Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day [Paperback]

SARK (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005

Let this book be your haven, guide, fairy godmother, or map for making your creative dreams real. It's a "paper lantern" to illuminate your path. Your dreams glow in the dark even if you don't ever tend to them. They will wait for you. I know this from my experiences as a recovering procrastinator and perfectionist. My dreams waited for me -- now you can begin to make your creative dreams REAL!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For those of us who pass our days in a meaningless miasma of obligations and responsibility, SARK's upbeat 12-step prescription for "making creative dreams" come true may be just the ticket. Designing the book herself, SARK (short for Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy, author of Succulent Wild Woman) applies function to form with big and small font sizes, wild and wavy typesetting, drawings scattered liberally throughout, various exercises, Mad Lib-like blanks to fill in ("choose a micromovement and write it here_____") and three 16-page full-color inserts (not seen by PW). In case you doubt SARK's enthusiasm for her version of the creative life, she includes testimonials ranging from "John, Teacher" to "Val, Expressive Arts Therapist." Despite SARK's admirably unrestrained support for the creative life, it's difficult not to cock a cynical eye at some of her suggestions, such as "let your dream vehicle out to play!" And while she encourages us to "feel free to color or draw in this book," there isn't actually all that much room to do so. SARK addresses the negativity toward creativity that so many artists face from family, schools and bosses, but the repetition of the word "dream" never quite seems to slide over into how to use it to tend an actual artistic career.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"SARK's gentle and effervescent work is a festive, creative catalyst that throws open a wide and generous gate."

-- Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way

"We, in this world, and this weary old world itself, have a great gaping need for SARK. Let's call for more and more SARK to fill every child's book bag and each attaché case."

-- Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

"A truly innovative and inspiring book....SARK at her best."

-- Cheri Huber, author of When You're Falling, Dive

"Everything you need to know about making your creative dreams real is contained in SARK's magical new book."

-- Cheryl Richardson, author of Stand Up for Your Life

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743269241
• ISBN-13: 978-0743269247
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) has been a transformative teacher and leader for over twenty-five years. She has written and created 15 best-selling books, and hundreds of products. She is the founder and CEO of Planet SARK, her company that creates products and services to support empowered living. Call her on the Inspiration Line at 415.546.3742 or visit http://www.planetsark.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get your creativity brewing, October 24, 2005

By 

Venus A. Rachal (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day (Hardcover)

I love this book. What made this book so special for me was that it doesn't make false promises. It shows you how to open up your creativity, step-by-step and allows you to be a human being.

Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy (SARK) is so honest about what it takes to be a creative person and how we stumble often through the process. We make mistakes. We give up. We start over again. There is no illusion here about becoming this perfect creative, intuitive person. The truth is that person is rare or not real. Susan tells us, "This book is to be a book that fits in with your real life--not an idealized version of it...[it's for those of us] who are busy, avoiding, practicing procrastinators and perfectionists."

Some days you don't want to get out of bed. You don't want to think about writing your Great American Novel or painting your Van Goh-esque masterpiece. Instead, you want to procrastinate, cuddle up in your blanket and eat cookies. Or, maybe you want to beat yourself up for not finishing sooner. Whatever your process is, it doesn't matter, everything is okay.

When things get tough, SARK recommends practicing micro-movements. These are ultra tiny steps that get you going in the right direction. They don't require a lot of time or energy but they help you keep going. And once you've done a few of them, big changes can happen.

You'll also see inspiring stories of other creatives and how they live their dreams and what they think about it. And you'll disover that some creative dreams have nothing to do with art but are about making the world better or about having a fulfilled life. This is okay too!

Maybe you want to explore what stops or has stopped your creative dreams or you might want to look at all the ways you can start to say YES to yourself and your dream. SARK says, "Often resistance feels like an unscalable wall, when there are actually footholds all over the place." This book is one of those footholds.

Like all of SARK's books, Make Your Creative Dreams Real is wildly inventive and filled with curious doodles, paintings, and inspiring words and resources. Every chapter has an exercise that you can do and a list of different resources (websites and books) which can help you through whatever stage you are in.

Remember, "Your dreams need you to make them real."

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Artsy Self-Help for Procrastinators, August 25, 2005

By 

Linda Painchaud-Steinman "PARK EDGE BOOKS" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day (Hardcover)

This book marked the first time I've read any of Sark's work. I was impressed by her honesty and her gentle encouragement.

Her artwork was a bit "kindergarten" for my taste, buy hey, I'm no art critic!

I rate the book 5 stars because I think a month-by-month plan that is non-demanding and easy to implement will work for most people but especially for procrastinators.

Some of the other reviews have said SARK'S writing is repetitive in this book and that may be true. As I said, I haven't read any of her other books. Perhaps you won't find any benefit if you've read her previous work.

But if you're new to her writing, as I was, you will probably enjoy and benefit from her plan.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Dreams need You to Make Them Real, January 29, 2005

By 

T SANTOSO (Surabaya, Jatim Indonesia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day (Hardcover)

This is a good book, and everyone should read it. SARK is one of the few favourite writers of mine. I think she makes it easy for everyone to feel good and smile.

SARK books usually are all hand written and colored, this one is part handwritten and pictured and part typed. It makes the materials more abundance that previous books ( at least 3 times as much ), and still give you a genuine "taste of SARK".

For those who have never read SARK (the CEO, executives, management people, etc), try to dive into a different type of book, go read SARK, it is a different type of "self help" book (labelling is such a pain, what is self help? aren't all book self help?).

The book is about DREAMS, and DREAMS PERSUANCE. as one quote in the book said: "HOLD FAST TO DREAMS, FOR IF DREAMS DIE, LIFE IS A BROKEN-WINGED BIRD THAT CAN NOT FLY" (Langston Hughes).

SARK inspire me to start drawing (what is a 44 years old CEO who have started so many new ventures want to do with Drawing?), her drawing is so simple (the feel is like "i can do that!") yet so vibrant and inspiring.

Caution: Not all part of the book will be in sync with your believe system and your way of seeing life. Then again, what kind of books can make you one hundred percent relevant? If you can take, read, apply some part of the books and see the world in a different light, then it will already be more that enough.

What stops you: get the book, find your dreams, and make them real. I hope i can induce you to try SARK for the first time and i believe you will find it worth reading.

one idea: give this book as a souvenir to a friend, it will be a gift well remembered.