Any person that isn't willing to go to a deeper place to access their own creativity, you're doing yourself a disservice. There is not another you, and you have a unique take and spin on whatever it is that, you know, your gift is.
Welcome to the Legacy Creator Podcast, a show dedicated to giving you the tools you need to build a profitable, purposeful, and powerful business that lasts. I'm your host, Ashton Smith. I'm a sixth-generation entrepreneur who is passionate about helping you think bigger so that you can actualize your goals and build your legacy.
Let's dive in.
Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Legacy Creator Podcast. We have a fun guest. Hi. This is Jordan. A lot of you guys will know her if you follow us on social. She's a part of our team and, um, we're keeping the first season, um, pretty quiet when it comes to guests because we really wanted to just set the tone for the show. So Jordan's our first guest—yay—because she's part of the team. And she's a huge reason why we're able to do what we do at The Awakening, so I'm so excited for today.
Quick intro to Jordan. Jordan graduated from Campbell University with a bachelor's in business administration in 2021. She's now the creative director at The Awakening where she's responsible for all photography, video editing, graphic design, and creative campaigns. So she just does everything. Um, and she's a creative to the core. In her spare time, she loves to write poetry, spend time with family, and listen to music from the '60s and the '70s. Ooh. So Jordan, as we dive in, share a fun fact about yourself.
Oh God. I always like, when we did that in college classes, I never knew what to say. I don't even remember what I would say for those questions. But I would, like the first thing that came to my mind was when I was born, I came out of the womb twirling into this world, okay. And, you know, it's just a weird fun fact because the doctor looked at my dad and was like, "Have you ever seen that before?" And he was like, "No." And like the doctor had never seen that before. And I just felt like I was so unique and just came spinning into this world, you know.
Literally came spinning into the world. I just feel like that just set the tone for Jordan's life because Jordan lives her life like she is a fairy. We always joke about how we wish we could live in a musical. Um, like for a day. Mm-hmm. So I just feel like that sets the tone for who you are. Yes. Um, and I feel like it's just really fitting that we're gonna have our first discussion together on the podcast about creativity, because Jordan literally is like the creative behind the brand. Like, I'm kind of the face and, and I speak and I talk and I create, like I write. But Jordan is like the one that takes care of all of our visuals. She helps us with campaigns, the one that we actually just put on for the launch of the podcast. And it's something that we get asked about or like people will comment on quite often, they're like, you know, "Where do you guys get these ideas?" Mm-hmm. Or like, you know, "How do you do this?" Like, you always put out things that are like, you know, different. And that's like not to toot our horn, but like we are really intentional with wanting to create things that are meaningful or different or stand out. Um, and so today we're specifically gonna talk about how to access your creative voice in a noisy world.
I feel like this is relevant for a couple of reasons. I think first and foremost, like we're all designed to create—Mm-hmm.—in one form or fashion. Like someone may be a painter, someone else may have like creative solutions in business. Like, we all have creativity inside of us. And then number 2, this is so relevant when it comes to like building your business online. Mm-hmm. I mean, you're creating content all the time and we get questions about how are you so consistent or how do you create things that are different, that are stand out? How do you like tap into that place? And that's really where we wanna kind of like focus our energy, um, for this particular episode.
Imagine with me for a second, it's Monday morning. You sit down at your desk with clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. You know exactly what to do in order to move your business forward in the form of impact and cash flow. This is a reality for so many inside our Awakening membership, and it's possible for you too. If you're ready to effectively structure your time, actualize your goals without the burnout, and amplify your impact and revenue, our membership can help. As a Podcast Insider, you can join today and get half off of your first month. Head to myawakening.co/membership and use the code LEGACYINSIDER in all caps at checkout. Again, head to myawakening.co/membership and use the code LEGACYINSIDER in all caps at checkout. We can't wait to serve you on the inside. Now, back to the episode.
Let's kind of kick start with actually defining like, what is creativity?
Creativity. We were looking up definitions for this. The first definition that came up was "the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work." Um, but I really like some of the similar words. Uh, innovation, inventiveness and imagination. And like you said, you were talking about, um, we're all like creative in our own ways. I like to think of it as like we're all, no matter if you're like artistic or not, we're all like little creators and we're all like creating things, you know? And especially on this podcast, we're talking a lot about like entrepreneurship and running businesses and everything, and one of the similar words to creativity is innovation. And I feel like that ties in so well with like the entrepreneurial like spirit, you know. And, um, yeah, I just found that, that definition so, uh, wonderful because I like the, the use of the imagination and specifically the term, like, original ideas. Um, when it comes to, like, creating graphics and things for The Awakening specifically, it's like, that's my number one thing in the back of my mind is like, "How can we be original?" Because you see so much of the same stuff online, um, and that's just the nature of it, you know. You see things and you kind of, like, take that in, and you might even, like, unintentionally kind of, you know, create things that look similar to someone else or whatnot. But, um, that's like the number one thing I strive for because you wanna, like, use your own creativity, your own ideas, and, like, let that shine out of you. So, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I love that, and I do love, like, imagination, innovation, inventiveness. I think when a lot of people in our space, in the entrepre—entrepreneurial space, they think about creativity, like, you think about, "How can I be more consistent with creating graphics for our socials?" And you think about it more in, like, a, a structured way and maybe, like, I say that because that's kind of how I think about it because I know, like, there's a lot of work and structure that has to go into, like, logistically getting your content out in the world. But I think there is so much room for us to kind of, like, challenge ourselves and call ourselves higher when it comes to creating within our businesses, whether, you know, it's a marketing campaign or it's a creative solution for a client. Um, but I think a lot of what we're gonna talk about today will be in direct support of, like, um, marketing and how you are portrayed in the online space, how can you tap into that space of creativity in a new and powerful way. Um, and so, I think that we have a few points we wanna kind of kick off with. Um, why don't you start off with 0.1?
Number one, the first thing that I would recommend is, like, get bored. Um, I heard this. I don't know where I heard this, but it was, like, several years ago now. Somewhere online, I saw someone, maybe in an interview, talking about boredom and how important that is in your process of creativity because, in today's world, I like to think of today as like, it's like the entertainment era. There's a lot of entertainment around us, and it's the information age, you know? So there's a lot of information and things that we have access to on our phones. Like, our phones are like mini computers, and they're like the size of your hand. So, like, it's so easy to gravitate towards it, and when you are, um—when you get to that place of boredom, like if you ever get to that place of boredom, which I feel like is rare in, in today's age, you automatically pull out your phone or, like, you know, put on Netflix or put on a show on Hulu and, like, binge watch that. And so, you don't ever leave space for true boredom. And I—the other day, I was, I was thinking about when we were children, and, you know, when we grew up especially, we didn't really—we didn't have the technology as much, like, in a, in that way, in that part of our lives, and, um, we would, like, go outside and play. We would make the use of our time. If we ever reached true boredom, it was like we would just play with each other, like run outside. Um, I know when I was younger, I really liked, you know, I always had like a diary, and so I would sometimes write in there or doodle. Like, I always really liked art. And if I was bored, I would just do something with my time, but we don't really have that as much today, as easily today. Um, and that made me think of the question, like, what did people have years ago, like hundreds of years ago, that we don't have today? So I was thinking about, um, like the greatest works of art that were created hundreds of years ago. Like, how did they get to that place of creativity? And I would say, like the number one thing, they had boredom. They had access to a level of boredom that we don't have today. And number 2, they had the freedom from the technology that we have today, so they didn't even have that as an option. They didn't have the option of like, you know, "I'm gonna pull out my phone and watch something." They, you know, like, I think about, uh, if they wanted entertainment, they would, like, go to the theater or, like, they would entertain themselves. People would play piano in their homes and, like, sing together. Um, they would make use of that time.
And, um, speaking of boredom, I wanna, like, quickly talk about Frankenstein. Mary Shelley's n—novel, Frankenstein, is one of, like, the most notorious well-known works of literature, um, specifically Gothic literature. But, uh, I was thinking about, like, the story of how Frankenstein came about and I was so fascinated. I heard this, um, years ago and I, I wanted to, like, make sure I had the right details for this, but, um, so Mary Shelley, first off, she was only 18 when she first started writing that. That's just psycho. Like—which is insane. Like, it's crazy, but, um, so at the time, there was, there's a poet, his name was Lord Byron. If you don't know who Lord Byron was, he, basically he was a poet. He kind of had that, like, bad boy persona, and he was always avoiding scandal. So, in 1816, he fled to Geneva to avoid scandal, whatever was going on at the time, and, uh, there he met up with, uh, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Mary's sister, Claire Clairmont. And while they were all there, basically Lord Byron got bored. Like, he was just like, "What are we doing here?" And he recommended, he was like, "Why don't we see who can write the greatest ghost story?" And I would say that Mary Shelley won that because, like—are you kidding? It's one of the most well-known works of literature. But, um, that novel was created out of, like, a game. Like, they were just kind of hanging out and they were like, "Let's just do something with our time." And they were, I think all of them, at least Percy, Mary, and Lord Byron were writers. I don't know about Claire. But all of them were, like, writers, and they're like, "Let's just, like, write a ghost story for fun and see who could, who could win and, like, write the best one." And I just find that fascinating. I'm like, they really did have that access, that, like, luxury of boredom. You could just get to that place of, like, utter, like, "What do I do with my time?" You just reach that wall and you're like, then you have that desire to create. And that kind of goes back to that point of, like, we're all naturally creative because I think really when you do get to that place of true boredom, you then have that feeling of, like, that natural, innate desire to create something or, like, do something with your time and your energy. So—yeah.
It's so true, and I think, I don't wanna get too far ahead in the conversation, but I think, you know, we don't wanna get bored because boredom can be uncomfortable. Mm-hmm. And in our society, we're so used to, like you said, the luxury of being able to be distracted. And in distraction, you don't have to think for yourself, you don't have to process certain things, and it just can squash your creativity because then all you're doing all the time is just consuming, consuming, consuming. There's no room for you to, like, your creativity to breathe. Mm-hmm. Um, and so I think that's, like, that's such an incredible, like, starting point for this is, like, we're gonna get to action items later, but boredom is so important for the creative process. Mm-hmm. Um, and that kind of leads into another point that you brought to the table, just the fact that technology is like, it can be such an incredible asset. It can also be such an incredible enemy too. Like, everyone is talking about ChatGBT, AI. My husband is a developer and he uses this, like, and it helps him. Like, it helps him complete projects. And so by no means are we saying, like, "Never use technology." Clearly, we're recording a podcast right now. So, you know, and we are building our company online and it's great. Um, but we have to have self-restraint within that. You have to have boundaries within that. You have to learn, like, when is enough enough? You know, like, when is it time to, like, shut things down and when are you actually gonna create space to, to be bored? To have, like, in our industry, we, we call it white space, getting white space on your calendar, um, and just having time to like, sit, think, ideate, create, you know?
Yeah, like, sit with your own thoughts and your own, like—'cause if you sit there long enough in that, like, weird, uncomfortable place of being bored, you will eventually, like, it's like you just burst at the seams with, like, you have to let it out somehow. You have to let out that creativity. Um, and speaking of boundaries, I was just gonna say, I feel like you do a really good job of this where, like, you treat technology as like, "This is my work." You treat Instagram like, "I'm going on here to intentionally have, like, conversations, like sales conversations in, in the DMs." Or like, you know, whatever it may be. You're going on there with, like, some sort of purpose. Whereas, like, a lot of people, like me included, I definitely can get caught up in, like, scrolling and, like, you know, I use, like, TikTok and it is very entertaining, but it is such a waste of time when I think about what I could be doing with my time, when I think about what I could be creating instead of consuming what 0 other people have already created. I was thinking about this, like, when you are on social media a lot or just the internet and you're taking in so much information and you're being so, like, easily entertained, it's like you're seeing all of this, you're taking it in through your eyes into your mind, and it is, like, polluting your brain. And I would argue to say that it, it can seep down into your soul too. Like, it really does, like, affect you even if you don't realize it, and it really can squash your creativity—Mm-hmm.—if you don't have proper boundaries and, like, that's something I know I really wanna work on is, like—just sitting my phone down and being like, "I'm not gonna use TikTok right now. I'm going to, like, sit down and write," or, "I'm gonna sit down and, and, you know, write a song or something." Like, just use my creativity 'cause I have it—Mm-hmm.—it's there, but if I am not allowing enough space, then I'm not gonna hear that creative voice at all, you know?
It is so true. Yeah. It's so true, and that kinda leads into the work of creativity. We scroll, and we consume, and we, you know, focus our attention on, like, these different platforms or other people's brands because it is easy. It is there. It is convenient. It is maybe comfortable. And I'm by no means, like, perfect when it comes to boundaries, but I do notice, like, sometimes I will be at the end of my day and I'm like, "I feel like total crap right now, but nothing bad happened today." And then I, like, sit down and I look out and be like, "What just took place? Oh, I just spent way too long, you know, on Instagram." And it's not that anyone shared anything, like, offensive or, you know, like, something really sent me, you know, off the edge of the ledge, but it's just the overconsumption, like, overstimulation. Um, you just have to have a cutoff. Um, and kind of tying back to the work of creativity, a lot of us don't truly make time to create because it really is work. Yeah. It takes you, like, setting that intention first to say, like, "I'm gonna sit down and create," and then you have to follow through on that 'cause if you don't follow through on it, then you have nothing.
And I was—I love this book. It's one of my favorite books, and I've read it multiple times now and I will probably read it so many more times in my life, but it's called A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver. If you are a writer or a poet in any way, like, I highly recommend it. It's just so beautiful and well-written, but she kinda talks about this a little bit, like, accessing your creative voice, and she is talking about it in reference to poetry, but I feel like it really is applicable. Um, but I wanted to read a little excerpt from this because it's so brilliantly put, um, but let—let me just go ahead and dive into this. Um, so this is in one of the earlier chapters of the book, uh, called Getting Ready, and she starts by saying, "If Romeo and Juliet had made appointments to meet in the moonlight-swept orchard, in all the peril and sweetness of conspiracy, and then more often than not failed to meet, one or the other lagging, or afraid, or busy elsewhere, there would have been no romance, no passion, none of the drama for which we remember and celebrate them." And she goes on to say that writing a poem is not so different. Um, she puts it in such poetic language, but it's so great. She says, "It's a kind of possible love affair between something like the heart and the learned skills of the conscious mind." I love that separation of the 2. And, you know, she calls it, like, the heart here, but I would call it almost, like, the creative voice. You have 2 different kind of parts of you, really. I think you have this, like, creativity that's like—it's not easy to define, but it—it's like—it's like somewhere on the inside of you, but then you also have the conscious mind, that part of your brain that's like, you know, learned some skills and uses those techniques and tools. And, um, she continues on talking about—I'm—I'm referencing it as, like, the creative voice, but she uses such poetic language so I'm trying to break it down a little bit. But she says that, um, that creative voice basically, uh, "learns quickly what sort of courtship it is going to be. Say you promise to be at your desk in the evenings from 7:00 to 9:00. It waits, it watches. If you are reliably there, it begins to show itself. Soon it begins to arrive when you do. But if you are only there sometimes and are frequently late or inattentive, it will appear fleetingly or it will not appear at all. Why should it? It can wait. It can stay silent a lifetime."
Oh my gosh. That is so good. Isn't that crazy? I—I love the way she puts it because it's like you have to have both the conscious part of your mind and that, like, subconscious/unconscious kind of part of your mind meet together. You have to make the intention or, like she said, you know, Romeo and Juliet, they've—they made appointments to meet. And if they didn't follow through, if they, if one of them didn't show up, like they, there would've been none of that romance and passion. And if you make appointments to meet your creative voice, you know, if you, if you make the time to sit down and create, but then you don't really show up or you're kinda just like, you know, not really there, not fully there, you're just disconnected and you just don't wanna do it, maybe you don't show up at all. Like, you make the promise and you're like, "I'm gonna show up. I'm gonna sit down from, you know, 7:00 to 9:00 and do whatever it is that I wanna do." But then you don't follow through on that, then you don't have anything. It's like—true. It's like, um, you can have all of the belief and faith and good intentions in the world, but if you don't meet that with action and follow through on it, then you have nothing. Mm. That is so good. I feel like it reminds me of when people, you know, ask me, "How are you so motivated all the time?" And I think, you know, there's a lot of discussion around, like, motivation and entrepreneurship and feeling and like, "Well, I just don't feel like doing this." Or, "I don't feel aligned with this." I understand the sentiment, but I am going to not lie to you guys. That stuff is a huge pet peeve of mine. Mm-hmm. I think there's a huge difference between building something that's in alignment with what you want and expecting yourself to feel aligned at all times while you're putting in the work to build a business. It's the same exact thing with creativity. I think there's this huge misconception that, like, creatives are just naturally creative. They feel like creating and it just kind of rises up from within them and it's this magical, artistic, like, woo-woo type of thing. But actually, if you look at the majority of creatives that are well known, like these big names that we're talking about today, um, they made time. Mm-hmm. To cultivate their craft, to, like, steward what was within them. Um, you can have someone that is, like, so naturally gifted, but if they never steward that, you will have someone that outpaces them, you know, fairly quickly just by stewarding their gift. Mm-hmm.
I, I literally wanted to talk about that because I, I was thinking about this the other day, uh, in preparation for this, this, uh, podcast recording, and I was thinking, like, your natural talents and abilities are great, but they will only take you so far. 'Cause I was thinking about myself. Like, I'm just gonna, I'm, I'm jumping ahead a little bit 'cause I wanna talk about this, this, um, my songwriting really quickly because I do that kind of as a hobby. We both really like music and, you know, I feel like we've had some experience with songwriting in the past, but, like, I have never taken it seriously. I have never really, like, sat down and learned a lot of the mechanics of music. So, I know a lot of the basics of, like, piano and guitar, um, especially piano. Like guitar, I barely know how to play anything on the guitar. But, um, I didn't take the time to learn all the ins and outs of, like, the piano, you know, how, how things work. So, like the, the other day, this just happened to me, so, so that's why I was thinking about it. I often get really inspired to, to write songs. It's like it comes out of nowhere and it's, like, few and far between. It's like it'll, it, it could be, like, a, a portion of time, like, maybe a few weeks within one year that I'm like, "I'm so passionate about this, like, writing these songs and I have so many songs that I want to write." And then after that starts to fade, I, like, drop off and I don't continue that habit of writing songs or playing the piano, like, consistently. So, because I'm not doing it consistently and because I haven't put in the time to actually learn the skills and the techniques of, like, playing the piano, for example, whenever I sit down to write, I get so frustrated with myself because I'm like, "I wanna write, like, a masterpiece. Like, I wanna write something that's really unique and cool." But I don't know what I'm doing. So it takes me, like, 10 times longer to get there. If I were to just be consistent and if I were to actually put in more time, like even just a few days out of the week to, like, learn more of those skills, then my artistry could shine more. But I just haven't put in the time or the effort, if I'm being honest. Mm.
And I think we can all relate to that in some, like, form or fashion. I feel like I can relate to that when it comes to writing. I mean, writing was my starting point in entrepreneurship. I always tell people that at 1 point in my childhood, I had 7 journals separately going at one time, all with a different purpose. That's, like, my Type A structured brain that's, like, trying to, like—Mm-hmm.—you know, go with my creativity there. Um, and I started blogging and I started writing for the print publication that I ran for a while. Um, but even then, like, I hadn't really honed in on that skill set and even today, like with The Awakening, I write a ton of content. And, um, I feel like I've grown a lot in that area, but there's so much more of that gift that I could steward. Um, and I actually want you to mention this next book that you have listed here—Mm-hmm.—'cause I think it's a good one.
Yeah. Um, so there's this book called On Writing Well by William Zinsser and it's, it's basically about writing nonfiction 'cause William Zinsser was aw—non-fiction writer. He wrote for, like, the newspapers and stuff in, like, the '60s. Like, he, I think, was a writer for the New York Herald Tribune in the '60s, and, um, so he—the whole book is, like, non-fiction writing. But I feel like if you write in any capacity, like if you write copy for your brand, if you—I mean, everyone writes emails, you know, you pull all this stuff together. Highly recommend this book. I currently have the 5th edition. I got it at a thrift store, so I don't have the, like, latest one, but it's so good. He talks ab—like, he opens the book basically talking about, um, this panel that he was on. He went to a university to speak about writing as a vocation, like as a job. And there was another person on the panel who was a doctor, like a surgeon or something, and he was there to talk about writing as a hobby, 'cause like, he did it for fun on the side. Um, so you had 2 very different opp—opposing opinions, but I found it so interesting because you had the doctor who, you know, after a long day at work, he would, like, sit down with his legal pad and just, like, write. And he was like, "It was so fun," and just like, "The words came out of me." And, you know, just very, like, dreamy and that, that kind of, like, creative personality. Um, whereas Zinsser, he's just sitting there, like, so practical and pragmatic about it, but he was like, um—he was talking specifically about writing, but in a sense, I mean, it can be applied to creativity at large, 'cause he was basically saying that, like, writing isn't always easy or fun. He said that it is lonely, it's hard, and it requires you to actually, like, sit down and, and work. Um. Mm-hmm. He also said—he was talking about writing specifically as a craft, and I love this quote. I just have to read it. Uh, he said, "The man who runs from his craft because he lacks inspiration is fooling himself. He is also going broke." Isn't that so good? I was like, dang. That is a huge mic drop, and if that is not painting a picture of entrepreneurship as well, I don't know what is. Mm-hmm. You won't always feel inspired to create, and like, with songwriting, for me, I only feel inspired so often. It's, like, very rare that I feel inspired to write songs, and, um, you're not always gonna feel inspired or motivated. You're not always gonna feel that, so that's where, like, discipline comes in. That's where, like, you have to work for it. Work is not always fun. Discipline is not fun. Like, no one likes the word discipline. I mean, when you think about it, you think about, like, a parent disciplining their child for doing something wrong or something, but like, discipline's not fun. So like, creativity is not always gonna be fun. It's just not. Like, you have to be willing to just show up and work for it. Mm.
Yeah, and I, again, I feel like there is just such a direct tie to entrepreneurship there, because so many people start their businesses, some because they see a need or a gap, right? And they create something that f—that fills that gap. But s—a lot of us, especially in our space, we start because of passion, because of a desire for a different lifestyle, you know? And so we kind of go into it with this, you know, preconceived notion that, "oh, well, like, this is meant to be fun at all times, because this is exciting to me, this is my passion. I'm building this in order to have the life that I want." And although you can have all of those things, the process is not always going to feel good or be fun. And I think that, to your point, that is where discipline has to be cultivated, and, um, discipline is huge when it comes to creativity. I mean, the only way that we create, like, the campaigns that we create, for example, um—I keep using that example because we get asked about that a lot. Um, we set a meeting, it goes on the calendar, probably multiple meetings, and we take time to, like, hash out ideas. I remember last summer I had an idea for a, a video that I wanted to create that was, like, based on a video game, and I shared it with Jordan. I was like, "Uh, this, this might be really weird, and this sounds for dumb coming out of my mouth, but, like, this could be fun." And she was like, "No! That's really cool. Like, let's play with that idea. Like, let's create space to actually, like, talk about things that may work, may not work," you know? Mm-hmm. Um, put it on the calendar. Talk about it. Ideate. Like, create the space and time, create the discipline in order to, like, steward the creativity that's already inside of you. So—amen. Amen. Yeah.
I was also, just to add to that, I was thinking about, 'cause I feel like you used this example recently in maybe, like, some copy that you wrote for Instagram, I can't remember where you had put this, but, um, you were talking about, like, l—like a mount—like a landscape and, like, you know, when you have this landscape with, like, mountains, you only have a few peaks, and then the rest of it is, like, the valley. It's like the floor, you know? So those, like, high moments of, like, inspiration and creativity are few and far between. That's where you have to be disciplined in the valley area to, like, keep trucking on, like, keep moving forward, you know? So—absolutely. You can't expect it to be highs all the time. That's more rare. Mm-hmm. More than of—more often than not, you're gonna be in the valley, or you're gonna be climbing up a mountain or down a mountain. Yeah. And so, like, remain disciplined, put in the work, expect that creating something meaningful is going to take work. It's not just gonna happen out of thin air.
I think the last thing we wanted to touch on that kind of ties in with that is just the discomfort of creativity. Tapping into a deeper level of creativity is uncomfortable. I think about when I watch, um, artists, when I watch Joni Mitchell, when I think about, like, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, we obviously love, you know, music around here, but I see them on that stage baring their heart and soul—Mm-hmm.—and that's not even capturing, like, the actual creation of that music. Um, being willing to go to a different place that is sometimes maybe hard to face, um, or requires work, like, it can be really uncomfortable to create something meaningful. I don't think enough people talk about that. Yeah. Like, it requires something of you. You have to be willing to go there, 'cause I, like I said, like we said earlier, it's like we're all, like, little creatives, like little creators walking around like creating stuff, like, you have that on the inside of you already. Like, let's just be real. You have that deep down somewhere on the inside of you, but to, like, get to that place, you have to work for it, and sometimes that's uncomfortable. And i—it's kinda like, you know, I think about, like, gem mining and, you know, chip you—they, like, chip away at all of this rock to find that, like, diamond in the rough. Like, it takes that work, and it takes that, that process in order to actually get to the gem and get to the good stuff. So you have to be willing to go there. Um, and creativity, creativity can also be really vulnerable and scary sometimes, like depending on what you're doing, depending on, uh, maybe what you're creating, it can feel uncomfortable.
I was thinking about this, like, at the start of the year, I was really wanting to write a lot more, and so, um, I wrote a couple pieces that I put onto my Instagram, and in the process of just writing those pieces, it felt so scary 'cause in the back of my mind I knew—my intention was to share it. I, my intention was to put it out there so that other people could read it, and I was like, "I am putting all of myself into this." Like, I'm not sharing everything about myself and my life, but I'm putting me, I'm putting that cre—that creativity that's, like, deep inside of you, I'm putting that on a page for people to read, for people to judge or critique and, like, that is so scary. Like, putting yourself out there is scary. I was thinking about, like, creating content sometimes for, you know, The Awakening the brand, I get kinda scared sometimes 'cause I'm like, "Like, what will people think of this graphic? Like, is it gonna be good enough," you know? Mm-hmm. It's very, very vulnerable. And I think, too, sometimes coming back to, like, what is the purpose of the creativity? And it isn't always to please people. Sometimes you create things that aren't even for people. Obviously in this context, we're talking about creativity as it relates to, you know, entrepreneurship 'cause that's our community. That's you guys. Um, but, you know, sometimes we create behind the scenes to steward our gifts, and then other times we create because we know we're going to share and we're hoping it's going to serve, but it is a piece of you, and it feels like you're just kind of showing that out in the open and people can respond and react however they want to. Mm-hmm. But why are you doing it? As long as you're operating from a place of, you know, your stewarding and honoring the gifts within you, you're putting yourself into that, you're creating something that you're proud of, who cares? Mm-hmm. Like, who cares what anyone thinks? I think that's a, a larger conversation to be had as well because if you think about visibility in the online space, you're putting your face out there, you're putting your name out there. But creativity is vulnerable. Like, when we created this podcast, when we created the campaign to go with it, I loved it. I mean, you know, it's like my family. It's legacy. It's all the things that I love, and I'm like, "Wow. Everybody's gonna see this." You know? Is everybody gonna receive it well? Is it gonna mean anything to them? Is it gonna resonate? Um, so it is really vulnerable work, and, you know, some of you might be sitting here thinking, like, "Why go to this place?" Like, "Why is it important for me to create at this, like, level of depth?" And I think you kinda have to come back to, like, what are you wanting to build? You know? If you wanna go and create something that is a little bit more—you know, kind of with the norm or stereotypical, or you want it to kind of fit into your niche, like that's your prerogative. But I think so many people in our community, they ask the questions like, "How can I show my voice?" Like, "How can I show up in a way that is different and is unique?" Because that, that is going to be meaningful for people that see it, and it's, of course, going to help your business. When you form those, like, deep emotional connections and bonds with your community, that a lot of times happens through letting your creativity come through in the content that you're creating, in the presence that you are building across every single platform that you're on. And so you kinda have to come back to what is your prerogative? What is your goal? But I think that any person that isn't willing to go to a deeper place to access their own creativity are doing yourself a disservice. Mm-hmm. Because that is something you have that no one else on the entire planet has. Sure, like there are other writers, there are other coaches, coaches, there are other painters, whatever it is. There is not another you, and you have a unique take and spin on whatever it is that, you know, your gift is. And I think that, to me, when I think about that, I personally feel a responsibility to share it. I feel like I have one life to live. I have this day, this moment, I have this platform that I'm building right now, and I feel an immense responsibility to steward what I have been given, to honor that, um, to work on it, cultivate it in order to be of best service and in order to also live at, like, my full potential. Mm-hmm.
That is so powerful. I love that. I was just like—I'm just looking at you like, "Yep. Mm-hmm. Amen." I just—that was, like, off the notes, but I—I had that thought, you know, people might be asking like, "Why do I really need to go this deep? Like, why can't I just create a basic graphic?" You can. But, like, what are you wanting to build with your brand, you know? Yeah. And I think, like, showing yourself through the things that you create is—is so powerful, and it leads to really deep connections. And I feel like that's what we're all about. I don't know about other people. But it's like, don't you want depth in your connections and your relationships, whether it's just life relationships or business relationships? Like, wouldn't you want that depth? Like, that's so powerful. And I think that also ties back to being vulnerable. I mean, when you are vulnerable, and you show your face on your Instagram story, and y—maybe you're a little bit nervous to do that or—or nervous to put out whatever campaign you're running, like, don't run away when that feels uncomfortable. Because vulnerability just leads to more depth. And vulnerability, like showing yourself, people will resonate with that. People see your face, and they will love it. Like, don't—don't worry about other people and what they think. Do your thing. Like, show up as you. That's the best thing you can do for you and your brand. And as you do that, you'll get better at it. You'll get more confident. I mean, oh honey. If we find, like, my first Instagram Live somewhere—or if we find, like, old graphics that we created—Mm-hmm.—before we even had our branding down, we—we are like, "Mm-mm, honey, that is not the vibe." That's not what we're going for here at all. But, like, you have to honor where you're at. Mm-hmm. Don't let perfectionism come in, because you can always get better. Mm-hmm. So if you wait to get better, you're gonna be waiting forever. Mm-hmm. So, start where you're at and your skillset will grow, your confidence will grow. But just know, like, this is, like, the day and the moment that you have right now. So like, how can you honor that? How can you show up right now with what you have? Um, and your confidence will grow. Mm-hmm.
So, we wanna shift gears and give you a few recommendations for things that you can prioritize in order to access a deeper level of creativity, um, and to really cultivate the skillsets that you've personally been given.
Number one, I mean, we started the episode really talking about this, but I'm circling back. Number one recommendation would be to shut off the noise and allow space to get bored. That can be, you know, turning off your phone, putting it on do not disturb. Uh, you know, turning off of your, your streaming services. Whatever, uh, whatever you go to for entertainment or for, you know, filling that time or that void, shut those things off and separate yourself from them for just a little bit. Set aside, like, actual time to shut off the noise and allow yourself to get to that place of boredom because from there, you will be able to hear and, and access your creative voice a little bit easier—Mm-hmm.—if you're not taking in all of that noise all the time.
And like, if you're someone like me that's very type A and you like structure, I even think for the people that don't, you might need this more, like be strategic with this. Put white space on your calendar. I can't remember who this is but it's like a big name entrepreneur, I mean, multi probably million billionaire. Um, I remember he shared that every day of the week, Monday to Friday, he has at least 30 minutes to an hour blocked off on his calendar. He takes no meetings, he has no agenda. It is white space for him to simply think, to ideate, um, and to be. And I think that that is so incredible. Now, you don't have to go to that extreme but like, be strategic with this. Maybe it's once a week, maybe it's more boundaries in the evening. But like, you have to have boundaries to shut off the noise. Mm-hmm.
I think, like, that's first and foremost. And I feel like that really ties into the second recommendation, like make the time to create. Set it, like, set it aside in your calendar. Actually set, set it up on your calendar so that you get a reminder or something. Make the time to create but don't just, don't just put it on your calendar. Like, you actually have to follow through on the promise that you make. So, set aside the time. It doesn't have to be hours. It can be like 30 minutes. 30 minutes, like, I think anyone could sacrifice 30 minutes. We have, we all have the same amount of time in the day. We all have 24 hours, like, what are you gonna do with it? Absolutely.
Yeah. I don't wanna say no excuses. Like, I understand sometimes things are there but also, no excuses, you know? Um, it's like, make time, be intentional, um, and show up. Mm-hmm. Show up to put in the work. Um, and then the final piece here that we both agreed on we wanted to mention was creating in a different medium. I think this is really powerful because even for me, like sometimes I just get—I love hanging out with you guys and I love creating captions. I love it. But sometimes I get so tired of creating in that same exact way. Like, when we put on our Legacy campaign and we got to like bring family history in, and um, you know, just like do some different things, I came alive. Like, it was so much fun. But I'm even speaking in the form of like, if you are an online creator, like, go paint something. Like, go to a pottery class with your friends or, um, you know, sit down and write or freaking dance. Mm-hmm. I don't care. But I think creating in a different medium, it removes the pressure. It removes the fact that a lot of us are creating for our jobs. Um, and it allows you to just kind of embrace that creative spirit more because there's less pressure.
Yeah. It's like, if you don't have any real hobbies right now or maybe you feel like you don't have the time for it, like, make the time in, throughout your week to like prioritize creating in a different way. 'Cause I feel like that allows your creative, like, muscle to be loose and to be, like, used in some different ways so that when you come back to your work, like your job, you're able to approach it with a, a stronger, like, creative muscle, you know? There's a reason why we get creative ideas in the shower. There's a reason why after you take a vacation or, like, for me, I'll be on like my third day of vacation and I'm like, "I have a billion ideas." And it's because you've done the thing that sounds like it's not productive, you've taken a step away and you've literally paused everything, you've removed the pressure and you've allowed yourself to just, like, live and be and breathe. Creativity needs that just as much as it needs the other side of structure and discipline and showing up to your desk. Amen. Woo! Amen. That was a, that was a good point. That was excellent.
Man, this was so good and I feel like we could keep going—but we don't wanna keep you guys too long. If you guys aren't connected with Jordan, can you tell everyone your Instagram handle?
My Instagram is just my full name, Jordan Alexa Long. Jordan with an A, by the way, too. Yeah. Yeah. J-O-R-D-A-N. Um, and I know that you haven't been sharing as much recently but I think that you are gonna be sharing more when it comes to writing and creativity and—yeah. Um, i—if you like any of those topics, if you like fairies, if you like—you know, old music, like, please go follow Jordan. And thank you so much for hanging out with us. I feel like this is gonna be the first of many episodes that we do with Jordan because she's just incredible. Um, if you would not mind, we would so appreciate it if you would leave a review, share this over to your Instagram. We are @myawakeningco on all platforms. Um, and until next time, we hope you guys have an amazing day. Bye. Bye.
