What’s in a meme?

A meme is when one blogger writes about a particular topic and then “tags” other bloggers to get them to write about the same topic.

What’s this meme?

This meme is about being paper-less. It’s about generating ideas so that we can all use a little less paper and create a tree-friendly world.

Who started this meme?

Motivational speaker Debra Moorhead began this meme. She’s becoming “paperless” in 2008 and wants some ideas as she embarks on this path. She tagged me.

So, here are six (mostly) paper-less things I do in my daily rounds:

1. Paint Rags in the Pantry

I regularly congratulate myself for thinking of this. It’s tree-friendly and unbelievably convenient.

In the paint section at Lowe’s, they stock a package of white terry cloth paint rags. It’s cheap. My husband bought them when I was in the middle of painting something. I never used them.

So I washed and folded them in orderly stacks on a shelf in the pantry. I use them for spills. I use them with Citra-Solv to do a final clean on the counters each night. I use them instead of napkins. I also take some in the car on road trips.

Typically, I use them once and then toss them in the washer. They get washed with the white stuff. (With big spills - like the unfortunate “olive oil incident” - you can just toss the rag because there’s plenty more.)

In five years, we haven’t had to buy any extras - and we’ve saved untold amounts of trees because we almost never use paper towels. (And the pretty rust colored dish-rags only get used only for the most dish-rag-y things - not for all the spills.)

2 - Canvas Bag at the Grocery

I know. I know. This is supposed to be a paper meme. But paper comes from trees. I love trees. And I cringe when I see roadside trees with plastic grocery bags hanging all over them. It’s such a symbol of our consumer culture where we just assume we should get a bag with every single thing we purchase. (Yes, I’m moving my Complaint-Free bracelet over to the other wrist.)

So, I carry my own canvas bags. (I don’t always remember to take them with me. But I do try to keep them in my car for those surprise trips to the grocery.) I use the canvas shwag-bags I get at conferences where I perform. My husband bought some cool bags at the local organic grocery store. (I even carry them with me to Target and Office Depot. I don’t mind looking like a geek when it comes to the environment.)

[One other cool idea: This under the sink cheap trash bag holder. It’s designed so you can re-use your plastic grocery bags as trash bags. (Rather than the “matching” plastic bags they try to sell you.) Our kitchen is small. I didn’t want to have a trashcan taking up more space. So I got one of these, and this is the only way we bag trash now. It puts those extra plastic grocery bags to use.]

3 - Living Tree Paper CD’s

My CD’s were printed on Living Tree paper. It was more expensive, yes. But I wanted to do it. Living Tree Paper is made from a combination of chlorine-free agricultural resources (hemp, flax straw) and post-consumer waste. The quality of their paper is superb.

4 - Starbucks on the Road

When I’m on the road and I go to Starbucks - or any local coffeehouse - I save the cup. I rinse it out and keep it in the cup holder of my rental car. I use that single cup over and over again. I used to travel with my favorite chunky metal cup - but the lid popped off in an airport, never to be seen again. This made me sad.

So, now I just reuse one paper cup, rather than continue to get new cups. Some baristas are so pleased that I’m doing this, that they automatically give me the refill price on the coffee - even though it’s not technically a refill. (We also save the occasional coffeehouse cup in a drawer at my house in case we ever need a paper cup.)

5 - Loose paper recycling

I don’t use the city recycling service that comes through the neighborhood once a week. You know why? They don’t pick up loose paper. They only take aluminum and glass.

Instead, I drive to the recycling bins in our city. They have big dumpsters for “loose paper” - junk mail, catalogs, etc. ANY random paper. So, every two weeks, when I’m on my way to somewhere else, I toss the recycling in the back of my car (aluminum, glass, corrugated and paper) and take it myself.

6 - If you must use paper…

The Dogwood Alliance has successfully lobbied Staples, Office Depot, and Office Max to increase their in-store supply of recycled paper, as well as reduce (and eliminate) the amount of paper that comes from virgin forests. You can now find 100% recycled office paper at all of these stores. This is all I use in the office.

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The final part of a meme is that you tag other bloggers and encourage them to join in. So, with the full understanding that bloggers get meme-tagged all the time and may not have time to respond to this meme (I myself have dropped the ball on many a meme!) - I tag the following uber-bloggers…

Patti Digh at 37 Days

Alyson Stanfield at Art Biz Blog

Leo Babauta at Zen Habits

I was originally going to call this post “Success Tips for Artists.” However, artists and the self-employed have much in common. So, these tips are the practical things I’ve learned over 14 years of working for myself and being an artist.

1 - Provide value

The core of success will always be about providing value. Deciding whether or not you provide value in the world is up to you. It might be a giant act of self-esteem to declare that you provide value, especially if you’re an artist. The “Who do you think you are?” voices can creep in at the strangest times. Providing value doesn’t mean that you don’t occasionally sit up at night and wonder if you’re a fraud. Providing value doesn’t mean that you walk around feeling holy and dignified in every situation. Let’s face it - some nights you just wish the audience had shown up. Feeling like this on occasion doesn’t mean that you don’t provide value. It just means that you’re human and still working on yourself.

So, here’s what you do. Wait til you’re in a peaceful frame of mind. Then, get clear on how you provide value, or how you would like to better serve the world. Not just in your paid work, but also in your personal strengths and in your soul. Then, keep coming back to this. Keep revisiting this. It will guide you.

2 - Define “Success”

What does “making it” mean? More importantly, what does it mean to you? Have you ever clarified this?

Too often, artists and self-employed people drive themselves into the ground because of some undefined idea of success. “Gigs.” “Sales.” “Customers.” “Clients.” None of these terms are clearly defined. If you just want “gigs” or “speaking engagements,” then you can fill an entire year with them. Same with clients, customers and everything else. Without definition, you can burn out because you keep taking on more. It’s easy to forget you have boundaries if you’ve never defined them. You’ll keep chasing some nebulous idea of what success looks like.

The best way to begin is to quantify and to describe. How many gigs per month? What kind? How many customers? What are they like? How many sales? Keep them do-able enough so that you can celebrate your small victories along the way to bigger goals.

3 - Question Assumptions

The idea of success comes fully equipped with decades of assumptions about your industry. None of them are the truth. “You have to know people in the music business to make it.” (Not.) “You have to get into a gallery in Soho if you want to be a great artist.” (Not.) All of it is up for questioning these days. Stop assuming that you know how it has to happen. Stop assuming anything. When someone says, “Yea well…” about your idea, question their assumption. When you think you know how it’s gotta look, question that belief. Open up to new ideas for how to do it best for you. If you’re wondering if there’s a better way to make it work - then there just might be. Find it.

4- Separate yourself from your business

There are many ways to separate yourself from your business. Some of them are psychological. Some are environmental. Some are financial. Let’s start with the financial stuff.

Many self-employed people have one bank account and just put all the money in that one place. It’s their money. It’s the business’s money. It all sits together in one account.

Do yourself a favor. Start paying yourself a salary. Create a separate bank account for your business. Even if your business is new and you only have $500 for that account and your salary is $50/month. Even if you’re not incorporated. Get into the mindset of the business owner. Separating yourself from your business is also a great step to help you stop taking everything personally.

5 - Give yourself promotions and raises

This is challenging, but necessary. How you promote yourself is up to you. For some, it might mean raising their rates. For some it might mean saying no to a certain kind of venue while pursuing the next. For some it means paying yourself a higher salary. If you don’t regularly let yourself know that you matter enough to be promoted, then no one else will. Yes, it’s scary when you start quoting a new higher rate to first time callers, but you’ll get better at it and then it won’t be a big deal. (Resist the temptation to explain yourself! Just tell them the new rate, and let them choose whether or not to hire you!)

6 - Start a Roth IRA

J.D. at Get Rich Slowly wrote a terrific in-depth article about Roth IRA’s. He also wrote one about how to start a Roth IRA. The advantage of a Roth IRA is that you fund it with after-tax money. Then when you’re 65 and you get that money, you won’t be taxed on it then.

Set up automatic payments from your bank account into the Roth IRA account over the full year. That way, you don’t even have to think about it. Get into the habit of putting this money away. I wish now that I had started doing this earlier than I did!

7 - Incorporate your business

This is a great way to separate yourself from your business. It’s a way of making your business an entity, and protecting yourself personally. It will also prevent you from getting hit with self-employment tax. I’ve been incorporated for four years. It was a little overwhelming to go through the process of incorporating. Now, I’m glad I did it. I know that many people prefer LLC’s. You can research to find which is best for you.

8 - Create multiple streams of income

I used to think that if all of my income didn’t come from my songs and my shows, then I wasn’t a real artist. I meet lots of artists who still have this antiquated mindset. I’m much happier (and wealthier) now that I’ve let that idea go. And I get to do more interesting things, and spend less time on the road. Creating multiple streams of income takes time - but in the long run, the patience and willingness pays off.

For instance, here are a few of the ways I make money: CD and t-shirt sales on this website. iTunes song sales. Product sales at shows. CD sales in stores and on amazon.com. Performances. Teaching. Creativity training for companies and the government. Donations from blog readers. Facilitating women’s retreats. Song royalties. Affiliate programs on my website. Investments. The amount of money each thing generates varies greatly. But I am less attached to my income source being me in a spotlight on a stage. Life is more fun now, too.

What other ways can you generate income? Can you try one new thing in 2008?

9 - Revisit your plans/desires every four months

Set aside regular times for thinking about your career. Spend the time moodling. Spend the time writing. Too many artists think of themselves as stuck. Recently, I was with some people who were complaining about burn-out and frustration with their entertainment careers - and they ended up shrugging and saying, “Oh well. There’s nothing else I’m good at. So I have to keep doing this.” I disagree. No one has to be stuck. There are lots of options for expansion these days. It’s not always easy to imagine, but there are options. Begin by getting in the habit of spending a day asking the question, “How could I approach this career that is sustainable for me? What options are out there? What would I just love to try?” Revisit your career every quarter. Keep checking in with yourself about it. This is honoring yourself.

10 - Create an Ideal Client Profile

My brother is a landscape architect. He has recently returned to running his own business after spending time away. We talked about how to attract clients that are perfect for him. Knowing what I know about the power of intent, I told him to create an “Ideal Client Profile.” Describe the ideal client in full detail - from how much they pay you to their mindset to the kind of work they want from you to the fact that they pay you on time and like you a lot as a person. (And that they dislike ornamental cabbage every bit as much as you do.)

I’ve done this. It works. Many years ago, a mentor advised me to create an Ideal Performance Profile. At the time, I was performing in clubs and coffeehouses - and I was tired of the smell of stale beer, and the attitudes of some of the club owners. So, my mentor guided me to use my imagination to describe the perfect performance situations. I’ve also created Ideal Employee Profiles for my office. Try it. You’ll be amazed at the new people and contracts you attract.

11 - Hire People

Make a list of the tasks you do that could be done by someone else. Then, hire people to do them. Post an ad on Craiglist. Visit DoMyStuff.com. Post an ad at a local campus for an office intern. If someone else can do it, learn how to let them. Micromanagers rarely succeed! I’ve paid people to walk my dog in the middle of the day when I was over-committed. I’ve hired Virtual Assistants for specific research tasks I needed to do. WebGuy does all my website work. AccountantMan does all my IRS stuff. And I happily pay for this stuff. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that’s where you should put your energy.

12 - Take vacations

It’s easy to forget vacations. There’s always so much to do when you’re self-employed. There’s always something to create when you’re an artist. For instance, I can always write a blog, answer emails, create workshop plans, fine-tune some of my teaching, write songs. It doesn’t end.

For a long long time, I didn’t take vacations. I told my husband that I travel all the time, and I just didn’t want to travel for my vacations. The only problem is that when I’m home, I can continue working for hours and hours. Even on days off, I can hear the siren call of the computer.

Here’s a little saying for you: The In-Box of Life will never empty out. You have to be the one to decide if you are going to take breaks, weekends, vacations, and evenings. If you’re on a budget, try Imperfect Camping. If you don’t have a week off, have an Adventure Day. Or go to a women’s retreat! Get used to taking regular breaks away from your computer and discovering who you are. It will make you a more successful business and a more fulfilled artist.

tags: music, career, self-employment, christine kane

“Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.”

- William Morris

Just as we can fill our days with a whole lot of nothing — splattering our attention on things that don’t really matter to us — we can fill our houses with heaps of crap we don’t really want.

Just as we can cram plates and plates of empty calories into our mouths — not really nourishing ourselves, but most certainly filling ourselves — we can also cram our garages, attics and rooms with stuff that fills the empty spaces but doesn’t actually feed or fuel us.

So, why do we do this?

In part, it’s lazy thinking. Or lazy non-deciding. We allow others to decide for us. Then, we don’t ever have to be responsible for our own surroundings. (And risk being perceived as a “bitch.”) Being a victim to incoming stuff is more comfortable than clearly asking ourselves what we want to have (or not have) in our environment. “But the Lancome lady gave me this little zippy cosmetic bag I’ll never use! It was free!”

When someone has decided to step out of the role of “nice girl” or “martyr” or “victim,” one of the first things she changes is her surroundings. I’ve gone through this exact shift myself. It’s liberating. It’s fun. And it’s scary.

Why is it scary?

Because the number one stickiest reason we hang onto stuff we don’t really want is the most insidious emotion of all:

Guilt.

Guilt is sticky. Guilt is thick. It keeps us stuck in old patterns and beliefs. We feel safe and comfortable in those old patterns and beliefs.

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After my grandma died, my mom came to visit me. She brought a bunch of stuff that had been my grandma’s. She said, “I knew you’d want this.” (You did? How’d you know that?) She left it all sitting in my living room without saying any more about it.

What she brought me was stuff she felt too guilty about throwing out. I, then, would have to be the one to carry the guilt around with me.

Or not.

Guilt is the stickiest clutter issue for people. Not just women. So many people are riddled with family guilt about holding onto things - most of which they don’t like or need - because it’s the family stuff.

“It was Aunt Rita’s! She crocheted these doilies! I can’t part with them! That would make me a bad person!”

“This is a box of my grandpa’s ties! If I give them away, it will mean I no longer love him!”

Then, when your kids are old enough, you can pass those damn doilies and ties (and all that gooey sticky guilt) onto your kids. This pattern can go on for generations. All the while, Aunt Rita and your grandpa are out in the ethers shouting, “Oh for Pete’s sake, toss the damn things! They’re stained and old!”

I held onto that pile of my grandma’s things for a long time. Then, I recognized that I could choose to love my family and my friends in my own way. I didn’t have to bring sentimentality or guilt into it. Guilt is not love. Neither is sentiment. We’re taught to believe that both of those things equal love. And we might believe that keeping things around will also keep us safe and loved.

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Remember this: Things - all things - have energy. If you’re not using something, or if you don’t love having it around, then it isn’t serving its purpose or its usefulness in this world. That’s not helping anybody. This idea alone has inspired me to let go of so much stuff that I didn’t want. Someone out there will happily use Aunt Rita’s doilies. (Or my grandma’s silver serving spoons!)

And, as of this writing, my grandma has never appeared to me in the dark of the night shrieking, “You wretched bitch!”

The next post will dive into other reasons we hang onto things we don’t really want.

But for today, can you think of anything in your life that don’t want, but you keep because you would feel guilty if you let it go?

Then, can you give yourself permission to let it go?

tags: organization, clutter, art career, christine kane

Nothing speaks louder than a personal story. So, here’s a success story about written goals and taking action.

My birthday was on Wednesday. Even though we’re all supposed to party like it’s 1999 on our birthdays, I typically spend mine reflecting, writing in my journal, being grateful, and reviewing the past year.

I did this last year, too. I wrote down some of my goals and dreams. One of those goals was about my finances.

First, a little history: Back in the 90’s when the stock market was going completely insane, (and we were partying cuz it was 1999) I invested a chunk of my CD sales money ($6000 to be exact) in some Really Stupid Stocks. (The other RSS.) This might surprise you, but I lost pretty much everything. (And RedHat seemed like such a bargain at $118 a share!) After that, I gave up on ever being a good investor. I would not be the one to write the next best-seller, Rich Songwriter, Poor Songwriter.

So on my birthday last year, I wrote down a financial goal: to invest my Roth IRA money in stocks, and to have accumulated a certain amount by my next birthday. I was ready to get over my mistakes. (And it only took me 9 years!)

After that, I didn’t think much about this goal. But then, in July last year, I was browsing through audible.com (my FAVORITE place to download audiobooks). Even though I wasn’t looking for financial books, I found a book by Phil Town called Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing. I listened to the sample. I liked his writing style. I got the book.

I loved it. It was the first time anyone had made sense of the stock market for an average person like me. I bought the hard copy because there was much work to be done with calculating, etc. Then, I got confused, and I set the book aside. Every now and then I’d attempt to figure the stuff out, but I mostly gave up.

Fast-forward many months. In February, I began a mini-mastermind group with humorist and artist Diane English. She and I created a partnership so that we could encourage each other in our careers. We had one rule: No Whining. (We were going to call ourselves the Coalition of Talented & Wealthy Artist Types - except for the unfortunate acronym that resulted.)

At one of our meetings, she told me she wanted to learn about investing. So I gave her a copy of my Phil Town audiobook. After that, I left for a two-week tour. By the time I returned, Diane had bought the hard copy of the book, done all the calculations and begun investing. (She’s very action oriented.) I told her about my written goal from my last birthday and how I had just over a month to complete it. She encouraged me to make my goal happen. (When Diane encourages, it sounds something like this: “Well, what the hell’s your problem? Get going!”) She and I sat at a cafe together, crunched numbers, looked at charts and re-read portions of the book. It was fun. I kid you not.

Bottom line: Yesterday, I reached my goal. The day after my birthday. And I never had to get driven. It fell into place. I picked a great company and invested. My dollar amount is still lower than my goal amount, but I don’t care. I learned a lot just from writing something down and then realizing it within a year.

Here’s what I learned about writing goals and taking action:

1 - When you write down your goals, you don’t have to know how they’ll happen.

I had no clue how I was going to learn about investing my Roth IRA money. I just knew it was time to get over my old wounds.

2 - Taking action can be fun. Jaw clenching and fist-making is SO 1990’s.

You know, I watch some of the success guru types, and they make it seem like only the driven will succeed. That’s just an outdated model. I absolutely enjoyed every part of this process. I stopped when it felt bad or when I got totally flummoxed. Yes, that delayed my progress. But I did continue showing up in my life and dreams. I did continue to read Phil Town’s blog. And I held that original goal in my mind.

3 - Allowing things to happen is a necessary part of taking action.

When I wrote down my goals, I didn’t look up and say “Alrighty then! How am I going to figure out this investing thing?!” I made space for allowing. When the book showed up, I wasn’t pushing or freaking out. It felt right. It felt fun.

4 - Partners get you out of your rut.

I’ve encouraged my readers to form partnerships and groups. I believe in this. Other people help you out of your own ruts. Diane has thanked me over and over again for introducing her to this book. (I discover things.) And she showed her gratitude by pushing me to get over my fears of numbers. (She carries things out.) We serve each other in complementary ways. That’s what partners do.

5 - Taking action isn’t linear.

I stopped. I started. I avoided. I plodded along. I got impatient. I got patient again. The goal remained and guided me. And with lots of help, I found my way. It’s like writing a song or painting a picture - nothing is ever linear.

6 - Even if you fall short of your written goal, you won’t be disappointed.

Lots of people don’t want to write down their goals because they’re scared that they won’t reach that goal. My experience is this: even if you don’t reach the actual goal, you usually get farther than you would have gotten if you didn’t write it down. The amount doesn’t matter so much. The action does.

7 - Goals don’t end. Write more goals and continue to learn and grow.

I still have lots to learn. I still have work to do. This is an on-going path. I’ve got new goals for this coming year.

8 - The best part about goals is what you learn on the way to them.

Have you noticed? This is the theme of this series on taking action. It’s about who you become on the way. This is why taking action makes you happier. It teaches you about you.

One of the things I’ve been learning over the past few years is about emotions: how they can hook us, how they’re not the truth, and how they make lousy drivers of our bus. Phil Town’s book was just one more teacher for me. It showed me why I screwed up so badly in the 90’s. And it is teaching me how to not do that again. That’s even more important than the million dollars I am poised to make!

tags: goals, plans, hopes, phil town, investing, music, christine kane

Two years ago, I let go of an employee who had been in my record label office for several years. The process was painful, and there were lots of incompletions and unresolved messes that went along with it. Anyone (especially sensitive types!) who has ever let go of an employee knows the challenges involved, and understands the many levels of fall-out that might get left behind at the office.

I went through a summer of cleansing out the old. I got rid of piles. I sorted files. I tossed tons of old papers into recycling. It was freeing, and it allowed me to feel the release that needed to happen. I am a big fan of creating order and letting go of clutter, and I’ve grown to have a deep respect for the very real emotional freedom that comes from clearing physical clutter.

In all the work I did in my office, however, nothing came even close to the good feng-shui effect of tackling one seemingly harmless part of that space: The wires and cables behind the computer, fax, phone and printers.

This may seem a little “Monica-ish,” but let me describe my experience in sorting through the mess behind the desk.

First, you should know that the person who worked for me had occasional moments of emotional outbursts. One time I walked in as this person heaved the headset and phone across the office and into the wall. The office had been left in chaos. There were stacks of paper unfiled. Notes were written in random places everywhere. I’m not placing blame - as I was the employer who had obviously not learned how to manage very well yet - but I am recognizing that there was a lot of “stuff” left behind.

One of the worst areas of disorganization was behind the desk: all the wires and cables were in a tangled mess of insanity. I was tempted to just blow it off, since it was behind the desk. After all, no one looked back there, right?

But it kept gnawing at me. Everytime I noticed it, I felt a twinge of “yuck” in my stomach.

So, one afternoon, I just sat on the floor and went through the wires and cables. There were many extension cords (it’s an old building with few outlets), printer cables, USB cables, router cables, phone cables, fax cables, answering machine cords, and more. All of these were haphazardly tangled up with each other in a mass, covered in dust and dirt. The more I worked at it, the more I realized why this was so important to go through!

First, I pulled each of them apart. Then I took a wet rag and wiped the whole area down. I vacuumed. Then I re-ordered everything and set each item up so that it was in the most logical place and running the shortest distance to its outlet. I also used peel-and-stick cable holders to mount cables onto my desk that needed to be readily accessible to the person who sat at the computer. It was a tedious task.

Though I am no feng-shui master, I do know this: that energy gets stuck in neglected places, in messes, in tangled up stuff, and in corners. When I did this one simple seemingly insignificant activity, I felt something shift and lift. It was like I untangled a whole bunch of wires inside of me as well.

So, now I’m a stickler for keeping the wires and cables and plugs in order. This past weekend, weeks after a big office move, I took about a half hour and went through a process of assessing the cable situation in the office. It’s so easy to randomly plug things in wherever, especially when you’re anxious for things to just start working. The time I took was worth it.

(Of course, my poor husband had to sit through a grand tour as I showed him each and every change I made and explained how much more efficient I had made things!)

If you’ve been wrestling with cables and wires every time you have to move your laptop or unplug your iPod, or if you’ve felt “unclear” or “tangled up,” or if you just happen to feel like it, I highly recommend facing the mess behind your desk and launching a cable overhaul.