Standout Creatives: Business, marketing, and creativity tips for solopreneurs launching their ideas

Sally Safadi was working at an after school program for kids between medical school and graduating . While there, she found it was difficult for children to learn in the traditional school environment after already spending eight hours in school. So she came up with different games for the kids to play to get them involved in learning. This began her shift from studying science to studying and exploring creativity. Sally’s site, Neurons Away, is the hub for all her work including her book and card game. Each of her projects help people explore and exercise their imaginations. In this episode learn about her various projects, the power of constraints, the benefits of trial and error, and much more. Here are three things you can learn from Sally: The Power of Learning to Play in Empty Spaces Most of us are taught to find a single answer to problems. We haven’t been give the proper tools to tackle problems with more than one possibility, which is why we struggle with empty spaces. “The way we are taught, especially through school, is to write in the lines and in the box. Color in the space.” Instead of looking for the single answer, we need to develop the mindset to play in the empty spaces. “You have to have that specific mindset that develops to be able to do that. But most individuals haven’t really been given that opportunity.” Sally believes the blank canvas can be used as an educational tool. She believes, that once you learn that form of expression, you can use it many aspects of your life. “Giving empty space in different areas of life, especially education, empowers an individual to be more creative in their own choices in life.” The Importance of Trial and Error We spend too much time worrying about whether our plans will fail or succeed instead of actually testing them out. One thing is for certain, if you don’t test your ideas, you will never know if they are going to work. Sally likens testing ideas to planting seeds. Some will grow, and others won’t. “It’s just like these little things of trying, and trying, and trying til something catches or grows, or planting a bunch of seeds and hoping some of them take.” It is only by trying a bunch of ideas that you will be able to get one to bloom. She also believes in listening to the feedback of your audience. That’s how she ended up with the cover for her book. Her first cover didn’t convey the message that was in book, so she tested a new one that worked much better. She was able to leverage the opinions of her audience to create a cover that her audience liked. But you can’t listen to everything people say. You have to find the right balance. “Seeking the opinions and constructive criticisms is really good, but people also need to create their bubble with that. I could ask a thousand people what they think about the cover, and each person… is telling me something different. So at some point, you just have to also just make your own decision and stick to it because you’re always going to find someone who has something different to say.” Everything Around Us Came From Someone’s Imagination Many people believe imaginations are stronger in children than they are in adults. But this is only partially true. Children may use their imaginations a lot more, but they mostly use them for play. Adults, on the other hand, use their imaginations to shape the world around us. “Our realities are basically a moment’s expression of our collective imagination. Everything that is around us was once an idea or a thought that was applied, and directed, and grew into a tangible reality… which a lot of us fail to realize in this journey that we call life.” Everything from our phones, to our cars, to our computers was the result of a creation from someone’s imagination. Before these things existed, someone had to dream them up. That is the power of imagination. The problem is, many of us stop using our imaginations once we hit adulthood. If we all harnessed that power a little bit more, who knows what the world would be like. Stop thinking play is for children. Leverage the power of your imagination to help change the world. Read more shownotes from episode 54 with Sally Safadi

Catherine Orer was an award winning communications and PR expert for multinational corporations for years, but that job never felt fulfilling to her. So, when the opportunity to study at Christies in Paris opened up, she jumped on it. While in Paris she gained hands on experience working in contemporary art galleries. After her studies, she brought this knowledge and experience back to Canada. While working at an art gallery in Montreal, many artists approached her for help. This began Catherine’s journey as The Artist Entrepreneur. In this episode, find out why gratitude is so important, why there isn’t just one path to success, and why artists should find support. Here are three things you can learn from Catherine: There’s more than one path to success Most people falsely believe there is only one path to success. They believe there’s a secret formula they can learn to become successful. They believe the people who’ve made it are all part of a secret club. Catherine’s path is neither traditional or conventional. She went to school for public relations and communications and got management positions in corporations before even considering the art world. It was only when she noticed she wasn’t having fun at work that she decided to dip her toes back into the art world. She went to Christies in Paris for training and worked at an art gallery when she got back. It was only then that she found how much help she could provide to artists. Artists came up to her hoping they could work together, and finally she relented. Now she is working with thousands of artists in her Facebook group. She is doing one on one coaching, group coaching, and providing immense value to artists with her experience in PR and in the arts. Catherine’s path to helping artists was not the traditional one and she believes artists should look for their own path too. “There’s not just one path to being a successful artist. Not every artist will get their retrospective at the MoMA at fifty and it’s fine. It’s not everybody’s path and it shouldn’t be. You just need to find yours, what makes you happy, and also where you can grow as an artist.” The importance of gratitude One thing that I’ve found by speaking to many successful people is, gratitude is an essential part of their daily lives. Catherine is no exception. Leaving her corporate job was the turning point in her gratitude practice. What she has found is, we aren’t always at our best. So the best thing to do at those times is be grateful for what you have. “We can’t always be on high, so life is what it is. You have your ups and your downs and that’s when I really started being more thankful with everything that was going on my life.” She goes on to talk about why she has to practice gratitude every day. “If I don’t take some time to be grateful and thankful,for everything in my life, I would go crazy… At some point you just need to be like, okay, what I’m doing is enough and I’m just really thankful that I’m doing what I love, and that I have these people around me who support me.” We all need to be thankful for what we have and embrace where we are in our journeys. “Being thankful is just being in the present. It’s just looking at what’s happening right now, and just embracing it all and opening up yourself to more abundance too.” Find a community that supports you One of the things that artists get wrong is trying to do everything by themselves. They believe they don’t need to find support when they are struggling. They believe they have to do all the work themselves. They believe if they don’t do all the work, people look down on them. Catherine believes you won’t find success unless you find people to support you. “My experience is that at some point, you’re going to hit a roadblock, and you’re going to want to get support.” She even advocates finding help if it isn’t with her. “I don’t really mind if you don’t work with me. For me it’s not about working with me. It’s about finding support. So, if you find support… that’s fine, but doing it all by yourself is usually not the right way to go about it. You need to surround yourself with people who are going to support you.'” She goes and talks about our need to connect with society. “If you want to grow, you need to be in contact with other people. We live in society, and if you want to sell your work to people, then you have to surround yourself with people. You need to network. You need to build a network around you, a support network, but also a network and following of people who are going to want to know more about you, and what you do, and how you can be of service to them, and how you can support them, and how you can communicate who you are and what you stand for.” More shownotes for episode 53 with Catherine Orer

Jacob Sokol was climbing the corporate ladder at his job as a computer technician when he he realized there was a deep void in his life. His life was filled with the highest of highs, but also the lowest of lows. He didn’t trust his own happiness. He knew something had to change. So he took a 5 week trip to Europe. That is when he decided to embark on a quest to create his ideal life. In this episode, find out about Jacob’s beginnings, his quest to help people create their ideal lives, and also see what makes him tick. Here are three things you can learn from Jacob: You are not your thoughts We like to listen to the thoughts in our head. After all, they are all we know. The problem is, these thoughts often lead us astray. We let them control what we do, and how we think. One of the biggest lessons Jacob learned on his trip to Europe was, he was not his thoughts. Although we all inherently know this, there’s a difference between hearing it and experiencing it. Jacob’s trip showed him the difference between the two. What he discovered was, we are creatures of pattern, habit, and ritual. Since our thoughts are just patterns. if we can change our patterns, we can change ourselves. “Suddenly I realized my thoughts are just patterns. If I can change my thoughts, that means I can change my life. And if I can change my life then I can create a life that is amazing.” By changing his thought patterns, Jacob was able to build the life he wanted to live. He no longer had to live the role society told him to live. He was no longer trapped in the consumer cycle. He realized there was a life he could create for himself. Confidence comes from action Too many of us believe we must be confident in order to take action. Jacob believes the opposite is true. He believes clarity comes from confidence. “It’s when we take action, then we become clear and confident. So clarity and confidence are not prerequisites, they’re actually results of action.” The problem most of us have is, we wait for that moment when we are confident enough to take action, so we never take it. We wait and wait, and that confidence never comes. Jacob believes confidence only comes as a result of taking action. “Confidence comes as a result of knowing you can handle something. You gotta try something a couple of times until you get better at it and competence leads to confidence… You don’t get competent unless you actually go do something and try it.” Instead of waiting for confidence to come to us, we must be proactive and seize it for ourselves. We must be willing to fail and suck. We must do things for ourselves, and gain confidence by doing them. If you want something enough, you’ll figure out how to do it One of the more interesting responses from Jacob came when I asked him how people can change the environment and people in their lives. His response surprised me with its beauty and simplicity. “Any time someone asks how to, it’s because they don’t really understand the principle. So the principle here is… if you want it enough, you’ll figure out how to do it.” I think he’s right. Although how-to’s can be helpful. They are just one person’s take on solving a problem. If you really want to solve a problem, you have to do it for yourself. Jacob believes this comes from a place of instant gratification. “That’s kind of what people often times want. It’s the instant gratification of them wanting to be told what to do, instead of owning within themselves that they are a creator of life and can go out there and do and create based on what’s within them versus looking for the external to tell them.” We need to stop looking for someone else to give us all the answers. We need to understand the principle first, and so we can figure it out for ourselves. “If you understand the principle of something, then there’s a thousand ways you can go out there and do it.” More shownotes from episode 52 with Jacob Sokol

Miranda Aisling found her passion at a very young age. She went to college at the age of 14, and by her junior year of college, two things gave her a clear direction in life. The first was deciding to open up an art center. The second was a trip to El Salvador that changed her life. In this episode, learn about her work as an artist, community builder, and creator of Miranda’s Hearth, the first Community Art Hotel. Here are three things you can learn from Miranda: The beauty of experimentation One of the things artists need to embrace more is the idea of experimentation. When we look up at the paintings hanging in gallery walls, we ask ourselves how someone was able to create that. What many of us don’t see is all the effort it took to get there. Every artist goes through phases of exploration and experimentation. We start off trying to mimic our heroes. What we soon discover is, we can’t recreate a piece of art, no matter how hard we try. So we must experiment for ourselves. Miranda believes the artists who came before can teach us the lessons they learned through experimentation. She believes after learning from the masters, we must experiment for ourselves. “I think how you find out what works is through experimentation.” She also believes that, after experimenting and trying to mimic other people’s work, you discover yourself. “You can try and make something perfect and you can mimic it perfectly, but it’s actually in the way you can’t make it the same that you find your own voice.” The beauty of art is, you can both learn from others and from experimentation. It is when those two worlds collide that we find what really works for us. Curiosity’s role in creativity Miranda believes curiosity lies at the center of creativity. “Curiosity really is the root of creativity. Artists are the people that sit there and they ask, and they try to express what they find whether they can or not. Through expression they try to find the answers.” She believes it is something that is missing from our education system. We don’t allow people to explore their curiosity. Instead we try to force people to memorize facts. “By playing to a test, we beat out curiosity, because we say, there is an answer. This is the right answer. This is what it is and if you tell me it back, you’ll be correct, and you’ll pass, and you’ll move on. But manifesting curiosity is actually really humbling.” Instead of relying on people to give us the answers, we need to discover them for ourselves. We need to develop our own humble curiosity. We need to ask what if. We need to find our own expression. When we do, we will have found our connection to creativity. The importance of art While on her trip to El Salvador, Miranda discovered the importance of art. Her trip visiting a war torn town changed her entire perspective of what art could be. She saw the way it could bring people together after experiencing such tragedy. The town was the site of a horrific massacre that left only one survivor. So along with Claudia Bernardi and Walls of Hope, they painted a mural with people who came back to the town. This trip is the reason Miranda does what she does and doesn’t stray off the path. “It was at that moment that I realized how vital art is, that it’s not just million dollar pieces hanging on a museum wall behind a piece of glass. That, cliché as it sounds, it literally builds communities. It brings people back together. It brings meaning to life. And that was the moment when I realized that I didn’t want to dedicate my life to pursuing some gallery position selling artwork to the 1%. I wanted to help rebuild. I wanted to help create connection and I saw art as the vehicle. For me art has always been a vehicle. It is not a purpose in and of itself… for me art is the means, and human connection and finding meaning through life, that’s the purpose. That’s what art helps us do.” More shownotes from episode 51 with Mirana Aising

This week is going to be a little different. Instead of interviewing another creative, I wanted to celebrate the fiftieth episode of Cracking Creativity by having someone else interview me. I had my friend and former podcast guest, Jacques Ho, interview me. He has been a huge part of my work on this site and this podcast. Each week we meet to discuss what we are working on while also keeping each other accountable to our goals. He has a lot of insights on my work, which I thought would be great to have for this episode. In it, I discuss the beginnings of my creative journey, why I started my blog Marketing Your Art the Right Way, my quote art collection and upcoming book, influences for my work, my podcast, and much more. By the time you finish this episode, I hope you have a better idea of why I started this site and why I want to help all of you on your creative and artistic journeys. Here are three things you can learn from me: Start each day by working for yourself Many of us start each day without making room to do something for ourselves. We might start checking our email or social media. We might prepare for work. Or we might get ready and just head out the door. I used to be one of those people too. Every morning I would wake up, eat breakfast, brush my teeth, get dressed, and head out the door. I would do the least amount of work possible before heading out the door to work for someone else. It was only after listening to other people talk about their own mornings that I started to change mine too. Instead of using the beginning of the day to work for someone else, we need to work for ourselves. We only have a certain amount of energy each day. Why don't we use our most productive hours working for ourselves? Why do we insist on giving our best hours to someone else? Now, I begin each morning working for myself. I read the books I want to read. I write what I want to write And I create art for myself. I'll tell you this, it has made a huge difference in my day. It has fueled my mornings. It has invigorated my passion for my work. It has changed everything. Don't spend your most precious hours working for someone else. Use them on yourself instead. You normally can't be creative on command One of the myths of creativity is that you are either born creative or you aren't creative at all. That simply isn't true. If there's one thing I know about creativity it's that everyone has the capacity to be creative. As artists, we fall for this myth too. It's most common form is writer's block. When we get stuck on an idea, we are stumped. We don't know what to do. We let it paralyze us. "I am a creative artist, why can't I be creative?" The reason people think they aren't creative, or the reason so called creative people get stuck is, they haven't practiced using their creative muscle. Just like any other muscle in the body, if you don't use it, it will become weak. We must practice using our creative muscle every day if we want it grow strong. One of my favorite methods for strengthening my creative muscle is James Altucher's ten ideas a day. Every day, I choose a topic and write ten ideas for it. In fact, it has helped me write some of my best and most successful articles. The point of the exercise is not to come up with ten good ideas. It's to constantly practice using your creative muscle. When doing the exercise, you will come up with the first five ideas fairly quickly. It's those last five ideas that strain your brain. It's those same ideas that help make your creative muscle strong. The next time you are feeling creative block, try coming up with ten ideas to overcome it. If you keep practicing it, you will notice yourself become more and more creative. The power and importance of story One of my favorite parts about working on this site and this podcast is hearing about and uncovering people's stories. We are all going through our own journeys in life. Often times we forget that other people are going through their own journeys too. It is both an honor and a pleasure to hear about other people's projects and lives. Some of the greatest lessons in life don't come from our own experience. They come from learning from other people. Other people have the capacity to inspire and move us the way we often can't ourselves. We are too close to ourselves to notice the things we need to change. By listening to the story of others, we can gain insights into our own faults and flaws. That is the beauty of hosting this podcast and creating this site. My podcast has introduced me to people who are changing the world. But I would never have met many of my guests if I hadn't started this show. One of my favorite parts of every week is when I get to jump on a call with one of my guests. Each one has an interesting and beautiful story to tell. I have made it my job as the host of Cracking Creativity to uncover the wonderful story behind each of my guests. Too often, our connections with other people just scratch the surface. We rarely get the chance to dive deeper into other people's lives. We rarely give ourselves the chance to learn lessons from those around us. We are too busy with our own lives to care. That is why I want to share these wonderful guests with all of you. It has been an absolute pleasure sharing the stories of my guests, and I hope they have inspired you too. Thanks for joining me for my fiftieth episode. I hope there are many more to come. More shownotes for episode 50 with Kevin Chung

Thom Fox is a strategy consultant who helps companies with complex problems. He has created economic empowerment programs that have reached over 3 million people and has conducted 1,200 seminars, workshops and keynotes. But his story wasn’t always one filled with success. Thom started off in a life of crime and with an addiction to angel dust. He broke into people’s homes and got arrested at the age of 14. It wasn’t until he was 19 years old that he realized he needed to make a change in his life. It was in that moment that clarity was brought into his life, and got him on the path towards success. Here are three things you can learn from Thom: You can change your life Many people believe once you hit a snag in life, you are doomed to failure. That simply isn’t the case. Thom started off his life as a criminal who was addicted to drugs. Yet, he still found a way to turn his life around. Once he made the decision to change his life, he took on various customer service jobs. But the real moment of change happened when he took a job at a non-profit. That job gave him the opportunity to learn and grow. They threw everything they could at him to see if he could figure things out. “They just kept throwing stuff at me and I looked at from that way. It was a great opportunity to just learn. I didn’t know what I was going to do with all that yet, but.. if they ask me to do this, let me understand what it means.” It was also at this job that Thom learned to absorb information. “I guess what I learned was one of the biggest lessons is be a sponge. If anybody out there right now is trying to do something different in their lives, be a sponge and learn all that you can because you can apply that knowledge in different areas once you finally get the confidence of achieving some of those things, and then from there, it’s using your creativity to just put them in different situations.” One day, the president of the company told Thom to become the lead of the marketing department. So Thom learned marketing on the fly, and started to do educational work for the company. If there’s one thing we can learn from Thom, it’s that your life isn’t set for you. You can change who you are and what you do to impact other people and the world. Relationships are a crucial In 2005, Thom was working on a non-profit for college scholarships. After one of his pitches, Thom was approached by one of the directors of the board. When the director asked where Thom learned to build one of his programs, Thom told him he learned on the fly. He told him about dropping out of school and not going to college. The director was shocked and told him he should pursue his degree. That moment convinced Thom to get his GED and pursue a degree in international business. After graduating, Thom decided to venture out on his own. The biggest reason Thom was able to do this was because he already had good relationships. His work with the local school system and his work on a documentary allowed him to hit the ground running. Thom’s belief is that relationships are crucial to your success. “Relationship building is probably the most important thing that I’ve seen in business… I mean the relationships that people really get to see you in your element. So I found a lot of success simply donating my time to organizations.” When people see your involvement and passion, they are more wiling to work with you. “I fount that by serving on these boards and serving in communities and positions, people get to see what you do, and people get to see your passion for it.” These relationships form the foundation of your reputation. They help you when you need help the most. The value of a startup mentality Thom is a huge proponent of the startup mentality. He believes it can teach you many things, even when you find failure. Startups are often successful because the people who found them are so creative. “You don’t need a 500 person company to generate a billion dollars, you need to have people who are smart and know what they’re doing. People in that capacity are creative. You know, when your innovation takes creativity, that creativity has to come from the ability to have momentum.” Startup founders also approach problems with an open mind and willingness to learn. “I appreciate entrepreneurs for their ability to be open minded, their ability to learn, to constantly challenge themselves, and their work ethic.” They are also don’t let their fear of failure prevent them for continuing on. “That’s what I think I appreciate about that failure and that understanding. Just because you fail, doesn’t mean that it’s over. It just means you get to take all that stuff that you learned, and you get to do something else that’s pretty cool with it.” That ability to learn and that ability to persevere are what make the startups mentality so special. Even if your idea fails, there is something to learn from that. We just need to be open and willing to learn and fail if we want to run a successful business. More shownotes for episode 48 with Thom Fox

Angela Lussier is a coach, public speaker, and author of three books. In this episode Angela talks about her journey towards creating her own business, how to overcome the imposter syndrome, why you need to live by your own rules, and the importance of play. Here are three things you can learn from Angela: Everyone feels like an imposter If you think you are the only one who feels like an imposter, you are dead wrong. We all feel like imposters in some way or another. Even those who look like they have it all together have their doubts to. Angela believes we are all students at something. “Even experts. Even gurus. Even millionaires. Everyone is a student and they may know a lot about what they’re doing in their business, but they still have a lot to learn somewhere else.” Don’t believe people who tell you they have all the answers. We are all learning together. The key is to have the right mindset. “As long as we have the right intentions of trying to help people and trying to do our best work, then that’s the most we can hope for.” By talking to a bunch of successful people, Angela has come to realize that you can feel like an imposter and still be successful. Don’t let the imposter syndrome keep you from achieving your dreams. Live life by your own rules Too often we feel like we have a standard we need to live up to. We need to be like this person or run our business like that person. But that simply isn’t true. Angela believes the problem is our fear of being ourselves. “I think a lot of people spend a lot of times being scared and afraid to show what they really want to say and what they really want to do and that’s a major problem.” Many people get into business without ever considering the lifestyle they want to live, and that’s a mistake. At one point in her career, Angela was living life for everyone else, and it drove her to exhaustion. It was only when she started creating and living for herself that she felt whole again. Stop living by other people’s expectations. Stop living in fear of being yourself. Determine how you want to live, and make steps towards living that way. The importance of play While creating classes for her community, the Do + Make Business District, Angela had the idea of recording one of the lessons at a playground. Before releasing the lesson, she was scared what her community might think. Would they think it was unprofessional? Would they taker her seriously?The beautiful thing is, her community loved the idea. They enjoyed seeing her having fun and liked the idea of having fun with business. This gave Angela the courage to experiment even more. She did classes dressed in costumes and played different characters. She wanted to make learning fun again. Angela also believes in playing as an adult. “Just because you’re a kid doing something doesn’t mean it’s a kid thing. It’s something you can do for your whole entire life, but you abandoned it at some point because you thought you weren’t allowed to do it anymore. That’s a really freeing moment.” We need to stop being so serious all the time. Play can be an essential part of living a more fulfilling life. We just need to allow ourselves to do it again. Read more shownotes from episode 47 with Angela Lussier

Dr. Matt Westheimer is a chiropractor and the founder of Elite Blueprint.  In this episode Matt talks about his journey of selling everything he had to build a chiropractic practice in Singapore, the role mentors have played in his life, why you need support from the people around you, and the reason the process is more important than the result. Here are three things you can learn from Matt: The Power of Mentorship One constant throughout Matt's life has been the influence of mentors on his life. Early on, Matt made the mistake of only focusing on one aspect of what he considered success. When Matt read an article about Michael Phelps, he brought it to one of his mentors and said Phelps was the type of person that inspired him. The mentor showed Matt that Phelps had success in one area of life, but was he excelling in other areas of life like relationships, friendships, and personal growth. From that moment on, Matt decided he didn't just want success in one area of life, he wanted it in all areas of life. On another occasion, Matt had been struggling for months trying to decide whether he should make the move to Singapore. The mentor asked one simple question that changed Matt's perspective. "In fifteen years, what are you going to regret more? Are you going to regret not staying here and opening up practice... or are you going to regret not taking the time to travel around the world?" This was the catalyst that gave Matt the confidence to move overseas. These moments were pivotal in Matt's growth. Without the help of mentors, Matt's life might be completely different. If you find yourself struggling, seek out guidance from a mentor. Their wisdom can have a profound affect on your life. Surround Yourself with People Who Will Support You In one of the most vulnerable moments of his life, Matt found confidence, strength, and the courage to move on and achieve more. How did he do it? With the help of the people around him. When his long term relationship ended, Matt felt stuck. He was a pivotal moment in his life where he could either grow or continue to live life in the middle. It was during that moment that Matt turned to his friends. Even though his relationship didn't work out, he was able to build life long friendships because of it. "I would say one of the biggest things that you can do is surround yourself with people that are going to inspire you, that are going to challenge you, that are going to support you. People that are going to build you up. People that aren't just playing it safe, that are going to call you out." When you have a strong group of people on your side, you can overcome just about anything. Don't try to do everything on your own because the support these people provide is invaluable. The Process is More Important than the Result One of the big changes Matt made in his life was going from a results based mindset to a process based mindset. He used to write down all the things that he wanted out of life from workout goals to monetary goals. Eventually, he realized when you have result based goals, and you don't achieve them, you feel down about yourself. When you have a process based goal, you get to enjoy the journey instead of focusing on the destination. Instead of worrying about whether you can achieve your goals, you get to enjoy the process along the way. Here's what Matt has to say about his every day process, "I focus all of my energy on where if I do these things every single day, it's going to be impossible for me not to have the result that I would love to have... a lot of people get too focused on the result and less focused on the process, which I think is much more important."The next time you find yourself down about not achieving your goals, re-frame your mindset to focus on the process instead. More shownotes from episode 46 with Dr. Matt Westheimer

Cynthia Morris is an author, illustrator, and the creator Original Impulse. She has turned many of her ideas to reality from completing a novel to running creativity workshops in Paris. In this episode, Cynthia talks about the struggles of a creative life, listening to your inner artist, and the need to create our own stories. Here are three things you can learn from Cynthia: The Creative Life Isn’t Easy Even though Cynthia has achieved many things in her creative career, that doesn’t mean it’s been easy. Just because she enjoys creating doesn’t mean the creative life is easy. She believes putting things out into the world “involves an enormous perceived risk.” It has a very specific effect on our nervous systems and our psyches, and the only way to withstand that is to have a “commitment to your ultimate end goal.” There are so many important factors that go into your creative work. There are the time and money commitments. There’s the possibility that your work may amount to nothing. Everything is a crap shoot. “You have no idea. It’s crazy. It’s ludicrous to make things.” The mistake many creatives make is trying to do it all on their own. Many of us have fallen into the myth of the lone creative genius. If you want a successful creative career you need allies, peers, and mentors to help you. Creating should not be a solo adventure. Let Your Creative Self Lead Often times, we are so concerned about what need to accomplish and how we need to accomplish it, that we don’t pay attention to what our creative self is telling us. Cynthia thinks we all need to stop worrying about everything and just “let your artist lead.” There are times we got so caught up in the daily grind that we don’t listen to that inner voice. Sometimes we just need to let her be in charge. We need to get lost. We need to make bad decsions. We need to indulge in the part of us that is “oriented toward play and creativity and isn’t always practical in doing the right thing.” It is those times that we let go that we can be our most creative self. We need that time to explore the world. “There’s so much value in free space.” That is why Cynthia tries to teach people to make space in their schedule. Stop packing every day with a ton of stuff. “If you don’t have space, you don’t have any way to create or be creative.” Create Your Own Story We live in such a great time. There’s so much information available to us. There are enough resources and advice to keep us busy forever. And that’s why it’s also a problem. We are consuming too much. We are listening to too many voices. Cynthia believes the biggest challenge a creative person faces is battling all that noise. We become too occupied with what others are doing and accomplishing that we forget to listen to ourselves. We need to “learn how to develop a direct channel” to our own original impulse. We need to learn to listen to our own voice. We need to figure out what we want to say and what we want to make. We need to temper other people’s stories with our own story and our own drive. We need to “develop a relationship with that deep inner voice” within ourselves. Start living your own story instead of trying to mimic or live someone else’s. Read more shownotes from episode 45 with Cynthia Morris

Sarah Jackson is the founder of Casa de Paz, a hospitality home for families affected by immigrant detention. She is also the founder ofVolleyball Latino, a year-round indoor volleyball league that raises money for Casa de Paz. In this episode, Sarah talks about why she started Casa de Paz and Volleyball Latino, the importance of taking small steps, and why you need to take action if you want to achieve your goals. Here are three things you can learn from Sarah: One Moment Can Completely Change Your Life Sarah was working at a church when she received an email that would change her life. The email was an invitation to the pastors of her church to visit Mexico and learn about immigration. The pastors couldn’t attend, so she volunteered to go to represent the church. Before going, Sarah had never thought of immigration or its affect on people. She just thought it would nice to take a free trip to Mexico. Little did she know, the trip would radically affect her life. While there, she learned that there are families who want to be together but can’t be. Since her family was so important to her, she wanted to help other families be together. From that moment on, Sarah has spent most of her energy trying to figure out how to help the families of immigrant detainees. This led to the formation of Casa de Paz and Volleyball Latino. The Power of Small Steps There are days we all feel overwhelmed. We have so many tasks on our to-do list. That giant project looms over us. Instead of panicking and worrying about everything you need to accomplish, focus on the next thing on your list. Sarah gives the example of cleaning her house. Even though she knows exactly what she needs to do, it can be overwhelming thinking of all the things that need to be done. Instead of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, she makes a list of everything that needs to get done. “Even though I know in my head what needs to be done to clean the house, I still write it down.” This allows her to measure her progress. She can see that what she’s doing is making a difference. “It makes me feel better and it keeps me motivated.” Whenever you feel like your task list is becoming overwhelming, just focus on the one thing you should work on next. This allows you to break down giant tasks into much more manageable ones, and you are also able to see the progress you are making. Just Do It We all have lofty goals, but how often do we act on them? We badly want to change the world, but we rarely ever take that chance. We are afraid to fail. We let the enormity of the task overwhelm us. One piece of advice Sarah got was to just do something, even if it is something small. Just get started, and the path ahead will reveal itself before you. When she first started, Sarah was intimidated and embarrassed about her idea of creating a hospitality home. Her thoughts were clouded by all the what ifs. Her fears overwhelmed her, but then she decided to just do it. She started with something small. It created momentum. “One thing led to another and now it’s it’s own apartment.” Sarah believes you shouldn’t let your pride, your fear, or the embarrassment of being a failure “prevent you from starting something you know that you need to do.” It might not end up being the right thing for you, but you will never know until you try. Find people who will support and respect your crazy ideas. Find someone who has done something similar and ask them for advice. You need to understand what your part is and just go after it. Shownotes for episode 44 with Sarah Jackson