In '26, I'm shifting back to an artist-first mindset.
What does this mean? I'm creating more, with less fear, and fewer questions.
I'm publishing ideas as they come, with purpose, in effort to use my voice more.
An important part of that will be sending a regular-ish newsletter.
Why regular-ish?
Well, first, I'm a big believer in goals.
βI posted this on LinkedIn yesterday:
If you could give a project a 95% chance of successβ¦ would you do it? π
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As a creative, I get it.
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Planning and goals feels like wasted time. Just create. Get messy. The change of the calendar is, in many ways, meaningless on its own.
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Sometimes slow and unstructured is absolutely the answer.
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And this can also be true: just because winging it works, it doesn't mean it's getting you where you want to go.
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Goals written down and committed to an accountability partner have a 95% success rate, according to research from Dr. Gail Matthews at the Dominican University of California.
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You can show up at the store without a grocery list.
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Or you can move with intention and make great use of your time, energy, and money.
In my experience, the worst way to approach creative work is with an all-or-nothing mindset. I don't set goals to check a box; I set them to aim my shot.
I plan to send an email most days. But it's more about deepening the commitment to my writing muscles this year. It's not a failure, though, if I need to miss a day.
I've done so much research and writing over the last half decade, but kept most of it for the books. This year I'm back to my roots and creating, so we can finish these projects and more:
I'm writing DEAR CREATIVE, an evolving experiment that's half business, half poetry, all-out creative.
I'll share updates, previews, and lessons as I move through the various stages of making it real in the world. I recently had a publishing meeting and learned a ton. Any questions I could answer in a future newsletter? Let me know!
CABBIE MEDITATES is a children's meditation book that's also in development, about a cat who lives at a busy garage and learns the power of meditation to calm their mind.
Remember aurange? The project I started with my family a couple years ago -- that morphed into this.
The power of meditation when it comes to creative thought can't be understated. It's also so important when it comes to managing stress, overwhelm, and... well, life. This one's for my kids, so it holds a really special place in my heart.
Those are the big art goals for the year. Before both of those, I'll be sharing two more creative projects in the coming days and weeks:
π»π«§ Creative Taxi Radio with Carra Sykes!! Your creative career companion, our new show guarantees creative vibes and candid conversations about career-life as a creative.
πβ¨ Creative Taxi: A-Maze-Zine + Coloring Pages Volume I. I've always wanted to do this.
More soon!
π Creative Fuel β½
Do you find yourself or create yourself? And which will you choose in '26?
Peace,
βAndyβ
Artist + Founder Creative Taxi Ltd. ππ«§
βMove your ideas forward.
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