104: How to Push Beyond Fear and Become the Creator You Were Born to Be with Joanna Penn

March 12, 2018

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Do you have an itch to write a book, run a marathon, become a chef, or paint a masterpiece? Following these urges to create can add a major dimension of joy and vibrance to our lives. In this episode, award-winning author Joanna Penn shares the secrets of staying motivated without letting FEAR stop you in your tracks, scheduling time for creativity, and how to care shift our MINDSET to maximize our ability to focus during and identify with the creation process.

What You'll Learn in this Episode:

How to overcome your fear of taking the leap to try something new.
Why it’s just as important to create as to consume.
2 soul-deep reasons people write books.
How to form a new identity as a creative person.
The powerful morning routine Joanna has followed in order to write 17 books.

Nuggets of Wisdom from Joanna:

Measure your life by what you create. I measure my life by what I create. I have that on the wall, in front of my desk here because it really helps me with running a business, doing a podcast, your family, you get busy and the time just flies past. And you think, ‘What do I do this month? What did I do this year?' For me, focusing on measuring life by what I create. For me, here is a physical book that I just put into the world. Piling these up, that makes such a difference. And of course you can create a body of work, through a podcast, it doesn’t have to be a book. With your children, obviously that is another form of creation, but I define creating as something new into the world. So instead of just consuming social media, watching Netflix, putting something new into the world.”

“It’s more the energy. I think about it in two ways: Consumption and Creation. Consumption is really important, for example, traveling somewhere, going to a yoga class, going out in nature, putting something in your brain. Creating or producing can be anything; it can be a podcast, or some art, or whatever you want, it can be anything, like a friendship. It’s balancing consumption and creation where so many people just spend their lives consuming.”

“I retrained my ‘idea muscle' to pay attention to the world and to start creating. That would be a real tip, for people listening, if you don’t feel like you have ideas, you don’t feel creative. It is like a muscle, you have to start small. Having kids is great, they naturally understand creativity and they just do it. We have to get back to that. That simple idea of creating.”

What does it mean to be a Vibrant Happy Woman?

“I’m happy doing my creative life. And vibrant is focusing on eating well and being outside and moving… energy work – balancing that creation in the world. Daily yoga. walking. A standing desk. Being the Healthy Writer.”

A Challenge from Joanna:

“Schedule time to create and let go of judgment. Just put something new to the world, whatever that word means to you”

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About jen

Jen Riday is a mom of 6 and life coach who loves to help women experience massive happiness as they let go of stress, sadness or other chronic emotions of negativity.