EP 65: SOLO - Is This Garbage? On Trusting Your Creative Process

Episode 65: SOLO - Is This Garbage? On Trusting Your Creative Process
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

A few weeks ago, I was standing in the woods in the middle of a dream project, completely convinced it was going to be garbage. I recorded a voice note to myself. I've been thinking about it ever since.

This episode is a riff on what it feels like to be deep in a creative project when you have no idea how it's going to turn out. And what happens when you look back at the full body of your work and realize: the stuff that didn't land was always the stuff you didn't fully show up for.

The stuff you gave everything to? It landed. Every time.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• Why the "is this garbage?" feeling is actually a sign you care
• The pattern I noticed looking back at my whole creative portfolio
• What it means to give 100% when 40% is all you have
• Controlling the controllables and genuinely letting go of the rest
• The Creative Risk Grant project: a silent film, an ensemble, and a week in the woods
• Why creativity is just getting resourceful with what's in front of you
• Business ownership as its own creative act

A FEW MOMENTS THAT STOOD OUT

• The voice note that started it all - recorded mid-forest, mid-doubt, mid-magic
• "Ideas from the universe are a gift." Sara Blakely said it. I'm running with it.
• Robby Hoffman, John Mulaney, and what it feels like when someone puts their neck out for you
• The Bear's "let it rip" and how a TV show phrase became my whole creative mantra
• The moment I realized: the times I was disappointed in my work were the times I held back

If you're in the middle of something right now, take a listen. And let it rip.

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