A List of My Inspirations
“Very often audacity, not talent, makes one person an artist” - Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
“Very often audacity, not talent, makes one person an artist and another a shadow artist—hiding in the shadows, afraid to step out and expose the dream to the light, fearful that it will disintegrate to the touch.” - Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
I love what
wrote in her newsletter, “This is why we tell the truth”:It’s said that telling the truth can set us free, and yes, absolutely. But there is also the part of truth-telling that is not about us at all. Truth-telling as community care. Honesty as generosity. Naming the details of our lives as an offering on the altar so that others might find their own experiences nestled right alongside ours when they need it most.
Telling the truth is one of the best ways I know for us to belong to each other, a nudge to continue showing up for those small but profound moments of “oh thank goodness I am not the only one.”
Here is a list of my *~inspirations~* (aka people who had the audacity to step out and expose their dream to the light)
(in no particular order)
Books/Authors
Illia Thompson’s “Liquid Time” (Thompson leads a “Memories” workshop at the Carmel Foundation. She helped my grandma write her memoir, which inspired this blog)
Julia Cameron’s “The Artist's Way” (my bible)
Melissa Febos’ “Body Work” (especially "In Praise of Navel-Gazing" It never gets old. I think about it constantly) as well as her TedTalk “Telling Your Secrets Can Set You Free”
Jamie Varon’s “Radically Content”
Martha Beck’s “The Way of Integrity”
Sean Stephenson’s “Get Off Your ‘But’”
Kristine Carlson’s memoir “From Heartbreak to Wholeness”
Richard Carlson’s “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”
Sarah Levy’s memoir “Drinking Games” and her newsletter
Kelly Williams Brown’s memoir, “Easy Crafts for the Insane”
Glynnis MacNicol’s memoir, “Nobody Tells You This”
- ’s memoir, “Buy Yourself The Fucking Lilies”
Holly Whittaker’s memoir, “Quit Like A Woman” and her newsletter
Rachael Maier’s memoir, “Bowing to Light” and her newsletter,
Weike Wang’s novel “Chemistry”
Stephanie Foo’s memoir, “What My Bones Know”
Lori Gottlieb’s “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone” and her “Dear Therapist” column in The Atlantic
Shauna Shapiro’s TedTalk “The Power of Mindfulness” and her book, “Good Morning, I Love You” (which I will finish…one day)
Ryder Carroll’s “The Bullet Journal Method”
Johann Hari’s “Lost Connections”
Ali Wong’s “Dear Girls”
Gretchen Rubin
Laura Lynne Jackson
Brene Brown
Eckhart Tolle
Tara Brach
David Sedaris (mostly everything but especially “Calypso”)
Blogs/Newsletters
Khe Hy’s “Rad Reads”
Thomas’ “The Quiet Voice” and his Goodreads reviews
- ’s
Chris B’s
(formerly “The Unconventional Route”)I inspired this post!
Antonina Pattiz’s
- ’s “Copper Oranges”
Ellen Waterson’s “The Third Act”
Entrepreneurs/Leaders
Everything Nora Ephron has done (especially her commencement speech for Wellesley College in 1996 - UGH MY HEART)
Go watch HBO’s “Everything Is Copy” directed by her son immediately
Vanessa Barboni Hallik’s “Another Tomorrow” (Sustainable Fashion)
Lindsay Nohr Beck & Joyce Reinecke’s “Fertile Hope” (Cancer & Fertility)
Andrea Jang (Acupuncture)
Suzie Newcome, founder of Namaspa, who graciously met me for coffee and said to me afterward, “There is a wonderful energy to the creative space you are in now, sort of like a pregnancy. You are glowing with your developing future don't rush the process!” Is that not the nicest thing you’ve ever heard!?
Sara Kaiser, who owns an aerial yoga studio, Wakeful Ascent, in Bishop, CA
Kirsten McLean’s artwork “Watercolor Wednesday”
Nancy Flournoy’s photography “Nancy Brye Photography”
Sarah Yates Mora, a photographer, artist, and blogger
Jen Jordan (Abortion Advocate)
Audrey Ellis and her sister, Kelsey, (especially the podcast “Finding Hope” episode 18: From Twin-tuition To Connecting in the The Afterlife with Twins Audrey and Kelsey Ellis)
Podcasts
Nicole Antoinette’s “Real Talk Radio” and “The Pop Up Pod,” featuring honest conversations (big inspiration for my podcast)
Khe Hy’s podcasts “Rad Friends” & “Rad Awakenings”
Ksenia Brief’s podcast, “Web8”
Carinn and Kate’s podcast, “Pop Fiction Women”
Renae Saager’s podcast, “The Ballsy Broadcast”
Olivia Noceda’s “On the Rocks”
Stephanie Craig’s “The History Fangirl Podcast”
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Tags: Art, Books, Inspiration, Movies