Business is expanding more quickly than I could’ve imagined, and for the better. The blog posts may continue to be a bit more curated or sporadic in the near term. Of course, if you would like to blog with us, more specifically, with me Mikey, Fill out your information at the “Work with us!” section at the contact page here and I’ll get back to you usually within 48 hours.
Set Off on the Path of Freelance Success
by Courtney Rosenfeld, gigspark.biz
Though once considered the fringe of employment, 16.5 million people work in the gig economy in the United States, a figure that’s set to grow as more and more companies outsource projects and professionals discover the freedom and flexibility of being their own boss, setting their own hours and often working from home.
This could be a golden opportunity for you, whether you’re tired of trudging to the office every day or looking for an extra source of income in retirement. Opportunity abounds in a number of specialties, from writing to designing to pet care to housecleaning. However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the responsibility of running your own show and finding enough contracts to pay the bills, so here are some tips to keep things on track.
Set Goals
You need goals to stay motivated, move forward and be successful, says an entrepreneur writing for the Balance Small Business, who provides a list of resources that help you set realistic targets for your enterprise, whether they’re financial or related to finding new clients. Remember to divide them up into long-term and short-term goals so you have something to aim for every day when you start work. There’s no point in just saying, “I want to be a millionaire.” If that’s the dream, you have to make a plan for it.
Create a Cozy Home Office
You’ll be spending a lot of time in your office, so make sure you’re well equipped in a space that’s dedicated to work and nothing else. It will serve you well if you have a spare room you can devote to your enterprise, but setting aside a quiet corner in the basement or attic would also suffice. A natural source of light does wonders to keep up your spirits, especially when the sun is shining, while an ergonomic chair provides the comfort you need for long hours at the computer. If your home is lacking space, you could convert part of your garage into an office. If you don’t have a garage on your property, consider building a prefab steel garage and using it as office space. Steel structures are inexpensive and easy to maintain.
Stay Organized
According to a startup expert with Forbes, successful entrepreneurs all “batch” their tasks. This refers to grouping everything you need to do into categories, then doing one of those all at once. For example, set aside one morning for writing emails and the afternoon for developing a business plan, but keeping in mind priorities that need to get done that day, of course. This technique helps you avoid floundering in a jumble of random activities.
Manage Your Finances
One of the cardinal rules of running your own business is separating your business from your personal life, and the easiest way is by setting up separate bank accounts. Once that’s done, create a budget for expenses based on an average of what you make from month to month, as that varies. Remember that you are one of those expenses, so pay yourself on a regular basis by transferring money to your personal account. Be sure you have enough to keep up with loan payments, and use a home cost calculator to determine how much you can spend on property if you’re on the market.
Keep Marketing
The nature of freelance work means bouncing from contract to contract or project to project, so you can never cease promoting your services, or your revenue streams may dry up. With little cash to spend on advertising, choose a few inexpensive means of getting the word out, and batch them into your schedule. Social media channels are on your side, so make daily or weekly posts that include a link to your blog or website, and don’t be timid in asking for referrals from past and current customers.
Watch Your Health
When striking out on your own with a new business, you need to be at your best mentally and physically, so this is not the time to neglect your diet and fitness routine no matter how much you want to tap away at your laptop. Turn it off, put on your sneakers and head out for a jog, cycle or power walk. When it’s time to eat, load up on vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains while keeping sugar and fat intake at a minimum.
Starting up your own business may be a bit nerve-wracking at first, but once the revenue starts flowing in, you’ll begin to appreciate the freedom of being your own boss. It’s truly liberating, so enjoy it.
Image via Pexels.
Courtney Rosenfield started her career in the gig economy after several years of enviously watching others do the same thing. She started Gigspark to be a resource and a first step for people who are looking to join the gig economy, either to supplement their income or as a way to fulfill their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.
Four of the Most Important Freelance Jobs to Hire Out for Your Small Business
by Courtney Rosenfeld, gigspark.biz
There are many advantages to hiring out freelance work for your business. If you run a small business, for instance, you may have realized that you don’t need a full-time staff. Or, perhaps you would like a full-time staff but can’t afford it. Either way, hiring freelancers can free up time and money for you to spend on growing your business in a way that would be much more difficult than if you were paying a full-time staff.
Yes, it still costs money. But it can cost less money than paying a staff over time, and the growth and reduced stress you experience will likely make it more than worthwhile. Determine what kind of projects you need done, set your budget, ask around for referrals, and review job boards. Once you have a candidate in mind, send them a test project. If they return a completed project to you on time that meets your standards, you may have a keeper. If not, keep looking until you find a freelancer in that specialty who provides the product you’re envisioning.
Finding the best freelancer you can at a price point you can work with will help you focus on the tasks you need to, and it will ultimately help your business flourish. While there are many different types of freelance work, these four are some of the most essential ones to consider.
Virtual Assistants
Any successful business owner will tell you that delegating tasks is vital to effectively running a company. When you delegate tasks that don’t come naturally to you and that will waste your time, you can spend time on things that grow your business. There are many tasks that can be taken care of by a virtual assistant, and looking on the right job board can direct you to qualified, reliable candidates. Essentially, a virtual assistant can do anything from administrative support and scheduling to customer service and data entry.
Web Designers
It’s no secret that an awesome website is necessary for any small business. There are many platforms available today that allow someone with minimal design knowledge to build a website; however, these websites are often easily spotted, and the limited features of these platforms can make it difficult for your site to stand out among the crowd. Bringing in a web designer can give you a unique, high-quality site with responsive design technology. Also, a professionally designed site will be more reliable, run more efficiently, and increase your company’s search engine optimization (SEO).
Content Writers
Providing audiences with written content has become increasingly important for small businesses of all kinds. Having a blog on your website that discusses industry-related subject matter and offers expert advice highlights your company’s credibility. Qualified content writers can write about topics your audience cares about in a readable way. Furthermore, they can clearly translate ideas that you don’t know how to put into words, and they can provide an unbiased view of your products and services.
Social Media Managers
Finally, hiring a social media manager can prove invaluable to your business. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer affordable (and sometimes free) marketing tools, and bringing in a professional who knows how to utilize and manage those tools can free you up to work on the things you’re best at. A social media manager can lay out a strategic plan for your social presence, consistently post meaningful content, promote your brand and products/services, expand your customer reach, and ultimately boost your sales.
As a small business owner, virtual assistance, web design, content writing, and social media management are all jobs you should consider hiring out to freelancers. Remember to find the best candidate you can within your budget, and test them out before committing to multiple projects. Hiring qualified freelancers can free up your time to focus on the projects you do best so that your company can grow and thrive as much as possible.
Photo Credit: Burst
Courtney Rosenfield started her career in the gig economy after several years of enviously watching others do the same thing. She started Gigspark to be a resource and a first step for people who are looking to join the gig economy, either to supplement their income or as a way to fulfill their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.
Coming This Fall to FreelanceMikey.com!
I’m back with a quick update about this blog. Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary patrons and readers!
Life is getting busy as I get ready to ebmark on several new endeavors, and with all this, I’m going to be transforming this blog into an information and interview portal into the hearts and minds of creative professionals from every walk of life from America to Indonesia and any and all points in between. (I’d go into space if I could). My goal is to take you on as many fun journeys into the worlds of creative business art and the art of creative business In ways that are at once focused and fun, comprehensive yet conversational.
Interviews and features will include any of the following:
Entrepreneurs
Educators
Business leaders
Visual artists
Musicians
Actors
Comedians
Novelists
Screenwriters
Playwrights
Graphic designers
Home stagers
Multimedia artists
Psychologists
Sociologists
Biographers/historians
Join me this fall as we take a journey into all this and more!
Don’t Call It a Comeback: The FreelanceMikey Blog Gears Up for That ‘New New’
A formal occasion (not my wedding)
Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary digital natives! After a long hiatus, I’m back to update you on all the goings-on of late with FreelanceMikey Creative Consultation and what has been the cause of this long but much-needed sabbatical. The FreelanceMikey blog has been dormant lately due to shifting dynamics in the business and in my own life of late. I’ve been focusing on my editing, music mixing, and keeping up my physical health working with a physical therapist (due to my cerebral palsy).
In this vein, I want to take time to appreciate your visit to the website and the FreelanceMikey brand and blog, and I absolutely thank you for your patience. (I’m also planning my wedding these days, so my life rolls on hard—both in and out of my wheelchair ♿️).
New projects, new locations, new interviews, and new horizons are in motion for all of the creative campaigns that my friends, colleagues, and I aim to bring to the fore in 2019.
Currently, there are a few projects very key projects underway including general project consulting and specialized projects. Formats and pricing and listed in the home menu. Go to our services page for more.
Most absolutely, I want you to know that going forward as always, I definitely want to further my mission in helping you be yourself fully in whatever medium you choose to explore.
May you move boldly and follow your bliss,
Michael LaPenna
#MondayMotivation: The Domino Effect and the Inspirational Story of Thaddeus Bullard
This is the inspirational story of Thaddeus Bullard…
More on Thaddeus Bullard at thaddeusbullard.com
Thaddeus Bullard was born to a preteen mother under horrible circumstances but was never given up on despite it all. This is that story.
So many times in life, we are given a choice to treat people a particular way. From our loved ones to our bosses, to the random person who asks for our help, we all have choices to make. This is the story of what happens when we choose kindness over indifference and the particular domino effect that can follow.
The following TEDx Talk by philanthropist, entrepreneur, and performer Thaddeus Bullard (who performs and wrestles as WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil) tells the tale himself in the TEDxUCLA video below.
Key points:
- Watch what happens when one man shows kindness to someone who is racist against him.
- Hear the inspirational story of the homeless couple Mr. Bullard invited to a restaurant for a meal and the “domino effect” and powerful catalyst it inspired.
Thaddeus (as Titus O’Neil) wears the WWE Tag Team championship with teammate Darren Young. (WWE.com)
TED Talks (short for Technology, Education, and Design Talks) have been known to inspire millions of people and to move arts, culture, and technology forward by new and interesting means, but this TED Talk is bit of an outlier just meant to inspire simple kindness, I suppose.
Just a little dose of Monday Motivation to make you smile a little brighter!
Every day, things we do knowingly or unknowingly, affect others. Sometimes it's a small effect, and sometimes it's profound and causes a chain reaction. If you're going to have an effect, why not make it a good one.
#ThursdayThoughts: Don't Give Up on Your Dreams; Adapt
Follow @commandinglife. Special thanks to Alex for the inspiration.
My friend posted this on her Instagram feed today, and I got really inspired to say something to you all. As many of you might know by now, I’m going through some life transitions such as my wedding and moving into a new home in a new place. Transitions like this happen to us all whether literal or more metaphorical. You may live in uncertain times. There may be judgment or prejudice, disagreement or turmoil. Regardless, please don’t give up.
What I’ve can gleaned from my own life’s transitions is to know that the tides of your creativity will never stagnate or be still so long as you keep a dream in your heart and a fire in your belly for that mysterious, ineffable thing that makes you wide eyed and hopeful just by thinking about it. I believe that mystery is your spark that will light your passions. Follow that bliss like a breeze wherever it will take you. There is magic that awaits.
Stay hopeful,
Mikey
Sage Advice from Anna Akana on How to Write a Script That Makes Sense
Anna Akana
Hey, people of the world! I’m back on the scene after a brief hiatus to bring you some sage Wednesday Wisdom from Anna Akana on how to write a script (and a pretty good script at that). Anna is someone whose work ethic, gumption, and generally humorous attitude toward life on this spinning spaceball we call a planet gives me cause to be very hopeful for the prospects of our generation where the arts are concerned. :)
Multimedia writer, actor, author, and awesomeness steward Anna Akana sits down to give her simple breakdown of what it takes to get started writing a script. Anna’s synopsis resonates with me in particular because it is a basic intro to screenwriting equipped with all the meaning and mastery of a Syd Field Screenwriting course or Joseph Campbell’s classic text The Hero with a Thousand Faces—but with a bit of a salve for all the nerves that a newbie writer might feel when jumping headfirst into the murky waters of a feature length idea with say, five pages of cohesive content and the rest of your text functioning about as well as a life raft with hole in it. Following Anna’s steps, you’ll at least stay calm long enough to keep your idea afloat until you can make something of it and have a working script that has a story to tell. Happy writing!
Anna Akana shares some great ways that you can turn your story into a script.
Updates on Business and Life Transitions
Hi All,
I just wanted to touch base with anybody who might be coming by the blog. Life transitions are moving things around a bit and I’ve also been focusing on my health as of late. I still would like to get more projects profiled on here at FreelanceMikey, so feel free to hit me back. I’m excited about some new projects in the pipeline along with planning my wedding for next year! More good to come! Be good!
Perez Hilton loves to 'Taste and Toast' with Ashanti Middleton!
I'm so happy for my friend and colleague Ashanti Middleton! It turns out that Hollywood gossip columnist and entertainment blogger mogul Perez Hilton really digs Ashanti's food vlog and restaurant review show Taste and Toast! I worked on T and T with Ashanti early on in its first season and I’m so glad to see it flourishing in its second season! After starting its journey in the foodie hubs and pubs of Brooklyn, New York, Taste and Toast with Ashanti Middleton has made waves in the Hollywood blogosphere all the way to Perez Hilton's home and heart. What a difference a year makes! Thank you, Perez Hilton! Taste and Toast and Ashanti Middleton are a culinary hit in high places these days! Follow the link for more deliciousness!
Click the link here to find out more, where you can watch the show, and find out how get your restaurant reviewed on the show. https://ashantimiddleton.com/optin-22445718
Bookmark this blog for more updates, conversations, and talks about creating here at FreelanceMikey.com.
Updates, updates!
Hey All,
Just a quick update from yours truly from the FreelanceMikey headquarters in beautiful suburban New York. I’ve had to take some time to handle my health in the past two weeks, but now it’s time to get back on the horse! I’m currently in the process of booking interview segments for the blog here on the FreelanceMikey website.
If you're a creative person who kind of views life from a 45° angle (as George Carlin used to say) or just looking to showcase your work in a way that is accessible, talkative, intuitive, and fun, contact me here or on Twitter and Instagram @FreelanceMikey! i’d love to talk shop with you about your contributing influences, meandering pathways, and your highest moments of creative clarity in life, art, business, personal growth, and more. I look forward to chatting with you soon!
12 Things Successful People Do Differently
There you are sitting at your desk, mulling over your bills, tired from a day at work filled with aching shoulders and employees who seem much more concerned with their time off than that end-of-day deadline for that latest campaign for that Bakery outside Boston.
You want more! You want greater heights to explore who you are as a business, as a boss, and as a creative being!
So how can you do all this without killing your time or your energy and maximizing effectiveness in all areas?
Here are 12 things successful people do differently to achieve maximum results in their businesses and lives without going over their limits.
Wednesday Wisdom: Dan Lok Explains the Difference Between Reading Books and Using Books
"I don't read books, I use them. That's a big distinction."
Entrepreneur Dan Lok explains the difference between just reading books and and using books to gain knowledge and using knowledge to gain wisdom that carries you throughout life and business! Check It out!
Dan Lok - Why I Don't Read Books
FreelanceMikey's Summary:
Knowing how to gain valuable experience comes from trying and figuring it out through implementation of information, not just knowing information. From experience comes wisdom. Be willing to mess up and learn from it. Wisdom, according to Lok, is also knowing what to leave out so you can simplify your understanding and deepen that understanding.
Be well!
Updated 5/23/18: New Blog Interview Series Coming! Conversations About Creating with Michael LaPenna
(We are slightly delayed due to the tornado-like weather that hit the New York area last week. Thanks for being awesome and patient).
Do you like art at 45 degree angles? Do you like people who paint spaceships and sing jazz? Do you like yoga AND psychology? So often, creativity is thought of as a static thing like painting, theatre, music, writing, and the like—but what about what's between those nooks and crannies, between the cracks, the twilight between all these?
I'm interested in the inspiration behind creative work and the lives inspired by that spark.
New things are coming your way and evolving starting with a new blog interview series called Conversations About Creating. Conversations About Creating will explore everything from creative yoga for for healing mental trauma, to neo jazz funk music artists to make you love life just that much more! Join me, Michael LaPenna, for free-wheeling, art-loving, music-jamming, sculpture-making, groundbreaking conversations With creative people from a wide range of fields and feels In the world of art, science, craft, writing, music—and a whole lot of good feelings! It’ll be good times with some good minds, and I can’t wait!
Don't miss Conversations About Creating coming in the coming weeks to FreelanceMikey.com!
New Goodness Coming Up!
Well, it’s been wild one—between unique screenplay projects and personal delays due to a death in the family—but have no fear, I’ll be back next week with greatness, (or at least a really fun, passable facsimile). Be good and do some good!
P.S. I might even do a post about visiting the David Bowie exhibit in New York City, or I could talk about my alma mater SUNY New Paltz’s production of Avenue Q that I’m seeing over the weekend. We shall see. :)
#MondayMotivation: Each Day Brings a New Opportunity To Create Something
Each day brings a new opportunity to create something...
I just want to drop you a line and remind you about your creative opportunities. Every day brings a new opportunity to create something: a moment, a dance, a friendship, a blog post, a song, a project, a job, a work of art, a work of craft. You can do ANYTHING THAT MOMENT GIVES YOU! Just play around, and see what you can come up with, and follow your bliss!
#MondayMotivation: How To Get What You Really Want: Nine Principles
Another installment of #MondayMotivation all about the mentality that helps you get what you really want out of life (or at least can get you there much faster than worrying).
The nine principles below illustrate Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's nine principles of manifestation for getting that which our most loving of hearts long for: purpose, direction, love, and happiness and the truest joys of life. They show us how to lift ourselves from the all too common doldrums of "I have a desire to be something,' to "I am something." As you go through the list, take a few moments to visualize each step as you read it.
As I have written about this topic at previous sites, I come from a more secular humanist angle here so that these nine principles apply to religious and secular readers equally. These techniques are cognitive techniques to train your mind to be more allowing of good things and positive thoughts in your day to day.
Nine Principles of Manifestation
1. Live from Your Highest Self - "I have an ability to manifest and attract all that I need and desire."
This is not a call to do drugs or to float whimsically out of your body and suddenly obtain that beach house in Miami you've wanted since you and Beach House Barbie dreamed of it when you were seven. It means to know you have a reason for existing and have found meaning in your work. Find meaning in your life's work and you'll find that even working long hours is a joy.
2. Learn to Trust Your Inner Wisdom - "I trust in myself and in the wisdom within."
Simply put, know yourself and what works the best for you. We all are different in this regard. Some of us are athletes, some doctors and some of us store clerks. Some of us are funnier, while others more serious. But what truly is paramount to success is knowing your strengths and weakness for your strengths give you confidence and your weaknesses keep you humble. It's all about knowing how you can help, but also recognizing when you need help from others.
3. Honor Your Worthiness to Receive - "I deserve to experience good things."
With many of us growing up with traditional Christian concepts of being "unworthy of the grace and love of God," this step can be a tricky bit of business to explain. This step is not saying you don't make mistakes or that you aren't capable of doing wrong. It is to say rather that you are to think of yourself as intended to be in connection with that which made you, (what I call God) like being plugged into electricity moving through existence to serve your specifically gifted purpose.
4. Realize that You Are Not Separate from Your Environment - "I am one with my surroundings, aware of the connective energy between me and my world."
On a basic level, to realize that each thing that exists is part of and connected to a larger whole allows you see purpose and possibly opportunity for growth in each experience, good or bad. Also where direct human interaction is concerned, in India's ancient traditions there is the philosophy that says when you can see yourself in all others, you're no longer able to have true enemies and your anger turns to pity for the person who wishes you harm because you realize that the harm that you once thought only went one way actually goes all ways. In this mode, you'll now have a greater desire to be helpful, kind and the best you can be on all levels because the good you used to want only for you now extends to everyone and everything in some way.
5. Attract What You Desire - Visualize things working out and be solution minded if they don't.
In religion, Jesus in The Gospel of Matthew expresses that the Father desires to give good gifts to his children. You must believe you live from a source of giving, not lack. Think, "Good things are possible!" and they will likely show up. Please test this theory and write me back.
6. Connect with Unconditional Love - "I express the energy of unconditional love to all people and all things in my life."
Love big! Don't return negative actions with more of the same, but less. Always try to see the purpose as I said earlier. Love is the opposite of selfishness and the weird paradox of this love thing is that the less you care about the outcome, the more likely you are to receive great things with loving generosity.
7. Detach from the Outcome - "I trust that what need can come. I will take positive action rather than worry."
Stop worrying and do your best. Your stress is just a simple test of whether you have the will to succeed. Go forward and believe. If you fail, be adaptive and creative, and you will get through almost anything.
8. Acknowledge Your Results with Gratitude and Generosity - "I am deeply thankful for all that I've received, and I enjoy giving to others in the spirit of love and service."
Think of as many things to be thankful for as you can each day. You'll be be surprised how much more you get out of life when you do this. Express love in some way every day as well and be of service to others.
9. Meditate to the Sound of Creation - "I meditate each day to increase my awareness of the divine power within me. Through meditation, I am able to realize the beauty, grace, and love that directs my life and fulfills my deepest desires."
This just means notice and become aware of everything more: the sound of a laugh, the look of a bird. Yet, sound specifically takes a deeper concentration to notice and appreciate, and I think that's what Dr. Dyer's point is all about: appreciation.
Inspired the words of Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and by his book Manifest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting Everything You Want
Thanks for reading. Leave a comment. :)
#MondayMotivation: Drake Gave Away a Million Dollars In 'God's Plan' Music Video
Drake Gave Away a Million Dollars In 'God's Plan' Music Video
In this installment of #MondayMotivation, we see what happened when hip hop superstar Drake decided to give away his $996,631.90 music video budget to everyone in a struggling black community: from a college essay winner and shoppers at your neighborhood grocer to your average Joe and Jane on the street.
It's something I've even considered doing in my own life (upon reaching my future business goals at FreelanceMikey and beyond). In saying that, it occurs to me that there's really no reason any of us can't decide to give away a smaller amount to another person in need. $20 well shopped can buy dinner for a single mother of two. It's clear (to me at least) that this wasn't done to self-agrandize on Drake's part. I believe he's showing we can all do one small thing to change our neighbor's world if we want to do it. Let's do good because we want to and we can.
Why the Creative Thinking of Your Childhood Is the Basis for All Real Learning
The following is a revamp of a blog I wrote a decade ago that strangely but propitiously fits in our current creative culture in America.
Elementary art teacher Ms. Escobal documents one child's moment of innovation with certain found objects.
“I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.” -Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from the Underground
Think back to your childhood. Did you play? Did you run around your house in your underpants pretending to be your favorite hero or heroin trying to save the world from an evil scientist? Did you ever build anything: a house of cards, a tower of crackers, maybe a simple fort? Did you ever play cop and fight imaginary villains and try to thwart a robbery? Maybe you were the one who pretended to have a family of five, a beachfront vacation home, and an office in the city. Even if you did none of these, back when you were six, nine, eleven years old, your mind wandered if your normal day-to-day got too boring.
Now contrast your play life with that of school. First, the adults made you go. There was no compromise, no voting and no writing to your local senator or the ACLU about how you feel your parents may have violated your constitutional right to stay home and eat Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake all day (or maybe, it was Count Chocula… whatever). You had to go to school. No amount of negotiating would change that. You rode your school bus, arrived at school, and soon thereafter would learn whatever the day had in store: spelling, grammar, math and history for which you had no point of reference. Flashcards were equally monotonous—you sat in your chair memorizing each card to the point your brain would just shut off and proceed to rattle off answers like a Pavlovian pup waiting to be rewarded with that peanut butter and jelly masterpiece your mother prepared while you were negotiating the Fudgie the Whale particulars.
Then, it was lunchtime! Lunch was great because you could always compare the other kids’ food with yours. Even if yours was crappy, the kid at the end of the table who ate crayons for money would devour your cafeteria meatloaf like a vulture on a deer carcass! Lunch was a time to talk about your favorite pastimes. Baseball was popular with the boys and for some unknown reason, fortune telling was the girls’ thing with little paper-folded demon machines which always said something like “You smell like pee and have a hairy butt!” Recess would follow and someone would always get maimed by a dodgeball or innocently and precociously chased by a member of the opposite sex (usually) and another kid would get inadvertently beaten with the double dutch ropes.
Next, you’d have more science work to do, memorizing ten categories of plant life or you’d learn how to type like a speed endurance champion, or maybe go to a gym class, art class, music class (These all varied depending on your school’s budget). But these were the times that seemed most free. In art class you could paint the sky purple and no one could tell you it was wrong. Music class had all those silly 1920s “flappertastic” classics that you by all accounts hated—but at least it didn’t have any long division or decimals! On the days you had gym, you ran in a circle for ten minutes and then perfected your volleyball serve to a tee while you gave your best Olympic-style grunt. Ah, those were the days, heh?
It is, without question, sadly prophetic that I should speak in the past tense about your and my collective school experience because right now as I speak to you, even in 2018, there are serious numbers of K-12 aged students who do not receive regular physical education—and art classes, while the highlight of many a child’s day are now a luxury. This is largely due to the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act which brought about stricter and more streamlined testing standards for schools nationwide that focus primarily on math and literacy skills. Kids are tested three times a year and thus have to spend a considerable amount of time preparing for tests. But the evidence suggests that without the arts and exercise, U.S. Children may be actually losing their ability to process, analyze and dissect information in ways that are essential for innovation in business, science, engineering, and medicine. Centers for Disease Control data has long suggested that children who get at least 60 minutes of physical play or exercise per day do better in all general aspects of learning and cognitive function (Read here). The arts have been shown to be even more paramount to healthy brain function. Playing music, for instance, requires vigorous processing on both sides of the brain (Read about music and the brain here.) while creative expressions in writing and visual arts require critical thinking and an ability to view the world and its problems in new and uncharted ways for the fact that art is not usually restricted to 2 + 2 = 4 (More here). This was probably best expressed in the words of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his existential classic Notes from the Underground when he opined, “I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.”
What No Child Left Behind (and rigorous core testing in general) robs from children’s education is the imagination of childhood and also fails to cultivate that all important physical instinct to run, jump, climb, push, and explore which physical exercise provides. Children have an uncanny and innate ability to conquer their world just by looking around it, exploring, digging, running or playing make-believe. It is just that simple. In this way, children who make art are the future architects and engineers. The most curious minds are often among those who cure diseases or build spaceships and the best actors are often the best undercover investigators on the face of the earth! Then there are the entertainers who make you and me smile at the end of a bad day, artists who allow us to look at our lives with newborn eyes, or athletes who make us realize that our human bodies have oh, so much untapped potential! It is, my friends, these elements which compose the human being in all his/her/their glory and you and I have known this ever since we first began to play. So I say to you: Play on, create, and imagine. Imagination is after all, your most sacred tool with which to discover the Universe of possibility which lies before you!
Buy Books and Donate Books at betterworldbooks.com!
Buy Books and Donate Books at betterworldbooks.com!
Hey guys, this is a great cause that I really love! Check it out:
You can support reading and literacy in underserved communities with a great company called Better World Books. Literacy charities are a big cause for me, and I'd like to share this video with you to encourage you to help give a book to someone in need by going to Better World Books' website here or at the link above. For every book sold, the company gives a book away to someone who needs a book to read in literacy programs all over the world. I love this cause, and I encourage you to use the site to buy your books or go to their Better World Books Amazon storefront and give there. All books get FREE STANDARD SHIPPING as well!
I just bought a book I can't wait to read called The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One by Margaret Lobenstine. I'll let you guys know how it is when I'm done reading it. :)
