← Creative Pep Talk
Loading summary
Transcript4 lines
- [00:00]
A
Right now, get up to 15% off select storage solutions put heavy duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. The solid impact resistant design prevents cracking and the clear base and sides make items easy to find even when the totes are stacked. Find select shelving and tote storage up to 15% off at the Home Depot. To organize every room in your home from your garage to your attic, visit homedepot.com how doers get more done
- [00:31]
B
Morning decisions. How about a creamy mocha Frappuccino drink? Or sweet vanilla smooth caramel maybe? Or white chocolate mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks Frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries.
- [00:46]
A
All right, this episode's gonna be a little bit different. Unfiltered pizza. Just imagine putting pizza through a Brita water filter. Um, this, this episode's different because as you can hear, there's no background music. There's no fancy editing. You know how we do fancy editing on this show? A lot of jump cuts and whiplashes. Audio whiplashes. I don't think that's a thing. But this episode's gonna be different because I haven't done this in a long time. I haven't done like a unplugged episode where I give a little bit of updates about what's going on with me and what I'm working through. And then also I, I have some questions loaded up from you, so we're also gonna do some ask Dr. Pizza style question and answer kind of thing. If you ever have a question for me, after you listen to an episode or just a general creative or creative career creative path question, you can go to creativepeptalk.com and there's a little microphone at the bottom right. You can do this on desktop or on your phone. Click the microphone. It's not gonna record you right away. You're gonna have a second to collect yourself and then click record. And then if you don't like it, you can rerecord it or just trash it before you. But if you ever want to appear on one of these episodes, send in your questions that way and we will try to get to it or we'll at least consider it for a future Q and A episode. The first thing I want to tell you, and this was kind of the prompt of doing this episode, was that I am going to the frickin UK on Thursday. So the day after we release this, I'm going to the uk. I'm going to the Edinburgh film film now Fringe Comedy Festival mostly just for fun and kind of research creatively. I've wanted to go to that for a long, long time, many years. My buddy Brad Montague, who's been on this show several times, has a play, I think it's called the Fabulous that I'm excited to go see. And Alice Fraser, who has been on this show has also got a set and I'm just excited to go soak it up. I'm going to meet with some of my college friends also and then I'm going to go work down to London over the following 10 days and I'm going to do some informal creative meetups like hang out in the park and doodle or grab a coffee or a pint. If you are over there and you want to potentially meet up with this group, maybe it'll be two people, maybe it'll be 20 people, I don't have any idea. But if you want to be in the know, in the show notes is a link to the what's up app channel where I'm going to put the dates and times and updates. Like if we have to change something like I miss a bus and I can't get there on time, we have to edit it. All the info is going to be in that channel. So sign up to that channel. You won't get my phone number, I won't get yours, but you'll be able to see all the updates there and stay tuned to when I'm going to be in Edinburgh and Leeds and also London. And I'm also doing three book events as well. So I'm doing one in Home Firth, one in Horbury and one in London. So the dates and the times will be in the show notes as well for that. So I wanted to give you a heads up. That's part of the prompt of doing this informal episode is I wanted to make sure I got that info out before I leave and go see everybody. I'm really excited about being over there, eating sausage rolls, going to Gregg's, that's the main thing I'm doing over there. If you're in the uk, you know that that's both funny and a joke and also serious. If you ever go to the uk, go to Gregg's or go get some meat pies, go get some pork pies, go. That's what I'm going to be doing all week. So I'm really excited about that. This episode, what I thought was I could start. I wanted to start the first section before we get to the Q and A without any Notes, which is very weird for me because we have. Even though I like to explore the space of a podcast, I like to follow tangents. I usually have a pretty Thor outline going into an episode. And so I just thought, like, what if I just create a little space to kind of share what I'm up to, what's been on my mind, what I'm working through or struggling with or curious about in my own creative practice, and then move into some Q and A. So here's what's top of mind for me right now. I'm thinking a lot about kind of this transistory transitionary, maybe even space that I've been in, if you followed me for a long time. And I think, I think this is relevant to anybody who's listening. I was talking to people at the virtual meetup that we do with the Substack supporters and Patreon backers, the Creative Pep Rally and the Creative Pro talk. We do two meetings a month and we were talking about. I was kind of talking about how my creative path is such where I have these sort of phases or seasons or eras. If I want to be Taylor Swift it, Taylor Swift it, where I'm like focusing on a very particular part. It doesn't mean I'm almost always doing all the different things I've. I do. Like, I've been doing illustration client work since the beginning of my creative journey and I've not never quit doing that. Still very much love doing that. Finished a project yesterday that's really fun and cool. So I'm always, almost always working on some stuff like that. I always, these days I usually have talks planned and travel. I've got the podcast every week, I've got picture books on the go and I'm doing client work. And also sometimes there's like teaching opportunities or stuff like that. Even sometimes there's coaching involved in that, although I don't get to that as much as I'd like to. This episode is brought to you by Vinted. We talk a lot on this show about not putting all financial pressure on your creativity. And we also talk about how being a great creative means having great taste. Vinted is a perfect meeting point of these two things. If you want to make money on your taste in a way that supports your creative endeavors instead of drains them, you probably have a lot of money sitting in your closet. That's where Vinted comes in. Vented is a secondhand marketplace with a mission to make secondhand your first choice, some extra cash. Secondhand is better for the environment and this taps your good taste. Selling on Vinted is a win win win. In fact, I was just searching for black tie, dye graphic tees and a ton of super cool unique T shirts popped up instantly. So also a good place to check out your next outfit as well. Listing on Vinted is quick and simple, so give your clothes a second life with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free to start selling with no seller fees so you keep everything you earn. Plus for a limited time enjoy free shipping in the US on Vinted. That's V I N T E D if you want to write your own destiny, you need to learn how to write. You don't want to be waiting for a manuscript or a brief or a script that someone else wrote because you will be waiting forever. I spent so much time waiting, thinking I'm not a writer, but the only thing that stopped me was writing. This is why I love Mindy Kaling's class on Masterclass. It's called Scripting youg Own Success. It's all about this very thing. You need to hear her tell her story of writing her play Matt and Ben and how it broke open her career and led to writing and starring on the TV show the Office. Ever heard of it? Such a good example of this really great class. Very much enjoying it. She is just so awesome. I really love that they have audio mode too, so that you can listen while you're traveling or driving or washing the dishes. I really love that three in four members feel inspired every time they watch, and 83% have applied something they've learned to their real lives. Masterclass keeps adding new classes, so there's never been a better time to get in. Right now, as a listener of this show, you get 15% off any annual membership@masterclass.com Pep Talk. That's 15% off@masterclass.com Pep Talk. Head to masterclass.com Pep Talk to see the latest offer. But even though all of those moving pieces are usually there, I usually have a sort of priority. I have a this is kind of the main thing and everything else is fitting into that or it's or it's everything else are dominoes after that thing. And so when I got out of school, I was thinking pretty much exclusively about client work, even though I started working on books right away. But eventually I moved into really wanting to get into picture books and I hit some brick walls there. I spent a couple years there. Then I started this podcast and I was having this competing thing between the picture books and the podcast because I really wanted to do picture books, but I kept hitting brick walls. I could not anybody to buy these books that I was working on. And I was also doing this podcast that was taking off. And so for me, it's really difficult to have that kind of competing energy, which is maybe unusual if you're looking from the outside, because it looks like I always have this competing energy. This is a framework, a mental framework that I go back to over and over and over again in my own life. And that's why I talk about it pretty frequently on the show. I think about it kind of like you're cooking a meal. You're not going to have two front burner main dishes that you're like actively working with or five different side dishes. And so for me, when I think about my creative practice, I'm thinking about it like I've got my front main thing, which is usually how I'm making a living. Like, it's not the thing where I'm experimenting. It's a thing where this thing is the thing. I gotta spend 70% of my time or 60% of my time on this. And when I was younger and I had jobs, it might be 80% of my time. But you probably have a front burner too. You have like. This is the thing that I. I'm not focused on mentally. I'm more just being the operator. I'm being the. I'm executing on this thing on a regular basis. This is kind of locked in. This is your cash cow, so to speak. If you're thinking about it through the lens of the Boston Consulting Group growth share matrix, which none of you are, but sometimes I am. But that's one way to think about it. This is your cash cow. This is the thing that you've got like, cook, you got it dialed in. You kind of have that thing. It's not maybe on autopilot, but you're not trying to reinvent it. So it's not requiring you to show up with that creative energy that you need for the back burner thing. So the back burner thing is something that you're having to. It's safer. It's a side dish. You can mess with it. You can experiment there. That's your side project, your side quest. This is the thing that maybe even you're like cooking up a little sauce for something that you're going to put on the front burner after this front burner is moved off of there. Like, maybe this is the thing in waiting, or it's at least the thing that you're experimenting with. And for me, I can only really have one of those back burner things. And that back burner thing, that's like where I'm putting my strategic creative energy. And when I think strategic, I'm thinking I'm doing something now for some kind of payoff down in the future. And so then you have your slow cooker. You have your slow cooker, your crock pot, if you will. So many other things go in there. And then, yeah, some things go into the trash, but very few things have to go there. And sometimes you put it in the trash and look, this is a real, clean, creative trash. You can get it back out and work with it. That's disgusting. But it's not real food, people, so it's okay. But these are kind of things I have going on. And at any given time, they all change. They sometimes move around in, in these different spots. Sometimes. Like when I was doing the podcast and it started to take off a couple years into that, I realized, like, I'm trying to have these two side dishes to my client work, trying to do kids books, trying to get kids books moving and the podcast and these competing energies. I can't do two of these kinds of startup things at the same time. And I thought I'm gonna have to put kids books in the trash now. I thought maybe they're in the slow cooker, I don't know, they're in one of these. But I have to completely set it aside because it's just not working right now. And there's. When I think back, I think, oh, it's kind of interesting because part of the. I had a lot of strategy, a lot of ideas of why I want to do the podcast. I'm adhd, so most of the time I can only do something consistently if I'm just all in obsessed with it. And that usually is connecting to something deep within me. Something beyond the ego, transpersonal, some people say, if you're some kind of psychoanalyst, but something that goes beyond what's good for me. Like, it has to be part of my. What feels like a greater purpose. So it has to relate to and be positive for other people for me to go deep into it. And so that was the first thing with the podcast. It was already deeply connected to what I find myself doing. Even when I don't have a podcast, I will find myself, like, wanting to help out, wanting to share ideas with creative people and share what's working for me because I'm just passionate about. I'm so. I'M so passionate about creative people. I'm passionate about nonlinear people, nonlinear thinkers, neurodivergent people. I'm very passionate about not just neurodivergent people, but neurodiversity as a whole, like leaning into your neurotype and the difference in your neurotype. So I'm so passionate about that that the podcast really started from there. And then once I started exploring different ways to do this, because before it was a podcast, it was kind of a blog, and before it was a blog, it was kind of a local event and meeting up with friends and that sort of thing. But then when I wanted to get into publishing and I learned that I needed to have some kind of audience or platform, and I thought, okay, the podcast could be good for that. And that also might help my publishing goals if this thing takes off. And so what was interesting was I thought, okay, if I let this podcast take off, maybe then later I can come back to the publishing and it'll actually, I'll be in a better situation to get through that gatekeeper brick wall that I keep hitting. And that ended up being true. But even more interestingly, the what ended up being true was that I learned how to tell stories better from doing the podcast. So it was this really interesting story that I experienced of this thing in the way of what I wanted, ended up being what I needed in a way that I didn't expect, is that because of doing the show every week, I was constantly looking for symbols and metaphors and analogies. And I was reading lots of books about storytelling and communicating, thinking really through the lens of the podcast and public speaking, like live storytelling kind of thing. Those things ended up making me a much better picture book author. And so those things came together to help me break through there. What I'm talking about, where I'm going, by the way, we might not get to the questions. Okay, I. I was afraid that might happen. Those are the backup in case I not not having notes meant that I didn't have anything to say. Of course that's not true. I hope you don't mind this very unstructured ADHD episode. As we're following all these tangents, there are going to be through lines. I will try to wrap up things as I go. Speaking of which, here's me trying to tie up what I was getting at. The reason I went on that giant tangent was because I wanted to present this idea going all the way back to what I first started with, talking about transitions. So and being in a sort of transitionary Space myself, I feel a little bit similar to the way that I felt at the beginning of the podcast where I had these competing things. I'm kind of in that zone right now and I'm trying to navigate how to move through it, knowing that the things that I take off the back burner don't have to go in the trash, they can go in the slow cooker, they don't have to be my main focuses and I can take breaks. I think for me, this is so powerful because I'm so prone to overthinking and doing nothing. I'm so prone to because I can't figure out which one is the right one to do next. I'm going to do none of them or I'm going to try to do all of them at the same time. And both of those usually end in me not finishing anything, maybe starting either, not starting at all or starting a billion things, and really never finishing or publishing or shipping any of them. And so for me, it's been really helpful to have this framework to think through these things. And right now I'm sort of in that zone because when we started doing picture books, and I say we because Sophie and I write a lot together and then I also have books that I've co wrote and illustrated for other people. And when I started going deeper into that zone, I think it started about 2018, I was like, okay, this thing came back around. I was excited again. Excited in its own right. Like excited in the deep self sort of way where I'm like, this feels aligned with who I am, what I'm about and what I want to be in the world for other people. And so that I have to have that alignment. But then when I have that alignment, I also like to look at what are the benefits to this in other ways. And so I've wanted to make picture books since I was a kid. I freaking loved Ed Emberly. And I remember there's several times where at school we would read a book like Go Away, Big Green Monster. And I would come home and I'd be like, we have to go find this book. I need this book. Same thing happened with Stinky Cheesemaker and some Shel Silverstein books. And I was just really into it. And I even wrote some of my own versions of those things. I was very, very into it. And so it's always felt aligned with kind of who I feel like I am and what I want to do and what my work would be. My illustration work works, just works really well for kids and So I had that deep thing, but then as it came back around, I had a different sort of perspective on it and how it fit within the whole framework of the meal that I was cooking. If you think about it in business terms, there's something called the flywheel. And the flywheel is this idea that this thing you do over here then leads to this domino, leads to that domino, leads to that domino. But it happens kind of cyclical, where they all sort of work together and create positive momentum, where they're kind of self perpetuating. And so for me, that's been true. Like when I do the podcast, it turns into speaking gigs, and that speaking gig might turn into a client project, and that client project might turn into a kids book or that, that client project or kids book. I learned stuff from that that turns into the next podcast. And so that's a flywheel. And it kind of, they, they kind of lead to the next thing. And so I thought, okay, if I start doing picture books, that makes tons of sense for the general path that I'm on and what I believe in. But also I could probably, based on where I'm at, I could potentially create some picture books. Even just publishing picture books would give me some credentials that I don't have as a public speaker and po. Because all of my credentials up into that point were just, you know, and it was a big accomplishment for me. And for anybody that's done this, I've worked, I had worked with a lot of really great clients like Apple and Sony and Google and Xbox and Nickelodeon, all these different clients over the years. But I want to. I felt like I was hitting a ceiling for what was possible if I didn't. Because all of those clients allowed me to get on stages in like creative circles, creative conferences and, and creative schools. They kind of related to and understood those credentials. But if I wanted to get on more general stages, you know, whether it's like an ADHD conference or go do a corporate talk to talk about creativity, I needed to have credentials that made more sense to everybody, to the general public. And so I thought, it's possible if I start publishing kids books. Publishing kids books is enough. Like if I tell my dentist I'm kids book author, illustrator, they instantly know what that means. They have context for that. So even just publishing those is a credential that would help open some of these doors. But if I could get on the New York Times list or get an award or something in that vein, that really could open up the doors for all the talks that I want to do and the consulting and that sort of thing. And so that was a. Like, yes, it was aligned with my deep self. It was also. And I just want to highlight here, look, this is my episode. I told you it was going to be tangential and wild hopefully. I mean, you're probably one of these people that likes this sort of conversation. Not a conversation, I'm just talking at you through the Internet. But I lost my thread a little bit. Okay, here's what I was saying. I want to just. I've camped out on a couple little frameworks and thoughts that I've thought might be helping. Helpful one is the, the. The cooking framework, which is a little bit of a take on the BCG growth share matrix from, from the business world. We talked about the flywheel, which maybe I need to interpret that to the creative world a little bit and put my own spin on that. And then this third one I want to talk about. This is something I've talked about on the, on the Internet, on the podcast a few different times. I don't feel like I've fully been able to nail what I mean by this, but I One of my favorite illustrations I've ever done has a two headed monster. And the two headed monster I love as a symbol of the duality of man. I love it as a symbol of the fact kind of the idea from internal family systems and Jungian psychology which says that even if you don't have. What's the term that they use nowadays? Disassociative identity disorder. What used to be called multiple personality disorder. Even if you don't have that, there is a way in which we all have parts of ourself. We all are a collection of pieces. I think one of the ways to think about that is that you are filtered through your brain and your brain has all these different chambers. So I've heard you've got the hypothalamus. I don't know what that is, but you have the right and left hemisphere. You have all the other ones. I could definitely list so many other ones. This episode is brought to you by Vinted. We talk a lot on this show about not putting all financial pressure on your creativity. And we also talk about how being a great creative means having great taste. Vinted is a perfect meeting point of these two things. If you want to make money on your taste in a way that supports your creative endeavors and instead of drains them, you probably have a lot of money sitting in your closet. That's where Vented comes in. Vented is a secondhand marketplace with a mission to make second hand your first choice. Make some extra cash. Second hand is better for the environment and this taps your good taste. Selling on Vinted is a win win win. In fact, I was just searching for black tie, dye graphic tees and a ton of super cool unique T shirts popped up instantly, so also a good place to ch your next outfit as well. Listing on Vinted is quick and simple so give your clothes a second life with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free to start selling with no seller fees so you keep everything you earn. Plus for a limited time enjoy free shipping in the US on Vinted. That's V I n T E D if you want to write your own destiny, you need to learn how to write. You don't want to be waiting for a manuscript or a brief or a script that someone else wrote, because you will be waiting. I spent so much time waiting, thinking I'm not a writer, but the only thing that stopped me was writing. This is why I love Mindy Kaling's class on Masterclass. It's called Scripting youg Own Success. It's all about this very thing. You need to hear her tell her story of writing her play Matt and Ben and how it broke open her career and led to writing and starring on the TV show the Office. Ever heard of it? Such a good example of this really great class. Very much enjoying it. She is just so awesome. I really love that they have audio mode too, so that you can listen while you're traveling or driving or washing the dishes. I really love that three in four members feel inspired every time they watch, and 83% have applied something they've learned to their real lives. Masterclass keeps adding new classes, so there's never been a better time to get in. Right now, as a listener of this show, you get 15% off any annual membership@masterclass.com Pep Talk. That's 15% off@masterclass.com Pep Talk. Head to masterclass.com Pep Talk to see the latest offer. Pituitary gland? I don't know, but it doesn't matter. You have all these different parts of your brain and they kind of act like different parts of you. And it's helpful at times to think of yourself in these parts. So Jungians might think about it like you have a shadow side. You have the ego, you have the deep self. Freud had his own version of that. Internal family systems really breaks that apart and says there might even be all these different refractions that were created from Individual traumas and experiences and all these different competing values. There are all these different parts of who you are. And Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, who wrote Whole Brain Thinking, even took four of the main parts and said you should name these different parts so that you kind of know who you're working with, what part of you you're working with. The reason I bring all this up is this kind of multi dimensional way of thinking about yourself. Thinking about yourself as a multi headed sort of monster is really useful because it helps you realize that you do have all these competing priorities. It helps you to get all of them on the same team. If you think about shows like Moon Knight that have disassociative identity disorder, that character does, or Fight Club or, you know, all these sorts of movies, they're almost always a symbol of a deeper thread that says you're, you will be better at accomplishing your goals or being the person you want to be if you get all of the parts of yourself on the same team. The reason I bring that up is because I keep going back to when I go to explain on this show, I often go to explain creative strategy that I have. I realized in the past that I'm usually telling you the part of me that is sort of like the ego part. And I don't mean that in a, in the kind of conventional sense the way that we talk about it as people like not, I'm not talking about the big headed part of me or whatever. I'm talking about it more like the Jungian way of thinking about ego, which is saying this is the part of me that, that is Andy out in the real world doing things on this planet. And that is usually what I'm speaking to because in this show we're talking about how do you accomplish things? And the ego, that's kind of. I, I think about the hero's journey even as it's not just me. I, I think other psychologists have said this as the development of a healthy ego. Go this idea that this. Now we're going to a fourth framework, y'. All. I've let the governor off the ADHD brain and we are going. Hit me up in the comments if you're like, whoa, I don't know what you're talking about. What is going on in this episode, or I know I like this, or anything in between. I'm curious how this episode hits you, but okay, what was I talking about? Well, I introduced another framework, the hero's journey, which we've talked about recently on the show and talked about Many times on the show. But the hero's journey to me is an archetypal journey that you see in stories that's really about the development of a healthy ego. Meaning I can on my own go accomplish a thing. I can go take care of myself. I can have some independence. And so you have that part of yourself. And usually on the show I'm talking about that part because I think when it comes to building a creative practice, that's a piece that's more difficult for creative people than maybe neurotypical or more civilians, regular people that don't consider themselves to be especially creative or pursuing a creative path or a creative journey. And so there is a real difficulty in self actualizing, self realizing in the real world. This gets. I'm going to touch on this slightly, just another little thing. The Puerturnas by Marie Louise Von Franz. She was a Jungian analyst. The Puerturnas means the forever child. And it's this idea of like being Peter Pan, Peter Pan syndrome. Never growing up, never self actualizing, never really developing a healthy ego that can accomplish things, staying in a childlife state. And I think as a creative person, myself, as an ADHD person, I find it really, it was very difficult to cross that bridge. Still, I can fall easily into being the Peter Pan that's Head in the clouds. Never has your feet on the ground actually doing stuff, getting lost in the world of infinite potential and ideas instead of. Of doing what it takes to make something happen, even though it's definitely going to be imperfect. Okay, too many tangents. But let's go back real quick to the point of why I'm saying this. I think why I'm saying this is because we are talking about these different parts of yourself. And I'm trying to give you. I'm trying to explain myself, I guess, and that's a little bit. What I'm doing on this episode is often on the podcast I am trying to tell you something really specific and I don't have room for nuance or giving my perspective or my experience. I do do that, but only very strategically and purposefully within the context of the episode. And so I'm kind of right here trying to flesh that out in a way that's a little bit more varied. So I was saying that when I talk about, if I talk about going into kids books or I talk about why I did the podcast, I'm might jump to saying here's the strategic move that I made because the podcast is about trying to develop that healthy ego that goes and does things in the real world. So that's the part of myself that I'm really explaining. I rarely mention or get to the deeper self that is driven by deeper meaning and connection and purpose in the world. And so I don't always have time and space to talk about the, the, the deep passion that I have that made me want to do the podcast or sustains me doing it even when strategically. There have been lots of times while doing the show over the past 10 plus years where it was not a good strategic move or it was working against my. The time that I had and the deadlines I had or you know, know the thing that sustained me through those pockets of time was that this is something I just deeply, deeply care about. When I encounter somebody who is a creative person or a neurodivergent person and they're struggling by how much this world was built for somebody else and how dumb it can make them look when they can't show up like other people or how who they are in the way that they exist in our current culture and norms in society and economy. Often just gets written off as bad character or not trying hard enough. And when I hear that I well up, I get emotional. Even just talking about it right now I am because I feel all of that and I relate to it. And I believe also that there's a different way to move through the world. We're actually going to do maybe a series all about that calling it Neurotype Centric World building. So anyway, I'm giving you all that context to say that I am in. I gave you the most ridiculous amount of context to talk about. The first thing that I wanted to mention and it's probably, it's going to be the only thing we actually got to was that I feel like I'm in a transitionary space where I'm having battles from the two headed monster of the ego self, the strategic self that's saying this is what we need to do because it makes sense. And the part of me that is the deep part of me. And I have been listening to a lot of podcasts that are on both sides of that spectrum, not at the same time, but either side of those spectrum and trying to kind of negotiate those two parts myself. I didn't realize I was doing that. But after talking through all of this and verbally externally processing it, I'm realizing I'm going to these two extremes. And I'll give you some examples of who I've been listening to. So on the deep self side and it's kind of interesting. This has helped me figure out which one maybe needs to get a little bit more control of the next season. So maybe that's going to be the CTA for this episode. So on the, I don't know, the deep self side, I've been listening to a bit of Martha Beck's podcast. She is a PhD, I think. I don't know if it's Harvard or Stanford that she has a background in neuroscience with that, but she's also been like really championed by Oprah and written some best selling books. And I'll just be honest with you, she's kooky. She's kooky. She feels like, I don't know if anybody ever said this to her, but if I ever talk to her, I'm going to say, has anyone ever said that you could be Martin Short's sister? She really has energy. That's the biggest compliment I could give somebody. And she calls herself Marty sometimes. So I just thought it was interesting. Kind of feels like the universe was testing different ways of expressing this personality type. Here's a comedic side and here's a spiritual neuroscience, big thinker type. And so she's. For me, she's pretty woo woo. I don't necessarily agree with everything she says, but when I'm trying to find that side of myself, the deep side, that's someone I might turn to. Another person is Rob Bell, who's a spiritual thinker. And both of them were talking about. They both said something actually that led me to explore this other side of myself. They were talking a lot about. Oh no, it was also Susan Cain. Susan Cain, who wrote Bittersweet and Quiet. Bittersweet's like in my top five favorite books of all time. Definitely top five, probably top three nonfiction books of all time. And she would also be someone I would consider kind of deep self guidance. And she was saying the same thing that at least Rob Bell is saying. And they were saying that, you know, you really want to have a way of paying your bills, paying your rent, paying your insurance, doing all of that stuff and not being able to, not putting all of that on your creative self. Now that might look like somewhat creative endeavors. Like my creative practice has a lot of moving parts and a lot of income streams. Some of them are much more creative than others. But they're saying like your art, like whatever you think of as your pure art, putting all of your needs and all of your bills and all that pressure on that is not really the best thing for it. And I've said That on this show before I've experienced that myself. One of the reasons I have so many income streams is that there's nothing not ultimate pressure on any of these different things. And actually that is what led me to explore podcasts on the other side. And so I've been listening to a little bit of the podcast. I think it's called Creative Science by Jay Clouse. He's a guy who actually lives in Columbus, Ohio, but he's very much in the creator space. Building communities in the creator space, like if you're making content on the Internet and definitely much more situated in the business side of this sort of thing. And it's helped me to give space and listen to and connect with these very two different parts of myself and kind of hear their argument of what they need and where the priority needs to be. And then I can actually filter that through what's going to get on the back burner next. Like, does my deep self need time and space? Do I need to do a project that is. That has no pressure on it? It's purely. Listen to my curiosity. There have been times in my creative journey where that has been necessary and has led to my. Sometimes led to my most important work for me. And I mean important to myself, not to other people people. Sometimes I have to do that, other times the other. It's like now I'm thinking about mixing all these metaphors. Which of the two heads do you have? Are you going to put on the back burner and cook? I. That's the creative call to adventure this week. But. Or do I need to do something really practical and at different times in my journey that has looked like just getting a part time job, getting sorting out something or even getting a full time job with benefits like whatever it is, wherever you're at. Or do I need to do that before I can have the type of curiosity and lack of stress so that I can put that other thing on the back burner? So that's kind of what where I've been as we've moved, I've moved deep into picture books. I've had some success there. It's opened up new doors for me as a public speaker and podcaster and then also just become super interesting in its own right as a creative endeavor. And with all of those different things laid out, it's put me in this place of thinking, okay, well what then goes on the back burner? So that's the cta. I hope that you enjoyed this wildly tangential ADHD exploration on what I'm going through right now. I hope that it encouraged you and helped you sort some stuff out. CTA is which of the of your two heads are you putting on the back burner? That's what it's called. And is it the deep self that needs some space and time? I'd say unless you have you're kind of in a comfy spot, you probably aren't going to go with that one. But if you're not in a comfy spot, you might. Are there some quick things you could do? Are there some practical things that you can do that maybe are at odds even with this deep self, but will allow you to give space to that deep self? That that's what I'm working to right now. Reminder, if you are in the UK and you want to come draw with me and hang out, maybe have a coffee, maybe have a pint, something of that nature, or go to one of these book events, go into the show notes, you can sign up to the WhatsApp group, the channel that I will update everybody with where to meet up in these various places. And then also there will be the dates and the times of the book events for our kids book Mysterious Things. Sophie will not be there this time. I know that seems wild because she's from there, but she's actually planning a trip just in a couple months with our daughter and that's going to be a totally different thing. And so I really wanted to go to the Fringe. That's been a dream of mine for a long time. I'm doing it for my 40th birthday. So very, very excited about that. Also in the comments if you know, going to be at the Fringe that maybe I needed to check out. I've got I think three or I think I've got four shows locked in tickets for but I still have some extra time. So let me know and let me know what you thought about this very tangential episode. I hope that it was as fun as it was for me to do it. And I want to thank of course Nobody because I'm doing this episode by myself. So I'll thank Connor because he's going to filter it through our little audio video stuff and I really appreciate that. And of course thanks Sophie, Miller and Yoni and all of you for listening till we speak again. Stay pepped up.
- [43:30]
B
What if doctors could detect Alzheimer's before symptoms appear? Or treat cancer with unprecedented precision? On the new season of tomorrow's Cure the Child heart topping and 2025AMBI award finalist podcast from Mayo Clinic, we explore how breakthroughs like these are already reshaping the future of healthcare. I'm Lindsay Sievert, the new host of Tomorrow's Cure, and this season I'm joined by leading physicians, researchers, and Mayo Clinic experts exploring everything from AI powered diagnostics to precision cancer treatments. Follow Tomorrow's Cure wherever you get your podcasts. Class is now in session, and the UPS Store is here to help you ace arriving on Camp Campus. Our certified packing experts can pack everything you need, from desktops to decor. Plus, when you pack and ship with us, you get our exclusive pack and ship guarantee your items arrive safe or your money back. Restrictions and limitations apply. To get a 20% off packing coupon and for full details, visit theupsstore.com packing.