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You’re ready to create what’s inside you. Finally, you’re at a place where you can devote yourself to your creativity.

At Original Impulse, you’ve found a safe haven to dedicate yourself to projects that matter to you. Through online workshops, creativity retreats, our long-term creativity apprenticeship and customized one:one coaching, we are here to make writing a fun and vibrant part of your life.

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October 27, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

Marty Gregg and his fabulous journal on Stumbling Toward Genius

When you see an illustrated journal, it’s almost like peeking into someone’s mind. Denver designer Marty Gregg has one of the most complex and interesting visual journals I’ve ever seen. In this episode, we look at how he uses modeling and journal sketches to design work for his clients and to design a life he loves. This interview is also available on video. Find it and the show notes at OriginalImpulse.com/podcast.

Back in 2010, I did video interviews with some of my interesting friends. The first video I did was with Marty Gregg. I had to bring him back to Stumbling Toward Genius.

We kept the video recording because there was so much to see.

Here are a couple of images of Marty’s journals where he chronicles his life, dreams his future, and brainstorms project ideas in sketches. Plus, there is a lot of typographical joy here.

Mentioned in this episode:

My first video interview with Marty in 2010; more peeks into his pages and process here.

ArtHouse Denver

Marty’s Leuchtturm 1917 Sketchbooks

Lula Rose General Store Denver coffee shop

Lisa Sonora on Stumbling Toward Genius

Marty Gregg on Instagram

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

October 20, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 2 Comments

Braving NaNoWriMo to write a shaggy first draft

If you are thinking of embarking on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), here are some coaching tips to make your writing month a success – on your own terms.

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

Transcript:

In this solo episode, I talk about NaNoWriMo or national novel writing month. This happens every November. It’s a free global writing challenge where you start and finish writing a novel in the month of November. I know that sounds really intimidating, but the goal is really just to get your shaggy first draft of 50,000 words or more done.

If that sounds like a lot. Well, it is. But the whole purpose behind this kind of accelerated focus is to get you to stop overthinking over-planning and editing as you write, the goal is just to get stuff down. Later, you can edit to your heart’s content.

I just coached somebody on how to prepare for NaNoWriMo and I want to share some thoughts about how you might prepare if you want to do this kind of focused challenge or anything like it. First I want to say, I really believe in this kind of writing freely and with abandon. It’s how I write every single thing. Later, I edit a piece at least two or three times.

What’s important to me about giving ourselves permission to write badly is this. When we let our words onto the page with the editor outside, trimming the hedges, doing something else but getting all in our space, our voice is so much more present. We’re writing from our truth, from our essence, from our own creative style.

This piece of writing voice it’s really what makes or breaks writing. If you don’t have your true voice on the page, honestly, the writing will be flaccid, uninteresting, and just not you.

Let’s be real. It takes a lot longer than a month to write a novel. Writing a novel is a thing. If you’ve never written a book, you of course have a learning curve ahead of you, but that’s not a problem.

It’s not a problem to not know how to do something. Why would you know how to write a novel? Unless you’ve already written one. You have to do it in order to learn it. So I find the shaggy first draft incredibly useful to just get over those concerns about it being perfect or even making any sense on the first pass.

To be honest, I’ve done NaNoWriMo only once, mostly because I was writing the same dang novel for 12 years and the challenge is to draft something new. So for a long period of time, I was rarely in the ‘draft something new’ phase. I was in the revision phase. But the one time I did it was when I wanted to knock out a draft of a book that was on my list of things I wanted to write.

This project kept hovering on that list. And every time I would see it, I would think, oh, that someday I’ll do that. I don’t really like being a someday I’ll do that kind of person. I’m more of a, why don’t I do everything all at once right now, kind of person. So, here’s an idea that won’t go away. It seems to have potential, but it never will take priority on my list of things I’m doing. You know how it is, there’s an idea that won’t go away, but you don’t ever get to it. So I thought let’s crank it out in a month. I will use NaNoWriMo to contain the project to one month and then I’ll decide whether I want to go forward with it.

So you might be wondering what book I wrote in a month. The project was a book about the time I moved to Portugal. I fell in love with a hot young rock climber and had an amazing whirlwind romance that had a lot of highs and a lot of lows. This adventure took me all around Portugal. I saw some of the most gorgeous off-the-beaten paths. I drank a lot of tasty red wine and ate olives and cheese. And my God, I even became a rock climber.

But this person turned out to not be the love of my life. And one brisk October day saw me taking a 15-hour bus away from Lisbon crying my way all the way to Madrid. If this sounds like a good story, well, I have to say it is. That’s what I thought. I thought getting it out in writing would be at least cathartic. So I did it. And here’s what helped me succeed at getting 50,000, well, actually more like 60,000 shaggy words out, and these are some of the things I offered to the client I was coaching.

First, I want to say, write whatever project you want. While the point of NaNoWriMo is to write a novel who cares what you write? No writing hall monitor is coming by your screen to say, ah, Nope, that’s a memoir. That’s not allowed.

In the vein of doing what you want, consider why you chose the project you want to focus on. What’s important about that now? What do you imagine you will gain from spending a month of your life on it? Do a short free-write to clarify your purpose and intention. That will help you through any dark days when you question WTF are you doing this anyway.

Do daily timed writing sprints. I lead online writing workshops where we do three timed free-writing sprints of 10, 15, and 20 minutes. This adds up to 45 minutes of writing. In that time I can typically get out 2,500 words total.

So if you do that every day for 30 days, that gives you 75,000 words. Or more realistically, a few days of wiggle room when you might not be so productive,

You might want to buddy up with a writing buddy. I teamed up with someone else who was writing a book every day after I wrote I would text him that I had done the writing and he would respond that he had done his writing too. It was great accountability, but it was also camaraderie. And sometimes we’d share a little bit more than I just did it.

You might consider padding your month with self-care. Prepare ahead of time. Act as if you’re going on a month-long writing retreat. Maybe you cook up a bunch of meals and have them in the freezer or get someone else in your household to take up some of the household chores a couple of days a week that month.

What are the things that you need around you to make it super easy? Maybe there’s some clutter to clear. Maybe there’s a writing nook you need to set up. Act as if this month is a special time. Because it is and get yourself ready for it.

Also in that vein of preparing for a writing retreat, take anything off your calendar that’s not essential. You might limit your news reading. You might change up some of the things that you don’t really need to do. Just look at what you can clear off your calendar, but definitely keep exercise on your to-do list because you want to stay in good form. You want to feel that you have your energy for doing the work.

You might want to have a working outline and some character ideas laid out before you start the writing month. You might want to gather other pieces that are helpful for the writing. For instance, I gathered my journals and photographs that I had from that time, and that helped me with the details and the timeline and remembering some of the events. And from that, I was able to easily write them with some detail.

You might consider giving yourself a set of prompts to work from you. You don’t have to write your book chronologically. You can choose your prompts or scenes, and then you can draw them at random. You could put them on cards and pull one at random, or just use a list and write them. That way you have a sense of surprise and freshness in your writing.

I would say, don’t try to control the writing too much. As I mentioned earlier, voice is the most important thing. So you want to let your voice come through and that will bring the best freshest. I would say if there’s a need to control something, dialed down the static about how good the writing is. If it’s going to be a waste of time, will this end up in the book? Will it not end up in the book?

I recently pulled that 60,000-word NaNoWriMo manuscript out of the drawer, and I looked through it to see what was there. I know when I finished it at the time I felt done with it and I didn’t need to do anything with it, but now I’m considering giving myself, November and December to go in and revise it. I noticed that there is a lot of work to be done, but it still feels like I’m not starting from scratch, that I have something to work with and that there is some good material in there. And that helps me rather than starting from the blank page.

What you will have at the end of the month is hopefully 50,000 words or more. It doesn’t matter. Even if you only get to 20,000, it’s more than what you had at the beginning of the month.

NaNoWriMo will give you a solid sense of your writing stride. How long can you write for? When does it tip into diminishing returns? Where do you write best? Standing, sitting on paper or keyboard?

Use this month to give yourself a lived experience in your writer’s life. And you’ll see what works for you and what doesn’t. That in itself is so valuable, just knowing yourself as a writer. Make it fun, make it an experience.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? Leave a comment here, letting us know what creative project you’re devoting yourself to in November. I hope this has been useful for you and given you a few ideas for how to frame NaNoWriMo and make November a super successful writing time for you.

October 13, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 8 Comments

Magic in Art and Life with Lisa Sonora

Art making is a mysterious thing. Those of us who are called to make art can’t not do it. And yet, we’re often terrified to share what we’ve made with the world. I recently spoke with Lisa Sonora for Stumbling Toward Genius, and she said some things about art-making and daring that might accelerate your own bold moves.

Lisa recently launched a new shop filled with her cheeky and delightful designs called Magic Gratitude. We spoke about magic and its place in artmaking.

If you’ve ever struggled with the courage to put your work out there or battled with being isolated in your creativity, this is the episode for you. Lisa and I have been mastermind buddies for years now, and this will give you a peek into what we talk about when we go into the heart of why we make art.

In this episode:

100 Day Project

Magic Gratitude

Visual Journal Studio

The Creative Entrepreneur book

Lisa Sonora art

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

October 6, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

Many creative interests: integrating, not separating our passions on Stumbling Toward Genius

Do you suffer from having too many creative interests? You want to write, and make art, and sing, and dance. Yet you’re not a one-person band. Your time and energy is limited. How do you manage all your creative desires?

I feel the same way. I’ve always danced with a lot of different interests. In this solo episode of Stumbling Toward Genius, I share how I am currently working with all the things I love and want to make. It’s not what you would expect from a creativity coach!

As mentioned in this episode

Write Your Travel Stories

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Good Life Project podcast with guest David Heinemeier Hansson

Visit Paris Like an Artist

Center for Applied Jungian Studies (where I am taking some courses)

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

September 29, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

Daring Something New: Cara Black on Stumbling Toward Genius

One way to I assuage my wanderlust is to read a good book. I’ve been interviewing authors for my podcast, Stumbling Toward Genius, and I had the chance to get my Paris jollies in conversation with Cara Black. Cara has written 19 books in her Aimée LeDuc Investigator series, many of which I have loved. Her most recent book is a departure from the series, and I was curious to know what was different about writing that book.

Three Hours in Paris also features a strong female lead character. We talked about women in fiction and women writers. Talking with Cara sparks my desire to write more fiction, and sets my mind and heart racing about all the possibilities. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

We are headed into autumn here in the northern hemisphere, and this is a great time for creative people to start to go inward. I like to ‘hunker down’ as they say, because it feels it’s easier to focus in this season. Is that true for you?

Alongside the inward focus runs a thread of wanderlust. I dream of going back to Paris and Japan. I miss that feeling of adventure I get when traveling. Travel is an umbrella practice for my values of exploration, discovery, beauty, and learning. And of course, personal growth.

You may have heard of my writing workshop, Write Your Travel Stories. I designed this as a way to get some of those travel needs met during a time when I am not venturing out as much. We have another flight of this class scheduled to take off in early October. See how to join us and get the early boarding rate (ends on October 1st) here.

Mentioned in Cara Black episode:

Three Hours in Paris

Aimee LeDuc series

Workshops and events with Cara Black

REI travel dress

Foyle’s War historical TV series

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

September 22, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 4 Comments

Permission to Glow: Lively, Inspiring Conversation with Kristoffer Carter on Stumbling Toward Genius

One of the things people often say they need when embarking on a creative project is something I can’t give them. Permission.

I’m not the authority or the all-knowing one who metes out permission. Permission comes from inside. As adults, we decide how we devote ourselves to our creative projects.

While I don’t think permission comes from someone else, I do believe that role models help us see what’s possible. Permission can come from seeing how someone else boldly carves out their own path. Permission comes from seeing someone else demonstrate that it’s okay to express our authentic selves.

I felt this sense of permission the minute Kristoffer Carter crossed my path almost ten years ago. There is something about him, from his unabashed energy to his ability to connect with anyone, anywhere, that inspired me. Some would call it ‘unfiltered’.

Kristoffer, or KC, and I were part of a year-long program together. This time changed our lives and also revealed that we are what we call ‘soul siblings’. KC has had a profound influence on my growth as a person and artist. He was the first person I interviewed for Stumbling Toward Genius, and I am delighted to bring this episode to you.

We talk about his new book, Permission to Glow. We discuss:

the four permissions and how he is still on the edge of practicing them daily
the difference between performing and embodying your message
how Kristoffer found his path to joy through consistent spiritual practice
and much, much more. Plus a musical treat for us!

Mentioned in this episode:

Permission to Glow book – Pre-order your copy today

Good Life Project

Autobiography of a Yogi

Detention, the Akron-based band

Brene Brown

Weird Al Yankovich on songwriting

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

September 15, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 3 Comments

Design Your Creative Curriculum for Focus, Joy, and Success

Sometimes, when we’re just starting out with a creative dream, it’s hard to know what we need. We may not be tackling a big project like a book, or a series of articles or essays. So our writing life can feel amorphous, like it’s not real. It exists inside us as a desire, but there’s not a lot of structure in the world to give it shape.

We have to give it shape. I like the idea of designing our own curriculum. One that suits our needs, meets us where we’re at, and helps us to feel a sense of focus and containment. I’ve always thrived in a learning environment, and the idea of a course of study that I design and work with always helps me. Does this idea of designing your own writing course resonate with you?

In this solo episode of Stumbling Toward Genius, you’ll get ideas about how to design structure around your creative work, whether it’s writing or art-making. You’ll also hear about what I am working on this fall and how I am coping with the daunting thrill of it.

Mentioned in this episode:

My classes and coaching groups

Atelier

Impulse Writing Club

Write Your Travel Stories

My books

Chasing Sylvia Beach

Visit Paris Like an Artist

The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book

Part of my Creative Writing curriculum

Giving Yourself an A in The Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander

Suleika Jaouad’s The Isolation Journals

Dani Shapiro’s Still Writing

Vivian Gornick’s The Situation and the Story

Zen Art Supplies dot grid notebook

Try it yourself!

Download the Design Your Creative Curriculum worksheet here.

Leave a comment below, letting us know about your curriculum.

Affiliate links are used in this post. I only recommend products and programs I heartily endorse.

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

September 8, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 4 Comments

What Drives Your Creative Projects? Jonathan Fields on What Sparks Us

In this episode of Stumbling Toward Genius, I talk with my friend and mentor Jonathan Fields. We talked about the different types of creative projects one can take on.

We also touched on his new book, Sparked. In it, he shares ten Sparketypes. Knowing our types can help us to feel more aligned at work and in our creative projects.

I’ve taken tons of assessments and know my types, my strengths, and my gifts. When Jonathan came out with this assessment, I thought, I don’t need that. But of course, I was curious, and he’s my friend, so I did the process. Boy, am I glad I did.

So many things became clear to me as a result of this using Sparketypes to see how my creative and professional work go together. It goes to show there are always more levels of understanding we can gain about ourselves and our work.

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Sparked and take the Sparketype assessment

Good Life Project

Kate DiCamillo

Steven Pressfield

Kneel at the Altar of Your Craft

Hourglass by Dani Shapiro After Jonathan mentioned Hourglass, I picked it up from the library. I read it while on a writing retreat and loved every minute of it. I learned a lot about how to write from reading this memoir.

My Sparketypes are Maker and Advisor. I bring these together every day at Original Impulse. One of my greatest professional joys is designing experiences for others to bring alive their creative gifts. Thanks to Jonathan Fields for developing this cool tool. Discover your Sparketypes here.

September 6, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

My new favorite dot grid journals for writing and organizing life

I spend a lot of time with my notebooks and am a fan of dot grid journals. I consider my many sketchbooks, personal and professional journals to be my allies. My intimate thoughts, dreams, and drafts fill their pages. I have hundreds of notebooks I’ve filled since I dedicated myself to writing in 1994. You are welcome to call me a notebook geek – I do!

Over the decades, I’ve used many kinds of notebooks. My preferences include:

dot or grid pages
can fit easily in my bag
has a spine that lays flat and can be folded over
a cover that feels good to the touch
paper that doesn’t bleed through
a ‘thong’ or page holder (this one has two!)
back pocket
elastic band to keep the whole thing together.

My new favorite journals

Recently, an Atelier member gifted me with a journal from Zen Art Supplies. I loved the dot grid notebook the minute I touched the faux leather cover. Soft, supple, and smooth, this was a new ally I could see myself cuddling up with. I don’t call what I do bullet journaling, but if you do that kind of journaling, this is a great notebook for it.

There’s something about dot grid journals that gives both structure and space. Somehow, dot grid journals allow me to organize thoughts with just a hint of a line. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like a totally blank page but can feel restricted by lines. Enter the dot grid to save the day!

Special touches make a difference for me. I love the patterns on the edges of the pages – a different Japanese icon for each color notebook. Some of the bonus elements of this notebook include:

numbered pages
front-of-book index
acid-free paper
gorgeous cover colors
recyclable and biodegradable.

The index keeps me organized when life is full

I’m taking a lot of classes and making a lot of notes these days. The numbered pages and index are working great for me. I’m glad because I’ve never put this organizing principle to work until now.

Some people might call me picky. But I believe that an everyday, functional object should also be a thing of beauty. My notebook goes with me everywhere. I’m snuggled up with it in my studio every morning, recording my hopes, dreams, and tarot readings. My notebooks constitute a treasure vault, chronicling my life.

I must love every item that’s in my life. I love the ZenART art journal supplies so much, I am giving every member of my Atelier one. ZenART is a partial sponsor of the Atelier Kits. I know members will cherish their notebooks.

Affliate links are included in this article.

September 1, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 4 Comments

Fake Excuses and Real Reasons We Don’t Show Up for Our Creative Work on Stumbling Toward Genius EP 16

Have you ever noticed that the reasons we do or don’t do things have different qualities? We feel some of our reasons in our gut. Other reasons flutter around our heart. For example:

You may want to write your book, but your reasons or excuses look something like this:

I don’t have time right now.

I’m unsure that my book idea is a good one.

I don’t know where to start; I have so many ideas I can’t figure out a path to get going.

If you are on the sidelines of a project now, take a second to jot down the reasons you aren’t actively engaged in it. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Now, look over your reasons. See which ones feel ‘true’. Taking the first one, you could say, yes, I truly don’t have time now. I am a caregiver for my parents, my child just moved back home, and I am holding down a full-time job. (Your circumstances don’t have to look anything like these to be true.)

Notice the second reason. Uncertainty about the validity of our projects is absolutely part of the creative process. But it doesn’t have to be a show-stopper.

I try to ‘get real’ about why I’m not doing the things I say matter to me. I believe that when we don’t honor our creative impulses, our gifts and ideas weigh heavy on us. Carrying all those possibilities around is like being Santa, holding a giant bag of gifts but never giving them away. I know I feel the impact of living my unexpressed dreams. Honestly, this is the main reason I coach creatives – to help us all live and give the gifts we’ve been given.

I get real and honest in this new episode of Stumbling Toward Genius. I want you to know that we can survive the honest assessments of why we avoid our creative work. And that taking an honest look only makes you stronger.

In this episode of Stumbling Toward Genius, you’ll hear

the real reason I stopped recording podcast episodes
the fake reasons I stopped the podcast
what made me bring it back
and more.

Leave a comment below to share thoughts you have about this episode. If this episode brought to mind a friend who might benefit from this, please pass this episode on.

Stumbling Toward Genius is written and performed by Cynthia Morris and produced by Jason Camps. The show’s music is by Evan MacDonald.

I’d be so grateful for your help with a review of the podcast Stumbling Toward Genius on iTunes.

August 21, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

Where is your big dream?

You don’t need to read this if you are happy with how your dream project is going now. If you fret, avoid, and dread working on the project of your dreams, read on…

What is your big project? This is the thing that doesn’t go away, no matter how many obstacles and fences your inner critic puts up. This is the dream that’s tied directly to your purpose and your sense of mission in life. It could be anything…a book, a body of artwork, a business idea.

When you commit to your big dream project, you feel on purpose and fulfilled. Everything in life is better when you are deeply engaged with your dream project.

If you’re still sitting on the sidelines of your big dream, what are you waiting for? Permission? More time or money? Maybe you need to be better-looking. (Kinda a joke, but if putting your face out there in videos or public speaking is your project, that is a common avoidance excuse!)

If you are ready to get into a deep and joyful relationship with your project, I have just the thing to get you going on it. My coaching group, the Atelier, is now open for enrollment. For a limited time, you will be able to join a cohort of dedicated creatives led by a seasoned coach and facilitator. This is one of the most fun and effective ways to make the kind of progress you crave.

What if you have a whacky project? No sweat! Any kind of creative project that needs dedication will find a home in the Atelier.* Last year’s members dedicated themselves to:

launching a non-profit devoted to new ways of funding communities in need
painting a ‘story wall’ that was installed in her local library
drafting a book and proposal for a professional project that gathered decades of wisdom
writing a memoir that had been haunting her for years.

I will be working on a project alongside Atelier members. I am not ready to reveal it yet but it’s a big dream that has been on a shelf for too long. It feels like there’s no more time to defer our big dreams. Do you sense that too?

Get off the sidelines and into love with your project. All the details about the Atelier can be found here.

*You do need one project to be part of this group. If you have more than one project, you’ll need to choose one. Set up a meeting with me to help you choose which project you want to dedicate yourself to now.

PS>> We only have a few seats left in this year’s Atelier. You can trust that Atelier members are smart, soulful, and generous. This coaching group is unlike anything you’ve ever done before. Atelier members have expressed surprise at how much more they get from this group than they expected. Find out more here.

August 18, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

Self-Knowledge is more important than information when it comes to creativity

On a camping trip this summer, I checked the sky. It’s common for thunderstorms to rain down on a Colorado afternoon. I observed the clouds to whether I should take a hike or take cover.

A childhood memory of learning about clouds floated to mind. I recalled a list of types of clouds. But the only word I could remember now was cumulus. And which were cumulus clouds, the fluffy ones or the skittering, long clouds?

No matter – the names of the clouds were merely information and completely useless to keep me safe. Now I needed knowledge. I needed to read the clouds to take appropriate action. I thought of people who live according to the seasons like indigenous people and farmers who learn how to read the sky, the clouds, the soil, and the air. They don’t just memorize information in a classroom. They gain knowledge and thus wisdom that they can act on.

I’ve been obsessed about this concept of knowledge or information and what this means for us, dedicated to the act of writing and creating. Consider the information you’ve gotten about how to sustain a thriving creative practice. Some concepts include:

Write every day.
Set a timer – use the Pomodoro Technique!
Keep track of your word count.
Use social accountability by telling someone you are going to write.

All of those practices can be of use, certainly. But until they are adopted and adapted to your needs and your lifestyle, they are just bits of information. And information without implementation is just…pretty useless.

Unfortunately, these bits of information are not benign. If you haven’t taken these practices on, chances are you’re beating yourself up about it. You’re plagued by not good enough-ness:

Why can’t I just write every day?

Why does the timer just make me freeze up?

Everyone else does it this way.

What’s wrong with me?

My work as a coach and facilitator is to help you develop your own applied knowledge around what works for you. It’s all just someone else’s good idea until you put it into practice. Suggestions like ‘set a timer’ or ‘free-write your first draft’ either become part of your practice or are set aside. Only through consistent trial and error do you amass the knowledge of your own process. And once you have this knowledge, you continue to build your wisdom and satisfaction around what you create or write.

Gain knowledge you can act on

The barrier between information and knowledge is time. Most of us give up way too soon. We take on information – a creative practice – for a week or two, maybe a month. A week certainly isn’t enough time to gain enough experience in knowing what works. A month, maybe. In my four and five-week-long groups, we definitely get a lot of knowledge about our own style.

But it’s not easy to sustain a practice on knowledge gained in just a few weeks. Think of it – would you marry someone you knew only for a month or two? No, you wouldn’t! Because you wouldn’t have gone through the wringer of life that gives you all kinds of challenges to bear.

Same with a creative practice – committing to one thing for a long period of time gives you the knowledge you need. Over time you learn your:

easy excuses – and how to not fall prey to them.
true motivation – it’s rarely what’s on the surface.
reentry strategies – what works for you to get back on track when you fall off.
joy – making things isn’t all painful drudgery; we make things because of the love and joy we feel for our ideas and art forms.

This is all the stuff we work on in my coaching group, the Atelier. It’s eight months long for a reason. Developing as a writer or artist goes beyond the surface of information and ideas to real wisdom and knowledge about what works for you to succeed creatively. Members thrive in this environment because they realize that making things isn’t a quick, surfacy kind of thing.

What’s your experience with information versus knowledge when it comes to your creativity? Share your thoughts below.

And if you have a project that you are ready to earn knowledge around, check out the Atelier. We have a few spots left for smart, soulful people ready to dig in and learn about themselves in relationship with a project.

August 13, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

The joy of being dedicated to something scary

If you’ve heard me talk about my group coaching program, The Original Impulse Atelier, you might have questions.

The Atelier could be great for you if you:

have a project you yearn to focus on – even finish!
can’t seem to make the time/space for it on your own
enjoy being part of a community of creatives dedicated to their projects
are ready, willing, and able to finally fall in love with your project.

If you’re like me, you feel a wave of excitement accompanied by fear at the thought of committing to your project. It makes sense – when we step up to do our creative work, we decide that our passion is more powerful than our fears and excuses. We decide YES! Now is the time to heed the call and commit to this thing that won’t leave us alone.

I’ll be working on my own project. Atelier members love how I am in it with them. I never come from a pedestal, expert mode, or teacher above anyone else. The way I see it, we are in the same river of creative adventure. I may be just a few paddle strokes ahead. I’ve spent years refining what works for me. Sure, I get stuck…but it takes less time for me to recover.

I also know that the feelings of joy and personal empowerment on the other side of the fears are worth all the angst. I love knowing that I can trust myself to follow through on projects that matter to me. I want this for you and everyone who wants to make things.

Atelier members love being in deep relationship with their project. If you are part of this group. finally, there will be no more guilt or avoidance. Just the pleasure of knowing you are honoring your creative impulse in a fun and effective way.

All the info is available here; just download the program guide for details.

August 3, 2021 by Cynthia Morris 2 Comments

Bad news: You’re not ‘good enough’

I’ve noticed that many of us suffer from the ‘not good enough’ illusion when it comes to our writing, creativity, and heck, life in general. We’re all trying to prove something to someone that we are worthy. Is this true for you? If so, read on.

It’s absolutely valid that there are standards of excellence that must be met in life. Applying for school, becoming a doctor or engineer or architect, yes, you have to exhibit a certain level of skill there. There’s a clear bar and yes, you have to rise to it.

But with writing and art – what’s the exact metric for ‘good’? When we are writing, we may feel in the flow. But soon enough doubt creeps in and tells us crappy things like ‘this sucks. Who would care about this?’

The reason you are not ‘good enough’ is not because you are untalented or unskilled. It’s because you haven’t taken the time to define ‘good’ for yourself. ‘Good’ is an ambiguous target that you’ll never reach because it’s not about a level of craft. Instead, it’s about your ego’s demands to be liked, accepted, and validated.

If you’ve ever won a prize or gotten kudos for your work, and felt great for a moment, then that was followed quickly by your inner critic pointing out how that feedback doesn’t validate you, you will know what I am talking about. No matter how ‘good’ you are or successful, that voice will jump in to trample your creative gains in the mud.

Imagine me saying these things to you after a creative win:

Yes, you got that newsletter out but it wasn’t as good as you’d like it to be.

Sure you wrote for an hour, but you didn’t get as much drafted as you hoped for.

Yea, you got into that art show but you didn’t get any feedback or sales.

That’s great that you painted today but the work isn’t really what you want it to be.

These are the things you say to yourself because you never let your efforts be good enough. If you heard those things from me as your coach, you’d fire me! Or maybe you’d keep me on board because I collude with your inner critic and the part of you that can’t let yourself have even a teeny weeny gain.

Another challenge is that when we are working on something, we simply don’t have what I call critical distance. We are not able to judge in the moment whether something is good enough. Your inner critic takes over the mic and you come to believe that’s the whole story.

These are the voices in my clients’ heads that I am honored to listen in on every day. I don’t collude with their inner critic. Instead, I invite new perspectives so the creative process feels empowering and enjoyable.

What do we do with this persistent need to prove we are ‘good enough’? If you’re in the phase of the process that’s not reliant on other’s responses such as submitting your book for publication or your art for review, there are ways you can work with this issue. Here’s what I suggest if you suffer from the ever-moving target of good enough.

First, define your ‘good’. Identify where you are in the process. Are you hacking away at the first draft? ‘Good’ might be just getting ink on the page. Later drafts might need a different metric. Focus on the craft of writing.

What makes for compelling passages? Engaging sentences, authentic voice, and dramatic tension are a few elements of craft you could measure. Does the writing flow? Is it moving me as I write it? As the writer, am I engaged on a deep, emotional, visceral level or am I skating on the surface with clever phrasing?

Ask yourself: What constitutes ‘good’ for the piece you are working on? And don’t let the inner critic aka perfectionist demand too much in the early stages. A piece needing to be excellent right away is like expecting your toddler’s first steps to be elegant and swift. Our first and even second or third attempts are full of stumbles and places to learn. You’re growing.

Another way to get past ‘good’ is to savor the process rather than the outcome. Most creative projects are a long game and take years to complete. If you are constantly operating on a tank of ‘not good enough’, you won’t have enough fuel to make it to the finish line.

How does it feel to show up for your project? What benefits or changes do you notice in yourself when you dedicate yourself on the regular to your creative work? In my workshops, I invite people to do a simple but powerful reflection process. Ask yourself: how was that for me? Then jot down three words at the end of a session. Keep a list of your reflections. Over time you will have a true picture of the real value to you of doing your creative work. This can replace an ambiguous goodness that you’ll never attain. You can finally feel some satisfaction in the process.

Make ‘good enough’ an inside job. You’ve done well when you show up consistently. You’re good enough when you put in the hours. You’re good when you let yourself ‘go there’ to be honest in your work. You’re ‘good’ when you show willingness to be humble and learn. You are enlivened because you are honoring your values at a deep level when you show up for the work, even when the outside world doesn’t see or validate your efforts.

Do you suffer from never feeling ‘good enough’? Share below what has helped you overcome this insidious creative challenge.

July 21, 2021 by Cynthia Morris Leave a Comment

Why you’re not getting your important creative work done

Do you have items on your to-do list that never seem to get done? They either get pushed to the next week or fall off your radar. Even must-dos get ignored or ditched. But the tasks we avoid don’t just disappear. They haunt us. They live in the dark valley of our unlived potential. Deflected work becomes proof for our inner critic that we can’t finish things and that we don’t have what it takes to succeed. Continuing to defer the difficult stuff isn’t as benign as we may think.

This happens to me. There are plenty of things looming on my to-do list week after week. Finally, one day, I understood why. This may sound obvious to you, and it is, but how we deal with it may not be apparent. Ready for the big aha?

Some of the tasks on our lists are more emotionally difficult than others.

Pause now and scan your to-do list. Do you feel an emotional charge when you see some of them?

This may seem obvious now, and perhaps when you write the tasks down, you feel a twist in your belly or your jaw clenches. Anxiety creeps into your planning process, but you override it. When we are planning, the actions we need to take are still in the distance. The fears they may evoke aren’t threatening until we step up to do the work.

The items that get ignored, avoided, or deferred to the next week are likely the tough stuff that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Maybe it feels hard because you have to ask for help. Or, you simply don’t have yet have the skills or tools to do it.

Not surprisingly, the difficult items are often the things that drive my inner satisfaction and my outer success. When I do the hard things, I grow personally and professionally.

I found a simple solution that honors the challenging nature of some of the tasks. It allows me to get things done – even the scary stuff.

Here’s what I do. I color-code my tasks. When I started color-coding my list, it because crystal-clear which types of tasks are emotionally charged. I can easily see when I have heaped too many hard things on the week. I can plan for how and when to do the daunting tasks. Here’s my system:

Green – easy peasy. I default to these behind-the-scenes tasks
Blue – challenging, but with focus and planning, I can do it
Red – super tough, accountability and deadlines are likely needed

Easy stuff for me includes writing, curriculum development, easy admin stuff, planning, ideation. The challenging tasks almost always include outreach and follow-up, including asking for help.

Take a look at your task list using my color-coding method. Instead of colors, you might use emojis or symbols for how ‘hot’ the tasks are. I like the idea of flames – three flames mean it’s a hot one! Two flames, not so unbearable. One flame, easy to do.

In most of the productivity advice I see, there’s little that respects the emotional nature of the work at hand. Use a deadline, set a timer, get external accountability. All of those hacks are great. But there’s not a lot that helps us understand why things are emotionally daunting.

Acknowledging our challenges gives us the chance to overcome them. Bullying ourselves to ‘get it done!’ or ignoring the hard stuff leads to failure and disappointment. This inner work is my favorite part of being a coach. Anyone can follow guidance about how to use the Pomodoro method. But unless you’re aware of and working with the undercurrents of your project, you’re not going to get the job done solely with a timer.

In my coaching group, the Atelier, we take the time to understand the factors at play in our productivity. Members of the Atelier get training in what works for them to get their best creative work done. At the end of the program, they know themselves and their process. Atelier members no longer get stuck when things feel hard.

We’re currently enrolling for the fall 2021 session. If a curated group of dedicated creatives feels like the right thing for you to get to that project of yours finally, check out the Atelier here.