Tag: Inspiration

Failure Culture: Reframing Mistakes to Grow As a Professional

On By Alice StrathernIn Inspiration, Mindset

Failure culture is an uncomfortable topic in any professional setting. Even if you are an entrepreneur. There’s an inner voice that constantly says “you can’t afford mistakes”, “defeat is not an option.” There’s a constant pressure to succeed almost flawlessly.

If you were to reframe failure, though, your work would gain more depth. In any creative process, missteps, ups and downs, and losses are bound to happen. That’s the nature of any initiative.

I remember the time when I was discussing marketing strategies with a former manager. We were going to launch a new product, and we had clear goals to reach. As we were wrapping up our meeting, I said: “If some parts of the strategy don’t go as planned, then we’ll learn a lot.” His response was unforgettable: “Yeah, but let’s try not to make any mistakes. We can’t do that.”

Failure culture is almost taboo. After careful planning and investment of time and resources into a business, why would you welcome it? You are aiming for great results. However, it’s worth reflecting on two key factors: the input that learning experiences can provide and the idea of embracing discomfort to grow as a person and as a professional.

As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

Continue reading “Failure Culture: Reframing Mistakes to Grow As a Professional” →

Momentum as a Mindset: Make it a Habit and Become Unstoppable

On By Alice StrathernIn Mindset

Momentum is a mindset. It goes beyond the sum of actions to produce a desired result. It’s a habit. It’s a commitment to create impact for the long term. At the same time, it’s hard to find a precise definition. Paraphrasing Solomon Timothy, this concept can be a broad term whose meaning varies depending on the context.

In sports, it’s a great play or a struck of luck. In music, it’s taking a basic idea and eventually turn into a structured song. The best example that comes to mind is Paul McCartney composing Get Back out of the blue.

While Paul makes it look easy, it is important to state that building momentum may take longer than expected. Dan Cumberland, author of The Meaning Manifesto, uses a great analogy to explain how the process works. I’m breaking it into four bits:

  1. Momentum is like a merry-go-round: it will take a good amount of force to get it moving.
  2. You have to push with everything you have to get the first few inches of rotation.
  3. As it gains speed, less force is required to keep it moving.
  4. Once you have momentum, it is much easier to keep going.

It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop, as philosopher Confucius once said. That’s why starting small is a great decision.

Continue reading “Momentum as a Mindset: Make it a Habit and Become Unstoppable” →

Producing Your Most Impactful Work

On By Alice StrathernIn Miscellany

This Instagram post made me thoughtful and nostalgic at the same time:

Why does it feel like that layout made us more productive?

Maybe it’s because it felt more personal and inspiring. There were still a lot of analogue elements to interact with. These days, technology is more minimalist. Plus, work is result oriented and less fun oriented.

What are your thoughts?

The Power of Documenting Your Experiences

On By Alice StrathernIn Inspiration, Miscellany, Personal

This illustration caught my eye while browsing Instagram.

It reminded me of a place I visit frequently in my mind when I need to think. When I was younger, I tried to draw it many times. As an adult, I stopped and didn’t attempt to do it again. However, Iulia Bochis’ illustration made me remember it.

I was so intrigued and impressed with her work that I visited her website. I found out that her art journey began as she was travelling in Asia. She kept a journal to document her inner experiences, and later on, she started sharing her work on Instagram.

It made me think of the importance of documenting experiences in any form. At first, it’s a personal exercise; for your eyes only. Then, one day, you decide to take some parts of it (or maybe all of it) and share it with the world. Without realizing it, you’re touching someone else’s life because it connected with them.

So next time you feel you’re called to share a thought, a photograph, a journal entry, a drawing, a painting, a playlist, a collage…think that it will reach the right people.

Genuine work finds a genuine place. This is the power of documenting experiences.

Things that made my year – 2022 edition

On By Alice StrathernIn Miscellany, Personal

We’re getting closer and closer to the end of 2022. Where did the time go? Funny how time flies when you’re having fun.

Here’s a list of things that made my year:

  1. Celebrating my son’s first birthday.
  2. Having my mom around for two months and celebrating my son’s birthday with her.
  3. Publishing my debut novella Kaleidoscope Eyes.
  4. This interview about my novella.
  5. Realizing that, as independent author, learning takes place every day, and it’s scary and fun at the same time.
  6. That it’s important to focus on the step in front of me, not the entire staircase.
  7. Learning about Amazon Ads for authors.
  8. Writing #LetrasDesnudas.
  9. Joining Té de Querer for some great writing workshops and making new friends.
  10. Publishing three articles on Excélsior (Mexican newspaper, all available in Spanish): Carta para la niña que se convertirá en mujer, Promesas de hoy para un mañana seguro, and Urge modelo de salud con perspectiva de género.
  11. Discovering the Curious Fox podcast.
  12. Rediscovering The Chase Jarvis Live Show.
  13. A great podcast in Spanish, Hablemos Escritoras.
  14. Joining Good Reads as an author.
  15. Learning that Depeche Mode is releasing an album next year.
  16. Finding joy in writing my newsletter.
  17. Listening to some great artists: Neo Soul, Toni Braxton, Sade, Tom Jobim, The Human League, Spice Girls, and Alicia Keys.
  18. Castella tarts.
  19. Tuna and salmon poke bowls.
  20. Janet Jackson’s album “Control”.
  21. Learning the meaning of surrender.
  22. Tara Brach’s talks and meditations.
  23. Waiting Game by Junior Boys.
  24. Toda Tercafeira by Soul Quality Quartet.
  25. Deciding that my new NFL team is the Seattle Seahawks.

 

Grateful for all the lessons learned. Grateful for the wonderful people who walked with me every step of the way. Grateful for all discoveries. Looking forward to 2023!

Imperfect creativity: good is enough

On By Alice StrathernIn Inspiration, Mindset

Imperfect creativity is natural and good enough.

Anything that requires creativity has a human touch and humans are imperfect. This idea is still hard to assimilate. At some point in our lives, we’re taught to avoid mistakes and get flawless results.

Recently, I thought about my literature teacher in high school. Our discussions in class tended to lead to all kinds of random topics. One day, he expressed his frustration at some students that were obsessed with getting perfect marks. His words were unforgettable:

“In this life, you have to deal with the fact that you’re not perfect.”

He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. Maybe that statement sounded too harsh at the time, but the wisdom is there. If you think about it, life itself is imperfect.

So why is it worth hanging onto perfection?

Perfectionism is connected to your self-worth and is something you probably have to keep working on to overcome.

Creatives Doing Business

That’s another hard pill to swallow. In the Western culture, this is a constant struggle. Aim to be perfect or go home. On the other hand, in other cultures of the world, embracing imperfection is normal.

For example, there’s the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi. Leonard Koren, author of Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, defines it as “the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”

I love the idea of finding beauty in the imperfect. There’s value in creating, doing your best to give it form, and releasing it to the world and let it be in its full glory with glitches included.

Creations are never complete. There’s always an improvement to make or a new version to start from scratch. After all, wabi-sabi is based on the cycles of nature, which are constantly changing. No creation ever stays the same.

With this concept in mind, how can you embrace imperfect creativity in your daily life?

 

Special Needs

On By Alice StrathernIn Poems ENG, WritingLeave a comment

Sometimes, I don’t want to talk.
I don’t want to share
what you won’t understand.
We shouldn’t waste our time.

Playing devil’s advocate
doesn’t cheer me up
on a day I want to give up.
You don’t know, but I suffocate.

I just want to be okay again.
Life should be simpler than this.
So listen to my truth and believe me.
Pain does exist.

Do you know what that means?

Ideas to nurture your creative self: How an hour of your time can make a difference

On By Alice StrathernIn Beginnings, InspirationLeave a comment

The more you reinvent yourself, the more you become you. This is one of the ideas that resonated with me the most at the Adobe 99U Conference. For a few years now, I’ve been dying to attend this conference, which usually takes place every year in New York City. In 2020, though, organizers adapted all keynotes, master classes and workshops in a digital format.

We’re still getting through the pandemic, but it hasn’t extinguished our desire to lead a creative life. In uncertain times, redefining ourselves is the best way to find solutions to our challenges at personal and professional levels.

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Finding the light in times of darkness

On By Alice StrathernIn Personal, ThoughtsLeave a comment

The past few months have been really challenging for the world. At a personal level, the shock of living in times of a pandemic has impacted me in ways I never imagined.

As confinement began, it became clear to me that it’d be important to take breaks from information to protect my mental health. It was overwhelming to read so many articles related to economies collapsing, layoffs and increasing number of of COVID cases.

I remember reading a headline that suggested that the world would never be the same again. It was scary to think about that possibility. Nowadays, the term “new normal” starts to be more common. It’s difficult to imagine how the aftermath is going to look like for each one of us. Even when COVID goes away, the collateral damage will still be around in our personal lives.

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Journals for thoughts, journals for life

On By Alice StrathernIn Personal, Thoughts, WritingLeave a comment

Sometimes, your thoughts can’t stay in your mind all the time.

Sometimes, it’s a good idea to talk to someone you trust. We all need to rant from time to time to get rid of all the things we’ve kept to ourselves.

Other times, thoughts are so private that it’s hard to share them with someone or in a blog. That’s when journals come to the rescue. I’ve been journaling for 23 years, and even when it seems that I’ve lost the habit of composing my private notes, I retake it, and my mind finds peace again.

There’s a place where the world can’t reach you and judge you: the pages of a journal. I find that introspection is therapy for the soul. When you write down your emotions and thoughts as you feel them or as you mean them, you create a new self. You get rid of all mental blocks and think clearly.

You’ll be surprised of all the answers you can find in your own words. You can be as bold as you like, and no one will be offended.

If you manage to maintain this habit for years, it’s useful to read past entries from time to time to remind yourself how you overcame tough situations. You can also remind yourself what things made you happy at a certain point and retake them.

What do you think?