Josh Langley's Blog, page 8

First Chapter of Find Your Creative Mojo

The following is the first chapter from award winning author Josh Langley’s latest memoir / self help release Find Your Creative Mojo: How to overcome fear, procrastination and self-doubt to express your true self. Feel free to share with those who might need some extra motivation.

Introduction

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Back in late 2010, I randomly started to draw rough hewn stick figure cartoons and caption them with insights and quirky commentary. When I say they were rough, I mean they were rough. A four-year-old could have done a better job! Despite my lack of drawing ability, I decided to start a blog and Facebook page. I called the concept, Frog and the Well and within twelve months I had a multi-book deal with a cool indie publisher.

Theoretically, what I achieved shouldn’t have been possible. I didn’t have any obvious talent in illustration or writing, and the chances of getting a book traditionally published were heavily stacked against me. I should have been riddled with self-doubt and put my sketches in the bottom drawer, never to be seen again.

But it did work and for one major reason. No-one told me I couldn’t do it.

Self-belief is just one of the many things I’ve learned about creativity and self expression throughout my life — and given I have worked as a copywriter in the creative industry for a long time, I know a fair bit about how things should work. Unlike some people, I don’t refer to myself as a ‘creative person’ or a ‘creative type’. Everyone is creative in some way. To tell you the truth, it’s not really about about creativity; it’s about self-expression. Everyone needs to express themselves. For me, I needed to escape the confines of my client-driven advertising day job and find a way to give my inner-self a voice. The Frog and the Well cartoons were the start of my inner creative revolution.

I honoured that quiet, powerful voice inside and, when I gave it a platform, it transformed my life. While I still write advertising, I now have my own business. Since publishing my first book, I’ve gone on to illustrate and write six more books, win the Australian Book Industry Awards Small Publisher’s Children’s Book of the Year Award, become an outsider artist and photographer, deliver workshops, make public appearances and tour schools talking about self-esteem and resilience to kids.

I never dreamed I’d be doing any of this. When I was young all I wanted to be when I grew up was a train driver. Obviously that didn’t work out. Come to think of it, not much in my life has gone to plan. I failed high school, not once but twice. I had to drop out of photography at TAFE because I forgot to re-enrol. I was unemployed for over a year and the government ended up paying some poor sod to employ me because I was making the government’s unemployment figures look bad.

I had no higher education, no trade, no formal skills or qualifications; on paper I appeared to be fairly useless. But I had an inner voice. And when I eventually found it — after a lot of soul-searching — my life changed for the better.

You have an inner voice too.
And you need to let it out.

You need to find your creative mojo and honour it. And because it’s your inner voice, there are no rules about how you go about finding it and expressing it. None whatsoever. I know this goes against current thinking, with so many ‘how to be creative’ books out there, and the litany of societal
expectations about what constitutes art and expression. But a lot of these beliefs are all made-up.

I’m going to destroy all of the myths and fears you might have about finding your authentic voice and where creativity comes from. I’ll also give you some tools and ideas on how to take the first brave steps to get started.

I’m going to help you push through whatever is holding you back creatively, and show you how important it is to express yourself and achieve your full potential. Not everything in here is going to be your gig, but I’m sure you’ll be able to take something away and use it to your advantage. I’m going to share my gut feelings, and a fly by the seat of your pants brain dump of everything I know and what I’ve seen work for others.

When I talk about creativity in the book, I’m referring to all forms of self-expression; including making art, writing, drawing, stand-up comedy, music, acting, knitting, dancing and everything in between.

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This book isn’t just about art and creativity; it’s about how you can live your complete life. Fear, procrastination and self doubt can infiltrate into every aspect of our lives and hold us back from being the person we want to be and living the life we really want. You have the chance to change that. YOU have the creative power.

Get your crayons ready this is going to be a fun ride.

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Buy now: Dymocks ,  Booktopia , Book Depository, Amazon Kindle

“The world needs this book!”

– Anne Simpson

“I’m LOVING YOUR BOOK. I bought it just because I know how awesome you are but OMG I’ve definitely done myself a favour. I love how you write.”

– Joelene Lavrick from Life Lessons Australia:Emotional Fitness & Mind Management

“The book really has achieved the lofty heights of being on my favourites list.”

– Linda Western Australia

How to turn failure into art

Performance Artist Lauren Brincat had intended to film herself letting go of the 10 metre high board as part of a performance art piece …….however things didn’t go to plan.

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She couldn’t do it and backed out.

Was she a failure?

Or was the change of heart what made it a different work of art?

The powerful combination of the video and the story behind it,
creates a new work that the artist initially never intended on telling.

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But it’s a story that we can take something away from. Just because your initial idea doesn’t go as planned, doesn’t mean you’ve failed. By the mere fact as the viewer, we’re watching her installation piece in a Gallery (Bunbury Regional Art Galleriesand that it won an art prize) it’s achieved a purpose that’s gone way beyond her intention and possibly had a bigger impact on the viewer.

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Life often never turns out the way we had planned, things go pear shaped, and things stuff up. But that’s Ok, we can then turn whatever happens into some form of art. A new expression.

What can I learn from this?

How can I look differently at it?

What secret knowledge is buried in the rubble of catastrophe?

Be the artist of your life.

[image error]Installation at Bunbury Regional Art Galleries

Stay open.

Be curious.

Don’t take things so personally.

Make art and love while you can – life is short.

If you’re too scared to fall off a 10 metre high board, then make a video of you being scared and call it ‘art’.

It’s your life, you can make of it what you will.

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Buy now: Dymocks ,  Booktopia , Book Depository, Amazon Kindle

Mojo Workshop part of the Biggest Writers Festival Outside of Perth

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Festival director of the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival has invited me to run a Find Your Creative Mojo workshop with Andy Macleod at this years festival. The Margs festival has been an old favourite of mine and Andy and I had such a great response when we ran the Find Your Creative Mojo Workshop at Bunbury Summer School.

It’s such a buzz to know that through these workshops we’ve inspired people to break out of their fear and start something amazing.

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You can book tickets here.

I’ll also be part of a panel in the afternoon the same day on the main stage with amazing astronomer Lisa Harvey Smith and fellow writer Lisa Walker. It should be a very interesting discussion!

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HELPING KIDS MAKE FRIENDS WITH THEMSELVES

Life can be messy and complicated. It can often feel like a struggle. There’s so much information out there, so many distractions, so many seemingly important things to do, to think of and be aware of. But when it comes to kids and the important thingsthey need to know, it can be deceptively simple. 

They need to:

Know they are loved.

Know they are safe.

Know they are enough the way they are.

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You don’t need to be a psychologist to know how profound and important those statements are, yet unfortunately our society rarely gives them any value. It’s more about getting good grades, being popular, fitting in, getting a good job, being successful and avoiding anything negative. Throw on top of that the effect of social media, overworked and stressed parents and an overly competitive society. 

It’s easy for kids to fall through the cracks and then feel as though they’ve failed.  

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I was one of those kids. 

Even though I had a messy childhood, I overcame set backs and failures to end up living a life that I could only have dreamed of. It didn’t happen by chance though, I realised that there were certain qualities that were essential to becoming who I am now.

It wasn’t having a good education or a good job as you’d expect, as I initially didn’t have either of them. The essential qualities were more intrinsic than that. They were self awareness, emotional well-being, curiosity, resilience, empathy and creativity.  It’s those aspects that helped me be more comfortable with life and with myself. With those as my foundation, I was more able to see life as an adventure instead of feeling like a failure and a disappointment.

I wasn’t taught these skills in school, I learned them along the way. And I’m now gently showing how important they are to today’s kids and parents through my books and workshops. As I said, it’s easy to be weighed down by all the information that’s available and the expectations of being a parent so I want to make it easier by helping people start conversations with kids about things that really matter.

“He’s been through a lot in his first 5 years of life and that left me with a little boy who had extreme separation anxiety, anger outbursts, and a general unease. We’ve read this book more times than I can count. It’s opened up an incredible dialogue between the two of us, things I didn’t realise even had an impact on him, I learnt did. By opening up this dialogue he no longer has separation anxiety, his outbursts are less and he has tools to deal with his anger. It is now my go to gift for every child over 3. It changed mine and my little dudes life. Thank you” – Melissa.

AVOIDING TRAGEDIES



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The rates of suicide and depression in this country are staggering and I want to be able to help in some small way. I’m not an expert in the field, but I know from personal experience that every little bit of self understanding helps and being able to talk openly about what’s going on can have a big impact.

I want to create a space for kids and their parents to feel safe to talk openly about life’s big issues, and about what they’re feeling. Hopefully then the child will continue to talk about how they’re feeling as they grow into an adult, especially boys.

WISDOM TO HELP KIDS THRIVE IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD.

In Yuval Huri’s Book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century he mentions that kids who are in school now will need far more that an a standard education to thrive by 2050. They’ll end up needing to reinvent themselves many times over as machine learning, AI and bio tech replace many current white collar and blue collar jobs. The skills that will be most valuable he says are; adaptability, resilience, emotional awareness and creativity.

While education is essential, and our schools and teachers are doing the best they can, they can only do so much. Thankfully there’s now more emphasis on helping kids learn the intrinsic values of self awareness, emotional well-being, curiosity, resilience, empathy and creativity.  It’s these values that help kids be more comfortable with who they are, and more able to cope with change.

If we can start teaching kids to make friends with themselves now, they’re not only be better equipped to thrive later in life, they’ll also be more likely to create a happier and kinder world.

And there’s a wonderful by product from all of this. When we help kids to make friends with themselves, we are also helping to become friends with ourselves too.

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IT ALL STARTS WITH OURSELVES.

Everything I promote in my books and workshops is what I would go back and tell myself younger self, including those all important three things at the top of the page.

I am loved.

I am safe.

I am enough the way I am.

It’s a wonderfully simple idea. And it’s from that idea, my first kid’s book was born Being You is Enough.

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT ME, MY BOOKS, WORKSHOPS AND TALKS, MERCHANDISE, MY BLOG POSTS AND MORE.

Praise for Find Your Creative Mojo

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“I’m LOVING YOUR BOOK. I bought it just because I know how awesome you are but OMG I’ve definitely done myself a favour. I love how you write.”

– Joelene Lavrick from Life Lessons Australia:Emotional Fitness & Mind Management

“Really appreciated complete lack of pretension, and the absence of patronising language. Overall the book really has achieved the lofty heights of being on my favourites list.”

– Linda Western Australia

“Thank you for your inspiring book! I’m really enjoying it and can relate in so many ways. You certainly have proven that anything is possible for anyone. Happy to spread the word – it’s a must-read!”

– Romi Sharp – founder and director of Just Write for Kids.

“Thank you Josh Langley! I’ve just finished reading your book “Find your creative mojo”. It is funny, insightful and has given me the push I needed.”

– Pen Deshon

“LOVE THIS… Funny as, easy to read, with cool little cartoons to entertain along the way. An inspirational push towards the lighter, creative side of life. Ditch the desk chains and go hug a tree!”

– Nicky Albrecht.

“Josh Langley is an award-winning author who uses his own journey to inspire anyone wishing to be more creative or make positive changes in their life. It’s a deceptively easy read – composed of anecdotes, insights, illustrations and inspirational quotes – but the content is powerful. Go beyond fear, honour who you really are, daydream, collaborate, break the rules, think laterally, open your heart, give thanks, make space, enjoy the ride. A zesty, practical, and empowering book to dip into when the creative blahs hit.”

– Writing WA

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“My advice is, “Find Your Creative Mojo” is one of those books which needs to be looked at regularly to remind us all that we are all enough, we all have something to offer, whether it is indeed sticking cacti into old bowls or simply finally realizing after 46 years that “you will never make your work perfect and that there is no such thing as perfection. It doesn’t exist”

– Karalee Katsambanis

“Actually, I was in the spiritual section of a book store and the title called to me. Then I read the foreword and decided this is what I am looking for right now. Ploughed through it in about 6 hours couldn’t put it down! Laughed and had many light bulbs.”

– Candice Dianna, Singer Songwriter.

“G’day Josh – you’re creativity book arrived in the post yesterday. I stayed up way too late reading it. I blame you for lack of productivity today!! Seriously, it looks awesome. Well done on getting it out there.”

– Matt Glover

“A beautiful book with an important message for all of us”

– Kathy Day

Buy Find Your Creative Mojo



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Telling A Good Story

A wise friend wrote this insightful piece about the unconsciousness relationships parents have with their children…

Open Life Up

Let me start by making it clear that I do not intend this post as a condemnation or a judgement of anyone or anything. They are words meant for me and if they speak to you then let it be.  This is a musing and an observation born of the pain I sometimes see and feel. This is a call for peace.

What are we showing our children we went yell at them?  I would argue that we are showing them fear. What are we teaching our children when we yell at them? I would argue you we are teaching them fear. Our children are always listening and learning.  If I’ve learned anything with my 5 year old it is that he is always paying attention even when it seems like he’s not.  I see his manners and actions are both a version of his own and reflections of what…

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You…. verses an ocean of possibilities

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Photo: ‘Ruby and the Sea’.

We start life with an ocean of possibilities before us. 
With a curious mind and an open heart we set out on our journey. Exploring, discovering, getting lost, wandering, experiencing, finding.

Then slowly over time something happens. 
The great ocean of possibility starts to scare us.

And we stop exploring, discovering, wandering, experiencing and finding. We are even afraid to get a little lost along the way.

But what if the ocean we’ve grown to fear so much, is actually a part of us. Inside us.

That changes everything. 
Maybe it doesn’t have to be so scary after all.

Step into the ocean of yourself, the water is ok.

Photo: ‘Ruby and the Sea’.

Are you missing these 3 things in your job (and your life)?

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I was invited to be part of a podcast for a good friend and we were talking about having the courage to follow your own path and how that relates to finding your creative mojo.

I attempted (quite badly as I forgot the last point Doh!) to quote something I heard social analyst Daniel Pink say in a TED talk on productivity. He was describing 3 important factors that help anyone thrive at work or have the motivation to go out on their own.

Autonomy – The sense that you have a guiding hand in your own destiny.

Mastery – You’re continually learning. You’re mastering your craft or learning something new. Always growing.

Purpose – You feel you’re making a positive difference in some way.

Combine those these elements with a good dose of curiosity and you’ve got a recipe for a fulfilling life.

Now I have a better understanding of why I felt so trapped in my old office job. None of those points related to me and I was left feeling anxious, stressed and powerless. Three years later, I’m the master of my own destiny (along with the universe), I’m continually learning new skills in different areas and I definitely have a sense I’m making a difference to the world.

Don’t be afraid to find your own lane.

What really goes on behind the scenes to make a book cover

You may have seen the cover of Find Your Creative Mojo in bookshops, library shelves or around on social media, but the distinctive red cover didn’t start out that way.

I’m going to take you behind the messy, yet interesting scenes of how a book cover comes about. I’ll go right back to my early ideas for Find Your Creative Mojo right up to the final product that’s on the shelves of bookstores and libraries across the country.

In the beginning
there was a sketch of a drunk man lying on the floor.

I love tinkering with cover ideas for my books, so when I started writing Find your creative Mojo, I had in mind it would be square pocket book size, similar to Austin Kleon’s, Steal Like an Artist. So everything was laid out with that format in mind, including the cover. I loved the little illustration I’d done with the drunk guy on the floor and thought it would look great on the cover.

Having a basic cover idea helps me feel like it’s a real book. However often I’d spend more time messing with the cover than writing that actual darn thing. Talk about procrastination!

[image error]This first cover incarnation

However Diane Evans at Big Sky Publishing said she thought the book would be stronger as a normal paperback size as it would be easier to position in a bookshop. Those square ’gift book’ types tend to get lost on the shelves.  

Now I had to go back and change my cover idea completely. The only element that I kept was the colour red. I also rewrote the strapline, changing it from ‘A pocket guide to unleashing your creative passion‘ (as the whole pocket guide thing was now thrown out the window)….

……to ‘Giving you the courage to overcome fear, procrastination and self doubt’.  I redid the illustration to better reflect the strapline. It looked cuter too.

[image error]My revised paperback book version

The Octopus Test

Big Sky Publishing thought my cover idea was a little soft and needed to have more shelf shout ie jump out from a bookshelf like the way an octopus would leap out and grab an unsuspecting prawn.  

They then briefed the design team who created 4 different options, including a version similar to mine to appease me.

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I find it hard to imagine what the cover will actually look like in situ, so using my best dodgy word.doc skills I found a Google photo of a book shelf stand and superimposed the different covers to see what the shelf shout is like.

[image error]See if you can spot them all.

After an email chain the length of the Nile, we agreed none of them had any shelf shout that could reach out and snatch a prawn, let alone a person. It was back to the drawing board for the design team. Actually it was one person and his name is Chris, and I think he’s awesome.

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Chris came back with this fab new cover idea which I think you’d find very familiar. We rewrote the strapline to deliver a bigger promise to the reader and also fine tuned some of the elements. See if you can spot the differences.

And then that’s it, final cover design done and dusted. While it’s very different from my initial idea, I always giggle like an excited 5 year old whenever I see the cover anywhere. It’s a great feeling.

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How important shelf shout is..

“Actually, I was in the spiritual section of a book store and the title called to me. Then I read the foreword and decided this is what I am looking for right now. Ploughed through it in about 6 hours couldn’t put it down! Laughed and had many light bulbs.”– Candice Dianna, Singer Songwriter. 

” The colour red and title jumped out and grabbed me at the Kiama library.” – Liz Shaw

Find Your Creative Mojo is available from all good book stores or online at Dymocks, Angus and Robertson, Booktopia and Book Depository.

Find Your Own Lane

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Back in 2001, this used to be called ‘Fuel Bar’. After only a year of messing around with abstract painting techniques, I held an exhibition there as part of the Art Rage Fringe Festival.

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The festival was asking for submissions from new and experimental artists and I thought ‘stuff it’ and sent them some photos (the old fashion way) and hoped for the best. I had nothing to lose.

Shortly afterwards I was accepted.

It wasn’t about how talented you were or whether your art would be highly praised by scarf wearing art critics, it was about pushing the boundaries of yourself as well as what is called ‘art’. Being brave and stepping out to face the world.

In the Mojo book, I call it ‘stepping into the arena’.

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Being part of the exhibition also helped me to realise that my voice was just as important as anyone else’s, no matter how different or weird it was. I had my own thing to say in my own way.

Now, when I feel the quiet pull to want to ‘be accepted’, I remember something my publisher Diane recently told me, “don’t try and run in someone else’s lane, find your own”.

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And there you have it. ‘Find your own lane’.