Carey Blakely

self development and personal growth blog
A discourse on self-development
flourish blog - personal growth and self development

Life during Covid really got me thinking about self-development and what it takes to flourish—and what can get in the way. With Flourish I explore how you and I can live authentically, pursue goals that we stick to, deal with obstacles, persevere, and ultimately thrive. 

To flourish is to “grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way.” As a noun it’s “a bold or extravagant gesture or action.” 

Let’s grow vigorously and be bold about it!

stick with your dreams

personal growth and development

Power Through the Transition

My friend John gave me a new mantra for fall: power through the transition. He was talking about surfing, but I thought it was awesome life advice.

climbing your way to a creative high

The Creative Leap and Chasm

When it’s time to release your work from the hidden space where you toiled into the outer world of humans with eyes and preferences and opinions, there’s a great moment of tension. The tension is where fear and excitement grapple with each other. Despite their differences, both ask what if? . . .

dig deep to flourish

Digging Deep Days

You won’t learn anything from the projects you didn’t do. And you won’t grow by avoiding hard goals. We only know what we are capable of when we push ourselves to go, do, and be.

confidence to be yourself

When No One Gives a Shit

Start with the assumption that almost no one gives a shit. It will piss you off and upset you. Then it will set you free.

don't panic, stick with your dreams

Don’t Panic Sell Your Dreams

What I find over and over again is the struggle behind the curtain easily gets forgotten while watching the performance. We see the expert execution on the stage, not the rehearsals and rewrites.

great achievements, the right stuff

To the Moon

While visiting the Kennedy Space Center last fall, I was struck by the U.S.’s sheer determination in the 1960s to achieve results that defied the odds. To send a man to the moon, which no country had ever done before, must have seemed to many Americans at the time like …

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