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- [00:02]
A
Hey, welcome to this bonus episode of Daring Creativity podcast. This is where I revisit the interview published early in the week. This is my opportunity to find a few standout moments and zoom in on them for extra value and meaning. This week I talked to Amelia Nash, a Canadian born, New York based, multi hyphenated designer who had a conversation about daring to ask questions. Her attitude towards life is admirable. And this conversation produced four standout moments that I believe perfectly summarizing our conversation.
- [00:37]
B
I'm so curious and I like to do a lot of things and I like to do a lot of things well. And I really throw my entire self into everything that I do. I don't like to, I don't like to half ass things and I don't like to just dip a toe in. I'm like, if I'm going to do this thing, I'm going to do it. And then we'll see what happens.
- [01:01]
A
So this moment reveals the fundamental difference between people who create extraordinary careers and those who remain stuck. Melia's all in mentality is what separates her from the majority of people who approach opportunities tentatively, always keeping one toe in a comfort zone. When you fully commit to something, several powerful forces come into play. First, you activate what in psychology is called cognitive consistency. Your brain works harder to make your actions align with your commitments. Secondly, full commitment signals to the others that you're serious and that opens doors that remain close to half hearted attempts. So this is why Amelia could quit her job during the pandemic to freelance. She moved to New York in the middle of the pandemic without having been there before. And why she consistently gets accepted to competitive programs. When you show up fully committed, the universe responds differently. Employers, clients and opportunities gravitate toward people who demonstrate complete dedication. And for those who might know Amelia, they very much know that quote. That philosophy is 100% what she is and not what she just says. Let's pick out the second moment.
- [02:24]
B
And there were some conversations where essentially I was told that I talked too much, that I asked too many questions and I was really just there to produce what they needed. So it was kind. That was really the point where I'm like, okay, well I can stay here and continue to do this cyclical design work of annual trade shows and signage and doing the things that I've already been doing for four years, or I can go down a different path.
- [02:58]
A
So this moment represents one of the most crucial career recognition points for any creative professional that we can experience what Amelia's employers saw as a problem behavior was actually her outgrowing the role and recognizing that distinction changed everything. When you're asking too many questions, you're actually signaling that you've developed beyond your current position. Questions indicate curiosity, strategic thinking, and a desire to understand the bigger picture. There are leadership qualities, no production worker traits. And Amelia's workers wanted an executor, but she wanted to become a strategist. I believe asking questions is a superpower. Asking better questions, relentless question. It is what makes you grow. And very much signal to the others that you want to know more and grow. Because in our rapidly changing creative landscapes, the ability to ask insightful questions is becoming more valuable than having all the answers. Emilia's problem was actually her superpower. She just needed to find environment that valued it. Let's talk about the third standout moment now.
- [04:14]
B
Not to say that I haven't had my fair share of disappointments, of course, but I give myself one day to grief, I give myself one day to grieve, where yes, I feel those feelings, I feel those emotions, and then I move on. And it's either gonna be like, okay, what do I re attempt this? What can I do to improve this? Or was this just not the right time, the right place, the not the right opportunity for me?
- [04:39]
A
This absolutely floored me. Because it perhaps reveals the most practical and most powerfully emotional strategy for creative professionals. Amelia has essentially created a systematic approach to resilience that allows her to take more risks and recover faster from setbacks. I can again cycle back to my conversation with Liz Mosey. She very much talk about the time how she takes to recover from a rejection. And in Emilia's case, the one day to grief, even though it sometimes spills out to more than 24 hours, is such a powerful self recognizing moment that helps her to move on and grow. Because in creative fields, rejection is constant. I don't think I'm done talking about rejection on this show and I don't think I ever will be done about rejection. Whether it's from clients, employers, publishers, galleries, social media, idiots, it's the speed of emotional recovery that directly correlates to career success. Others might spend weeks or months processing a rejection. Amelia is already moving on to the next opportunity and this gives her a massive volume advantage. You can notice that she says that after one day she shifts to analysis. What can I improve? Was this not the right fit? This prevent rejections from becoming about her worth and keeps it focused on strategic iteration. She turned emotional processing into business development tool. And the last moment I would like to talk about is this one.
- [06:16]
B
There's this really wonderful quote that I have from Glennon Doyle that I have pinned up on my wall that says being human is not about feeling happy, it's about feeling everything. And that's the way in which I want to move forward with my life is I want to feel everything, do everything, try everything, because I don't want to be on my deathbed being like, damn, I really wish that I had the courage to pursue that thing.
- [06:42]
A
If there's a moment to summarize daring, Creativity is one of these quotes and Amelia nails it because it cuts to existential core of creative risk taking and reveals the driving force behind her approach to life and career. It's a mortality based decision making framework that recontextualizes every career choice. Do you ask yourself that question? Do you reverse engineer back your career and ask yourself, this is what I want to achieve? Because a lot of people, or shall I say it's easy to see the world from today forward, whereas we don't know the day when the lights will get switched off. But we can practice and think about the fact how do we want to get there, what do we want to bear with us and how do we want to celebrate our life in retrospect? In Emilia's case, by projecting herself to the end of life, she has created the ultimate decision making filter. This perspective immediately separates truly important opportunities from day to day noise. When viewed from this lens, the fear of trying something becomes smaller than the fear of never trying. So this quote and moment reveals that she doesn't see herself as naturally fearless. She specifically mentions needing courage to pursue things. This is crucial because it shows that bravery isn't personality trait she was born with, but it is a muscle she's developed through practice. And this makes her approach accessible to others. In research, it shows that people regret things they didn't do far more. They think they tried and failed. And Amelia has internalized this psychological truth and uses it as a fuel. And she's essentially choosing temporary discomfort over permanent regret. I don't think I could choose a better quote for this bonus episode and for this show overall. For the show theme that I'm running at the moment because it summarizes everything and I would like to ask you questions. What is it that you want to do that you don't want to regret? And when will you start doing it? Let me know. Thank you for joining me on this bonus episode and I'll see you next week.