47: How To Create a Career in Art Part 5/15 – Create Your Moments

Creativity, Hobbyist, Mindset, Money & Business, Personal Growth, Podcast, Productivity, Weekend Warrior

“Creating is a conscious choice.”

Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!

Today, I’m continuing my new mini-series “How to Create a Career in Art” with part five. I’m going to be talking all about the importance of creating your moments and how it affects your Creative Alchemy and your creative career. 

You may have noticed my hashtag on Instagram titled #CreateYourMoments. This idea actually came about during a brainstorming session with my agent. We wanted to come up with a social tag that goes along with my photography, the way I direct, and how I see the world, and I also wanted people to be able to use the hashtag in their own lives. We came up with #CreateYourMoments because of my method of photography and how it affects the way I live. 

When I shoot photos, I create space for moments to happen. I leave space for spontaneity and capture unplanned moments with my photography subjects. That idea of creating space and capturing those special moments translates into my life and how I see the world. I started doing photography because I wanted to create my life. I wanted to live a life full of creative fulfillment, and I wanted to do something that enabled me to travel the world. 

In this episode, I’m going to talk all about what #CreateYourMoments means to me and how you can start creating your moments to live a creatively fulfilled and passionate life! 

Creating Your Moments Is a Conscious Choice

Every day I wake up and make a conscious choice to create moments in my life. You need to make conscious choices to create your life by creating smaller moments. You can choose to create small moments of adventure and intimacy with those you love, and you can create moments of quietness and rehabilitation when you need time alone. 

What small moments can you create today? Maybe you can create a moment by doing something you’ve never done before, or create a moment by getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing something thrilling! 

You make a conscious choice to create those small moments in your life, and those moments build towards your career and your life. I wouldn’t be where I am professionally if I hadn’t made a conscious choice to create small moments. I created those small moments of artwork,  adventures, and experiences, and it was my conscious choice to create those small moments that led me to this point. 

No matter who you are or what you do as a career, you can be the artist of your life. Everyone was born to create, whether they’re creating literal art, creating the life they want to lead, or the adventures they want to experience. You may be working in a field that doesn’t have anything to do with literal art. You could be a business person or an entrepreneur, but that doesn’t mean you don’t still create. You may be creating new ideas or practices in your work, or you may be creating innovation in your field. 

Regardless of your desired career path, you need to make a conscious choice to create the moments that make up your life. We are all creating our own lives, and you need to make the conscious choice to create the life you want. 

Don’t “Wally Gag” in Circumstance 

Creating your life and your career is a conscious choice, and it’s essential that we make that choice rather than do what I refer to as “wally gagging.” “Wally gagging” is letting your circumstances control your life instead of taking your life into your own hands. 

It’s incredibly easy to make excuses for why you can’t do something. Maybe you think you don’t have enough time or don’t have enough talent to do what you want. Everyone has excuses for why they don’t choose to create their life, and the more we give in to our excuses, the less we’re choosing to create. 

You have the power to make the choice to create your life regardless of your circumstances, but it’s probably not going to be easy. In fact, choosing to create your life will probably be incredibly difficult. When we’re creating our lives, it’s probably going to be uncomfortable, but we grow when we exit our comfort zones. Maybe you’ll have to put yourself out there more than you’re comfortable with, or maybe you’ll need to work multiple jobs to make your dream career become a reality. Creating your life is tough, but the more you embrace the discomfort, the easier it will become. 

I recently read Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work, and Steven wrote all about the difference between pros and amateurs. Pros are on track to get things done and create their lives regardless of their circumstances. Pros handle their circumstances while amateurs let circumstances control their choices. Amateurs let their fears make their decisions for them.

Everyone has fears, but creating your life means that you’re not letting your fear control you. I experience fear all the time. I fear failure, success, and being judged, but I fight those fears rather than let them control me. I have to battle those fears constantly, so I have to be emotionally fit to combat them. 

The first step you need to take to become emotionally fit and fight your fears is to become self-aware. Today, I want you to address the fears and limiting thoughts that you’re experiencing in your own life. Become self-aware about those negative thoughts because fear is just a collection of thoughts in your mind. Once you become more aware of your fearful thoughts, you can change those thoughts and overcome your fears.

Don’t let fear and circumstance make your decisions for you. You are the artist of your own life, and you are capable of overcoming your negative feelings and challenging circumstances.

Experiences Lead to Inspiration

When you shift your perspective from fear and create your moments, you begin to experience growth in your life and inspiration in your art or career. Choosing to create your moments may be difficult at first, but it gets easier with practice. Sometimes I’m faced with a tough decision that may be uncomfortable at first, but it will lead to incredible results. When I’m in that moment of deciding what to do, I decide to create my moment and just do it. Making the decision to create moments is like a mental tool that you need to sharpen to create more adventures in your life. 

The next time you’re faced with a tough decision to experience something that may bring discomfort, decide to create a moment. Maybe you’re afraid of heights, and your friends want to go skydiving. You may feel discomfort when you’re doing it, but if you make a conscious decision to create your moment and do it, you’re creating an adventure that will always be with you. The experience may even inspire your Creative Alchemy as a result! 

The adventures you experience and the moments you choose to create will inspire your art. Art comes from everything that you’re seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing, and experiencing. That’s why I love to travel so much — I’m experiencing so many new things. I’m experiencing new cultures, moments, foods, and people, and this all spills over into my Creative Alchemy and inspires me. The more moments you’re creating in your life, the more inspiration you’re bringing into your art.  

Become a Creative Alchemist by Creating Your Moments

Today, I want to invite you to think about what life you’re creating and what specific moments you’re creating. I also invite you to capture your authentic moments of creation and post them on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateYourMoments. Your Creative Alchemy begins with your conscious choice to create your moments. 

Alchemy is defined as the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary, sometimes in a way that cannot be explained. With that being said, I define Creative Alchemy as using the process of creativity to create a lens through which to perform alchemy. These principles not only apply to artists and creatives in their own creative processes, but to anyone who wants to create an extraordinary life in color for themselves. 

I’ve found that 80% of creating is alchemizing the thoughts, emotions, and other inner blocks that keep you from putting the pen to the paper. Navigating to the act of creation takes alchemical processes.

Thank you so much for checking out today’s episode! If you felt inspired to #CreateYourMoments, make sure to share the episode on Instagram! Tag me, @nickonken, and share what moments you’re creating today! Also, make sure to subscribe and leave me a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so that I can share this with more Creative Alchemists like you.

Remember, creating your dream life starts with the small moments that you choose to create. Make the conscious choice to #CreateYourMoments today and create the life you want! 

See you next time —

Nick Onken

“I challenge you to create authenticity in your life.”

Some things we learn in this podcast:

  • How I created the Create Your Moments social tag [1:30]
  • The importance of leaving space for spontaneity [2:00]
  • Creating your moments is about the conscious choice to create [2:40]
  • How every person is born to create something [3:45]
  • Don’t let your circumstance run your life [4:20]
  • The difficulty of going against the grain [4:40]
  • The difference between pros and amateurs [5:10]
  • How to combat your fear [5:40]
  • When you create your moments, that’s where your art and inspiration will come from [7:10]
  • Why you should start creating your own moments [7:45]
  • To create the life you want, you have to start with the small moments [8:50]

Links mentioned:

A FREE email series to create a personal visual brand authentic to who you are.

  • Accelerate your personal brand growth through the Identity Alchemy Method
  • Discover the authentic stories you want to share with your audience
  • Build your personal brand vision and crystallize it with a photoshoot
  • Learn how to ideate and create storytelling visual assets to enhance and up-level your personal brand
  • .. PLUS! You’ll get access my brand building book recs and favorite resources

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