In episode 20 of the Mindful Creator, I talk with Jim Woods – writer, editor, coach and instigator, as well as the co-author of Ready Aim Fire! A Practical Guide to Setting and Achieving Goals, and Hit the Mark! Improve Your Focus, Boost Your Energy and Make the Most of Your Time.
Now I’ve known Jim for a few years, and what I love about his approach is that he’s relatively no nonsense and tells it like he see’s it when it comes to telling better stories and being a writer in this day and age.
In this episode, Jim and I discuss some of the common, key themes that shape the creator’s journey, and what it takes to get back to the basics and focus on what distinctly works for you as a creator.
(Note – We originally recorded this episode back in September but got backlogged with all of the technology issues I had migrating the podcast, so some of the dates/context reflects that gap. I wanted to make sure this episode published before the new year!)


Link Love
From the Creative Capital of the World to a Small Town in Ohio – Jim Woods
Listen to your life – Brett Henley
In this Episode

* Jim talks about his big transitions in 2013/2014 that landed him in the lap of self employment
* What do you do to bring in income vs. creative satisfaction?
* Jim talks about a blog post chronicling his family’s decision to move to Ohio and the weight of the transition to working for himself: “Change used to paralyze me. I would give into analysis paralysis and freeze in my tracks.”
* Brett: “Our culture just isn’t wired for this kind of creative journey.”
* Jim talks about his maturity as a creative and now entrepreneur, and how that has helped him focus less on comparing his journey to others and get focused on his own priorities.
* The difficulty of finding our true core/selves as creators (fist bump to my friend Caroline), and how experience is really the only tried and true way to figure this out.
* Jim looks back at the puzzle pieces in his journey, talks about the process of getting to a place of alignment and the importance of self reflection.
* Why we lose track of what drives/motivates us over time and how we can get back to our core principals as humans/creators.
* What “intentional reflection” might look like and why it’s important in deepening our connection the creative work.
* The warrior story arch of cultivating and building self awareness and why we often overlook this critical phase in our creative journey.
* Why “Brett” believes that self awareness is the most powerful tool that any artist/creator could ever cultivate.
* Why we confuse self awareness with confidence. Confidence is often tied to our tactical and creative success, while deeper self awareness is a very soulful process.
* The art (and difficulty) of embracing uncertainty and why trusting our gut as a first step is important.
* Jim: “All time is NOT equal.”
* Jim -> Embracing uncertainty = Going all in.
* Brett talks about the misconception that simply acce...