Todays guest is kind of a big deal.

And not just because she’s a New York Times best selling author, or because she was voted as one of the Guardian’s Top 100 Creative Professionals of the Year or any of her other awards and accolades – Joanna Penn is a big freakin deal because it was her podcast – the Creative Penn – that was responsible for me entertaining the idea that one day, may be I too could have a podcast.

What we discussed:

• Has introversion helped/hindered Joanna’s career
• Using ‘introvert’ as a verb rather than a noun/label
• Tips for working on a creative project as an introvert
• Collaboration for creative introverts
• Tips for surviving multi-day conferences
• Advice for marketing ourselves vs. others
• Do men find it easier to promote themselves
• The ‘Vanilla Goth’
• When to pivot and when to stick with something
• Advice for goal setting and achieving big dreams

Links Mentioned:

I know I'm not the only one who has ever found themselves in a creative funk. You know, being in a state of uncertainty, confusion, overwhelm, apathy… whatever the flavour a funk takes, I can for sure attest that isn’t pleasant. In addition to making daily life a grind, they make doing creative work hard or nearly impossible.

Note that this podcast is intended just as a guide to show you how to get out of a creative funk, but if you have prolonged sadness, anxiety or feel like this mood is affecting your life in any significant way: please please do ask for professional help. There are loads of people who are qualified to help with mental health, I am not one of them.

Here are some resources, which I’ve vetted and believe in wholeheartedly:

Resource for coping with depression

International suicide prevention hotlines

Depression support groups (UK)

Depression support groups (USA)

CBT Therapists (UK)

CBT Therapists (USA)

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This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

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I’m a SUCKER for a plan.

Personally, I find the creation of a plan both very soothing on times of stress and overwhelm, AND exciting in times of apathy or boredom.

A good plan gives you direction, motivation and a structure that ultimately can make your life exponentially easier and more rewarding.

And let’s get real: it’s half-way through the year of 2019, if you’re listening to this when you should be - the very day it comes out…!

It’s worth thinking about where you are, where you wanted to be back at the start of the year, and where you want to be by the end of the year. Maybe you had big plans to get your new website launched by the summer and oh look… it’s kind of half done but it’s already June. A revised plan can help you get back on track.

Or maybe your new years resolution was to start podcasting and you bought the mic on January 1st… but it’s still in its box. Womp womp.

Regardless of where you are, whether you overshot the mark or didn’t have a mark in the first place, there’s NO judgement here. Heck, I’ve long since stopped setting goals thinking I’ll literally achieve them by the exact deadline, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still plan for success. You can’t succeed if you don’t at least try, right? And part of being a creative introvert who attempts to make a living doing what they love, is trying, failing, making adjustments and trying again.

Anyway, I know that planning is what I’m spending some time on this week, and I figured it would be worthwhile sharing what my plan is to plan for the next 6 months… if that makes sense. Basically, this is your plan for planning.

And I know not every creative introvert listening will be quite the fan of planning as I am. But the point of this episode is to try to break down the process of planning in a way that is as pain-free as possible, that you can do within an hour and that you can actually implement over the next 6 months without losing track or getting overwhelmed. So if you're a procrastinator or a rebel (see Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies for more on that) then I highly recommend giving this process a try. Can't hurt to try, right?

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This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

In this week’s episode of the Creative Introvert podcast I talk to Pete Mosley, author of one of my favourite books: The Art of Shouting Quietly who helps people in running a business creatively, how to find and build relationships with customers and how to tell a great story about your work.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

I wanted to share with you my ultimate list of books for creative introverts, the ones that have genuinely changed my life (for the better!) and the ones I point to over and over again, when anyone ever asks me for recommendations.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

Paula Mould is an author, artist, teacher and entrepreneur who's life's goal is to help creatives connect with themselves, their craft and earn a good living from their work. Her first book, Wake The F*ck Up!, was designed to light the creative fire in women who hit their early 40s, look around at their lives and wonder if this is all there is.

Paula has teamed up with UK artist and writer Leigh Shenton to found The Creative Visionary. Together they are teaching and inspiring hundreds of creatives, artists, writers and more, from around the world to live high energy, rewarding lives.

Connect with Paula

You can find Paula's work at www.PaulaMould.com and The Creative Visionary's free Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/thecreativevisionary

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

Burnout is a topic I've been meaning to cover for some time on the Creative Introvert podcast, but I've been slightly cautious about it because I wanted to make sure I don't in any way glamorise it. This is something I've seen hints of in the online business world, with the entrepreneurs, infopreneurs or whatever-preneurs they want to call themselves. People acting like it's some sort of honour to work so hard you don't sleep or take care of yourself. To then have to take some sort of glamorous retreat in Bali or something, just to get their shit back together.

Well, hopefully that's NOT what this podcast will be about. I want to explain a bit about burnout (which is more tricksy than I had thought prior to researching this) and of course, some practical tips for avoiding burnout and how to un-burn yourself.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

On today’s podcast I have two for the price of one! I have an amazing duo on, Dörte and Georgie of Social Pow Wow.

Georgie has worked in digital marketing since 2012 with a variety of clients including artists, interior designers, and lots of ethical and sustainable brands.

Dörte is co-owner and manager of an online business called Lewes Map Store. As well as their Lewes Map collection, they have a beautiful curated selection of gifts from UK designers & makers.

I really enjoyed talking to them both and it was lovely to see such a great example of effective collaboration.

Links mentioned:

Social Pow Wow 

Cat Paterson podcast where we discussed Pinterest

Collaboration for Introverts

The League of Creative Introverts

The Social Pow Wow team have also offered you listeners 15% off their online course, Grow Your Creative Business With Pinterest. Just enter the coupon code ‘CATROSE15’ at checkout.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

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"One genuine relationship is worth a fistful of business cards."
~ Susan Cain

Today's podcast is all about... Networking. Or, more accurately: connection.

I share my thoughts on how to network if you're an introvert, the four steps to genuine connection (online and offline methods included) as well as what to do with the connections you make.

Links mentioned:

Jennifer Corcoran's networking tip (the bathroom beeline)

Irish Exits

Acetylcholine

Laurie Helgoe - Introvert Power

Théa Anderson

Sarah Santacroce

The League of Creative Introverts

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This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

BECOME A SUPPORTER

If you leave a rating and review on iTunes (here's how to do that) I will be as happy as a kitten playing with a laser beam (or sob into my pillow, depending on what you write.)

In this episode of the Creative Introvert podcast we have fellow Cat, fellow ginger and fellow INTJ: Cat Paterson. Business strategist extraordinaire, Cat has a super interesting background, which includes heading up intelligence analysis for a covert agency… and it makes total sense as to why she’s a personality profiling geek, like me.

Apologies for the airplane sound effects - that was 100% my fault, it’s just one of the side effects of recording this podcast while I’m travelling...

What we discussed:

• How different types of introvert deal with conflict
• How Cat turned a health condition into an opportunity
• How to lay down boundaries and stick with them
• How Cat started her online business with no pre-existing client base
• The value of collaboration and referrals in the online business space
• Why Pinterest is the most introvert-friendly platform

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

The biggest challenge the creative introverts face when it comes to marketing their work is… Fear of coming across as sleazy or gross or inauthentic.

Yep. That’s the number one obstacle. Not things like figuring out Facebook or Instagram, not worrying about paid advertising or email campaigns, not even having not enough time, though that is up there.

It’s having the confidence to go out there and share your work, the thing you love with all your heart - at least most days - and communicate what you do to people who may actually give you money for it.

OK. I’m not going to pretend there’s a simple 10-step guide to marketing that doesn’t feel sleazy, that actually feels good and normal and easy… At least, if there is one I don’t know about it.

But in today's podcast am going to attempt to share with you what I’ve come to see about marketing, and help you find a way that feels good to you - and helps you get your work in front of the very best clients or customers for you.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

Today’s podcast guest, Morgan Stapp is the chief brand strategist at Specht + Co. She specialises in helping businesses communicate their message. We talk about her experience in starting to work for herself, how to handle being an introvert when going to conferences (something I also dived into in depth on the 99th episode) and why she decided to invest in a Mastermind group.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

Today I’m celebrating my 100th episode of the Creative Introvert Podcast!

Technically, I’ve recorded many more shows – nearly 50 ‘Year of Fun’ minisodes, plus two 10 episode series, one on Self-Knowledge and one on the Enneagram.

I know every podcaster who hits an arbitrary number with some 0’s on the end says this, but I really am surprised I’ve been going this long.

I’m a serial quitter. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, I’m actually really proud pf my ability to switch gear or to acknowledge when something isn’t for me any longer. I’m definitely not one for flogging dead horses.

And amazingly, this podcast has kept me entertained for over two years. And whilst I’d love to say it’s because I’ve got some knack for podcasting, I’m certain it’s 50% because of the awesome guests I’ve had the pleasure to chat to on the show, and 50% due to YOU the listener, who keeps my faith in humanity alive on a daily basis. The sweet emails I get, the comments on Instagram and Twitter – this is the stuff that fuels me when I have to scrape together my incoherent thoughts, and record something for you. So… thanks for that.

So before I get too mushy, I figure I’d share some of what I’ve learned from this podcast, the thing that started as an experiment way back in January 2017.

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This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

Let’s imagine your industry’s biggest conference is coming up. Three days of back-to-back presentations, workshops and panels, with endless opportunities to network, pitch influential people and evenings spent keeping the party going…

If you’re an introvert, this may sound about as appealing as a punch in the ribs. Unfortunately, conferences are generally not designed with the quiet-seeking, introspective and highly sensitive type.

Conferences are designed for the many, not the few. If a quiet meeting over tea with a friend is pole fishing, conferences are ocean-floor scraping. They prioritise mass engagement, not one-to-one connections.

Highly sensitive introverts have it even harder. A highly sensitive person tends to feel overstimulated with bright lights, lots of noise, lots of action and before long they burn out.

If you’ve ever been to a conference and felt like you’ve been run over for days afterwards, you’ll know how this feels.

If you haven’t attended a conference yet - don’t let this put you off! Remember introversion is not an excuse not to do something because it’s hard. If going to a conference aligns with your goals - and if getting your work out into the world and making a living from your creative pursuits is one of those goals - then it’s more than likely going to a conference is something worth considering.

I’m recording this just after my final day at one of these big conferences, with over 2000 attendees, Alt Summit. I travelled 20 hours to get here, gave two 90 minute presentations and spoke to more people than I have done in the past year or two combined.

Worth it? Well, the sunk cost fallacy, a cognitive bias we all have that leads us to judge things we’ve invested time or money in as positive regardless of whether they were or not, could be at play. But: objectively speaking, I can honestly say that even after my first day of the conference I had:

• Met someone who I might collaborate in the near future with
• Got some great advice for using video and guest blogging (which I will of course be sharing with you)
• And got a real confidence boost from knowing I could speak to an audience of strangers without reading a script and without relying on slides

But as great as all that is for me, I was hyper aware of (1) my jetlag and (2) my need to conserve my energy. I already had a game plan mapped out to minimise the damage, and I really think it’s what has helped me keep my energy and enthusiasm up.

Regardless of your conference experience to date, I want to show you the simple strategies I mostly managed to apply over the past few days. So hopefully you can put these into place should you have a conference in mind and want to make sure it’s manageable, valuable and maybe even… enjoyable.

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This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

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If you leave a rating and review on iTunes (here's how to do that) I will be as happy as a kitten playing with a laser beam (or sob into my pillow, depending on what you write.)

Today’s podcast guest is someone I've wanted the chance to speak to even before I considered starting a podcast. Mark McGuinness of lateraction.com I think is best introduced through the words of another of my favourite authors and creativity mentors, Steven Pressfield. Here's what Steven says about Mark:

"Mark McGuinness is a rare cat - part poet, part coach for creative professionals, part old-time, overeducated Brit who thinks deeply about stuff you and I have never heard of... a man who has lived the life and who has watched and worked intimately with hundreds of others who've done the same."

How's that for an intro? I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did.

What we discussed:

• How to embrace the 'old ways' whilst still remaining relevant
• How to find the time and resources to work on ourselves
• How to cultivate the courage to follow our fear
• Mark's advice for beginners, fresh out of college or university

I remember clearly being called ‘shy’ as a child. Sometimes ‘quiet.’ I despised the latter more. At least with ‘shy’ it felt like a virus I had caught. Being called ‘quiet’ suggested I had nothing to say. But I had lots to say, just not out loud.

Either way, I knew that they weren’t terms of endearment.

Slowly but surely, I learned ways to cover up my shyness, and pipe up. I surrounded myself with gregarious characters, in the hope it might rub off on me. At times, it did - especially with the help of alcohol.

It wasn’t until I found myself in the real world of work; commutes, meetings and beer o’clock on Fridays that my personality and preferences for quiet and solitude became a real issue. My life force would flatline by 2 pm. I was cranky, uninspired and prone to bursts of tears on public transport.

I wasn’t sure what the problem was. I knew it had something to do with me, because other people seemed just fine with a busy commute on public transport, spending all day in an open-plan office with the radio blaring and small talk by the water cooler and ending the day at a pub in Soho, spilling out onto the streets.

I figured I was broken.

A few years into pushing through, feeling like I was walking on broken feet, I finally left my job at the digital agency to try my luck freelancing. You can work from home, they said. You can work your own hours, they said. Pants are optional, they said.

I was sold!

For a time, the freelance life suited me.

I took advantage of my newfound freedom, relished in the comfort of my own space and experimented with obscure working hours and my personal hygiene.

After a few months of fun, I realised two things. One, that showering daily was probably a good idea after all and two, that clients don’t just stumble across your website automatically and give you money.

That’s when I started to learn about marketing, sales, networking, public relations… and realised I may have made a very big mistake in leaving the agency job, which in hindsight looked positively heavenly.

The advice I’d read online and in books about networking made my skin crawl. These people clearly were nothing like me. I wasn’t interested in learning how to ‘mirror’ someone, or smile in a way that shows at least 26 teeth. No thank you.

The online stuff wasn’t much better: I watched formulaic webinars teaching me how to teach people how to teach people marketing. If that’s how they got their Ferrari, I’ll continue to take the bus.

Surely, I thought, there must be a way to get my work seen by my dream clients, without selling my soul to the Dark Lord of Sleaze?

Moaning to a friend about my dilemma, I finally got my diagnosis.

He said, "You’re an introvert. Of course you find it hard."

I scoffed, "You’re wrong! I’m not shy!"

My friend went onto tell me about the original definition of introvert, the one Swiss psychoanalyst extraordinaire, Carl G. Jung coined.

An introvert is simply someone who gets their energy from spending time alone. They enjoy their own company and deep, one to one conversations. They process information slower than extroverts and in greater depth. This explained my trouble at networking events, my aversion for small talk and why most people made their way to the canapés when I started talking about the nature of consciousness.

In addition, introverts are NOT necessarily shy or quiet, though can come across that way, especially in large groups. They’re often easily over-stimulated, which would explain my trouble in the open-plan office and the busy London lifestyle.

This knowledge came as a giant relief to me. An epiphany, really.

It meant I wasn’t broken. It meant that there were others like me. It meant I could start to manage my energy more effectively and actually use my introversion to my advantage.

From here, my business picked up. I started to approach marketing and pitching clients in a way that suited my personality type and preferences.  

When it came to networking, I took my time. I played by my rules. I would go to events that had speakers - something to focus on and give me something to make conversation about that wasn’t too big or too small. I wouldn’t pressure myself to pitch my services right then and there; I’d use my introvert superpower of listening, and follow up the next day with a well crafted email. It worked remarkably well.

Email became my biggest ally. I learned how much I loved to write - introverts usually express themselves better through writing, because it gives us time to think and process our thoughts. I made it a habit, most days, to send just one email to a potential client or collaborator or mentor. Over time, I’ve built up a solid network, in a way that suits my skills and preferences.

Most challenging was to learn to balance my time alone and my time spent with people. Too far in the hermit direction, and I become anxious and life loses it’s colour. Too much time socialising, and I become cranky and critical. It’s a delicate balance that needs daily recalibration. For introverts, it’s worth becoming a real Goldilocks when it comes to energy management.

What surprised me most of all in the years following my introvert epiphany is learning about the value I get in community. Specifically, communities of people (usually creatives and introverts, like myself) who have similar problems as well as similar values as me. I thought I was immune from needing others in this way, until I accidentally found a Facebook group I liked. I started my own, which grew into the League of Creative Introverts. Since then, I’ve witnessed the difference accountability, support, shared skills and shared laughs make in both my life and the lives of my fellow creative introverts.

The final lesson my introvert epiphany gave me is the importance of not using our personality traits as an excuse. Hiding behind the label of introvert to excuse ourselves and remain only in our comfort zones, is a big mistake. Like being given fire from the gods, only to use it to burn our house down; learning about your personality type only to shut yourself away is a major opportunity and potentially a life, wasted.

Getting our work out into the world, serving the people we want to help, and fulfilling whatever purpose we’re here for means acknowledging our needs, playing to our strengths and mitigating our weaknesses. It means finding creative ways to overcome our perceived boundaries, and gently, stretching our comfort zone, whether that means posting our latest piece of art on Instagram or plucking up the courage to go to a local meet up of fellow creatives, even if it’s for 45 minutes.

My introvert epiphany is one of many. I’d love to hear (or read) others. If you know you’re an introvert, how did you find out? What have you learned since then? How have you put your introvert superpowers to use?

Get in touch: hello@thecreativeintrovert.com and send my your introvert epiphany. You can write it, paint it, draw it, sing it - up to you. You can also tag my on Instagram @creativeintro

Today’s podcast guest always knew she was an introvert but didn’t start living boldly, embracing her introversion until she read Quiet by Susan Cain. Ultimately, this book changed Natalie’s life, giving her a new sense of confidence and pride in her quiet nature. She founded Quietly Ambitious in 2015 and since then has been using her online platform to showcase other bold introverts and has started a line of awesome prints that celebrate what it is to be an introvert.

What we discussed:

• Why we need to stop being ashamed of our introversion
• What it means to be a bold introvert

Quotables:

“Just be bold in your introversion! It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Don’t look at the followers. Focus on the content you’re putting out there.”

Connect with Natalie:

Quietly Ambitious

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Etsy store

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This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

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If you leave a rating and review on iTunes (here's how to do that) I will be as happy as a kitten playing with a laser beam (or sob into my pillow, depending on what you write.)

What a weird phrase. “I’m in my element.”

It just popped into my head the other day (coincidentally, I was weeding) and before long I was writing this podcast in my head.

What does it mean to be in your element? According to Cambridge dictionary, the expression means: “to be happy because you are doing what you like or can do best.”

Sounds good to me.

I couldn’t find much on the origin of the phrase, so I decided to come up with my own, somewhat educated, theory.

I guess the element it points to comes from the traditional, elements or substances that were thought to comprise all matter in the universe. They’re likely familiar to you: earth, air, fire and water. I know I know - us westerners miss out the fifth element, aether, and unlike the Taoists, we don’t consider wood and metal to be their own elements.

Oh and seeing as we’ll be talking firmly in metaphors today, I won’t be mentioning the ACTUAL elements, definied by the periodic table. Not today. Since I’m a westerner, and not a scientist, we’re going with Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

Now, what I like about talking in terms of these four elements is that it doesn’t take much for us to quickly agree on a pretty much universal language. I think we can all agree that fire is hot. Water is wet. Air is light. Earth is dense. And from these concepts we can really say a LOT about something - or, more interestingly, someONE.

To prove this, let’s do a quick quiz.

I’m a redhead, I blush easily, I’m quick to anger, quick off the mark and full of fiery passion.

Can you guess the element I what I identify with most?

If you guessed fire, you’d be correct! We’re speaking the same metaphorical language.

And then there’s my friend. She has deep blue eyes, cries at every romantic movie, goes with the flow and makes decisions with her heart, not her head.

Any guesses?

I reckon my friend is all about the WATER element.

OK, these symbols are not set in stone (ha - another metaphorical phrase based on our understanding of elements) they are fluid, like… water!

But for the most part, they’re a great shorthand for us to communicate with ourselves and others about a vast range of complex feelings, sensations, perspectives and approaches to life.

This is also the reason I love personality type tests and astrology, but let’s stick to the elements for today.

You might at this point still be wondering why I’m going on about these arguably archaic concepts, but all will become clear soon.

So going back to me digging in the dirt, weeding out pesky greens, and generally having a lovely time on a work-away type holiday, and it occurred to me that I had surrounded myself with something that was missing in my life. Earth.

And yes, I realise the literal meaning but that was just a signpost pointing to the underlying epiphany I was having. I was, until this trip, lacking the EARTH element in my life.

I have an abundance of fire. No one is telling me I could use a bit more drive or to be less patient. If anything, I could probably do with tempering my fire.

And I actually have tempered it, come to think of it, as I look back to my past few years in Brighton. That is one watery - possibly airy too - city. I was literally by the sea. And I was surrounded by incredibly artistic, easy going people who were certainly in touch with their emotional side. I realised my Feeling function, which I associate most with Water, was underdeveloped.

Interestingly, Fire isn’t the element that is least in touch with it’s emotions, it’s really Air that commands the mind and left-brained decision making. But the emotions that Fire commands, mostly rage, passion and obsession, are ones I have let historically get the better of me.

A healthy balance of Fire and Water means tempering those heated emotions, without extinguishing them. It’s looking at them, holding them, sticking with them until they sizzle out.

I did pay attention to this, and started to use more language that spoke to my feeling side. Instead of saying ‘I think this’ I would say ‘I feel this.’

In my journal, I’d write more about how I felt that day, rather than what was happening. If I felt pissed off, I’d sit with it. I would try not to stuff it down, only to let it surge back up later with a vengeance.

I’d say I’ve done pretty well, and my biggest relationship triggers for ragey Cat *cough*family* have improved dramatically.

OK so I’ve worked with Water to temper the Fire. The second element dominating me, I believe is Air. Like I mentioned, this is the one that speaks to my Thinking function.

Oh BOY do I love to overanalyse. If you do to, it could mean that Air has a grip on your mind.

I personally associate INTJs most of all with Air because of how logical they tend to be, as well as being big picture thinkers.

Interestingly, you could be just as likely to be a genius as an airhead when it comes to having a dominant air element. Lots of air can make you indecisive, inconsistent, full of ‘hot air’ and a wee bit selfish.

It’s like air-dominant folk need their balloon popped, they need to be brought down to earth.

Enter: the element of Earth. I was in the rainforest of Peru when I realised I needed to spend less time at my laptop, and more time doing things with my body and with a small community of real live, people. Er - call this a 30 year old crisis if you like, but even months after returning home I felt this urge to be more earthy, more real - it had stuck with me.

Here’s a fun fact: the element of Air is also associated with… technology! Hah. So naturally, an overabundance of Air became next on my list of  elements to balance. Earth is the counter to Air, just as Water is the counter to Fire. Just as I had naturally been drawn to Brighton and embraced my Watery side, I've more recently been led to the Algarve and had the opportunity to develop my Earthy side.

So I've been led to a villa in the Algarve where I’ve spent the past few weeks helping out in the garden in exchange for room and board. It’s a pretty awesome way to travel if you have a flexible job and don’t want to spend a lot of cash on lame, lonely Airbnbs. I get to meet people AND get my paws in the mud.

This was really my idea of an experiment, maybe an extension of last year’s YOF. But I didn’t realise what my subconscious had been doing until the other day, when this phrase popped into my head:

In your element.

I have the hardest time identifying with the element of Earth, if I’m honest. Sure, Earth is stable. Grounded. Hard-working. Persistent. Gritty. Nurturing. Loyal.

But where’s the fun, freedom and flexibility of Air? Where’s the intensity of Fire and the depth of Water? Earth is kind of… boring.

But you know what I haven’t been when I’m up to my wrists in soil, with bugs crawling around in my field of vision, and grass stained leggings? I have NEVER been bored.

I have been so very satisfied. That’s the only word really. Content, may be. Tired, sure, but it’s a physical tiredness. It always recovers by the next day and you know the coolest thing? It doesn’t deplete mental energy!

Yeah. If anything, using the physical energy seems to - seems to - increase my mental energy.

I don’t understand any of this myself, I’m just laying down the facts.

Or the feels, more like.

So how does this ramble about metaphorical elements help you?

Well… How about you identify your dominant element? If you’ve taken a personality type test like Myers Briggs, I’ll bet you’ll find this super easy. Or if you’re into astrology, you’re probably well versed in this.

It doesn’t matter: it’s all the same principle because ALL of this is SUBJECTIVE. Yeah. I’m not saying you literally have more fire in you or that being born under the Sun in Pisces literally makes you a watery dreamer. But… If you identify with these traits and associations , these archetypes, then you may find this process very useful.

Then you can identify what element you might want to enhance a bit more, and experiment with ways to do that. You can be super abstract, just focussing on the quality of an element you know you want to develop.

Let’s say you realise you’re lacking in Air and decide you want to be better at critical thinking, using your rational mind to see the world clearly, so you read a book about the subject.

Or you could be really literal, realising you want more Fire because you’re feeling a little cold and apathetic, so you paint a picture with lots of red and orange, and light some candles (er, but do be careful, you don’t want too much fire!)

The parts of me that I’m abbreviating to these symbols, these elements, ALL have their upside and their downside. And naturally, we can let our traits and preferences get out of balance, and our actions and behaviours ultimately reflect that. Then we end up snapping at a co-worker (Fire) or staying in a shitty relationship longer than we should have (Earth.)

It’s super helpful, in my experience to start communicating with yourself in these symbolic ways. Some of you will take to this more than others because yes, we’re all different. But we’re also really similar, and that’s why these systems work. It’s like having lots of different ways to organise your CDs. Back when CDs were a thing. I chose alphabetically. My sister chose colour, organising the spines like a rainbow.

So if you’ve stuck with me through this super esoteric ramble, I applaud you. And as a reward, I have a pretty snazzy online quiz you can take for free, that tells you your dominant element, explains all the four elements in depth, explains how they might relate to your Myers-Briggs type, and tell you what to play up as well as what to watch out for.

You can find that quiz and all the tips at thecreativeintrovert.com/elements

And as always, let me know if you’re enjoying the show! I love receiving sweet reviews on whatever podcast app you use and you can always email me, hello@thecreativeintrovert.com

Oh boy was this a treat for me. And I reckon it’ll be a treat for you too because today’s guest can only be described as a Superhero in the world of feel-good marketing. Yeah. That’s a thing. And when you hear Tad Hargrave from Marketing for Hippies talk about finding your niche, building a reputation and communicating what you do… I think he can really change the mind of even most marketing-allergic creative introvert out there.

What we discussed:

• Slow Marketing
• The importance of reputation
• Having a lot of different interests and still build a solid brand
• Experimenting to find your niche
• Charging what your work is worth (and how to feel good about it)
• Lack of confidence vs. lack of competence
• What if one day I decide to call myself the uncreative extrovert?!

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

BECOME A SUPPORTER

I was recently asked the question: what would I do differently in my business if I could go back in time five years?

The answer is... I regret nothing!

Er... but another, more useful answer, is... I would know more. I would know certain things like what to invest my time, money and patience in. I would know what to say yes to, what to say no to...

I thought it might be helpful to share the seven things I came up with - the seven things that I would tell Cat of 2013-4 about how, as a creative introvert, to build a business solo.

Self-Knowledge

I like to start with Self-Knowledge, because without it… we’re awash at sea. With it - even with a smidge of it - we can start to orient ourselves, and maybe make our way to less stormy seas.

There are many paths to finding yourself, who you are, what you need, what you want - and you could spend a lifetime on those paths alone.

But for me, there is one pretty direct path - and that is the path of… personality type tests! OK, not the most scientific technique, but let’s face it: you, your ’self’ is entirely subjective, just like these quizzes. You get to decide who you are, what you’re about, and how you see yourself.

With tests like the Myers Briggs Type Inventory or the Big Five or OCEAN model, you have the chance to really reflect on what these tests kick up for you. You might learn something about yourself from the questions you answer alone - like ‘Do you try to respond to your e-mails as soon as possible and cannot stand a messy inbox?’ - that might bring up its own series of insights that you hadn’t even noticed about yourself and your behaviours until you were asked.

Take note of what you agree with, what you adamantly disagree with, and let it speak to you. Ask yourself: what does this tell me about me? What can I do with this knowledge?

Focus

Once we have some knowledge about what we personally need, what we value and what our strengths are, we can apply this to a single point of focus.

Gulp. Focus - meaning to focus your attention on ONE thing or one outcome… isn’t exactly a skill that comes naturally to most creatives. We tend to act more like magpies: jumping from one shiny object to another.

Whilst I encourage the ‘Renaissance Person’ style of dabbling in multiple creative pursuits, I also know very well the limits of this kind of behaviour, long term. When our attention is split, and remains split, it becomes nearly impossible to get anything done. Or anything we do get done isn’t of the standard that it could be, had we just focussed on that one thing at a time.

The point of focus isn’t to limit yourself to only one thing… forever and ever… but to focus on one thing at a time, allowing you to dedicate yourself to the task at hand, free from distraction, and then move your focus to your next one thing.

Routine

I admit that different creatives need different amounts of routine, or at least different types. Personally, I feel my best and do my best work when I have a solid morning routine - so my first 2-3 hours are set in stone. After that, I’m happy to let more of a spontaneous flow shape my day.

So how much routine do you need? What kind of routine? I’d definitely treat this like a personal experiment. Try out a morning routine. Try out an evening routine.

If you work in an office, see what tasks you can do at certain times of the day. If you work at home, you likely have even more flexibility, but of course parents know that your routine has a lot to do with your kids and what they need.

One thing I’ll say is that you likely have more control over your routine than you think. And if you are a stickler for routine, maybe you need to shake things up a bit. If you’re allergic to routine, maybe it’s worth seeing what happens when you add one routine into your day, like drawing a doodle at lunch time.

Courage

Oh courage. I still think of the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz when I think of courage, because he’s great proof - even if he is a talking lion - that you can DO courageous things ad still be scared.

Courage doesn’t mean sacrificing your fear - because fear means something. It means you care enough about something to fear losing it.

The real secret to doing something courageous isn’t having some certificate that the Wizard gives you to prove your bravery: it’s actually much easier to get. All you need is to care enough about the outcome that you can do something in spite of your fear. No flying monkeys required.

I’ll admit, you will sometimes encounter things that you simply can’t bring yourself to do. But it isn’t because you lack courage, it’s because you don’t want it enough. You don’t want the reward more than you fear the possible loss.

And that’s OK! Just be honest with yourself, and decide what you want courage for. If you want it enough, the courage will show up.

One Superfan

If you haven’t heard me talk about a Superfan before, I’ll summarise:

• Your Superfan has the problem you’re solving - solving a pressing problem your Superfan has is a necessary requirement for anything you’re offering.
• Your Superfan has the same worldview as you - When they see your product, your Superfan will experience the “That’s the one! It was made just for me!” feeling.
• Your Superfan has time and money to use what you sell - A true Superfan won’t complain that what you’re offering is too expensive. Nor will they say they don’t have the time right now.

Once you know precisely who this Superfan is, and you are aligning your offering with them and their needs… then you won’t have a problem marketing or selling your creative work.

Simple… but not easy. It can take years for someone to truly know their Superfan; some never find them. But I’m a strong believer in taking this slow. Trying to figure this out overnight (been there) isn’t fun and usually just doesn’t get you anywhere.

Next month I’m going to be sharing my process for finding your Superfan in the League of Creative Introverts - we’ll do a livestream with an opportunity to ask questions and all that jazz. If. you’re a member or want to join the League, of course you can sign up over the next week. Just go to thecreativeintrovert.com/lci and you’ll see all the info there.

One platform

What I mean by platform is a place for you to consistently share your work.

Argh. Do I have to? I hear you cry. Yes you bloody well do!

Let me just say that there are almost infinite ways to share your work online - a recent Leaguer (that’s what I affectionately call folks in the LCI) has shared an amazing blog post sharing snaps of her studio, the view from her window, some of her work and my god it’s fascinating. And makes me really warm to her, as a virtual stranger, and makes me a helluva lot more likely to think of her when I’m in the market for handmade jewellery.

OK so what is the platform for you?

• Like Penny, you could go for the blog - especially if writing comes easily to you and you’re confident with platforms like blogger or Wordpress or have a website already
• Or you could go down the social media route. I also have some Leaguers doing amazing things on Instagram, like Elliot Kesse, @changedotyoga - she’s a yoga teacher and promotes yoga for all bodies, all abilities, and has a lot of body positive messages (as well as hilarious yoga memes) which perfectly resonate with her audience, which includes myself.

Whatever you pick, I have faith that you can find something that feels like a creative extension of your existing work. I feel this way about the podcast for sure. I love writing and thinking about these topics, and I just happen to be flowing that through the podcast right now.

I don’t think of it as my number one marketing tool, even though it is, I think of it as a way of getting my art out; communicating with my Superfans and challenging myself creatively.

Community

Hmmm… you probably weren't expecting this hardcore introvert to be spouting off about community as one of the vital tings a creative introvert needs to build a business solo. I mean, isn’t that an oxymoron? Am I being an oxymoron?

Before you unsubscribe from this podcast, let me tell you what I mean by community. Because up until 3 years ago, I had no clue myself. I certainly didn’t think I needed one.

So what in the heck IS community?

People I can go to for help.
People who I can share jokes with.
People who I can learn from.
People I can help.
People who get me.
People who I get.

That’s just my definition. You may have your own - you might add to my list, subtract from it, whatever.

The point is what community feels like. It feels like support. It feels like comfort, but not without interesting challenge. It feels like someone has your back. It feels like purpose, meaning and trust.

Oh boy is community important if you’re playing this creative career game.

I can still remember clearly those long nights I would stay up thinking of what exactly I was doing wrong in my illustration business. What was I missing that they had? Was it my talent? Was it my Instagram strategy? Did I need to read more books about marketing?

Fast forward a few years, and I’m in Brighton, at my own Meetup - Creative Cafe - and basking in the presence of just a small group of like-minds. I might not be best friends with these people, but they were my creative community.

I also found this same feeling of support and mutual encouragement in my online community, the League of Creative Introverts. There, I have the advantage of connecting with folk all over the world, helping each other out, sharing tips and skills, egging each other on - in a gentle way, because we all get it. We know the introvert struggle is real. And we know the joy of being in our own company, and still being able to dip in to our community - because we know the value of it.

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

BECOME A SUPPORTER

Today I'm chatting to Steve Folland, freelancer extraordinaire and all-round lovely bloke. 

We talk about:

• How Steve began freelancing
• Working from home vs. co-working
• Making video work for creative introverts
• The personal value of vlogging
• Marketing your creative work
• Using email to reach out to collaborators

Steve is also host of the Being Freelance podcast, which I highly recommend you check out.

Connect with Steve:

Twitter

Instagram

Podcast

Website

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

BECOME A SUPPORTER

I’ve hesitated to talk about this partly because I don’t like to dwell on my own sob stories unless I think I can be helpful, and up till now, I don’t think I’ve been confident I can do that with anxiety. The other reason is my own… denial. Denial that I could be feeling anything less than perky and enthusiastic, and denying that to myself let alone podcast listeners. Oh and of course, my fear that I can even talk about anxiety because I haven't personally experienced an anxiety attack/panic attack.

But I think it's all relative, and if more of us are willing to talk about this stuff, the better we can support each other and manage these inner shit-storms.

The reason I’m finally getting around to talking about this and think it might be a helpful episode, is because of a couple of other podcasts I listened to in the past week, which revealed some misunderstanding on the part of the podcasters about introversion, high sensitivity and social anxiety.

In the podcasts, which had some great info in them btw, it seemed to me that all three tendencies were getting clumped together.

And whilst I do think overlap between introversion, HS and anxiety occur quite frequently in one person, I really don’t like the idea of confusing one for another. I don’t think it’s helpful.

I’ve spoken a lot about introversion before, a little about HS - but not about anxiety. Hopefully in this episode I can clear up some misconceptions about the links between these traits and issues, and maybe even offer some advice I’ve found helpful for managing my own anxiety.

I discuss:

• My story with anxiety
• Defining anxiety
• Types of anxiety
• Why we get it
• Anxiety and introversion
• Anxiety and high sensitivity
• How to handle anxiety

Links mentioned:

Are you a Highly Sensitive Person?

Test for 4 different types of Introvert

The Creative Introvert book

Calming tunes Spotify playlist

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new BOOK, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.

Today I'm rather excited to share a conversation with someone who is a bit of an idol of mine, a coach to creative misfits, a maven maker and all round bad ass business woman: Ebonie Allard.

I've basically been in awe of Ebonie since I saw her speak at an event in Brighton, I also had to have her speak at my first ever live event back in 2017 and since then it's been an honour to  get to know her better, and get to grill her on today's podcast.

You can connect with Ebonie online - I've got all the links in the shownotes at thecreativeintrovert.com/podcast - and after you've listened to today's show, definitely go and subscribe to Ebonie's podcast, Adulting with Ebonie - I reckon you'll love it.

Connect with Ebonie:

Facebook

Instagram

Podcast

Website

POWERED BY PATREON

This podcast is made possible only by means of my generous supporters on Patreon. Thank you! Supporting the Creative Introvert podcast also gets you lots of goodies, from a Monthly Ask Me Anything to a copy of my new, The Creative Introvert: How to Build a Business You Love on Your Terms. Hitting milestones also funds future projects, and ideas guided by you, my supporters.