Creative Overflow with Jenny Kiehn

Have you got leaks in your business?  Maybe you have trouble keeping track of sales leads and don’t follow up enough?  Or maybe you have a pretty good following but don’t have many people on your email list?  Or maybe you meet people who appreciate your art regularly but don’t capture their contact details?  Or maybe you put off putting your artwork on your website?These are all leaks that are costing you money!  It’s like a bucket with a hole and the money is pouring out!I recently did a pretty stern audit on the leaks in my business and it was an eye opener!!  I realized I’m losing tons of money because of them and if I want to get to the next level, it’s time to sort them out.  In the episode I talk about my personal experience of doing an audit and systematically plugging the leaks.  Then I give advice on how you can do the same for your art business too.This is something that has to be done regularly at every stage of business.  It’s one of the things that helps you grow.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle.

This podcast is about a sneaky fear that a lot of artists have and which can cause definite blocks to your success. The fear of outshining others is the fear that your talent, humor, beauty etc will somehow have a negative effect on someone else.  For instance, it could make a younger sibling feel bad about themselves, or your parents might have gotten grumpy and uncomfortable because they didn’t have the bandwidth to support you.  This fear usually forms early in childhood and can be an unknown cause of blocks in your professional life.In the podcast, I tell my story with my fear of outshining others and how I’ve healed it.  Once you identify that you have an fear of outshining others, I offer two ways of healing it:1).  Notice the part of your body that the younger version of you is located in.  This will be wherever the pain is coming from.  Make safe space for the younger version of you that is in pain, and allow it to tell its story.  It helps if you can imagine the pain flowing out and down into the ground.  Just hold safe space for that part of yourself and let it all out.  By doing this, you become the parent you always needed.  2).  Flip the belief and let it sink in.  Instead of "When I outshine others, my family stops loving me" flip it to "When I shine, I inspire others"This fear can also create a block against receiving money for your creations.  You may be willing to make them, but unconsciously think you need to punish yourself somehow for doing so.  Or you might just simply think you can’t make your creations AND receive ample money for them because that is shining too brightly. The beautiful thing is once you identify the problem, you can start to heal it and let it melt away.  This is life changing!!I also referred to “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks because it has an incredible section about the fear of outshining others.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, go to jennykiehn.com/podcast-coaching to find out more about the Creative Abundance Circle.

Just this week, something has finally clicked for me with Manifesting.  I had thought I was pretty good at it, but now things are really starting to fall into place for me.  I am manifesting things thick and fast right now.Here’s the key:  You’ve got to daydream (or visualize) as freely and outrageously as possible.  Just enjoy it and whatever you do, don’t “be realistic”.  Just enjoy the beautiful feelings you experience when you imagine yourself being/doing/having whatever it is you want.  I also like to imagine myself six months after I reached the goal I’m trying to achieve.  That way the actual achievement of the goal feels settled, calm and unquestioned.  It’s like, “obviously I achieved it - I did it a while ago”.Basically, you’ve got to daydream in an unimpeded way.  When you were a child, you were brilliant at this.  Unfortunately, by the time most people reach adulthood, they have been trained out of this magical, creative skill.  However, you can definitely “remember” it if you take the time to get comfortable doing it.  The first time I really dared to dream outrageously this week it took me about 40 minutes to get comfortable with it.  I used Abraham Hicks’s “Money and the Law of Attraction” cards and journaled for a while before I felt ready to go for it.  Then, when I got into that blissful daydream, I felt this sense of ease, peace and satisfaction steal over me.  I felt incredible.  I soaked it up as much as I could.Since then, I’ve been doing the visualization/daydream three times a day.  Once for about twenty minutes first thing in the morning, sometime in the middle of the day for about five minutes, then again for about ten minutes right before going to sleep.  I feel a million times better and I’m telling you, beautiful things are falling into my lap.Give it a try!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle. You can also find out more at https://jennykiehn.com/podcast-coaching/.

Authenticity is essential for an art practice and art business.  In this episode I talk about all different stages of it and share some of my personal stories and experience.  Here are the stages that I’ve experienced: Accept who you are (especially if you’re different than the people around you!)Show up authentically in your creative practice.  Put in the time to create the artwork to eventually find your creative voice.Continue showing up so that your creative voice evolves as fast as you are evolving as a person.Start sharing your work (you don’t need to have it all figured out)Ask for continuous feedback from the people who enjoy your work so you can better understand their perspectiveRefine your artistic message as you learn moreShare your story, with an emphasis on the parts that affect the message of your artworkWhether to share or not share any trauma you’ve experienced.Provide avenues for people to really get to know you (I explain about my live artist talks)Trust that all of this compoundsI also recommend two books that expand on this topic:The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David MannGo Giver’s Sell More by Bob Burg and John David MannI’ll actually be doing a live artist talk today on Instagram if you get this message in time.  It will be at 12:00pm ET on Friday April 10th, 2026.If you miss that talk, I’ll be doing a live artist talk on Facebook next week at 12:00pm ET on Friday April 17, 2026.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!You can also join my podcast mailing list or check out my coaching options at jennykiehn.com/podcast-coaching.

As creators, we have a treasure trove of life skills that can be used to make a beautiful life.  Through making art, we’ve learned to follow a feeling or vision, create safe space for it, stay in Beginner’s Mind, suspend judgement, and see it through to the end.  Then, we we learn from the experience, hopefully laughing about it along the way!  We understand that every artwork is a stepping stone to the next artwork.  We don’t expect completion and if we’re wise, we don’t expect absolute perfection either, even though we might be chasing it.All these skills are exactly what you need to create a beautiful life.  We have the whole toolkit.  It’s just a matter of applying these same skills to life projects instead.For instance, what if you allowed yourself safe space to try out different tactics to improve your relationship with your partner?  What if you didn’t take it too seriously, figuring that something would eventually work out?What if you allowed yourself safe space to build a business, starting it as a small experiment that you show to only a few people, then gradually build up from there?What if you were willing to take a new step in life just to see what happened - suspending  judgement and not worrying about it?Beneath all of this is threaded a truth that children know deep down.  When they play, when they jump into things because they know everything is supposed to work out for them.They fight things that are boring or aren’t fun because they know they deserve joy.When you step back and look at your life from a broader perspective, it’s easy to see when things that you thought were failures turn out be the best thing that could have happened.Everything is working out for you all the time.  This is the most powerful truth to know.  It is working out for you, whether it seems like it at the time or not.When you operate from this knowing, it opens the door to opportunity.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle.

In order to create art at all, you’ve got to create safe space for yourself.  It’s one of the most important ingredients for building a creative practice, especially when you’re trying to bridge from making art in a classroom environment to making art out in the world.But what most artists might not realize is that by making safe space for you to create, you transmit that safety into your art.  You end up making safe space for the people who look at your art as well.Art is a vessel that holds feeling and experience.  When you make safe space for your feeling and experience, you also make safe space for your viewers feelings and experiences.  The joy, inspiration, sadness, or anger they feel has a safe space to be.  You help people feel known.To me, this is a pure act of love.  You are putting unfiltered love out there when you put your art out in the world.The interesting thing is, to really take it to the next level, you’ve got to create safe space for your marketing as well.  Doing this is the same process as it is for making safe space to create your art.  You’ve got to stay in Beginner’s Mind, allow time to learn new skills, trust that the seeds you’ve planted are going to grow and laugh at yourself when it doesn’t work out.  Most of all, you’ve got to listen to positive voices that help you keep the faith that this is going to eventually work.  Also, continue to search for the fun in the process.  How can it be more fun??  This will help you find success.All of your efforts compound, so really it’s a matter of learning to support yourself through the process until the compounding starts to add up.The coach with the lighthouse metaphor that I mentioned is George Bryant.  If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle.

This episode is ironically about consistency because I’m posting it a week late!  The truth is I was so inspired after having created a whole year worth of podcasts that I attempted to apply that same consistency to lots of areas of my life at once!  I fell into the trap and then got a little behind on most things, lol!There is no doubt that consistency is a super power.  It creates certainty, trust, and helps people feel safe to come closer to you and your creative practice.  It helps relationships blossom and allows a fertile, safe space for new ideas to develop.However, it can definitely be hard to apply, can’t it??  In this episode I literally demonstrate how you’ve got to take baby steps to apply consistency to your life and how to be understanding and generous with yourself in the process.  I also give tips for getting yourself going.We also talk about consistency as it relates to human design types too.  If you don’t know your human design type yet, go here to get your free chart.  Then, google your profile, authority, and type to learn a ton about how you operate.  You can literally search for it all at once such as 5/1 Sacral Generator (that’s my human design) and get a clear breakdown in one fell swoop.  This will reveal a ton of super useful stuff that is helpful for your creativity and business.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle.

This is my 52nd episode which means this podcast is a year old!!  Happy Birthday, Creative Overflow!  Today I want to talk about the power of conversation.  Conversations about anything - you could be getting to know each other, selling them a painting, sorting out complications in a commission, or finding out how their experience was.  All of them are a tool for deeper connection, which is the name of the game!  When you have conversations, it helps to start with positive assumptions:Assume you will like each otherAssume they will like your artworkAssume they will eventually buy something and it will be a fun experience for both of youWhen you lead with these assumptions EVERYTHING gets easier.  It also helps you relax so you listen more.  Listening is the most important thing you can do as a sales person.  Giving someone your attention and listening to them is a generous, rare act that people really appreciate.  It deepens your connection like nothing else, as long as it's genuine.One of the most inspirational business books I’ve ever read is called The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and David Mann.  It lays out a way of doing business with giving as the focus.  It’s a beautiful way to do business that is also very profitable.  In The Go-Giver, they emphasize that when you sell to people you need to give them more than just the value of the product.  You also need to give them your attention, care, respect, support and even friendship.  The emphasis is on making someone a part of your network whether or not they buy from you.  Your network is the army of people who support you, refer people to you, help you out of a tight spot, and advocate for you.  In essence, you aim to make everyone into a friend.So my advice is to read The Go-Giver and use the philosophy to help you make positive assumptions in your conversations.  This is one of the most powerful tools an artist can use in business.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!If you’re interested in deeper weekly support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle.

In this episode I tell you the story of my journey to find a community of likeminded artists - it was not easy, but now I have a community that really helps me thrive and it’s a game changer.Community is powerful -  it can greatly impede or greatly propel you to where you want to go.  When I was in art school, some of the community was very toxic and I had to shield myself from them.  However, out in the world, I found that I didn’t thrive until I was able to find a community of other artists.  Over the course of my life, I’ve had to find it in a couple of different locations and situations.Community is crucial for artists because building an art business is not straightforward.  You need both emotional and practical support to do it.In my opinion, finding a community of likeminded artists at the same level of business is ideal.  That way you can grow together.  You want to have similar business philosophy, similar attitudes toward growth, openness to new ideas, and positivity.  It can take a while do find these qualities in a group of people, so don’t be discouraged!  My best experience has been through joining coaching communities and making friends within them.  The initial leader acts as a wonderful filter - if you like the coach, you are likely to like the other participants too.  This is much quicker than meeting people randomly out in the world!I have a group of friends that I initially met in a coaching community, but now we have our own separate group that meets every week.  These people have a huge effect on my attitude and positivity and I cherish my relationships with them.  I also have my own coaching group that meets once a week called the Creative Abundance Circle.  It’s designed to help you develop your business in a way that feels natural, draws on your innate strengths, and comes together in ease and flow.  Within the small group, we have wonderful discussions every week that help us feel “washed clean” and excited to get going.  It is mindset focused, but touches on all areas of marketing.  It’s a great one for combining with other art marketing courses because the mindset component of most courses tends to be pretty weak.  Mindset is powerful - it can make or break your business efforts so it’s crucial to get support.If you’re interested to find out more information, just email me at [email protected], I referred to Dr. Morgan and her podcast Lets get Vulnerable if you want to learn about relationship attachment styles.  Here is an episode that gives you a great overview.  

This episode follows on from my last episode called “Giving In” because once you’ve decided to give in and start doing your dream, it really helps to have some practical guidance!  This are my best tips born from long experience. Just trust this structure and keep showing up and you'll soon be creating fluidly.You need several things: A place to createSupplies that are organized, easy to get to, and stored in a convenient place.  It needs to be unbelievably easy for you to set upAttention to your physical comfort. You might need a lamp, a heater, or a cushion for your chair to help you relax into thisA plan for consistency.  Working at the same time every day is amazing if it’s possible.  Committing to a minimum amount of time every day is a great strategy too.  Committing to do this BEFORE doing other chores is a great thing to do too.A plan for making a number of small pieces.  You choose the number - it can by 5, 10, 25, 50 - you decide.  But keep the pieces super, super small.  You need to be able to make them quickly.  I find a great way for me to start is to make a series of 10 to 20 minute observational drawings of little do dads from around the house.A grid drawn on a piece of paper that has a box for every piece you plan to make.  Then as you finish a small piece, tick off a box in your grid.  It doesn’t matter if you hate what you make and throw it away, you still get to tick off a box.  The psychological value of this cannot be understated.Even if you film yourself now, delay posting on social media until much, much later.  You need the freedom to grow and make mistakes in private.  This is hugely important.  You’ve got to create an environment where you can feel free, unrestricted and grow your confidence. Wait until you feel comfortable and excited to post.Just remember, keep showing up! That's the one difference between artists who "make it" and those who don't. You got this and I believe in you.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

When there is something you really want to do, just give in and do it. You can kid yourself that some other option is going to be safer, but usually that isn't really true. The thing you really want to do is probably a much safer bet. It's probably the most economic option too. Lately, I've been wanting to just paint clouds. I don't want to paint lots of water or trees. I just want to paint clouds. So this week, after finishing that huge commission, I started painting a big cloud painting that I chose. Now, after only a few days, it's over half done. It looks great and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. Now I'm starting to realize that when I paint what I really want to paint, I'm faster, the painting feels more alive, and I can pump the paintings out. When I paint things I don't really want to paint, I'm slower and it feels more like work. I start wondering how I can ever paint enough paintings to support my family. The thing I love is also better for business. Whatever feels easiest is better for business. Whatever feels like a relief is better for business. In the episode I also refer to The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. If you haven't read it, then do. I think it's the most important book creative people can read. It's about how to get around Resistance and all the sneaky forms it comes in.I also refer to this wonderful interview clip by Devon Rodriguez.If you liked this episode, definitely leave a review so other people can find the show. If you take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected] then I'll invite you to my next free coaching class.My specialty is helping you develop an abundant mindset so you can build your creative business in ease, peace and joy. If you join my Creative Abundance Circle which meets once a week, I'll of course share all the marketing knowledge I know, but my main gift is helping you relax and lean into your gifts so the strategies will work.Email me at [email protected] for more info about the Creative Abundance Circle.See you next Friday!

This episode gives you a crash course on human design and my personal journey with it.  This is making a HUGE difference in how I operate in my business and how I approach decision making. I have found it hugely validating and freeing.  Human design is a structure that combines the ancient wisdom of astrology, the E-Ching, the kaballa, and the Chakra system to give you a huge amount of information about yourself with just your birth date, birth time, and birth location.  Through it you can find out your work patterns, natural flow of energy, ways you make decisions among other things.  In human design, people are divided into five major types.  There are Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, Manifestors, and Reflectors.  In the episode I go into each of the five types and what their major skills are.  The main things you need to know are your type, your authority, and your strategy.  You can find all of these things through a free online generator here.  Make sure to download your chart and save it somewhere.Your type will explain a lot about your major skills and flow of energy.  Your authority indicates how you make decisions and your strategy is the best way for you to interact with the world.  I am a Generator, which means that as long as I’m working on something I love, I have almost unlimited energy.  I can make and build consistently and I thrive on expending my energy doing something I love.  I am NOT a manifesting generator who loves doing multiple projects at once.  Instead, I love working on one project at a time and going deep.  Social media works for me because I can be very consistent as long as I’m My authority is Sacral, which means I make decisions from my gut.  This has been the most liberating thing for me to discover.  Now I know why long term goal planning never really worked for me!  Instead, I love to work project to project, because I can trust my gut response to tell me what is right for right now.  Smaller, more immediate goals work much better for me.  This is why other people’s ideas of what I ought to do are so confusing!  It’s best for me to take a moment alone so I can check in with my gut.  Then I’ll know what to do.  As a result, my strategy is Wait to Respond, because I need to check with my gut first.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said I need to think about it, then as soon as I had a moment to myself I knew what to do.  Can’t you see what a difference this knowledge can make to how you design your art business?  This is huge!Here are some links so you can dive deeper:Get your chart herePodcast interview by Jamie Sea and Erin Claire JonesLearn all about the types, strategies, and authorities in this book:  “How do you choose?” by Erin Claire JonesFree resources from Alexandra Cole on how you work best, etcIn the Creative Abundance Circle, my weekly coaching group, we use our human design to inform how we design our marketing plans and creative businesses.  It’s important to make a business that works for you, and human design is like a cheat sheet on how to do that.  To find out more about the Creative Abundance Circle, email me at [email protected] you’ve enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would leave me a rating or a review!  If you screenshot it and email it to me at [email protected], I’ll invite you to my next free coaching class.See you next Friday!

Transitions are difficult to navigate at the best of times, but I think they can be particularly challenging for creative people. Creative practice is full of transitions such as from one project to the next, transitioning from form of creative work to another, and transitioning back to the studio after an exhibition. Here are some of my best tips for navigating transitions:1. Be gentle with yourself2. Give yourself time and space to emotionally process. Try to stay away from analyzing the situation. Until you've emotionally processed, you won't be able to find the answer anyway.3. Ground yourself in your body with grounding techniques such as pressing your hand on the center of your chest and breathing deeply. Tune into your heart. This will take you out of anxiety.4. Understand you will be tired. This is normal when you are doing deep processing.5. Do comforting things such as taking naps, watching comfort movies and eating comforting foods.6. Write down what you're thankful for every day.7. Praise yourself for getting so good at tolerating transitions. The more you can tolerate "not knowing", the more you will be able to achieve in the future.Here is the reel about resilience and the Learning Space by Dr. Becky Kennedy.Here is the reel about grounding yourself to reduce anxiety by Mel Robbins and Oprah.If you're interested in moving past anxiety, Beyond Anxiety by Martha Beck is a wonderful resource.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

What's the difference between the artists who "make it" in business and the ones who don't? They keep showing up. That's it. They keep showing up day after day for their art and their business. They keep trying, they keep iterating, and they don't give up. This wisdom was first said to me by Court McCracken, a friend of mine and the author of Art Nurture: The Simple Guide to Cultivating Your Creativity, which is a fabulous book by the way. As I've grown as an artist, I realize she is absolutely right. The only difference between artists who succeed and those who don't is the ones who succeed keep showing up.The beauty of this is it's achievable. We can each make the decision to keep showing up right now. It's absolutely within our self control. Whether or not you succeed is a decision you make inside of yourself. Will I make this work or not? The outside world doesn't determine it. You do.But the other aspect of it that makes it a million times easier is your self talk. When you are kind and supportive of yourself all this is 95% easier. But how do you accomplish that? In the episode, I give you my best tips and tricks and even give you a couple of written exercises to get you started.You can do this. I believe in you.If you enjoy the episode, it would be amazing if you could leave a review! I literally celebrate every time I get a new one, so this would make my day. If you take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected] then I'll be delighted to invite you to my next free coaching class. If you want more in depth support now, email to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle. See you next Friday for another episode!

As an artist, it can be easy to have a million ideas and end up bouncing around like a pinball working on different things. While starting new projects is exciting, you can end up feeling behind and stressed with so many things to do! Here is what I've done to combat this:First, I've instituted a time blocking system recommended by Ali Alquaraghuli in his ADHD productivity course. I have never been diagnosed with ADHD, but I definitely have focus challenges! Blocking off time in my calendar for specific types of tasks REALLY helps give me permission to go deep on them. For instance, when I have two hours blocked off for painting, there is no way I'm going to look at social media in that time. I have things like painting, social media posting/management, recording podcasts, and emailing my supporters all blocked off as specific events in my calendar. They also alert me when they start so I know when to switch! This way I can relax knowing that enough time has been allocated for each of the things.If you begin this system, you might find like me that you only have time to do half the things you want to do! That's where the ideas in Essentialism by Greg McKeown come in. His basic idea is that if you take the time to analyze which tasks are bringing you more fulfillment and progress toward your goals, then you can prioritize them and get rid of everything else. He says "You can do anything you want, but you can't do everything you want." I have had trouble applying Essentialist ideas in the past, but time blocking helps to bring me back to earth! Since there is only so much time, which thing do I choose? This quote by James DuMoulin who runs the School of Hard Knockz Instagram account has really impacted me lately. In this clip, he says "Most people are addicted to education and allergic to implimentation."I have definitely been one of those people! While I implement more than most, I want to do so much more! These are the organizational tools I'm using to help me prioritize and implement more. I hope they help you!Thanks so much for listening to this podcast. If you could leave me a positive rating or review, this would help me so much! Please also feel free to take a screenshot of it and email it to me to be invited to my next free coaching class.Also, if you want more mindset support as an artist, reach out about the Creative Abundance Circle, my weekly coaching group where we transform your mindset to one of allowing abundance to flow into your art business with ease.See you for another episode next Friday!

This is the recording for the Creative Abundance Masterclass I taught on Friday January 16th.  In it I told my story of how I went from being a stay at home mother of four with no following to an artist who literally can’t paint fast enough to meet demand.  Behind this growth were some key Mindset shifts that I want everyone to know about.  This covers yourself, your business, and your general outlook on life.Prioritize your Mindset by listening to an hour of positive mindset content every day.  Every time something big has happened for me, I was consuming positivity like this while doing my chores. You are what you consume when it comes to mindset.Limit Negative inputs.  Avoid talking to negative people and avoid sources of negativity such as the news.  Know that abundance is here for you.  It is flowing in and amongst everything.  It is merely a matter of getting tuned into it to be able to perceive the opportunities that are all around you.  Success comes from alignment.  When you are aligned with what you truly love to do, it doesn’t feel like work.  This is true in business too.  The key is to get aligned with the idea that business can be creative and fun.Business is best approached with a Beginner’s Mind.  Approach it with curiosity, in the spirit of play, and with no expectationsBusiness is about forming a connection with another person and exchanging value.  You create something authentically from your heart, clearly communicate what it gives to people, and exchange it with someone who loves it and wants to give you money and gratitude in return.  That’s it.What other people receive from your art is often a little different than what you think you are putting in.  That’s okay.  It is your job to find out what that is and align your messaging with it.Create a Mindset routine first thing in the morning to fill your cup.  Aim to start focusing on positive aspects within the first five minutes of being awake.  Meditation, Gratitude journaling, Yoga, etc are all great.  When your cup is full and overflowing, everyone else feasts on the overflow.  Whatever you bring your attention to expands. Focus on the negative, you get more of it, focus on the positive and you get more of it.To pivot off of a negative thought, shift your focus to what you WANT out of the situation.  Allow yourself to get lost in the fantasy of what it will be like when you get what you WANT.  This forms a pathway in your mind that starts the process of getting there.  The relief you feel how you know it’s already starting to work.Dreaming is key.  You’ve got to return the innocent childlike practice of dreaming with no negative thought attached.  Just allow it to be a beautiful fantasy.  This is important for manifestation.  Comparison is just a sign that you are out of alignment.  When you are aligned, you know you are playing your own game.  Resistance happens with both art and sales.  This is natural.  Sales is just about people skills and relationships.  Sales are a symptom of connection.  The more connected you are to people, the more sales naturally occur.  Sales is about giving value through kindness, connection, and helping people find what they need.  Knowing that your work is valuable and that you are valuable is key.  Artists are like magicians.  Your skills are easy to you but they mystify others.  Imposter syndrome is simply when your external accomplishments surpass your idea of yourself.  The main way to solve imposter syndrome is to really enjoy your wins.  To help you implement all this stuff and keep you on track, I’ve created the Creative Abundance Circle, a weekly coaching group.  We meet for 90 minutes a week in an intimate, supportive small group environment.  If you join before Friday Jan 24th, you can join for 50% off for just $97 down from $200 per month.https://jennykiehnart.thrivecart.com/creative-abundance-circle/I hope that helps you!  

In this episode, I'll be talking about the most important information you need to obtain for marketing your art. Unfortunately, I think this is what most artists miss.You must ask the people who love your art and buy it what they like about it. What inspired them to buy it? What about your art resonates with them?This is important because it might be different than you think. When I first started asking my followers and collectors, I was really surprised! To me, it's like you're putting a three dimensional object out in the world. You can see your side of it from your perspective, but your audience is seeing a totally different side of it from their perspective. You have to find out what they're seeing. This is the actual impact you are making in the world with your art. It's really important.When you find out what they enjoy about it, it will inspire further artwork, it will help you craft your content, it will help you design your website, it will inform the writing of your emails and it will help you figure out which organizations you can partner with. It's completely essential!In addition, you need to learn as much about your collectors as possible, but we'll talk about that next week!On Friday January 16th at 12:30pm ET, I'll be giving a free coaching class on how to develop an abundant mindset as an artist. If you're afraid to take the plunge in your art business, or are struggling with your business this will really help! I have an abundant life as an artist and I want to help other people achieve the same thing. For more info or to sign up, click here.See you next Friday for a new podcast and the free coaching class!

In this episode, I talk about the powerful action of saying "no" and how much it liberates you. Even more important is becoming okay with saying "no" and letting go of any responsibility for the feelings of others. They get to feel however they want - they are free. Your job is to take care of yourself and draw the boundary. In addition, you get to flip it and say "yes" to the opposite behavior.One thing I'm saying "no" to this year is self doubt. I've realized from watching lots of videos of successful entrepreneurs that I am the person who can believe in me the most. I have deeper leverage there than with anything else. I could believe in myself 100 times more than any other person does and that is within my control. I've never leaned into that fully before and I'm so excited for what it could change for me.I'm also saying "no" to self criticism and instead I'm leaning into loving on myself. I literally give myself a hug every day and say "I love you Jenny, it's going to be okay". I feel like I need it five times a day. This is also amazing because it's completely within my control. This could change everything!!The amazing leverage you gain from saying "no" and then saying "yes" to it's opposite is life changing. What will you be saying "no" to? Email me at [email protected] to tell me. I really want to know.On Friday January 16th at 12:30 ET, I'll be doing a free coaching class about how to develop an abundant mindset as a creative person. I'll be teaching and creating an inspiring atmosphere, but I'm also going to take the time to help individuals at the end of the call. I think there's so much power that gets shared when we hear each other's stories. You learn more than you ever bargained for. Click here to sign up.Thank you for being here! I'm excited to see you on the 16th!

This episode is on how to create a healthy work/life balance as an artist. It's completely essential because your health and level of rest directly affect the quality of art you make. I often find that my best work was preceded by my deepest rest. It's a really tough one because so many artists are caught in the belief that if they work harder they'll make more money. Spoiler alert: It's not true. You've got to take the whole option of "working yourself to the bone" off the table. In the podcast, I tell the story of how I came to his conclusion, the big burnout I experienced at the end of 2024, and I hint at the shifts I'm making to make more money in a different way. I'll be telling more about that in my next episode. If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

This week I've had Tim Shurr on the podcast which was such a delight! He has been in the field of personal growth for 35 years, has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies, is a keynote speaker, and is the Dr. Joe Vitale's hypnotist. Tim has created his One Belief Away Method which is about identifying a belief that is holding you back, pulling it out at the root and replacing it with a healthy belief. Tim specializes in working with high achievers, which is exactly what I am. We talked about being attracted to challenging things, learning to take the time to rest, and the unconscious beliefs that can be driving our behavior. I shared with him the challenges I have gone through with my rapid growth and the belief that has been holding me back.Then, Tim offered to lead me through an exercise right on the podcast! It was a personal breakthrough for me. In it I found a beautiful belief that I have never had before. I honestly believe this is going to change everything for me. So now you can do the exercise too! Just make sure you are sitting down in a safe environment when you do it. This is a closed eye transformative process.I really think this has huge potential to help artists. I'm telling you, I feel completely different now. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future brings!To find out more about Tim, look here:https://www.indyhypnosis.comHere is his book: One Belief AwayIf you enjoyed the podcast, follow for a new episode every Friday!I've got an really great offer for you! If you leave me a rating or review, take a screenshot of it, and email I to me at [email protected] then I will invite you to my next free coaching class :)If you're ready for more support, email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle, my weekly coaching group to help creatives maintain and abundant mindset.

This episode is a real and raw episode for me. Today I found out about the death of an artist I once knew who led a tragic life and was literally starving due to anorexia. He once told me "It's more important that you have a good life than that your art is successful. Having a good life is what creates a foundation for the art" Unfortunately he wasn't able to follow his own advice, but I have built my entire life around it.As an artist, self care is paramount. You are a highly sensitive instrument that needs to be nurtured. Making sure you eat healthily, have enough sleep, have the support you need for your feelings, have people to live your life with, and that you shield yourself from overstimulation is unbelievably important. YOU matter!The starving artist myth is pervasive in Western Culture and has had such a detrimental effect on artists. It held me back for 20 years! However, there are some extremely key lessons to be learned from one particular "starving artist" story. When Vincent Van Gogh was alive, his brother Theo supported him financially. Theo was an art dealer, so Vincent would send him his paintings to sell and accompany them with letters. Theo was unable to sell the paintings, so they accumulated in his home. Vincent died suddenly, the Theo died six months later. This left Theo's wife Johanna alone in Paris with a one year old baby and hundreds of worthless Van Gogh paintings. She organized several exhibitions, inviting people and begging them to buy the paintings, but nobody wanted them. Desperate, she suddenly realized she had another asset. She took Vincent's letters and published them in a book called "The Life of Vincent". It was an overnight success. Suddenly everyone wanted to read the story of this artist named Vincent. Then, they wanted to buy the painting. Johanna's publishing of Vincent's story is the only reason we even know about his art today. Ironically, the tragic "starving" artist's story created a $16 Billion collection of art. Stories Sell.The starving artist's story is about overcoming difficulty to create. That's obvious - but when you break it down it's about overcoming adversity to become a new person (the Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell) and the magic of creativity. We can add in a positive impact on the world and turn this story from tragic to triumphant. If you can follow these three steps, you can step from the "starving" artist mode into the successful one:1. Take good care of your physical, emotional and artistic needs.2. Be honest about why you make your art3. Put your art out in the world and ask what people gain from it so you can hear it in their own wordsIf you can do that, then you have the basis for crafting the best marketing story ever:1. Overcoming Adversity2. The Magic of Creativity3. Positive Impact on the world. It's irresistible and magnetic. Once you've got that story, it's just a numbers game of getting it out to as many people as possible. Stories sell, especially this kind.If you enjoyed this podcast, leave me a positive rating or review. If you take a screenshot of it and send it to me at [email protected], I will invite you to my next free coaching class in early January. If you want more support before then, just email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle, my weekly coaching group. We meet for 90 minutes each week for inspiring conversations, mindset exercises that create big shifts, and specific advice tailored for you.

This episode is about following inspiration fast, a pro tip because as Dr. Joe Vitale says "The Universe loves speed." When inspiration strikes, just go with it! Take the first steps as quickly as you can. Make a sketch, journal about it, brainstorm, book a session to talk to a relevant person about it, get a super rough draft written. The faster you get the process moving, the more inspiration you will receive. Things will just start coming together. Last Thursday I got super inspired to start a Print Club, and I was so excited I did all the legwork and launched it on Sunday morning! I had to delay everything else, including this podcast episode, but it was well worth it. I'm SO excited about the future of this project.But doing it was tricky! Even though I was super inspired, I was scared too! I had to do several sessions of going to the little couch in my studio to press my hand on the center of my chest and breathe slowly to regulate my nervous system. After doing it for about six minutes, I would settle down and remember that I can definitely handle this. It's just scary to do something new, isn' t it?Throughout the process, I thought about David Bowie's quote that "you need to always go a little farther out into the water than you're really comfortable with. Just about the time your feet aren't touching the sand anymore that's when you're ready to do something really exciting". You can see a video of David Bowie saying that here.Here the links for the Sky Lover's Print Club:You can join with the basic $7 membership here to get a 7x5 print and a personal letter from me every month OR you can join the $12 premium membership here. With the premium membership you get entered into the sweepstakes to win the original painting every month!If you enjoyed this episode, stay turned because I'll be releasing another one tomorrow! (Got to get back on track!) 98% of the time, a new episode comes out every Friday.If you liked it, please feel free to leave a rating or a review. If you send me a screenshot of it to [email protected], I'll invite you to my next free coaching class in January. See you tomorrow!

As we approach the end of the year, a lot of artists tend to get frantic as they try to accomplish things by the end of the year. This exacerbates a desperate mindset that we are going to totally step out of today.First, to step out of it I recommend you write down all your wins for the last three to six months. Decide which time period you want to go for, then write down every mindset shift, every positive action, every accomplishment. You will be amazed at how much you've done. This is one of the quickest ways to step out of desperation and build momentum. This touches on Dr. Benjamin Hardy's idea of the Gap and The Gain as well as the Law of Attraction. Next, listen to the rest of the podcast to ponder the nature of accountability. Accountability really comes down to self accountability. Have you kept your promises to yourself? Have you done what you said you were going to do? The promises to yourself are the most important you will ever make. They will make or break your self trust, so be clear on them and honor them.Understand that you always have a choice and reframe the "obligatory" activities you do. For instance, you pay your rent or mortgage because you want housing. You choose to do it and you stand by that choice. Everything comes down to that. You choose to do the dishes because you want a clean home. You are always making an empowered choice, so become clear on that and give yourself credit. When you make your "Get To Do List" every day, do a brain dump and get it all on paper. Then pick out the three things on the list that are the most important and number them in order. Only do three because if you have more than three priorities you have none at all. As soon as you start doing the most important thing first, you will feel so grounded and strong. Carry on the good feeling of recognizing your Wins by writing down your wins every day and reviewing them once a week. This build SO MUCH momentum.If you're interested in "The 12 Week Year" by Brian P. Moran, which I HIGHLY recommend, you can find it here. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a positive review because it will really help more people find the show. If you take a screenshot of it and email it to me at [email protected], I will invite you to my next free coaching class where we can talk about how to bring more abundance in your life. If you want to jump straight to coaching now, email me at [email protected] to ask about The Creative Abundance Circle, my weekly coaching group. See you next Friday!

As an artist or creative, enjoying the process is everything. It is literally the reason you wanted to be a professional artist in the first place. However, it's very easy to get lost in the challenges of setting up and creating a thriving business. The most important thing is to step back, reframe, get grounded in your art, and remember that enjoying the process is the whole point. It's possible to enjoy the process of creating a business too. Geeking out on marketing and business strategies is super interesting once you get the hang of it. It's really, really creative, just in a different way. I meet with a couple of friends each week and we love discussing business strategies and sharing what we've most recently learned. We get to collaborate on the process of building our art businesses and it's super rewarding. We really enjoy the process and it's fun!But the point of all of this is, if you aren't enjoying something or if you feel like you're banging your head against a wall, then you are! Stop what you're doing, take a step back, have a reset, and consider getting help from someone who loves doing what you're trying to do. Your enjoyment of the process is EVERYTHING. You can't build a sustainable business without it. So pay attention to how you feel and use it to guide you. If you liked this episode, leave me a review or a rating, take a screenshot of it, and send it to [email protected] and I will invite you to my next free coaching class. If you're loving the weekly support from the podcast, definitely email me at [email protected] to ask about the Creative Abundance Circle. We meet every week and dive deep into these topics. There is so much connection and support available!Have a lovely week and I'll see you next Friday.

I don't know about you, but I've been receiving a lot of conflicting advice about my business lately! I am weighing up various options and it occurred to me that this is basically impossible if you aren't centered and grounded within yourself. This is my guide for how to prepare yourself to cut through the noise and choose the options that are best for you.First, you've got to regulate your nervous system. If you are feeling stressed, anxious, frustrated or confused then you are in fight or flight mode on some level. This means your nervous system has sensed something to be alarmed about and it is sending the signal to your body that it is in danger. By regulating your nervous system you signal safety to your body so you can relax. It brings your mind back into the present moment so you can feel grounded and calm. In the episode I walk you through three of my favorite techniques for doing this.Second, when you're weighing up your options, you've got to trust which path feels the most natural to you. The natural path will take advantage of your innate strengths. On some level it will feel easy. This is ideal. The easy path is always the right path.Third, sometimes the simplest, most natural path still has a scary element. You've got to learn to do the scary thing anyway. Confidence follows action. As Jamie Sea says, all of us have self doubt, even your most favorite artists. Aren't you thankful they pushed through it, made their work and put it out in the world? I mean, what would the world be like without them? It's horrible to contemplate. Just know that you are someone's favorite artist too. So go do the scary thing. It's worth it.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple. If you do, take a screenshot of it and email to to me and I'll invite you to my next free coaching class.If you're interested in weekly support from me, you can also enquire about the Creative Abundance Circle, my weekly coaching group. It's an intimate, beautifully supportive group. I absolutely love it.Thanks for being here! I'll see you next Friday.

In this episode, I talk about my recent work in deep healing to help me connect to my innate worthiness as a person. Let me be clear, for most of my life I have only been connected to this worthiness in short spurts. My resting place was one more of hustle, proving my worth, and waiting to achieve something to be happy. I got a lot done, but had a definite tendency to burn myself out. Now I'm working on shifting permanently to another mode. One of allowing, taking the time to consider which is the best path, and listening to my sensations to guide me. I've done this in a superficial way lots of times, but this time I'm going deep. I'm ready for a life where I allow abundance to flow to me instead of chasing and hunting.In the Creative Abundance Circle this week (my weekly coaching program) we did some Quantum Inner Child Healing. This is so powerful. I explain a little about how that works and give you a bit of a guide as to what you can do at home even if you aren't in the Circle. Basically it involves becoming the parent you always needed.We are meant to love ourselves and trust ourselves. Anything that gets in the way of that needs to be healed.If you're interested in the Creative Abundance Circle, email me at [email protected] and I'll be happy to tell you about it.Next weekend on Nov 15th and 16th I'll be having a mug drop selling coffee mugs with my paintings printed on them. They are perfect for Christmas presents. To get reminders about the drop, sign up at jennykiehn.com/sign-upAlso, if you leave a positive review or comment about this podcast and send me a screenshot of it to [email protected] then I'll invite you to my next free coaching class.

In this episode I take you step by step through one of the practices I use to connect to abundance. This one works so well for me and really doesn't take very long. It prepares me perfectly to make important decisions in my life and business. Actually, it just prepares me for enjoying my life in every way!We start with gratitude, switch to writing down things that are infinite, feel the abundance rushing through us and then gently take a look at something we want insight on and see what happens. I also take you through a beautiful process of receiving the idea fully into your body so you feel grounded and complete.Enjoy this as I take you right through it! You can also replay this as many times as you need to help you get there.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

Are you able to see, hear or notice subtleties that other people miss?  Do you greatly appreciate art or make it yourself?  If so, you’re likely to be a highly sensitive person.  In this episode, I interview Todd Smith who is a coach who specializes in working with Highly Sensitive People.   He helps them understand themselves, protect themselves from stress, and do the inner work to free themselves up to use the full power of their abilities.  We had a wonderful conversation!  Highly sensitive people make up 15 to 20% of the population and play an important role.  We are like very finely tuned instruments who can detect when something is wrong and gracefully guide others in a better direction.  We are also highly creative.  The trouble is, because we can sense much more than the average person, we can easily get overwhelmed and stressed!  Todd offered some wonderful practical solutions for how to reduce and counteract overstimulation, some of which I am going to try out today!We also took a deep dive into the inner work methods of Byron Katie in her book “The Work”.  In addition, we talked about all the essential elements of healing and why highly sensitive people heal so quickly.  If you’re curious as to whether you are a highly sensitive person, and how stressed you are, you can take Todd’s Highly Sensitive Person Stress Test at trueinnerfreedom.comHe also has a podcast called Stress Management for Highly Sensitive People at https://trueinnerfreedom.com/podcast/.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

This is an episode for anyone with huge responsibilities and a huge desire to do your art. Yesterday I saw a lovely mother of three young kids attend my free coaching class. Here kids were right there with her while she watched the call. She inspired me to record this podcast. When you have a lot of responsibilities, the thought of finding time for your creative practice can be daunting. However, I'm here to tell you - constraint improves creativity. Being a mother of four young kids has made me a much, much better artist. I am more focused, I am more direct, and I am more honest with myself. I'm twice as fast at most things because I go directly for whatever I want. It's a complete game changer.In this episode, I tell the story of how I found time over the years for my art. Doing a little bit at odd times of the day really adds up. Every time I had another kid I had to be more creative with how I arranged my time, but there was always a way.I'm here to tell you that if you want to do your art, just do it. Start in the simplest, smallest, easiest way and allow it to build from there. When you show up to mess around and play with materials, good things happen.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

This was a fabulous conversation with Jenna Harrison, a performance coach who is helping women rewrite the rules of entrepreneurship with her healthy, holistic approach to finding clarity. She is also the host of The Uncommon Way Podcast and has one of the most soothing and grounding voices I have ever heard. In this episode, Jenna shares some wonderful exercises and metaphors to help you find clarity. I had several realizations for myself as we spoke! Through finding her own clarity and building her business to multiple six figures, Jenna has retired her husband! They now live in Spain where they can walk everywhere they go. What a dream! As well as her podcast, Jenna has several coaching programs which you can find out about on her website. I absolutely loved this conversation and hope you do too.Here are some ways you can find her:The Uncommon Way Podcast on AppleThe Uncommon Way Podcast on Spotifytheuncommonway.comIf you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to my next free group coaching class!

Many of the artists I meet struggle with their confidence. I can identify with them and remember when I felt the same way. I just want all of them to know that the fear they feel about no one liking their art or wanting to buy it is a total illusion. This is the truth:When you have a desire to create a project, it comes from a divine place. It is a deep, sacred calling that cannot be ignored. In fact, it will drive you crazy if you don't allow yourself to go with the flow. If you're having this desire, then your art is needed by the world. The world needs you to light up, because you inspire everyone around you when you do. This is a big and important. All art practices are built on exactly that - doing the thing that lights you up, allowing the momentum to grow and getting so bright that you become a light for others. The art is an extension of who you are. In this episode, I give some of my best exercises for building your confidence and share the quotes that I put on my studio wall to help build mine. I also announced that I'm offering a free mindset coaching class next Friday October 10 at 12:00 so you can dive deeper with me on how to create a healthy, abundant mindset to support your work. Here is the link to sign up:https://jennykiehnart.thrivecart.com/mindset-masterclass/See you next week!

Today I wanted to express my gratitude for my collectors and the inspiring people that help keep me going when I find things difficult. In the episode I talked about the importance of gratitude, but talked much more about how I'm thankful for other people's kindness, willingness to take the time to help me, and to be honest and give me real feedback. I also read to some of the quotes I have on my studio wall and talked about why those quotes were important to me. Among them were:-Martha Graham-Jeff Weir-Ashley Longshore-Louise Bourgeois-Abraham HicksI have many more quotes on my wall that I didn't even get to. Maybe we'll need another episode on this next week!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

This episode is about the power of positive thought and how it connects to manifestation. It can take you anywhere you want to go.When you consciously choose what you want to think about, you gain immense leverage. Whatever you give your attention to expands. When you turn your mind toward the positive, you gain positive momentum. When you focus on problems, they become bigger. In this episode I go deeper into how to handle negative situations and turn your focus toward what you really want. There's a point at which your initial negative reaction settles down and there is a quiet pause. This is your opportunity to turn your mind to what you would prefer. When someone is grumpy, you want them be nice, when you have no patience, you want more patience, etc. When there isn't enough money you want overflow. Negative experiences are really helpful because they help you clarify a deep desire. Then you can turn your attention to how it would feel to have the thing you want. Lean into it, imagine it completely. Feel the relief of having it. You will instantly feel better. At that point, you are attracting the thing you want.Then, your reticular activating system will start finding all the pathways to get you there. Great ideas will start to come, the people and information you need will start appearing. You will be inspired to action. It's beautiful!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

In this episode, I start off telling you about what inspired me from the book "Sarah, Book 1" in The Sarah Series by Jerry and Esther Hicks. (I read the whole thing this morning!)I was really inspired by the Idea that there is a flow of good energy and well-being flowing through everything all the time. What I really liked was this book said that we each have a valve where this can flow into us. It's our choice whether to keep the valve open or closed. It amazed me to think I could have the valve open on some subjects and not on others. What if the way to have a better time with those subjects was to just switch the valve on? Challenging subjects like money or relationships - could it just be a matter of opening the valve? When you open the valve, you feel good, you notice all the good parts of everything you look at, and if something is negative, you move onto the next good thing. When you have the valve closed, you get stuck on the bad, annoying, or frustrating things and stay there. One of the best ways to keep the valve open is to appreciate everything you can. Then I broke down the Creative Process into different stages. It starts with Appreciation, then Play, then shifts into Development (the slower version of appreciation and play), then gets to the end where things start coming together and you can see how far you've come. I talk about the role of Divine Dissatisfaction as referenced in Martha Graham's Letter to Agnes DeMille.I enjoyed creating this podcast and really appreciate you being here. If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

This episode is about how important your daily self care routine is. This is what keeps you connected to your deepest, most authentic self. It helps you feel the exquisite joy of being alive every day. If you can't find those feelings on a daily basis, then this needs to be your top priority. These feelings are like a portal to every good creative idea in life. You've got to find a way to get there. If you don't have a good self care routine yet, it's time to create one! In the episode I talk about what I believe the most important aspects of a good self care routine are:1) You do something you absolutely love every day2) It helps you get deeply peaceful3) It helps find a deep level of satisfaction4) It helps you feel deep gratitudeGreat examples of morning routine activity include meditation, gratitude journaling, free journaling, walking through nature, and yoga. If something else works for you then great! But just remember - the goal is to enter a deep state of peace every day. I've tried many different morning routine activities over the years and I've definitely found that some work better than others for me. It's important to prioritize this practice of refining your routine. By doing so, you declare to yourself and the world that your state of mind matters!We are put on this earth to enjoy life and live abundantly. Your state of mind is the gateway to having a good time and being in a position to help others, so lets get busy!

How happy are you willing to be? Do you ever accidentally sabotage your own efforts? In this episode I talk about my experience with "Upper Limits", as described by Gay Hendricks in his incredible book "The Big Leap". In it is the idea that everyone has a "set point" of happiness, an inner level of happiness that they think someone like them should be able to expect. When your experience expands beyond that, your subconscious mind "freak out" and send you into fight or flight because you're venturing into unknown territory. This is when your "inner saboteur" may come out to start a fight, fixate on something unnecessarily, get sick, etc. This happens because you were so happy you didn't know how to handle it! So you unconsciously do something to take yourself down a notch or two so you can feel normal and safe. So how do you increase your set point of happiness? First start by understanding the Four Hidden Barriers that might keep you back, (explained in detail in The Big Leap) and use nervous system regulation methods to calm down every time you get triggered. I explain how to use the nervous system methods in detail. I finish by giving you my best exercise for imaging a bright new future and getting your subconscious mind used to it :)If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

In this episode I talk about many aspects of time - the bittersweet experience of hitting milestones with my children, the midlife crisis I had when I wasn't making my art, and what I've found it takes to be happy with the passage of time. Basically, if your actions are in alignment with your values and you are fulfilling your creative needs, then you are going to be relaxed about the passage of time. If not, then something needs to change - immediately!I also talk about linear vs. holistic time and empowered ways of thinking about time. Hope you enjoy it! If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. 

This is episode is about how to process big, shocking negative events in your world and ultimately turn them to your advantage. This is in response to a big event that happened in my life this week. I won't share what it is because it affects other people too - but I am absolutely sharing the techniques I have used to process it and get my mindset back where I want it to be within just a couple of days. I have benefitted from the experience - I am more clear in my desires, more trusting of myself, and more committed to my goals than ever before. Now I can see the opportunity in this situation clearly and I'm really excited about it. The techniques I've used aren't hard and can benefit you today. I hope you enjoy the story!If you liked this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I'll be releasing a new episode every week!

Did you know that the future you are committed to is what shapes your current reality? Most people think the past shapes your present, but the opposite is true. This episode is about how to use the cutting edge psychology that Dr. Benjamin Hardy talks about in his book Be Your Future Self Now and the manifesting wisdom of Abraham Hicks to bring your dreams into reality. It is literally the way I have created my current life, which was a pie-in-the-sky dream only few years ago. This stuff works!!!!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

In this episode, I explain how to optimize the time and space to get more out of your creativity. This is the easiest way to increase your productivity by 50% or more. I talk about working out which time of day works best for you, reorganizing your schedule to accommodate it, getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, clearing out your studio so it's a fresh, clean space to work, and of course setting up your space each day so you get in and work on the most important thing with no distractions. I also give tips for important things to have in your studio to help you remember your "why" even when you're wobbling a bit. I have made a couple of changes this summer which have been a complete game changer for me. 1) I reorganized my family's schedule so I can get up and work in the very early morning and 2) I'm taking my rest and sleep much more seriously. My productivity has shot up. It's so exciting!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

This is a podcast about how to find time and space when you think there isn't any. There is always time and space for creativity, you just have to use your creativity to find it. I start out by telling the story about how I rearranged my family's schedule this summer to support my painting, then I went way back to how I rearranged my life to make art when I had a full time job, started a family, and ultimately had four little kids in five years. If you're willing to rearrange things and give up the good for the great, there is always time to be found. There is always space to be found too - I tell the story about how I converted a tiny closet in our London flat to be my studio, how I used to work out of a cardboard box during my kid's nap times, how I rented a shelf in my friend's studio and went there for two hours every Sunday morning because that was the only time I could get childcare. There is always space, you might just have to think a little differently to find it. Then, at the end I touch on the mindset you need when you finally do get the space and time you want. Space and time after years of longing can be just as hard as not having it! The main thing is to keep it light and aim to make small things in volume. You've got to walk before you can run. Even if you hate the little piece of art you made, there is still value in making it. The good artwork comes later, after you've made more. Just have faith. Making your art again will give you energy, not take it away. You've got this. It's easier than you think, just stay light about it.I began recording this podcast thinking I would talk about how to optimize your space and time to be more productive - then I realized there was a deeper issue I needed to speak to. Next week's session will be about optimizing. There's something to look forward to!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

Have you ever been on the right path for you and then wandered off? Yeah, it happens all the time right? Best case scenario you go down a rabbit hole, hopefully learn something, then come up and realize you need to center yourself to get back on the track. Or worse, you get really frustrated and blocked. Or much worse, you get caught up in what other people think you should do and spend lots of time chasing the wrong thing. What if there was an easier way? What if you could meet obstacles and have the grace to orient your way around them without going off on a wild goose chase? This episode is about the fine tuning you can do to pull back from frustration and find the path with ease. It just takes one little trick and a little bit of faith. And oh my goodness, it works! When you get this dialed in, the results come fast!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

In this episode, I talk about how to navigate the highs and lows you experience when building a business you are passionate about. This is such an important episode! The more you desire for your dream to come true, the more it hurts when you get a setback or when you notice how far you are from your goal. That's why it's incredibly important to put routines in place that steady you. In this episode I explain some things that help you get through the struggles when you have them and talk about longer term practices you can put in place to steady yourself.I also recommend "The Magic" by Rhonda Byrne, which is a structured gratitude practice that just takes a few minutes every morning and evening. It is gold!If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

In this episode I talk about how to gracefully integrate new positive behaviors in your life - it is a process! I share my challenges with reorganizing my lifestyle to get enough rest. I also share the biggest takeaway I have learned in my recent study of Abraham Hicks - how to pivot away from what you don't want and toward what you do want. This is absolute gold and is already working for me beautifully. I think it's the key to turning your life around. If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class about exactly that!

When I went on holiday last week, I had an epiphany while I was relaxing in the water. The gentle waves were so soothing and I thought "Why do I even bother having a hectic life at all?" Connecting deeply to myself over the holiday has helped me understand why rest is vital to work in a profound way. My approach to painting has totally changed, my management of my family has hugely improved, and I am realizing that I have much more potential than I ever knew.There is something about deeply relaxing that helps you realize that you're enough. It's okay to just be. You don't have to do anything to prove yourself. You don't have to justify your place at the table. You can just be here.Letting go of all that extra effort means you get to let your energy flow into new areas. Suddenly you have access to greater ability than you ever new. You can access new levels of creativity and innovation. It's magical.So take the time to deeply rest. Go to bed really early for a week and see how your perspective changes. Dial all your roles back to basics and coast. If you can, take a week off.And most importantly, say "No" really often. Every time you do you say "YES!" to yourself. This was definitely the magic ingredient I was missing. I'm so excited for a deeply restful future.If you enjoyed this episode, definitely tune in every Friday because I will be releasing a new episode each week. If you're interested in a conversation on how you can bring more abundance into your creative life, leave a review of this podcast, take a screenshot of it and email it to [email protected]. I'll invite you to a free group coaching class where we talk about exactly that!

In this episode I talk about 10 lessons I've learned as a professional artist. Most of them I learned through mistakes, so you'll hear some of those stories! Here is the list:1) Only make a business around art that you really love to do and find easy on some level. Otherwise you will grow to hate it.2) Creativity and making art has to come first. Then work on business, but keep it around a 50/50 split between the two.3) The business is supposed to be fun and energizing. As soon as it isn't, something needs to change. This could be a mindset change, such as reframing, or it could be a significant change such as getting support or deciding not to provide a service you don't enjoy.4) The easy path is the right path. Let it be easy.5) Keep it simple. Over-complication kills both fun and profitability.6) Find your overarching goal. Make your intermittent decisions and goals feed into the overarching goal.7) Rest is vital. It is as vital as work.8) Mindset is everything. Invest in Mindset first.9) Use strategy to achieve your goals. Work smarter, not harder.10) Authenticity is everything. Real connection drives the whole business. If you enjoy this episode, definitely tune in because there will be a new episode every Friday. If you leave me a review, take a screenshot of it, and email it to me at [email protected] I'll invite you to a free group coaching class where we will talk about how expand into an abundant mindset so you can create an abundant, creative life.

In this episode, I talk about why self connection is vital to marketing your art. As artists we pour our hearts and souls into our work. Because our work comes from the deepest parts of ourselves, we also have to come from that same place to promote our work properly. Authenticity is everything.However, there are so many fears that come into play! In this episode I break down how to handle those fears and how to stoke the engine that makes you into a magnet for your perfect audience.If you enjoy this episode, definitely tune in because there will be a new episode every Friday. If you leave me a review, take a screenshot of it, and email it to me at [email protected] I'll invite you to a free group coaching class where we will talk about how expand into an abundant mindset so you can create an abundant, creative life.

This week I've had the brilliant, courageous Stephanie Elizondo Griest on the podcast to talk about her new book "Art Above Everything." In it she explores how women sacrifice for their artwork and whether or not it's worth it. Stephanie interviewed over 70 women around the world who have moved mountains for their art. Some of them are in some of the harshest conditions imaginable and yet they still make time, space, and gather resources to create. Many of them do this with a desire to do good in the world and have make a huge positive impact. Stephanie has travelled all around the world to interview these women, attend their festivals, and learn about the challenges they have overcome. She helps us understand what inspires these women and makes this process sustainable for them. She also has sacrificed hugely to write her books, so we talk about the steps she has gone through to bring her work into reality. We talk at length about the concept of an "art monk" and the artist's role as a teacher, leader, and purveyor of spiritual connection. I truly enjoyed this conversation and loved reading her book. She will be touring around the US this summer, giving readings and books signings. I encourage you to check to see if your city is on her book tour. I will certainly be in the audience when she comes to Asheville. Website: http://www.StephanieElizondoGriest.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/selizondogriest/Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/sgriest.bsky.social

This is my advice for anyone who wants to become a professional artist.  It’s for people of any age - just be clear, it is never too late!!In this episode I talk about six main points:​Get Mindset Support - being an entrepreneur for a business you are passionate about is such a journey!!  You are going to grow like crazy, so it’s time to get some mindset support to help you navigate the high’s and low’s.​Get clear on why you want to be an artist.  Be bold, write it down.  What do you want to gain from the business you are about to create? Why do you care about doing this?​What does success look like to you?  Write it down - how many hours do you want to work each week?  What is your “enough” number in terms of money?  What location do you want to be in?  Do you want to work with customers face to face or would you prefer online?  Do you want direct feedback from your customers or would you like more distance from them?  All these things will affect the paths you choose to take.​Approach the “How to do it?” question with playfulness and creativity, just the way you would approach making an artwork.  Building a business is a creative process.  Make sure you are having fun every step of the way.  What is your ideal result?  How can you creatively take the first step?   (Don’t get lost in strategies and tactics here - instead lean into what feels easy and what feels like a good idea.)​Make the best artwork you can make at your level.  Authentically challenge yourself.  You cannot fake that raw, bold authenticity.  You have to actually be inspiring by leaning in and taking risks.  Also, stay in your lane with this.  Don’t concern yourself with what other people consider “professional”.  Just challenge yourself to do the best you can from where you are.​Bare your soul when you explain why you made your work.  Share your emotions authentically.  You don’t have to tell them lots of personal details, but you need to be really honest about the universal truths that resonate in your work.  They will be able to feel whether or not you’re being honest.  This is what forms real connection.If you like this episode, tune in every Friday because I'll be releasing a new podcast. I've also got a really cool deal for you - if you leave me a review, take a screenshot of it and email it to me at [email protected] and I'll invite you to a free group coaching class where we'll talk about how to cultivate an abundant mindset so you can create an abundant life.

In this episode I talk about how to manage fear so you can keep stepping out of your comfort zone to chase your dreams.We talk about what to do when fear feels really large and it's taking over. We talk about how to regulate your nervous system so you can feel grounded again. Then, we talk about how to flip the script on fear and see it's coming as a positive sign. Ultimately, we learn how to put it in it's proper place so we can get on and do the scary thing anyway.This is a hugely important skill for artists in particular. We have to be so courageous to do what we do. I hope this helps to support you!Recommended Reading:Hello Fears by Michelle PolerBurnout by Emily NagasakiIf you like this episode, definitely tune in because there will be a new episode every Friday. To be invited to a free coaching class on how to create an abundant mindset, leave me a review (or a rating and comment on Spotify), take a screenshot of it, and email it to [email protected]. I look forward to meeting you!