Today I have arguably the most controversial guest I’ve had on the show (don’t worry it’s no one political) and I say controversial because of his take on introversion. And it’s not just any old take on introversion: today’s guest is a lot more qualified than I am or many other professional online introverts are to talk about this stuff: Scott Barry Kaufman is is a psychologist at Columbia University exploring the depths of human potential (see research). He embraces a humanistic, integrative approach to help all kinds of minds live a creative, fulfilling, and meaningful life.
Now I don’t want to give you too many more spoilers for todays show, I just want you to dive in and listen - hopefully with an open mind - and if you’re anything like me you’ll have a LOT to think about after hearing this.
Will the Real Introverts Please Stand Up?
Confessions of a Neurotic Extrovert
Can You Change Your Personality?
4 Types of introvert
Podcast with Scott and Susan Cain
Podcast with Scott and Colin deYoung
Susan + Scott’s quiz
Self Actualisation Tests
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’ve just completed Stoic Week!
What the heck is Stoic Week you ask? It’s an online event in which people from all over the world attempt to live like a Stoic for seven days. It’s run every year by the Modern Stoic and basically provides a framework for everyone to join in with, for free, for one week.
I have another podcast that dives much deeper into this, over on The Seeker and the Skeptic, check that out if you’re interested in learning more about Stoicism - both the good bits and the not so good bits.
So for those who aren’t totally sure what stoicism is or fancy hearing my garbled explanation, here goes:
Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded in Athens, Greece by Zeno of Citium around 300 BC. Zeno would lecture to his students from a painted porch (stoa polikile) and that’s where the word ’Stoic’ comes from.
The teachings spread far and wide, influencing the likes of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, right up to modern day stoic bros like Tim Ferriss and Ryan Holiday, which is where I first came across the philosophy.
I'll be revealing the four reasons stoicism is so useful for creative introverts today, in this week's podcast.
How to be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci
A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
The Tao of Seneca presented by Tim Ferriss
I haven’t vetted all of these, but you can have stoic fun with this list.
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 is someone I have a scary amount in common with and is someone I first spoke to over two years ago, and I’m so glad we’ve kept in touch. Victoria or VK is a true multipassionate, multitalented entrepreneur. She’s an excellent writer, and her purpose is to provide insight + support that cultivates your curiosity + confidence to live your unique, memorable life.
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.
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 I’d like to talk to you about WFHing - ok, translation: working from home.
This is something I’ve been doing since 2013 and it’s given me an incredible amount of freedom I wouldn’t trade for the world.
I can pick when I work, for the most part, where I work: as long as I have wifi - and how I work. For many introverts, particularly those of the highly sensitive nature, being able to have this freedom over our environment is so, so important.
I’ve told my story plenty of times so I won’t go into it in depth, but just to use the example, being in an open plan office environment, having to clock in and out at certain times, commuting through a city - all of this was just phenomenally draining for me, and I’m sure for many of you.
I’m not sure of the exact stats, but more than 64 million Americans work from home now, at least part time. I think this is a good time for creative introverts and HSPs who are done with the office: employers are waking up to our individual needs and thx to the internet, there are more ways than ever to WFH.
But rather than try to convince you to work from home, I really want to focus on sharing my advice for those of you who already work from home, who are new to it and those who are considering it in the near future.
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.
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 a writer, introvert blogger, a self-taught marketer… and a life-long learner. He also claims that his bio changes about as frequently as he eats Nando’s chicken... so I guess this could be different by the time I publish our chat!
Jas is also an INFP, an HSP (which we'll be discussing in depth on today's show) and a multi-potentialite.
The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron
Connect with Jas on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn
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 don’t know if you’ve noticed, but introverts tend to have a lower tolerance for crappy conversations than our extrovert counterparts.
We despise small talk. I mean, I’m sure extroverts don’t love it either, but there do seem to be extra aversions introverts have around shallow conversation, to the point where some of us just won’t say anything at all.
This has even been done to me. Sometimes I’ll meet someone who is even further along the introvert spectrum than I am, and whilst I might be treating the initial conversation as a kind of game of chess, a formality we have to get through until we can start talking about quantum mechanics or death, they will be too impatient to even do that much. Their eyes glaze over. They clam up.
Which is fine, I get it. No one wants to have a lame chat about the weather, even if you are British.
The way I see it, introverts already have a limited capacity for social interaction, so why waste it on the small stuff?
And, as Dr. Laurie Helgoe points out in Introvert Power, “Introverts do not hate small talk because we dislike people. We hate small talk because we hate the barrier it creates between people.”
That feels very true to me. Small talk keeps things on the surface. The sooner we can get to the deeper depths, the better. That’s where we can really connect, get honest, laugh, cry, all that good stuff.
Today's podcast guest a licensed psychotherapist, who has helped hundreds of women, children, parents and teen girls overcome anxiety, be more connected in their relationships, increase self-awareness, and regain trust in their own inner wisdom.
Now, Nicole Burgess helps introverted, high achieving, and/or highly sensitive women be exactly who they are meant to be.
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 want to talk to you about… decision making.
Whether it’s deciding what flavour of ice cream you want to what you want to study at college or uni to deciding whether or not you want to leave your job or partner – decision making is really bloody hard!
Part of my wonders whether introverts in particular struggle with decision making, particularly those who are a ‘P’ or Perceiving type if you are familiar with the MBTI.
Perceiving typed in particular like to keep their options open, allowing for spontaneity and last minute changes of heart. Naturally, decision making is even less fun for these folk.
I’m a J, or a Judging type so I’m less averse to decision making itself. In fact, the sooner I can make a decision the better. BUT that doesn’t make the process any easier. My issue - and I’m sure many of you can relate - is feeling a pre-emptive fear of regret. What if I make the wrong decision? This is where the over thinking, over analysing mind kicks in.
So regardless of whether you’re a go-with-the-flow P type or an overanalysing J type - I think we can all agree that making decisions is a tricksy thing.
Of course, I won’t just leave it at that: decision making is hard. Catch you next week!
No, I have done some work for you to try and find a way we can make the decision making process somewhat less painful, and that’s what I’ll be sharing with you today.
Most of the following is content I’ve adapted from my book, The Creative Introvert, How to Build a Business You Love on your Terms - but as always, I’ll be adding in extra juice you won’t find in the book, and of course the book has lots of stuff you won’t find here.
Today's podcast guest is someone I really admire, because she's an introvert who has actually made video her friend, and rocks on camera. Amazing, I know.
Tors Grantham started her training in television broadcasting over two decades ago. She's helped create programmes that run the gamut from home improvement to the Six Nations (Rugby) commercials to behind the scenes of Doctor Who, Torchwood and Merlin.
Now she works with entrepreneurs wanting to position themselves as experts in their niche, helping them create and leverage video for their business that’s engaging, on-brand, and effective.
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.
This is a bit of a controversial one because I talk so much about introversion and shaping your life to your personality and preferences, which I’m still all for. I do believe we can make better decisions based on what we know about ourselves, what we tend to behave like what we prefer, where we shine and so on.
However, I’m also sorely aware of a lot of people out there who are letting introversion hold them back from living a full life. I mean, technology isn’t helping either. If I can get all the social stimulation I need from a 10 minute back and forth on Whatsapp, and get all my entertainment from Netflix and order literally everything I need on Amazon… then I can really let introversion dominate.
And actually before I dive much deeper in, I’d like to let you know about an offer I’m running as of today: it’s 30 days of FREE email coaching. Sign up here >>
Signing up means you'll get an email from me every day for 30 days, with my personal insights, tried and true tips and BS-free advice.
We’ll get into the challenges creative introverts face, overcoming obstacles, identifying what you really want - and finally living a creative life the way YOU want.
To make the most of our time as email-buddies, remember to hit 'reply' when something strikes a chord or you have a question. I’ll always reply 😃
Today's podcast guest is someone who has been on my radar for quite some time in the online social media space - and not just because she used to work for the band Megadeth.
Cara Chace is the CEO of Chace Digital, a Pinterest marketing agency, and the Founder of Pinterest PowerUp, the first Pinterest marketing membership community designed for entrepreneurs.
She loves nothing more than seeing those light bulb moments with her clients and members when they see how Pinterest builds their businesses... except for maybe a good book and another cup of coffee. You can find out more about her at carachace.com.
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.
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.)
At the time of recording this episode, it’s the end of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere and I’m feeling the urge to take stock of the last few months and review the progress I’ve made and basically prepare myself for moving forward into my second favourite season of the year, Autumn (or Fall, if you’re that way inclined.)
For the record: my favourite season is Spring.
OK so it’s kind of like there are harvest vibes in the air. And I really like the idea of aligning how I approach my business and creative pursuits and life in general with a seasonal approach. Energetically, it just makes sense. And even from a practical perspective it could make sense to have this seasonal approach: I’m not a mum but I know that a lot of kids go back to school in September, starting a new year. I think part of me still gets the shits every September with that anxiety that comes with starting a new year at school, even though it’s been a decade since I’ve been in formal education.
So rather than trying to ignore whatever anxiety or anticipation we might feel at this time of year, why not work with it? Turn that nervous energy into something we can productively use in our creative businesses?
This brings me to what my recommendation is on todays podcast: reviewing your progress.
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’ve gotten to the point where I’m a bit burned out on reading books about creativity, how to be more creative - there are lots of them, and not many of them are worth dipping into other than to procrastinate on doing actual creative work.
But when I heard about today’s guest, Marc Silber’s book, Create: Tools From Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life... I knew I had to have him on the show. We discuss Marc's incredibly practical and inspiring book about what it is to be a creative, and what it takes. He even has an interview with Nancy Cartwright, whose voice you are likely very familiar with...
Create: Tools From Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life
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.
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.)
If you’re someone who has told yourself you’re not wired for marketing, not made for talking to the masses about what you do and think of yourself as a walking disaster when it comes to selling… you’re not alone.
I’ll be the first to admit, as a hardcore introvert: many of the tactics and skills preached by typical marketing and sales ‘gurus’ rub me up the wrong way. I know how difficult it is to blow our own trumpet, and I’m certainly not recommending you do something that makes you feel slimy and inauthentic.
My chat last on last week’s episode with Sarah Santacroce about marketing that feels good vs marketing that feels shitty has inspired today’s podcast - I want to basically outline what I’ve seen in my time in the creative introvert community when it comes to our very common anxieties around marketing.
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 is a return guest, someone who I always love chatting to and catching up with, Sarah Santacroce.
On today’s episode, we’re discussing:
… and much more. Enjoy the show!
The Gentle Business Revolution
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.
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.)
OK so two weeks ago I gave you my foolproof sleep routine, which I hope was helpful if you have been struggling with sleep and tried any of those tips out. Or you listened to the show and fell asleep, which I will also take credit for.
Today I thought I’d provide a little bookend to our sleep chat, with some ideas I have about morning routines. Basically, how you spend the first half hour to 2 hours of your day, which I believe is just as important if not more so than how you end the day.
I know I may be biased as I am most definitely a morning person and always have been according to my somewhat grumpy parents. That said, I do firmly believe that everyone can benefit with an intentional, well thought out morning routine. Actually, night owls will especially benefit from it, because it can make the difference between dragging yourself out of bed like a reluctant teenager (no offence to teenagers) and actually looking forward to waking up because you get to have this amazing experience upon waking.
I may be hyping this up a little too much, but that’s only because I’ve spent many years exploring this in my own life, and studying the morning routines of awesome creative people. All I can say is: starting your day right is something worth playing with.
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.
When I first came across today's guest, I knew immediately I had to have her on the podcast. She's managed to combine two of my greatest obsessions: personality typology AND marketing. And even though she's an extrovert, Brit Kolo is most definitely on my wavelength - and I think you'll agree when you hear our chat today.
Connect with Brit:
The Marketing Personalities podcast
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.
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.)
Sleep is arguably a topic that already has enough coverage. I mean, you probably don’t need another person telling you you should be getting more sleep or giving you random advice for sleeping better.
But… I’m kind of going to do it anyway. My reason being is that if I can share one tip on this podcast with one person that helps them get a better night sleep, then it’s worth it.
In addition, I’m on my high horse about sleep at the moment because I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that since I’ve been travelling, my sleep hygiene has taken a real hit.
The truth is, sleeping in different places every few weeks not to mention different time zones, makes it nigh impossible to keep up the kind of military-like sleep regime I had pre-January 2019.
And I’ve had to admit to myself: it’s affecting me. I know my energy is dipping way quicker than it used to, I know I’m abusing coffee in a way that isn’t doing me any favours, and I’m sure my memory and attention span aren’t what they once were…
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.
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.
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 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)
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.
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’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?
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.
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.
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
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.