Cynthia Morris

What’s the value of focus? These days, finding our ability to focus is a rare and valuable thing. We seem to always be all over the place, wandering online, consumed with a love for possibility. We have many project possibilities, and we like to keep our options open.

As creative people, we often have a lot of creative projects. It can feel good to have a sense of possibility. We sheepishly claim that we suffer from Bright Shiny Object Syndrome.

Much of the self-help space profits from the confusion we have over what to do, where to focus, what to make. Often mastermind groups are devoted to people who are figuring out what they are doing. We can live in an endless loop of ‘figuring it out’.

But here’s the thing that actualized creatives know: It feels incredibly good to focus. Focusing on and finishing one project brings us to a level of creative maturity that flirting with many projects never will.

I just got an email from a client who finally launched her thing. She told me about all the feelings she felt. And that despite the angst of getting it out there, on the other side was such a sense of joy and empowerment. This is way richer than the feeling of being ‘all over the place’.

The Original Impulse Atelier is designed for people who are ready to take that passion project off the back burner and put it squarely in front of them on the making table.

What’s so cool about the Original Impulse Atelier is that over the course of 11 months, when you stick with one project, you learn how to ride through the difficult spots that show up for any project. You develop new creative competencies that help you not only stay with this project, but with all your future projects.

Focus feels good. I’ve seen members of the Original Impulse Atelier thrive like never before when they sink into the joy and relief of focusing on one thing.

The Atelier is a working sanctuary where you enjoy the focus on one project. Where when you bump up against the obstacles and hurdles, you have a cohort of fellow creatives who get it and who encourage you to get back up and keep going. Or take a rest, if that’s what’s called for!

Interested in being part of a dynamic group of people who are mastering their creative process? Check out all the details here. 

Mastermind groups are trendy now, but not all groups give equal value. Anyone can claim they know how to facilitate a group. But I’ve been in groups led by people whose genius is not facilitating. 

A group led by a certified coach is different. A coach is listening, challenging and championing. It’s not just someone who is an expert in her domain. It’s someone who is trained to get the best of their clients to the table. I cannot imagine being able to lead the groups I lead at the high level I expect without my coaching skills. I remember teaching writing workshops before I became a coach and the ones I lead after my training – night and day. 

It’s not just about the accountability we so need. Nor about the community we all crave as creative people. That’s what usually motivates us to sign up for these things. But what we can get when a trained coach is at the helm of a group is much, much more. 

As a certified coach, I am always operating on at least two levels with my clients. At the first level, I am helping them achieve their goals on their project. That’s making sure that their agenda is fulfilled through our work together. 

Secondly, I am training members of the Original Impulse Atelier to be their own coach. I ask them tough questions. I teach them how to recognize and outwit their inner critic. I train them to be savvy about their own process so they are empowered outside of our group. 

I’ve been a participant in mastermind groups. I have seen the difference it makes when one is led by a trained coach and facilitator. I am a stand for my participants’ success in my groups, so I bring all of my coaching, leadership and teaching skills to the table. 

Having a coach help you write your book, make your body of artwork, be a consistent blogger makes all the difference. You will recognize patterns that keep you stuck and will learn new ways of working. You will gain the benefits of staying with something over the long term – confidence, clarity, empowerment and joy. The gifts of having someone on your team are many. 

If you are ready for a mastermind group that helps you achieve the creative success you crave, consider the Original Impulse Atelier. Enrollment is open now for our 2020 session, which begins in January. All the information is here.  

Enrollment has opened for the Original Impulse Atelier. An atelier is an art studio guided by a teacher who has designed a space for those who wish to learn deeply.

The Atelier Method is a form of fine art instruction often modeled after the private art studio schools of 15th to 19th century Europe. Taking its name from the French word for “artist’s studio,” an Atelier consists of an artist, usually a professional painter, working with a small number of students to train them in art.

In the Original Impulse Atelier, we aren’t teaching art or writing skills. Instead, we’re focused on how to live at our creative edge.

I believe that we need to train ourselves in our own creativity. What works for you to get your creative work done?

Our curriculum in the Original Impulse Atelier is creativity – our creativity. Through working on one project at a time, we glean valuable and usable insights to work on any creative project, any time. 

Members of the Original Impulse Atelier learn how to:

• design our time and focus around making art or writing
• make our creative work a priority
• easily get back on track when life disrupts the creative flow.
• care and respect the artist self
• befriend the inner critic so creating feels more joyful and less painful.

I’m psyched to open enrollment for the 2020 Original Impulse Atelier. The last two years have been phenomenal. Atelier members have written books, published blogs, developed and profited from live performances, made projects for their businesses and more.

What are you making in 2020? Will you make it with us? 

All the details about the Original Impulse Atelier are here. This is a small, curated group of dedicated creatives.

It was great fun to talk with Tara McMullin, host of the What Works Network and Podcast. I appreciated the chance to reflect on being in business for 20 years. I am certain I couldn’t have done it without my coach training.

Check out this interview on What Works podcast.

It’s all too easy to play it safe with our creative work. There’s a segment in my podcast that’s the fun part. The whacky part. The part that brings me joy and makes me giggle.

It’s also the daring part, the part that is different than anything I’ve heard. It’s the part that makes the ‘safe’ self in me worry about what others will think. Where I wonder, is it any good? Will it be…dumb?

Although this was a fun part of the project, I had to set this concept aside while working on the main parts of the podcast. I had to let it go so I could feel safe enough to work on the stories and the assignments.

I was even ready to go forward without what could be the best part. And then, when we had most of the episodes wrapped, my engineer said, What if we just add that part in at the very end?

And that somehow helped. It gave me permission to do it, and to do it in a way that felt safe.

So I recorded some new bits and had a blast doing it. It felt easy. A friend listened to them and loved them. And they may indeed be the best part of the podcast.

Sometimes we don’t have to abandon the scary stuff, but just set it aside while we gather our confidence. What are you working on that feels too scary or too much of a risk? How might you set it aside to work on parts that aren’t as daunting?

I work on this all the time with my clients and Atelier members. It may seem counterintuitive, but I am always nudging people to lower the bar. To make the work easy and simple. To layer in the process so that we can build confidence over time and tackle the hard things when we feel ready. This doesn’t mean doing nothing and sitting on the sidelines. It means knowing what we can work on in a sane and safe way.

Making things is daunting. What helps you feel safe to take your creative risks?