So what do you do when you want to express yourself, complete a new project that's important to your heart, your work, or to your creative legacy, but the fear of putting yourself out there is too much and you find yourself falling into a creative shame spiral?

You're sitting on the couch and your mind is telling you that what you have to share, say, write, paint or produce isn't good enough, isn't polished enough, isn't unique enough. You don't have enough time, resources or experience to bring this important, heart-led project to life.

Perhaps the deadline is looming. Or if you don't have a deadline, perhaps you just simply avoid the project altogether. Because the emotions that come up when you are about to pick up that paint brush, or begin to write those words or breath life into that project are too overwhelming. Too uncomfortable and icky.

I've been there. So. Many. Times.

When I'm working with private coaching clients and also sometimes members of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living, they might share how surprised they are to discover the intensity of some of the emotions that can be triggered during the creative process. Simultaneously, they are also relieved to hear they are not alone, strange or weird to be experiencing those emotions.

Expressing our creativity is a vulnerable, brave thing to embark on. And depending on your personal Creative Living Story and history, it can be triggering or it can be joyful, full of freedom and playfulness. Meeting yourself with compassion and acceptance with whatever your experience is, will make the creative process easier, sustainable and a wonderful anchor to living authentically and finding more satisfaction.

This process was adapted from Bari Tessler's framework for navigating difficult money situations. I love Bari and her work and find this process also works so well when applied to creative living.

Let's dive in!

Hello everyone and welcome to season two of The Art of Creative Living Podcast. I'm your host, Nicola Newman. I'm a professional artist, creative mentor, author and creator of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living, which is a global year-long creativity school for creative hearts who want to build a loving relationship with themselves through mindfulness and creative expression.

I'm very excited to share some wonderful guests with you this season. I've had so many really great conversations with folks from my community and I'll be sharing a selection of excerpts from some of the guest teacher's sessions inside Flourish: The Art of Creative Living too.

We'll also hear from a few Flourish members themselves as they generously share intimate conversations giving insights into their personal creative stories, and how they've overcome creative blocks, moved through creative shame and used mindfulness and creative expression to come home to themselves, regulate their nervous system in the face of the unknown, be kind to themselves and find deeper fulfilment in their lives.

Let's dive in!

I'm completely thrilled to share with you a very heartfelt conversation with Bronnie Ware, best-selling author, speaker, free spirit, mother, story teller, nature lover, teacher, song writer, traveller and gentle rebel. She's been called many things, but above all, she is authentic and bravely lives how her own heart guides her to live, free of any such labels or expectations.

I have loved Bronnie and her message from afar for years now, and always hoped to get to connect with her after reading her incredible book, which you may have heard of, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. In fact, I was reading her book just at the time when we had decided to sell everything and buy a sail-boat, and it was confirmation during that time of transition that this was something my heart was calling me to do. Bronnie's journey to publishing the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying is a super inspiring one too - after being rejected by 25 publishers, it has now sold more than a million copies, been published in 31 languages and is also being transformed into a film.

Bonnie and I had the most wonderful time chatting about the intricacies involved in following your heart. We explored everything from immersing yourself in the creative process, to setting boundaries to allow you to live a life in line with your values, to the importance of taking care of yourself while you create, why she left the stable world of working in finance, her practical advice to anyone wanting to reconnect with their creativity, and much more. I absolutely LOVED recording this episode with Bronnie. I don't recall ever speaking with someone who so clearly articulates and values the process involved in following your heart, rather than your fears, as Bronnie does in this conversation. I have learnt so much from this kind-hearted woman about what truly matters in life through her words and her writing, so I'm very, very honoured to share this chat with you today. Let's dive in.

So for today's episode I'm joined by the awesome Hayley Carr, a life coach for superfreaks and folks at or near the top of their game. She's a 9-time karate world champion and one of the most wonderful humans I know. We dig into her routine and how she follows her heart, finds courage in the face of fear and creates more in her business and life. We also explore the journey of defining her personal values and how they underpin the work she does in the world. Hayley is a Guest Mentor in the Gentle Business Mastermind in 2019 and she has so much experience in building a business that is aligned to your strengths. I loved recording this episode with Hayley and I adore her as a friend, coach and superfreak, so I'm super excited to share this one with you today.

Denise Duffield-Thomas is a money mindset mentor for the new wave of entrepreneurs and is one of the most inspiring, yet at the same time real and down-to-earth entrepreneurs I know. In this episode she shares some of the surprising ways she's cultivating her creativity these days and how that fits in with her business, plus she lays out the practical process she used to help her finish writing her new book Chillpreneur. We also talk about giving yourself permission to do business in a way that works for you and fits your personality and strengths. We had some great laughs in this conversation and after spending time with Denise I always come away feeling inspired and uplifted, so I'm truly delighted to get to share her with you today so you can be inspired too.

Naomi Arnold, an award-winning life + business coach, entrepreneur, writer and researcher with a background in psychology, health and human rights, a fellow co-host in the Gentle Business Mastermind and one of my absolute dearest friends joins me on the show today!

In this episode, Naomi shares practical frameworks to help you choose where to focus your energy, love and attention in your business, useful tips to help move through fear and the inner critic and much more. Plus, she has such a beautiful, calming presence I think you're going to really love this episode.

Naomi has taught me so much about doing business gently, by developing systems and tools to help get projects completed with more joy. I'm super excited you get to learn from her too and hear how she likes to do business gently.

I shared a post with my Inspiration Letters community recently and it really touched a nerve for many people. I've had more feedback, private emails and messages about this one post than anything I've written in a long while, so I wanted to share it here on the podcast too, in the hope it might bring some loving awareness and perhaps shine a light on an area that isn't often talked about, and thus, bring more joy, flow and freedom into your creative life too.

The topic is Creative Shame and 4 Gentle Ways to Work with It. It is a message I want to share far and wide, so it is with great love I record this episode for you today. Let's dive in.

Katherine McKenzie-Smith, a business and leadership coach, writer, and speaker who is a champion for introverted and highly sensitive leaders to find their own way to shine joins me on the show today! We dig into her routine and how she follows her heart, finds courage in the face of fear and creates more in her business and life. We also explore what it is to be highly sensitive and if you are a highly sensitive person, some handy tools to help support and manage your energy in the world. Katherine is a Guest Teacher in my year-long creativity school, Flourish: The Art of Creative Living and she has so much wisdom to share when it comes to taking care of your nervous system, working in a way that lights you up and embracing who you are and how you work best, so I'm really thrilled to share this one with you today. Let's dive right in.

Cassie Mendoza-Jones, best-selling author, kinesiologist, business alignment coach, naturopath, writer and speaker is on the show today! We chatted about the creative process in business, moveable deadlines, the importance of taking care of yourself while you create, why Cass believes writer's block and creative caves are a myth, her practical advice to anyone wanting to pivot in their business, and much more. Cassie is a Guest Teacher in my year-long creativity school, Flourish: The Art of Creative Living and I absolutely LOVED recording this episode with her. I have learnt so much from her way of working as a heart-centred creative entrepreneur and completing creative projects with joy, so I'm excited to share this chat with you today. Let's jump in.

Today's episode draws together excerpts from the draft of my new book, also called The Art of Creative Living, and I hope the show inspires you in your personal creative living journey. We dive into the three surprising benefits I've discovered as a professional artist and also as a creative mentor and teacher, that we experience when we choose to prioritise, nurture and express our creativity.

These benefits aren't immediately obvious, but they can truly transform the way you experience the world and your day to day life, so I hope this short solo episode sparks some ideas and encourages you on this adventure.