Beyond the Comfort Garden Nurturing Growth Through Creative Collaboration

Have you ever held a seed of creativity in your hand, wondering if it could grow into a full-blown masterpiece? That's the story of every visionary, and on the Mindset Artistry Podcast, we're all about nurturing those seeds. Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic" inspires our conversation as we tackle the nurturing of creative ideas for a life brimming with success and fulfillment. Like gardeners tending to their crops, we share personal anecdotes and insights on creating the ideal conditions for your creativity to thrive—because those creative instincts of yours? They're not just whims; they're your ticket to making meaningful impacts in work and personal projects.

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Transcript

Amanda DeBraux: 0:03

This is the Mindset Artistry Podcast. I'm Amanda DeBraux, an actor or actress per your reference, and an inner voice life coach, and I'm Janel.

Janel Koloski: 0:10

Koloski, an actor and career and mindset coach. We're your hosts and we're here to flip your mindset, to teach you the artistry of what we learned to keep your mind in check Over the course of our lives.

Amanda DeBraux: 0:20

we've taken on the journey of healing, living and being authentically ourselves, as we successfully built our individual careers in the entertainment industry.

Janel Koloski: 0:28

This podcast is designed for you so you can discover your goals and courageously reach them at your highest potential, while being a hundred and thousand percent yourself.

Amanda DeBraux: 0:37

What you'll get from us is real dirty and okay, a little more like a lot of quirky, along with special elite guests that nurture empathy and create a safe space without judgment. So get ready to build a mindset that is unapologetically you and excel beyond the stars. Welcome to the Mindset Artistry Podcast.

Janel Koloski: 1:00

That's good.

Amanda DeBraux: 1:02

I feel like when we started this journey we didn't know where it would take us, and I love that for anyone watching or listening out, there is trusting in your abilities to try something new or go after a creative thought or an idea. Go after it and try it, because you don't know what can come from it. It may not work out and that's absolutely okay, because not every idea is great, honey. Let's be honest. Not every idea is great, but that's the beauty about it, because once you keep going through your creative ideas and everything that you discover the greatness, or you combine all these creative thoughts and create a great idea or a great thing that you can contribute to the world and service the world right. And so I definitely want to encourage anybody. You know we have all these creative aspirations, skills that we have, and you have to be able and take up space and make space to explore your creative outlets. And some people hello, hello, some people may find it difficult because they don't have an example around them of people who actually went for the creative ideas. I can definitely say in part of my family, a lot of my family have had creative ideas like starting their own business or sewing, and then somehow life comes up. Of course it does. It happens some hiccups, some tragedies, and they kind of let their passion slip away. And it's never too late, for sure. But if you create and put an intention into that creative idea and make it a priority or make it a focus or make it a part of your week, your day, your month, your year, of your week, your day, your month, your year, then in your mind, as you start thinking about it more, you're going to start creating thoughts that align with that creative outlet, that creative goal, to start implementing that in your everyday life. Right, for example, okay, fine, I want to go back to school, no matter what and I've seen people who have been in their 60s, 70s and 80s going. You know what. I kind of want to go back to school, I want to learn. It's a whole new era, it's a whole new world. I want to go back to school. Great, you already put that idea out there. You've already spoken it out loud. All right, that means that you have this curiosity. Don't let the curiosity fade away. You have the idea. All right, start somewhere. Start researching online courses, start researching schools, start searching for, maybe, workshops to free workshops. There's so many free workshops out there that can give you a glimpse or a peek into what you want to learn and if it actually is interesting to you, then from there you can start investing and seeing where you're gonna put that energy into. Like is it online, is it in person, you know that kind of stuff or maybe it's a certification, rather than like a two-year school or a four-year school. It can be as simple as I'm gonna attend a six-week class and I'm gonna learn the skill and get certified and get like a certificate. That's fantastic that. Learn the skill, get certified and get like a certificate that's fantastic. That means you're learning. So there's a variety of ways that you can learn.

Amanda DeBraux: 4:28

But really plant, I always like to say every thought is a seed. Right, every thought is a seed and every seed needs to be nourished in the garden for it to grow and it has its seasons. Think about it. Look at the trees and look at any plants that you've had in your home. They go through the seasons, but you have to nourish that seed. You have to create the circumstances for it to grow, whether it's moisture or compost that you're going to put in the dirt or nutrients. You need water every day, all of these things that you need to contribute to the growth of that seed. That is your creative thought. So what are you going to do? What are the instruments and tools that you're going to use and need to nurture that seed and build that garden so that you can walk through it and feel full?

Amanda DeBraux: 5:19

Because as you build the garden, as you build and well build the garden and then allow it to grow, what naturally happens the bees, the insects, the animals they start naturally coming in. That may be good or bad, but it attracts the beauty, it attracts what you're trying to achieve or receive, right. So you put out what you and what you want to get. And now, so I just want to cause. It just came to me. I'm like I think maybe somebody needs to hear this out there.

Amanda DeBraux: 5:48

Like you know, plant seeds keep that creative thought. Don't let it like slip away from you, slip away from you, especially now you've got that thought, you've got the. It came to you for a reason. And now it always says every creative thought, every idea came to you for a reason. Every creative thought, every idea came to you for a reason.

Amanda DeBraux: 6:04

You have a creative mind. You're like this machine. You have the gears constantly going. You have all this energy that's being processed, all the experiences that you're encountering every single day, whether it's television, outside reading a book, encountering your neighbor or your elderly neighbor and having a conversation with them, looking at a dog and like, oh, look at that dog today. That was really cute. Wow, I wonder how I can make that a comic book. Every thought can be a beautiful story. So, nelly, I wanted to pass it to you and kind of get your thoughts on this concept of creative ideas. Creative thoughts and what would be your advice for anyone out there who may be struggling with going after that creative thought or like putting some energy into it and, you know, coming up against fear or doubt, resistance, because you know, like you and I, we've had many ideas right. So share.

Janel Koloski: 7:01

I was going to say Alex, is there, my manager? Hi, alex, hi, yes, hello, thank you for the hearts. Yes, we've had many creative ideas and I'm very grateful for you, amanda, and I tell everybody this because it's really beautiful to have that idea and go for it for yourself. But I think why a lot of people do give up is it can be a very lonely space and you can feel crazy. Who am I to pursue this creative thing, or is it? I don't know. So what I really love about us is that maybe I'm having a down day and I'm like I don't know if we can really do this creative thing. Yes, we can, and you add something really beautiful to it, and vice versa. And so I've loved this mindset artistry partnership podcast workshop situation that we have, and so I've loved this mindset artistry partnership podcast workshop situation that we have. And so I think there's two things that you can do.

Janel Koloski: 7:50

When you have a creative idea and you're a little scared One, just go for it and don't really tell anybody else about it, because sometimes I think people start to think, well, what will other people think? And it's kind of funny. But I've told Amanda, I grew up kind of alone. I had some friends but spent a lot of time alone and it was really a really. It was a kind of a gift because no one really was telling me what to do or giving me. I was like out there catching grasshoppers and writing poems and chasing butterflies and writing stories with my stuffed animals at home and all these funny little things. Nobody was telling me don't do that or I don't know. So I think the reason that I've really been able to pursue all of my creative pursuits is because from a young age, nobody told me yes or no, nobody was like to say anything. And so I would say, if you're struggling, don't tell other people about your idea at first, see where you go with it and don't think about other people judging you. And if you do hear judgment, that's a hundred percent you or maybe some things somebody said to you, I don't know.

Janel Koloski: 9:04

20 years ago our friend Aiden and I were talking about this, talking about like on the playground Now I'm aging us, I'm only 20, but I was talking to Aiden and I said at some point somebody told both Aiden and I that we weren't powerful and we gave our power away and we still haven't taken it back completely, which means we thought we gave our power away once, which means we'll never have it again. And I think it happens with creativity too, where you have your creativity and then you give it away and somebody's like this is a bad idea, now let me just throw it away. And they're like this is terrible. And then you think that your creativity will never have value again. But you know to get all woo-woo as we do in universal, you know the universe stuff.

Janel Koloski: 9:54

There's certain ideas that I really do think. Pick you Elizabeth Gilbert's, what is the book Big Magic? Yeah, there's certain ideas that come to you and you're like I have this idea and I really want to do it and it's a burning desire for you because you can make it happen. So I would say those two things just be like know that you have what it takes to make it happen. So I would say those two things just be like know that you have what it takes to make it happen, this creative idea, because you're thinking of it and experiencing it.

Janel Koloski: 10:20

And then, if you're worried about judgment, maybe just keep it to yourself and really see where it comes together. And the more you do something, I think you build confidence as well, you know we have you and I in doing this, Hello, hello. And once you build up enough confidence after working on this idea by yourself, nobody can really tell you anything at a certain point because you've already done the work yourself. You didn't take your creative idea and go somewhere and, oh, everybody pitched in so much that you lost your own voice. When you really cultivate your idea and use your creativity and make something that's your own, you are so much more grounded and you stand on your own two feet when you're delivering this. So I think all those are ways to build up creative ideas and set them free.

Amanda DeBraux: 11:10

Yeah, I love that. Yes, set your creative ideas free. I love that. I love that because it made me think about and I appreciate you sharing that because I hope someone takes that to heart because at some point in my life when I worked in the corporate world, I would try to be my creative self, I would try to contribute to my colleagues, to my job, to elevate myself, and I would come up with these creative colleagues to my job to elevate myself.

Amanda DeBraux: 11:33

And I would come up with these creative ideas and I thought they were really cool, to make things seamless, or you know, just be creative and kind of showcase my skills. And I remember multiple times my manager at the time would shut it down, would just shut it down. She would make it seem like it wasn't a priority, it's just not important, it's not good enough, kind of thing. And there was no constructive feedback versus like, okay, well, I get where you're coming from, but how can this contribute to your work now? How can this contribute to the team?

Amanda DeBraux: 12:09

And I had wished that conversation had happened. Because it didn't, I started doubting myself in that job. I started doubting my abilities as an employee and team player, and so I just end up skating through the job versus actually putting effort into being a great employee and a great collaborator with my job, because I got discouraged. I got discouraged with trying and I have worked with clients before who have worked in the corporate world and have had their ideas stolen from them and because of the experience I've had, I've learned backfires in the cars.

Amanda DeBraux: 12:53

I have learned that it's important to stand your ground. It's important to make space for your creative ideas in the job. Don't let anybody take your creative idea. Don't let anybody take credit for something that you've done. And if you have a creative idea, ask for constructive criticism, ask for constructive feedback going okay, great, I appreciate what you're saying. To me. It's not important right now, but how can this get better?

Amanda DeBraux: 13:22

As my colleague, as my boss, as someone who I report to in this particular job, I want to contribute to it the best way that I can. I want to be a team player and this is the way that I am trying to do it. So I would appreciate if you take a moment 10 to 15 minutes or so to actually be present with me in this idea so that I can find how it can contribute to the team. Or maybe I can come up with something better that's more aligned with what we're trying to do as a team, not only for our team, but for the company, and that's a great way of looking at it, right. But again, don't let someone tell you that your ideas are crap or that they're not important because they are, they're yours and it may not work there, but it works somewhere else. Make the space. Fine, they don't want it. You know what. Do it yourself and give it to someone. Do it and then maybe contribute to another job, look for that promotion or whatever the case may be is. But if I had known that, I probably would have stayed in the job a lot longer and I probably would have spoke up for myself a lot better in the position, because I would have felt confident in my creative ideas.

Amanda DeBraux: 14:37

Because after that I just stopped trying. I just I did. I didn't see the point. I didn't see the point. I was just like, okay, fine, then you're not going to listen to me anyway, so what's the point? And it did me a disservice because then I limited myself of the growth and evolving in that position and also elsewhere. So it wasn't until I decided to leave my job that I started taking ownership of my creative ideas, and it was outside of that job as well, like I would do it outside of that job. But in that job I felt very constricted, very restricted, and so it just contributed a lot of confusion within my mind of like, oh, I can do this creative idea, but in this way, but not over here, because it's not welcomed. It's like no, it is and it can be.

Amanda DeBraux: 15:22

So I would say you know, when we have that creative thought, take ownership of it. Like Mel said, don't share with everybody, you know, put your effort into it, get clear on it, you know, work through it for a while, because one idea again may contribute to 10, 15 ideas and it may get better. It is going to expand and looking at the big picture and also find an accountability partner like myself or Janelle. That's what Mindset Artistry is about. We are certified life coaches. We are your accountability partners.

Amanda DeBraux: 15:49

We are the safe space for you to explore your inner truth, explore your professionalism, to explore your career, to explore your life and live, and equip you with the best tools possible for you to thrive in all avenues of your life, not just personal but professional, physically, mentally, emotionally. All that is aligned. All of that is like the domino effect. All of it is a cause and effect, it all matters. So if you're not taking care of like Nell says and she learned from her many coaches if you're not taking care of, is it vertical, this is vertical, oh horizontal, and then you're vertical. Yes, because I always forget that. Let me tell you in school, exactly you and me both.

Amanda DeBraux: 16:45

Yes, yes, yes, yes, I love that. What a great name. Listen, we're all lucky, we're all lucky.

Amanda DeBraux: 17:03

And so, yeah, I wanted to bring that up because I, as Janelle and thank you for saying that, because you have been a great partner to work with during this journey and I was just speaking to David we went to a pageant last night, which was really fun, with NDT and we're going to have the contestants on at some point to share their experience. And, by the way, we are former pageant ladies. Yeah, yeah, uh-huh, yep, missing in geniality. Miss pre-teen, second place. Yes, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, uh huh, yep, that's my geniality. Miss pre-teen, second second place. Yes, so we are pageant ladies at some point in time.

Amanda DeBraux: 17:39

So we happen to go to a pageant and we ran into some like new friends and colleagues and I was talking about the difficulty of starting and creating an idea with someone else, because I've gone through this career and this life of having creative ideas and telling someone. And they go oh my gosh, let me help you. That sounds amazing, let me get on board, I can do this, I can do that. And you're like, oh, yeah, let's do it, because they're both excited. We're like kids in a playground. We're like, yeah, let's do it, we're going to get on the monkey bars, then we can jump off to the slide like all that. Right, you get really, really excited and then you start putting some deadlines in there.

Amanda DeBraux: 18:17

You start talking about ideas and then they stop showing up, they stop being consistent, and then what happens? Then you end up losing traction in your creative idea, start getting frustrated. You start getting disappointed, you start losing interest in your creative ideas because, guess what? You depended on somebody else to follow through with their portion of it and they didn't. So then you took it upon yourself and added more pressure. Maybe you felt guilty or shame that you asked for help, because we've had that. You know it's very difficult to ask for help. It seems like you're vulnerable, but you're not. It's actually. You're stronger when you ask for help. That means you're admitting and have that awareness and know that there is something that you need to learn, and that's okay. And then you can't do everything you can be the change.

Janel Koloski: 19:09

It's scary because you're like well, people actually show up and help me if I ask.

Amanda DeBraux: 19:13

Right, that too. And so yeah, and perfect example. And they haven't. And so I was saying that and I was like you know what a blessing it has been, and I'm so lucky that Janelle and I have been consistent with each other or have kept each other accountable even when, with my own slacking girl, I got to step up my game and she's stepping up and vice versa or we keep each other accountable Like girl. Didn't you say you were going to do this on the Tuesday? It's now Thursday. What happened? Let me in on what's going on in your life that you couldn't do that. How can we get better? Like, what can we implement or take away that would allow you to accomplish that goal or that thing that you set out to do? And that comes also back to setting realistic goals and aspirations. But, yes, no, you wanted to say something.

Janel Koloski: 20:02

It also makes me think of and I tell actors this all the time and models and anybody that I'm working with you're part of something bigger. You know, when you you know that it makes the work so much more important and better. And so it's when you're just doing the work by yourself and you're not asking for help or maybe you're not collaborating with somebody else, it's just it does lose that steam. But if you know you're a part of something bigger and you guys are creating something together and you're both showing up and agreeing that it's, it's, it's just so powerful and can really like help that creative idea really take off. So that's what I was thinking. She also dogs freaking out and my poor rabbit is so worried.

Amanda DeBraux: 20:54

Excuse me, I love that. I think, yeah, I just, again and again, I appreciate you for sharing your journey with me, because it's a bumpy road to do something new. It's a bumpy road and a vulnerable road to do something new Because you're you know. It's like going back in the days when you're like all right, I'm going to go on a boat and I'm going to sail the world, we're going to figure out some islands. To find, like that is scary because you don't know how long you're going to be on the boat, you don't know what storms you're going to get into, you don't know anything that could possibly come up. You don't know the unknown. But it's also a beautiful thing. That's also a beautiful thing because it teaches you what you're capable of. It teaches you how to be on your feet. It teaches you how to solve these problems. It teaches you that you can solve any challenge, any problem. You just have to allow yourself to and allow that space and the maybe again collaborating.

Amanda DeBraux: 21:51

Like you know, as an Aries and as a person who has a very strong controlling aspect of myself, because I want everything to be a specific way, I know that I can do it right. I can do that. Why would I give it to somebody else if I know I can do it right? And I had to come to terms with that as well, as far as like a professional, because I wanted to keep everything closed in and control it all. But what happened was I end up delaying that creative thought or that creative idea because I needed to do everything. I didn't want to reach out for help, and that's okay to not reach out for help, but know your limits, understand what your you're, not your your avenues of learn, of not like knowledge that you don't have so much knowledge in right. I wouldn't say like a weakness, because I don't believe in weaknesses. I just think there's an opportunity for you to strengthen any skill, anything that you can do right. So, just like any muscle, your muscle still exists, it's there, it's functioning, but you work out and it gets stronger, it gets more resistant, it gets more resilient, and that's what you have to do with that, any skill that you have.

Amanda DeBraux: 22:53

So I would say, look at the places or the things in your life that you're not as adept to doing, and that's okay, and then maybe find classes again. There's so much stuff on YouTube, google YouTube. There are so many articles, so many books. Ask someone, follow someone on social media who teaches these things, such as, like building a car or creating social content, dancing. There's so much available for us that it's limitless at this point, because everybody has a skill in something. And that's again circling back to the beauty of going after creative ideas, sharing your creative thoughts, because someone out there will be looking for you, they will need you at some point, they will need the knowledge that you want to share. So understand that's a full on circle of learning something putting it out there, because there's going to be someone out there who doesn't know it. There's going to be.

Amanda DeBraux: 23:59

I mean, think about I've seen people talk about Spanish and like different dialects and saying different. You know different languages just that little thing that we take advantage of. Some people worked their whole lives to have multiple languages and learn multiple languages and communicate. That is so amazing. And if you want to learn, there's someone out there who can teach you.

Amanda DeBraux: 24:21

There's no shame in seeking knowledge. There's no shame in it. It is our natural instinct. It's our natural right to seek out knowledge, to seek out experience, to seek out living. If you're doing the same thing over and over every day. You're a robot, I'm sorry to tell you. You have become robotic and become incapable of expressing yourself and exploring all the facets of you. All the facets. Think about when you speak to the elderly people who are like 90. They go. I wish I would have done that, you know, when I was younger. I should have traveled the world when I had no kids and I should have written that book. We don't want you to live in the shouldas, the couldas, the wouldas. We want you to live in the.

Amanda DeBraux: 25:23

I tried, I did it and I shared it. Or I tried, it didn't work out, but I learned something. I met my partner, shared it. Or I tried, it didn't work out, but I learned something. I met my partner, I met a good friend, I learned something new, I experienced something. I have like a little scar to say oh my gosh. Let me tell you I went. You know I went skateboarding, but the scar I can't tell you. I busted my butt. It was so funny. But I met good friends. It's a great story. All stories matter, you matter. And that's a wrap on this episode of Mindset Artistry Podcast. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe. Catch us every Thursday for a new episode to help you master the art of your mindset. Got it? Yes, okay, cool.