“It is only when you can name your prison that you can do the terrifying, but life affirming and necessary work of setting yourself free.” 

Katie Ford went to prison thinking it was her job to inspire the women there. A writer by trade, she volunteered to teach a writing workshop to incarcerated women, downloading classroom rubrics from the Internet and hoping to apply herself to something a little bit more meaningful. What she got was so much more.

In helping incarcerated women write the stories of what they believe led them to prison, Katie began to identify her own “prison” — the first critical step in her personal liberation.  In this CreativeMornings/Austin talk on Freedom from May 2014, Katie explores the confines of prison: for the women she mentors and for herself. 

Learn more at www.creativemornings.com

This episode was made possible by our friends at MailChimp and Hover. And just for CreativeMornings listeners, Hover (https://www.hover.com/) is offering 10% off your first purchase with the code creative.

# 18 Katie Ford

What does it mean to live a creative life? CreativeMornings, a breakfast lecture series for the global creative community, brings some of our most remarkable and inspiring archived talks—from hometown heroes to design legends to community leaders—straight to your headphones. 

One Friday every month, more than 140 cities get together to have coffee and listen to a short talk. Every event is free of charge and open to anyone. Started in 2008 by Tina Roth Eisenberg (aka Swissmiss) we're now a global community over 150,000 strong. This is our podcast. Follow us on Twitter @creativemorning to stay updated on all things #podcastCM!

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

“Everyone is creative.

A creative life requires bravery and action, honesty and hard work. We are here to support you, celebrate with you, and encourage you to make the things you love.

We believe in the power of community. We believe in giving a damn. We believe in face-to-face connections, in learning from others, in hugs and high-fives.

We bring together people who are driven by passion and purpose, confident that they will inspire one another, and inspire change in neighborhoods and cities around the world.

Everyone is welcome..”

Read the CreativeMornings Manifesto here: creativemornings.com/about

Thank you to Adrianna Dufay for reading our manifesto. Produced and hosted by Matt Sucich.

The CreativeMornings Manifesto

“Love is the thing in life that can cause you the most horrific, terrible pain, but it’s also the only thing on the planet that can heal you.”

Philanthropist Maggie Doyne spoke at CreativeMornings/NYC in July 2016 to speak on the global theme of Love. In her moving talk, Maggie takes us from New Jersey to the majestic mountains of Nepal where she saw a problem and couldn’t look away. With a meager savings, a big heart, and the support of her community, she built a home for Nepalese children, and along the way, redefined her understanding of love.

Thank you to our Shutterstock, Wix, and MailChimp for supporting the engine of generosity that is CreativeMornings.

Read the CreativeMornings Manifesto here: creativemornings.com/about

#36 Maggie Doyne

“We connect human-to-human and heart-to-heart by empowering the entire community… and do nothing but love, love, love.”

Alan Graham took the stage at in Austin, Texas to speak on the global theme of Fantasy at the 2016 CreativeMornings Summit. In his inspiring talk, Alan shares how and why he ended up building an RV park dedicated to the chronically homeless, complete with an organic urban farm, market, and 500-seat amphitheater. What mustard seed of an idea do you have? What will you do with it? 

Made possible by Monotype and Dropmark.

#35 Alan Graham

“Each time that we are courageous and brave enough to take a risk we're showing to ourselves that we're worth it.”

Sarah Hernholm spoke at CreativeMornings/San Diego on the global theme of Risk in April 2016. In her talk, Sarah invites us to imagine what it might look like if we took risks and got over the “what if” moments. Society conditions us to view rejection as a negative and many of us end up making decisions based on fear of rejection. Sarah enlightens us to view rejection differently and to do whatever it takes to be our best courageous selves.

This episode was made possible by SiteGround.

#34 Sarah Hernholm

“The creative work life requires faith—faith in our craft, faith in the process, and the most challenging of all, faith in ourselves.”

Self-taught designer Bryan Todd took the stage at CreativeMornings/Louisville in September 2016 to speak on the global theme of Magic. Bryan shares his creative journey as a self-taught designer and insight on how to chase the magic despite the various challenges that come along the way. His story encourages us to commit to the processes that awaken our senses and make us pay attention to the world. 

Thank you to Shutterstock and SiteGround for making this episode possible.

# 18 Katie Ford

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