The other day, I was trying to write a Facebook post about my darling friend and colleague Giovanna Capozza for the Healthy and Powerfully Feminine Interview Series but wasn’t feeling the flow. There’s so much I could say about Giovanna, but it wasn’t happening.
Words were coming but I wanted to write in a way that did not reflect the lyrics of a Backstreet Boys hit. There was to be no mention of “larger than life” because that’s just silly and Giovanna is so much better than that.
But my mind was stuck in a loop.
Life can get linguistically dull when 80% of your intake is self-development and wealth consciousness – wouldn’t you agree? You begin to speak like the converted, which is not so bad – except when it comes to doing creative work.
So what did I do?
I got out!
I’d been at home all day and really what I desired was to take myself to Hotel National by the lake for a glass of champagne. I brought my visual diary with me rather than my notebook or laptop and I wrote two pages of Giovanna-inspired word association.
Word association is one way to do creative work when you can’t concentrate on full sentences or when the other words are getting in the way. It releases the mind of its neat and pretty structures and ends up sounding somewhat poetic. It’s creativity unleashed! You’re not restricted by the 140 character message or the pressure of a post. And it makes the act of creating for social media a much more joyful process. It’s just you, your pen and & the wide open space of a blank page.
Why am I telling you this?
Because…
Success in business comes from consistent marketing.
Consistent marketing = consistent creating – even if it’s not literature – it’s still a creative process. And if it’s not a creative process then it’s just not fun for me.
How about you?
Working with your creativity is a way of doing business in the feminine way.
Rather than sitting there in front of your computer trying to squeeze inspiration from your brain until you feel headachy and parched, it’s possible to experience a more elegant and joyful way of producing content.
My number one practice is to go for a walk when it’s time to create. This is a way of allowing inspiration to come to you. I walk out to clear my mind, say my affirmations and just get really high on fresh air and the words come to me.
After all, the word ‘inspiration’ comes from the Latin Inspirare, meaning to breathe into.
Go for a walk and allow inspiration to be breathed into you.
Activities that gets our blood pumping are good conditions for inspiration, but too often we stagnate at our desks, trying to force ourselves to produce.
The answer?
Get out!
And please take your phone with you to record the phrases and ideas you receive – all writers do their version of this. You might think you’ll remember later, but you won’t.
Inspire = to instil something in the heart or mind of someone or to influence, move, or guide by the divine or supernatural.
I used to think that the words had to come out of me polished and presentable. I thought that’s how writers worked. However, after writing a novel and experimenting with creativity over the last seven years, I now know better. But I this belief is what keeps us stuck and not creating, so after my magical morning walk, I present to you…
The Art of Divine Inspiration & Holy Creation
1. Set the intention
What are you going to write? How would you love the reader to feel?
2. Get guidance
Pray or affirm and then go for that walk.
3. Come back & open up a word document.
4. Write whatever comes without organising it.
5. After about an hour or when you feel stuck, get up.
Go pluck your eyebrows and other body parts, unstack the dishwasher or put your clothes away in your closet.
6. Go running back to your computer, divinely inspired!
7. Read over what you’ve written.
Quite naturally you’ll start to rearrange and tidy it up. If you have the time, leave your work overnight and come back to it in the morning. This is where the real magic happens. The post will end up writing itself!
8. Finish writing and set up the structure or ask your V/A to do it.
9. Celebrate your success
Bask in the feeling of being divinely inspired and creatively cracked open!
10. Look at the world with new eyes.
11. Get back to work.
Being feminine in business is not about floating off into La La Land or law of attracting your success. You have to stay grounded and come from a place of inspiration and guidance, but then you get down to it, roll up your sleeves, hit the keys and do the work.
If you would love to bring your femininity into your life so you actually have a life and not just a business, then I would love to coach you. Gain ease, flow and fun, plus business success, as you work smarter, not harder, putting the structures and boundaries in place that support your well-being while doing business and reclaim your vitality and feminine power.
I value your opinion greatly and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below :
How do you get inspired?
What’s your creative process or your creative challenges?
Have you tried the Art of Divine Inspiration & Holy Creation?
Look forward to hearing from you!