Ja-Nae Duane has worn many creative hats in her career. She started off as an opera singer where she performed at places like The Met and the White House, but soon realized it wasn’t a sustainable career.
So she branched out and started working for a social networking company, which was the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey. While working there she realized the major difference between the way men and women approached entrepreneurship. This led her to start a group called Wild Women Entrepreneurs, which grew to 55 chapters in nine months.
After a stint running her own companies, Ja-Nae realized other people probably needed help with their own entrepreneurial journeys too, which is why she wrote The Startup Equation, a book that helps owners throughout their business journeys.
In this episode, Ja-Nae talks about how vulnerability leads to great work, why you need to stay in touch with your creativity, and why your mindset is so important.
Here are three things you can learn from Ja-Nae:
When it comes to our art, many of us take the easy road. We work on things that come easily to us. We work within our comfort zone. We work on things we think will be popular.
But the truth is, our best work comes when we open ourselves up to vulnerability. Our best work comes when we dive deep and create something personal. Our best work comes out when we feel anxious about it, but put it out there anyways.
That’s exactly what Ja-nae discovered about her greatest work.
“Whenever I start to feel anxious about something that I’m putting out, particularly something that’s creative, because when we’re creating something it’s usually personal. And what I find the more personal that you can get in all of your work, and that can be professionally, that can be in stuff that you’re doing artistically, but the more that you can actually gear it into diving deep and really getting it close and under your skin, and then exposing it to the world, almost like ripping off a Band-aid and just exposing that sort of flesh to the world, that’s really where vulnerability and fear can be drivers, and that’s usually what our best work is.”
Ja-nae feels like our work is concentrates too much on the surface level. She feels like a lot of people are creating just to put stuff out there. She believes we are creating too much fluff.
Ja-nae believes our best work gets to the heart of humanity. It explores boundaries. It helps us connect with other people. It transforms the way we live.
“I find that many people are just putting stuff out there to just put stuff out there, but if we’re not actually getting to the heart of humanity, what’s the point? If we’re not really exploring the boundaries of what life is, and what it could be, and how we can interact with one another, and how we can transform in the way that we live and breathe and create, that’s interesting. Everything else is just fluff and noise in my book.”
Ja-nae began her career as an opera singer, but later transitioned into marketing after realizing how unsustainable being an opera singer was. She found a lot of success in marketing and even created her own marketing company. What she didn’t realize was that she was becoming depressed because she lost touch with her creativity.
“You know, I actually think there was a little bit of depression in there… You know, I knew something was wrong. I knew something was off for years and I didn’t necessarily know exactly what it was. And it wasn’t all of this, but it was a large part of this. And what I found was, I was the least happiest when I was known as a marketer, and I was viewing that as my primary living and running that company… I liked the challenge and I love strategies, so those two things fueled at least my brain, but there was nothing that really intersected with my heart. And I think that emptiness was really something that stuck out more than I knew. And sometimes when you live in it so long, or with something for so long… you almost forget that it’s there or life could be without it.”
Ja-nae forgot what drove her. She was so concentrated on her business and being successful that she lost sight of something that made her happy. So she decided to bring creativity back into into her life.
“I realized how far I had gotten from my roots, we’ll say, and how much that had affected me, and so that’s actually one of the things that I have really started to bring back into my life.”
What she discovered was that sometimes we need other people to point out the obvious. With the help of her husband, Ja-nae was able to get back on track with her creativity.
“I find that that type of reaction is something that, unless we have people to call us out on it or unless we are super self-aware all the time, that we fall in to the patterns, and we sometimes forget our potential and the potential of what life could be.”
That’s why Ja-nae advocates surrounding yourself with the right types of people. We need people who will help push us. Sure, you could rest on your laurels, but when you have people pushing you, you tend to create your best work.
“I am truly a firm believer in surrounding myself with people who will push me. Who won’t just allow me to sit idly by rest on my laurels but will really say… ‘Are you good with this? Is this what you want or do you feel like there’s more that you can do here say in the project or in life? I noticed this pattern.’ To me you have to surround yourself with people that won’t just allow you to go idly through life but will really be your… companions to help you to thrive, so that you get the most out of it.”
Often times the hardest thing we have to overcome to be successful is the way we think. We hear things all the time that sound right, but are actually a deterrence to our success: We need to be thrifty. We are not good enough. We are stuck in our current situation.
One of the things Ja-nae had to overcome was growing up poor. She started off believing she had to horde her resources, but what she realized was that giving lead to great success.
“When a person grows up poor or has a lack of resources it becomes very easy to horde those resources and keep things close to you because you’re afraid that they’re going to go away if you don’t. And the thing is, it’s the exact opposite. If you’re looking for things and for more resources, being that connector and opening yourself up, and whether or not you’re volunteering time or you’re connecting people with one another or even if you’re offering up a bit of expertise to people… Being in a state of giving is one of the first things that I would say to people.”
But the most important thing Ja-nae did, was changing her negative self-talk. Instead of looking at things in a defeatist way, she looked at ways she could solve her problems.
“The other thing I would say… and this was huge for me. This would actually be number one is change your self-talk. So instead of I can’t or the world’s against me or I don’t have enough. Just switch that slightly to I will find a way. I have what I need for today. What are the ways that we can push this forward? Just change it to… it doesn’t have to be fluffy… but if you do change it to this almost problem solving verbiage instead of this defeatist verbiage, then it allows your brain to start to compare and contrast different ways, and find a solution.”
Another thing Ja-nae found helpful was surrounding herself with the right type of people. The people around you can have an immense impact on the way you think. So if you often find yourself in a negative mood, see if the people around you are affecting the way you think.
“If you’re looking for a change… you’re just not happy with where you are, then I would take a close look at who you’re surrounding yourself with and listen to how they talk to you, how they talk to one another. What is their work ethic? How do they contribute to the world? Are they in a constant state of giving? You know, we are the average of the five people we surround ourselves with the most.”
One of the biggest positive changes we can make in our lives is surrounding ourselves with people who push us to do our best.
“If you are unhappy with where you are, change your environment. Change the game, and surround yourself with people that you don’t feel deserve to be around or you feel like an impostor. Because again, that fear… will force you to be a little more vulnerable but will also open up more doors.”
A recap of episode 80 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Angela Ferrari where she talks about believing in yourself, having fun, and how struggles can lead to success.
Angela Ferrari has always lived a creative life. When she was young she lived in a rural area where she figured out creative ways to play. She would build tree forts, spray paint plants, and turn her mundane environment into stories.
Angela continued that creative streak in college where she studied studio art and painting. After college, she moved to Portland, Maine and started working at a restaurant. While working as a waitress, Angela forged relationships with the restaurant owners and patrons. After a while, Angela was able to quit her job as a waitress to work on her art full-time.
For some, having a successful business as an artist would be enough, but that wasn’t the case for Angela. One day while doing yoga, she had a vision about a dog doing yoga. This would eventually turn into her first children’s book Digger’s Daily Routine. Even with three completed books and a newly released podcast, it still feels like Angela has more creativity to share with the world.
In this episode Angela talks about believing in yourself, having fun, and how struggles can lead to success.
Here are three things you can learn from Angela:
When we are first starting out in our creative careers, a lot of self-doubt creeps in. “I’m not a professional artist, why would anyone buy from me?” we ask ourselves. We believe in our work, but don’t believe in ourselves.
That’s why it’s so important to believe in who you are and what you are doing. That’s what Angela did when she went from being a painter to also being a writer.
“A big part of it too was I was afraid of the impostor syndrome, especially transitioning from painter to writer. I was afraid to call myself a writer, and therefore I was afraid to promote myself as a writer. Once I got established painting, I liked being called a painter. I liked that being part of my identity, but it was a little harder when I was unpublished or before I launched a podcast, calling myself a podcaster. It’s hard to almost validate yourself when you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything. But then I realized the action of doing it is what makes me a writer. The action of recording and creating episodes is what made me a podcaster.”
The only way you can overcome the impostor syndrome is by believing in what you do. You have to own it.
“Once I started being kinda comfortable with myself and saying yes, I do belong in this space, and I can put myself out there, not just my work, but myself into my work, and that’s now part of my identity.”
Many of us believe we just have to reach our goals and we’ll have “made it.” The truth is, there’s no such thing as making it. The bar is constantly moving. You have to evolve with that sliding scale.
“You never really arrive. You’re always going to be growing in this creative space. You’re always going to be evolving in staying current in your field. So once you start that initial page in the book, you now are a writer. The more you say to yourself, “I am this. I am doing this.” Then it kind of positively reinforces and motivates you to say “I need to follow through because this is now part of who I am.”
Most creative people discover their love for art early in life because they had a blast while creating. We enjoyed every moment of the creative process from dipping the brush into the paints to wrapping up a finished painting.
But along the way, we lose sight of that fun and joy. We let the business side of creativity distract us. We become discouraged when we don’t see immediate results. Angela found a way around this by making sure everything she does is fun.
“For me, I don’t like doing something if it’s not fun. I like to have fun and it’s everything from cooking to working out, once I find a method of ‘Oh, this is a creative way I can do this. This works for me.”
This was especially true for the way she approached marketing. She found a way to make marketing fun.
“My approach to marketing, I knew it’s necessary and it feeds into that big picture goal I have of ‘Okay, I want to tell stories. That’s my big goal.’ So I start telling stories when I market. I find really fun images to use when I create campaigns for social media. And starting a podcast was a way I could promote myself in an authentic way or I could use my voice and speak directly to people. I knew that was something I could have fun with for marketing.”
Sure there are some tedious elements to starting and maintaining a business, but the best way to get around the tedium is to have fun with it.
“The business side, yeah there are definitely some tedious things that are hard to do, but once you learn something, you can find a way to have fun with it because the learning part of it is definitely I think the hard part of any part of a business.”
We’ve all faced struggles in our creative careers. It’s why the term “starving artist” exists. No one said living a fulfilling creative life would be easy. You will face ups and downs. You will soar to the highest highs and hit rock bottom. That’s just how the uncertain life of a creative goes.
Those same struggles are also what makes success so sweet. We might dread them in the moment, but when we look back, we are usually glad we found our way through them. That’s exactly what happened to Angela when she went from being a painter to being a writer too.
“A lot of times I look back and things that felt like struggles or hardships, I look back and think, ‘Oh thank goodness that happened.’ I mean, I’ve had a lot of rejection and failure… starting out as a painter and going and working my way up as a writer. Any time I’m submitting a piece I’d get feedback that, a lot of times I just didn’t feel like I could do it. I didn’t realize I had it in me.”
Those struggles push us to achieve more. They help us determine determine if we want to forge on. They help us ask ourselves the right questions. They help keep us honest.
“So those struggles, they definitely push me. They definitely make me check in and say ‘Do I want this enough? Is this what I want?’ And the answer has always been yes. So I’ve always had to push through by again asking the questions. Keep that goal in mind. I do have a lot of visual images in my work space… Those kinds of things are those kind of reminders that really help push me forward when I’m going through an area where I just don’t think I can do it.”
A recap of episode 79 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Henry May where he talks about why well respected jobs aren’t always right for us, why good ideas take time to develop, and why you need to stop waiting and put your ideas into action.
Henry May spent his childhood playing with LEGOs. He loved the outdoors and harmless mischief. He thought his life was pre-ordained. He thought our paths are set for us.
This all changed the summer he joined Teach First. The two years he spent here, changed his thoughts on the education system and his role in the world.
After his time at Teach First, and a short stint at Procter & Gamble, Henry took a trip to Colombia through Teach Colombia and fell in love with the country. But he also heard horrible stories about the public schools there.
These were the driving forces that pulled him to leave everything he knew in London and to start CoSchool in Colombia.
In this episode Henry talks about why well respected jobs aren't always right for us, why good ideas take time to develop, and why you need to stop waiting and put your ideas into action.
If you ask most people what they want out of life, one thing they will mention is a good career. They want a safe job at a well established company. They want stability and security. But that doesn't mean a job at a well respected company is right for everyone.
That's exactly what Henry found out while working at Procter & Gamble. While most people would be overjoyed to have a job at a company like P&G, Henry found it frustrating.
"It was such a different world from this real life, hard hitting world of being a teacher in a school in South London. To then be found in an office talking about selling razor blades, nappies, shampoo. I just couldn't connect with the deeper purpose. I really respect an organization like Procter & Gamble for the success that they've had, for the benefit that they bring to the world... however I found it very frustrating to see so many intelligent, capable, caring people there who were using all of that talent and all of that brilliance to sell 1% more shampoo than their rivals."
Just because a company is a good business, that doesn't mean it's the right fit for everyone. Sometimes our hearts just aren't into it.
"Ultimately that's the bottom line in an organization like that. They do a great job of developing people, and growing leaders, and making some fantastic business people, but I was a mismatch in terms of where my heart was."
In the modern age, we want things to happen instantaneously. We have been conditioned to expect instant gratification. But sometimes good ideas take time develop. Sometimes we need to think things over before they can become a reality.
That's exactly what happened to Henry. His dual passions for Huracan FC and CoSchool were on completely different journeys, but after thinking about it for a few months, the ideas converged.
"They were separate dots on... different journeys of my life that didn't make a connection immediately. There wasn't intentions. It took a process of reflection and iteration, and three or four months initially of thinking 'Am I going to focus on the Huracan foundation? Is that my thing? Is that what I am going to do? And eventually CoSchool was born out of this process of stopping."
We're always in such a rush to get our ideas off the ground that we don't give them time to breath. That's why Henry advises aspiring entrepreneurs to spend some time thinking about their ideas.
"I think that if there's something that I learned from that, there's something I share with other people, with friends who are thinking about doing something entrepreneurial, the value of stopping and stepping outside of the white water, not just for a day or for a week, I mean I did it for three months. I gave myself the time and space to think, to explore, to consider, to evaluate, to analyze. I think out of that space, was the birth of probably my greatest moment of creativity."
A recap of episode 78 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Kristen Fagan where she talks about letting go of your perfectionism, the power of play, and following your intuition.
Kristen Fagan has always been a creator. Even when she was young, she would create coloring book drawings for her younger family members to color in. That creative mindset helped her get a degree and a job doing graphic design.
After a few years working in design, her interest in art was reignited. Her job allowed her to work on her art while also working in design, which fueled her interest in paintings and drawing. Her passion for art grew so much that it even led to creating her own painting workshops.
In this episode, Kristen talks about letting go of your perfectionism, the power of play, and following your intuition.
Here are three things you can learn from Kristen:
One thing that plagues many creatives is the idea of perfectionism. We spend all of our time worrying about making things just right, that we are petrified to make mistakes.
Kristen believes we need to stop worrying about making things perfect and just let go. "Just keep letting go. Just keep letting what happens, happen on the canvas. Paint dries. You can paint over it. You can always change the outcome... and that's the same in life. You can always change the outcome. You can always do something different. Try something different. And that is so much more empowering and so much more exciting to me than being perfect."
The way we let go of our perfectionism is by taking on the mindset of a beginner. Beginners aren't afraid to screw up. They go into things head on without the fear of doing something wrong.
When you are a beginner, things are exciting and new. You get to experience things for the first time. Instead of worrying about how everything that can go wrong, look at how exciting it can be.
"You have to be a beginner. You have to allow yourself to be a beginner. And by being a beginner, then all of these wonderful things happen. If you just came in and knew how to do something right away, there you go, it's done, what fun is in that? What did you really learn in that journey? What things did you take away in the end? Nothing. You just came in, created it, then you're done."
So stop creating unrealistic expectations for yourself. The harder the struggle, the more fulfilling and unexpected it will be.
"So I feel like it's within those struggles that the reward is even greater and you feel like you were really able to express yourself in a way you didn't even imagine because you didn't come in with any expectation of what you were gonna do. You just let it happen."
One of the things that prevents many people from being truly creative, is their unwillingness to let go of their inhibitions and just play. As children, we let our imaginations run wild. We embrace the impossible. That all changes when we begin to grow up.
Kristen believes we need to let go of these imaginary restrictions and learn to just play again.
"As we get older... the world becomes labeled more with this and that, and good and bad, and right and wrong. And it becomes really difficult to remember that childlike wonder, and I think play is where that really brings you back."
Kristen believes the symbolism of the paintbrush prevents many people from getting started. Instead of embracing the canvas, they are let the paintbrush and canvas intimidate them.
"You can almost finish an entire painting without picking up a paintbrush, and that kind of gets people out of that mind. It's like when they pick up that paintbrush they get really nervous."
When she removes the formality of the paintbrush people begin to let go.
"If you're just playing with bubble wrap or you're playing with tissue paper or all of these random items, you don't really know what that outcome is, so you can kind of let go of it a little bit more."
Once people figure this out, it becomes much easier to play. Instead of worrying about making the wrong choices, her students are able to embrace their choices. When they learn to trust their own intuition, it leads to some amazing results.
"You just figure things out... As you go, as you play, you just start to figure things out on the canvas. And I think in the long run, you start to build a... trust of yourself because you're not worried about 'Oh, I'm gonna make the wrong choice.' You go 'I'm just gonna make this choice and I'm gonna do it. If I don't like it, I can paint over it... And other times you go 'Wow, what did I just make? That's amazing.' And now you have this whole new feeling of trusting your intuition and that I can do this on my own. And you don't have to show me every step. I can just play and see where this leads."
Early in our creative careers it's easy to take every job that comes our way. We want to gain exposure and we want to open ourselves up to as many opportunities as possible.
But as we grow, and demand for our services grow, it becomes much harder to decide what we should work on. Kristen has solved this dilemma by relying on her intuition.
"You have to know what your mission is and not get too distracted. And I think the work on my intuition over the past two years with my painting practice has made it easier for me to feel like when something is right, or maybe something is a little bit off. And feeling a little nervous when you say yes to something is one thing, but if you feel sick... you should say no."
Listening to your intuition is easier said than done. Some opportunities sound good on the surface, but they might also drive us crazy. In the end, it all comes down to being in touch with yourself.
"It really comes back to working on your intuition and being in touch with yourself, however that means for you... and when other things arise, you can say 'Is this a feel good nervous yes or is this a uhh this sounds terrible,' And really be able to tap into that and listen to yourself."
It's all about listening to what your mind and body are telling you. And just like other skills you want to perfect, honing your intuition takes practice.
"When you're not practicing your intuition or you're not in touch with it, sometimes it's hard to tell. I think when you give yourself that space of self-care and all those things that allow you to make those choices when stuff comes up, because you can really listen to what it is your body is telling you."
A recap of episode 77 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with David Smooke where he talks about taking small incremental steps, the importance of community, and why you shouldn’t hold yourself back.
David Smooke studied economics and creative writing in university because he liked to write and felt economics had real world applications. He believed these two areas of study would be practical skills to have for his career.
After graduating, David got a job as a journalist, but felt his creativity was being stifled. He was given assignments, and was given very little leeway in how he could apply his creativity.
So he saved up a few months rent and moved to San Francisco. This turned out to be the pivotal moment in David's career. It was here that he got his first taste of marketing while working for a startup.
At the startup David honed his marketing and community building skills. The lessons he learned here allowed him to start his own marketing firm called Art Map Inc.
In this episode, David talks about taking small incremental steps, the importance of community, and why you shouldn't hold yourself back.
Here are three things you can learn from David:
Many artists want to run before they even learn to crawl. They want to be a well-known, successful, artist, without figuring out what steps will help them get there.
If you've had trouble reaching your goals, that's a sign you might need to slow down. Instead of trying to tackle your tasks full speed, you need to break your goal down into smaller, more manageable, parts.
David believes everyone should work at their own speed. "Everyone moves at their own pace and whatever their age is irrelevant."
He believes we need to position ourselves to make giant leaps by taking incremental steps. "You have to do a million of these incremental steps to even be in a position to make the leap, whatever the leap is."
So, no matter what stage in life you're in, you can make strides towards your goal. You just need to be patient and practical about it.
One of the most important and overlooked aspects of a successful creative career is finding your tribe or community. As artists, many of us would prefer to work alone or in isolation, but we can't do everything ourselves. The most successful artists have a community they can count on in their moments of need.
David believes community engagement is much more important than vanity metrics like likes. An small active community around your work can make the world of a difference.
"One hundred likes aren't worth as much as one comment. Someone else actually contributing and being a part of it is always been more meaningful to me."
David owes the growth of his agency and publications to the community he's built around them.
"Really a lot of the initial growth, from the beginning, I owe to the community."
It has allowed him to grow his following from zero to tens of thousands of subscribers. It is how he built his business.
One thing that holds artists back from growing their audience is holding work to themselves. If you have a tendency to hold yourself back when sharing your art, you are doing your fans a disservice.
"If you're a good artist, you're probably doing a lot more than you're putting online, and you're probably more interesting to look at your actual work and talk to you then it is to browse and search for you on the internet. So closing that identity gap is a lot of where I would start with."
David also believes you should share your work before it's even finished. It allows people to see your process while you're in the act of creation.
"I would also say that a major barrier that I see is that people being scared to put things out there before they're what they would call finished. You know, it's very acceptable and good marketing to put out there the process that you're doing, while you're doing it."
Don't wait for your work to end up in a gallery, or in the hands of your customer, to share it. Be proactive with sharing your art.
"You shouldn't wait to finish a painting, get it in a gallery, get it sold, and wait for that customer to put the painting online. You don't have to do that to market your art."
What many artists fail to realize is that your work is interesting to other people. People are interested in your process and how you create. Share that with them and you will start to build a community around your work.
"There are so many things around what you're doing that's interesting content to other people, that will create your audience and community."
A recap of episode 76 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Melissa Dinwiddie where she talks about being happy with your self and your work, making time for your goals and creativity, and sharing your work without expectations, among many other things.
Melissa Dinwiddie spent much of her life thinking she wasn't an artist. Even though she loved doing creative things, and her parents encouraged her to become an artist, she still chose to take a different path. She was intimidated by all the people who drew better than her, so she stopped making art for 15 years.
Even a stint as a dance student at Julliard, a prestigious performing arts school, didn't convince her to stick with her creative inclinations. Instead, she went to school for cultural studies and even attempted to get her PhD.
While trying to fill out her PhD application, she was filled with fear. Her body was telling her something wasn't right. It was telling her to be more creative.
This integral moment in her life brought her back to creativity. It led her to create a business around designing ketubahs, and eventually led her to creating her blog Living a Creative Life.
In this episode Melissa talks about being happy with your self and your work, making time for your goals and creativity, and sharing your work without expectations, among many other things.
Here are three things you can learn from Melissa:
One of the misconceptions we develop early in life is believing that people can create great things with little to no effort. We wonder why we struggle so much while those around us create amazing things.
The truth is, most people don't have an innate talent. Most people go through the same struggles we do. We just don't see it. So we just assume everyone else is great and we aren't.
Making this discovery changed the way Melissa viewed her art.
"Part of me still believed... that if it were truly possible, if I were truly talented, if I were a genius, than I would instantaneously be able to do all this stuff. I used to looked at people's finished pieces and, without realizing it, I would assume that they just picked up a pen, picked up a brush, and went to town, and booms there's this incredible finished piece that in fact, in reality... was planned out and designed, and took them fifty-two hours or something... so I think that I knew that I must be getting better and there must be hope for improvement."
That doesn't mean she wasn't envious of people who created great work. She decided that her self-worth shouldn't be tied to whether or not she was a genius. She realized that it was okay to be a normal person.
"I used to flip through the pages of the premier lettering arts journal, Letter Arts Review, and I would cry because I knew my work was never going to be that good. And God, my ego was so tied up in , I think I believed on some level... that in order to be okay, in order to be worthy and a loveable person, I needed to be a genius. You know, out of this world amazing, out of this world outstanding, remarkable, and one of the really wonderful things about getting older is that... I have let myself off the hook and essentially forgiving myself for being a regular person, and life is a lot better on this side."
After years of worrying about being the best, Melissa realized that happiness is more important than the constant need to feel validated.
"The younger me might look at the older me and think, 'My God, you just let yourself go, you've given up,' and on this side of it, I see it really differently. I see it as, 'Yeah, but my life is so much happier.' Back then I didn't care about happiness. I wanted to be great. Why did I want to be great? I guess I thought it would give me happiness."
One of the most overused phrases we all use as creatives is I don't have enough time. We blame our lack of time for our lack of progress or success. But the truth is, time is just a convenient excuse. "If you can't put fifteen minutes a day into your art, you're making an excuse."
Melissa used time as an excuse for ten years. She said she didn't have the time, but in actuality, she was paralyzed by fear.
"I've been making an excuse for ten years, saying 'I don't have time, I don't have time, I don't have time...' It wasn't about the time. It was about fear. It was about perfectionism. It was about comparison trap. It was self-doubt. It was all those things getting in my way, but time was this really convenient excuse."
If you are having trouble making room for your creative work, just dedicate a little bit of time to it every day. By spending fifteen minutes a day on her creativity, Melissa was able to keep her creative juices flowing.
"When I spend just a little bit of time every day, it keeps my toe in the creative stream. So I constantly feel like I am immersed in my creativity. Whereas, imagine if I were to spend two hours once a week, which is actually more than fifteen minutes a day for seven days. But two hours once a week would not have that sense of keeping my toe in the creative stream, but just a little bit every day, does. Plus the hardest part is starting, and when the commitment is tiny... it gets you past the starting friction."
If there's anything we can learn from Melissa it's that we need to stop using time as an excuse. If you really want to get something done, you have to find the time for it. You have to prioritize your time and make room for it on your schedule.
"It's really not a matter of finding the time. It's a matter of making the time. You have to schedule it in. And like I said, I'm a big believer in scheduling it earlier in the day, because then you have less time for monkey wrenches to get thrown into the works... that tiny little bit of time. It's amazing baby steps will get you anywhere if you do enough of them."
More often than not, there is one critic in particular that prevents us from achieving our goals. This critic knows exactly what to say to keep us down. That critic is ourselves.
We are so afraid that others will see the flaws in our work that we become paralyzed by it. But others don't see the flaws we see. And realizing that was one of the most empowering lessons Melissa has learned.
"We're all so afraid to share our work because we're afraid people are going to see what we see. They're going to see what's not living up, where it's lacking, and they don't see that. But we're afraid they're going to and we're afraid to be humiliated, and we're afraid to be so horrified and embarrassed... My experience has been, when I just put my work out there... no comment, no apologies... just put it out there and then watch and see what happens... that has been so empowering."
Even when we don't think our work is good or worthy, we can never predict how others will react to it. The work Melissa feels the least comfortable with is often the work that people appreciate the most.
"I can't tell you how many times I put something out there and think 'Ugh, that wasn't my best effort... I'm embarrassed to share this but I'm going to because I'm doing this practice. I'm practicing putting things out there and that's the thing that I'm embarrassed by.' I'm cringing because I'm pushing the publish button or whatever. But that's the thing that gets a bazillion likes, that gets somebody emailing me and saying, 'Oh my god, I needed to hear that today."
That's not to say you should seek validation from others. What we really need to do is publish our work and see what comes from it.
"We definitely don't want to get caught up in seeking validation from other people. That's never useful... but when I can put my work out there and let go of the outcome, and just observe... it's very liberating and it's very empowering."
Read more shownotes from episode 76 with Melissa Dinwiddie
A recap of episode 75 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Kerry Burki where she talks about letting your younger self guide you, learning to say no, and shifting your mindset, among many other things.
Kerry Burki had an idea simmering in her head ever since high school. She wanted to make all women feel beautiful. This idea sat in her head for years before she would finally unleash it.
Kerry's story starts like a lot of our stories. We have a kernel of an idea that sits in our heads. Sometimes we act on it, but more often than not, we let it sit. Then, something pushes us to act on it. Kerry's push came twenty years later in the form of her time in Marie Forleo's B School.
Kerry was working on a blog called Handmade Success, which helps people sell their work on Etsy, when her kernel of an idea crept back in her head. The only difference was, this time, instead of pushing the idea away again, Kerry decided to pull the trigger.
She asked women of all different ages and sizes to come over for a photo shoot. And with the help of a photographer friend, she began the first shoot of what became Kerry Magazine. She was finally doing her part in making all women feel beautiful. What started off as a small idea in her head has evolved into a full-blown magazine with three issues under its belt.
In this episode, Kerry talks about letting your younger self guide you, learning to say no, and shifting your mindset, among many other things.
Here are three things you can learn from Kerry:
We all have ambitious ideas when we're young and naive, before life gets in the way. We believe the whole world is our stage. We believe we can do anything.
Most of the time we let those ideas go and we lose our way. Just like Kerry did. "I feel like we have things about ourselves when we're younger that could guide us as we get older, you know, for what we want to do in the world, the changes we would see and everything, but sometimes... you can get really way off track. And that definitely happened to me."
While most of us never act on those ideas. Some of us do. All it takes is listening to what your inner voice is telling you to do. Because if you do it right, executing your ideas can change your life. "Sometimes I think it is kinda important to get back in touch with your younger self and see if you can remember what some of those ideals were and see if some ideas pop up... because since I've been working on this, it's been awesome and amazing and so fun, and it's not even anything I was thinking about over the last twenty years and there's some stuff that we knew when we were younger that I think we've forgotten."
One of the things that plagues many people is our discomfort with saying no. When people ask us to do something, it feels uncomfortable saying no them. But that's exactly what Kerry did.
Instead of agreeing to lead a class for kids' yoga, she decided it was best to say no. Because once that door was open, she was afraid she would be known as someone teaches kids' yoga. "I didn't want that to be what I'm known for, and it's not what I do. So it was interesting to have to come and figure out who do I want to help, what do I want to be doing, and to say no to things that don't go with that."
Kerry was afraid that she would fill up all her time with things she didn't want to do. Instead, she asked herself who she wanted to help and who she wanted to align with. Doing this would help clear her path forward. "I felt like I could have filled myself up so that when something did come along, I would have been like I don't have time for it. Right? And that would have been hard, you need to find where you need to be aligned , who you need to be aligned with... I started adding to what I say to myself in the morning... in the beginning of the day to say 'Please allow the people who are going to light my path to easily show up in my life today.' And when I read that, I said I need to start saying that every morning. Open myself up to allow the right people to come in that will help you see the path of you where you want to go forward."
One of the keys to Kerry's creative breakthrough was changing her mindset. Like most creatives, she used to have a mindset of fear and scarcity. After all, doing nothing is much easier than doing something. But once she re-framed her mindset, things started to work in her favor.
"I feel like there's a lot I've learned. That you have to come from a place of being open to receive instead of fear of that scarcity. Like I'm not going to be able to figure it out or people aren't going to want to do it. That's just an easier place, your thoughts just go there easier, and again I just started coming up with re-framing those types of thoughts and repeating it... a lot and saying 'It's all going to work out. It's all going to come together.' And... when I do that regularly, it works."
The biggest mindset shift comes from looking at things in a positive light. When you expect good things to happen, they really do start to happen. "Really, if you can switch to being open and expecting to receive good to come your way... it's almost like a light switch. It can really start to shift things."
This is a replay of episode 28 with Mike Roy. Mike Roy is an expert on the myths that hold artists back. He has explored, examined, and dissected these ideas, and explains how they hold us back from our true potential. There's a lot we can learn from Mike, so check out our great conversation.
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Mike Roy is the creator of Artist Myth, a site dedicated to helping artists overcome the things that hold them back. In this episode, Mike talks about the common myths artists believe, what people can do to overcome those myths, and how to find work you love.
Here are three things you can learn from Mike:
Artists who want to make a career out of their art must first overcome the ideas that hold them back. According to Mike, the best way to do this is to ask questions.
Far too often we let others influence our beliefs. If you truly want to become an empowered and inspired artist, you must discover it for yourself. Don’t believe everything you hear.
How do you do this? First you must ask why, then you must follow up and find out why. This allows you to make your own informed and educated opinions.
Many people want to live a creative and fulfilling life, but don’t know where to start. If you are in this boat, you can follow Mike’s three spotlight method for finding the work you love.
First comes your passion. If you want to live an inspired life, you must find out what gets you excited.
Second is your talents. What are you good at? How can you use these things to fulfill your creative purpose?
Last, you must find your market. Discover those who want what you have to offer. They are your tribe.
When you are able to combine these three things, you can begin to build a business around them.
It’s very hard to combine your passion, talent, and market. If you already know them, you are ahead of most people, and now it’s time for you to take action.
This is where many people fall off the wagon. They can pin point everything they need, but they find it hard to do the work. But that is the most important, and most difficult part.
You do this by putting your work out their and getting validation from it. If you want to know if people will buy your work, you must put it out there.
Doing this will give you valuable feedback on what people like and don’t like about your work. You can use this to grow your business and become a better artist.
Read more shownotes with Mike Roy
A recap of episode 74 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Dave Conrey where he talks about the importance of connecting with others, some of his keys to building a creative business, and getting started.
Dave Conrey‘s path to becoming a full-time artist is not a simple one. Growing up, he wasn’t that passionate about art, but over time, and after a series of jobs and ventures, he has finally dedicated himself to the idea.
After going to school for art and graphic design, Dave had two separate stints as an art director, but was laid off both times. He also spent time as a author, podcaster, and creator of Fresh Rag, which helped artists sell their work.
After years of feeling unfulfilled, Dave finally decided to put everything else on hiatus to pursue his art full-time.
In this episode, Dave talks about the importance of connecting with others, some of his keys to building a creative business, and getting started.
Here are three things you can learn from Dave:
One of the most important things we can do as artists and creatives is building a strong connection with other people. When Dave hosted the Fresh Rag show, people listened to it because his conversations felt deep and meaningful.
His conversations felt fresh and different because he didn’t try to force conversations with people just because they were famous. He just tried to build a report with his guests so they would have great conversations. “The most important factor for me is having a really good conversation, rather than just two people that might not know each other very well, talking about it, and the conversation is happening, but it’s kinda weird because there’s no real relationship built up. It’s just two people talking about it. And I want to have people that I know on so that we can have good conversations about it. And their experience level is less important to me than how charismatic they are in that conversation.”
The best way to build up to those great conversations is by building and fostering relationships with people. You are much more likely to have a great conversation with someone if there is a mutual trust and respect for each other. “It really comes down to having and building relationships with people over time. I mean, the people I’m going to have on the show are people that I’ve known, sometimes for a few months, and sometimes for years.”
Dave is a believer that there are a couple of keys to building your creative business. The first is building a brand that people love. The problem with branding is many creatives don’t know what their brand is. They believe good branding is just selling great products. But having a good product is not enough. “If you’re building up a brand that people love and adore, they follow you, not because of your product. I mean you make good products, that’s just important to make great products, but they’re not… on the edge of their seat waiting for your next Instagram post because your products are good. It’s because you are telling good stories and you… have good customer interaction and you have these relationships built.”
Another important factor for creative businesses is getting over your fears. Dave helped his audience get over their fears by having them participate in thirty day challenges. These challenges helped to change people’s mindsets from one of fear to one of action. “In my opinion, mindset is very important to how we do the things we do and so the idea was to create this thirty day challenge where you do a certain thing every day, or every single time you pick up a new challenge, whether it’s daily, weekly, or whatever. You pick up this challenge and do this thing, and it helps you kinda grow as an artist and grow as a maker. And whether its super actionable things you can do to… change your marketing program or it’s something you do in your head, getting outside of fear, the very first action is very fear based… fighting fear.”
One of the most easily overlooked, but incredibly important, aspects of creative work is just getting started. This may sound like an obvious suggestion, but often times we wait too long before taking action. We are so worried about failure that we instead of releasing something imperfect, we release nothing at all.
Dave believes we need to stop worrying so much and just get started. “Let’s say somebody wants to sell their photographic art prints… Figure out where you want to sell it and then just go put that stuff up there. Don’t worry about failing. Don’t worry about getting it wrong. Don’t worry about who’s going to see it because chances are nobody’s going to see it at first. Don’t worry about making sure you get your logo just so… don’t worry about any of that. Just get out there and post that thing up and then repeat the process, and then tweak as you go.”
Something that holds many creatives back, including myself, is the desire for perfection. But perfection is not only elusive, it’s impossible. You can’t wait for the stars to align because they never will. There is no better time than now. Remember, you can always start now and tweak later. “It’s less important for you to get it right and more important for you to get it out there and fix and tweak later because that makes all the difference. The ones that who take the action today, right now, are the ones who are going to win. The ones who are sitting back thinking ‘I don’t know. I’ll launch my show next month when I have everything just perfect,’ or ‘I’m going to buy that new microphone,’ or ‘I’m going to start my blog when I have enough money to get the really great theme that I need.’ Forget it man, just go.”
A recap of episode 73 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Logan Nickleson where he why marketing has gotten such a bad rap, the most essential element for finding your audience, and how we can use psychology to our advantage.
Logan Nickleson has always had an admiration for the arts. When he was a child he liked to draw and paint. When he was 15-16 years old he started getting into music. And for college, he went into journalism.
While in college, Logan saw the changes that were happening in journalism. So he changed his major to advertising. This led to his internship at an advertising agency.
His internship turned into a full-time job, where he worked on numerous projects. It was during this time that a revelation came to him. While making short videos for clients, he was having a hard time finding music for his videos. So he decided to use his own music.
Inspired by stock photography sites like Death to Stock and Unsplash, Logan decided to take all the music he created, and started his own stock site. The only difference was his stock site would for music. Thus, Music For Makers was born.
In this episode, Logan talks about why marketing has gotten such a bad rap, the most essential element for finding your audience, and how we can use psychology to our advantage.
Here are three things you can learn from Logan:
Many artists and creatives believe marketing is a spammy tool to sell things, but that's far from the truth. Logan believes marketing gets a bad rap. "I think there's a perception out there to market yourself and your work, it's icky and you're like this salesman, you know, almost like the car salesman type. I think it's really just a lack of understanding of really it doesn't have to be that way."
Logan believes people just have a false notion of what marketing is. Marketing is often thought of as a bad thing, but it isn't. "I think it's just, mostly people have this preconceived notion of what selling your art or what marketing your art is, and... it doesn't have to be gross or pushy or whatever."
Marketing, in its essence is getting your product out in front of an audience. The problem is, most marketers are still trying to do it the old-fashioned way where they just spam their audiences. This is what artists think about when they hear the word marketing. That's why they think marketing is selling out. "There's a lot of artists that think that to try to push your art out as a business is kinda selling out. I think it's kind of a misunderstanding of the process really."
If you still think marketing means selling out, I urge you to listen to Logan, and discover for yourself what marketing really is.
One of the biggest troubles artists and creatives have is figuring out who our audience is. This is one of the most important, and often times most difficult, things an artist has to do.
The problem is, we usually go about it the wrong way. We believe everyone is our audience, and that is simply not true. Figuring out who your audience is involves finding people who are actually interested in your work as a starting point. "I think it just starts off with a basic critical thinking of... who's the most basic version of the person who is interested in this, and then kinda putting it out there, and then just revising and reiterating until you find the right audience."
It doesn't end there either. You can't just rely on your initial hunch of who your audience is. Knowing your audience is a continuous process. Your audience evolves as you do. That's why it's crucial for you to constantly reevaluate who your audience is. "I would say it's kind of a continuous process where you reevaluate to see whether... this is still the primary audience or are there other audiences out there who would love their product that don't have any idea that they exist... So the research is ongoing I would say."
One point that consistently came up during my conversation with Logan was the book Influence by Robert Cialdini. In the book, Cialdini talks about all the ways we are influenced by psychology.
One of these points is one of commitment. When we commit to things, we are more likely to follow through on them. So start small, and work your way up from there. "When we commit to something, we are a lot more likely to be consistent... If you can get somebody to commit to a small thing, you can then later convince them to commit to a bigger thing like buying your product."
Another thing we talked about was the idea of accountability. Accountability nudges us to do things we commit ourselves to. It helps motivate you when you don't feel like doing something. It helps get you to the finish line. It gives you compelling reason to do something. "It's about this idea about accountability. Kinda announcing that you're going to do this or whatever and using that as a motivator to make you actually follow through and finish... I think it's a critical piece to let people know and... ideally let there be some consequence if you don't follow through. It makes a more compelling reason to do the thing you're wanting to do."
In its simplest form, it is about survival. We aren't necessarily in physical danger, but those basic instincts that helped our ancestors survive can help us thrive. "All these kinds of psychological triggers and just the way we think, I find it really interesting because it all really goes back to human survival. That idea of... the punishment is more important to us than the reward is just basic survival that we as humans have kind of learned over years and years of trying to survive."
This is a replay of episode 27 with Lee Moyer. If you want an idea of what it's like to build a successful career as an artist and illustrator, look no further than Lee. He has some great advice that's worth re-sharing for those of you who didn't catch it the first time or for those who want to re-listen to Lee's great wisdom.
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Lee Moyer is a polymath and illustrator who has been working for over 35 years. He has worked with book publishers, theaters, and game developers among many other things. In this episode, we talk about a lot of topics including learning from others, how to handle criticism and information overload, and his Kickstarter project The Doom that Came to Atlantic City.
Here are three things you can learn from Lee:
Lee is a big believer in learning from those who came before you. He never had a traditional art education and doesn’t think it is necessary to become a great artist.
In order to become a better artist, he studied under other artists and absorbed their knowledge. This allowed him to learn under the best and the brightest instead of going into debt by going to art school.
He is also a big believer in joining forums and learning from artists on the internet. These avenues make it easier than ever to become a better, more refined artist.
Lee believes criticism is an important part of becoming a better artist. Instead of letting criticism get to you, learn from what others are trying to tell you.
People who critique your work are using their own time and energy to give you constructive feedback. Listen to what they they have to say and instead of taking it personally. If people didn’t like you, they wouldn’t bother to critique you.
Everyone must deal with impostor syndrome. Even the late, great B.B. King was not immune from it. In order to overcome your feeling of not being good enough, you have to know and believe your work will turn out well.
Even when you feel like nothing is coming together, you have to work through it. You need to be stubborn enough to work through the lulls in order to create something great. Just keep working and you will be fine.
A recap of episode 72 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Amy Oestreicher wheres she talks about being a detourist, being more capable than we think we are, and how our creativity benefits from taking small risks.
Amy Oestreicher thought she had her life all figured out. Ever since she was young, she felt she was born to perform. She was all set to go to college for musical theater when medical complications derailed everything.
During her senior year of high school Amy started having stomach pains. When she went into surgery to fix it, her stomach shot out of her body and she went into a coma for months. She spent years and many surgeries in hospitals trying to reach some semblance of normalcy.
During this trying time, Amy turned to creativity to help keep her busy. She started painting and she even developed her own one person play based on all of her troubles and overcoming adversity.
With one play in the books, and another on the way, Amy is the prime example of what it means to persevere.
In this episode, Amy talks about being a detourist, being more capable than we think we are, and how our creativity benefits from taking small risks.
Here are three things you can learn from Amy:
As we go through life, we often face obstacles that push us past our comfort zones. We face obstacles that scare us. Amy believes we need to force ourselves to take risks, to push past the comfortable. “Unfortunately I think we all get something that pushes us sooner or later but obviously, to prepare ourselves, I think we have to look for the scary… We have to take the risk. We have to go inside and ask that question… ‘If I could not fail, I would do this.'”
Amy believes we need to follow our curiosity. We need to stop feeling so comfortable and safe. We need to embrace the risk even in the face of the unknown. “My TEDx talk was about being a detourist, and for me, a detourist is someone who at least shows up and has this curiosity. I think that’s the best thing we can do with anything in life even if life seems settled and okay. Be curious like what if, ‘What if I went in this alternate direction?’… The truth is, it’s not so hard for adversity to find us but I think sometimes we do feel comfortable and safe. We do have to really go inside and ask ourselves ‘What is a risk I can take in this moment?’ And the truth is if it’s not, even if you’re not in a comfortable place, I say start with a gratitude list. That’s what I tell anyone.”
Being a detourist requires knowing yourself. And one of the best ways to get to know yourself is by creating a gratitude list. Your gratitude list will reveal what’s important to you, even if it scares you. “Those gratitude items on my list… were actually my values. And the more I did those lists, the more I realized what was important to me. So the reason I think anyone should start with that is, you’ll realize what’s really important to you and what you need to go for, even if you’ve been scared of it.”
One of the things that you might realize over time is that we have the capacity to do great things. Even if you don’t know exactly what you are doing, you can create beautiful results. That’s exactly what Amy did when she got back into acting after all her surgeries. “It’s fake it til you make it. I feel like, just by acting, I was the actress back at work with the director. I felt like my mind was in such a better place.”
Don’t let your lack of experience prevent you from doing something you believe in. With the fake it til you make it attitude and the willingness to embark on new adventures you can make the impossible come true. “The truth is, I booked a theater in New York when I still had tubes and bags on me and I had never even touched professional theater after the hospital. So it was a big risk and it was an investment. So I think we were all very nervous cause I had never done anything like this in my sick or healthy life.”
Amy did not let her lack of professional experience dissuade her. She did not let the financial risk or her own nervousness get in the way. She went after what she wanted, regardless of the obstacles she faced.
That is why we sometimes need to force ourselves into uncomfortable situations. We need to push ourselves to the limits to see what we are truly capable of. “Sometimes you need to light a fire under you to get yourself in gear. You know why I don’t ever feel like a victim is because I think we are always more capable than I think we are or than other people perceive us as. And sometimes it takes saying ‘You know what, I’m going to fail,’ to see that we don’t fail.”
We often believe risk is a huge commitment or step in our lives that will change our whole perspective on the world, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Even the smallest risks can take you in the right direction. “I like to ask myself ‘What is the smallest micro-movement I could take? If I were an amoeba… what is the tiniest thing I could do?”
That’s because risks aren’t an all or nothing proposition. Risks lie on a spectrum. You don’t have to quit your job to take a risk. Risk can be almost anything. “Risk is not an all or nothing thing. There are a spectrum of risks we can take. It doesn’t have to be quit my job and become a performance artist. It could be I’m going to make myself sit and write that opening paragraph I’ve been putting off… and I think that’s what makes it a little bit easier to start with. Not I’m going to paint a canvas. I’m going to take a crayon and draw a stick figure. So, there’s no excuse.”
One important lesson we can learn about creativity and risk can be learned from kids. Kids aren’t worried about embarrassing themselves or making mistakes. They embrace it in the name of creativity. “Creativity can feel really superfluous, you know, like why I have this to do or that to do. But kids own it. You see that it’s a priority to them.”
If we just allow ourselves to take risks and look at the world from a child’s mind, we can slowly create a world where risk isn’t such a big deal.
This is a replay of episode 26 with Katy Walker and Joel Mejia. Life can sometimes overwhelm us. We get bogged down by all the negative things around us. That's why it was such a pleasure to do an interview with people like Katie and Joel. Their positivity, and inspirational work is something we should all aspire to follow.
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Katy Walker and Joel Mejia are the co-directors of the Time is Art documentary, a film that follow’s Jennifer Palmer’s journey after her aunt’s death and her exploration of synchronicity. They are also the minds behind Things Are Changing Productions, a creative collective that produces youth media programs, indie films, and music videos. In this episode we explore what you must do to take action, why you should work with limitations, and the benefits of empowering others.
Here are three things you can learn from Katy and Joel:
Looking inward is one of the most empowering things people can do. Many of us go days without taking the time to look within ourselves for answers. We are so busy trying to be productive that we forget to think things through.
Most of the time, the answer we are looking for is already within us. The next time you are stuck looking for answers, pause and look inside yourself. You might be surprised by what you discover.
Big budget blockbusters have an almost an unlimited amount of money to work with. They are given every resource they may need, which might be the reason so many of them fall flat.
Joel believes the best way to get the most out of an artist is to give that artist some limitations. When you are up against a wall, you are forced to come up with a creative solution, which often lead to the best results.
Most of us believe the more free you are, the easier it is to be creative. The problem is, this gives you t oo many options. The next time you are stuck, give yourself some limitations. You may be surprised by the results.
Katy and Joel are big believers in empowering other people. They believe apprenticeships are a powerful form of teaching. When someone becomes your apprentice, they are not being forced to learn. They are looking for long term value and a longer term education.
They are also running a series of workshops along with the film. This encourages people to engage and collaborate with others, which leads to a more powerful experience. They want people to connect through the film and the workshops and create long terms connections from it.
A recap of episode 71 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Cassia Cogger wheres he talks about why we need to be open to new ideas, the importance of avoiding complacency and being consistent, and the art of simplification, among many other things.
Cassia Cogger has created art ever since she was young. In middle school she won a national contest for a laundry detergent brand. And unlike most artists, she began selling her art early in life.
After college, Cassia abandoned her artistic pursuits and got a job as an editor at a trade magazine. It was during this time that Cassia realized she wanted to become a full-time artist. So she picked up a few odd jobs to support her painting business.
Before her daughter was born, Cassia was featured in a magazine as a rising star in water color. But after her daughter's birth, she stopped painting as frequently.
It wasn't until after her second child was born that Cassia got serious about art again. The same art magazine wanted to follow up with her to see what she had done in the past five years. This was the call to action she needed to get serious about art again.
In this episode, Cassia talks about why we need to be open to new ideas, the importance of avoiding complacency and being consistent, and the art of simplification, among many other things.
Here are three things you can learn from Cassia:
One of the things that holds artists back from reaching their full potential is being too closed minded. Many artists only want to learn about one specific thing. They are not open to exploring new ideas.
Cassia used to have these closed minded ideas about art, but after a while, she started believing art can be enhanced by everything around us. "Art is everywhere and can be anything, and to limit it to something like a painting or a sculpture, I was really missing out at that time seeing work. And when I do think when you do say 'I do this' or 'I do that', you're missing out as well."
Many artists are afraid of exploring something new. We like the safety and comfort of the known. Cassia believes this mindset is holding us back. "That entire new world can be kinda scary, right? The unknown is scary. What we know is safe and it's easy and it's comfortable, but you're not growing or shifting or changing or learning."
During our conversation, Cassia realized that she wasn't just an artist. She realized she was a learner and explorer. "Having this conversation right now, maybe even more than being an artist, I am a learner... I am the consummate student. I just love information and I love figuring things out, and I love coming to the next eureka phenomena until two minutes later when something else kind of hits me. There's nothing that excites me more and maybe the creative process or making artwork is what keeps me in that state of openness that allows me to keep receiving new information again and again and again."
A lot of times, we try to do things the same way, even though they don't work. We repeat the same mistakes because it's easier than trying to forge a new path for ourselves.
Cassia believes we should stop being satisfied with the status quo. Instead, we need to try something new. "I think a lot of people hit a wall and they aren't satisfied but... they think they need to go through it, right, instead figuring out that they can build something to go over it or carve a path go around it, or heck let's burrow a tunnel to go under it. There are a number of people who reach that point and I think it's very comfortable and it's fine and wow, that would be awesome."
Another thing holding artists back is their failure to develop a routine behind their work. Instead of learning how to create work consistently, we try to work when we feel inspired. But routine is essential to becoming a better artist. It's the reason Cassia become a more creative and productive artist. "You reach this point where I have wanted to buck routine my entire life, and now I'm like so much more productive and creative and just a better person when I kinda have my systems and processes and routines and frameworks in place because I'm not wasting all this energy on trying to figure out the world around me."
One of the things that plagues most people, especially artists, is our tendency complicate things unnecessarily. Often times we do so much planning and thinking that we over complicate things.
But the best solution is often the simplest one. Cassia's art is the result of simplifying the things around her. "Art making for me is distilling my experience. It's removing the non-essential from the world around me through the process of making, and maybe that's expressed on the page, maybe I just experience it in the process, but it's about simplification."
That is why she relies on routine and consistency. When we create routines, we are able to be more productive. We are able to maximize our time because we are no longer wasting our time on the unnecessary. "In a perfect world, I do find in my perfect world, that routine and consistency just leads to far greater... productivity because I'm not wasting my time on all the other stuff."
A recap of episode 70 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Kent Sanders where he talks about why breaks are important, some of the biggest things holding us back, and changing our mindsets about money.