We will end up where we’re supposed to.

Mindset

My wife recently messaged me a clip from the movie, “At Eternity’s Gate,” a film about the famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

In the scene, Van Gogh is being asked why he paints, and his response in the film is eloquent, encompassing the feeling every person (I know) with a creative passion has experienced when in the flow of their craft…

Van Gogh’s response to the question in the film is, “To stop thinking…and I feel that I am a part of everything outside and inside of me.”

That captures it pretty well. 

For me, it’s like a prayerful conversation between me and God. Some might say it’s a feeling of calm and oneness with the universe. 

Again, for me personally, there are multiple creative expressions I involve myself in–drawing, guitar building, songwriting/playing music–that when I’m doing it I feel most like myself and close to God.

It’s hard to describe everything that makes being in the process of creating expression feel so transcendent. My own songwriting are like prayers between me (full of my human condition) and God, and He compels me to spread those creations when I perform so others might relate to what I express.

I would hardly consider myself a Christian songwriter (however for those who do, there’s nothing wrong with that), I just feel an intimate emotional openness through my songwriting and performance that has a spiritual quality that feels bigger than myself.

It’s not easy, but I try to extend that idea and sentiment to the other things I do, or have to do, in my life and work. For example, my customer marketing/advocacy work requires me to be creative and expressive to connect with others within a certain set of boundaries to reach a specific objective. 

In this case, I try to internalize those boundaries to get into a flow that can allow me to create with my God-given gifts, expressions that positively influence the focused-on objectives.

It’s not as unencumbered as creating your own art for your own expression and fulfillment, but it is the necessary fulfillment I need to stay motivated to do the work that can feed my family.

And if I’m justifying my lifetime of creative pursuits and perfecting my craft, adapting my God-given creative skills in service of making a living to support my family, then I am a full-time artist doing the work intended for me.

I, like many of you, am on the hunt for my next full-time role due to layoffs (mine was an early contract elimination in prep. for the new fiscal year), I have to revisit my core’s motivation to venture forth. 

Feel free to reply and share how it is that you stay solid to endeavor forward. I’m happy to support you to help you keep a growth mindset, and inspire action to invest further in yourself. We will end up where we’re supposed to.

Marketing

LinkedIn posts to check out:

• CMAweekly hosted a webinar called, Building a Successful Advocacy Community with Grammarly's Emma Wyatt. This was really insightful to learn how Grammarly is approaching their Advocacy Community. Not sure if there’s a replay yet, but join the CMAweekly Slack channel, that’s likely where it will be.

• This post from Zoe Scaman, she expands on the idea of Type 2 Growth. The premise: What if growth wasn’t about more but about better? It dives deep into an interesting modern business manifesto worth exploring.

On the Market — marketing-related people, places, things to discover:

• Want to build a scalable referral program? The steps outlined in the Referral Marketing Machine ebook will help you design a strategy to invite your current customers to bring in new business.

Music/Creative

The next Songwriters Round Town event is on Thurs. Feb. 20, 2025 at the Imaginary Tea Shop in Waunakee, WI, 7-9pm.

There’s no cover charge, or cover songs. This is all about a curated group of invited songwriters getting together and sharing what they’re working on, the songs they’ve written, the stories behind the songs, and their passion for the craft of songwriting.

Speaking of songwriting, over the holidays I got the book - How to write one song (affiliate), by lead singer and songwriter of the band Wilco,  Jeff Tweedy. If you’re consumed by the craft of songwriting like I am, you’ll want to consider this book. Tweedy reveals some of his best songwriting exercises to help you craft and realize the songs that are, for now, just concepts swirling in your brain.

Outro

Stay positive, stay healthy, be kind.

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Be well,
-Nick

Nick Venturella Endeavors LLC
NickVenturella.com

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