Mark McGuinness

Time Management For Creative People

How to Get Creative Work Done in an "Always on" World

Productivity for Creative People

Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success

Resilience

"Read this book and you will be bulletproof!" Steven Pressfield, best-selling author of THE WAR OF ART and TURNING PRO If you want to achieve something original and meaningful with your life, you MUST learn to deal with rejection and criticism. If you're an artist of any kind your work will be rejected by editors, curators and other gatekeepers. And each time you put it in front of the public, you expose yourself to criticism. If you're an entrepreneur you face rejection by (potential) customers, partners and investors. Those same people won't hesitate to criticize you if they are unhappy (justified or not). If you're chasing your dream job you'll receive your share of rejection letters. And once you land the job, taking flak when things go wrong is part of the deal. If you're an athlete or sports player it's a battle to get on the team. And you'll hear about it from all sides - your coach, your team-mates and (so-called) supporters - if they think your performance isn't up to scratch. If you're a campaigner for change you face inertia, resistance and hostility from everyone with an investment in the status quo. No wonder most people choose not to rock the boat. Between them, rejection and criticism can rob you of your dream. Many people set out on their chosen path full of hope and inspiration, only to turn back because they couldn't deal with the emotional impact of crushing rejections and vicious criticism. If you want to avoid joining the legions of also-rans, you'll need to find practical, effective ways to deal with rejection and criticism. Anyone who says 'don't take it so personally' doesn't understand what it's like when you are hit by a major rejection or biting criticism. At least to begin with, it's almost impossible NOT to take it personally (for very good psychological reasons). To deal with rejection and criticism, you need to acknowledge the pain - and find ways to bounce back from the impact. In short, you need to develop resilience. In Resilience, Mark McGuinness explains why your reactions to rejection and criticism are completely understandable - and how to deal with them effectively. Through stories from his own experience, as well as those of famous people who faced rejection and criticism on the road to their success, he will show you that you are far from alone in suffering from rejection and criticism. And he draws on years of experience as a coach to give you practical advice that has been road-tested with hundreds of people facing similar challenges to you. You will learn: Why rejection and criticism hurt so much Several ways you may be making rejection worse (without realising it) How to keep going in spite of multiple rejections Why your inner critic is (potentially) your best friend When to ignore the critics - and when to listen Whether (and how) to respond to insults and abuse Why success is harder than it looks - and how to deal with it This is not a theoretical book - it's packed with practical tips and techniques you can apply to your own challenges right away. Whether you're just setting out, in the middle of your journey, or dealing with the unexpected challenges of success, Resilience will show you how to keep moving forward. Resilience will take you a few hours to read; its lessons will help you for the rest of your life. Topics: resilience, creativity, rejection, criticism, success

Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success

“This is a How To manual at the highest level from a man who has lived the life and has watched and worked intimately with hundreds of others who’ve done the same. Indispensable reading for anyone in a creative field who is seeking to achieve not just a flash of brilliance but a lifelong career.” Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The War of Art “I love my work so much I would do it for free.” Many creative people have uttered these words in a moment of enthusiasm—they express the joy of creative work. But they also hint at some of the pitfalls that lie in wait for creatives . . . In one sense, creative people have no problem with motivation. We fall in love with our creative work and pursue a career that allows us to do what we love every day. Psychological research confirms what we know in our hearts: we are at our most creative when we are driven by intrinsic motivation—working for the sheer joy of it, regardless of rewards. Focusing on extrinsic motivation—such as money, fame, or other rewards—can kill your creativity. If you don’t feel excited by the task in front of you, it’s impossible to do your best work, no matter what rewards it might bring. You may be determined not to sell out, but selling yourself short can be just as damaging. And when it comes to public recognition, comparisonitis and professional jealousy can consume far too much of your creative energy. Working for love is all well and good, but if you’re a creative professional you can’t ignore the rewards: you need money to enjoy your life and to fund your projects. You may not need to be famous, but you do need a good reputation within your professional network. And if you’re in a fame-driven industry you need a powerful public profile, whether or not you enjoy the limelight. There’s a precious balance at play—get it wrong, and you could seriously damage your creativity and even your career. For the past twenty years creative coach Mark McGuinness has helped hundreds of creatives like you to overcome these challenges. In his latest book, Motivation for Creative People, Mark helps you rise to these challenges and create a fulfilling and rewarding creative career. All the solutions he shares have been tested with real people in real situations, including ways to: * stay creative and in love with your work—even under pressure * overcome Resistance to tackling your creative challenges * reclaim your creative soul if you wander off your true path * stop selling yourself short—and start reaping the rewards of your creativity * attract the right kind of audience for your work * cultivate an outstanding artistic reputation * avoid destroying your creativity through attachment to money, fame, reputation, and other rewards * surround yourself with people who support your creative ambitions * avoid getting stuck in unhealthy comparisonitis or professional jealousy * balance your inspiration, ambition, desires, and influences in the big picture of your creative career Motivation for Creative People is the perfect guide to figuring out your different motivations and how they affect your creativity and career. The book is packed with practical advice and inspiring stories from Mark’s own experience, his transformative work with coaching clients, and famous creators and creations—including Stanley Kubrick, Dante, The Smiths, Shakespeare, kabuki drama, and Breaking Bad. If you are serious about succeeding in your creative career—while staying true to your inspiration—read Motivation for Creative People

How to Stay Creative While Gaining Money, Fame, and Reputation

Motivation for Creative People

Andrew Fowler

This is a textbook on chaos and nonlinear dynamics, written by applied mathematicians for applied mathematicians. It aims to tread a middle ground between the mathematician's rigour and the physicist’s pragmatism. While the subject matter is now classical and can be found in many other books, what distinguishes this book is its philosophical approach, its breadth, its conciseness, and its exploration of intellectual byways, as well as its liberal and informative use of illustration. Written at the graduate student level, the book occasionally drifts from classical material to explore new avenues of thought, sometimes in the exercises. A key feature of the book is its holistic approach, encompassing the development of the subject since the time of Poincaré, and including detailed material on maps, homoclinic bifurcations, Hamiltonian systems, as well as more eclectic items such as Julia and Mandelbrot sets. Some of the more involved codes to produce the figures are described in the appendix. Based on lectures to upper undergraduates and beginning graduate students, this textbook is ideally suited for courses at this level and each chapter includes a set of exercises of varying levels of difficulty.

An Introduction for Applied Mathematicians

Chaos

Insights to help you thrive as a creator amid the demands, distractions, and opportunities of the 21st century. Mark McGuinness has spent 21 years coaching creative professionals to achieve their artistic and career ambitions. In this book he shares 21 of the most powerful insights that have emerged from coaching conversations with hundreds of creatives - as well as from his own practice as an award-winning poet. Whether you are a fine artist, a performer or entertainer, a commercial creative, or a creative entrepreneur, many of your biggest challenges are the ones that are familiar to all creative professionals: * Finding—and staying true to—your deepest sources of inspiration * Carving out time to produce great work amid the demands and distractions of 21st century life * Balancing creativity, money, and your professional ambitions * Giving yourself a break from the relentless perfectionism of your Inner Critic * Creating your own security in an uncertain world * Believing in your vision when people around you just don’t get it * Deciding whether to approach publishers, record companies or other middlemen, or to “go direct” to your audience * Attracting an audience from scratch, or breaking into a tightly networked industry as an outsider * Dealing with rejection, criticism, and plain unvarnished failure * Dealing with fear and anxiety—about your work, about your audience, about the critics, about failure, and even about success Perhaps the biggest challenge faced by a 21st century creator is the one it’s easiest to overlook when you’re preoccupied with the demands of the day: How can you chart your course and make meaningful progress when you set out on an original path, where there is no conventional career ladder, no job security, and the usual rules don’t apply? This book tackles these challenges head on, and it provides answers you won’t find in books of traditional career advice: 1. Everything is powered by love 2. Reach for the stars 3. Something old, something new 4. Your creativity is your security 5. Forget the career ladder—start creating assets 6. Personal development is professional development (and vice versa) 7. Your struggle is a clue to your superpower 8. There are four types of work (and one matters more than the others) 9. Desire beats discipline 10. Your motivations are always mixed 11. Play the game you want to play 12. Pick two out of money, fame and artistic reputation 13. Find your medium, choose your media 14. Stay small, go global 15. Learn from the best in the world 16. Don’t let the crappy part put you off 17. Be thankful for your Inner Critic 18. Hustling is part of your job 19. Stop trying to earn money—start creating value 20. You can have all the excuses you want 21. Courage may be the missing ingredient Mark has deliberately kept this book short, so that you can burn through it in one sitting for a burst of inspiration. Or keep it handy on your phone and consult it in the quiet moments of your day, or on those days when you need to dig deep for motivation.

Mark McGuinness

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