Carrington Schaeffer is a writer of creepy children's fiction and a member of the all-girl vintage vocal jazz quartet, The Tonettes. She is also the host of the podcast “Honestly, Dear Listener,” which is a podcast that aims to seek answers to the question of why so many of us let fear and insecurity keep us from creating.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/carrington
In this episode, Carrington discusses:
-Her reason for starting her podcast, "Honestly, Dear Listener."
-How she is a mom who needs to have her own creative pursuits, or else she ends up getting frustrated.
-The importance of giving up on perfectionism and control of what other people perceive of you.
-How being honest and open about your struggles allows for true art and expression to thrive.
-How celebrating the small victories is more important than the grand gestures.
-Her intention for publishing her actual voice memos in her podcast, and how scary it can be to put the "owchies" out there.
-The notion of addressing editor/fear that tells you to not do certain things in a kind way, so that it will "take a nap" and leave you alone.
-A transformative experience during a piece of performance art that she performed without a plan.
-Some of the other things that hold her back, including the fear of people pitying her as well as the fear of failure.
-Redefining what failure is, so that you can celebrate the small victories as they come.
-The importance of getting out of your own way.
Carrington's Final Push will inspire you to tell your inner critic and fear to TAKE A NAP!
Quotes:
"I started the podcast because I needed an outlet."
"I'm a mom who really needs to have her own pursuits and identity that is separate from the mom title. And I have found that if I don't honor that part of myself, I get really, really frustrated and I'm actually a worse mom."
"I think the thing that I've had to learn is to be gentle with myself."
"I'm happy when I can sit down and write a paragraph. To me, that is winning. And that is to be celebrated."
"It doesn't have to be perfect. It just matters that you start."
"Everyone has the editor that screams 'DON'T DO IT, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THINK YOU ARE AN IDIOT!'"
"Some of our most transformative art comes from spontaneity and is generated by saying 'Fear, thanks but no thanks. Take a nap.'"
"Because of the fear of failure, there's no room for experimentation, which is huge in art and creating art."
"It's almost like you get in your own way and you need to step out of your own way to be able to get the gift that's within you out."