In March I conducted back-to-back goal-setting workshops for the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County. One of the characteristics I noticed among the creative and talented men and women attending was an inability to focus. By spreading their abilities over a wide range of projects, nothing of note was getting accomplished. This is common, not only among artists, but all of us. Staying busy, but not productive, is the curse of our times.

I challenged the class individually and as a group to let go of the non-essentials in their lives and make a decision as to where to put their energies. Trying to produce art, get your website up-to-date, be active on facebook, cook dinner and go to yoga can squash any creative desire. My advice? Pick one and do it thoroughly, even if it means allowing some of the other areas of your life to slip. The satisfaction gained from doing one thing really well and to completion will lift all the other areas soon enough.

One volunteer attendee, Lana Peck, allowed me to drill down to help her find what she was truly passionate about. Lana has multiple talents, but where I noticed the strongest desire was around song-writing and performing. It’s pretty easy to spot this kind of yearning because it’s often accompanied by tears. Lana allowed herself to become vulnerable in front of the group and admit that if she could be successful in just one area, it would be performing her own music.

I knew what a risk it was for her to make that statement publicly. Huge! But the relief and satisfaction of getting those words expressed showed up in her wide grin. The final activity in the session was to write down a goal that each participant would accomplish by May 1 (the class met in early March). I asked Lana if she would commit to writing a song, performing it and sending me the video on youtube. I received an email from her last week saying it was in the works, and got the final link to her performance Monday morning. Take a peek…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8fchawZyiM