Creativity

You may be like me: the news of the day and all the talk about the Coronavirus has upped my anxiety. I’ve had to double down on my self-care routines to stay stay grounded. I have to consistently steer myself back to love and optimism rather than fear and doom.

My writing and art-making practices are incredible sources of solace. It’s true for my clients, too. They describe the positive impact of their writing as a ripple effect, making the rest of their lives better. 

When they report this positive result of writing on their lives, I can’t help but jump up and whoop with joy. This is why I do the work of helping people actualize their creative selves: because it makes life better! Even when the global situation seems like it’s headed to the crapper, we can make a difference now by continuing to show up for our creative work.

This ripples out and helps replace fear and loathing with love and empathy. Seriously, I am a better human when I am making my stuff.

So please, keep showing up for your art and writing even when that meany voice says “why bother!”

What does 2020 hold for you and your creativity? Perhaps it’s time to bring that long-held creative dream to life. There’s nothing like a safe, supportive environment to help you get on track and stay on track with your project.

The Original Impulse Atelier brings the best of us to the table. It brings my coach, leader, artist and writer to the group. We have enough information for our work. We have taken classes and signed up for things we don’t truly need or use. We don’t need more teaching. We just need time, space and support to do the creative work in front of us.

The Original Impulse Atelier is a unique opportunity for people who are ready to focus, follow through and finish a project that matters.  This is the cherished space for us to become our better selves through our creative work.

Being in the Atelier was super valuable for me. It was the perfect, supportive container that allowed me to step into my creative channel. It was an awesome group, a really rich experience. I know a lot more about my writing process and look forward to having more fun writing next year.” – Elizabeth

I’ve facilitated many groups over the last twenty years as a coach. And while I love them all, I really appreciate the people who show up to commit long-term. It’s easy to sign up for a month-long class and hope it sticks. It’s another thing to sign up for a year-long thing and stick with it through the ups and downs of making.

I learned mostly about myself and how to be the best person I can be as I approach the work. Be clear. Be Patient. Be Loving to yourself. Celebrate the wins!

The practice of setting intentions through writing, declaring very short term goals out loud, and creating a cadre of accountability buddies has established a foundation that I can build upon for life.” –  Sam 

We still have room for dedicated creatives in the 2020 Original Impulse Atelier. Find all the details and application here.

Maybe I am the only one who appreciates this, but I’ve made it a guiding principle of my business that I do the tough work of making alongside my Atelier clients.

Every year, I choose a main project to work on. The first year in the Original Impulse Atelier was devoted to writing my book, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. The Atelier members got to see how I carved out time to write, how I grappled with organizing the content of the book and how I stuck with it even when all the other stuff of life was happening.

This year, the project was publishing and promoting the book. Members saw me struggle with all the decisions that go into self-publishing. The cover design, the editing, proofreading, indexing and finalizing. Oh, the pain of those final phases!

But when that ended, the work of getting the book out there was just starting. Here’s what’s true about me historically: Once I finish a project and put it ‘out there’, I have a hard time doing the work to stay with it to promote it. It’s kind of like building a boat and putting it in the water and not putting up the sails or starting the engine.

This year, I committed to staying with the promotion all through the year. It wasn’t easy. Right after I launched the book, I started on my new project, my podcast Stumbling Toward Genius. The new project was so much more fun than writing pitch letters and reaching out! But because I had the support and commitment of the Atelier, I stuck with promoting the book. And it paid off.

My definition of a master

A traditional Atelier has a master of the craft leading and teaching the members in that craft. The craft we are studying in the Original Impulse Atelier is our own creative process. We learn how to be the masters of our creativity so we can make all the things we want.

But I have a different definition of a master: I believe a master is someone who is so engrossed in their craft that they become not perfect or enlightened. Instead, a master is a perpetual student of their craft. I am constantly learning about the creative process – my creative process. I have made a lot of things. That doesn’t make me a master. What makes me a master – in my own definition – is that I keep learning and growing.

Working my craft alongside my Atelier members is a privilege and an honor. It’s not always easy to share my challenges every week. But I ask them to be bold, and so I meet them with my own boldness. We spur each other on.

Oh, and my project for 2020? I’m so excited. I will be returning to art making! I’ve given two full years to my book, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book.

Now it’s time to bring the paints back. I’ll be working on surface pattern design. In 2018, I did 100 days of patterns. I loved it and am eager to return to see what I make and how I sculpt my year around surface pattern design. This is a passion project. I confess, it’s been easier to stay on track with a work project, my book. But sticking with a passion project isn’t easy.

Ready to master your own creative process? The Original Impulse Atelier could be for you. Seats are filling; claim yours soon. Check out all the details here. 

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? 

I do a lot of things in my office/studio aka atelier. I write, meet with clients, lead groups. I make videos, art and recordings. I ship packages out.

That’s a lot of different activities, and I need different spaces for each one. Lately, I’ve been frustrated having to move things around each time I switch gears.

I know we can’t always have our perfect environment. But we can make tweaks. Later this year, Steve and I are moving to our new home. I’ll be keeping this place and taking it over for my work, art and writing projects. I’ll be hosting events here. I cannot wait! But I have to wait.

When I realized I needed to set up my space for better lighting on video, it was clear that the light needed to be in a different spot. And then when I got my new microphone, I saw that would need to be positioned on the other side.

I haven’t been making changes to my space because I know the big change is coming. But one day, a door of possibility opened to me.

What if….I turned my desk around? That would give me the long side facing the way I wanted. I could put the light on one side and the mic on the other. It might not look pretty, but it would work better.

So on the weekend, I shifted the table. I re-positioned the equipment. I put the box on the desk and my computer atop it. It seemed good.

And then I got on a call with a client. And the setup? It felt GREAT. I don’t know if it was more space or a better view, but the whole thing just functioned much better. I am easily able to sit or stand and can adjust my desktop accordingly.

I’ve been enjoying this a lot. It’s hard to believe what a difference one shift makes. I would have lost months of this good feeling if I had waited until the big move.

Is your creative space working for you? Even if it’s a corner of your home or if you’ve commandeered the dining table, it can be tweaked to work better for you. Here’s a process I lead my clients through to help make simple, powerful shifts in your creative space.

Sit or stand in your space. If something feels off, identify specifically what it is. The lighting may be not right. You might perhaps not like your seat. Or the view.

Make notes about what doesn’t feel right for you. List as many things as you can about what’s not working for you in this space.

Then, step back. Ask yourself what tweak might be possible? I challenge you to not buy anything new. We often think purchasing something is the solution. And sometimes, it is. Hello new chair! But more often than not, we already have everything we need. Perhaps something just needs to be moved or removed.

Another shift that will change your writing

Maybe you don’t make a shift in your physical space, but in your mental space. Here’s another simple shift I invite my clients to make all the time. The results are profound.

We often think we need a long period of time to get any writing done. Two or more hours is what most people consider necessary to write. But when do you get that amount of focused time? Rarely!

I suggest starting with short bursts. Small writing dates add up. Fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes. I know we think we need some time to get into the zone. That’s where a short free-write can help with the transition. You can free-write about anything to drop in. I often end a transition free-write with: Now I am ready to write….and I fill in the blank.

That’s just one mental shift my clients make. This kind of shift is deceptively simple. But small tweaks can change our creative course for the good.

What simple shift have you made recently that’s affected your creativity? Share in a comment below.