Sunday ☕ : Breaking Chains of the Past

Is it my imagination, or is there a hint of apple cider floating in this crisp fall air?

Yesterday’s drive from Chicago to Door County, Wisconsin, transported me back to a childhood paradise. The harvested cornfields, roadside pumpkin stands, and orchards heavy with autumn fruit stirred something deep within me. Fall has always been my favorite season, and Wisconsin — with its sprawling farms — feels like the landscape of my childhood, where every breath carried the promise of possibility.

But here’s what struck me most: That apple cider scent didn’t just smell good. It triggered a flood of memories, taking me instantly back to childhood orchard visits, sticky fingers wrapped around warm cider cups, and the safety of family traditions.

Mental Time Travel

We all carry these invisible triggers. The taste of black grapes transports me to my grandmother’s garden arbor. The opening notes of “Have You Seen Her” by the Chi-Lites still choke me up, instantly returning me to that intersection as 17-year-old me drove my dad’s ’67 GTO, tears streaming, after my girlfriend Corky broke my heart.
These flashbacks can be beautiful gifts — or invisible prisons.
For decades, I let one devastating moment define my choices. Getting fired from the company I founded hurt so deeply that I stopped taking the very risks that had built my success. One traumatic experience became a cage I carried everywhere, limiting what I believed possible.

Here’s what I’ve learned: Our childhood brains couldn’t process what our adult minds can easily handle, and pain can be revisited to let go.

Rewriting Our Stories

That joke my father made at my expense during a family camping trip? It haunted me for years. But when I revisited it with my adult perspective, I realized it was harmless teasing between a father and son. The wound I’d been nursing was entirely of my own creation.
Sometimes our “truths” are just old stories we’ve never questioned.
I recently watched a friend discover this firsthand. For 30 years, he’d avoided a particular food, convinced he was allergic and would “break out in hives.” When I gently suggested he try it again, he looked at me like I’d suggested skydiving without a parachute. But he did it — and loved it. “I can’t believe I missed eating this all these years,” he said.
How many opportunities are we missing because we’re still operating from old, unexamined beliefs?

From Limitation to Liberation

As one of the two heaviest kids in elementary school, gym class became my nightmare. The humiliation of not being able to climb the rope or keep up with exercises made me physically sick. I started skipping school entirely rather than face that shame.

That trauma kept me heavy most of my life. The thought of exercise triggered those old feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment, though I did not realize it. But once I reframed exercise as a celebration of what my body could achieve rather than a reminder of what it couldn’t, everything changed.

As author S.M. Brain Coach writes in Subconscious Mind Reprogramming: “Making a pivotal decision, dedication to the new path is crucial. Commitment isn’t just about intention, it’s about action.”

The Frequency of Possibility

Ron, Corky’s father, gave me a gift that changed my trajectory. “She’s worried about you because you’re so negative all the time,” he told me, then taught me the power of positive thinking. That conversation became so transformational that I dedicated my first book to him.
Research now confirms what Ron intuitively knew: Positive thoughts operate on a different frequency and attract positive experiences. When we consciously shift from limiting to uplifting beliefs, we literally reprogram our minds.

Your Personal Inventory

Here’s my challenge to you: What moments are still holding you back? Where do you carry wounds that your adult brain could easily heal?

Start building your list:

What experiences still make you avoid certain situations?
What voices from the past still whisper limitations in your ear?
What opportunities are you not seeing because old stories are blocking your vision?

Then create affirmations that are the exact opposite of those limiting beliefs. Read them when you wake up and before you sleep. As Brain Coach suggests: “Regularly count your blessings; this positive reinforcement can overwrite negative subconscious patterns.”

The Practice of Gratitude

When I learned to pray, I was taught to begin every prayer with gratitude for what I already have. Thousands of years later, neuroscience confirms this ancient wisdom: gratitude literally rewires our brains for possibility.

Your scars don’t define you — they can become your strength. When you transform pain into wisdom, every wound becomes a launch pad for freedom.

You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. What story are you ready to rewrite?

PS: My grandmother Luella used to say, “It’s a red letter day.” I’ve since learned that phrase was rooted in special Christian holidays being marked on calendars in red. But today truly is special because I’ve arrived to paint the amazing Door County, Wisconsin, landscape with close to 100 of my friends who are attending my Fall Color Week Artists’ Retreat. A week of painting, play, and friendships ahead!

I’m here for a week, then back home briefly before I head to my annual exotic painting trip — this year to Switzerland and Italy with an amazing group of artists. My trips sell fast when announced. I’ll be announcing more very soon.

When I return, I’ll host PleinAir Live, one of our Global Online Art Summits. There are still tickets available, and it will be life-changing for your art. I know that’s a big claim, but I stand behind it. Register at www.pleinairlive.com.

Next up will be Art Business Mastery Day, another Global Online Art Summit, focused on how to make a living as an artist. I’ve assembled a team of top experts, and it will be a transformative experience. Mark my words. Register at www.artbizmastery.com.

In January, we’ll transform your watercolor skills with Watercolor Live, a Global Online Art Summit with people attending from around the world. Register at www.watercolorlive.com.

In February, join me for my Winter Art Escape Artist Retreat in Hilton Head and Savannah. A chance to escape the cold, ice, and gray skies for sunny, 70-degree painting days. But act fast — it’s selling quickly and you must register by October 5 to get in before the price increase. www.winterartescape.com

May brings the big Plein Air Convention & Expo, but it’s selling faster than expected. The main hotel is close to being sold out, so get signed up today at www.pleinairconvention.com. Over 80 instructors including Thomas W. Schaller, and Andrew Tischler from New Zealand. Book today at www.pleinairconvention.com. If you’re wondering why it’s selling so fast, look at the incredible faculty and consider the drive times from these cities:

Close (1-3 hours)
Springfield, MO - 45 miles, 1 hour
Fayetteville, AR - 85 miles, 1.5 hours
Joplin, MO - 90 miles, 1.5 hours
Little Rock, AR - 150 miles, 2.5 hours
Tulsa, OK - 160 miles, 2.5 hours

Medium Distance (3-6 hours)
Kansas City, MO - 200 miles, 3.5 hours
Oklahoma City, OK - 280 miles, 4.5 hours
St. Louis, MO - 300 miles, 4.5 hours
Memphis, TN - 320 miles, 5 hours
Wichita, KS - 320 miles, 5 hours

Longer Drives (6-10 hours)
Nashville, TN - 400 miles, 6.5 hours
Dallas, TX - 450 miles, 7 hours
Denver, CO - 500 miles, 8 hours
Chicago, IL - 550 miles, 8.5 hours
New Orleans, LA - 580 miles, 9 hours

Extended Road Trips (10+ hours)
Atlanta, GA - 650 miles, 10 hours
Phoenix, AZ - 800 miles, 12 hours
Los Angeles, CA - 1,200 miles, 18 hours
Seattle, WA - 1,300 miles, 20 hours
Miami, FL - 1,100 miles, 16 hours

As you can see, it’s centrally located for everyone, which is why it will be the biggest and best ever. Book today at www.pleinairconvention.com.

Who Is This Guy Eric Rhoads?

Eric Rhoads is the founder and publisher of PleinAir Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine (both on newsstands nationally), author and host of six Art Marketing instruction videos, writes a blog on Art Marketing, and is the author of the Amazon bestseller Make More Money Selling Your Art. Additionally, he produces the weekly e-newsletters American Watercolor, Fine Art Today, Inside Art, PaintTube ArtNotes, Pastel Today, Plein Air Today, and Realism Today. Eric hosts the in-person Plein Air Convention & Expo, the Fine Art Trip for art collectors, and painting retreats including Paint Adirondacks, Fall Color Week, and the Winter Art Escape, as well as online virtual events Acrylic Live, Pastel Live, PleinAir Live, Realism Live, Watercolor Live Digital Painting Live, Gouache Live, and Art Business Mastery Day. He is also the producer of the PleinAir Salon Online Art Competition and art instructional courses through PaintTube.tv. Each weekday Eric hosts Art School Live, a YouTube show featuring free demos from a variety of artists, and he is host of the PleinAir Podcast and Art Marketing Minute Podcast. Eric is a plein air, landscape, and portrait painter with works at Castle Gallery. He is heavily involved in the radio industry as founder of Radio Ink Magazine as well as Radio + Television Business Report, the Radio Forecast Conference, and the Hispanic Radio Conference. He is the author of the bestselling book Blast from the Past: A Pictorial History of Radio’s First 75 Years. Eric lives in Austin, Texas, with his bride, Laurie, and they are the parents of triplets. Learn more at EricRhoads.com, or see Everything We Do.