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Banish Your Inner Critic
MakingWeb.no Oslo, Norway 22 September 2016
Denise Jacobs
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@denisejacobs#makingweb
#banishyourcritic
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Want the slides? Go here:
Creativedo.se/makingweb-ic
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Photo by Derek Kearney
Wait…What?!
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Founder + CEO, The Creative Dosehttp://TheCreativeDose.com/
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Upon a time…http://www.behance.net/gallery/Once-Upon-a-Time/2918365
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29 Junehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jblndl/3154255478/
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I was going to be an author!Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Instead of creativityPhoto from Flickr.com
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Destructivityhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/kevygee/3265941065/
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The voices in my head were mercilesshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/4887528060/
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I totally freaked out
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I shouldn't be writing thisI misrepresented myself
I don't know enoughThis should be someone else’s book
I’m going to look stupidEveryone will see that I’m a fakeWhat if it's not good enough?What if I'm not good enough?
No…really!
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2 dayshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/fiery-phoenix/8428079916/
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Worked non-stop & burned outhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/53611153@N00/5827849044/
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My internal critical voiceshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeapalooza/553545517/
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Made this happen
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70938871@N05/8230432077
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Physical evidence of fearhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/grumpyfeline/4626401443/
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A different kind of fearPhoto: Denise Jacobs
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Fears + Internalized criticisms
https://www.flickr.com/photos/remoto/5313967682
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= The Inner Critic
https://www.flickr.com/photos/acerriteno/3484093889/
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F.E.A.R. =
http://cdnpix.com/show/imgs/7a361666e107cd36656d5a66ea2e4e80.jpg
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Or…
https://twitter.com/Phishtitz/status/474661495935365120
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YES! (…and…)https://www.flickr.com/photos/willsan/3780293130
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The enemy of creativity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardwinchell/130344669/
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Stress & frustration
https://www.flickr.com/photos/corneveaux/3248566797/
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Suppress generative impulses in the brain
https://www.flickr.com/photos/birthintobeing/11841180046
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Thoughts =https://www.flickr.com/photos/57375589@N05/9046508025/
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Electrical impulses =http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neuron-matrix.png
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= Brainwaves!http://uniteunderfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Brain-waves.jpg
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Know your brainwaves
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Blocks creative expressionhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/
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“Self-rebuke will stall your creative efforts.”- Shelly Carson, Your Creative Brain
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How to ID your Inner Critichttp://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdachialpha/203904103/
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Listen for internal critical talkhttp://brenebrown.com/2014/04/08/daring-interview-series-meet-gavin-aung/
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“OMG, I’m SO busy!”
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“I should have done more by now…”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/automania/126698126/
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“They’ll find out I’m a fraud”
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vs. “NAILED IT!”https://www.flickr.com/photos/paul-drummond/3946893897
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“It needs to be FLAWLESS”http://www.flickr.com/photos/diepuppenstubensammlerin/7648792510/
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“I’ll do it tomorrow…”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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“Really, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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“I will do it tomorrow!”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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Meet your inner critic
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1) Write down one fear around your creativity
https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/5788826472/
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/dhinson/1290445055/
2) Crumple paper into ball Then…
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3) On 3, throw it!http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b1-baSAE8ZI/VDM3BbuiaFI/AAAAAAAABKk/l91FBGvSgkA/s1600/IMAGE_437.jpg
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Anthing sound familiar?Photo: Denise Jacobs
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You’re in good companyhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/17843347@N05/4610644207/
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Afflicts ALL of us!
http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/jimmy-fallon-the-unsinkable-legend-part-2 (@ 8:15)
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“…I don’t have what these people want to see – they want to see a funny guy! That’s not me.” - Jerry Seinfeld, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
https://www.flickr.com/photos/97477873@N00/13016287284/
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We need to unleashhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/designandtechnologydepartment/4771136128/
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We need brain managementhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/13994747444/
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrbelex/2247397943/
“You must be unintimidated by your own thoughts because if you [try to create] with someone looking over your shoulder, you'll never [create].” – Nikki Giovanni
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How do we…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/5445602998/
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Banish the Inner Critic?https://www.flickr.com/photos/31505964@N08/4691019168/
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You can’t outrun the voiceshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/wester/504925076/
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Imposition Mentalityhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/bethscupham/7328405210
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Eliminate “Have to/Should/Must/Ought”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mythoto/3822942678/
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Replace with “I choose/ I decide/ I will”https://www.flickr.com/photos/mstry-2525-gst/3312199285/
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Comparison Syndromehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/kharied/3315558702/
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“You cannot compare your insides to someone else’s outsides.”
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Say NO to Comparisonshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/suvodeb/2559017400/
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You & what you produce is unique
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Establish boundarieshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/thisisawakeupcall/5595296868/
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(Btw, this your new mantra…)http://www.spunkysapphire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/photo-1-e1406074730116.jpg
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Beat Impostor Syndrome
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Impostor Syndrome Paradox
http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/2279939232/
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You will only experience impostor syndrome when you are competent and skilled.
(re-read this as many times as necessary.)
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Inner Critic “psychology hacks”https://www.flickr.com/photos/insk/3884826712/
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Ask it questionshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4749432145/
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Be compassionatehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/wrote/2646295354/
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Reassign dutyhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/shavawnmarie/1326123397/
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Reframe fear of failurehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/2717325940/
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http://culturecatch.com/files/images/after-earth.jpg
“Fear is not real. It is a product of the
thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand
me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.”
- character of Cypher Raige, After Earth
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Embrace failure and mistakezhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/4498817330/
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“Being right keeps us in place. Being wrong forces us to explore.” – Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From
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Copy the Fail MastersPhoto: Denise Jacobs
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/959864706/
Take steps, #FAIL; Go again!
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“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”- Henry Ford
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Judgment Dreadhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/jdlasica/12825451433/
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Remember egocentricity
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“Our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behavior, and our behavior changes our outcomes.”- Amy Cuddy, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” TED talk
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Breaking the loop
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Perfectionismhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/diepuppenstubensammlerin/7648792510/
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“Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order.”― Anne Wilson Schaef
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The real problem
http://cuttingthecheese.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/26810560251953842_ede18tng_f.jpg
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Perfectionists focus on the finished product…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/phatcontroller/3667889959/
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Rather than the processhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/spyndle/474122586/
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“The Best” vs “The most”https://www.flickr.com/photos/villify/10871945326
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Be bad/make it uglyhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/kpwerker/6051104684
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Embrace the “SFD”Twitter, circa 2006
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Satisficehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/sleepyvalley/3650673328
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Remember:
https://twitter.com/dickelippe/status/581204005013078016/photo/1
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Perfection ≠ Excellence
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaldoche/4771465356
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“Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good.”– Voltaire
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Procrastination
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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The trick is not self-identifying…http://20px.com/blog/2013/09/06/a-field-guide-to-procrastinators/
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Nor administering a dose of
https://www.flickr.com/photos/116357579@N08/13178367583
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Procrastinators are NOT lazy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/code_martial/4145914957
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The unknown can be paralyzing
http://hub.salford.ac.uk/energymonitoring/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/01/known-knowns1.jpg
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Pro tip: Reframe the unknownhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jonmelsa/3000222387/
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Increase the meaning/valuehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeliam/2460475510/
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Mind Trickshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/32135758@N02/5325454434/
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Don’t do it, just get ready toPhoto: Denise Jacobs
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“Structured procrastination”https://www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/1043379069
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Time & Space Trickshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/indraw/4857101224/
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Eliminate distractions
From “Shit Black Girls Say”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXDpfhehb6I
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Ignore to focus
https://www.flickr.com/photos/massimobarbieri/3998455558/
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Browser Extensions (Firefox) LeechBlock Idderall Browser Extensions (Chrome) Strict Workflow StayFocusd Website Blocker
Tools RescueTime.com HeyFocus.com
Aids for digital blocking
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Added bonusHeyFocus.com
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Airplane/Do Not Disturb mode
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieterouwerkerk/699475144/
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Make it a Sprint
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucamascaro/4975166968/
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Fill a Quota
https://www.flickr.com/photos/teosaurio/3392883329/
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Remember thisPhoto: Denise Jacobs
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My story’s end?http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonialuna/2942020058/
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Februaryhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/3709856898/
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#FAILhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/dafnecholet/5374200948
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#WINNING!http://www.flickr.com/photos/clappstar/6297835482/
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I wrote my first book!
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/thatconference/9532425040/
Which created AMAZING things for me
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Disturbing dreamshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/agroffman/4613265988
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My own inner creative childPhoto: Deloria Jacobs
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Always reaching for perfectionPhoto: Denise Jacobs
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“The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday—but never jam to-day.”
“It MUST come sometimes to ‘jam to-day’,” Alice objected.
“No, it can’t,” said the Queen. “It’s jam every OTHER day: to-day isn’t any OTHER day, you know.”
— from Through the Looking Glass & What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll
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“Jam” = Reward / Satisfactionhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/macati/2180421766
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YOU NEVER GET JAMhttp://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alicepic/through-the-looking-glass/2book42.jpg
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By sharing my experiencePhoto: Deloria Jacobs
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Show you there is an alternativehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/buttersponge/4955768144
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/9220121158/
“The creative adult is the child who survived after the world tried killing them, making them ‘grown up’….
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…The creative adult is the child who survived the blandness of schooling, the unhelpful words of bad teachers, and the nay-saying ways of the world.” – Ursula K. L Guin
https://www.flickr.com/photos/theburiedlife/2167001643/
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By understanding this truth
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You’ll look at yourself differentlyhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/3460562429
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Let out all of your ideas
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8115237421/
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Because, after all…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aoberg/9652158212
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The EndPhoto: Denise Jacobs
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My upcoming book!
Banish Your Inner Critic
Get on the list! DeniseJacobs.com/InnerCritic
Identify and Eliminate Mental Blocks to Unleash Creativity
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THE CREATIVE DOSE A Creativity + Innovation Collective
Creative Thinking + Problem-solving
Creative Collaboration Team Communication + Cohesion
Professional Development + Speaking Coaching
TheCreativeDose.com@thecreativedose
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Get the slides!
Creativedo.se/makingweb-ic
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Connect + Collaborate With Me!
Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/
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And finally…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27620885@N02/2609974180/
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Clear the pipes: Morning Pageshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/juliejordanscott/4970674253//
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Decouple performance from identityhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/krissen/6824608878
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So go and disrupt something!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcymet/3564484236/
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Pushed myself to burn-outhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/44085287@N05/4052943367/