Movies to Make you Laugh and get you out of a funk:

• Monty Python
• Hard Days Night
• Young Frankenstein
• The Producers
• There’s Something About Mary

Movies to Make you Believe in Love Again:

• An Affair to Remember
• When Harry Met Sally
• The Sweetest Thing

Movies to Spark your Creativity:

• Across the Universe
• Inception
• Labryinth
• The Matrix
• Beetlejuice

Movies to Get You in the Mood:

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Movies to help your get over a breakup:

• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• How to Be Single
• Eat Pray Love
• Sliding Doors
• The Holiday

Movies to Motivate and Inspire:

• The Greatest Showman
• A League of Their Own
• The Pursuit of Happyness

David Bowie was a rock star, ridiculously creative artist, and in my opinion, a philosopher as well. His insightfulness wasn’t just found in his work, but in his words and his attitude. This interview from 1997 is the perfect example of his timeless wisdom.

Never play to the gallery…. Never work for other people in what you do. Always remember that the reason that you initially started working was that there was something inside yourself that you felt that if you could manifest in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you co-exist with the rest of society…. I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations.

“The other thing I would say, is that if you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you are capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. When you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”

How do I even begin to unpack this brilliance? There was something about this statement that hit so true to me, not just as an artist, but as a human.

David Bowie was truly an artist who created work not for society, but for his own self expression. Not everything Bowie did was commercially popular. Listen to one of his more obscure albums, Outside, to know what I mean. A beautiful, dark, twisted album that makes you think. But yet not one song on there was radio friendly, and I doubt he cared. Bowie didn’t write a song in order to make it a hit. He gave it life because something within him had to. And instead of suppressing his inner muse, he embraced it, even if it didn’t make sense to others.

This is what made me fall in love with Bowie’s work. When someone is creating from their heart, that energy is palpable. You can feel it, and those that need it will resonate with it. For all the artists and creatives out there he is speaking to you directly. Your job is not to play to the gallery, your job is to honor your heart and let your work speak for itself.

Of course this advice doesn’t just apply to artists, but life in general. How many of us live life for others? Our spouse, our parents, our friends? It might not always feel like you are suppressing your truth. You’re just being nice, or cooperative. Going along with the crowd. But that constant feeling of being stifled and restricted will build up. It will create resistance in your body and your mind. This very often translates into illness, or deep seated anger and resentment. Living your life for others is a way to slowly suck the joy out of it. If you often feel numb and depressed, I guarantee you are denying some truth from being expressed.

In practical terms I shouldn’t be writing this blog. It doesn’t make sense in my career. I already have 3 businesses that require a lot of my time and attention. Why would I add one more thing to my plate? Because if I didn’t I would be denying that inner calling. There is something in me that just has to write this, even if no one reads it. I’ve learned to honor that nudge through the years.

While my path certainly hasn’t been traditional, it has been successful. I believe that’s because I’ve followed the beat of my own drum so to speak. Which is often rather scary. Bowie states “When you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.” I know that feeling well, and couldn’t describe it better. It seems as though I’ve been on the edge for the last 10 years of my life. That place of possible failure, complete unknown, and overwhelming excitement.

This way of life is not for the faint of heart. It’s not practical, and it will never be straight and narrow. But for what it lacks in certainty it makes up for in fulfillment. True happiness is on the other side of that line, if you are willing to cross it and go a little bit out of your depth.