Why is it so hard for us to break patterns that are keeping us from our goals? In this episode, Susan and Laura discuss and discover the ways in which we as humans and artists can navigate lasting positive change. They dive into the powerful process and book “Immunity to Change,” by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, which unravels the concept of change and specifically how to close the gap between aspiration/good intention and actual behavior shifts. Susan and Laura discover that when experimenting with our own paths to change, remaining open and curious, not jumping to problem solving, and trusting the process can help. And so can a game of canasta every now and then.💥Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

What do a 1998 wall calendar, a couple’s disappearance, and a half-burned postcard have to do with one man’s quest to create the perfect home? In this episode, Laura and Susan discuss the true story of a film editor who took his own obsession for acquiring his dream home perhaps a little too far. Petty crime, lost relationships, and a last-minute trip to a remote part of Spain are just a few of the pieces to the puzzle of this incredible story of one man and his quest to own a three-story building in Brooklyn. Sparks and story ideas are everywhere, y’all. Even in the Real Estate section.Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

Explore the life and work of Toni Morrison, Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning author, as Susan and Laura discuss her ability to center her own world in writing and the power of her words. They share their fascination with Morrison's work, particularly 'The Bluest Eye', and uncover the layers of meaning within it. The chapter also explores Morrison's journey from editor to writer and her profound impact on storytelling and race. Embracing creativity and following passions are highlighted as important takeaways.

Artists and athletes have a lot more in common than one might think, but our culture seems to encourage choosing one over the other.  In this episode, Laura and Susan discuss what artists can learn from athletes...including training, incremental progress, the discomfort of having a beginner’s mind, and so much more.Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

You know the old trope that one must suffer for their art? That creativity is somehow the byproduct of mental illness or addiction or self-harm?  It is time for that idea to go! An examined life can contribute greatly to our enjoyment of life, and to our creative work. In this episode, Susan and Laura discuss the relation of mental health to creativity and the innovative ways in which creators like Neal Brennan, Selena Gomez, Jonah Hill, and many more are infusing their mental health journeys into their creative work, showing that an artist can be brilliant and also prioritize their mental health. And remember, if you are in the United States and need immediate mental health support, you can call 988 and you will be connected to a trained counselor. (Painting: "Self-Portrait in Hell" by Edvard Munch.)Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

Susan and Laura have found that when they bring up the idea of promoting one’s own work with their creative clients, the idea is almost always met with a sense of dread. So, how can creators combat this feeling? By making marketing part of the creative process. In this episode, Laura and Susan explore the methodologies and philosophies of the innovative Blue Man Group and how this unique approach to marketing, (which Cams was deeply involved with), helped build their global brand and, more importantly, stay true to themselves in the process.Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

Many people have the desire to spin their lived experience into their creative self-expression, Susan and Laura included. This desire can present a conundrum as these creations can feature people other than the creator, or have ideas in them that might make a loved one uncomfortable, or are about a topic that some close to us might consider to be taboo. So how do we create with freedom and without fear? In this episode, Susan and Laura turn to the works of Banksy, Anne Lamott, David Sedaris, David Wellington, and more while discovering one approach to creating without fear: the idea of creating like your loved ones are never going to read it, hear it, or see it. Or, put another way, creating like your parents are dead…again. Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

In Michael Easter's book, The Comfort Crisis, he shares his belief that the modern day creature comforts – air conditioning, food storage, etc., have made us more comfortable as a society and in turn given us extra time that we have filled with worry and anxiety. In this episode, Laura and Susan discuss what comforts we have put into place in regards to our creativity that are stopping us from stretching our creative limits. What if we push ourselves to explore those artistic areas in which we don’t feel comfortable? We just might realize that we are capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to be right now.Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

This spark itself is so vast, but in order to right-size it for this episode, Susan and Laura stay on this important thread: creativity as it relates to abortion rights activism. They discuss risk-taker Carol Downer and her 1960s feminist movement “The Self Helpers," Mexican activist Verónica Cruz, who has dedicated her life to advancing the human rights of women in Mexico and beyond through her organization La Libres, which she founded in 2000, journalist Stephania Taladrid’s incredible reporting on “The Post-Roe Abortion Underground,” how a multigenerational network of activists is taking extraordinary risks to keep abortions accessible, and so much more. Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE

They hiked, they swam, they danced, they learned archery, all while being immersed in a horrific ideology. Susan and Laura dive into the shocking true story behind Camp Siegfried, located in the idyllic hamlet of Yaphank, New York, and the beautiful, seductive piece of theater that playwright Bess Wohl crafted out of it all. And so much more. There are certain sparks that light a firestorm in our brains. This is one of them.Feeling the urge to use your creativity to make a difference? Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP on January 15, 2025 from 6:30 - 8:30pm ET.  You are a Creative Catalyst, using your creativity to make change It's totally free, we just need you to RSVP PLUS! Doors are open for our transformational 6 month program, BLAZE. Get all the information you need HERE