Creativity needs to be coaxed out of hiding, free to be flawed at the beginning, arrived at through the back door of experimentation, enticed by What ifs, allowed to progress from A to B to Chicago to a poem about lost love to red umbrellas to C to EUREKA! and then enjoyed through the timeless momentum that is driven by intuition, and the reward of bringing something into existence based on our on individuality. [gasp for air]. It rarely adheres to a high pressured, straight line with strict expectations and rules concocted by others. To be creative, is to have power, not have power taken away.
Back in the late nineties, I went to a life coach because I wanted to write a book but was procrastinating, overwhelmed, doubtful I had anything original to say, rebellious and resistant, and under the influence of messages from important people who told me I wasn’t worthy of much. Later I’d find out how normal all of these things are.
Despite the ineffectiveness of my approach, the coach took my power away. She overwhelmed me even more with a to-do list she came up with that had little basis for what I needed and high pressure motivational strategies which didn’t work for my sensitivities. She was trying to be helpful, but putting me on a linear path, setting goals that stressed me out, and telling me what to do — made me want to quit. So I quit … life coaching.
I took my power back by writing the book ABOUT getting through creative blocks with the help of ten creative principles in the guise of nine wily Muses (and a Bodyguard) with such names as Aha-phrodite, Audacity, and Bea Silly. Turns out we all have voices inside of us that know exactly what to do, perhaps with a little sweet-talking and occasional tough love. I did it by following what was fun for me, common sense, mindfulness, and having a deadline.
This month, I’m celebrating my twenty-first year training creativity coaches based on an original curriculum that emerged from that book. My training was recognized as the Best Overall Creativity Coaching training by Life Coaching Magazine last year.
When I started out, I didn’t think teaching people how to coach others was a career for the rest of my life. I was just taking the next small step, instigated by an urgent question… What if other creatives are getting blocked by well meaning individuals? Turns out small steps really work.
What is Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching?
What do you want to do creatively, and what might be getting in your way?
There are a solutions to every creative block. Letting one stand in your way can be unnecessarily confounding, frustrating, and even heart-breaking. Just tiny tweaks can set the rest of our lives into a creative journey.
You’re invited to a free Zoom Meeting this Wednesday at 10am pacific/ 1pm eastern that is about finding meaning and your own creative unleashing by taking this course. You can sign-up here for that. If you’d like a short creative boost, volunteer for a short, free coaching during the meeting. Let me know. I'm giving away an original chicken painting at this meeting.
My next training begins in August. It’s for anyone wanting a renewed sense of purpose, having a passion for creativity, and with pretty good people skills. Inquire within… yourself. Let me know.
Dispatching Muses,
Jill
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