Category: capture 2: desperate for change

Posted on by — Leave a comment

A defining day; my creative gang

maxi gang

maxi gang one

maxi gang two

harry

My little man Maximus has a little gang.

Sierra, Harrison, Chloe and Maximus.

They climb forts, they dine together on pikelets, carrot sticks and drumsticks, they discuss pertinent topics like helicopters, fire engines and Lightning Mc queen.

Together they are a force to be reckoned with, fighting the badies and finding new adventures to explore.

We all need a gang.

Who is in yours?

Creativity done in collaboration is one of the finest pursuits of life.

Today I walked a foyer full of homemade goods, that women had spent hours, painstakingly creating, hoping someone would catch their eye and buy their wares.

A room full of creative conspirators, wanting to inspire and make goods that can help their family thrive.

I was proud of my creative collaborators today.

They were amazing.

Today marks a very special day for me.

I officially sold my very last paper back copy of my first book Capture 30 days. It is still available in an updated e-book format, but the very last copy is a milestone that cannot go past without celebration.

I remember the very day that those 3,000 copies arrived on a very single, very green young woman’s doorstep. The courier didn’t understand my fear as he dropped them on my doorstep. I wasn’t excited, I sat on my porch with my creative co- conspirators and I flipped out.

What was I going to do with that many books?

I had made an expensive and big mistake.

I had no idea that the day would come, when I would sell my last copy and silently remember.

I remembered my fear, I remembered my excitement, I remembered the 15 year old that wrote a list and on top of that list;

To write and publish a book.

3,000 sales may not ever make the best sellers list but today I’m proud. In 3,000 homes, in bookcases, at the back of cupboards, on bedside tables, sit my thoughts on creativity and inspiration.

I just had a go.

What do you need to just have a go at doing?

Jump in.

Be bold.

Gather your gang.

You never know the day might come when you sell your last copy and that sense of satisfaction that you did what you set out to do, will arrive.

All my love

signature

 

 

 

 

My creative capture gang: (who without them this project would have never happened.)

Steve and Elaine Fraser

Kym Basoka: Graphic designer and all round best friend.

Bonnie Machell: Photographer and dearest discusser of all things life.

Penny Webb: Head cheerleader

Sue Gifford: reformatted e-copy.

Sarah Churchill: editor extraordinaire!

Thanks for being my co-conspirators in creative crime.

Posted on by — 6 Comments

30 days

20140204-185611.jpg

I often have people ask; How did you write your first book. ‘Capture 30 days of inspiration.’

The truth is I decided one day in December and then on the 1st of January I wrote a chapter everyday for 3o days.

It was as simple as that.

I asked a friend to take a photo every day for the 30 days and then the project began.

Then book 2, in October a few years later, I did the same. Half in Australia, Half in Thailand. Exploring the concept of poverty and creativity.

That was how this website and my writing obsession began.

In 30 days.

I didn’t go to a conference and get the t-shirt and the hat.

I didn’t go to a writers workshop and get all the ins and outs.

I just had a go.

My first book was published in 2007 and a few years later the whole 30 day concept became a FAD. (Not one that I started but the same principle anyways)

If you repetitively do the same thing for a whole month, say 30 days, the new habit will stick. Every day. Not one missed. Repetition.

This year I have committed to writing on this blog and drawing in my visual diary every day. 365 days.

20131120-083403.jpg

Committing to a whole year for the #inspire14 project might be too overwhelming but what about one month.

Break it down even more, what about 30 days.

In 2009, Matt Cutts, an American engineer who works for Google, felt he was ”stuck in a rut”, so he set himself a 30-day challenge. He vowed to walk 10,000 steps every day for a month – and he accomplished it.

”It turns out, 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract one,” Cutts says. ”I noticed, as I started to do harder challenges, that my self-confidence grew. I went from a desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work for fun.” (reference: this Article)

Here is his 3 minute TED talk: Have a watch, I think you will be inspired.

What can you commit to for the month of March?

30 days.

Imagine.

Amanda

Posted on by — Leave a comment

online book

capture 2

I have decided to bring the free download of Capture 2 to an end soon and to launch the last couple of weeks with a online publication as well.

To download it for free for the last two weeks click here: capture 30 days of inspiration

I discovered something really fancy today whilst slouching around the internet. You can publish your books online and people can read them like a real book!

So if you don’t want to download it, but want to read it online you can do so by clicking here:

Capture 30 days of inspiration 2; desperate for change

I’d love your feedback in regards to this book. I have started getting quotes to print it as a soft cover publication and my hope is to use it as a manual with young adults especially, helping them explore their purpose and passions.

‘There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story, you can never quite tell where they will take you…
Mine took me here…’

Miss Potter

Posted on by — Leave a comment

be the change

We live in a period of history, where truly you can come up with an idea and then find the resources and capacity to pull it off.

The internet and social media has enabled us to create our dreams at a fraction of the price it used to cost to innovate previously.

I often meet creative people who are passionate about change. They catch the heart of vision to make a difference in our world, but live far from the dreams and desires they feel burning in their hearts.

Have you had an idea that you are stuck where to from here?

Do you feel deeply about issues, that you want to make a step forward and create change?

Well I wrote a book just for you.

potential

It is a 30 day journey, that starts from Perth, Western Australia and travels to Bangkok, Thailand. A 30 day inspiration guide, that combines thoughts about creativity, poverty and innovation.

I wrote this book ‘capture 30days desperate for change’ hoping to release some people from the fear that stops them from realising their dreams.

The best part of this story is that it is free.

I kept the price down, by designing it super simply, a downloadable PDF book, that you can open up on your ipad, e-reader, computer or phone and start to do the journey together.

You could even print it and write into the workbook. If you do, take some photos and share with one another on here or my instagram or facebook.

Download today and write into me.

I would love to hear what inspires you towards change.

change

Capture Life with me

Amanda

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Creativity for a cause

I am a part of a women’s network Kinwomen which is all about encouraging women to love and care for other women. Today we launched the ticket sales for our House Concert.

photo

If you are from Perth and would like to be a part of the night tickets are on sale here: Click Here

This event is all about a group of women in Perth, Western Australia, helping a group of women in Rwanda to live a life that is breathtaking. It is the simple things, but creativity and innovation have the capacity to come around a cause and to make it wonderful.

I am still reeling from the art exhibition we did last week for Phil Baker as a huge part of his recovery journey. To see his art, the power of creativity, people actually buying his art and supporting his recovery journey was so inspiring.

We are also in the process of finishing off a short film that highlights Phil’s journey through art therapy from his accident, doctors finding a brain tumour, dying, to brain injury, blindness, to recovery and finding himself again through creativity.

Imagine if all the creative endeavours in our community were based in helping someone else. So much of our art and our creativity that I come accross particularly online nowadays is so selfish. It is so based in people promoting themselves, to make them feel better about themselves.

Imagine if creativity was encouraged to be founded in a cause. That we came together with our creative posse to make a difference in anothers life.

Imagine what our world could or would look like.

This morning as I pondered this on the treadmill, a short film came onto the ABC and it brought together everything I was pondering so well.

Check this out:

Click Here

Imagine.

Amanda