My new book, Fully and Creatively Alive: How to Live a More Joyfully Creative Life, is in the very last stages of pre-production. Since it will be releasing very soon I want to give you a glimpse into the book itself. My hope is that the book will inspire you to live a life that makes you feel as though you are more alive than you have ever been before…

Here’s a small, free excerpt from my book:

Seth Godin’s definition of art is that it is a personal gift that changes the recipient. Adopting that definition will allow you to understand that there is always an artistic alternative in life. In its pursuit many discover a life that’s fully and creatively alive. Many also discover that they themselves have been changed.

So what does it mean to be fully and creatively alive? It means living a life that’s fulfilling, enriching, always growing, doing what you love (most of the time), while loving and helping other people get to a place where they, too, live a life that is fully and creatively alive.

Being fully and creatively alive begins with an understanding that the Creator God has created you to be creative. Don’t give me any of that “right brain” and “left brain” stuff. (There is most certainly legitimacy to it, but hang with me and see where I’m going with this…) I’ve seen engineers and mathematicians who are just as creative with their equations as a painter is with a palette.

Yes, God has created us in different and unique ways. Some are more naturally creative in the sense of being artistic in the way most of the world understands art. But when you understand that art is a personal gift that changes the recipient, think about the way in which scientists have created medications that change a hospital patient by bringing her back to health.

I had an audio technician change my life for the better. He installed speakers in the ceilings throughout our home and connected it to a whole house audio system. I was changed when I witnessed professional actors who were far better than I could ever hope to be present Shakespeare’s most gruesome play, Titus Andronicus. I grew an appreciation for Shakespearian language and Shakespearian acting.

But I wasn’t the only one who was changed in the process. Our son, Ben, was in seventh grade and happened to be the only child in the production. His life was changed when he saw two of the guys in the cast messing with their guitars backstage. It was at about the same time that he first picked up a guitar, grew to love it and is now attempting life as a professional musician. Being a part of that production also enabled Ben to find comfort in front of crowds, begin to learn the skill of acting, and pick up the discipline of learning lines, taking direction and picking up cues.

What is it that’s making you feel fully alive today?