What Inspires You?

Pizza, Beth and Bali got my mojo back!

I got inspired! In the nick of time too. I was getting anxious and cranky, not writing.

I’ve been off my cadence of creation the last few weeks because of stupid Covid. It can be so hard to get back on track when you’ve been knocked down for a bit. 

I saw a post last week from my friend and beautiful songwriter Erika Olson (go listen!) about hunting down inspiration - it started with “When was the last time you were on fire 🔥?” - and I was comforted by the kinship of being a creator lost in a haze.

Then, as the universe often does, she gave me another nudge. Do you follow Andy J Pizza and his podcast, Creative Pep Talk? Amazing, juicy stuff, and I don’t listen often enough. Well, last week he dropped episode #443 “Which of the 4 Inspiration Types Do You Need Now?” 

Thank you universe. And, Mr. Pizza and Erika!

I listened, and I got a little fiery …

Fire = Inspire + Desire

I’ve been musing about doing the thing we desire, not the thing required…or, the thing we think is required. And, how do we even know what we desire if we are not inspired?

Is there a partnership there, or is the songwriter in me just attracted to the rhyme?!

Whenever my voice clients get in a rut, like they don’t know what song they want to work on next, I ask": “what are you listening to?” Often the rut has appeared because they are not listening. They aren’t inspired by anything, so their desire has diminished. 

Usually when I’m writing a lot, I’m usually listening too - songs, podcasts, books. Hearing stories and conversations and philosophies get my juices flowing and the musing begins. 

The brain fog kept my usual consuming of inspiring things at bay. Instead, I got lost in a haze of binging seasons of the most traumatic Grey’s Anatomy stories. I realized that if I was going to keep watching TV, it needed to be something new.

Beth and Life - Amy Shumer’s show on Hulu. It was a balm. I cried. I identified with so much, even though our stories are different. Abandonment and disconnection is universal.

Finding something new peaked my curiosity, which stirred my musings…inspired.

Andy J. says inspiration is temporary, but it needs to be interacted with, not neglected. And, while discipline can keep your head in the game, and can bring about inspiration, staying inspired is the discipline of keeping your heart in the game. This is the connection to desire.

4 types of Inspiration - Symptoms and Cures

1. if you are feeling like your work has lost its shine; no longer speaks to you.
   Cure: collect stuff that gets your attention; heart racing - old and new

2. if the work feels exciting but hollow (meaningless) …
   Cure: need the mechanics; dig deeper to be satisfied

3. if you feel apathetic… what’s the point? maybe you feel good about the work, but the process of getting it out there has got you down.
   Cure: practice inspiration; need new business models/platforms/strategies; (follow Creative Pep Talk!)

4. if you feel your work is someone you used to be; feels inauthentic (oof!).
   Cure: Need the inspiration of new real life experiences; dive in and give your time/attention to the new thing; what’s got you on fire?

So much more in the podcast! Be sure to listen for further inspiration.

#1 is what prompted me to get back into the game this week. New show and podcast got my attention and inspired me to muse and to write. And, I identify with this one the most on a regular basis of maintaining the discipline of reading and listening to look for inspired connection.

#4 resonated for me a bunch this last year… Changing the focus of my coaching to match more of who I feel like now. I need experience/adventure, even risk, to stoke those inspired fires.

And, I’m ruminating on how this one also can apply to me as a songwriter right now.

Someone I used to be

Writing songs started as a cathartic look inside. I didn’t start this journey to share them. I needed to find a connection to myself, more than I needed the audience.

When I started writing songs, I was figuring out what I desired. I was awakening to a whole new way of being in the world; getting to know myself and finding inspiration for my life - from what I wanted to wear, eat, decorate my new living space; who I wanted to hang out with, how I wanted to show up for people in my life, what kind of work was fulfilling. 

I am a performer too, so of course I started performing them. I found the sweetness of vulnerability in sharing my songs with an audience. Seems that these very personal experiences that I turned into song were also quite universal. I’d never felt more seen then when I connected with an audience through my songs, sharing the grief and joys of life. It felt like a drug! Oh, I see why people do this!

My first singer-songwriter shows were in 2019. Then…2020. 💥 🦠

When I tried to write songs again after a long break, I stalled. I wasn’t the same person. I needed a new entry point.

When I thought of all those songs that I wrote 2016-early 2020, I felt sad about leaving them behind. So many of them still resonate, and I knew that before I started writing again, I needed to record and share those songs.

Oh yeah, by the way… my 2nd EP - INTO THE LIGHT ☀️ - is out on all streaming platforms today!

Too many desires? Pick one…

I’ve tinkered, made notes, made up melodies, and have a hundred voice memos of little starts. I’ve even fleshed out 4 or 5 songs in these last few years that could be something. That’s encouraging. And, after so much trauma and healing, what feels relevant?

There’s something about creating art for a time… when is that time over? Some creations feel timeless, and some feel like they have a limit. Is it too late to share the song that came from being changed by the pandemic and the hardest year of my life? Will it be relatable in 5-10 years? It depends on how I write it. I wrote it in early 2023. It’s messy and sensitive to touch. I needed distance. I could come back to it now, but it doesn’t feel like where my desire is pulling me. Who knows if it will ever come to be.

The tricky part about unearthing your desires, sometimes there are too many. Then we have to choose. Which ones get picked now? 

And, then contending with the fear of not forgetting the other ones while you focus on the one that says “pick me”. Will I still come back to it/them? Will the same passion I saw in their potential be there next month; next year? 

Jump back in when you can

Life will always waylay us. A sickness; a family emergency. Taxes need to get done.

Or, a dream vacation drops in your lap! I still haven’t followed up on the half a dozen stories that my trip to Bali 🐘 inspired last fall. As Andy talks about; new experiences can be inspirational.

Places closer to home can be too. That’s why I go to the ocean so often. I live 3-4 hours away, and usually try and get there every other month. I haven’t seen the water since Bali! I’m itchy!

Whether it’s adventure or distress, our creative flow will get interrupted. 

I stopped Andy’s podcast 5 minutes short to get these musings down on the computer. I feared I wouldn’t be able to get my thoughts out fast enough.  

Part of my experience with inspiration is trusting that what comes out is what’s supposed to come out. And, if I lose a thread, it may come back in another blog, insta post or song if it’s meant to be.

I have been typing so fast and hard, and have already lost a few keys points. Now I’m hungry. So, we’ll see what eventually comes back and gets into your inbox.

Grateful the inspiration bug (or pizza) struck… I was feeling a bit lost and connected from my words. Stupid brain fog! Glad to be back with you…until the next obstacle comes. 😉