Throughout the ages, our lives have been filled with constant trials and tribulations. As a result, our entire biological make up is geared towards dealing with adversity. So, as a physiological necessity, our minds do not recognize things that do not hold challenges. The brain literary does not register adversity-less messages: no neurons are firing, no sparks are connecting, no memories are formed. In storytelling terms it means our minds are built to spot friction and conf

If you want to be successful in life, there are basically two paths you can follow. One is the ambitious path where you push yourself: 'Work Hard, Play Hard'. The other is the introverted path where you pull success towards you: 'Be Like Water', to quote Bruce Lee. Both require hard work to reach. Yet only the latter brings you the kind of peace that heals and prevents depression and burnout, and alleviates creative anxieties. Let's explore. Qi Gong and Kung Fu Are Always Rec

Kaizen is the Japanese word for improvement. Kai stands for ‘Change’ and Zen for ‘Good’. We often hear it to describe a common theme in Japan's business practice; a lot of small steps will lead to big changes. Yet, it is much more. It’s the perfect analogy for how to get out of artistic anxieties, writer's block, creative resistance, and even when you are (creatively) burned out. You take a thousand tiny steps to reach that one big goal. One small step at a time. Artists and

Right now, you are in survival mode. Your body and mind are embracing your lizard and monkey brains to rewire a few things for the better. By now you'll also have noticed how excruciating that process is. It's called a burnout for a reason. And to add a little more sarcasm here: burnout ain't for the faint of heart. You have a long, hard road ahead of you. The less you think and the more you feel, the shorter the road. So, be like an animal and embrace your survival mode full

Flow in the Now - How to Reach Creative Health. One of the strongest solutions to overcoming creative anxiety is the ability to connect to the now.

Why are artists more prone to creative anxiety and even burnout symptoms than others? It's simple really, artists are both more vulnerable in their characters, as well as putting themselves in more vulnerable positions. It may sound strange, but from a psychical perspective, artists experience the same as soldiers, policemen or health workers with trauma: they have been put in a situation where there body makes a lot of stress hormones . In the artists case, this is often vol

This burnout thing… why do I feel so bad? That’s the question we all ask ourselves. I can’t answer this for you of course. What I can do however is that your bad feeling really is a paradox. You need to feel bad. It’s crucial for your recovery and growth. Feeling bad is your oxygen, your fuel, your signal, your fire and your primary incentive to change things. Embrace the fact you feel bad or anxious or stuck as the signal that's telling you how to get back out. In other word

This is my favorite burnout topic: the couch potato. Essentially I’m encouraging you to be one and to feel bloody good about it. Your body and your mind are extremely tired when suffering from burnout symptoms or creative anxieties that overwhelm you. They are burned out. Get it? That's the story. You need to refuel them both. Put on a few new tires. Check the oil. And to do that properly, you need to stay in that garage for a while. Stay on that Couch The most common complai

My favorite pod-caster, actor and comedian Marc Maron , has a lifetime full of experience with anxiety issues. In the creative industry and the arts, anxiety is common due to the fact that artists show their vulnerable side, which exposes them to criticism from their own inner critic and outside ones. In one of his podcasts however, a listener came with some unsolicited advice for Marc: stop using the word anxiety and replace it with 'nerves'. Is he right? Today we discuss th

We all have that one friend who took yoga too far. Please send them this article. Watch Out for Spiritual Haughtiness Hi. My name is Rogier. I'm a writer. And this article may have been send to you by a great friend, family member or partner who really, really loves you. They've send you this article however, to ask you to slow down on your spiritualism. We are all happy for you that you think you are on the path to enlightenment. But we - because we love you dearly - think i

The Dune films by Denis Villeneuve are exceptionally good. And anyone familiar with the books by Frank Herbert knows that they are even better. But why is that exactly? What's the whole story? The deeper reason is that Dune's tale is very thought-provoking and as such is fascinating to explore, with ideas that have many real world implications. Fair warning, spoilers ahead and make sure you've experienced the story... and now without further ado, let's set things off with a b

Every large corporation on our planet was once a startup with an innovative vision. They became so successful, the end result is a big company in the now. Yet, however forward-thinking when they started out, by far their greatest challenge is to keep that innovative spirit alive, now that they've often bceome more conservative. The key to doing so is in the story they tell themselves . Today, we discuss the crucial identity narrative . For business survival. A Tale of Respons

We don’t know. That’s the truth. At the very bottom, the only truth that counts is this: no one knows what artificial intelligence will bring. No one knows what positives and negatives are coming. The real story of AI? We. Just. Don’t. Know. That’s the premise of this article. Anyone who says otherwise right now, is full of horse-dong. Thankfully, we do know one thing. We know a little something about who is building it: ourselves. So, strap yourselves in really tight, and le

You are not going to like this. But it’s the truth. That anxiety you feel? When you’re releasing that art thing or that creative project of yours? It never fades. I know, I know, it’s not what you wanted to hear. But there is a silver lining: that anxiety has a function. Without it, you wouldn’t be an artist actually. Allow me to explain. In our Amsterdam music app group, one of the singers recently told us that she was viciously attacked online after posting a video of her s

Many of us can get disheartened in the storytelling professions. So this is a simple blog to boost your moral. There is always demand for a good story. So hang in there and read this article every time you feel down. Here goes... Gotta Break Through The Clutter Storytelling is a demand-driven market. There is always – and I really mean always – demand for good storytellers. Despite appearances, good stories are in short supply. Just think of this: Hollywood on average produc

“They do look curious,” said the man, staring up at the gigantic alien spaceship that was hoovering in the atmosphere above the planet. It had been hanging there for a week now, a vast bleakness covering half the sky. Yet the man and woman had found a spot where the afternoon sun escaped under the menacing object. They’d figured they could use a little tan. “Yes. It does make one wonder, does it not,” said the woman, while applying her suntan lotion. “Could you be so wonderfu

One of the key aspects to a successful creative career is owning (up to) what you bring out. I call this creative agency or ownership: a culmination of everything you can and cannot do with your own output. And on each step - big or small - you will always face the same choice: do I keep my agency, or give it away? To anwer that question, I'm going to scare the living bejesus out of you. It is a great game... Flipping the script Just now, I had a really nice lunch with a ver

In its essence, a conspiracy theory is just a story. A pretty bad one actually. Yet under the right circumstances, it becomes so potent, it can cause an insurrection. What makes such a flimsy narrative so strong? From a storytelling perspective, that's a fascinating question. And the kicker? You and I both my dear reader, have already falling for it many times over. Hold on to your knickers, we're diving in the deep end today. And it starts with creativity. Patterns, Pride &

We tend to forget that, however crucial to our lives, at the end of the day money is still very much an imaginary construct. In essence, it's a story. We tell each other that a coin, a certain piece of paper, or a digital number has exchangeable value. A mutual agreement based on trust. Yet this past period is unearthing some incredibly weird stuff about cash. So today we're asking one of the coolest questions out there: Does money still work as a story construct? What is mon

Recently, I had a walk with a good friend, and she told me she's been avoiding all those modern series because they are so addictive. This brought us to the question why Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Hulu or Disney series are so incredibly good (and addictive!) these days. The answer, at least for the most part, is the slow character build up. So today we'll look at slow story and character building, and how it translates to other forms of storytelling and even branding. Okay... mayb