26. Your Creative Spark
Show Notes
Big 3 Ideas from this episode:
Where does the creative spark come from, and how can we strike that match?
What eclipses your spark, and why?
Making Decisions releases power into the world.
Join Metaphor Mindset Studio - 12 1-on-1 coaching sessions/6-months. Find out more at https://www.shannonborg.com/join.
Fire Circle (Rose), 2019
Oil on wood panel, 9 x 9 inches
Shannon Borg
Images from the episode, and a few examples of the creative spark and eclipse in art
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Episode 26: Your Creative Spark
Shannon: The Metaphor Mindset is a podcast for artists and creative thinkers, entrepreneurs and leaders who want to explore ideas around creativity and commerce.
Think like an artist work like a boss.
And this is episode 26, Your Creative Spark.
A creative spark needs fuel, so don't spend so much time putting on fires that you put out your own.
I'm going to try a new format today. My history with this podcast is that I've spent about two hours all together during the week thinking about it and writing the episode. Then I just read it and record it. I work in Descript so it's easy to go back and find and add sound effects, edit out the oohs and ahs, and add the intro and outro, listen to it a few times, and publish.
It sounds [00:01:00] easy and fast, but up to now, each episode has taken me about six to eight hours to record.
The first episode took me 50 years. The second episode, once I really decided to take this idea seriously, took about three months. The third episode, when I actually started writing and trying to record, get equipment, Learn how to do it, took three weeks, and then the next took 12 hours, actually struggling with the equipment, many false starts, figuring out how to do it, and then each episode got easier after that, and now I'm sitting at about six hours because I wanted to make each episode a little gem, a little creative experience with stories and clips and sound and music, And I didn't know how to do any of that.
It has been such a learning experience and so fun, and I'm proud of myself for trying to figure it out and do this by myself. No producer, no help, and now my life has [00:02:00] changed and I'm in a new place. I'm coaching a lot, I'm in school, studying for an MFA in painting in Illinois, I'm traveling more, and I've come up against a new obstacle, as we all do.
As we grow, the goal is to have new problems.
The Creative Spark and Overcoming Struggles
And I want to share with you this process I'm going through of struggling. I keep pushing that struggle button as I talk about in episode 8. And my mind, my self coaching model looks like this. When I think the thought, this podcast is hard to produce, hard to make, then my F line, my feeling, is the emotion of frustration and anxiety, then my A line, the action line that comes from my emotions is that I hide and resist and do things that are easier. Then that action line, of course, is the thing that makes the results. So my R line, I create the [00:03:00] result of that this podcast is difficult to produce.
It's hard. So right now I've been in that cycle a little bit. This past spring, I traveled to England and Wales and just did some amazing things for myself, for my art projects, for my writing, and I'm going to share all that with you. But I just wanted you to see that this cycle that I'm going through is probably so similar to all the artists that I coach go through, but I'm determined to find a way to solve this problem. And in fact, I've spent many years working with the same problem. I discovered coaching. I discovered the model. The Life Coach School gave me the tool, the self coaching model, where I could look at my thoughts, see how my thoughts really determined my emotions and the actions I took, and then of course what my result was.
The [00:04:00] and I was in this process with so many projects of putting it off. Taking the easy road, doing a little bit at a time, spreading my energy all over the place so I never finished one thing. I'd move on to the next thing that was easier or felt easier.
The Power of Decisions and Creative Energy
So today I want to talk about the creative spark, that original energy and fuel that drove this podcast idea.
And that drives all of our individual ideas for our art projects, for our businesses, entrepreneurship, for anything. When you can find that original energy, that emotion, that really drives your action. For me, is what can help me overcome the struggle. For me, it is this thought. I believe that art changes lives because it has changed my life.
Then the emotion that comes from that thought is for me, I feel [00:05:00] expansive and empowered. So I'm practicing thinking that thought more often.
Art changes lives. It has changed my life. And it is changing the lives of my clients.
So finding a way to make it work so I can get these ideas out that I think that I know will help you artists help my clients out there and help me to grow people who are artists starting businesses out there changing lives, changing your own life, and then the lives of your family and the people around you.
So when I think that thought art changes lives, it has changed my life and it is changing the lives of those around me, then I feel excited, grounded, confident in what I'm doing and expansive.
So my actions become more active. I dig in to figure out how to create more ease in this process for [00:06:00] myself so it can go on longer into the future. My goal for this year, for 2024, is to create one podcast for every month.
It was originally to create one podcast every month, but now I'm creating one podcast for every month because I'm behind. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. It may take me two years to create this 12 podcast series. And that's okay because I want to have 12 episodes that focus on one number, the number of that month, one shape, the shape that works with that number, and one idea for the month.
So this is episode three for the year. This is March, the third month, the number three.
Exploring the Symbolism of the Triangle
The triangle. And to me, the triangle here represents [00:07:00] rising up, like flame, rising out of the two dimensions of decision making. We talked about having two sides of the spectrum, positive and negative space. And sometimes we go back and forth on ideas, but at some point we have to make a decision.
So those two dimensions rise into three. The dot was all about presence and oneness. Two is the line connecting those two dots. Dualities of dark and light. The dot is the quiet yin, the line, the active yang. The triangle rises out of this. So when you need to make a decision and you're in that back and forth between two places, when you're waffling, so much energy is wasted.
But when you make a decision, whether it is what to paint, what color to use, what format, what medium, what to sell, What to do next? Once that decision is made, there is a [00:08:00] creative spark. As my coach, Brooke Castillo says, Decisions release power into the world. This is the creative spark, the power of decisions.
So this is the energy and creativity of the triangle that rises up. One and two are the fuel for three. The I Ching talks about it this way in the 30th hexagram of the I Ching called the clinging. Fire over fire.
It says fire upon fire feeding the inner flame. So this is from one of my I Ching books, fire will not burn on its own, but must cling to the fuel that feeds it. Too, does the superior person seek fuel to feed the spiritual fire, lest it burn out from neglect. As the flame within grows brighter, it adds light to the world and improves it.
Clinging to what is true and right brings good fortune. End quote.
And [00:09:00] in poet David Hinton's wonderful translation of the I Ching, he calls it, instead of the clinging, he calls it radiance. And this is his description, or his translation. Inexhaustible and penetrating everywhere, radiance brings forth wild bounty. Radiance is all beauty of haven's sun and moon, beauty of the land's hundred grains and grasses and trees, sun and moon, using the beauty at the hinge of things.
I love that, at the hinge of things. They transform and perfect all beneath heaven. That hinge for me is like when a decision is made. So he goes on, using it, a great sage illuminates everything to the four corners of the world with fiery light, radiance of yellow color of the earth. That is the origin of good [00:10:00] fortune.
So it is important to make those decisions and control that fuel to have enough of it, the creative energy to keep your fire going.
The Importance of Emotional Fuel
And where does that energy come from? I would say that it comes from our emotions, those chemicals going around in our body. When we have the spark, we get adrenaline, we get dopamine, we get all the different neurotransmitters that basically tell our body what to do.
Whether we should be scared, or excited, or happy, or Lazy or hungry or active or sleeping or whatever. All of those are physical sensations that are so connected to our emotional sensations and our emotions come from our thoughts. So I encourage you to cultivate those thoughts that will help you create the energy that you need to be in the place where your spark has fuel.
Then, that triangle can rise up. In [00:11:00] fact, in ancient Greece, the triangle was the symbol for fire. It's like a pyramid. It focuses the point upward, and that energy is the energy of creativity. So today,
I'll offer you a few thoughts to practice that might help you work on your creative self concept. Nurture that emotional fuel you might need to light that flame. One, art changes lives. Two, I believe that showing up for myself in my art brings others too. We have anxiety around putting ourselves out there. We have fear or trepidation. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know if people will come and like what we do. But when we're working with the thought that I believe that showing up for myself in my art brings others, to, that helps you to have an emotion that will drive your actions of confidence.
and of [00:12:00] creation and just sticking to your goals.
Then when people ask what you do, then you can have that energy of I'm making art. I'm changing the world.
Here's a little tool that I have been using recently to help myself when I'm down. I love acronyms. My mind just works in little systems like that. And acronyms are like what the poet William Carlos Williams once said, a poem is a machine made of words.
An acronym is a little machine made of words to help you remember things.
The WAFFLE Acronym for Decision Making
So my acronym for you today is Waffle.
When I'm waffling, I use this acronym. The W means who before how. Remember who you are and the how will come more easily. The A is Action. Action creates clarity. Then you can go to the next step and make the next decision. The first F is fail.
[00:13:00] My latest mantra is "Success can feel like failure the whole time until you stop and look back and see how far you've come."
The second F is forward. So I love that idea of failing forward. The L is learn. What did you learn from that action? Whether it was a quote unquote failure, success or otherwise. And then the E is evolve.
So this is a cycle that we go through over and over again. Remember who you are and the how will come easily. Take action because action creates clarity, fail forward, learn and evolve.
When I started Metaphor Mindset Studio, I was just as new to this and trepidatious and anxious as anyone. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to offer. I got certified as a life coach. I just started to figure it out as I went along. And I thank my friends and my first artists that [00:14:00] I coached so much for being there to respond to what I was doing.
Was it working? Was it helping them? As I grew, as I learned how to coach, I gained more confidence. I took that action. Sometimes I failed. But mostly I move forward. I learned and I have evolved. So Metaphor Mindset Studio now is a six month program. And we, you and I meet for 12 sessions every other week for six months.
And I really realize that it takes this long
to work through the things that you need. And Metaphor Mindset Studio also includes the option. of building your art website on Squarespace. I only work on Squarespace because I discovered it, I learned how to do it, and I'm continually refining my skills on Squarespace. I really feel like it's the best platform for artists.
It's beautiful. It's simple to [00:15:00] use once you get past that learning curve, just like anything. So what I'm doing is I'm there for you to get your website started and help you learn how to use it. So you don't have to rely on someone else and you'll get quick at it. So Metaphor Mindset Studio, we meet 12 sessions one on one for six months.
And we work on your website. If you already have a Squarespace website, it's great because we can go really deep into your current Squarespace website. If you already have a website that's on another platform, that's fine. You just join Metaphor Mindset Studio and you get other things out of my program.
Because again, 12 sessions. I couldn't go nuts and bolts into your website on another platform. But I could definitely give you help and advice about how to do your blog, your newsletter, how to sell products, how to sell paintings, and all the other things I teach inside Metaphor Mindset Studio. So the website is just one part [00:16:00] of it, but it's a big part because people spend a lot of money to have their websites built.
In your creative practice, your business, we set goals, we talk through mindset blocks, we work on new ideas, we work through problems, and we celebrate your wins,
So you have the one on one coaching for six months, but you'll have lifetime access to the Metaphor Mindset Studio member portal.
So over the years, I've developed a five step process. And this is how it's happened. I've learned from you from artists. I've incorporated ideas and concepts from what I've learned from my various coaches and also from my own personal process of journaling and reading and thinking
to help you create a business you love as much as you love your art we want to be successful. We want to have abundance. And also, we want to work on how we think and feel about it.
Because that's the thing that makes this fuel happen.
my first step. [00:17:00] is Artist, know thyself. One artist know thyself. So first we take a look at your mind, your creative process. We do two assessments, the Enneagram, which looks at your emotional patterns and the Kolbe A Index. Which takes a look at the way that you work best when you're striving. And we ask these questions. Are you focused on the right things?
What do you really want to do? Where do you really want to go with your art? people come to me and ask, Help me sell my art. Help me set up an online store. Or, how do you do social media to do their work? And this is all of the how, right? This is all of the stuff that you may not know which buttons to push or really how to set things up.
You may have some tech fears or some anxiety around that and we can work on that. But often when [00:18:00] people come to me and say that, help me sell my art. They haven't slowed down to think about what they really want, to consider how they work best, to consider does this fit into their lifestyle, to consider all the different options, the different business models that might work really well for them.
So this is an important part of the process. Artist, know thyself. I feel like we need to slow down, look at everything, understand where you're at, what you want, and find the way for yourself. Step two, believe in yourself and manage your mind. This is where we work on your self concept as an artist.
Creating an art business is a mindfuck sometimes. There's so much going on in social media. People are making vastly different amounts of money. And so many artists are experiencing imposter syndrome, anxiety. But it's your job as an artist to believe in yourself. That's your number one job to believe in [00:19:00] yourself and your work Then you move outward to believing in your collectors or believing in your business model, in your business, and to believe in art in general.
So we work on that belief, that self concept as an artist. I also have a new course called Embrace Imposter Syndrome. It's really fun. It's 10 modules, and it goes deep into imposter syndrome. what it is, the history of it, why it's a problem, what it actually does to your brain, and how to use its power.
Because of course, all of this is just energy, power, thoughts, emotions. And when we have imposter syndrome, we're just taking all of that energy and we're taking those logs and spreading them out or using the energy against us to burn our own house down.
So I talk about how you can actually step by step use the power of imposter syndrome to fuel your self concept, to add gasoline [00:20:00] to that fire, to crank up your self concept so you're not eclipsing yourself. You're not putting out that light. You're not burning your own house down. You're not wasting your beautiful creative energy on just spinning inside your own mind, creating this big dark eclipse that covers up your light.
This year we experienced a full eclipse and I was here in Illinois in the path of totality and I really got to experience the awesome power of light and darkness. That big ball of creative fire so many millions of miles away that makes our lives possible. And the eclipse is such a great reminder that we need both darkness and light.
And when we get in our own way, when we allow our instinctual survival brain to eclipse our executive function, we need to put on that leader hat and keep the vision of what the future holds and walk that path. . And I want that for you, that you can stay more [00:21:00] often.
in the light of the thoughts that help you move forward. And I have some cool old vintage images of eclipses on my website, Metaphormindset. com. That's where you can go to hear this episode. You can get the transcript. You can see the fun art images. I put up images every episode, and then also you can find more out about Metaphor Mindset Studio.
Okay. On to step three. Step three is Understand Your Value. Every particular artist has a different gift, different ideas and skills to offer the world. Sometimes we don't even know what our value is and we're working in some area where we're missing out totally on another area that could provide you income or value or that you would even like more.
So working with a coach. Helps us together. See your work and your goals from a distance and helps you see your value so you can focus on that [00:22:00] and not hide behind your own insecurity and doubt, but bring it out and look at it. Assess what you have to offer what you want to offer so you can make better decisions about this for yourself.
Step four, Build and Communicate Your Value. So I teach you the basics of business, marketing and sales, the creative way, not only so you can feel more comfortable selling your work, but also so you can realize how important it is that you keep going. You keep learning. You keep building those skills. It's that baby steps and breakthroughs idea.
You keep taking the baby steps and then eventually you get a breakthrough and then sometimes you have to go back to the baby steps again. And just keep going. But those skills will come, even though it's very uncomfortable sometimes. And as a coach, I'm there to help you through this process. Finally, step five.
Step five is Make Offers, Make Impact when you go through these five [00:23:00] steps, artist, know thyself, build belief and manage your mind, understand your value, build and communicate your value, and then make offers. The last part, make impact is the next logical place to land. Making impact is the next compelling move for your art. You want to share it with people.
You want to engage in whatever community you're in. And then you have more of this energy. You believe in yourself. Then the creative spark is there and it's fueled by an energy so powerful that nothing will keep you from moving forward.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
When I look at an artist like Louise Bourgeois, who lived to be 99 years old and when someone asked her what she did, she said, I transform hate into love.
That's what we do. We transform the world. We transform these things that we see in the world [00:24:00] into something new. We transform hate into love. So art does change the world and you are one of those flames. You are the fuel for your own art and art is your fuel. So you see how this becomes like a flywheel.
In this my 60th year, and as I said, I am a wood dragon. This is the year I turned 60. I am the fire tender. I'm your coach that pokes at that fire a bit, that stands with you around the campfire. And sometimes we just have to stare into it. How you're standing around a campfire or beach bonfire.
We all just want to stare into it because it's just so powerful and beautiful. Flame is not solid. It's not gas. It's not liquid. Fire is the fourth state. It's plasma. It's its own really interesting almost imaginary thing that comes and goes so quickly.
So as your coach, I stand around [00:25:00] that fire with you, sometimes processing important, strong emotion, sometimes just getting inspired and sometimes making plans for the future. I help you bring those logs together to add more fuel. For some of you, you feel the spark has gone out.
And that's why I say, Don't spend so much time putting out fires for others that you put your own fire out.
So I help you build it. I help you tend to it to make sure it stays in check. When your mind is all over the place, I help you think through something or just settle down when you want to burn the whole place down together. Whether we can use that fire that's in you to grow your art, to create a business you love to make a beautiful soup.
Thank you.
I hope you have a decisively creative month.
