dreamfleur Creative Inspiration Suite

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“If everybody else your age is doing something very different then what you’re doing, there’s always gonna be someone saying you might not succeed, you might not make any money – all of those things will go away if you just focus on what makes you happy.”- Kevin Clash

The trailer above for the documentary BEING ELMO, following the story of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind the cute and loveable Elmo, is so heart warming. It’s inspiring to see the passion Kevin had to follow his dream despite the ridicule he faced when he was younger for doing something out of the ordinary. To find out how you can see the film, go to www.beingelmo.com.

About the Film
Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.

I wrote about Kevin’s story previously on Dreamfleur, read more below:

When it comes to life passions, sometimes the thing you love to do the most is something that’s not the standard for success for people around you and can cause others to judge.

Kevin Clash is a puppeteer you may not know, but you definitely know some of his work. He’s the creative mind behind the lovable character Elmo on Sesame Street, and many other playful personalities we’ve grown up with and love.

Clash’s pursuit of his puppeteering career didn’t come easy. In an article he talked about how he was teased as a child for his passion to make puppets, while other kids in his Baltimore neighborhood dreamed of playing basketball or going into the music business. He had loved puppets since age 10 after watching Sesame Street and had been enchanted with them ever since. In his book he said kids threw taunts at him like, “Look at him, he’s playing with dolls. He sews. He sleeps with his puppets.”

Even so he kept doing what he loved with the support of his parents who continually encouraged him. After doing puppet shows in his neighborhood starting at age 12, he got the chance to go on television and eventually made his way to Sesame Street in 1985. He came up with Elmo’s distinctive voice and laugh, making Elmo one of Sesame Street’s most popular characters. (He also did the voice of “Baby Sinclair” from the “Dinosaurs.” Come on, you know you remember that show.)
His work also won Clash an Emmy Award, and he appeared on Oprah in an episode about obscure celebrities. Now he serves as Sesame Street Muppet Captain and co-executive producer, and he’s in homes worldwide teaching children life lessons through his lovable characters. Talk about passion.

Clash says he hopes his book will “inspire everyone to hit their goals.” In this interview he talks about how he never imagined he would be doing something he loved as a career, and how it doesn’t even feel like work. That’s the type of career I would like to be able to have, one that comes naturally. He’s truly living his dream.

Here are some of the videos and articles about Kevin Clash and his work that I enjoyed most:

This video interview with Kevin Clash and Elmo was hilarious:

“If you don’t bring your dream to life, your dream dies with you.”
- Josh Shipp

Josh Shipp is an entrepreneur I’m constantly inspired by; he’s an author, youth expert and speaker who is genuinely passionate about seeing teens succeed (I recently invested in his Rock the Stage motivational speaker resource to help to gain insight for my youth speaking career).

Josh is also an INC Magazine 30 under 30 honoree and host of the show Jump Shipp which premieres October 21 on Halogen (find it on your TV or watch online at halogentv.com/shows/jumpshipp). On every episode of Jump Shipp Josh helps a young adult leave their dead-end job to follow the career path of their dreams; you can watch the promo for the show above to get a look at Josh’s real and relatable way of motivating people into action.

Jump Shipp is also having a giveaway for an Apple iPad and a $100 Visa Card, you can go here to enter: http://wfi.re/cr4vn

To kick off the show, Josh Shipp had a live online Dream Job Town Hall (click here to hear the call playback) where he gave a valuable talk about how to make the leap form your dead-end job to your dream job. Here are some of my notes below, I hope they inspire you as they did me to make a leap of your own into your dreams (P.S. there’s a lot more detail and depth to the actual call, click here to take a listen):

Josh Shipp – 7 Strategic Steps To Getting Your Dream Job

1. Define Your Dream Job

• Don’t be vague – the more specific you can be, the better – the more likely it is to come true
• If your bank account was full of money would you still go to work?
• What kind of work would you do if you weren’t doing it for the money
• What do you like? What are you good at? – Ask others who are close to you

2. Dream Job Reality Check – Do a gut check

• The motto “Dream it, do it” is impractical – misses so many steps in between
• Ask yourself the hard questions
• Do it now before you invest time, money, energy
• What is your dream job REALLY like?
• What will it cost you?
• Try to talk yourself out of it, is there any reason why this would be a bad idea?

3. Test Drive Your Dream Job – Do a hands-on gut check

• Commit to 15 hours on the Dream Job Experience – You need to try it out first
• Meet with three professionals who have your dream job – mentors are a must
• Send them a piece of snail mail – cuts through the clutter of email
• Introduce yourself, ask for an informal ten minute chat
• They might say no but you have to get used to potential rejection
• Study the origin of their success story not just the success
• What advice would they give to themselves just starting out?
• Ask if you can do some dream job experience with them, to study them, help them, learn from them

(more…)

On DreaminSoul.com I interviewed Tony Snipes, a visual artist gives advice to other artists on discovering their creative purpose…

Author, speaker and ministry leader Tony Snipes helps today’s gifted artisans answer questions about their purpose and creative calling through his initiatives Art Lessons From God and Kreative Kingdom.

“What is it that you love doing that you wouldn’t even have to have anybody pay you for… That’s your passion…the beauty of it would be that if you’re pursuing that and you’re getting paid for it then it’s not even like work.” – Tony Snipes

Be sure to check out the resource links at the end of the interview including a free download of Tony’s audio resource “How To Identify Your Creative Calling: Your CALLING, Your CAREER, Your JOB…What’s The Difference?”

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Most everyone has asked these questions:

• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• What should I be doing?

Artists in particular, from painters to musicians, may ask these questions regarding their gifts:

• Who am I as an artist?
• Why do I have this talent?
• What does God want me to do with it?

Tony Snipes, a gifted artist himself and founder of Kreative Kingdom, Inc. a non-profit faith-based art initiative, began asking these questions and created a resource to help other artists discover their creative purpose.

Tony’s project, Art Lessons from God delves into these questions of gifting and calling. The blog, workshops, books and other resources were created with the goal of helping artists and designers discover God’s purpose and plan for their artistic talent. Watch Tony introduce the site below:

Though the site is targeted toward visual artists it has much insight that could inspire artists of any type from writers and performers to musicians and filmmakers. Many of the topics explored can apply to a variety of arts, like “Anointed versus Talented: What’s the Difference?” to “Discovering a “God” idea vs a “Good” idea.”

Often in our society we acknowledge the “how” regarding talents of individuals but may not always consider the deeper questions involved with “why”. In this interview Tony Snipes discusses his background in the visual arts and gives advice to other artists in figuring out their “why” and God’s purpose for them:

Dream in Soul: Hi Tony, thanks for speaking to me today. Can you tell us a little about who you are: What is your background in art and your profession?

Tony Snipes: Well prior to going into graphic design and illustration I have been drawing and painting all of my life but especially kind of training myself to draw and sketch from my comic books as a kid. So I did a lot of drawing back then, and am professionally trained as a graphic designer – graphic design and illustration…that’s pretty much my professional background with art…

Visit my website Dream in Soul (www.dreaminsoul.com) for more updates and inspiration, and check out the latest posts from the site below:

DreaminSoul.com – Inspiration for the Spirit and Soul

Connect with Dream in Soul: Visit the Network & Blog


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The world was changed by this amazing “visioneer” and entrepreneur. The fact that I’m typing this on my MacBook, and that Steve Jobs’ journey to starting Apple was one of the stories I was taught in my business class as a teen, remind me of the ways I’ve been impacted by his innovation as well.

I’m inspired by the words he shared at the 2005 Stanford Commencement Address:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…”
- Steve Jobs - Click Here for the Entire Speech Transcript

Also one of my favorites, the text to one of Apple’s most popular commercials and manifestos:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. 

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

 About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

 Maybe they have to be crazy.



How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? 

We make tools for these kinds of people. 

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” -Apple, Inc.

I originally posted this on my youth motivational site DreamerENT.com, click here to visit the site.

Recently actress and singer Demi Lovato did an interview with Good Morning America where she is open and real about some of her struggles with an eating disorder and overcoming difficult times in her life. She looks vibrant and confident, and it’s awesome how she shows strength to be who she is and to overcome. Below also watch Demi sing ‘Skyscraper’ from her new album Unbroken:

Demi’s honesty makes her so relatable to other girls who may be going through something similar. She also wrote an open letter to her fans, it’s so moving, watch it below:

Click here to watch

Visit DreamerENT.com – My Youth Motivation Site

Connect with Dreamer ENT:

Corbin Bleu has been one of my favorite actors and performers since I was a teen watching him in High School Musical (you may even say I developed a slight crush back then – but I digress;). I love his approach to his work and how he doesn’t just label himself as a dancer, singer or actor but as an artist.

Here’s a quote I was inspired by from a recent interview he did after his stint at the Hollywood Bowl’s “Hairspray,” talking about music and how it connects us, and his advice to aspiring performers:

“I’ll never understand why…we can’t all feel free to sing whether good, bad, trained voice or not. When it comes to a profession, yes we should want the best of the best voices. But our society has made us feel as though if you don’t sing well, you shouldn’t.

“I recently visited Fiji and I experienced one of the most incredible things. Every person in the country will sing to you. They have native songs that everyone knows.

“For example there is a goodbye song, and every place I left in Fiji everybody sang this song to see us off. Music and singing are such inspirational and freeing tools. Everyone should use them!

“Words of wisdom for aspiring performers? Til the day we die, we are always learning. Who we become depends on how we apply what we’ve learned to better our lives. As performers, our position is to know and portray the lives of others. So the amount we can learn is multiplied.”

From an interview on Playbill.com