The Creative Life Show

There are two essential themes in this week's show with Rob Eastaway: the power of ideas, and getting a big creative idea off the ground with a partner who's much bigger than you are (and yes, it is possible!)

Rob shares how he approached London's National Theatre to stage his live, interactive maths show for teenagers as part of one of their hit shows, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He talks about how he negotiated endless levels of red tape, paperwork and approval to prove that he could be trusted to work with one of their biggest brand shows. If you've ever had a dream about working with someone really high-profile, and wondered, could I make it happen? this is an essential listen.

We also talk about IDEAS. We have them all the time, but how do we have the right ones that will help us solve our current problem?

What you'll learn today:

* How to launch a successful creative project with a partner much bigger than you

* What you need to do to persuade someone else to work with you - and what you must NEVER do

* Why your own head limits the ideas you have - and how to get out of a thinking rut

* Practical ways to kick-start your ideas - whether you're on your own or working with others

Kickstart your own creative ideas by joining 15 days of creative inspiration at creativelifeshow.com.

Click to view: show page on Awesound

There are two essential themes in this week's show with Rob Eastaway: the power of ideas, and getting a big creative idea off the ground with a partner who's much bigger than you are (and yes, it is possible!)

Rob shares how he approached London's National Theatre to stage his live, interactive maths show for teenagers as part of one of their hit shows, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He talks about how he negotiated endless levels of red tape, paperwork and approval to prove that he could be trusted to work with one of their biggest brand shows. If you've ever had a dream about working with someone really high-profile, and wondered, could I make it happen? this is an essential listen.

We also talk about IDEAS. We have them all the time, but how do we have the right ones that will help us solve our current problem?

What you'll learn today:

* How to launch a successful creative project with a partner much bigger than you

* What you need to do to persuade someone else to work with you - and what you must NEVER do

* Why your own head limits the ideas you have - and how to get out of a thinking rut

* Practical ways to kick-start your ideas - whether you're on your own or working with others

Kickstart your own creative ideas by joining 15 days of creative inspiration at creativelifeshow.com.

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Imagine signing up to perform a show 8 times a week for 6 months. Then imagine doing it for a year more, and another and another, but still having to keep your performance as fresh as the first night. William Rycroft did just that, clocking up an extraordinary 1700 performances in the award-winning theatre show War Horse.

Will joins me to talk about exactly how he kept his creativity alive day after day, as well as the terrifying experience of realising that he'd become too comfortable with it.

We talk about going to sleep on stage and why being able to do something on auto-pilot is so dangerous. You'll learn what what you do when you think you've exhausted every creative possibility you can think of. We also talk about how a performance in William's final week was the most nerve-wracking experience in his life, and why his experience was the greatest thrill he could imagine as an actor.

If you're in any kind of job that has repetitive work, you'll find this episode hugely inspiring. Where do you look for new ideas? Where do you start when you realise you've tumbled into a rut? And you'll learn how to turn your experience, as Will did, into learning about stretching yourself and challenging yourself, in ways you never dreamed possible.

Kick-start your own creativity with 15 days of creative inspiration, free at creativelifeshow.com.

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Imagine signing up to perform a show 8 times a week for 6 months. Then imagine doing it for a year more, and another and another, but still having to keep your performance as fresh as the first night. William Rycroft did just that, clocking up an extraordinary 1700 performances in the award-winning theatre show War Horse.

Will joins me to talk about exactly how he kept his creativity alive day after day, as well as the terrifying experience of realising that he'd become too comfortable with it.

We talk about going to sleep on stage and why being able to do something on auto-pilot is so dangerous. You'll learn what what you do when you think you've exhausted every creative possibility you can think of. We also talk about how a performance in William's final week was the most nerve-wracking experience in his life, and why his experience was the greatest thrill he could imagine as an actor.

If you're in any kind of job that has repetitive work, you'll find this episode hugely inspiring. Where do you look for new ideas? Where do you start when you realise you've tumbled into a rut? And you'll learn how to turn your experience, as Will did, into learning about stretching yourself and challenging yourself, in ways you never dreamed possible.

Kick-start your own creativity with 15 days of creative inspiration, free at creativelifeshow.com.

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Willpower. We have it or not, right? And some days, it just vanishes.

I’ve been fascinated by the link between willpower and creativity for years. How much is getting our creative work out down to self-discipline, and why do we so often decide to do something we regret later, from eating chocolate to not replying to emails?

And how much can we change the amount of willpower we have?

Ros Taylor is the ideal person to help explore this. Willpower, her eighth book, has just been published, and I invited her on to talk about the willpower she needed to get it written, as well as what willpower means for us as creatives.

We’re caught often time between looking for the ‘aha’ moments and the need to just get work out. We easily get overwhelmed by all the other things we have – client work, other people’s agendas, all the non-creative work that we need to do to make our creative work possible. Within all that, we need to know how to make our work fresh and inspiring again.

Ros and I talk about her own experience of needing to structure her work to find time to write Willpower, at a time when everything else was pressing in around her (and she’d turned it down several times).

We also get into a lot more detail about what willpower means for us as creatives. It turns out that rather than looking for willpower itself, there are other things we need to focus on which create the environment for us to have the willpower we need.

You'll learn:

The exact process Ros used to write Willpower, despite finding herself hugely overcommitted - and knowing she's not someone who can write in short bursts, on planes, or between other work.

- The 'three week rule' for changing anything

- How you can change your level of willpower - but the essential condition to make it effective

- The power of relaxation for willpower, and why it's non-negotiable for creative work

- Why optimists persevere longer than pessimists, and what that means for you

- Techniques and habits to turn yourself into an optimist, with Ros's own story of how she did it

Get all the show notes and downloads at creativelifeshow.com

Click to view: show notes and transcript

Willpower. We have it or not, right? And some days, it just vanishes.

I’ve been fascinated by the link between willpower and creativity for years. How much is getting our creative work out down to self-discipline, and why do we so often decide to do something we regret later, from eating chocolate to not replying to emails?

And how much can we change the amount of willpower we have?

Ros Taylor is the ideal person to help explore this. Willpower, her eighth book, has just been published, and I invited her on to talk about the willpower she needed to get it written, as well as what willpower means for us as creatives.

We’re caught often time between looking for the ‘aha’ moments and the need to just get work out. We easily get overwhelmed by all the other things we have – client work, other people’s agendas, all the non-creative work that we need to do to make our creative work possible. Within all that, we need to know how to make our work fresh and inspiring again.

Ros and I talk about her own experience of needing to structure her work to find time to write Willpower, at a time when everything else was pressing in around her (and she’d turned it down several times).

We also get into a lot more detail about what willpower means for us as creatives. It turns out that rather than looking for willpower itself, there are other things we need to focus on which create the environment for us to have the willpower we need.

You'll learn:

The exact process Ros used to write Willpower, despite finding herself hugely overcommitted - and knowing she's not someone who can write in short bursts, on planes, or between other work.

- The 'three week rule' for changing anything

- How you can change your level of willpower - but the essential condition to make it effective

- The power of relaxation for willpower, and why it's non-negotiable for creative work

- Why optimists persevere longer than pessimists, and what that means for you

- Techniques and habits to turn yourself into an optimist, with Ros's own story of how she did it

Get all the show notes and downloads at creativelifeshow.com

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Willpower. We have it or not, right? And some days, it just vanishes.

I’ve been fascinated by the link between willpower and creativity for years. How much is getting our creative work out down to self-discipline, and why do we so often decide to do something we regret later, from eating chocolate to not replying to emails?

And how much can we change the amount of willpower we have?

Ros Taylor is the ideal person to help explore this. Willpower, her eighth book, has just been published, and I invited her on to talk about the willpower she needed to get it written, as well as what willpower means for us as creatives.

We’re caught often time between looking for the ‘aha’ moments and the need to just get work out. We easily get overwhelmed by all the other things we have – client work, other people’s agendas, all the non-creative work that we need to do to make our creative work possible. Within all that, we need to know how to make our work fresh and inspiring again.

Ros and I talk about her own experience of needing to structure her work to find time to write Willpower, at a time when everything else was pressing in around her (and she’d turned it down several times).

We also get into a lot more detail about what willpower means for us as creatives. It turns out that rather than looking for willpower itself, there are other things we need to focus on which create the environment for us to have the willpower we need.

You'll learn:

The exact process Ros used to write Willpower, despite finding herself hugely overcommitted - and knowing she's not someone who can write in short bursts, on planes, or between other work.

- The 'three week rule' for changing anything

- How you can change your level of willpower - but the essential condition to make it effective

- The power of relaxation for willpower, and why it's non-negotiable for creative work

- Why optimists persevere longer than pessimists, and what that means for you

- Techniques and habits to turn yourself into an optimist, with Ros's own story of how she did it

Get all the show notes and downloads at creativelifeshow.com

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Kerry Nicholls is a leading contemporary choreographer, in demand all over the world for her inspiring, challenging work with dancers on the cusp of major careers. Yet at 23, with a surprise pregnancy, she was told by everyone she should forget her career. She set out to prove them wrong, finding a path through the practical, financial and emotional challenges of being a creative, performer and single parent. She talks about her determination to prove that parenting would provide her creativity with a new depth and richness, and how the skills she learned have taken her to a level that she believes she would never otherwise have reached. Find all the links at creativelifeshow.com.

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Kerry Nicholls is a leading contemporary choreographer, in demand all over the world for her inspiring, challenging work with dancers on the cusp of major careers. Yet at 23, with a surprise pregnancy, she was told by everyone she should forget her career. She set out to prove them wrong, finding a path through the practical, financial and emotional challenges of being a creative, performer and single parent. She talks about her determination to prove that parenting would provide her creativity with a new depth and richness, and how the skills she learned have taken her to a level that she believes she would never otherwise have reached. Find all the links at creativelifeshow.com.

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Do you love being a creative but hate having to put yourself 'out there'? I've brought in the brilliant Emma Stroud to talk about the importance of telling our own stories as creatives. Should we wear our heart on our sleeve, or let our work speak for itself? And how do we know when we've given away just a bit too much? Emma shares her own story of getting totally stuck by fear, and what she learned by spending a day going round London dressed as a banana.

Here are some of the great value bombs you'll find in this episode:

- The value of giving yourself permission - whether to be silly, serious, or just to have fun in your work

- How to use structure to reduce fear, and stop your emotions taking over

- Why your story is definitely interesting to the rest of the world - and how to find it

- Why you don't think you're good at public speaking, and what you can do about it

- What to do if you want your creative work to speak for itself, but you know it's holding you back

- How to decide what to share, and what to keep private

- Emma's liberating diary format that makes sure she finds time for all the important things in her life

Find all the links at creativelifeshow.com, and download your free Creative's Distraction Buster - because creative brains are different.

Click to view: show page on Awesound