Why do madness and genius often go together? Vincent Van Gough shot himself at age 37. Mark Rothko committed suicide. Amy Winehouse overdosed at 27.

These brilliant artists had one thing in common with creatives like us -- we seek meaning in life through our work. When that fails to inspire, we feel depressed, lost, and confused about the future. Our work becomes tired and repetitive.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote: “Nobody will stop you from creating. Do it tonight. Do it tomorrow. That is the way to make your soul grow... The kick of creation is the act of creating, not anything that happens afterward. I would tell all of you: Before you go to bed, write a four line poem. Make it as good as you can. Don’t show it to anybody. Put it where nobody will find it. And you will discover that you have your reward."

So many of the great artist we know were lonely, compulsive and self-loathing. They were trapped in fear mode and came to believe that their creative output was dependent on their misery.

I love words. Because every word is a universe onto itself. Our words create our reality. The words we speak and the words we think. Positive words make us grow. Negative words hold us back.

Just when you think everything is going ok, just when you feel like your life is on track, something out of the blue can turn everything upside down. That's what happened to me a couple of months ago.

When we love ourselves, we make choices that are healthy for our growth. We don’t compromise our talent, we aren’t afraid to ask for what we want and we experience a level of self-confidence that allows us to be truly creative.

The choices our heart makes may never be logical. When we make logical choices we answer to what makes sense, to what fits into our brain’s way of seeing the world.