Ep #155: Making Art That Sends Shivers Down Your Spine

In today’s episode, my friends, I want to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. I hope this is a thoroughly spine-chilling episode. And not because I have anything particularly dark or sinister planned. But I thought it would be a treat, given this time of year when I’m recording this.

We are moving into the season of – whether you’re celebrating Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, Dia de los Muertos. Where I am recording this in the world, in this northern western hemisphere, we are moving into the time of the year that ushers in the darkness, that has been celebrated in many different ways across the centuries, but has often been viewed as a time when the veil between this world and the other world is thin.

So, what does this have to do with creativity? Well, have you ever wondered, what is that quality about certain works that set them apart from others? What is it about certain works that seem to have an almost otherworldly, unearthly, transcendent quality to them, one that sends shivers down your spine? Well, that’s what today’s episode is all about. And we are going to use an absolutely iconic music album as an example of what art and artists can achieve when they reach for the supernatural.

We are going to be talking about Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Now, you probably know that Michael Jackson was a star before the creation of that album. But did you know that with that album, he wanted to not only go in a new direction, but he specifically had a dream of making the biggest-selling album ever.

Jackson said he wanted to create an album where, I quote, “Every song was a killer.” And his producer, Quincy Jones had this to say about working on the album, “We simply did what gave us the goosebumps. And that’s what we got.”

So, no matter your medium, if you’re wanting to add some of that spine-chilling enchantment factor to your work, I think you’ll find plenty to thrill you in this episode.

You are listening to The Art School Podcast; a show for artists and creatives who want to become the next greatest version of themselves. Learn how to cultivate an extraordinary way of being and take the mystery out of making money, and the struggle out of making art. Here is your host, master certified life coach, artist, and former lawyer, Leah Badertscher.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Art School Podcast. I kind of wanted to lead with a spooky laugh, like, “Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.” My kids tell me, “That’s not so spooky, mom. That’s just corny.”

Wherever you are in the world and whenever you’re listening to this – maybe it’s not around the end of October, early November when you’re listening. But wherever, whenever – I hope some unexpected magic, something enchanted, enchanting, something that utterly mesmerizes and bewitches you finds your way and surprises and delights you.

I’ve been thinking lately about the energy of this time of year. And a word that comes up a lot is charmed and charming. And I think too, we are rereading – I am, with my children – the Harry Potter series, and steeped in that and those themes. And so, I thought it would be fun to tap into the energy of this time of year with today’s podcast for you.

Also, I mentioned, we are now currently – when you are listening to this – we will be running the Dream Analysis Masterclass with the unparalleled Betsy Pearson. Who I have to say is quite bewitching and enchanting herself in so many ways. Including with her prose.

So, listen to what she wrote about the masterclass that she’s leading, “Are you too noticing that the dreamy time of year is upon us? The uplifting, the disturbing, the comical, and the just plain mystifying seem to double down on their nocturnal visits in this fresh and stormy transition season.”

So, I love that. And it’s not too late. If you want to join us, we’d love to have you. The first class takes place October 28^th, but there will be a replay and the second follow-up class is November 11^th. There are links in the show notes and also on my Instagram, @leahcb1.

This was such a blast last year. And again, brought this level of enchantment, for me, and for all the participants there. We can get into such a hustle, grind, productivity mode, even when you are creative for a living; sometimes, especially when. So, it’s really important to carve out things like this and give yourself this, give yourself permission to dwell in this kind of space to revive your psyche. And again, reach for something that is otherworldly, that is nonrational, that gives you the goosebumps, that gives you the knowing that there is more than meets the eye, there is something else going on around us. And as artists, that’s what we’re always doing.

As creatives and creative humans, we’re always tapping into the unknown and the unseen and bringing it forth every single day. And this is a particularly rich way of doing that, through analyzing your dreams and understanding their messages and then seeing how you could apply that to life.

So, the idea for this episode really wove itself together in enchanted ways. I knew that I wanted to do an episode on what makes the difference between great work, and work that taps into something else. And no matter what you’re creating in your life, whether it’s a vision for your next chapter moving forward, whether it is a piece of art, whether your medium be music or painting or prose or poetry, maybe you’re an entrepreneur and your medium is any kind of innovation in your industry.

I’m endlessly fascinated by what creates the sort of breakthroughs that revolutionize not only a career but change the way we look at the world and that particular medium and have a way of the reach extending far beyond that particular individual and even that medium.

And then, it just came about that Thriller seemed the perfect fit for talking about that this time of year. And I think I also love to acknowledge the seasons because, as much as we like to think we are not a part of the natural world, we are. And the more we are connected to that, to our creature selves and to nature, then I think the more richness flows back into our lives, the more stabilizing energy – yes, including when it is that darker energy, that unearthly energy.

There is something grounded about that, about acknowledging that there’s mystery and that we can’t and don’t need to and perhaps should not try to figure everything out and wrestle it to the ground. As the wisdom goes, life is a mystery to be lived and not a problem to be solved.

And so, if you follow my work, you know I also believe in being very proactive, that that is part of being a creative, not back on your heels, waiting for things to fall into your lap, but being an active maker, being an active participant, stressing that participant role. Because also, it’s important to let life come to you.

So, I feel like life can come to you in those moments that I’ve talked about being the thunderbolt or lightning-bolt moments. Those things that light you up, that make your heart sing. And actually, that’s one of the reasons I love the word enchantment.

It comes from the Latin cantare, or in English, to sing. So, enchanted, to sing, what enchants us is what sings for us, or perhaps what makes our spirit sing, our psyche sing, our soul sing, makes life seem to sing again.

And here’s another way where I felt like this was the theme that wanted to happen for this week, is that I’ve been having so many conversations, whether they’re coaching conversations in the Art School or with dear friends and loved ones about really giving yourself permission to allow the fullness of your vision for your life, giving yourself permission to allow a vision that is vast enough, big enough, not reductive to productivity or rationality or pure common sense or obligation and responsibility, but widening the scope of our lives to allow for enchantment, to allow for rest, so that you can actually be present and not just surviving enough to notice when the magic, when the enchantment is happening, so you can hear the songs that are singing, that yourself, your soul, your body, your mind is rested enough to actually reverberate with that call.

So, whether you are creating a vision for your life, your lifestyle, your career going forward, whether you are an artist and you’re moving your work into a new direction, and you’re moving to the next level or you’re aiming for an entirely different orbit, or perhaps solar system, I wanted to use this episode to give you permission that you don’t need from me, but it can be so helpful to hear, to lay down anything that is too small for you.

Even if it’s good, even if it’s great, to lay that down, let the slate be wiped clear, and then ask yourself, “If I could pick up anything, anything, anything, what would I choose again?” And let it be something that gives you goosebumps. Let it be something that sends chills down your spine. Let it be something that lights you up and makes your soul sing and give yourself some space to let that ring out and let that feeling linger a little bit.

Because I know, inevitably, the comma-but-how is going to come in. And that vision, that shining star, that near-epiphany you had will quickly exit stage-left before you can try to wrangle it to the ground by rationalizing and making too small of plans based on what you’ve done before, what other people have done before.

That’s not the way to go about this kind of creation or this kind of work. Currently in the Art School, we are going through the nuances of how there is that comma-but-how, which is the executioner of any great vision or dream.

It doesn’t actually mean to say, “Oh, but how? What would you like me to do? I’m your servant. I’m here to serve.” It actually is just there to cut the head off and abort the mission before it can become too dangerous. And by dangerous, I mean you start to take yourself seriously and you start to give that dream some legs.

The how that’s useful – and this is all a matter of inflection – is the, “Huh, how do we get started? What’s the next step?” It’s a how that’s constructive and that directs your imagination and your amazing human mind over to what I call – the right-hand column side of the page – over into that capital C Creative mode, where you’re directing your mind to come up with hows and come up with iterations.

And so, that’s why I was then really excited that this – it was a synchronicity, a series of events that then led Thriller to pop into my mind and actually gave me the goosebumps, even more when I went down the rabbit hole of researching this, of why this is such a great case study for this point, of how to create something that utterly thrills you, and quite possibly captures the minds, the imaginations of others and utterly thrills them, enchants them as well.

Before we dive into some of the inspiring and awesome points around the creation of the Thriller album, I also want to build on something I said in last week’s episode, where I was talking about this notion, the truth that the time is going to pass anyway, whether you really go for that vision, that goal, that dream, or not, that that is an answer to the inner critic who says, “Oh, but it’s too late. Do you know how old you’re going to be?”

Yes, God willing, you’re going to be that old anyway. But it’s what are you going to make of that time that passes? And what I wanted to add to this this week – again, this was further illuminated by wonderful conversations I’ve had this last week – is that it is oh so clear that life is not a dress rehearsal. But too often, we say that with one side of our mouths but live out of the other side of our mouth as if it is.

And what’s clear, abundantly clear is that there really is no way of eradiating certain human experiences, like feeling disappointed, feeling insecure, vulnerable, scared, feeling shame, feeling doubt.

So, I’ve been thinking about how time is going to pass anyway, but so are all of these feelings. Whether you go for the vision that is the full vision, that is the shiny vision that really is you holding nothing back, or whether you do hedge your bets and rein it in, you are still going to experience disappointment, insecurity, vulnerability, fear, shame doubt.

We can do so much in how we process these emptions and how we can be with ourselves. But they are so much a part of the human experience and the human condition. And so, for myself – and this is what I share with my clients – if I know either way shame’s going to come up for me, doubt, insecurity, guilt, vulnerability, fear, rejection, disappointment. There are going to be times when I work hard. There are going to be times when things don’t work out the way I want them to work out.

That’s going to be the case and the time is going to pass also, either way. So, if I’m going to experience all those things, I would much rather experience them while giving myself the best possible chance at upside, at a much greater upside.

If I’m going to experience those things in the passing of time anyway, then I would much rather be experiencing them and moving through them and being with myself through them and living my life really honoring what is true for me. Living and aspiring to and tending to and nurturing and cultivating and creating and building a vision that is something that honors the fullness of the vision I hold inside and is not a dimmed-down nickel-and-dimed, holding something back, quote unquote safer version, a limited version.

And so, now I want to dive into some of the specifics regarding the creation of the Thriller album. You heard me mention the quote from Michael Jackson about how he wanted every song to be a killer. And that was his response to having experienced  a lot of albums – he didn’t say necessarily his own. But what seemed to be kind of standard and accepted was that there would be, like, one big hit, or maybe two big hits per album. And the rest, he thought were really kind of more B-side material.

And he thought, you know, “Why can’t we have an album where everything is capable of being a hit?” And what inspired him to think this way was actually Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. He listened to that and thought, “Wow, there was not one song in there inferior to the others. There is not one that’s dead weight being carried along by the others.” Every song of Tchaikovsky’s, he said, “Was a killer. So, why don’t we do this with a modern music album?”

There was another point too when he purportedly – according to the keyboardist on the album, the keyboardist from the band Toto – where Jackson pulled from another genre, a completely different era for inspiration. Because he told the instrumentalists hired for Thriller that he wanted them to think like Michael Angelo. And he said, “To think of Michael Angelo painting the Sistine Chapel and do whatever you need to do ere. The sky is the limit.”

And then again, there is that quote from producer Quincy Jones who said, “For that album, we simply did what gave us the goosebumps and that’s what we got.” Which is very reminiscent of the French word frisson, which means aesthetic chills. So, the response to stimuli that is pleasurable and that people often refer to when that experience happens and the context of experiencing, hearing, or observing art.

And this, this somatic, holistic approach to creativity and accessing that for creative direction excites me beyond words. I could geek out on this all day long. And I personally, in my own creative work, those are some of my favorite experiences, being someone who appreciates and loves all kinds of art. It is also one of my favorite experiences to be on the receiving end.

And I would love to hear from those of you listening. Please, write in to support@leahcb.com or take a screenshot of this episode and let me know of your experience and if you use shivers down your spine, or some other kind of somatic guided response to cue you about directions in which to go or what you like or what you don’t like. I would absolutely love to hear and really appreciate any of your insights and experiences around this.

You know, I’ve also already mentioned how Jackson had this dream of wanting to make the biggest-selling album of all time. And that that is, in fact, obviously what happened with this. It did go on to be the bestselling album of all time, and it remains the bestselling album of all time.

Although iconic for so many other reasons as well – it was critically acclaimed at that time, received eight Grammy awards. It’s credited with breaking racial barriers in pop music. Also, it was early in the game of using music videos as promotional tools. And actually, many of the videos for that album, including Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller – I grew up with these, even though we didn’t have MTV, I would live for then when we got to go to a cousin’s house and could watch the dancing on those music videos for days on end, if someone would have let me.

But those music videos are often though of being the ones, the work that transformed music videos into a serious art form. Also, as recently as 2020, Rolling Stone Magazine listed Thriller as number 12 in the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

So, I imagine that there may be some of you listening to this episode who disqualify yourself from this conversation because you’re like, “I am not a superstar like Michael Jackson, and have no desire to be, or never will be.” And to you, I want to say don’t disqualify yourself. Don’t miss the part that is universal, that is about allowing yourself the fullness of the vision and maybe even something better than you can currently imagine. Because when you open yourself up to that, you open the door that ushers in possibilities that can transform your life into being a person for whom that new possibility is the new normal.

So, don’t disqualify yourself. And for others of you, I know this is exactly what you are meant to hear. I have a supernatural sort of spine-chilling feeling that someone out there listening will know that this message is meant for them and is meant as a sign to keep that door open, and to let that vision be as big and shiny, and to not dial down, but instead do double down and go all out, and that for you, something will really click.

I was thinking the other day, as I was reading Harry Potter to my children, I was like, “What is the next Harry Potter being written right now?” And then I had goosebumps of, “What if that author listens to my podcast?” And then I watched my brain and my ego dial that down with shame and reprimanding me, like, “Oh my god, who do you think you are, inspiring the next J.K. Rowling?” But you know what? And also, “Who do you think you are Don’t bring that up on the podcast…”

But here I am. Not only just telling you what to do, but walking my talk, allowing the fullness of that vision. Because again, if I’m going to feel vulnerable, why not do it going all out? Isn’t that such a much more fun, enchanting place to play? Why not?

I know I can handle the downside. And what I don’t want to live with is wondering if I have cut myself out of some upside, if I have cut off some possibilities because I was scared of being too disappointed, being seen as whatever I could imagine people listening might think negatively of me and then how I would feel about that, the shame I would feel about that.

I can handle that. I’ve gotten really good, over the course of becoming a self-taught artist and an entrepreneur, putting creative work out into the world, I am not invincible or invulnerable by any measure. I for sure am a sensitive person. And I for sure still let my feelings get hurt all the time. And I also am so much better about knowing how to work through it, knowing I trust myself and can handle it, knowing how to care for myself.

And that includes a vision where I allow myself to come as-is and really watch tendencies to overwork, over-function, overperform as a way of trying to compensate for whatever I think I need to compensate for; lack of talent, lack of gift, lack of pedigree, lack of, let’s say followers even to this point.

But I also, again, going back to that somatic guidance, I really too have learned to trust the feeling in my body where even if I’m putting myself out there, and highly imperfectly and flawed so, there’s a place I can feel it, even in my heart and in my center as I talk, where I know I’m on point.

It’s a self-referential, an internally self-referencing on point. And then I offer and share what’s mine to share, and then I do my work of letting go and being detached.

And doing that then has helped me see places where I have held back in the past, of really allowing myself the fullness of that shiny vision. And so, I have a particular compassion and also a radar for seeing other people do that. And I also have a particular passion and desire for people not to do that, to let the magnificence of their vision shine through, to allow their bestselling album of all time, their Harry Potter dreams, their multiple seven-figure business, and with a healthy family and a healthy lifestyle and more energy than ever, to allow their vision of a quiet life and a handful of followers, but a life that exceeds their every need and desire and dream, and allow that to be the fullness of their vision.

I have such a compassion and a passion for creating spaces and conversations that facilitate that, that facilitate us living our fullest and most rich lives on our own terms. So, for some of you, that will be something epic, like reaching for a transcendent level with your art, reaching for that level where it feels like something bigger than you flows through you.

For others of you, it will be allowing yourself rest and quiet. It will be allowing yourself happiness and nourishing relationships and a circle of friends and loved ones who see you as a dear creature worthy of love and growth and who desire for you to experience enchantment in your life and find you to be in enchanting as well.

Basically, all of these things I’m describing are examples, to me, of what feels like a life that is enchanted, a life that sings, a life where you feel lit up and you feel that your own soul sings and that your song has a place in the world. Does that sound as corny as my kids think my evil witch voice sounds? It might. But I’m willing to risk that.

So, this brings me to the part of the podcast where I want you to do more than just listen. I want you to lean in and really work with me, coach with me. Let this information land in your heart today and take root.

So, here is what I want to offer you. Let’s first put any goals or dreams kind of off the table for a moment and I’m going to invite you to step into a space where you just give yourself an opportunity to connect with information with intuition that speaks somatically.

So, when was the last time, or when are the times when you experienced a somatic response? Maybe it is like the shiver of experiencing amazing works of art or music. Maybe it’s something else that moves you and gives you the goosebumps or makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. When was that? When are those times?

Because just reminding yourself that you can make that mind-body connection, I think, already gives you a leg up. Because sometimes, people get debilitated by thinking, “I’m not thinking of anything. Nothing is doing it for me.

So, let yourself start with small things too. I love and have been talking a lot in the Art School about using micro-goals, like daily goals. You can’t see me, I guess I should say using goals in air quotes. I should also spell that out, probably, for the transcript, “Micro-goals,” in air quotes.

Basically, something every day just makes you feel deliciously alive. It could be chills-down-the-back-of-your-spine-worthy. It could open up your heart. It could just make you well up with so much appreciation and gratitude that it comes out your eyes.

Giving yourself something like that every single day, whether it is the way you appreciate your first cup of coffee or tea in the morning. Maybe it is watching the sunset at night. Maybe it is, like, if you love to sit down and do your writing, or paint, or something I’ve been doing more and more, like writing letters.

There is something to me about – I’ve always loved to write letters. I’m like, “Leah, why don’t you do that more?” It’s so nice to receive it too. And I also just love – there’s something so satisfying and fulfilling about writing it, finishing it, mailing it, and knowing that it’s on its way, it could also be something maybe that scares you, moves you a little bit out of your comfort zone. You decide.

So, you can use these short-term, quote unquote micro-goals, but really, as a way of shifting your awareness to a place where you realize that you can reach, little bit by little bit, for more and more of the things in life that fill you up, that are fulfilling, that are not things you have to do or that you should do, but that are innately pleasurable, satisfying, and again, innately satisfying, that they don’t satisfy any external criteria other than, “God, that feels good. God, that is a good experience of living.”

And then, to play with these life visions, these goals, these dreams, whether again if you’re not an artist, thinking about your next 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years. What if you took everything off the table, you started fresh, and you worked to only pick up again those things that lit you up?

You don’t have to do it, but don’t get scared, but play along with me here at least. Do this coaching work. Let it come into your awareness. What would you pick up again? What would you choose again, not because you have momentum going, not because, “Oh god, it would be so hard to go back to school or switch careers or move cross-country this or uproot this or quit that?”

Just imagine, all over again, filling your life with only what makes you come alive, what lights you up, what sings. What might that be? And I know many of you will find this scary, so I just want to reassure you, you don’t have to act on that.

And I also want to invite you to recall what I mentioned earlier. You know, the time is going to pass. You’re going to experience the hard things in life- either way, and that this is not a dress rehearsal.

Here is also another guide that I have for you in doing exercises like this. If you become aware that you’ve been dialing down the shiny side of dreams and pulling back on what you really want or not allowing or telling yourself the full truth of what you want, then say, “Okay, if I did allow myself the full truth, what would that be?” But then, keep doing that until you hit this point of satisfaction where you’re like, “Oh, that’s it. That’s it.”

I love doing this work with my clients in the Art School. And right now, I mean, they’re all doing amazing worm. And I’m always inspired anew by them.

And for instance, one place – I will give you a specific example because I know that what’s most personal is also most universal, and that even if this is not your specific example, it might create an a-ha for you of the place where you’re doing this/

So, one of our awesome clients is creating a new album, going to cut a new record. And she’s also a savvy, creative entrepreneur. So, she was sussing out the details of the business side of producing the record and really earnestly and sincerely had her number there and then as we were doing this work, she kind of went back to the drawing board and realized that, in order to not nickel and dime herself, or the art, in order to really give her art and this album the best possible setup for success, from creation through promotion, that she needed to literally more than double-down on that number.

And here’s the point I really want so many of you to hear. Letting that number include her getting paid. So, including a wage for herself. And that conversation has come up in other contexts that I’ve had this week where there’s the vision, there’s the idea of the business side of things, what it’s going to cost. And then I see so many people then dialing down and pulling back on allowing it to be lucrative enough so that they actually get paid.

And whether or not that is your exact scenario, I just want you to be on the lookout for that, for the place where it makes you a little bit more comfortable in the short term to set yourself up for difficulty, particularly financial difficulty in the long haul.

It is so much better to come in with a very abundant estimate right now of what things, for instance, will actually cost, and then to do the work of aligning your mind, your feelings, and then your actions with creating that amount, that big, full, not just enough, but way more than enough with actual breathing room.

Whether that breathing room be cash and financial freedom, or whether that breathing room means that you are not stressed out, exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally running on very little sleep and adrenaline and cortisol and stress and having no boundaries and not actually living the life that you would love to have for yourself, or the life that if you can’t give it to yourself yet, that you would tell a friend that they should have.

So, just be onto yourself when you’re coaching yourself through this to look for those places where you nickel and dime yourself and the vision because it makes you more comfortable in the short run. Again, remember what I said; you’re going to experience hard things either way, so don’t cut yourself out of the enchantment of really living, of being fully alive, of getting to experience that yes, you do absolutely have everything it takes and more than you could ever have imagined, to fulfill that creative dream.

Thank you for listening to another episode of The Art School Podcast. I would love your help in fulfilling one of my creative goals and dreams for this particular creative work, this podcast.

I would love your support in helping me reach the one million downloads mark with this podcast, The Art School Podcast. There are so many ways this could happen. One of which could be that if everyone who listened shared this with five people, 10 people, or maybe if you are super gregarious and outgoing, maybe you have 20, 50 of your closest friends with whom you could say, “Hey, have you given this a listen?” Or pick out your favorite episode in particular.

It may seem like it’s too insignificant to make an impact. But let me tell you how greatly I would appreciate that. And if everyone did that, I could easily be high-fiving this goal in just a few months’ time.

Also, if you have a favorite episode or any insights or questions and you’d like to connect with me on social media, please find me on Instagram. My handle is @leahcb1 and there are all sorts of things that I share on Instagram, including not only summaries of this podcast, but also additional takeaways that are coming like hot off the press.

Right when I finish with a coaching call, oftentimes I will hop on IGTV and share some of the energy and the insights with that call that were most relevant and most helpful for my clients. Because I have found that whatever is going on with the group tends to also be what anyone else needed to hear who is not currently in the group. So, I would love to connect with you there and have you be part of that larger Art School listening audience.

So, to close today, I want to revisit something I said in the very beginning about how I wanted this to be a spine-tingling, hair rising on the back of your neck episode for you. And yes, that was partly for fun, given that ‘tis the season of Halloween. And there’s another way you can experience that. No matter the season.

When you make a commitment to yourself – and I’m going to talk about this more in a minute – where something in you shifts and realizes, “Oh, he or she, they’re not playing anymore. There is no more messing around. They’re serious and now we’re going to martial resources, inner and outer, to really do this and make this happen. This is what we’re doing.”

So, while it is currently the season for the supernatural here, one thing that I love about the work I do and creative work in general is that the supernatural and mystical and mystery are for all seasons. There is always an element of mystery and it’s really, what I love most is that it’s not entirely mystery, but it’s a dance. It’s a relationship. It’s a tension between that which is still invisible. It’s not manifested yet. But it’s that which wants to be known.

That, to me, is the creative force. It’s an aspect of life force that particularly wants to be known as creative work, and creative work through a human vessel.

So, there’s that aspect. And then, there is the doing of it, the channeling, doing the pragmatic work of bringing it to life in the world. And what I know, after being in this creative world as both an artist, a lover of the arts, a deep appreciator of other immensely creative individuals throughout time, and then also as being a coach and a guide for other artists.

But I want to back that up too because I think my journey even started long before, like when I heard the call, I felt the call to create, I just didn’t trust myself enough to act on that. That’s also part of what lends itself to my knowingness.

And what I know is that ideas, creative works, dreams, visions choose their vessel. Said more simply, your dreams choose you. But you get to choose whether you are a yes or a no to that. Because you can stand around all day, or decades, and try to argue, for your incompetence, for your limitations, or for the improbability, the unlikelihood, the hardship of the whole scenario.

But the dream, likely, will just get bored and go find the next taker who won’t bludgeon it or themselves to death with doubt and fear. Or when a creative work, an idea, a dream chooses you, you can surrender to the call. You can give it not only everything you’ve got or that you think you’ve got, but you’ll reach for things deep inside of you that you didn’t know you had. You’ll reach for things that are currently far beyond what you can imagine being possible for you.

You will martial resources that don’t seem to belong to you, and you’ll see what kind of supernatural creative energy and magic you can get to come in play and co-create with you when you are also entirely on board saying yes, I am a vessel for this, I am the channel.

And this is what we are doing. This is what we are bringing to life. I know I said earlier that life is not a dress rehearsal and I really don’t want to mince my words. Here’s what I mean by that.

If life, the muse, Creativity with a capital C, whatever you want to call the source of your dreams is calling you, abandon your excuses. Drop your baggage and doubts, pick up your creative tool and get to work. Surrender to it.

Too many people are waiting for an external authority to choose them before they really give themselves to their most thrilling dream, before they really give themselves to believing in it and them enough, to loving it and them enough, to allow themselves to become that most alive, most creative, most vibrant, most empowered version of themselves.

And so when they do this, when they wait to be chosen by some external authority, they miss the part where they have already been chosen. Again, how do you know you’ve been chosen? You know you’re chosen when you have the idea. You know you’re chosen when you’ve heard the call, when you’ve had the dream.

That’s when the anointing happens. And then again, it’s up to you whether you say no or whether you surrender to it and say yes with everything you’ve got. And so now, when you let it fully have you, if you do surrender, then you get to watch how your work, yourself, your life, and the world is radically transformed.

If you followed my work, you know I love thinking about creative genius and just what is that. And I think sometimes our language gets in the way with our understanding here and then it creates an impediment. And impairs our ability to connect to the knowing that we have what it takes.

Because I think our language around genius confuses us and misleads us. We talk about having genius, but I think geniuses are people who have surrendered to the call. They are people who have allowed the creative dream, the creative work. They have allowed their genius to have them, have surrendered to it fully, and are believing in that and loving that and moving forward from that place.

That for me is one of the most thrilling possibilities to consider. Letting your genius have you. And this actually is the cornerstone and the energy of the next mastermind that I’ll be offering. It’s going to be an experience in a container for those creatives who are ready to allow themselves to be chosen.

And by chosen, that could mean by a single idea for a next body of work, or a next move. So yes to that. And even more than that though is that it elevates their entire career and transforms their entire life by becoming that fully surrendered, saying yes to being chosen and anointed creator.

If being in that kind of room and that kind of energy is compelling, is intriguing to you, or is an outright hell yes for you, you can find out more by going to my website www.leahcb.com and entering your name to be on the waitlist for information. You can also email us, support@leahcb.com and we will send you the details of that next upcoming mastermind.

And for everyone listening, what I would love for you to take on a walk, contemplate, meditate upon, talk about, journal about over the next week is what is that dream that’s calling you and how could life change if you allowed it to choose you, if you allowed your genius to have you fully.

Have a beautiful week everyone. I don’t think I can wish you an enchanted or thrilling week without eliciting grounds. I can hear them even over the airwaves so we’ll stick to other cheeky corniness and I’ll wish you so many more treats this next week than tricks. Have a beautiful week everyone and I will talk with you next time.