I have two questions for you today.

And I will keep it very simple...

The first is, "Why are you an artist?"

How you answer this question will say a lot about you. 

Your identity. Your sense of vocation and calling. Your purpose. The aim and focus of your life.

The second question, for many of you, is a much more dangerous question.

...

(Play the video above to learn more about creative flow.)

Do you feel stuck, blocked, and frustrated by your lack of artistic output?

If so, you're not alone.

On the other hand, if you're riding a wave of great creative flow, living in the optimal experience of hitting your artistic goals, and producing art on a...

Are you traveling the way of weakness?

It's a path many of us do not want to take. Nor willingly choose. Or want to be dragged down.

When I was a kid, I vividly remember reading ads in the back of my comic books that warned me not to be a skinny weakling who got sand kicked in my face at the beach.

This was really important advice for me because...

The past month has been very difficult.

It's one of those times as a parents that Krista and I would wish upon no one.

More tears and heartache with one of our four children — yes, a teenager — than we've ever experienced in our lives.

I'll save the details for now, but suffice to say, all the grief, the tears, the waiting, and the...

I love and long for being in a creative flow. 

On a good day of writing, I can get in a zone for hours immersed in my work, completely enjoying what is before me. It's a lovely state where distractions are distant and time disappears.

When I am in a creative flow, it is like scuba diving where I pop on my mask, zip up my wetsuit,...

As an artist, is fear consuming all your spiritual, emotional and creative energy? Does fear have you sidelined instead of seeking everything your heart desires for creating your art with meaning and purpose? Maybe it's not outright fear you struggle with as an artist, but it's the familiar themes of worry, anxiety, and...

What if you're a painter and I only gave you one color, say yellow, to paint with?

What if you're a photographer and I only gave you one subject, say buildings, to shoot?

What if you're a writer and I only gave you one topic, say Gorgonzola cheese, to write about?

What if you're a musician and I only gave you one note, say a G#, to play on your...

"The raging bitch inside my head is gone!"

Heidi's words were music to my ears. And for every artist gathered around our long picnic table at The Grove, we all burst out laughing with her in her bold declaration that the raging bitch inside her head was dead and gone.

I could almost imagine The Wizard of Oz Munchkins springing out from behind...

As you can imagine, I know a lot more about organic lemons and avocados than I do about running a vineyard. But as I was recently reminded, a vineyard can teach us a lot about the important practices of abiding, rest, and renewal.

For the first time in a long while, my wife Krista and I took off for a few days of vacation in the vineyards of...