[6/21] Brace for impact
One small step for a Creative Alien
Disclaimer:
A series of daily ‘stacks challenging consistent writing habits, influenced by Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages Exercise from The Artist’s Way. These pages are *meant* to be private - fear and loathing while avoiding your to-do list sorta thing. However, I need accountability, so Substack is my resolve.
🎧 Today’s soundtrack:
A Moment of Clarity
Nothing changes unless you change. Remain comfortable or finally face your potential. Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it simply changes.
Fess Up
I’ll come clean from the get-go—this is my Sunday stack, and I’m writing it at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Yes, I have two additional sets of “Morning Pages” to catch up on, but without this challenge, I wouldn’t have written a damn thing.
Even if they’re rambling, babbling, stumbling messes as opposed to anything coherent or sentient, they’ve shown me that I can make space for my writing and creativity.
It’s also day 5/5 of Tom Jepson’s inbox challenge, so that’s a small win to fuel the week ahead.
A recap…
The Challenge:
Consistency and putting oneself “out there”.
Feeling like life could go apocalyptic at any given moment.
Wondering if I’ll ever be satisfied in the aftermath of burnout.
Recalibrating what success means to me here and now.
Today’s final directive:
Come up with ONE IDEA I can run with to resolve my challenge(s).
BIG IDEA:
Take back control, proudly share what I’m creating, and consistently show up for a dedicated period of “experimentation”.
Action Plan:
What am I going to do?
I'm going to start sharing my thoughts on creativity, writing, and building a creative business.
I’m going to experiment on different social media platforms (Substack, IG, TikTok, LinkedIn—possibly YouTube) by showing up daily (not everywhere) and making a vested effort to engage with other creatives.
My goal is to connect with new Creative Rebels and fight the fear.
Why am I going to do it?
I’ve invested buckets of blood, sweat, and tears into building Studio Sonder.
I didn’t need to. I had a perfectly functional and reputable boutique agency. But I decided to burn it to cinders due to my lack of time and availability.
Creating a community was at the core of my creative purpose. So, I said, "F*ck it, now is the time to take action."
Little did I know it would require so much investment from the start.
I don’t regret a thing.
But now that it’s time to share it with the world, I’m frozen. I'm unable to speak, and I'm unable to do what I’ve done a million times before. I have crumbled into this shell of comfort because now I have to face judgment day(s).
Every founder, business owner, CEO (whatever the f*ck we’re calling ourselves these days) feels this way at one point or another. I will do this because it is my duty TO DO THIS.
It’s time to be proud of what I’ve created.
It’s not perfect.
It’s small but mighty.
It is going to make a significant impact on many Creative Rebels.
I know it.
When will I do it?
Ba ba ba ba - judgment day is here, baby doll!
No more hiding under the duvet.
No more mindlessly doom-scrolling.
No more “I’ll start next week”.
We ride at dawn every day from now until the end of September.
This is the experiment period.
I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
What do I need to get there?
(Today’s list) Ensure my mailing list and lead magnets are tweaked and tested.
(Today’s list) Align with strategy and add a layer of gamification to trick my ADHD into doing the thing consistently.
(Today’s, tomorrow’s, and beyond’s list) Set a daily goal and track it.
Get the Rebels in the community to hold me accountable.
How will I know I’ve done it?
When the community is buzzing with life. Right now, we may as well be early inhabitants of Mars or a far-off planet orbiting Proxima B. But the search for life is on.
I think it’s part of the Creative Curse (Prime subscription) that we so desperately want our creations to be loved, but at the same time - ewww, don’t perceive me!
But I’ve discovered that anything that has scared the absolute Beje-Zeus outta me has generally resulted in the greatest transformations of my life.
So, I’ll know I’ve “done it” when I feel confident sharing my creations with an audience of more than one.
You might be reading this slew of incoherent ‘stacks or have cringed at my other social media endeavours and be thinking, “She doesn’t seem to have an issue with that”.
Respect. I see how you’ve drawn that conclusion. But if I were “confident”, I would have stuck to something consistently.
I wouldn’t be here writing this. I’d have my sh*t together. It’s time to give it my all. Stop throwing away my shot. And grab life by the proverbial balls.
And if nothing has come of it by September, I have at least collected data from my experiment.
Then, I can retreat to Spain, read books, and write copy here and there for freelance clients. Life won’t end; it’ll only evolve, and I’m cool with that.
Let’s go!
RIPPING THE BAND-AID OFF
What the f*ck is Studio Sonder?
We’re a safe, private, and welcoming online creative community (hosted on Mighty Network’s platform).
We help Creative Rebels like you, no matter your discipline or experience level, fall back in love with creating.
📖 Dying to write that novel?
☁️ Dreaming of launching your freelance business?
🔮 Or just itching to turn your creative ideas into something—ANYTHING—that’s real?
Studio Sonder holds space for your creativity:
✅ Private community (away from social media) to share your creative work and ideas with zero judgment.
✅ Welcoming creatives of all flavours, experience levels, and ages.
✅ No pressure, connection first collaborative space
Look around Studio Sonder and hang out in our Creative Chat or Writers’ Lounge for free, FOR LIFE.
✅ Free to join forums - see if this is the writing community for you
✅ Meet other writers/creatives - network, connect & collaborate
✅ No time limit - stay for as long or as little as you like
Join Studio Sonder’s Creative Chat for Free
Join Studio Sonder’s Writers’ Lounge for Free
That’s a wrap, folks - see you inside the Studio!
Keep taking messy action daily,
D x
P.S. You can catch up on days 1-5 on my homepage. You won’t. But you can 🍿