For six years, I built this podcast while secretly measuring my worth against exhausting, invisible standards I could not even name. To break out of this vicious cycle, I turned to four paradigm-shifting books that dismantled my view of success and identity. These texts exposed the hidden systems dictating my creative choices and revealed a radical mindset shift that shrunk my negative self-talk.

If you constantly feel like you are falling behind or trying to fit a mold that rejects you, this episode will give you the exact permission you need to burn the old blueprints and build a thriving practice entirely on your own terms.

Chapters

00:00 The Exhaustion of Invisible Standards

02:18 Sponsor Break: iCode

02:35 Building Your Own Archive (Crafted Kinship)

06:33 The Power of Measuring Backwards (The Gap and the Gain)

09:21 Questioning Your Creative Framework (Decolonizing Language)

11:39 Navigating Identity and Double Consciousness (All the Women Are White...)

14:11 Why Naming the Problem Gives You Power

16:32 Closing Thoughts and Substack Newsletter

Listen to the show on your favorite streaming platform!

Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/4fcopgQSpotify: http://bit.ly/4fdkiBs

Books mentioned on this episode:

Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers by Malene Barnett

The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave edited by Akasha (Gloria T.) Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, and Barbara Smith

Support the Show

Website: http://www.martineseverin.comFollow on Instagram: @martine.severin | @thisishowwecreate_ Subscribe to the Newsletter: http://www.martineseverin.substack.com

This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Daniel Espinosa. Podcast show art is designed by Violetta Encarnación. Music by Timothy Infinite.

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