Over the next few months, we will feature several guests discussing creativity and how it affects their lives, their work, their artistry, and their writing. In the first in this series, our guest is Bekah Keyes, the author of “The Digging Deeper Series.” I had the honor of meeting Bekah at the “Locally Grown Words Book Fair,” at East End Market in Orlando. 


The Magic of Believing for Writers

by Bekah Keyes

Amy Yadron's Quote

The quote above is from an article by Amy Yadron, my good friend and an artist in every sense of the word. In that article, she focused on the process of creating not just a work of art, but relationships, habits, and life as reflected by her process of creating art. Art as mentor. It was brilliantly expressed and inspired me to think about my own processes of creation related to writing and, of course, life.

Most of us have experienced feeling intimidated by the big, blank page (or canvas). What do I want to say?  How do I want to say it? I’ve found that when I’m feeling stuck or unmotivated, it’s because I’m bored or frustrated with the process. I’ve taken my sights off the finished product, the glorious accomplishment, and success at the end!

On the other hand, when I visualize the end result I get excited. I get motivated. I can’t wait to sit down and make it happen! When I allow myself to get excited about my vision, about what I want to create, that’s when the energy begins to flow and the creation comes with joy and pleasure as opposed to “work” and drudgery.

For me, the visualizing begins with intention. I see not only the finished product but also the impact I want that product to have on whoever engages with it. For example, throughout the process of creating my most recent project, a workbook based on the 1948 bestseller, The Magic of Believing, by Claude Bristol, I imagined the reader sitting back to soak up some new realization or life-changing shift in perception. My intention was to have a positive impact on people. Since its release, I have received emails letting me know that this is indeed happening as a result of my work, which encourages and inspires me to keep writing.

Here’s how Mr. Bristol summed up the process: “You must always start with desire.  Keep in mind that by the magic of believing, you can obtain what you picture in your mind’s eye.”

BELIEVE IN YOURSELFIt starts with belief in myself, belief that I can do what I’ve set out to do. His whole book, The Magic of Believing, is based on the premise that our beliefs literally create our life, our experiences—everything.

Another way to say it is that we experience what we expect to experience. Expectations are evidence of our beliefs. So why not believe in possibilities? Why not expect the best?

“Always remember that belief is a power operating destructively or constructively, depending upon the end to which it is employed.” This reminds me to stay positively focused on my goal, leaving no room for worry, doubt or fear. How many good writing ideas have slipped by because I didn’t believe I could make it happen or because I was fearful of what other people would think? In moments of doubt, uncertainty or just plain frustration, I go back to the successes I have achieved to get myself re-energized and excited again. As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale says, “You can if you think you can!”

Here’s the process for how I write and live:  First, believe. Second, I see the end result and imagine it as already achieved. This is when I create a mental picture, like a movie, of the outcome I expect. Third, I get to work! And I love every second of it.

To read Amy Yadron’s article, you can find it here:
When the Student Is Ready, Art Will Appear

To read Claude Bristol’s book:
The Magic of Believing

To get my workbook:
The Digging Deeper Series: Magic of Believing Workbook


Bekah KeyesBekah Keyes has lived in Central Florida since 1998 and loves it! Having turned her own life around, she is a fantastic example of what is possible when the power of belief is applied in a positive way. As the creator of “The Digging Deeper Series,” Bekah is passionate about personal development and is looking forward to what’s next on this exciting journey of life. Look for an October 2015 release of the second book in “The Digging Deeper Series.” This one is based on James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh. She lives in Orlando with her wife, Melissa.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and bring itself to BELIEVE, it can achieve.”
-Napoleon Hill

Gina Edwards is a retreat leader, a certified creativity coach, and a book editor. She is also a writer, so she’s intimately familiar with the challenges and elation that come with being one.

She supports all writers—published and aspiring—who want to write as an act of courageous and necessary self-expression.

Walking the writer’s path hand-in-hand with her clients and students, she helps them establish a writing practice and define a creative life on their own terms.

Topics

Share This