Most people wouldn’t think that being an artist would feel more calming, regulating and sturdy than a 9-5 job, but for Lily-Rose, leaving her corporate job and becoming an artist did just that.

“I remember getting to the point where I was like, is this how I’m going to be for the rest of my life, is this just what it’s like to be an adult, to be stressed all the time?”

She felt lost and stressed in a job she didn’t like, and after becoming an artist, she realised art gave her a sense of direction and purpose that her old work didn’t provide. In this episode, we explore what happens when you align yourself in a way that’s more true to you and how to navigate the things that try to pull you away from it.

From the conversation, three ideas around creativity stayed with me:

• You need input to create output- if you aren’t consciously taking in the world around you, you can’t expect to have creative output • You need to feel creatively rested- like running marathon after marathon, you need rest to avoid burnout, and this applies to creativity• Your environment shapes your creativity- be intentional with who and where you spend your time and what surrounds you

Taking a leap of faith is a common narrative we hear when people jump into something new. Lily-Rose shares 3 things that she was doing that allowed her leap to land on solid ground. 1. She put in the hours to develop her skillset while she was still working 2. She made sure she loved it and wasn’t going to grow tired of doing it every day 3. She made a calculated risk, knowing she was already capable of selling works and put time into understanding her audience Having this behind her meant that when she left work, she had more time to put towards this rather than just blindly leaping and hoping for the best. With more time on your hands, it also means more choices to be made. Like myself, when you are your own boss, you don’t have anyone telling you what needs to be done, when and what you need to do. So I asked Lily-Rose, and it comes down to longevity and what will have the most long-term return that helps guide her decisions.But these decisions made for the long-term outcomes make it hard when it’s up against instant gratification. In the episode, we talk about how to detach from outcomes on social media and drop the pressure to avoid getting caught up in tying self-worth to socials. Listen to the full ep now on Substack and Spotify and follow Lily-Rose on socials here or her website to see her work, print releases and colour theory course info!

Conversations like this are why I started Explore Your Core.

I’m interested in what happens when people follow the signals most of us ignore — curiosity, intuition and environment and consciously construct the life around them to pursue what they love.If you're someone who’s curious, follow the podcast on Instagram, Spotify and subscribe to keep up with new episodes.

Until next episode, -Explore Your Core

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit elisemarcianti.substack.com