The Creative Impostor

"We see things that are so big, they're so daunting, we say, 'There's no way can change anything. Who am I to even try?' And with that mentality, it's not going to change." ~Andrea Ranae Johnson

You have more power than you think.

This month, I made a commitment to join an initiative to build solidarity for social justice headed up by my new friend and colleague, Julie Neale, host of Mother's Quest podcast.

It's called the Women Podcasters in Solidarity Initiative and I had NO IDEA how I was going to approach the topics of social justice and racism on The Creative Impostor when I said "yes." Almost immediately, Andrea Ranae Johnson's new program, Coaching as Activism, popped up in my Facebook feed (I swear they're spying on my real life conversations) and I knew I had to talk with her on the show.

In this episode, Andrea Ranae is giving you some real strategies for how YOU can shift your awareness away from futility and overwhelm and toward acknowledging your power and learning how to use your power for good.

If you think this topic sounds heavy, please don't skip it!!! One thing I love about Andrea Ranae is how she approaches both the inner work of self-help and the outer work of activism with positivity, hope and a down-to-earth perspective.

And if you haven't already, check out Episode 045: Talking to strangers, where you'll hear how I met Julie and why I'm taking on a theme on the show that pushes me out of my comfort zone. Let's just say, it's part of my creative growing edge.

"Parenting, art making, writing, teaching — generally how you show up in our everyday lives can be a form of activism… actively dismantling the things that don't serve us in society or in our communities and also creating and cultivating new ways of being or new systems, new structures that better serve the collective" ~Andrea Ranae Johnson

Andrea Ranae's website Andrea Ranae's Coaching as Activism programAndrea Ranae's Podcast: Liberty Twitter Instagram Facebook

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This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

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Mentioned in this episode:

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Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"How can I push the boundaries and expand the possibility for what we are creating here together in this podcast relationship through this technological, magical, modern connection that we have?" ~Andrea Klunder

Confidence = the decision to try, Self-doubt = the decision not to.

What happens when you get bored with the thing you're creating?

You switch it up, try something new, and sometimes… that can make you feel like a total impostor all over again!

What do you do then? Take an action, talk to strangers, do the thing so you can be the type of person who does that thing and you can trick your brain out of feeling like a fake.

Learn how, listen now…

"When you go to a conference… people are there because they want to talk to strangers, they want to expand their network, they want to meet people, they want to make connections… it's not 'networking', and it's not trying to collect as many business cards as possible… it's all about making connections… and a lot of times that doesn't happen in a session." ~Andrea Klunder

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Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

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This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"It was, for me, a self-help tool. It was a way in which I experienced a very deep transformation in who I was as a woman — as a person." ~Elsie Escobar, on podcasting

How do we, as content creators, begin to break the patterns and shift the narrative? It might not be what you think…

Elsie Escobar is one of my podcasting idols. Actor, yoga teacher, podcast producer & advocate (you can see why we connect with each other so well), her original podcast, Elsie's Yoga Class was one of the first I ever listened to — before I even really knew what a podcast was!

Now, after listening to her for years and working one on one with Elsie through her E-League mentoring program, I have a whole new appreciation for the question, "What else is possible?" because for Elsie (and for me), podcasting is about so much more than downloads, sponsors and statistics.

And no matter what kind of content you are creating in the world, through social media, a blog, a podcast, videos, workshops, your business, your art, etc, YOU have the option to follow the pack or carve a whole new path to shift the conversation. Find out how, listen now…

"Go to the things that YOU really resonate with because that's the conversation we need to have, and THEN you frame it on your point of view because that's going to start to break patterns." ~Elsie Escobar, on media consumption and creation

ElsieEscobar.com

Instagram

Twitter

E-League Podcast Mentoring

The Panel at Podcast Movement

She Podcasts

Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"If I start the day with my inner child playful activities, I'm a lot more productive, I've been able to entertain my inner child so I can later on get on with the 'work' and also I'm more joyful and then other things come from that as well." ~Ruth Humphreys

Just hit "play" and start your day…

What did you LOVE to do as a child? Something that you could do all day and it would be as if time stood still…

Ruth Humphreys, former librarian, is a storyteller for children and a coach for grown-ups who want to find their playful mission in life through connection with your inner child. This phrase, inner child, typically would make me roll my eyes, but in this case, I'm inspired and energized by Ruth's imaginative approach to re-discovering wonder!

"When children are playing, they're processing emotions — they're processing what's going on… and as adults we're the same… it's very therapeutic." ~Ruth Humphreys

On the Web Wonder Led Leaders Circle on FB Ruth on Facebook Instagram

Ruth's Ice Cream Video

Ruth's Inner Child Morning Music Playlist

Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"There's a very blurry line between making art and working when your art is your life and your passion is your art and your art becomes your business and your business is work… it's a tricky cycle." ~Andrea Klunder

Self-promotion & Play like Oil & Water? Maybe not…

When I was a kid, the other kids on the block would get frustrated because rather than just riding bikes together, I always wanted to creates some structure and do things like make them play traffic cop.

Not a lot has changed, in that even as an adult, I have a tendency to turn my creative passions into hard work.

But what happens when forces in your life, your community, your clients, and even your tarot cards conspire to get you out of your rut and just play?

"At first I was like, "ugh, I have so much work to do this weekend, I don't have time to screw around in the forest preserve, shooting slow motion video for what purpose I have no idea."" ~Andrea Klunder

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Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

"You can't expect to get paid at first because you haven't honed your craft on stage… you need to learn what is going to give you confidence on stage, how to communicate with the audience, how to make your stage show interesting… and once you've accomplished that, then you will feel super confident and you'll feel like, yeah, maybe I could really make money from this because the product that I offer is good." ~Bree Noble

Art and business…

It can be SO challenging for us creatives to think of our art in terms of business — and to find the courage to ask for money for what we create?! AHHHHH!!!!!

Bree Noble, founder of Women of Substance Radio and Female Entrepreneur Musician is helping talented women do just that. Bree left her day job as director of finance at Opera Pacific to hustle her way as a singer-songwriter, giving her passion a a chance and now she has rolled everything she learned into a supportive community and mentorship program of and for female musicians who want to thrive.

"I listened to the radio… and I'd be like how come over 80% of these songs I'm hearing are by men and it frustrated me because I knew there was so much talent out there." ~Bree Noble, on why she started Women of Substance

Women of Substance Radio on Apple Podcasts

Women of Substance Radio on the Web Female Entrepreneur Musician & Academy Facebook Twitter Instagram

Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"I looked at everything I saw being done and asked: What else? What isn't here? How could I do this differently? What is a way to approach this problem that only I can (or will?)" ~Andrea Klunder

Swimming my way out of the impostor cycle…

Last week I released a very fun, funny, insightful, inspiring interview with Jennifer Briney of Congressional Dish podcast and we both admitted to having imposter-y feelings independently of each other on the same day AT the same podcasting conference.

She was there to give a keynote about her brilliant listener supported funding model for her show in a month when her revenue had dipped to its lowest point in quite some time.

And I was pitched by her agent to interview her on my show in a month when my download numbers were abysmal b/c I basically hadn't published an episode for 6 weeks.

She was thinking "Who am I to talk to all these people about getting listeners to fund your podcast?"

And I was thinking "Who am I to have a keynote speaker with thousands of followers on my dinky little show?"

The other day, I was teaching yoga to a group of my Kindergarten and pre-K students and one of the things that we do is toward the end, after they've gotten to run around in circles and make animals sounds and play crazy yoga games, we have quiet coloring time before our rest time (i.e. savasana.) I asked them to drawan animal of their choice playing however they would like and I took out some crayons to join them.

I drew some water and a fish jumping out with a sunshine. And one kid said, "Why is that fish in the sky? Fish don't fly."

And I said, "Oh, he's jumping out of the water."

Another kid said, "but a fish can't stay out of water very long or it will die."

And I said, "That's true. But just like when you go swimming, if you go under water you hold your breath, a fish can hold it's breath for just a moment when it jumps out and then breath again when it goes back under water."

One kid said, "Yeah, and you can wear goggles under water so you can see."

This seemed to satisfy them and so I drew a face under the water, to which one said, "Why is there a face under the water?"

I said, "Oh that's me, swimming with goggles on. Doesn't that look like me?"

"No," she said. You don't even have a body.

"I haven't drawn it yet, " I replied.

"And why is your mouth like that?" another one asked.

"I'm making a fish face." I said.

"Why?"

"Because it's fun!" I defended.

They considered my drawing skeptically for a moment, until one said. "That really doesn't look like you and you should draw a bathing suit." And they went back to drawing their own masterpieces.

And I looked at my juvenile crayon drawing, thinking "Well I'm not an artist." AND viscerally remembering the feeling in my cheeks of being ashamed and frustrated as a child when I couldn't make my art look the way I wanted. Of fearing someone would laugh at what I made.

AND I was also thinking, "Dang. Kindergarteners are mean!"

"Look at all those limiting beliefs and potentially missed opportunities I just created for myself. Simply by focusing on what I am not." ~Andrea Klunder

Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"Give yourself a real shot at the dream, go for it, and if you fail, fine, but at least you gave it a shot and you're definitely going to learn something that will help." ~Jennifer Briney

Create the thing YOU want to exist…

We're switching gears just a bit on this episode — we are talking politics — I KNOW TABOO!!!

But don't roll your eyes in disgust, frustration and overwhelm. You are going to LOVE this conversation with Jennifer Briney of Congressional Dish podcast.

I discovered Jennifer and her show earlier this year at Podfest in Florida where she was keynoting about how she funds her podcast, her production team and her life 100% through direct listener support — no ads, no sponsors, no links to sign up for her XYZ course. Just straight up value for value between what she's creating and the people who consume it.

You'll get to hear about our mutually impostor-y experiences around Podfest, the awkwardness of asking for money, Jen's huge leap of faith, and her take on what's going on in government right now (without straight up ranting and bashing.)

Also… we laugh a LOT in this episode. Who knew politics could be so funny?

"I felt like one of those people that sits by the subway with a little cup in my hand being like, 'Change sir?' It was horrible!" ~Jen Briney, on the first episodes where she asked listeners for money

Congressional Dish on Apple Podcasts

WebsiteSupport the show on Patreon Facebook Show's Twitter Jen's Twitter

Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"There is no wrong answer. The right answer is YOUR answer… It goes back to listening… it's not just about listening with your ears, but listening with your heart." ~Nikki Nigl

The power of podcasting, the potential of social media…

If you have been listening to The Creative Impostor from day 1 (sometime in 2015), then:

a) YOU ARE MY HERO!!! HUZZAH!!!!! Seriously, thank you, and…

b) you have heard a version of this episode before (episode #2 with Nikki Nigl) and can skip directly to thecreativeimpostor.com/magic where you can get started on my How to Start (anything) audio course to help you start whatever creative project or endeavor you need help starting or re-starting if you've gotten stuck.

Make sense?

Just do it!

And if you have never listened to my interview with Nikki Nigl in episode 2, or if you can't remember the brilliant words of wisdom from the lips of this dynamic, women's empowHERment coach, then tune in! I have re-edited our conversation to include the MOST relevant, most engaging, most entertaining bits of our talk.

And I have to say it's pretty interesting to go back and listen to one of my early interviews and see how much EVERYTHING has changed and grown and improved about the way I interview and the way I edit.

Back then, I really had no idea what I was doing and I felt like a total impostor when I interviewed Nikki b/c actually we had never even met in real life. I had been cyberstalking her (in the most benevolent way) b/c I caught sight of this event series that she produces called About Women through mutual Facebook friends.

See Facebook IS good for some things!

And to my surprise and delight, she agreed to do an interview with me even though I had not yet launched the podcast and she had no idea who on earth I was.

Thanks for taking a leap of faith, Nikki!

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Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.

"I keep thinking I need to do more– That I need more clients. That I'm going to run out of money. That I need to keep pushing forward until I make it to… where exactly?" ~Andrea Klunder

Letting go of busy…

It has been a BUSY month filled with transitions and new things.

Of course I knew it would be because our theme for the last few weeks both in The Creative Impostor Facebook Group and in the Chicago Women's Creative Collective has been Creative Woo-Woo: mystical practices for your creative workflow

I've interviewed Intuitive Counselor and Self-Discovery Coach Charlotte Elea about tarot and oracle cards for developing your intuition and Spiritual Embodiment Teacher Monica Martin about using your body's felt-sense to guide your decision making.

AND I've done informal live video interviews with both of them in TheCreative Impostor FB group AND with Naturopath & Holistic Healer Samantha Mant (who will be on the podcast in the coming months) on coordinating your creative cycles with the moon and with feminine cycle.

Put all of these experiences together with the tarot readings I've been incorporating into my almost-daily meditation practice AND some very practical DEEP coaching I've been doing with the luminous podcasting guru Elsie Escobar as part of her new e-league mentoring program and…. whew!

"I'm getting all intuitive, introspective, one with the universe, aligned in my purpose – flow – flow – flow all OVER THE PLACE!" ~Andrea Klunder

It's actually been so intense that I'm alternating between these bursts of manic creative insight where I can't sleep and I'm up way late into the night — so late I hear the birds chirping in the pre-dawn darkness outside my window And then these periods of deep sleep without an alarm clock, where I will sleep for 11 hours at a stretch.

And in between all of that are the client deadlines for projects new and old, the smattering of yoga and meditation classes I teach throughout the week, the orientations for the After School Matters podcasting program for high schoolers I'm creating and facilitating starting this summer, hosting and expanding the Chicago Women's Creative Collective and producing this podcast.

Busy.

Are you exhausted just listening to this?

And this leads me back to my coaching with Elsie at the beginning of this month.

I asked her to help me figure out what to do next with The Creative Impostor, where I fit into the podcasting industry, how to leverage my unique gifts, skills and strengths for a sustainable purpose-driven business.

And here's what she said to me first:

You have the ability to "become what is needed" in any situation— you have the solution for any problem.

BUT what do you want to do?

"I have everything I need. And now I have the luxury to let go of the hustle and spend some time focusing on what I want to do and create and who I want to be for a while." ~Andrea Klunder

FacebookInstagramChicago Women's Creative Collective

Show Notes Galore: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com

Magic Page! Get a free gift from me: http://www.thecreativeimpostor.com/magic

This episode was mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz of Mondo Machine. The Creative Impostor theme music was created by JoVia Armstrong.

If you're listening in Apple Podcasts, PLEASE subscribe and leave a review.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Your FREE Powerful Podcast Strategy Session!

Reserve your time with Andrea Klunder tor review your current podcast, or podcast-to-be at https://bit.ly/powerfulpod.