Synopses & Reviews
Everyone has said it: if I only had more xxx, I could get this project completed (or make more money; start my business; write a novel; record a song). But instead of focusing on the project, we procrastinate. Everyone has 24 hours in each day, yet some people find ways to write bestsellers, create amazing art, design dresses, or start a new business. According to Samantha Bennett, what those who finish projects have that others dont is creative genius, which consists of clarity, motivation, and the ability to get past their own demons to get their work out there. Her clever approach includes explanations and ways to override the getting ready to get ready” syndrome; making could do lists” (instead of to-do”) to allow yourself the option of saying no and dreaming big; and the pure preference” worksheet to decide which project to pursue, a.k.a., you cant chase two bunnies." And, it only takes 15 minutes a day to build those skills.
Creative people arent necessarily motivated by money or other trappings of success and they dont need their creativity unleashed. In fact, according to Samantha Bennett, most are already unleashed” enough. What creative people need are not more platitudes or encouragement but effective tools for overcoming the procrastination and lack of focus that hobble them. Sam, herself an actor and comedienne, knows first-hand how these frustrations suck up energy, and she offers field-tested tools to get beyond them and stay in the creative zone.
Artists not only have projects they want to start, focus on, and bring to light; they are also parents, teachers, entrepreneurs, church-goers, movie-renters, coffee-drinkers, vacationers, business owners, and much more. Which is why it is so important for them to take advantage of the strategies found in Get It Done and put an end to the But-I-work-eight-hours-a-day-how-can-I-ever-finish-my-novel-screenplay- painting-business-plan?” excuse. Each chapter features compelling (and often funny) real-life stories, innovative I-Never-Thought-About-It-That-Way-Before worksheets and also offers an online component either a webinar, downloadable audio or online tool to deepen the learning.
The exercises and suggestions were created in response to the critical issues artists brought to Bennetts Get It Done Workshops held throughout southern California and on the Internet. Devised to address the anxieties that plague artists and to take advantage of the blessings that redeem them, every exercise and every bit of the wisdom included in Get It Done has been tested and re-tested by hundreds of Bennetts satisfied clients
Creative people tend to see the world a little differently than everyone else. But that doesnt mean they cant zero-in on their goals, get focused, get organized, and not only accomplish what they want to achieve but earn money at it. Get It Done helps artists to get a handle on their own particular even peculiar creative process and harness their energies in positive, creative, and income-generating ways.
Review
and#147;An instant classic, essential reading for anyone who wants to make a ruckus.and#8221;
and#151; Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception
and#147;Sam Bennett is refreshing in her positivity and achieves something rare and#151; a how-to book that is funny and entertaining to read, and makes you feel good! Now, if youand#8217;ll excuse me, I must go write an Oscar-winning screenplay. Or clean my room. One of the two and#151; Iand#8217;ll figure it out.and#8221;
and#151; Rachel Dratch, actor, Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock
and#147;As someone who is both organized and an artist, I can supremely recommend this innovative, effective, wildly enjoyable book. You will easily and#145;get it doneand#8217; with your focused genius and all that youand#8217;ll learn and experience in these pages and in your life.and#8221;
and#151; SARK, artist and author of Glad No Matter What
and#147;If you need help getting things done (and who doesnand#8217;t?) this book, written with love and passion, will help you.and#8221;
and#151; Ed Oand#8217;Neill, actor, Modern Family and Married with Children
and#147;Calling all artists! Are procrastination and perfectionism getting in the way of your sharing your creative gifts with the world? Through small, doable steps, Get It Done will help you make your big ideas real.and#8221;
and#151; Jennifer Lee, author of The Right-Brain Business Plan
Synopsis
Organized” and artist” dont usually go together. Creative types are more often seen as sensitive, melodramatic, eccentric, misunderstood, and the like. To labels like this, Sam Bennett says, Congratulations! Youre an artist.” And through The Organized Artist Company, she has coached hundreds of artists to overcome procrastination, lack of focus, and time-sucking habits so that they can get their art done and out into the world. Bennett explains why procrastination is genius in disguise” and then prescribes dozens of wonderfully revelatory exercises. From My Heroes” lists to Could Do” lists (because To-Do lists make Bennett belligerent) to recognizing who you should not talk to about your project and when research has created Analysis Paralysis, each of these actions requires only a 15-minute commitment. But while quickly accomplished, each shifts the readers thinking and prompts the kind of insights that have the power to turn underperforming geniuses into accomplished artists.
Synopsis
Stop Making Excuses and Start Making ProgressCreative people tend to see the world a little differently than everyone else. But that doesnand#8217;t mean they canand#8217;t zero in on their goals, get focused, get organized, and not only accomplish what they want to achieve but earn money doing it. In Get It Done, a beloved teacher and successful writer, actor, and comedian helps you get a handle on your own particular and#151; even peculiar and#151; creative process and harness your energies in positive, productive, and income-generating ways. Sam Bennettand#8217;s innovative exercises, inspiring true success stories, and bonus online components will shift your thinking and prompt the kind of insights that turn underperforming geniuses into accomplished artists.
About the Author
Samantha Bennett is a writer, actor, teacher, and creativity/productivity specialist who has counseled hundreds of artists on their way to success through her coaching business, The Organized Artist Company. Hundreds of workshop clients testify to her warm intelligence, boundless enthusiasm and can-do approach, which both comforts and inspires. She offers the Get It Done Workshop, the Get Your Work Out There VIP Program, the Procrastination Domination Starter Kit, and one-on-one personal consulting.
Originally from Chicago, she worked at the world-famous Second City Theatre, where she became (and remains) friends with brilliant comedians, including Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Nia Vardalos. After moving to Los Angeles in 1994, Samantha worked with The Open Fist Theatre Company, LA TheatreWorks, and ComedySportz, gathering extensive television and film credits as well. Her writing experience includes her authorship of the one-person show Kiss The Monster and cowriting the hit comedy, Miss Millicents Fall Recital, as well as writing the book for the musical, In A Booth At Chasens. She has contributed hundreds of hours of comedy to corporations everywhere through her work with The Second Citys Business Theatre. She is also the self-published author of the surprisingly popular book of poems, By The Way, You Look Really Great Today and a Senior Facilitator at Sam Christensen Studios, specializing in Personal Branding and Identity Definition. She was named a 2010 Ultimate Marketer by the small-business marketing experts at Infusionsoft, and she has used her marketing savvy to help plan career strategies.
Table of Contents
Contents
List of Exercises
Foreword by Keegan-Michael Key
Introduction
Chapter One - Procrastination Is Genius in Disguise
Chapter Two - Which of Your Thirty-Seven Projects to Tackle First?
Chapter Three - Your Creativity Toolkit
Chapter Three - Overcoming Perfectionism
Chapter Four - How to Do Your Could-Do List
Interlude One - A Prayer For The Capable
Chapter Six - How Many Kinds of Artist Are You?
Chapter Seven - Who Are You to Do This, Anyway?
Chapter Eight - Do You Really Have to Make a Budget?
Chapter Nine - Where Will You Find the Time?
Interlude Two - An Ode To The Overwhelmed
Chapter Ten - Organizing Your Space
Chapter Eleven - Looking under the Rock
Interlude Three - A Prayer for Hoping against Hope
Chapter Twelve - Why Is It So Awful When Everyone Thinks Youand#8217;re So Wonderful?
Chapter Thirteen - Do You Quit When You're Almost Done?
Chapter Fourteen - Beginning to Get Your Work Out There
Chapter Fifteen - Ending at the Beginning, or Okay, Now What?
Chapter Sixteen - The Fear of Failure Is Perfectly Reasonable
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Index
About the Author