Your World of Creativity

Welcome back friends to our podcast, unlocking your world of creativity, the podcast, where we talk about how to get inspired and how to organize our ideas. And most of all, how to gain the confidence and the connections to launch our creative work out and to the world. Today we've got a unique set of guests who are gonna talk to us about transformational change and creativity, and how to apply our creativity in whatever creative practitioners might be working on right now. They are Ian Ziskin and a panel of collaborators, Linda Naiman, Susan Robertson, Kelly Bean, and Karen Jaw-Madson. Ian leads a group called the consortium for change and has just published a book, The Secret Sauce For Leading Transformational Change The book is a collaborative effort by Ian and the Consortium for Change. Written by a diverse, and inclusive community of contributors and business experts, The Secret Sauce guides readers through navigating change on an individual, organizational, and societal level. Every essay is unique, ranging from deeply personal challenges like confronting a life-threatening cancer diagnosis to reimagining the organizational and societal impact of a world of work without jobs. Readers will learn concepts and techniques to engage the mind, navigate vulnerable moments, cultivate adaptive leadership, and much more. Linda Naiman is joining the fourth industrial revolution and going technical, designing, and producing an online on-demand course on creative resilience.Kelly Bean is the principal of parent strategy partners based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has been working with organizations and universities on how to integrate learning into everything we do on a daily basis.Karen Jaw-Madson Has been primarily spending her time between executive coaching and consulting in leadership culture, diversity, talent optimization, and change. She has also been spending a lot of time teaching as well as advising and investing in the startup space and developing a research project at the intersection of DEI and culture.Susan Robertson is working on her third book, real Cultural Transformation To Change. She is doing a lot of executive coaching on how to get into the C-suite and has a special interest in working with culture change in the healthcare industry.We opened our discussion with what were some of the underpinnings that he began to explore when we cooked up the idea to put this book together.Those leaders who are actually successfully leading sustained transformational change why and what are they doing? The second question that we began to explore was a lot of situations where transformational change is not successful. Why do we so often fail? to touch on the broader concept of large-scale transformational change. We also dove into each author’s sense of what transformational change was as they contributed to the book. We also started with a bit of a hypothesis or premise that we wanted to explore. Basically, the assumption that all transformation is changed, but is all changed transformationalLinda Naiman: transformation has to do with an evolved state where you go transform from unawareness to awareness or to higher awareness and to create an improved quality.Her contribution to the book has to do with using the arts as a catalyst for transformation in people, and in organizations. Kelly Bean: She says leaders have to be learners. And if you're a learner, you have every capability and possibility to be a leader. And so in order to do that, you have to practiceKaren Jaw-Madson: To be able to manage changes, you have to be good at change too. You have to be able to be adaptive and agile as well. Learning is demonstrated by changed behavior, and so learning is change and change is learning. The way you successfully manage change is you need to have enough depth and breadth in order to be successfulSusan Robertson: When it comes to transformation, you have to change it at the individual level, the team level, and the organizational level if you talk about the issues that create distrust, you'll actually create trust in order for them to be able to break down barriers between themselves and reach that creative space.We also had a candid discussion on knowing that there were other people writing in parallel, and how it inspired,  encouraged, and motivated each writer for their chapter. Ian Ziskin said that people have different points of view and it was very motivating for him to keep it short enough to be usable, but also diverse enough to be valuable in terms of the input.Kelly Bean : For her, it was just getting out of her own way.Susan Robertson: Writing with other writers made her want to level up her game and learn in the process in terms of her own writing.Karen Jaw-Madson: She asked herself where she could uniquely contribute and used it as a blank page.In conclusion, Ian told us that one of the big things he learned about the process of putting the book together was trying to get the balance right between providing guidance and deadlines and being clear about what it is you that he was looking for. So people felt like they had some framework to work within while at the same time, providing an appropriate level of degrees of freedom for creativity and ideas and diverse perspectives to flow through.Finally, the authors shared their versions of what should we not do -- and what should we do instead?Susan Robertson: start anywhere, in terms of all the chapters, then pick a theme And go downLinda Naiman: Don't run away from chaos and ambiguityKelly Bean: Don't have too much certainty and have more curiosityKaren Jaw-Madson: Don't self-limit, explore the possibilities, connect with people, and also enjoy the journey.www.transformationalchangebook.comIan Ziskin, coach, entrepreneur, speaker, teacher, and lead author of The Secret Sauce For Leading Transformational Change (coming June 1, 2022). Through his coaching and speaking, Ian has helped countless executives grow their leadership, effectively navigate organizational change, and develop their human capital strategy, and he is eager to share his expertise with your audience.  Ian brings 40 years of experience to his work, serving as a business and HR leader, board advisor and member, coach, consultant, entrepreneur, teacher, speaker, and author. He is President of the coaching and consulting firm EXec EXcel Group LLC, and the Co-Founder and Partner of Business inSITE Group (BiG), a strategic partnership focused on coaching, leadership development, and HR transformation. Ian is also Co-Founder and Leader of the Consortium for Change (C4C), a community of coaches and consultants, and Co-Founder of the CHREATE Project, designed to address the future of work and HR. Ian has written or co-edited four books, The Secret Sauce for Leading Transformational Change (2022), Black Holes and White Spaces: Reimagining the Future of Work and HR with the CHREATE Project (2018), THREE: The Human Resources Emerging Executive (2015), and WillBe: 13 Reasons WillBe’s are Luckier than WannaBe’s (2011), and he is a contributing author to The End of Jobs by Jeff Wald (2020), The Rise of HR: Wisdom From 73 Thought Leaders edited by Dave Ulrich, et. al. (2015), and The Chief HR Officer: Defining the New Role of Human Resource Leaders, edited by Pat Wright, et.al. (2011). He has written dozens of articles, blogs, and book chapters on the future of work, HR, and leadership, as well as on coaching and HR’s role with Boards of Directors, among other topics.Ian's Website Copyright 2025 Mark Stinson

Jeff Reynolds, Author "The Monster That Ate Marketing"Jeff Reynolds Jeff Reynolds is an entrepreneur, author, and business advisor who coaches established companies to think and act more like startups and startup founders grow into established companies. He is president of Reynolds+Myers, a consultancy helping food and shelter companies evolve into modern marketers. Jeff’s new book is the Monster That Ate Marketing, a look at how leaders reinvigorate their departments through organizational design. Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinkjeffthink/

We are back for another great interview on our podcast on unlocking YOUR world of creativity. We go around the world to talk to creative practitioners and leaders about how they get inspired, how they organize their ideas, and how they gain the confidence and connections to launch their work out into the world.  Today, we explore the world of talent recruiting with our guest Evan Sohn. He is a Chief Executive Officer at Recruiter.com. And also the Co-Founder of the Sohn Conference Foundation. Our main conversation will be around sourcing, recruiting, and talent acquisition. Recruiter.com is at the epicenter of many of the conversations going on in the job market. They have an on-demand platform for freelance recruiters. It carries a network of over 40,000 recruiters and growing. Where they place assignments on behalf of their clients, ranging from scientific recruiters, looking for scientists, for pharmaceutical companies, to technology recruiters, to general recruiters from the US to Mexico, Latin America, Europe Singapore, Australia, and just everywhere in between. They also have their own brilliant AI software that sits on top of about 170 million records. Which they use to  help their clients source, find, engage, screen, and qualify, candidates of all different types of candidates The software mainly aids in a couple of things:It helps people to get engaged in an opportunity. Especially since life has changed tremendously since the pandemic. Because even jobs that were considered geographically inaccessible or undesirable are now quite accessible. Given that people work remotely these days. The job application process has become so much easier as opposed to writing numerous resumes and sending them to so many companies. Technology has narrowed down what positions are open. Making online applications has made the hiring manager’s job that much easier in finding the right fit for whatever position they are looking for. Making the job matching process more like match.com or Tinder. Overall, Evan teaches us to embrace technology in the search to find the right job or in recruiting the right person for the job.He further gave us tips for people looking to make a change in their careers,Find the person on LinkedIn that has the job you want and then reach out to them on LinkedIn and go,” Hey, can I pick your brain for 15 minutes? You have the job I want. What am I missing? Here's what I've been doing. I'd love to get into whatever you are doing.” And that would point you in the correct direction. Similarly,  as a firm looking for a workforce, it is important to hire a recruiter that knows how to find remote workers.He also has some golden advice for the recruiter as well, that they too should know what their strengths are.  For example, they should know how good they are at finding some sort of talent. Or how good they are at onboarding candidates and highlighting what success rate they have.In conclusion, we discuss another of his passions which is doing a tremendous job. The Sohn Conference Foundation. A foundation inspired and named after his late brother Iris Sohn, who passed away from cancer in 1933 just a day shy of his 29th birthday. The foundation aims to fight pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases, it is now in 11 cities including  New York, London, Australia, Israel, and Hong Kong.Recruiter.comSohn Conference FoundationEvan Sohn Evan's Website Evan is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Recruiter.com, an on-demand recruiting platform providing flexible talent acquisition solutions that scale from startups to the Fortune 100. Evan is a frequent contributor to CNBC and Yahoo! Finance, and demonstrates expertise in a diverse set of industries. A mission-driven leader, Evan is also the co-founder and Vice President of The Sohn Conference Foundation.

Betsy Cerulo, Shake It Off LeadershipShake It Off Leadership-Achieving Success Through the Eyes of Our LabelsWho Defines You? You or Others? Can You Choose Your Labels and Use Them to Empower Yourself and Your Business? YES!Are you ready to stop allowing others’ perceptions and labels of you limit what you can accomplish? Have you had enough of the outright or subtle undermining of your career or self-esteem by the ways people “categorize” you or the way you categorize yourself?Betsy Cerulo had her fill, and so she stepped up to claim her labels and make them her fuel for greater success!And in her new book Shake It Off Leadership—Achieving Success Through the Eyes of Our Labels, she will gift you with guidance on how she did it…and how it can transform your life and your business!Betsy felt the sting of disempowering external perceptions early. Her mother made no effort to hide she favored the boys in the family over the girls, and that they could have nearly unlimited freedom, but the females had to live according to a specific standard. And then, in college, when she came out, after falling for one of her classmates, she began to experience the sting of unkind and discriminating labels. In business, as she tried to rise as a young executive search professional, she found her way blocked and her salary less simply because she was ”a woman.” But with skill and determination, she built a hugely successful boutique professional staffing and executive search firm. AdNet/AccountNet, Advocates for Workplace Excellence and Equity. But along the way, she decided to throw off the limitations of those labels, embrace those she was proud of, and choose the labels that she wanted to define her!Betsy won’t put up with “the nonsense” she hears coming out of the mouth of those who attempt to diminish women, the LGBTQ+ community, and racially diverse people. She challenges them. Instead of suffering the insulting brand of dyke or lesbian with a sneer, she decided to make her sexuality a proud hallmark of her success, attaining the first government 8A certification based on Gender and LGBT discrimination. This allows a company to bid for government contracts with less competition. Then, she went on to co-found the Maryland LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland LGBT Foundation, building them into robust organizations that attracted many mainstream sponsors. As a woman-owned business, she fought the discrimination of banks that refused loans and found those that would treat her with respect.In this episode, she shares other resources for entrepreneurs looking to become government contractors:- The SBA and SBDC- The APTCABetsy learned how to shake off the slights, disappointments, and roadblocks in building a successful business—not just the issues related to discrimination, but with all of the gumption, wisdom, and courage it takes to create a thriving enterprise, with quality, happy, engaged staff and curation of clients that are an asset to the business. She’s discerned a style of SKAKE IT OFF LEADERSHIP, that will empower any leader with the skills, wisdom, and strength to successfully create or grow a business while insuring balance and personal fulfillment.Each chapter in Shake It Off Leadership provides lessons, new perspectives, and an enriching Shake It Off tip at the end. Betsy’s personal story is woven throughout as an inspiration for those who have struggled with the labels that have disempowered them.You will find astute insights on every page. Every business can benefit from a leader who stands in her, his or their strength -- and who can spot and act on strengthening the weaknesses within themselves and their company—just as Betsy Cerulo has done.Betsy Cerulo Betsy's Website Copyright 2025 Mark Stinson Mentioned in this episode:THE ALAURA SHOWHey, it's Alaura Lovelight. And if you're enjoying "unlocking your world of creativity," make sure to check out my new show, "The Alaura Show" ... on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.

Michael Facchinello + Artists of Altamira GalleryMichael 's Website Michael Facchinello is the Founder & CEO of Altamira. Altamira is a platform serving contemporary artists from around the world, empowering them to make a living and fostering community between artists, critics, collectors, and fans. It brings artists, fans, and critics together in a space without gatekeepers and pretension. Before starting Altamira, Michael launched, managed and grew 2 offices for a top national design firm working with folks like Red Rocks Amphitheater, Denver Public Art, SendGrid, and Jake Knapp (the creator of the design sprint). Also, we featured a panel of artists who are on the Altramira gallery platform:Gina Werfel - Gina is an Abstract artist whose work is vibrant and emotive while still clearly defined. Her training includes Columbia University (MFA), New York Studio School (Certificate) and Hamilton College (BA). She was a Professor of Art at the University of California Davis.  A few of my favorite works by Gina:WaveIntersection Bruce Dean - Bruce is a striking and emotive painting focused on figurative surrealist work. Over the course of his 40-year career, his work has evolved almost as much as it has been featured. He has participated in numerous museum shows and featured in multiple magazines and in the press.  A few of my favorite works by Bruce:IntersectionDancing CranesMoireMarlene Llanes - Marlene Llanes is a surrealist artist who paints intriguing images that evoke a sense of peace. By creating unusual combinations of everyday objects with natural elements, Marlene’s works take the viewer to a grounded fantasy. Marlene graduated as a graphic designer from Universidad Vasco de Quiroga in Morelia, Mexico. In 1998 Marlene was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the USA. She earned a master's degree in Fine Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design.   A few of my favorite works by Marlene:In the Comfort of my IslandInfinite Rollercoaster Fun

Miriam Ortiz y Pino Miriam's Website Miriam Ortiz y Pino CPO®, Simplicity Expert & Money Breakthrough Business Coach, Entrepreneur, Writer, Blogger and Creator of The Streamlined Solution works with entrepreneurs and other busy and creative people to craft environments where you connect the control you crave and the freedom you desire while building wealth through organization Miriam holds certificates in Workplace Productivity, Residential Organizing, Courageous Coaching Method, Fire Starter Session & Desire Map Facilitator, Sacred Money Archetypes and Money Breakthrough Business Coaching. Miriam's Facebook page @moypmto on Instagram @moypmto on X Miriam on YouTube LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriamortizypino/

Mike Dawes is hailed as one of the world’s finest modern acoustic guitar players. He was voted ‘Best Acoustic Guitarist in the World’ by Total Guitar Magazine & MusicRadar twice consecutively, in both the 2017 & 2018 readers polls with three additional 2nd place rankings.  His solo music, littered with virtuoso nuances and micro-techniques, has seen him tour almost every continent on the planet. He has recorded with multiple Grammy award-wining and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inducted artists, featured on international film and TV (including Better Call Saul and Sky TV’s Guitar Star) and achieved over 100 million music video hits online for his solo covers of songs including Somebody That I Used To Know, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Jump & One as well as his originals The Impossible, Boogie Shred & more. Additionally, Mike tours as lead guitar player for Justin Hayward, performing The Moody Blues classics throughout the world. He has also teamed up with grammy-nominated Periphery vocalist Spencer Sotelo and ex Sunrise Avenue multi-platinum producer Jukka Backlund to form Nik Mystery, a Las Vegas popwave trio. Other collaborators include Plini, Fink, Alestorm & Dr. John. Popular YouTube personality Rick Beato has praised Mike’s work as among the top in the genre. September 2022 saw the release of ‘Accomplice Series, Vol. 3‘ – a sublime duo EP with the legendary Tommy Emmanuel recorded live in a Los Angeles studio with analogue equipment. The EP features 5 cover songs from 5 diverse artists. ‘This is so insanely mental and such a massive honour, wow’ – Matty Healy, The 1975.Tickets for upcoming tour dates at https://mikedawes.co.uk/tour/Mark Stinson Copyright 2025 Mark Stinson Music tracks are copyrighted by the artists and used for editorial review purposes.Mentioned in this episode:THE ALAURA SHOWHey, it's Alaura Lovelight. And if you're enjoying "unlocking your world of creativity," make sure to check out my new show, "The Alaura Show" ... on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.

We’re back for another very fun interview on our podcast of Unlocking YOUR World of Creativity. We go around the world to talk to creative practitioners and leaders about how they get inspired, how they organize their ideas, and how they gain the confidence and connections to launch their work out into the world. Today, we explore the world of NYC-based artist and creative director Asher Young.  Asher He is the founder of Challenge Your Imagination, a creative direction, design, and producing studio developing projects internally and for others. Our main conversation will be around Asher’s most recent piece Pathways at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, going on Tour with DPR, and what the collaboration and logistical side of creating these immersive audience experiences are like.Pathways at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden use lasers to draw lines of light between a series of trees, creating a visible network and illuminating a new path for Lightscape visitors to explore. Asher describes it as “a high-powered laser that bounces off trees through the botanic gardens that you can see at night. It’s a beam of life that sort of ricochets between the trees”The focus of the piece is on Mycorrhizal networks. Inspired through the works and science of Suzanne Simard, an ecologist discovered that trees communicate their needs and send each other nutrients via a network of latticed fungi buried in the soil — in other words, she found, they “talk” to each other  Asher explains, “that her work discovered that it's not competition. Plants actually share resources”Pathways utilize light, which is the source of nutrients for the plants at night, to show those connections when a lot of that work is being done.DPR: Regime Tour is a world tour that immerses fans in the world of music collective DPR. Asher talks about the part of the creative process with this world tour is about rethinking what the concert experience could be from the perspective of an audience. How do we merge theater, art, installation, and music? How do we think about collectives and how do we demonstrate that to the audience?How do we use the pre-show to warm people up to other things that are gonna happen later?The show opens in September 2022 Mark asks: “What are the logistics of moving this experience from city to city?”when you're doing 55 cities worldwide and they're all different sizesit does have to fit in trailersIt feels like five or six iterations of the concept and the physical elements of the show are incredibly modularThe running theme through the interview was collaboration and Asher explains how he and his team approach it “by establishing the framework of what matters and the idea that we're trying to articulate, the teams can come together and sort of ricochet and problem solve around it while maintaining that core principle.”Toward the end of the interview, Asher gave us a few sneak peeks into future projects in the works. He said they are developing internally a lot of shows and experiences that are more hospitality-based or hotel-based, some that cross genres, i.e.; a dinner theater show, and projects that are more art-based. We look forward to seeing what’s next in the creative mind of Asher Young.You can reach out to Asher Young, and see his creative works at cyi.studioAlso, check out his Instagram page @cy.studio

We are back for another great interview on our podcast on how to unlock your world of creativity. Our guest today joins us on our around-the-world journey where we talk to creative practitioners about how they get inspired and how they organize ideas. And most of all, how they gain the confidence and the connections to launch their work out into the world. Our guest Michaell Magrutsche is an Austrian/Californian multimedia artist (painting, writing, music, film) and art adviser. Who recognizes many similarities that showed up in each art form. His passion is to discover patterns that reveal hidden functions in art. He is known to specialize in using his findings to elevate the exposure of art and foster clearer communication between all involved in the Arts. Today we have a conversation about the starving artist, a topic that is well illuminated in his last book, The Smart of Art: A New Art Consciousness To Awaken Our Enthusiasm For Art. A book he wrote because of the insane phenomenon that 95% of all artists worldwide exist around the poverty line. We talk about reclaiming artists’ value and their passion and how a lot of creatives undervalue themselves and their work as well.In our conversation, we discover that artists have never defined their value. When you go to other professionals, they can tell you exactly why you're paying $3,000 for their work but an artist has no idea how to value his masterpiece. Because the value of art is ultimately mostly assessed through the foreign system of capitalism and economy where other values are the rule. There is little incentive for the economy to make art a tangible system.The market decides the value of an art piece when an artist creates a piece of art. In our talk, we realize that we know the art market, but we don't know art itself. As art is perceived today, it can no longer reveal its properties and true values because its ultimate evaluation is always tied to success, money, and fame. This is a huge misunderstanding since the art itself is where the value is. That's the purity of creativity is in artHis top tips to artists so that they are not categorized as starving artists are:Artists have to compartmentalize the magical process of creating. Because this is where they grow and get instant feedback on their creations.An artist has to disengage when they are done with their creation. Although that is a  hard thing for artists. They can't disengage because the experience of creation was so magicalThey need to learn to detach after being done with the magic of creation. After they have milked the moment and they are now saturated. They can give the painting to the market so that their art can be pieced accordingly.If they cannot detach themselves then they need to get an expert, a businessman gallerist, or a manager is usually the best because they are detached. Because your attachment to your creation as an artist blinds and blurs, the sales.If we knew more about creativity and art, we would know that as a creator one can abide but never submit to the creation of ourselves such as economy or technology. It always and only can lead to self-destruction if we try to submit to a system we created. Nature and humans are the most advanced systems on this planet.Therefore, AI is ultimately nothing more than human frailty on steroids because the data stems from human imperfection. And therefore what the observation of art does is it pushes you into humanity and that's magic.In conclusion, agree that  we shouldn't be able to name art & poverty in the same breath.Michaell educates us that art is the language of wisdom and that we should get in touch with our wisdom. He invites artists to create art without bothering about the market. And he reminds them to milk the process because there is not a spiritual discipline stronger than the one experienced during the creation of art. Which is a way to keep in touch with your wisdom. That's why he calls art the language of wisdom. Lastly he urges artists to have this systems approach to have the business side and the valuation side of their work and to keep their egos a little bit more neutral so that they don't undervalue their work.More on all Michaell’s work: Michaellm.comMichaell Magrutsche Michaell's Website I am a multimedia artist, educator, author of 5 art-related books, and creator of the bi-weekly podcast THE SMART OF ART - The Power of Art and Creativity. I am a passionate creativity/art researcher that looks for art/creativity's true values for humans outside of any system. I am raising the awareness of our human potential, contrarily to man-made systems like technology and economy. I point to our untapped human abilities. Especially our truth compass and super-powers of humans’ inherent tools of creativity and healthy discourse. I try to plant seeds of awareness without selling something to STOP humanity from pondering problems to create more systems that humans have to deal with. We can heal the world and others by everyone “being the best YOU that you can be for YOURSELF." Humans need to understand non-man-made systems like nature and be the stewards of OUR habitat instead of man-made system like technology. #TheSmartofArt #MichaellArt Michaell on YouTube LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellart/ 

We are back for another great interview on our podcast on how to unlock your world of creativity. Our guest today joins us on our around-the-world journey where we talk to creative practitioners about how they get inspired and how they organize ideas. And most of all, how they gain the confidence and the connections to launch their work out into the world. Today we have the pleasure to chat with Deborah Johnson. As an entertainer, pianist, vocalist, and composer, she has toured the world and has been up for multiple Grammy Awards. As an educator, Deborah taught at every level through graduate school. As a speaker and podcast host, her words touch the mind and her music touches the heart. Authoring multiple books, producing over two-dozen albums, and writing three full-length musicals makes her one of the most prolific women composers and writers in the world. Deborah has won multiple awards, but she claims her biggest accomplishment is successfully raising and launching three sons.On today’s show, we pay particular attention to a creative’s mid-career midlife and the next steps to perhaps not just refining, but reinventing the craft and personal brand. Deborah has a program, called hero mountain summit, that is a guide on getting out of your roundabout. If you're in the middle of a roundabout, which many people right now are, especially after the two and a half now or almost three years that we've just experienced so much upheaval, people have found a way to reinvent and that's what is getting out of that roundabout. She also is vocal about it in her book Women at Halftime: Principles for Producing Your Successful Second Half.Her latest book The  Summit: Journey to Hero Mountain, is an allegory. Which is a story within a story, the character’s original name is Mallery which means not good enough or ill-fated. And it has to change for her to get to her summit. And it changes to Andreette, which means a strong and courageous one, but she has to go through all these little different lands. Because in the book before this, she goes through hero mountain, which is her woman at half timesIn her work, there is an emphasis on women at halftime. We've been talking about mid-career midlife, which by definition says, we're not done. There's still another half of the game left. As an experienced creative, she teaches us some lessons to hold onto at that midpoint.You've got to develop the actual business plan. And ask yourself, what are your residuals like as an artist? What are the products that you're putting out? Does it help you move your business ahead?You have got to understand that in the creative sector we are in the gig economy which particularly presents a unique challenge. So your network is extremely important in establishing the business part, the arms of your business, and what is going to actually generate the most money. Not only the most money but what gives you the most satisfaction. What do you love to do? And how can you develop that further? And what's gonna actually pay offYou have to study and you have to see what's out there.You need to think about the business side of creativity, the pricing, the contracts, and the negotiation.You have to be able to put together your own contracts. And understand that they are letters of agreement. You've got to have those because you may forget some important details. You have got to study those, all of those details, and make sure those are very clear. You don't have to be demanding, but just make sure they're very clear on what your needs are to be able to give the best performance.Show up early enough that you can provide a great experience for everyone involved, including yourself.You have to hire the right team. From the agents and the bookers and the negotiators to the sound people, logistics, and everything in between.It is still your job as an artist to learn how to promote and how to market your work despite having a great team.Always own your own land, always own your own newsletter, and your own property on your website.The imposter syndrome does not end. So she encourages creatives to journal just to get those thoughts out. Those little negative voices have to be pushed away. That might be the voices in your head or the naysayers you have to silence all of them.In conclusion, she reminds us that there are many similarities and differences between writing music, composing a score, and writing this book, especially as an allegory. And that writing is rewriting first of all, and you need to finish whatever it is you are working on, but you have to be willing to put the work in to finish it as well. Put in deadlines so you can be able to emotionally get to a point of saying, it may not be perfect, but it's done, and done is better than perfect.keynote speaker: Deborahjohnsonspeaker.comGet in touch with Denora and get her newsletter: goalsforyourlife.com/newsletterPodcast: women at halftimeYou can find lots of her music on: DJworksmusic.comDeborah Johnson Deborah Johnson, M.A. has not only written multiple books and albums, but hundreds of songs, three full-length musicals and is the producer of the popular podcast, Women at Halftime. Her fifth book, The Summit: Journey to Hero Mountain, an allegory, came out fall of 2021. She relishes the creative process and has focused on helping those at mid-career or the halftime of life maximize their skills, talents and resources to make their second half better than their first. Deborah was past president of the National Speakers Association, Los Angeles and has written & produced multiple online courses. She enjoys being outside and traveling with her husband and also loves spending time with her children and grandchildren. Up for multiple GRAMMY Awards and spending over 20 years in the entertainment industry, she's built multiple self-driven businesses and is an expert on how to constantly reinvent yourself in a gig-economy. Deborah speaks and performs for both live and virtual events.Deborah's Website @deborah_johnsonworks on Instagram Deborah on YouTube Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahjjohnson/Mark Stinson Copyright 2025 Mark Stinson Listen to Your World of Creativity Your World of Creativity website Mentioned in this episode:THE ALAURA SHOWHey, it's Alaura Lovelight. And if you're enjoying "unlocking your world of creativity," make sure to check out my new show, "The Alaura Show" ... on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.