BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE

Today's entry is a contribution to the blogging event "Break On Through to the Other Side: What inspired you to create a career outside the confines of the corporate world" instigated by Greg Spalenka, Artist as Brand blogger. Other participants include:

Miss Mindy-Pop Surrealist/Cartoon Folk Artist

Lillyella-Jewelry Maker and Champion of the Handmade

Anna L. Conti-Artist, San Francisco narrative painter

Maria Brophy-Art licensing Expert and Blogger, helping Creative People design their dream life.

PLEASE CHECK OUT ALL THESE OTHER SITES!

So, yes. The Doors. It was The Doors, wasn’t it, who did the song? The door is the great, abiding metaphor for those occasions in life when we stand on the threshold of something new, when we are asked to risk dropping the baggage we have brought with us thus far and step on into the unknown.

The greatest of all doors in my own life opened for me in the mid-1980s. It was a terrifying and exhilarating moment. Greg’s question of the day is this: what inspired you to create a career outside the confines of the corporate world? Well, to tell the truth, I was never in the corporate world. I was in academia. Does that count? Perhaps it does. Academia, sadly, has become something of an industry these days, something of a sausage factory where fresh, raw meat goes in… and comes out at the other end neatly processed, packaged and labeled for the market place.

Am I too cynical? Perhaps. But I spent twenty-five years in academia, and I do know something whereof I speak. It has now been almost another quarter century since I was inspired to take the chance to be the writer I had always known myself to be, and I have not regretted that choice for a single day. I describe myself these days as employed more full-time than I ever used to be—though usually without pay. It works for me.

Okay, that “inspiration.” Again, that’s not really what it was. I had been “inspired” since the age of twelve. I knew then that all I wanted was to be a writer. I just got side-tracked—by the social expectations operative in those days, back in the 1950s. By parents. By my own inhibitions and fears. By thinking that poetry and money don’t mix (I started out as a poet, and poets notoriously don’t make much of a living.)

So I went first into grammar school teaching. I was attracted by the long holidays, when I’d be able to do all the writing that I wanted. In my ignorance, I did not take into account the fact that teaching is an enormously demanding profession; that by the time the long holidays came around, I would be so depleted—physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually—that I would not have it left in me to write. When I discovered that truth, I migrated into academia. Onward and upward, I thought. I was too naïve to anticipate the same result!

“Inspiration” came finally in the form of sabotage. I had a series of truly wonderful jobs in academia, and I sabotaged them all. I was a professor of Comparative Literature at USC; Dean of the College (and later Acting Director) at Otis Art Institute; Dean of the College of Fine and Communication Arts at Loyola Marymount University… At LMU, it was my privilege to have the job of creating a whole new fine arts complex for visual arts, music and dance. My inspiration to leave came when I found the Academic Vice President in one of my brand new painting studios, pacing it out to see how many desks he could fit in there for academic classes. I went back to my office, called my wife, and asked her how she would feel if I quit my job and went on the dole…

It wasn’t so much inspiration, then, it was reality that popped up and slapped me in the face. I was always meant to be a writer. For years I had been trying hard to kid myself that academia was an okay option, a way to keep bread on the table for the family and money in the bank. I could always do the writing “on the side.” But the writing didn’t get done, or only in small, frustrating doses. And I chose, for all those years, to deny the hard reality of the spirit and soul: I was devoting my days and weeks and years to doing something I was never supposed to do. In my heart, I knew it. I just didn’t have the courage to recognize—let alone to act upon—the truth.

I quit. When it came to that point, it was really no longer a choice. It was a recognition and embrace of who I am. I like to describe myself, these days, as an academic in recovery. I have kicked the habit, but I still miss some of the perks. A steady income, for example. Health insurance. Retirement benefits. And even, yes, in part, the identity. Because when I stood at that threshold, that was the baggage I had brought with me, and it was hard to give it up. What I have come to understand since I crossed that threshold is that it’s always necessary to leave some part of myself behind when there’s a new one waiting to be born. And that it’s all about freedom, and the joy that comes with finding it, piece by precious piece.

Stealing Plums-An Interview With Molly Anderson-Childers

Molly Anderson-Childers is a writer, artist, photographer, and creativity consultant. Her work has appeared in local and national print publications, including Southwest Colorado Arts Perspective, Edible San Juan Mountains Magazine, Images, The Durango Telegraph, The Four Corners Business Journal, newWitch, On the Wings of Poetry, Eternal Portraits, and more. She has also been published extensively online, and contributes work regularly to: www.creativity-portal.com , www.ediblesanjuanmountains.com , and www.thepaganarts.com. She publishes two blogs, www.stealingplums.blogspot.com and www.addictivefiction.blogspot.com. She founded the Durango writer's group, Wild Women Writing, in 2008, and leads their monthly meetings. She is currently hard at work editing her first novel, Stealing Plums.

Persist: In your piece, “101 ways to Delight and Inspire Yourself,” published on Creativity Portal, you mentioned that you had recently quit your job to pursue a freelance career. Was it difficult at the time to make this decision? Was there a “straw that broke the camel’s back” that catalyzed this decision? Any regrets? No matter how slight...?

Molly: Quitting my job was the easiest decision I’ve ever made in my life. I hated the job, because I wasn’t treated with respect by my bosses, and I didn’t feel safe there- I carried Mace to work every day! The straw was an awful performance review- I’d worked hard for months, but instead of receiving a much-deserved raise, I was told I’d have to improve my sales figures or be terminated. It was all about the money- my efforts meant nothing to them. The only regret I have is that I didn’t torch the place…

Persist: In your first 50 tips from the same article, which strategies for breaking down creative blocks work the best for you and how did you discover them? Is there a strategy for finding strategies?

Molly: I’ve honed these strategies after many desperate battles with my own creative demons. As the founder of a writer’s group, I have also had the benefit of working with some amazing women who have shared their strategies with me. When I’m feeling creatively blocked, a change of scene always helps. Taking a long drive, visiting a favorite bookshop or gallery, or just going for a walk with my dog can give me the fresh perspective I need to attack the page with renewed vigor and inspiration.

My strategy for finding strategies? I ask every writer and artist I know what helps them out of the creative doldrums, and then I take their advice. Another strategy for finding strategies? Follow your heart. What are you called to do? What do you love? Do it, and find your inspiration there.

Persist: When you gave yourself the time and freedom to create after leaving your job, how immediate was your ability to “practice daily?” Do you find it challenging to sit down every day and create? Was having an irrelevant job the only barrier?

Molly: After quitting my job, my schedule- and my creativity- was wide open. Sometimes it’s tough to focus, as my studio is at home and I do most of my work there. Time management and organizational issues can be a hurdle if you’re working out of a home-based studio, but my joy is in sitting down to write, and it is usually effortless once I get started.

The challenge is finding time (and motivation) to do dishes! Money issues also enter into it at times- freelance work doesn’t offer a steady paycheck, so learning to budget is very important if you’re thinking of making the leap from day job to dream job. The great thing about it is with the added pressure of paying my bills through my creative efforts, there’s not a lot of time to worry about writer’s block. I’ve got deadlines to deal with, new assignments coming in- a steady stream of inspiration is flowing. I find that the more I write, the more I want to write. It’s self-perpetuating.

Persist: How do you actively differentiate forcing an idea to happen and simply opening yourself to inspiration? Which is more essential, in your definition of success, discipline for the sake of producing or finding inspiration?

Molly: The difference between forcing an idea and finding inspiration is tricky. I maintain that 90% of writer’s block is just laziness, and lack of discipline. I’m inspired every day. I’d hazard to guess it’s the same with most people. When I sit down to work on an article that’s due, even if I’m not feeling inspired, I’m not so much forcing an idea as forcing myself to stop procrastinating and slacking off.

Making the time for that inspiration and acting upon it is the hard part. Those who actually do something about it are the ones who succeed where others fail. I think that discipline and inspiration are equally important aspects of my work. Without discipline, all of those fabulous ideas would never get written down!

I firmly believe that you can discipline yourself to become inspired on demand. The two are inextricable, in my mind. At times, stories appear whole and breathing, like a bolt from above. It’s wonderful to be in The Zone, taking dictation from the Muses…but that state is fleeting, and not always easily accessible. However, with a discipline of writing daily, you’re more likely to become inspired than someone who only takes pen in hand when the mood strikes him. Getting started is the hardest part. Once you’re into the second or third page, you’ll find your inspiration and time will fall away.

Persist: In fact, what is your perception of success? Why? Has this changed often throughout your life and career?

Molly: I was a kid in the eighties; my perception of success at that time was loads of money, a closet full of stonewashed jeans, fancy cars and a mansion on a hill. As I’ve grown up, this perception has changed. My perception of success now is working for myself, on my own terms, and being able to live comfortably on the fruits of my creative labors, with no day-job distractions. My dreams are simpler, but no less dear to me. Now, success means doing the creative work I love all day, every day, and getting paid well for it.

Persist: Anything else on your mind these days?

Molly: I’m gearing up for a writing/art workshop in September called “Text off the Page.” I won a scholarship from the local Women’s Resource Center, and can’t wait to attend. In other creative news, I’m expanding my scope as I take on the role of creativity consultant. I help clients take their work to the next level, with dynamite strategies to beat creative blocks, solve problems, and banish the demons of procrastination. I’m also editing my first novel,Stealing Plums, and will soon be seeking an agent. I’ve always dreamed of being a novelist…now, I’m making that dream come true!

In the photo below, Molly offers us a Gerber daisy; a symbol of creativity, passion, and inspiration.

HERE'S WISHING MOLLY GOOD LUCK WITH STEALING PLUMS--WE CAN ALMOST TASTE THEM ALREADY! AND THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO INTERVIEW WITH US HERE AT "PERSIST: THE BLOG"

IN A FUNK

It happens. It's happening right now. It’s not quite the Slough of Despond, but I have been watching myself sinking, in recent days, into a mood that matches the particularly gloomy marine layer we are experiencing this June in normally sunny Southern California: low clouds, mist, patches of fog, poor visibility…

No point in denying it. Denial only makes things worse. It’s a constant struggle to keep it down, and the resulting battle fatigue just adds to the pervasive sense of discouragement. After the big initial push to get the word out about Persist, I have found myself running out of steam. The familiar, bothersome questions begin to raise their unwelcome heads: Is it really worth the effort? How many readers have I actually reached? In more basic terms, how many copies have I sold? (I was tickled, by the way, to find a copy yesterday on E-Bay! A steal at $10.95!) And then there are the deeper, more perplexing questions: Who do I really think I am? What do I think I’m doing with my life? What about that contribution that I feel I need to make, the mark I tell myself I need to leave?

When these questions rush in, they’re usually accompanied by the kind of funk that leaves me glowering under that thick marine layer of gloom. I don’t have good answers for them. Or rather, more truthfully, I have only bad ones.

So what to do? I’m guessing there are vast numbers of people like myself, who experience this sinking feeling now and then—some, surely, more frequently than I do, and some less. But knowing that I’m not alone is scant comfort when the mood begins to strike. And feeling sorry for myself is not a viable response. It helps nothing. On the contrary, it has the opposite effect. It drags me down still further. Besides, it’s undignified! I flatter myself to think that I have achieved enough self-awareness at this stage of my life to recognize it when it happens, and it’s not a pretty sight.

And I do know very well what to do about it when this mood hits. The problem is—as I like to say about my meditation practice—it’s easy and it’s hard. I have learned about the wisdom of equanimity. I know how to set about finding that state of mind where I can observe the mood happening without attaching to it. It’s a matter of finding a place of refuge where I can sit quietly for a while and bring my attention to the breath; a matter of bringing it back to the breath whenever it wanders—particularly into the bleak territory that seems to attract it at such moments; and, when the mind settles, a matter of allowing it to observe the presence of despair without attaching to it. It’s a peculiarly dark cloud, but like all clouds it will drift away in its own time.

And then, of course, there’s the matter of perspective. When I manage—and meditation is a useful way to do this—when I manage to distance myself from my self, I’m able to arrive at a longer view of this self in time and space; seen in the perspective of the centuries and of the immeasurable vastness of the surrounding universe, my self and its self-important worries will seem petty indeed. When seen like this, they recede perceptibly and soon begin to dissipate with each outgoing breath.

So, yes, I do know how it can be done. As with most things of this kind, however, the art of equanimity is a lot easier to preach than it is to practice. The practice is the hard part; it requires patience and vigilance, and constant, effortful repetition. The mind is perfectly capable of wallowing indulgently in its soothing bath of welcoming self-pity, which can come to feel so justified, as fitting as a comfortable old sweat suit. It’s frankly easier to nod off and let it be than to wake up and catch it in the act.

It’s at these moments, too, when that wonderfully serviceable mantra comes in handy: This is not me, this is not mine, this is not who I am. In this light, I recognize this “Peter Clothier, writer,” to be no more nor less than an identity I have chosen to adopt, along with the other identities I allow to define me. The trick is to remember that the mantra has the same validity in good times as it has in bad: it applies not only to the Peter who goes into a funk when he doesn’t get the return he somehow imagines his work deserves, but also to the Peter who likes to bask in the glow of his successes. That’s where the equanimity really comes in. If I want to enjoy its benefits when I’m down on myself, I have to pay it equal respect when I’m up. If “down” is no more than an illusion I indulge, the same is true for “up.”

So there it is: breathe. It’s easy—and hard. It can be annoying to be reminded, in a funk, that there is a way out. The funk itself has its own rewards. How this, for one: If I’m a failure, I have the perfect excuse not to work? The human mind has its own sneaky ways, and needs to be kept a careful eye on. Otherwise, it’s perfectly capable of seducing us with the delusions and outright lies it can so readily create.

(Oh, and let me add, having written these words: a little bit of "getting back to work" does wonders! I recommend it.)

Quote of the Week

"Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently."

--Jean Cocteau

Thank you Janice Tieken for your contribution. I like the subtlety and complexity of this one!

I'm intending that this will be a continuing feature of Persist: The Blog and hope that readers will feel inspired to keep sending their favorite quotes. You can do this either in the comments section or via Facebook or Twitter.

Kaizen Muse-An Interview With Jill Badonsky

Today's entry is the second in my planned series of interviews with people who are interested in the phenomenon of creativity, and how to foster and nourish it. I discovered JILL BADONSKY online, and was intrigued by her blend of humor, whimsy, intuitive acumen, and belief in the workings of process. As a creative consultant and coach, she authors helpful books and websites, including her Kaizen Muse ("kaizen" is a Japanese word meaning "continuous improvement in small steps"), The Muse Is In and The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder (which is also the name of her most recent publication). I thought I could learn something if I checked her out. Interesting, how we all come to a similar place from our many different directions... Here are Jill's responses to my interview questions:

PERSIST: THE BLOG: How did you get involved in creativity coaching?

JILL: I started researching creativity in the early 80s because I just seemed electrically fascinated and drawn to the creative process. I was an occupational therapist in psychiatry using creativity to help people express their needs and conflicts, find their self-esteem and develop the skills that come from being engaged in a creative process. Eventually, I applied my creativity to the corporate world which ended up in a lot of promotions and the feeling that I had sold my soul for values I did not believe in. I left the corporate world and joined an improv comedy troupe. I also wrote magazine articles and started to teach writing classes and The Artist's Way.

Then one day, I needed life coaching because I was writing a one-woman-play and was not finding the discipline to complete it. I noticed that the life coach I was seeing was blocking me. She prescribed non-linear, high pressure, left brain strategies to my right brain process that just wanted to play and be relaxed. She became the authority figure I rebelled against - a common response in the creative process. I just felt more resistant.

At that point I wondered how many creative souls were getting blocked by hiring life coaches. Around the same time, someone from one of my creativity workshops asked me to coach her and with the audacity required to be a ready-fire-aim entrepreneur I said yes. While coaching her I felt this out-of-body experience that validated that, "Holy A-ha! I'm in my bliss." and I started following it until I designed and started teaching Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching. It's been expanding and taking on a life of its own since 2004.

PTB: How long have you been at it?

JB: I would like to think my experience as an expressive therapist was the beginning of growing my creativity coaching expertise and that's been since 1980. I've been actively coaching people since 1997, wrote a book on the creative process (The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration) which was published in 2003 and started training coaches in 2004.

PTB: Are you an artist yourself (I use the word generically: writer, musician, actor, dancer...); and was it your experience as such that led you into this endeavor?

JB: Yes. I write poetry, articles, books, plays and captions for the watercolor illustrations I do. My second book, The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder has over 400 of my illustrations in it. I'm also a multi-media performer and storyteller and am now working on animating my illustrations. My love for the creative process in all its forms and expressions leads me into this endeavor; but being an artist myself, I know first hand what it's like to be blocked and what it's like to flow effortlessly into the timeless bliss of this higher human sphere of being able to be a creator.

I believe we are all artists of being alive. We have a palette of thoughts to choose from daily that paints what our existence looks like and feels like.

PTB: You have an impressive number of special qualifications and degrees. To what extent are these important and necessary to your work?

JB: I think the summation of my training and experience as an occupational therapist specializing in psychology, Masters Degree graduate in Educational Media and Instructional Design, a program director, a marketing consultant, a certified instructor in Guided Imageries has all led to being able to design and teach Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching. But the most important part has been my passion and my unrelenting need to share all that I have learned and experienced.

PTB: Given those qualifications, to what extent does your work with artists involve "therapy"--for want of a better word--or personal counseling, as opposed to professional counseling?

JB: What I do is not counseling at all, it's coaching, consulting, and facilitating strengths. The people we accept for creativity coaching are coming from a predominantly healthy place; they are blocked by procrastination, typical fears, perfectionism, overwhelm, low self-confidence, self-sabotage and in some cases the mild depression that comes from feeling frustrated about not finding the time or manner with which to engage in their creativity.

In Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching we focus more on strengths than weaknesses. We trigger people's resources and rarely go back to the past except to identify patterns, origins of negative self-talk, experiences that created detours AND to summon past success experiences so that fuel can be used in the present.

PTB: What rewards do you look for from your work? Which of these mean the most to you?

JB: I don't feel like I look for rewards. I feel like I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do and the rewards arrive on their own. Hearing people say that their life has changed because they are learning how to use tools that shift them from victim to creative champion is prosperity in and of itself. Just talking about the creative process with another person is a form of bliss to me because it is such a juicy and exalted part of our existence.

PTB: What can an artist expect to gain from working with you? Are you concerned to help them with greater exposure?

JB: Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching gives artists the tools they need to overcome all of the creative blocks they experience and to be aware of where they are already soaring but are unable to see it.

There are ten Kaizen-Muse Tools and since 2004 we have received so many letters and emails about how these tools have returned people to their own authenticity, have helped them foil procrastination and perfectionism, dissolved overwhelm and self-sabotage and helped them discover their power and inspired genius in an often unpredictable and chaotic process.

Greater exposure comes as a result of what we do but our main concern is that they enjoy the process and use the tools in a way that feels intuitively right. Too much emphasis on exposure seems to add the pressure that blocks people. Joy in the process, play, awareness of creative dynamics, following intuition and letting go of rigid expectations about results seem to end up with a non-linear acquisition of success in more ways than was initially expected.

PTB: Do you have any thoughts about the burgeoning competition in this line of work?

JB: What other people are doing is really none of my business. Comparison in the creative process is unnecessary and can be toxic. There is enough business for all of us out there and if we are staying true to our own inspiration, it will be a beautiful balance of what the world needs. Others are moving beside me not ahead of me or instead of me. The world is a better place when people are in touch with their creative joy.

Amen to that! I too believe that the world is a better place when creative people have the freedom and the inner resources to get on with their work. Where would we be without the human imagination? We would certainly lack the technology that facilitates our work! The light bulb is more than a metaphor...

My warm thanks to Jill for generously taking me up on this. I hope you have learned as much from her as I have.

Visit http://www.kaizenmuse.com/about_us.html for more biographical information on Jill and her work as well as information on her books The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence and The Awe-Manac: A Dose of Daily Wonder.

Quotation of The Week

"My talent is such that no undertaking in size, or how varied in subject, has ever exceeded my confidence and courage."

--Peter Paul Rubens

We could all use a little of this grandiosity, no? I found this quotation on an explanatory label placed next to a Rubens painting at the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth.

Do you have a favorite quote to spur your confidence? Let me know and I'll get it posted on the blog or feel free to do so on your own as a comment.

Creativity Portal

I have been blogging for a number of years now. I started, long-time readers may recall, with The Bush Diaries, back in November 2004, after the presidential election of that year. I found that I needed to "do something", and fell into the blogosphere pretty much by accident. That first blog morphed, thank heaven, a couple of years later into The Buddha Diaries, which continues to this day. It's my own way of "persisting" as a writer, and it has led me to many associations that I treasure. Now, in launching Persist: The Blog, I have begun to meet another whole community of writers who devote a good deal of thought to human creativity and to supporting those who find it an essential part of their lives. I have slowly been introducing myself in this community, and thought it would be a great idea to get to know them a little better. So this will be the first posting of a series of interviews in which I find out more about these fascinating, dedicated people.

Here, then, is a Q & A with Chris Dunmire, a creativity coach and blogger at Creativity Portal:

Persist: How did you get involved in creativity coaching? How long have you been at it? Are you an artist yourself (I use the word generically: writer, musician, actor, dancer...); and was it your experience as such that led you into this endeavor?

Chris: I am an artist — a graphic designer by trade and a writer by heart. I’m also a humorist and make good use of my artistic skills in the invention of many imaginative (and sometimes silly) things you can see on display at ChrisDunmire.com. I’ve authored and self-published several teacher-geared instructional e-books available on CreativeSlush.com — most popular among them is my Origami Dollar Bill Money Plant project which will be featured in Harry Choron’s upcoming book “The MoneyPhile.”

For the past 10 years I’ve been absorbed in writing motivational articles and designing projects to inspire creative thinking and expression in others. My personal passion for creativity (it’s vital to my well-being), is paired with a sense of compassion for others struggling with their own creative nature. As a result, I founded Creativity-Portal.com in 2000 with the intention of encouraging others towards courageously exploring and expressing their creativity, long before I knew what creativity coaching was.

I got involved in creativity coaching through my work with C-P, first as a promoter of life coaches with a niche in coaching creatives, and then as an aspiring creativity coach myself. I became immersed in the works of leading creativity authors and experts — Roger VonOech, Michael Gelb, Julia Cameron, SARK, Eric Maisel, and others, and through Maisel’s “Fearless Creating” and “Coaching the Artist Within” I learned about creativity coaching as a stand-alone profession he claimed to be 'cutting out of whole cloth' as a coach himself and a trainer of creativity coaches worldwide, being regarded as ‘America’s foremost creativity coach.’

Maisel’s work resonated with me so much that between 2005 and 2006 I completed three of his creativity coach certification courses which are now core trainings for the Creativity Coaching Association (CCA). Interestingly, I also had a hand in developing and promoting the original CCA program in partnership with its original founder, Rick Benzel on C-P, but that’s another story.

Persist: Do you have/need any special qualifications or certification?

Chris: I have three certificates through Maisel’s training programs: Basic Creativity Coaching, Coaching Artists, and Coaching Writers. In 2009 I also became certified in the Badonsky/Maurer model of Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching™ (KMCC) and am a current member of the KMC3.

When you ask, “Do you need any special qualifications,” realize that coaching is an unregulated field, which means that life coaching, creativity coaching, and any other type of coaching can be practiced by anyone with or without credentials. And because of this, different coaches may work in different ways depending on where they acquired their training (or not), what philosophy they’re working with, and how they express their interpersonal style. These are important considerations for a potential client to research beforehand, to ask about, and to test out in a demo session to be sure the relationship will be a good fit for both the client and coach.

Organizations like the International Coaching Federation (ICF) try to establish a standard for coaching by a code of ethics and fee-based permission to carry their stamp of approval, but even they disclaim anyone under their umbrella with the statement on their Web site: “Representatives of the programs listed in this search service have agreed to abide by the ICF Code of Ethics. However, ICF approval does not guarantee the ethical practices or effectiveness of the training program or organization.” So again, a client needs to be vigilant while selecting a coach and open to finding one in a number of ways.

Personally, I recommend hiring a creativity coach who is both certified in some coaching model/philosophy and also demonstrably creative in their own life. If I lacked either, I would not practice creativity coaching — it would be out of tune with my integrity.

Persist: To what extent does your work with artists involve "therapy"--for want of a better word--or personal counseling, as opposed to professional counseling?

Chris: The maxim that “coaching is not therapy” applies in the creativity coaching I do, especially in a legal sense. And if a client seeks coaching but really needs therapy or counseling, I’ll refer them.

By design one-to-one coaching offers at least some therapeutic value to the client in that they engage in the process feeling supported, validated, and heard by an objective party who is interested, helpful, and non-judgmental.

In the KMCC model, for example, an emphasis on compassion and the non-linear nature of creativity is integral to the coaching process, along with helping a client to tap into their own intuitive wisdom and personal power to achieve their goals, even in the smallest of steps. This nurturing relationship can easily open up creative blocks and lead to wonderful strides and breakthroughs.

Persist: What rewards do you look for from your work? Which of these mean the most to you?

Chris: I appreciate that I can act as a creative catalyst in someone else’s life. When people tell me that I’ve helped or inspired them in some way, it feels good. When I see a client’s confidence grow, or they are more joyful, or they achieve particular goal, I witness the process working, transforming lives. I know its worthy work. It’s both rewarding and meaningful to me.

Persist: What can an artist expect to gain from working with you? Are you concerned to help them with greater exposure?

One of the first questions I’ll ask a client is, “What are you looking for in creativity coaching?” This starts the process of where our work begins. If an artist is afraid to pick up a paintbrush and make her first stroke, we begin there. Or, if a writer wants to explore ways to widen his audience and expand his readership, we begin there. It’s about expanding possibilities and finding/discovering ways to make things happen.

Persist: Do you have any thoughts about the burgeoning competition in this line of work?

Chris: Among KMCC coaches, I love our variety and celebrate our differences in the supportive community we’re building. After reading the book “Attracting Perfect Customers: the Power of Strategic Synchronicity” by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez I realize that people who truly value my services and are attracted to my particular style will make the best clients — and we’ll mutually benefit. Some coaches may be better suited for particular clients because of their own areas of expertise and personality types, and I’m happy to refer them. Coaching is not a one-size-fits-all thing, so I’m glad there’s room for all of us.

*****

My best thanks to Chris for her enthusiastic participation and her generous response to my curiosity. There will be more to come...