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MY⚡️Feature
featured piece of advice for creatives and creative leaders
Take time to graze
I listened to a podcast a while back called The Great Creators (which I highly recommend) and the episode was with Ryan Tedder. Ryan is a grammy winning songwriter/producer and the frontman of the band One Republic. He’s written and/or produced loads of hits for artists like Katy Perry, U2, Beyonce’, Lady Gaga, and more.
He talked about a season of his life when he took a break from writing and producing and during that season he realized the importance of source material.
Source material is something that inspires us. It could be as simple as a blog, a song, a memory, a landscape, a podcast, or a book. However, it could be as heavy as the birth of a child or a death in the family. It could be a catalytic moment in our lives like a car accident or getting a new job. It could be things that happen around us, things that happen to us, or just a phrase, a picture, or a melody.
The place that we create from, our source material, is foundational.
It’s worth building time in our lives to explore the things that are happening to us and around us and let them inspire us. It’s worth creating rhythms in our lives to read, listen to podcasts or albums, and have conversations with inspiring people.
I’ve heard it in practice referred to as scratching or grazing. It’s the idea that we set aside time to just explore, to graze if you will, the fields of inspiring things and to get curious enough to scratch the itch of the things we find. To pull at the proverbial threads of interesting things, of our personal feelings, our heart break, our frustration, and our joy to see how we can express it in a way that get us excited.
So often we focus on the discipline of our craft (songwriting, designing, writing, singing, etc…) but we neglect the practice of filling our hearts and minds with inspiring things. We let the well run dry and then wonder why we struggle to be create.
Creative people need time to graze.
We need to time to think, to take in the world, to process the way things make us feel and fill our well with something that compels us to create.
As you’re looking at starting fresh in the new year think about creating some rhythms that allow you to graze and fill your well with things that inspire you.
I’ve created a tool that could help with this. It’s called the MY⚡️FI CREATIVE CLARITY PLANNER and you can get it FREE by clicking the link.
MY⚡️Follows
Film Tourism
(@filmtourismus) is a wonderful account run by blogger Andrea David. Since 2004 she has traveled to sites all around the world to document the actual sites where some of our favorite films and television shows have been created. It’s an amazing and interesting follow!
Synth History
(@synth_history) is an independent magazine, podcast, and social media account dedicated to the history of synthesizers and the musicians that use them. They share interviews, facts, and more on your favorite synths, their creators, and synth artists.
Out of Print
(@outofprint) is a line of clothing and gifts focused on some of the best literary work in history. They carry shirts, socks, and gifts of all kinds for people who love books and appreciate great literature. If that’s your thing then check them out!
MY⚡️Finds
cool stuff I found this week
Pocket Tripod
I’m here to confess… I got got by an instagram ad on this one. However, I was not disappointed and I actually ended up getting this incredible credit card sized phone tripod on Amazon for Black Friday. It’s not really a tripod, but it’s a super compact and secure way to set up your phone for shooting photo or video. Grab it here!
Blue Murder
So it’s pretty rare that someone shows me a record I missed from the 80s or 90s, but my friend David is a wealth of knowledge and he put me on a great rock record from 1989 by a band called Blue Murder that was started by Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes. Enjoy it here!
MY⚡️Favorites
some of my favorite sights, sounds, and reads
Timmy Tuesday
My friend Timmy Allen has been on the MY⚡️FI Podcast and is the animator behind all our graphics. He started his own newsletter for creatives. Particularly those working in the visual world and it’s fantastic!! Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Meaningful Marketing
Another great friend named Alin Dragu recently released his first book, Meaningful Marketing. It’s a treasure trove of practical information in bite-sized chunks that will help any creative, business, or entrepreneur share what they do with the world in a meaningful way. BUY IT HERE.
MY⚡️FI Podcast
a podcast about the journey of creativity
Ep. 040 :: Tim Turnquist
On the newest episode of MYFI we are joined by Tim Turnquist. Tim is the Associate Creative Director at American Express and works in their internal creative agency called OnBrand. There he leads teams that create websites, ad campaigns, commercials, social media content, and more for one of the biggest financial companies in the world. Jump in the conversation as we talk about leading creative teams, finding out he scripted a Super Bowl commercial while watching the Super Bowl, and which authors inspired his love for the written word.
MY⚡️FI Blog
monthly blog for creatives and creative leaders
Phases of Creativity
On the blog this month I share a little advice on how to reach your creative goals in 2024 by taking things in phases, being aware of the poison you can encounter in each phase, and the antidote to overcome it. Check out the blog by clicking here.