Out of 20 hours of chaos, madness and creative despair, I’m proud to release my new Podcast episode!
Hey guys,
It’s been 24 hours when life flexes its muscles and cracks one square into the midriff of your plans.
I’d hoped today to stay on schedule with the Podcast but had back-to-back postponements with my guests.
No desperate drama, just old-fashioned disruption!
As such, I faced a dilemma.
24 hours, what to do with the Podcast?
Delay, skip, or dive in?
It’s a question so many of us face:
We want to be consistent, but well, life, right!?
And suddenly, a form of torment rears up; keep to the schedule or consent to the fates?
I have to be careful with this because I can fall victim to my own dictator. He’s an old devil with no qualms about pushing me to the edge. And in a world that has a mania for productivity, I’ve worked hard to establish a different space in my being.
Part of that space though, is that I want to stay true to myself.
And I’ve found great joy in knuckling down this year to the twin pillars of my creative life: this newsletter and my podcast.
So, having checked in with myself last night and determined that my motivation was from a healthy place, I decided to dig in.
Sometimes, you must stand your ground when the world is trying to blow us off course.
And standing your ground is about transforming what you resist into opportunity.
What is the opportunity?
So often, it is something we had hoped to do but now must do.
I love interviewing others on my Podcast, learning about their lives and diving deep into their stories.
But I am also excited by Podcasts as a creative medium in themselves.
That is, trying to use the format differently and innovatively.
So, yesterday, I decided it was time to experiment.
I started.
And then it spiralled out of control!
10 hours straight, wrestling with the best and worst of yourself, leaning into the edges of determination, pushing through exhaustion.
Because you’ve dam well set your mind to get something made.
Sometimes you have to will something in existence.
And so here I am, the morning after.
I have no idea what I’ve made!
I will go back, listen, make adjustments and then decide whether to send it to the world.
Whether I do or not, a couple of takeaways:
Sometimes, leaning into the edges of your determination is good. It’s a muscle you should feel confident you can activate when necessary.
When disappointed by the outside world, remember it doesn’t represent a finality. You still have agency over how you react.
Creativity is often stimulated not by what we can do but by what we can’t.
Remember: crisis is a creative tool.
When you can't do what you planned, do what you’ve been avoiding.
Okay, guys, I’m finishing here because it’s time to dash back to my absurdity!
Today has reminded me that giving your best sometimes means letting go of perfectionism.
I hope you enjoy it if it happens to be attached when I send it - do let me know!
Love, Jim