The Unlikely Artist

The Unlikely Artist

By Graced CanvasSociety & CultureBusinessEducationSelf-ImprovementRelationshipsCareers
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The Unlikely Artist episodes

  • Why It’s Time for You to Take Action | UA120

    Today we talk about why taking action is so important.

    We need to take action to not be in a conversation of one. If we want to satisfy our yearning to have an impact, we need to invite at least one other person into that conversation.

    When we actually do something, it feels totally different than just thinking about doing it. It’s only through our actions we can develop our own way of going about it and make something our own.

    The process of doing something new rewires our brains and makes taking further action easier.

    Finally, putting something out in the world allows us to get the feedback we need to expand our ideas and take them to the next level.

    DISCOVER WHO YOU ARE

    If you’re not leading the life you want, you can build the mindset, emotional and intuitive skills to change that. I use my experience as a lawyer, business leader, artist and coach to help my clients discover who they are and live the life they desire.

    If you’d like to discover what it would be like to work with me, you can sign up for a free coaching consultation call by using this link: https://gracedcanvascalendar.as.me/freestrategysession/.

    You can also sign up for my Creative Expansion newsletter by using the link posted throughout my website: https://gracedcanvas.com). In the newsletter I share my random thoughts about things that catch my attention, plus let you know about the live events and workshops I host here at GRACE Studio in Prince Edward County. My workshops are created to give you a chance to relax, enjoy the country scenery, and experience personal transformation by learning skills such as mindfulness, nature exploration, creative flow, making art, creative writing and more. I offer special packages and experiences to corporate teams.

    You can find me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gracedcanvascoaching/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/heatherirenekerr) and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/heatherkerr/).


    THANKS FOR LISTENING:

    If you’ve found this episode helpful, please spread the goodness by sharing it with a friend, family member or colleague.

    To complete a review, go to The Unlikely Artist on Apple Podcasts, scroll down to Ratings & Reviews, tap the stars to rate it and write a sentence about what you like best about the podcast.

    Send your podcast topic suggestions to [email protected].

    ABOUT ME:

    I’m a former international tax lawyer and senior partner of Ernst & Young in Toronto, where I serviced banks and other large multinationals and led a large group of professionals.

    My life expanded when I left the law in 2014 to learn how to paint, something I’d always dreamt of doing, but had no reason to believe was possible for me. After a couple years of painting and selling my work, I became passionate about helping other people who yearn to feel more personally fulfilled, invigorated and soul connected in their lives every day, and I became certified as a life coach.

    I now spend my time painting, coaching, and creating live events at GRACE Studio (more formally, the “George Russell Academy of Creative Expansion”) in beautiful Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. And, of course, producing this podcast for you.

    24 min
  • Pretend You’re a River – A Technique to Get Unstuck | UA119

    You’ll find this episode useful if you’ve been feeling stuck or disappointed or like something’s not working out.

    In nature, there’s no such thing as a straight river. Rivers meander, find the easiest way forward, get wider and then narrower, change course, rush down steep areas, and become still and reflective in others.

    If we want to move forward in a way it doesn’t feel like we’re struggling all the time, we need to be more like a river.

    Tune in to this episode to find out how you can use the technique of pretending to be a river to push past the pain of disappointed expectations and flow forward.

    DISCOVER WHO YOU ARE

    If you’re focused on pleasing everyone around you, chances are you’re not leading the life you want. People pleasing is the main obstacle I help my clients tackle so that they can discover who they are and live the life they desire. If you suspect this might be you, but you’re not sure, I offer free coaching consultation calls where we’ll talk about what you want to do and why you’re not doing it. I’ll offer you my prescription and we’ll see if it makes sense to coach together. Use this link to book your session: https://gracedcanvascalendar.as.me/freestrategysession/.

    Everything I offer helps you discover who you are. In my Creative Expansion newsletter, I share the kinds of insights I share in this podcast. Plus I let you know about my online coaching offers and live events and workshops here at GRACE Studio in Prince Edward County. Enjoy the scenery at my acreage and explore who you are through mindfulness, nature exploration, making art, creative writing, and other means to discover at a deeper level who you are and what you want. To subscribe for my newsletter, use the link at the bottom of page of my website, https://gracedcanvas.com/).

    I’m also on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gracedcanvascoaching/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/heatherirenekerr) or LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/heatherkerr/).

    THANKS FOR LISTENING:

    If you’ve found this episode helpful, please spread the goodness by sharing it with a friend, family member or colleague.

    To complete a review, go to The Unlikely Artist on Apple Podcasts, scroll down to Ratings & Reviews, tap the stars to rate it and write a sentence about what you like best about the podcast.

    Send your podcast topic suggestions to [email protected].

    ABOUT ME:

    I’m a former international tax lawyer and senior partner of Ernst & Young in Toronto, where I serviced banks and other large multinationals and led a large group of professionals.

    My life expanded when I left the law in 2014 to learn how to paint, something I’d always dreamt of doing, but had no reason to believe was possible for me. After a couple years of painting and selling my work, I became passionate about helping other people who yearn to feel more personally fulfilled, invigorated and soul connected in their lives every day, and I became certified as a life coach.

    I now spend my time painting, coaching, and creating live events at GRACE Studio (more formally, the “George Russell Academy of Creative Expansion”) in beautiful Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. And, of course, producing this podcast for you.

    22 min
  • How to Approach Professional Development in a Way That Feels Good to You | UA118
    Today we consider why professional development might feel like a burden or a chore and how it can be transformed into something that feels nourishing and useful to you.
    I was motivated to create this episode when I read Dr. Jackie Eldridge’s post on Instagram (@drjackieeldridge) where she said: “Imagine if people thought about professional development as food for the mind and soul, instead of a chore and a burden.” Jackie is a teacher, motivational speaker, coach and author of Hearts and Minds Matter: Creating Learning Environments Where All Students Belong and The Freedom Journal – Silencing the Critic to Free Yourself for Possibility.
    24 min
  • Sitting in Self-Judgment | UA117
    We all criticize ourselves. We believe that if we judge ourselves harshly, that will spur us on to take the actions we need to take or protect us from disappointment. Our negative judgments don’t accomplish either result.
    At the end of this podcast, I present some actions you can use to defend yourself against unproductive self-judgments:
    Build an awareness of all the ways you judge yourself negatively.
    When you notice your self-criticisms, refuse to criticize yourself for criticizing yourself. (Don’t double down on your self-criticism!)
    Build counterarguments to the negative judgments you have about yourself.
    Relisten to this episode and explore the reasons you’ve believed criticizing yourself is useful or will protect you from disappointment. Review your accomplishments and notice that negative self talk wasn’t what actually what inspired your actions. Notice how judging yourself negatively ahead of time was unhelpful. Instead, identify the compassionate and self-approving judgments that have led to positive outcomes in your life.
    Expect self-criticism to continue and develop go-to thoughts to counter your most common self-criticisms.
    20 min
  • The Quality of Your Attention | UA116
    My art teacher, Ian Roberts, shared a thought with us this week that made the hair on my arms stand up. Because of the truth of it. He said, “The quality of attention produces the music.”
    In this episode I share my thoughts about how the quality of attention you bring to what you do can fundamentally alter your experience of it, draw out the meaning, create the connection, help you see the beauty, and bring you into a deeper understanding of the people around you.
    22 min
  • A Surprising Way to Become More of Yourself | UA115
    Our quest to feel more alive comes down to one thing. We desire to live life in a way that feels more “us”.
    In this episode I explore how to become more of who you really are by pretending in one of 3 specific ways. Explore pretending:
    to have a personal quality you wish you had,
    to be a celebrity or other person you admire, or
    to believe something you’re not all sure about.
    Pretend this way regularly and you’ll soon become more of who you yearn to be.
    26 min
  • How Subtraction Can Expand Your Life | UA114
    When we keep expanding our calendars to accommodate all the things we want to do or think we need to do, life can start to feel frantic and unmanageable. Worse, we often find that we still don’t have enough time to do the things we know could contribute to our wellbeing.
    In this episode I explore how to use subtraction as a tool to expand your life and do more of what you love.
    Learn how to erase boundaries between the various roles you play, “paint over” areas of your life that no longer serve you, and use “uncontrolled subtraction” to create time for exploration and discovery.
    24 min
  • The Magic of a Fresh Perspective | UA113
    There’s a moment when you realize you're seeing things in a way that feels brand new and exhilarating. It's like, “Ooh, I never saw it this way before. But now that I do see it this way, I feel completely differently about it.”
    The novelty of a new perspective is exciting because it creates possibility. It fuels us with energy. A fresh perspective helps us invent, find solutions and discover relationships between things we’d thought were unrelated, and reboots our creativity.
    In this episode I share 5 ways you can discover fresh perspectives. Try these out when you’re facing a challenge, are stuck or bored, or out of ideas.
    25 min
  • Shared Human Conversations – Healthy Sales with Sarah Hurrle | UA112
    Join me for this mind-shifting conversation with my friend and peer coach, Sarah Hurrle. Sarah takes us on her journey from being a fund raiser for non-profit organizations, to refocusing on her own health as she navigated health challenges, to becoming a certified health coach, to her focus today on “healthy sales”.
    This episode is relevant whether you’re an entrepreneur, work for someone else, are a member of a family, or have an idea you’d like to present. That’s because the way Sarah sees sales is as just a conversation you have with someone else about something you need or something you can offer. It’s about a real life give and take between real humans, with a level of respect between the two of you.
    If you’d like to reframe the way you approach sales (or really any negotiations) so it feels like a non-stressful, mutually beneficial, healthy conversation with another human being, reach out to Sarah on Instagram @sarah.hurrle or on her website at www.sarahhurrle.com.
    1 hr 3 min
  • Forget the Audience | UA111
    Legendary music producer, Rick Rubin, advises that in order to create at the highest level, your audience must come last. This is true (maybe even especially) if you care about how the audience experiences your work. Instead, he advises, allow your natural creativity to bubble up and out of you and into the world.
    Rick’s dictum applies with equal force to every aspect of what we do. That’s because we’re all creators – of our careers, our businesses, our relationships, our art, and our lives. In each of those spheres, we have an audience. And if we over focus on that audience instead of giving birth to what’s inside of us, we’ll limit the quality of what we put out into the world.
    23 min

About The Unlikely Artist

From the publisher's feed

The Unlikely Artist gives you permission to stop settling for a life and career you don’t love. You’re an intelligent, accomplished, soul-searching, curious, creative and passionate human being. This podcast will help you master the skills you need to create a more powerful, purposeful and personally fulfilled life.