGN-UP HERE to get your FREE download of YCC's Top 10 Things To Help You Reach Your Goals! Plus get more more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness! Recommended articles: Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential How To Use Self-Care To Feel Happy 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive To Climb Again My Kilimanjaro Check out my Self Care Resources page. Looking for garden or outdoor ideas? Find them here! You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook!  Lexington Ballet Ensemble, October 27, 2018, LexArts  Lexington Ballet Company dancing choreography by Dancer, Alexandra Orenstein, October 27, 2018, LexArts. A REVIEW OF LEXINGTON BALLET COMPANY By Jenny Leigh Hodgins My mother and I attended New Works and Other Voices, a free performance by the Lexington Ballet Company, Saturday, October 27, 2018, at LexArts on 161 N. Mill Street, Lexington. I had no idea what to expect, as I was unfamiliar with the program. From the moment Lexington Ballet Artistic Director, Luis Dominguez spoke, I knew immediately the audience was in for a robust explosion of cultural spirit. As he introduced each choreographer, musical background of each composition, and the meaning behind each dance, his love and respect for art was exuberant. The featured choreographers are also company dancers and instructors at the Lexington Ballet. As each one spoke before the cast’s performance, the heartfelt sincerity and passion for dance was palpable. But the dancers’ performances topped that. Beyond demonstrating a graceful physical flexibility, they overwhelmed the room with youthful passion, and shared their hearts through dance. It is rare to attend a concert that rises above technical mastery to resonate directly with the heart. But Lexington Ballet Company cast did just that, with every performance of the concert. I don’t know anything about dance. But, I gathered from each selection of the concert, that these young people have vigorously worked to overcome their physical limitations. That was obvious from their movements, and their polished achievements are worth the spotlight of attention. The colorful costumes changed throughout the concert, adding oomph to the visual cultural expression onstage. The unity of the dancers was impressive. They created a harmoniously flowing motion with bodies of different shapes, heights and age. They made it look easy. The atmosphere within the room transformed through the purity of the energetic dancers. In today’s world filled with self-inflicted barriers, darkness and disunity, Lexington Ballet’s performances immersed the audience with spiritual and emotional therapy. The power of their artful dances, evidently rooted in the expression of each artist’s heart and soul, led the audience through an array of emotion. I could feel my own heart open, and sometimes be astounded by their phenomenal talent. It is this kind of artistic performance, based on communicating heart to heart, that has the power to bring hope to our society. “Music is an expression of the human spirit; it speaks directly to the heart and proves that we can transcend national and ethnic barriers. It plays a critical role in building peace.”1 This is a strong factor in the argument for arts promotion. Lexington Ballet Company’s program offers solid training in dance to youth. But observing their concert last Saturday, they go far deeper than that. They provide their dancers with holistic development toward becoming true artists. I cannot think of a single thing our society needs more than raising capable, spiritually empowered youth. The development of young artists connects wellness of mind, body, and spirit. Experiencing art as a performer or audience member is rehabilitation for the soul. Art is a great place to start in our complicated world, toward building bridges between humans. Art is healing and energizing for all, as it is a collaboration between humans in the most vulnerable form. Choreographer/Dancer Casey Myrick introduced the first piece, Anxious Desires, by musician Sufjan Stevens, which featured modern dance movements grounded in classical dance styles. Myrick said the work was inspired by a Buddhist concept about anxiety stemming from desire and how anxiety can actually work to fulfill our desires. The performance was a unique, outside-the-box mentality of dance that evoked discomfort lending to intrigue. Dancers bodies and expressions emoted fear, doubt, distress, and finally, resolution and relief. Choreographer/Dancer Alexandra Orenstein introduced UnderTones, her work set to an excerpt from jazz composer, Keith Jarrett's solo piano work, Lausanne Concert. The improvisational music builds on a rhythmic droning, with Jarrett’s infamous knack for outflowing melodic lines. Orenstein’s organic, abstract modern approach to movement for each dancer emerged naturally, in sync with the music’s pulsating crescendo and layered texture.  Dancer/Choreographer Ayako Hasebe Lloyd, of Lexington Ballet Company, Photo by Sherrill Moody. Talented dancer, Ayako Hasebe Lloyd’s stunning entrance in a bold red dress, and her ensuing solo dance to Sand, mesmerized the audience. Luis Dominguez and Lexington Ballet School Director and Ballet Mistress, Nancy Dominguez "developed the collaborative piece as a pas de seul”2 for Lloyd. The first section of the dance, Sand, was set to Luis Ni’s G Minor Bach, and choreographed by Nancy Dominguez as an homage to her mother, who passed away with Alzheimer’s last year. Next, Zoom-Out, set to a song by Drummond Dominguez, was choreographed by Luis Dominguez. Lloyd’s movements were elegant, bursting with passion tempered with artistic maturity that shook the room with her life-force. Lloyd’s commanding performance segued fluidly into Kaylie Conner and Sean Sullivan’s romantic Pas de Deux, performed to Nightflight, by Drummond Dominguez and Ethan Gustavson. The performances, highlighted by vivid red costumes, led flawlessly to the final group piece choreographed by Nancy and Luis Dominguez, to Fernando Delgadillo’s La Inspiration. During intermission, my mother and I engaged in a natural conversation with strangers around us. Was it the dancers’ performances, emanating with openness and intimacy, that made it so easy for strangers to interact? We went well beyond small talk to discover that the couple behind us had a 28-year old son who’d been diagnosed with 4th-stage cancer. This led to our sharing that we had lost my 28- year old brother to a car accident in 2004. We opened up and shared honestly with each other in the short dialog. We took our seats as Lloyd introduced the meaning behind her choreography to Our Blue Hearts by Japanese composer, Joe Hisaishi. “This work is inspired by the blue stained-glass hearts that hang in the Lexington Ballet studio windows as a memorial to a past student.”3 The dance featured the largest cast of the evening, and in particular, the youngest performers. Lloyd talked about how the personal loss of her brother inspired her choreography. She shared warmly how grief affects many, and it was her intent that the piece would help audience members cope with loss and feel supported. Her introduction and the dance performance were mystically in sync with the conversation my mother and I had with the couple behind us.  Lexington Ballet Ensemble performing choreography by Ayako Hasebe Lloyd. Photo by Sherrill Moody. The choreography and dance were deeply touching. Depicting the sorrow of loss as relationships end, the stage evolved from soloists to exponentially growing numbers of dancers exhibiting grief through facial expression and movement. As Hisaishi’s music progressed with a symphonic swell, a solo dancer was hoisted atop a group of dancers, like pallbearers carrying the deceased. The audience was moved by its emotional intensity. The dancers, in delicate blue costumes, swirled onstage from scene to scene, ending with a harmonious, joyful, full cast of camaraderie. It symbolized, to me, the victory over tragedy with the power of friendship, community, and spiritual transformation. My words do not do justice to the eloquence and impact of the Lexington Ballet Company performances. “We can know a country’s rise and fall by whether its tones are happy or sad.”3 The Lexington Ballet Company's display of artistic beauty, poise and soul expressed the gamut of moods, yet landed on the joyous, the united and hopeful. Like, comment and share this blog with others. SIGN-UP HERE to get your FREE download of YCC's Top 10 Things To Help You Reach Your Goals! Plus get more more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness!  Lexington Ballet Ensemble 10/27/2018. Photo by Sherrill Moody. Bring your school, church, or group to a performance!
Sign up for more info about Lexington Ballet Company program and events. Click here to learn more about how you can support Lexington Ballet Company. 1 Daisaku Ikeda, peace advocate, Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, poet and leader of Soka Gakkai International 2 Extracted from LexingtonBallet.org 3. Extracted from LexingtonBallet.org 4 Nichiren, 13th century Buddhist leader  by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
Listen to the Podcast here. Plenty of adult music students have told me that they were not creative. I’ve always responded, ‘Nonsense!' Everyone is creative. Some of us have learned to tap it more naturally than others. Anyone who knows me uses the word creative to describe me. I write, compose, play piano, improvise, sing, garden, decorate, take photos, present, tweak a lesson for my students in mid-stream, and more. The point is that I know how to be creative. Ideas, thoughts, patterns, melodies, words, drama, and humor burst forth from me as an unstoppable fountain. Incidentally, I’ve never met a child who was not able to be creative. Young people are fully tapped into the creative dimension. They need no map to get there. Adults, however, are a different story. We lose our way sometimes, due to pressure from our daily responsibilities. If you’ve lost your way or simply need some help getting connected to your creative side, here are some things I’ve learned about how to be imaginative:
Enjoy your process and Viva La Vie Boheme! Like, comment and share this blog with others. SIGN-UP HERE to get your FREE download of YCC's Top 10 Things To Help You Reach Your Goals! Plus get more more strategies for creativity, piano, caregiver and spiritual wellness! Recommended articles: How To Maintain Body Mind Balance As Fuel For Your Creativity 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Believing In The Positive How I Created The Ocean With Music BUY Self Care Products. BUY Music Products! |
CREATIVITYIn my CREATIVITY blogs, you’ll find tips for exploring creative flow, and inspiring content related to the inherent challenges and tremendous joy within the creative process. Archives
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