Courageous Creativity

Here's how they express this:

Redefining Success

• Provoking Thought and Resonating with Audiences: For playwright Jeanette Hill, a play is successful if it makes people think or provokes discussion, even if they don't agree with the content. Similarly, if a character resonates with even one person, it's a success. The goal is for people to leave thinking, even if they don't have a good time. Jeanette believes that if the audience "got it" when they leave, that's what she's striving for. She recalls a time when people in a restaurant were arguing about characters and events from her play, indicating its success in sparking discussion and relating to their lives.

• Inspiring, Healing, and Transforming: Jeneen Hammond's motivation is to tell stories that inspire, heal, and transform, emphasizing the power of one's own story and voice. This mission to help communities tell their stories, as seen in her nine-month project in Pennsylvania, highlights success through collective impact and revival. Jeneen views herself as a "steward" of stories that come from "Divine orchestration," highlighting a purpose beyond personal gain.

• Authenticity and Vulnerability: The show emphasizes that genuine conversations and authentic work are key to impactful connections with the audience. Tarnisha Small, for example, found her voice and confidence through acting by embracing vulnerability and letting go of the fear of failure. Jeneen Hammond notes that writing from an authentic space, truly reflecting oneself, can be scary but leads to impactful stories.

• Emotional Connection: Success is often measured by the emotional connection a story creates, whether through laughter or tears. Jeneen Hammond herself knows a story is on an emotional track if it makes her cry or laugh.

Finding Purpose Amidst Challenges

• Drawing on Personal Experiences: Many guests transform personal challenges into their purpose.

    ◦ Grief and Navigation: Angel L. Henderson shares that navigating life after losing both parents requires immense courage, making her journey of building her own voice and seeking counseling a display of strength.

    ◦ Overcoming Self-Doubt and Trauma: Tarnisha Small's journey into acting was sparked by a friend's perception of her potential, helping her overcome low self-worth and shyness. Tamina Ward uses her experiences with childhood teasing, abandonment, and generational trauma to inspire young adults to break free from their past burdens. She intentionally "dropped the pack" of past hurts. Jason C. Louder's stories, like the one about "Baba Tunde the Grio," often focus on themes of love, hope, faith, and overcoming self-doubt and trauma.

    ◦ Healing from Pain: Jeanette Hill discusses how her play "Clean Sheets," which garnered a perfect score but theaters were afraid to produce, addresses cultural hurts, aiming to move from a "scab to a scar" for societal healing. She emphasizes that there's "no honor in pain" and that unresolved hurts can manifest as anger or other negative behaviors.

• Embracing a Divine Calling and Stewardship: Jeneen Hammond believes her writing comes from a "Divine orchestration" and views herself as a "steward" of these stories, emphasizing a purpose beyond personal gain. This resonates with the idea that every person has a "Divine calling and assignment and purpose."

• Proactive Creation and Entrepreneurship: Instead of waiting for opportunities, creators like Tarnisha Small choose to write and produce their own films to create roles for themselves and others, recognizing the need to be entrepreneurial. Jeneen Hammond developed "The Dreamer's Village" to help people revive their creative dreams and learn to monetize their gifts, emphasizing taking ownership of one's God-given dream and not waiting for external validation. 

• Mindset and Resilience:

    ◦ Learning from Setbacks: Jason C. Louder views challenges as "learning opportunities" that can push one forward. He uses financial challenges in the acting industry as a motivator for learning and growth.

    ◦ "Just Do It": Portia Cue and Winston Wilson encourage creators to "just start" their projects, regardless of how big or small, and not wait for perfection or validation. Portia gives the example of Lita Renee Brown and Dour Ashwood producing their own micro-miniseries, "Pressure."

    ◦ Consistency and Persistence: Jeanette Hill, a prolific playwright with over 100 plays, exemplifies consistency, writing "all of the time." She advises writers to keep notes, save all writing, and not let "writer's block" stop them, encouraging "what if" exercises and knowing that "there's no such thing as useless writing." She also notes that her stride was not hit until she was 72, emphasizing the importance of showing up every day, authentically, and doing what you're supposed to do, regardless of external validation.

    ◦ Daily Practices: Guests maintain well-being through practices like gratitude journaling, meditation, exercise, and daily creative activities. Tarnisha Small starts her day with prayer, meditation, and gratitude journaling. Winston Wilson practices daily gratitude, focuses on top priorities, and engages in creative activities. Tamina Ward emphasizes that mindset fuels courage and resilience, and that even when physically limited (like her knees for running a marathon), mental focus can drive capability.

    ◦ Allowing for Breaks: Tarnisha Small advises taking breaks when feeling frustrated, as the industry isn't going anywhere, allowing for a fresh perspective. She also learned to not fear failure, which had held her back.

    ◦ Borrowing Belief: Tomina Ward suggests that when an individual's belief system is low, they can "borrow that belief" from good people in their circle.

• Community and Giving Back:

    ◦ Sharing Resources and Wisdom: Jason C. Louder stresses the importance of sharing resources within the creative community, noting that "we cannot exist without one another." Tamina Ward is compelled to "speak life" into young adults and educators, sharing her "wealth of knowledge" to help them avoid past mistakes and break generational trauma. She believes human beings are "the original AI" through storytelling.

    ◦ Pouring into Others: Winston Wilson, the host, expresses that his core value is helping others succeed and that talking to people and connecting with them is a key motivator. He daily calls someone he hasn't talked to in a while to offer support. The show itself aims to inspire at least one person to expand their path. Jeneen Hammond's "Dreamer's Village" provides a supportive community for individuals to revive and monetize their creative dreams. John C. Smith, a lifelong friend of the host, exemplifies how strong, long-lasting friendships provide unwavering support and positive influence in life and creative pursuits.

In essence, creators on "The Courageous Creativity Show" believe that true success stems from creating work that is authentic, impacts others positively, and allows for continuous personal growth and healing, driven by a deep sense of purpose that often transforms personal adversity into a powerful mission to serve and inspire their communities.