Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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."

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.

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.

If you appreciate the writings of SARK, you will LOVE this book. It is specifically on the topic of identifying and going after your creative dreams. It includes practical advice, along with stories of her own experiences, and interviews with others about their creative journeys.

This is her biggest book, at 300 pages, and it is a mix of black and white pages with color pages thrown in. Her art is mixed throughout the book, and it is a visual feast. In fact, you almost need to let yourself ramble through the book to appreciate the art first, so you can come back and concentrate on the content.

This book is like the best of her previous eleven books, rolled into one, with even more wonderful material thrown in. It is specifically about how to identify your creative dream, and then how to go after it. It is broken up into 12 months, but you can do it at any pace. There are also a ton of goodies like exercises, gifts, web site and book recommendations, and more thrown in.

Buy it, devour it, and come back to it again and again for inspiration and encouragement. If you could rate a book on Amazon with 10 stars, I'd have given it eleven!

Sark's method of teaching and motivating you to follow your dreams is unlike anything else I've ever read. She encourages lots of napping and taking tiny steps toward your dreams which she coins Micromovements. Sark writes in a style that is easy to follow but makes you want to continue to read more!! I highly recommend anything by her!

I was a bit surprised when I read the other reviews of this book and found readers offended by the 'artsy cutsy' in the book. Understand that this book is meant to make the reader assess themselves, and deal with some very powerful emotions - daring to dream, facing fears, etc. The cutsy bits are important to cushion the impact of the personal transformation the book is meant to help create in it's reader. If you are put off by cute imaginings, skip them and read the deeper messages. If you really want to live differently than you are now, you should really give this book a try. It's mission is to make change as painless and enjoyable as possible. Do not believe that appearing less serious makes the subject matter less serious.

I have been receiving Susan's e-letters for a few years and own three of her books. I think this is a wonderful book to purchase to get a whole picture of what she is all about. I enjoyed doing the worksheets even though that is not my thing. I now operate thinking 'macro', not only in general tasks to do, but in my professional life as a designer (to make deadlines). While reading through this book the first time, I felt like SARK knew me personally and was writing about 'my' faults. This is how close it all hit home.

Excellent first SARK book for anyone who needs a nudge to straighten up their daily routine or wants help to get mentally organized. Then it's up to you to follow through and make it work :o)

Susan Kennedy ..."SARK"... has created a wonderful guide for helping you ACHIEVE and LIVE your creative dreams. In her radiant trademark writing style of supportive, gentle, candid, inspirational, and unbounded enthusiasm, she lays out a realistic 12 month plan to help you manifest those dreams in reality. From defining and naming your dream(s), recognising what (or who) you allow to hold you back, over-coming 'NOs' and other obstacles, strengthening your commitment to your goal (and yourself), all the way through to celebrating the birth of your creative dream(s) in the here and now. And, she's managed to lay it out for both linear and non-linear thinkers! Once again, SARK is STUPENDOUS!!! A perfect gift for all the Creative Dreamers in your life, too!

If you have never read anything by SARK, then you don't know what you are cheating yourself out of. Make Your Dreams Real is an honest, insightful, and beautiful book that deals with all the highs and lows and everything inbetween when you decide to take a leap and make your dreams real, live, living, breathing things! What I enjoyed most was the mix throughout the book of very personal sharings and A LOT of very practical advice about how to support yourself through this often very wrenching process. Theres a lot in here that I think will really help me - and hopefully you too!- to view my resistance and fears in a new way, and embrace the process. We only have one life in this shell and this book is reminding me to make a work of art out of the very way I live it and honor my innermost creative dreams.
If you are like me, then maybe this book will help to wake you up and out of your 'back-up life' and back onto the path of that which you know deep, deep inside truly brings you your greatest fulfillment. Treat yourself and buy this book!
Alexandra Saperstein-Galyuk - Los Angeles, CA

Well, I got this one from the library, and I'm glad, as it's the same thing as usual. As other people reviewing have stated, SARK (as much as I love her) really just needs to find something new to say. How many times do we have to hear about her childhood incest, or her magic cottage and how she found it, and her procrastination issues, bla bla bla...it's in EVERY single book. WE KNOW ALREADY.
If this is your first SARK experience, well, then, it might be a wonderful one.

This book can be good - it would be perfect for someone scared and anxious and who wants to be led gently through the tough stuff. Baby-talked.

I certainly don't want to celebrate all the bad stuff about myself - the whole point of self-help is to change the bad stuff, why would I, or anyone, want to celebrate it?
This book has the feel of "We love you just the way you are."

It does have the stuff I've always liked in SARK books - profiles on other interesting people, book recommendations, etc. But a lot of those books are the same books as in all the others. And of course she recommends her own.

It did start me writing my book, however, so it's not all bad. I miss the early books where there were new inspiring stories, and handwriting. She does explain the new text, but it's just not the same! And what's the deal with "a NEW creative companion"? Come on SARK, you have a huge imagination. Write a novel next time. I think you've said all you can say on the other stuff.