20 Lessons I’ve Learned About Being Creative – The Creative Life Interview Series

Since publishing the very first post on this blog on June 2, 2014, through Creative Life, 62 personal stories and 20 interviews have been shared. A couple of days ago I opened up the blog to guest posts and have already received a few submissions.

The mission behind this website is to combat the fear that leads to creative suppression and paralysis by sharing authentic stories about the true creative experience. My goal is to make creativity less scary and more accessible. I believe that anyone can live a creative life.

I have learned an incredible amount through running this project, and I am deeply touched by the tremendous feedback myself, the interviewees, and the writers have received. We truly do connect over vulnerability, and I am so grateful for the bravery that everyone involved has exuded. Thank you for sharing the truth of your creative life.

In celebration of the 20th interview – released last week – I wanted to share one piece of advice shared by each interviewee during the course of this series so far. Please enjoy. If you click on the name next to the advice, you can read their whole interview.

*Scroll to the bottom of this page for a very special announcement.

How to Be Creative

20 Lessons I’ve Learned From the Creative Life Interviewees

1. You can’t just be technical. There has to be a vulnerability where others know that you’ve been hurt. Or they know that you’ve thought about something deeply, and are willing to be vulnerable and share it. – John Pippus

2. Say yes to yourself, and say yes to whatever ideas come to you. Don’t censor yourself. If you can say yes to your own ideas, then you’ll get somewhere. You’ll put paint to canvas. – Matthew Kowalchuk

3. Just ADMIT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING. Because you don’t. Not only will you open yourself up to far more experiences, and not only will you try to learn from those experiences, but people will WANT to teach you! – Becky Forbes

4. You’ve got to live your life. You can watch a hundred movies (and take things from all of them) but once you go through a real dramatic time in your life, that’s so much more valuable then watching it happen in a movie. You understand it so intrinsically, and then that comes through in your writing [your work] – Andrew Rowe

5. Be clear and forthright with your ideas, and just try and convince yourself that what you want to do is worth doing. It’s very easy to doubt yourself into a corner or doubt yourself out of a project, but if you really believe in your idea, you’re going to see it through. – Alex Coles

6. Trust that what you bring to the world, your piece of the puzzle, is enough. Trust that you are valuable and that you deserve to be here, and that no one else will be able to live or tell the exact same story that you do/can. – Jeff Todd

7. Perfectionism isn’t the most efficient motivator. Working, or finishing a piece of art, becomes more about social pressures and how people will interpret you as the artist. Mistakes have made great art, but for some reason no one wants to be the one making them. – Sarah Mae Worden

8. A great artist carves time out of each day, and often a significant amount of it, to devote to his/her craft. We all have time, and can make time, if we want to do something bad enough. It’s a question of priorities and sacrifices. What matters most? Great artists aren’t afraid of failure; they don’t let that stop them from trying, and they use failure as a learning opportunity instead of something to wallow in. – Chasity St.Louis

9. You need to be able to call yourself an actor or artist because you embody it, and not because someone else deems you worthy of the title. It’s true what they say:  no one else will believe in you if you don’t first. – Sarah Goodwill

10. Just do it, and don’t think about it. Don’t think yourself into a corner because if you do fear will take over and you’ll always be thinking about what could have been. If you want to do something, just do it. Then go out and get inspired. – Jay Daniel Flett

11. The qualities of a great artist? People who listen to the world around them. People who breath. People who play. People who are kind. People who care. – Ryan Griffith

12. Get yourself a routine that keeps your body strong and your mind sharp: yoga, weightlifting, team sports.  Read books. Practice your cold reading skills, and get used to hearing the sound of your own voice. Also, develop and maintain relationships with people OUTSIDE the industry. – Broadus Mattison

13. Love what you do, and every time you have to deal with adversity of any kind… fall back in love with what you do. – Steven Holmes

14. You need endurance to be an artist. Anyone can make art over short distances. To be an artist in your own eyes you need a relationship with your work over a long period of time. Try not to bow out early. – Theo Devaney

15. There are no rules. There are trends, guidelines, etc, but there are NO rules. A lot of the time, when people will tell you “You can’t do that,” it’s just them admitting out loud that they themselves can’t do whatever it is. Ignore them and do it anyway if you really feel like it’s the best choice. To try something and fail is way better than never trying at all. Maybe you’ll succeed! – Mike Kovac

16.  Enjoy the journey, because no matter where you are there is always the next minute, the next week, and the next year. Enjoy the moment of where you are now, because in a minute that moment will become the past. – Kevan Ohtsji

17. Find out why you want to do this, why you love it, because if you don’t know then it will eat you alive on the days when it’s difficult, and it will be impossible to stay in reality on the days that it’s amazing. – Jane Hancock

18. You can learn anything. Its a matter of time and intelligent study. Break it down, math it out. Don’t worry about killing the mystery or the emotionality of it. In the end you still make beautiful things, and you’re less emotionally attached to your work, which lets you be more self-critical. – Tom Sutton

19. Don’t quit, don’t ever stop. No matter what. It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, because you will get knocked down. The only thing that matters is that you stand back up. If you stand up enough times you’ll find a way to win. – Leonard Collett

20. Complete every project you start. See it through. The Muse will hesitate giving you your next inspiration if you leave work unfinished. – Bob Rylett

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The First Creative Life Meetup – Failure, Breakthroughs, and Bravery

I’d like to take this opportunity to officially announce the first Creative Life Event!!

On Wednesday, April 8th there will be a panel discussion with 4 established artists in Vancouver, BC about failure, courage, and breakthroughs. Learn more by clicking here. There will be photo opportunities, food, wine, vulnerable ‘networking’ opportunities, and a raffle.

Let’s celebrate what it means to live a Creative Life together!

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