Episode 22: Five Lessons About Writing and Life (From Santa Claus)

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Hello and happy holidays! Thanks so much for joining me this week for our holiday episode of DIY MFA Radio.

I’ve always loved the Santa Claus story. This is my favorite time of year and I love how festive and bright every thing is (even though, in NYC the weather is usually dark and grim). And since I’m a toy designer by training, it’s probably no surprise that Santa would be a big creative inspiration to me.

If you think about it, he is the master of creative motivation and there’s a lot we can learn from Santa about the creative process. In today’s episode, I wanted to share with you the five things Santa has taught me about writing, and life.

Santa Claus’ Five Lessons about Creativity, Writing and Life

  1. Isolate yourself. Santa’s all about eliminating distractions. Why else would he live in the North Pole? Similarly, you need to know when it’s time to close the door and get your writing done.
  2. Surround yourself with good people. Look for people who will support you. Also, look for people who are strong in areas where you could use some help, and share the wealth when it comes to things that you’re good at.
  3. Do it for love. If you don’t love it, you can’t do it. There’s not a whole lot of glory and gold in writing. But if you love it, then the glory and gold don’t matter and you’ll get something much greater out of the experience.
  4. Sometimes you have to be a little bit in denial. If you want to achieve your dreams, you need to be able to believe that magic is possible. Hold out hope and believe that your wildest dreams COULD come true.
  5. After a long day’s work, have some milk and cookies.  Take care of yourself. Celebrate your wins. Find what you need to do to be able to recharge and go do it!

And one more thing…

Sometimes Santa doesn’t always give you what you want. So what do you do when you find coal in your stocking? Here are two important things to remember about coal.

  1. You use coal to make fire. Don’t dwell on your setbacks. Use them to fire you up and get even more motivated.
  2. At its core, coal is the same as a diamond, just less organized and less sparkly. Sometimes a setback is just a hidden opportunity. Look for those nuggets of magic and possibility every time you think you may have failed.
If you want to achieve your dreams, you need to be able to believe that magic is possible. (via @DIYMFA)

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

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