Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.