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The world needs your creativity, friend.
And in today’s episode of the podcast, I’m diving into why this season is the perfect time to cultivate your creative practice, take a step inward, and pour into yourself.
Reflecting on the natural rhythms of fall and winter, I explore how these seasons call us to rest, reflect, and restore, encouraging creatives like you and me to follow that rhythm by nurturing our inner world and embracing practices that bring our creativity back to life.
Ways to Cultivate Your Creative Practice:
- Seasonal Reflection and Creativity
I share how observing seasonal changes in nature can inspire us as creatives to honor this time as one of personal renewal. Just as the trees shed their leaves and settle into winter, we too can take time to turn inward, which fuels our future creative growth. - The Importance of Self-Care for Creative Fulfillment
I talk about the importance of nurturing creativity for your own enjoyment, without the pressure to monetize it. Our creativity doesn’t always have to serve productivity or profit—it can simply enrich our lives and support our overall well-being. - Reclaiming Creativity in a Capitalistic World
Exploring how capitalism often influences our creative lives, I discuss the value of reclaiming creativity as a source of joy and self-expression. For those who are interested, I suggest checking out Maurice Harris (@blumeandplume on Instagram) for a fresh perspective on creative practice outside of a profit-driven mindset. - Ideas for Cultivating Your Creative Practice
I offer a few practical ideas for reconnecting with creativity, including:- Going on a solo “artist date” to feed your inner artist
- Playing around in your closet with your wardrobe
- Experimenting with cooking for fun
- Visiting the library to explore new topics
- Spending time in nature and observing the season
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: A classic for creatives looking to tap into daily practices like “morning pages” or solo artist dates that inspire and refuel.
- A Year in Practice by Jacqueline Suskind: A seasonal guide to living and creating in sync with nature’s cycles, offering practices and wisdom for each season.
Your Creativity Matters
I hope this conversation reminds you that taking care of your creativity isn’t just about productivity; it’s about finding joy and fulfillment in the process. In a world that often feels uncertain, I truly believe that our art, voices, and creative passion are needed now more than ever.
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Please note this transcript has been auto generated and may contain typos.
Hi friend and welcome to the Brand Strategy Podcast, a show created to equip you with the inspiration, encouragement and clarity you need to build a brand of your dreams. I’m your host Bonnie Bakhtiari, brand designer, strategist, and founder of the Illume Retreat. From sustainable strategy to heartfelt encouragement, each episode is designed to equip you with the tools you need to chase after your dreams. Because you deserve a brand that empowers you to do what you love, connects with your dream clients, and offers a deep sense of fulfillment along the way. So grab a cup of coffee and join me on this journey, won’t you?
Hey friends, welcome back to the Brand Strategy Podcast where today we’re gonna talk about creativity. Specifically your creativity and Why the world needs your creativity this season now more than ever. If we look at the season that we are experiencing, for a lot of us depending on where you live in the world, it is the holidays, it’s fall, it’s autumn. Winter is fast approaching! And this is a time that is filled with a lot of gathering, a lot of celebration. It’s also a time that’s filled with this kind of sense of going inward, this sense of rest, restoration, and reflection. If we look to nature and we see what nature is doing outside, it’s a lot of the same, right? Instead of watching trees and plants and flowers and all of these things in these big seasons of explosive growth, we’re watching them… we’re watching them fall. We’re watching them die. We’re watching them go back into their roots into the soil. We’re watching them, you know, drop their seeds and focus on the kind of the ending of their life cycle. And, and that is something that happens in nature, as you might know, because winter is a crucial component that prepares the earth for the coming growth of spring and then the bounty of summer and then the harvest of autumn and so on and so forth.
So why does that matter to you as a creative as a business owner? Well, it matters because we are a part of nature. And so what we’re seeing happen outside in the natural world is in some ways happening within you as well and this is a time especially in Western society where we’re asked to spend a lot of time and energy externally around the holidays, you know, there’s a lot of family gatherings.There’s a lot of You know professional commitments There’s you know gifts to be purchased and wrapped and gifted and so many wonderful things to be sure but a lot of A lot of things that are asking something of you as well but this kind of feels like an antithesis to that feeling of going inward and pouring back into yourself and so where this kind of comes in how this ties in with your creativity is Now is a really beautiful time for you to be pouring back into yourself Not just you know to to take care of yourself and to prepare yourself for the coming holidays And the winter months, but also because your creativity deserves to be nurtured Something that I see especially in in, you know kind of the lives and the journeys of creatives like designers and floral artists and You know interior designers wedding planners people who are doing a lot of creating and so copywriters especially thinking about How you are pouring back into that inner well of your creativity? Directly impacts your ability to pour back out into the world around you and not only that it directly impacts how you feel the quality of your creative process and the quality of life that you’re Experiencing and that’s really what matters. Um, I think sometimes within the online business space Nurturing their creativity can kind of be something that’s co-opted for the sake of capitalism And that’s something that doesn’t really resonate with me, you know, maybe it maybe it does with you maybe it doesn’t and if you want you kind of tiptoe a little bit more into this concept of You know how capitalism really doesn’t care about your creativity someone that I recommend checking out on Instagram is Maurice Harris over at @blumeandplume. He has an incredible series of Reels that really focus on creativity as a practice and how that How that can thrive in spite of oppressive systems like capitalism.
But the reason why I bring that into the conversation is really, if you look at how we are creating as creatives and the way that we are Tapping into that inner sense of inspiration so that we can create beautiful things for ourselves for our clients for our customers so that we can bring thoughtful and innovative solutions to the way that we run our businesses and then even The way that we live our lives and the way that we are engaging with the people in our lives who matter most to us and It’s easy to fall into that mindset of thinking like I need to take care of myself in this way and I need to like foster my creativity so I can You know make more money so I can do more things so I can you know launch this new offer or Really whatever and but I would encourage you to think about nurturing your creativity Especially in this autumn and upcoming winter season from a standpoint of how can I foster my creativity for myself?
Like years and years and years ago I girlbossed way too close to design and I turned my hobby of Graphic design into the business that I have today and in that process I took something that I was doing purely for fun and I demanded that it Make me a paycheck I demanded that it pay my bills and I think that for so many of us as creatives we can relate to that where we took something that we felt passionate about and we saw the Opportunity to help people and we saw the opportunity to make a living doing something that we love and oh my gosh Isn’t that the dream, right? But then what happens is if you start to experience a modicum of success and a modicum of growth Then you start to realize whoa This thing that I was doing for fun is now this thing that is paying my bills and it doesn’t feel fun Anymore because that pressure kind of takes some of the joy out of it.So what happens is There’s a need to reclaim your creativity There’s a need to reclaim that sense of fun and joy and passion in the work that you do And if you’re not able to do that, then I think it’s important to find other outlets where your creativity can thrive and where you can kind of reacquaint yourself with what it feels like to be new at something and to play with it and to Experiment and and see what that looks like and feels like for you So if that is resonating with you today and you’re thinking you know What as we go into the upcoming months, I would really love to Foster my creativity spend more time with it and pour back into myself in that way just because you deserve it Then here are a few ways that I found to be supportive.
Of course, as with everything that I share here on the podcast, these are suggestions. This is not like an extensive list of what you have to do and certainly if None of this resonates then that’s totally fine because ultimately I’m making suggestions but you are the one who gets to make the decisions of what aligns with how you want to live your life and Really how you define success? but if you’re looking for some places to start when it comes to playing with your creativity and pouring back into yourself in that way and Here are some things to consider.
First and foremost go on a solo date that feeds your inner artist Next up play around with what you wear play around with fashion wear the outfit that Maybe you might not reach for day in and day out, but it makes you happy because your happiness matters Try to Experiment in the kitchen if you’re so inclined so bake the really complicated recipe that you’ve had your eye on If anything just just for fun just for the practice of it just for the meditative process that can Come to life when we’re working with our hands in the kitchen Play more music in your day to day Especially in those kind of everyday moments that you might want to romanticize like that morning cup of coffee brewing yourself a cup of tea Anything that could use a little bit more joy, if you have access to a local library in your area, I highly encourage you to take yourself there and Dive into a series of books or a series of topics that just peaks your curiosity It might not be something that you know a lot about and in my case. I find that delightful I love to learn so exploring your local library diving into those resources and seeing what speaks to you and the best part about that is it is completely free if you have a furry pet like a dog or if you have a friend or a Partner or someone in your life who would enjoy this this time with you go on a walk You know this time of year Especially if the weather allows is a beautiful time to go out and to observe the changing of the seasons and to observe what that’s like and Then also it gives you the added benefit of spending that time with the person that you’re walking with or spending quality time with with your dog as you’re walking together and I highly encourage you throughout this process.Whatever it is that you’re doing However, it is that you are playing and that you are pouring back into yourself and you are fostering that creativity I highly encourage you to take a moment just to marvel At what it feels like to be here Right now what it feels like to be existing in this tiny moment of your life on this beautiful spinning planet in space if you are feeling that you are needing to justify the time and energy that you’re pouring into You know these these hobbies these outlets these creative practices I want to remind you that none of these things that you do ever have to make you money because You are living a life that is yours and you deserve to experience this wild Wonderful life of yours on your own terms. Not everything you have to do is for content, not everything you do needs to tie back into your business or be a viable business expense, right? Because if we think back to in a lot of our cases the way that we started our businesses, the way that we got into this creative work, we were creative long before we were business owners. So your creativity is a part of who you are. Don’t forget to nurture that creativity because it is yours and it is precious.
If you’re wanting to explore this concept of nurturing your creativity coming back to it a little bit more I Highly recommend looking into the book the artist’s way by Julia Cameron It is a book that I have pulled some incredibly meaningful practices from like the solo artist state Practicing morning pages daily is another Method that comes from that book and it’s something that I bought myself a copy of it Years and years ago when I first started my business and I was recovering from one of my like first rounds of burnout and I Loved it then and it was so transformative for me and really helpful And I find that I come back to it time and time again like over my career and over the span of my life I found that there are times when something like that is Supportive and it feels truly helpful So that’s that’s a book that I would definitely recommend and then also if you’re thinking a little bit more about looking at things seasonally running your business running your creative practice from a component of seasonality and kind of mirroring what we see occurring in nature a book that I dove into earlier this year that I would recommend is called a year in practice by Jacqueline Susskind and it is a book that’s actually broken up into the four seasons that shares some creative practices and some just advice about living in time with the seasons and how One season kind of flows into the other and how you can reflect that Through your creative practice and through your journey as an artist now as We are exploring how creativity shows up and how creativity is something that you experience in your day-to-day I hope that you remember that it matters and it matters because you matter and it matters because When you are feeling inspired and when your creative well feels full and when you are pouring out into your arts into your business into your work into your Relationships into the world around you from that place of overflow good things happen and you are contributing it to the world in meaningful ways and when we look towards not only the season that we’re living in but also Just the time that we’re living in this time of being alive in the world at this specific moment in history.I believe that The world needs your art it needs your voice it needs your passion and it needs your creativity and All of that happens when we are taking care of ourselves and when we are taking care of ourselves we are able to better take care of others the people in our lives in our communities and our families and That’s a beautiful thing.
So I hope that What we talked about today gives you some good food for thought as always if it’s not Meeting you at the right time in your journey That’s totally fine. Hang on to whatever you want.Keep it in your back pocket for later or don’t it’s totally up to you but However, you’re moving forward. I hope that you are taking care of yourself taking care of your creativity and That you are experiencing joy through that process And I’m grateful that you’ve tuned in to This episode of the podcast today and that you are here in this space sharing part of your day with me.
Thank you so much for joining me today friend before you go I would be so grateful to receive your feedback on the brand strategy podcast If you enjoyed this episode or the podcast in general has helped you grow your brand I’d really appreciate it If you left us a review in iTunes Your positive reviews enable the brand strategy podcast to continue to grow and reach like-minded creatives Just like you thank you for all your support and encouragement as together We pursue building brands with purpose and intention until next time. I’m cheering you on from Waco.
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