Tapping Creativity

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 2.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 1.

Kicking off 2023 with a special 12-part series, discussing our journey as creatives in relationship to the archetypal Hero's Journey. Recorded in Sebastopol, CA with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum of Magenta Studios. Bookmark this one! And if you prefer to watch, check in out on YouTube.

What is patience in creative work? Hint: it’s not waiting. 

Patience doesn't mean waiting for the right time to do something - which is a big fallacy that people fall for. Patience is not for the doing, it's for the completion and outcome.

I hope this episode will illuminate you on how you can be more patient with yourself and your process, and get clear about when you’re doing something else in the name of patience.

Also here is a worksheet here called a letter of forgiveness. I want you to write a letter to yourself forgiving yourself for anything you've said that you would do but you haven’t. Forgive yourself for not being further along in your creative process or your creative life or this project.

And here’s a worksheet to review your work  - with a view towards the future

Link to video: https://youtu.be/BHtOQ7XZT6U

In her book, ‘Big Magic’, Elizabeth Gilbert says that the central question upon which all creative living hinges is: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden inside of you? If you’ve been following this Creative’s Handbook miniseries so far, by now you have an affirmative answer to that. But the question follows: do you have the courage to keep going in the face of certain adversity? Can you persevere? Because when you start creating, there are always going to be things that are going to come and push against you. 

On this episode, let’s talk about Perseverance as it pertains to the creative process.

You may find the worksheet to guide you this week here.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/POLNJumRkaY

What does ‘Pivot’ mean? In the business world it's a buzzword where to pivot means to make any big change in your niche, service or direction of business. However ‘Pivot’ means more than that in reality. 

On this episode of Creative Handbook’s miniseries I delve deep into one of the most flexible P’s in my book. Pivoting can happen at any stage of your creative process. So how and when do you pivot successfully?

Here is the worksheet for this week: Worksheet 6 - Pivot

Link to video: https://youtu.be/mq3AyFtuKek

Why do we need to schedule pleasure and leisure time? Because there's a limit to our ability to be productive. Which is why the great creatives of the previous generations: Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin and the rest spent at most 4 hours a day in the creative endeavors. The need for rest is backed up by scientific studies, which is also why modern companies have adopted a workday where leisure time is factored in.

On this episode we dive deep into how pleasure goes hand in hand with creativity. And how to take time out without feeling guilty for it at the end of the day.

If you are interested in booking 1:1 coaching with me, book a free discovery session.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/Yv9hZSl_KnQ

You don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your training. That’s what the Marines say. Whatever you do habitually determines whether you will succeed in your endeavors. 

So what can you say is your creative practice? Do you have a practice or do you hate systems too and the boundaries they come with? What happens when  you fall off the wagon and break your practice for a day or week?

On this week’s episode of The Creative’s Handbook miniseries we delve into the fifth element in the 9 P’s for Powerful and Effective Creating.

Here are some resources to help you review your practice.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/iTxoD6eDEQY

How do you achieve what you’re come up with after the first 3 P’s? First and foremost, you need to write down a schedule. Why is this necessary? How do you go about it? That’s what’s in this episode.

On this 4th P of The Creative’s Handbook miniseries, we cover the space that PREPARATION occupies in the creative process. How to stay faithful to your framework when you’re on a roll or when blocked. And when it may be necessary to change your schedule.

There’s no worksheet this week - simply write out a schedule in your planner, add it into your calendar app, or print out a calendar page and fill it in. 

Video link: https://youtu.be/O1vnBhVZCUc

When I first moved to LA, I had all these dreams and aspirations of making big movies and winning an Oscar. But winning an Oscar is not a goal. I don't have control over it.

When I look back, I see just how much of what I thought were goals were just dreams and in some ways they really became pipe dreams because they weren't clear enough for me to make specific marked progress along that.

It took me way too long to figure out that I needed to be making smart goals. And that as author Maria Nimeth says, “The biggest obstacle to hitting our goals is that we're not as married to the goal as we are married to the plan of how we're going to get there.”

So what is a SMART goal? Listen in as we discuss Planning: the third step in the 9 P’s of Powerful and Effective Creating.

Here are the worksheets for making SMART goals and mapping your Weekly Milestones

Link to video: https://youtu.be/-FOrRueK610

Written and Produced by Matthew C. Temple
Edited by Tyen Musa
Original Theme Music by Adrian Lee
Sponsored by WeStrive