Stepping Out in Faith

Niurka, a beautiful soul whose life work resonates with me.  

I look forward to working with her this coming year.

Shifting into a mode of gratitude and faith has been my work as of late.  I've added professional writing, speaking and coaching this past year, created a new corporate entity, and continued to be true to my own work. My new creative services company has come to fruition!

Since last October I've very intentionally stepped out in faith to expand my career and help more people while keeping my art and spirit at the center of everything.

I've developed a program to help other artists market and monetize their art.  I've focused on creating my own art, traveling, and creating a new program to help other artists.  Here are some photos that tell the story of the journey.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to surround myself with a team of people committed both to my success and that of the people I'm helping.

I've solidified the overall marketing program I've developed.  I'm continuing to paint, teach and do private consulting for other painters.  I'd love to hear from you so reach out any time!  Stay tuned and opt in to receive a preview of the new book!  Please pass the word.  I'll give a special bonus pdf of one of my paintings to anyone who mentions that they found out about this on my blog!  Monetize Your Art

Mary-Gail
mgking@mac.com

Mark Rothstein cares for each one 

of his clients and is another empowering mentor.  His

goal is to make everyone financially free.  

I'm working with him to make my financial 

future shine even brighter!  Mr. Money

One group of fellow artists, coaches 

and writers I've had the privilege of 

collaborating with this year.

Writing a book has been central to clarifying the 

message I'm bringing to my new creative services 

company Mary-Gail King, Inc.  Robert Allen and his 

team have helped me with my first book, 

FLOW, 6 Powerful Strategies to Monetize Your Art.   

It's empowering to take steps forward with the help of 

such a talented mentor.  Check out the preview of my new book here:

 Monetize Your Art

This photo is a visual anchor for me.  

Magical Place,  I feel like my art continues to evolve.
This has a mystical quality that I love.

Janet Amiri and Connie Owen invited me to show my work 

on Yupo from the Channel Islands at the Hillcrest Center 

For the Arts.  I'm lucky to have the respect of curators who can ask 

anyone they'd like to show there!  Thank you!

I've missed the Islands this year but the salt,
the winds and the spirit of the beautiful times I've had there are waiting for me to come back...

This is only one of the faces I love...My
friends have been tremendously supportive
even when I haven't been able to see them.

I went to the desert and learned even
more about myself...I'm stronger than
I ever knew.

Fellow professional speakers.  We're all
changing the world in our own way!

Richard Tan, (2nd from left) is owner of
one of the world's largest personal development
companies. 

Hard at it at Powerteam International's
Chicago headquarters.

Here are my two favorite people!  They have each stayed true to themselves
and are pursuing their own passions.

Opt in!

www.monetize-your-art.com

What's She Up to Now? Setting Intentions and Moving Ahead!

Tomorrow I'm off to Peak Potential's World's Greatest Marketing Seminar.

I've spent the last week thinking about what I want to get out of the next five days and have struggled a bit.  I've talked with both my coach and my assistant to help me clarify what my mission is. I've decided to work on one thing, synthesizing the worlds of marketing and art.

My fantastic Peak Potentials Coach
Marleen Payne.

• Teaching entrepreneurs how to be more innovative.  Any business person who wants to command the highest prices, attract fantastic clients and stay ahead of the pack needs a competitive edge.  That requires innovative approaches to problem solving.  I teach people how to do that with the same basic strategies that artists use to create.  

• Teaching artists the art of marketing.  There are simple elements that are part of all marketing strategies.  By learning them anyone can design a marketing plan and become more successful.  I've identified the four basic elements of marketing and teach them in my Art Marketing 101 course.

My assistant, the inimitable
Andy King

My vision is to help others see what can't be seen and bring it into the world.  That's basically what the act of creation is all about.  It's what I do as an artist.  It's what an entrepreneur does when he creates a new business or product.  I'm helping others become even more innovative by learning how to look at things differently.  

My intention for this week is to learn more about how to bring my message to others.  My initial focus with Mary-Gail King, Inc. is the Art of Marketing.  I'll have more Marketing 101 courses and networking events this fall to support that.  I want to clarify how to get my message out to people and pass that forward.

I'm looking forward to seeing
my Peak's peeps!

Now to bed!

Much Ado About Something or How to Cope with Stress!

Some of you may be familiar with stress.  It can be tough to manage and can have some serious side effects.  Throughout my life I've developed some great habits and coping strategies that help.  Nonetheless, it's been a challenging year.

It's officially just over the halfway point in 2013 and time to re-assess where I am and where I'm going.  I'm grateful to have good habits and a solid support system.  However, in the last twelve months I've hit 349 points on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale.  According to the scale that's not good.  The scale is a little like golf; the lower the score, the better the game.  Over 300 = at risk of illness.  I've inserted my assessment below.  You may want to check yours out and assess yourself.  I've also included a Wellness Matrix* I use for myself at the end of the post that you may want to try.  I've found it very helpful to use while navigating through significant change.

I'm coming out of one of the biggest transitions of my life. Over the last two and a half years I've gone from married with two children and a part time career to single, no kids at home, and building a new business. I didn't include those changes in the assessment below.  I conservatively hit a score of 555 over the last three years.

 This will be a more stable year.  It's time to revise my goals while paying attention to the stress factors they involve. Here are my new goals/ stress scores:

1.  Business readjustment	+39
2.  Change in financial state	+38

I plan to continue building my Art and Creative Empowerment business.  I want to help people live more prosperous and creative lives.  Combined stress factor, 77

3.  Outstanding personal achievement

+28

This goes hand in hand with numbers one and two.

4.  Change in social activities

+18

I've focused so hard on work and new business development that I've neglected my social life.  It's time to balance that out!  A lot will come with more contact from the outreach I'm doing with my business.  I'll also spend more time doing the fun things I love, like go to art events, travel, dance, paint (oh, I forgot, that's work!) and play outside...

Must...work...more!

5.  Change in eating habits

+15

My good eating habits have gone downhill with the hyper-focus on learning, travel, and business development.  It's time to rebuild. My exercise routine has been solid and consistent but eating....I've been fooling myself and eating out way too much.  

Target Stress Index:  110

As you can see, even positive change causes stress.  As long as it's managed well that's actually a good thing!

To measure stress according to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, the number of "Life Change Units" that apply to events in the past year of an individual's life are added and the final score will give a rough estimate of how stress affects health.

Life event	Life change units
Death of a spouse	100
Divorce	73
Marital separation	65
Imprisonment	63
Death of a close family member	63
Personal injury or illness	53                 +53
Marriage	50
Dismissal from work	47
Marital reconciliation	45
Retirement	45
Change in health of family member	44
Pregnancy	40
Sexual difficulties	39
Gain a new family member	39
Business readjustment	39                   +39
Change in financial state	38                   +38
Death of a close friend	37
Change to different line of work	36                   +36
Change in frequency of arguments	35
Major mortgage	32
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan	30
Change in responsibilities at work	29                    +29
Child leaving home	29
Trouble with in-laws	29
Outstanding personal achievement	28
Spouse starts or stops work	26
Begin or end school	26
Change in living conditions	25                    +25
Revision of personal habits	24                    +24
Trouble with boss	23
Change in working hours or conditions	20                     +20
Change in residence	20                     +20
Change in schools	20
Change in recreation	19
Change in church activities	19
Change in social activities	18                     +18
Minor mortgage or loan	17
Change in sleeping habits	16
Change in number of family reunions	15
Change in eating habits	15                    +15
Vacation	13
Christmas	12
Minor violation of law	11

My Score=  349

Score of 300+: At risk of illness.

Score of 150-299: Risk of illness is moderate (reduced by 30% from the above risk).

Score <150: Only have a slight risk of illness.

Successful people have good habits, in the form of rituals, that they incorporate into their daily lives.  Mine are what I call the Fantastic Five.  They are part of the Wellness Matrix* I've identified for keeping me healthy and happy:

1. Eat Well
2. Rest Well
3. Meditate
4. Move
5. Connect with People and Purpose                                                                                        

On any given day I do all or most of the activities in the Wellness Matrix.  When I start to feel a little off, I mentally assess and often find I've missed something consistently for several days.  Not getting enough sleep will throw things off faster than anything else.  I can balance out less sleep with more meditation* and remain healthy and positive, but I can only go for so long without 7 1/2 hours of sleep!  When I don't, I gravitate towards sugar and caffeine.  I also tend to get a little "muffin top" due more to the hormone cortisol than to the poor quality of my food.  I find the puffiness comes even when I stay on top of the cravings.  Once I force myself back into my regular schedule (sleep at 11:00 and up at 6:30) I'm quickly back to my baseline.

You'll have your own needs in each category and will learn what creates balance as you pay attention to your actions and how you feel.  Just a quick journal entry on your calendar will help you figure out what works for you.   

This is simple and it works.  Try it out!  Be well!

* Wellness Matrix copyright 2013, Mary-Gail King
* I studied Primordial Sound Meditation at The Chopra Center for several years and have incorporated that practice into my spiritual life.  While the 21 Day Meditation Challenge is not Primordial Sound Meditation, it's a wonderful guided practice you can register for right now for free!

Postcards of Summer

Summertime~  

Come join me!  Jot down your favorite memories so far this summer.  Did you see where the sun was at sunset on June 21?  Go back to your favorite viewing spot and note it before you forget.  It's always fun to go back on December 21 and see where it sets then as well.  You'll see where the arc of the sun is in your part of the universe.  You can even trace it with your finger.  Do it on a piece of paper and you have the beginnings of a work of abstract art complete with  the concept behind it!  

Take photos when you can and slip them in an album...an electronic one counts.  Were you hot? Tired? Energized?  Did you eat something extra scrumptious?  Write it down!

I love long warm days which begin with a cool, misty fog.    When I took the photo you see above with the guard station in it, I had just finished a perfect day of painting.  I literally cried in gratitude for living such a charmed life. 

I love throwing myself into the cool waves after lazing around in the soft, warm sand. I ended this
perfect day painting the fading light with my dear friend Diane Gold.  We're both freckly types and enjoyed the surf and lounging around the beach in our wetsuits between painting sessions.  They are the BEST sunscreen and they are (slightly) more flattering than bikinis on, ahem, women of a certain age.  Diane, I love laughing  and painting with you!

Dinner at Nature's Grill.  I couldn't bring myself

to post a photo of my dinner so here's a not-food shot.

These summer days rush by far too fast.  But I've discovered something. Consider this.  Pause, wherever you are, at the end of a breath.  Look around and notice what surrounds you.  Be grateful.  Consider writing it down... Even just in your imagination.  Oddly enough, even if you never revisit what you've written, you'll anchor the memory and live it three times.  You'll slow time down.  The rushing will stop. Experience the thing once as it happens, twice as you notice it happening and three times as you write it down.  If you begin to do this in a cyclical way you'll notice your life becomes more like your breath.  The natural rhythm soothes and calms as it stretches out the hours.

Today I continued getting most of my worldly belongings together.  I have tidy stacks of treasures to unpack in my new place while this apartment looks like a clothes dryer, a cardboard recycling bin and a file cabinet got into a fight.  Nobody won.  No photos please....It's ugly.

Malibu Station #4 will be at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts

all summer and it's for sale.  You can own your own California 

beachfront property for pennies on the dollar.

My end of the day reward for accomplishing my goals was my dance class.   Tonight we grooved to old beach music, tunes like Heard it Through the Grapevine. We got slick with sweat and my muscles, which would often be sore after so much hauling "stuff" from one apartment to the other, were deliciously fluid.  

Now I'll go to sleep with the sounds of crickets and distant traffic, soft, cool sheets and a breeze from the window. Good night!

SOS...I Need Help Moving

I'm going to do something that goes against my nature and ask for help.  I'm moving July 3rd and I need help packing and getting my things to the new place. 

I'll have a packing party on Friday, June 28th.  Tuesday, July 3 I'll need help transporting small items and clothing and supervising the loading/ unloading of the moving truck I've hired. I also have some men to do the heavy lifting so everyone's back is safe!  On the 4th or 5th, I'll need help cleaning the old place.  Please let me know if you can come.

This brings back memories of moving into this apartment almost two and a half years ago. When I was preparing to leave the old place it was sorting through my cookie cutters that made me lose it.  I told myself I would be ruthless and get rid of everything that wasn't practical or REALLY important.  

These didn't seem to make the cut.   I put about 2/3's of them to the side to give away. Who needs that many cookie cutters? It ripped me apart.  It's the little things, isn't it?

I still get a catch in my throat when I picture Andy in his grownup body holding the grocery bag of cookie cutters up and pointing out just how ridiculous it was to think I had to give those away.  He'd certainly held them many times before in his little boy body. 

"Mom," shaking the bag, "this hardly takes up any room!  You don't have to make this decision right now!"  

He made me laugh when I saw how ridiculous that self imposed rule was.  I thought I was just being practical.  I hadn't used many of them in years and only kept the special ones I'd use someday with grandchildren or for doggie showers.  There was one shaped like a bone and another like a little paw. (I kept ALL of the cookie cutters.)

 Life is so much better now!  I've learned to be more grateful and more positive about my life.  I am a fortunate woman.

So this is the beginning of yet another era.  Please contact me directly if you can help me take the first steps in that direction by helping me move some boxes!   I really need help and appreciate whatever you can do.  In the meantime, just mental support and general encouragement with do the trick.  Thank you!  xo  mgking@mac.com

Learn Marketing Secrets to Propel Your Fine Art Business to the Next Level

Have you wanted to learn how to  generate more working income from your art business?  Learn powerful behind the scenes marketing techniques you can implement right away!  You can grow your business exponentially using just 7 simple steps.  

I've just finished a day long seminar with best selling author and infoprenuer Robert Allen. http://www.robertallen.com  He's one of the best marketing gurus on the planet!  I want to bring home the marketing secrets I've learned to you!  

I've adapted seven basic marketing principles to the world of fine art.  You can be one of the first fine artists to adapt these techniques to "our" world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkVvFiCli10

I have a unique seminar coming up at the Buenaventura Art Association on July 27. Join me for this half day intensive workshop where you will set measurable goals for your art business and target action steps you can take to get you to the next level. Get valuable tips on how to: Define your customers; Create Powerful Press Releases; Create new tools to get your message out effectively; and Set Tangible, Achievable Goals.

Marketing is not just for "left brain" people.  It's an art with simple tools and basic techniques anyone can learn!  Join me on July 27 at the Buenaventura Art Association's Harbor Village Gallery.  I'll have a complimentary workbook for the first 8 participants!  

Register here:  http://www.buenaventuragallery.org/workshops.html