I asked her to write a bit about doing what you love, moving toward your ideal work and overcoming some of the blocks along the way. She never disappoints. Enjoy her words on being a “practical creative”!

As the When I Grow Up Coach, I’ve worked with a ton of practical creatives. I’m one, my husband’s one, and, oh, 99% of my clients are one.

By “practical creative” I mean someone who yearns to have a passionate career (aka something that doesn’t feel like work!), gives them freedom (whether it has them working for themselves or someone else), lets them use their talents in a way that feeds their bank account, and allows them to have the stability they want as a grown-up without living their life for The Man.

In other words, something that we think exists only in our dreams.

Y’ see, to be a “ practical creative” , in a word, sucks. It seem so counterproductive, so ironic, so nonsensical to want the Life Of An Artist with the guaranteed paycheck that we think only comes with being a Corporate Drone. There sometimes seems to just be no gray area to live in, and we often wish that we could just be like everyone else, perfectly content to be a worker bee who comes home every night, has dinner with his family, watches TV and hits the sack at 10:30p day after day.

Instead we race from day jobs to practices, to rehearsals, to sewing machines, to classes, to canvases, to novels we’ re in the middle of writing. We beg off of happy hours and go to bed way past midnight to work our passions, our talents and our aspirations that make us so happy and yet torture us at the same time. It’s our blessing, our respite, and yet also – (pause for dramatic effect) – our curse.

We often don’t feel like we’re in control. We wear a mask in the office, 40+ hours/week, and spend the rest of our waking hours (another 60 hours/week, maybe?) feeling like we’re not living the life we yearn for. And that’s because, well, we’re not. We’re still on someone else’s terms, under someone else’s rules, in a life that doesn’t feel like our own.

So, where’s the grey area? Is it even possible to own your life when you’re a practical creative, needing to scratch that stability itch?

Heck, even as an entrepreneur I often don’t feel like I’m totally in control of my life. If I did, I’d be taking an improv class or writing a cabaret show alongside building my business, coaching my current clients, writing my book proposal, and being a worthy wife, daughter, sister and friend.

But here’s what we can put into practice right freakin’ now:

• Track your time for an entire week. You can use one of these templates to help you out so it’s not entirely torturous. Make it as specific or as general as you want (i.e. 8-9a: get ready for day OR 8-8:15a: shower, 8:15-8:30a: make-up; 8:30-8:40: get dressed, etc), and don’t change anything that you’re already doing. Just go about your normal week. On the 8th day, do the math. How many hours did you spend at work, including the commute? How much time was spent in front of the TV? How long were you writing, or sewing, or rehearsing? This isn’t an exercise to beat yourself up for working too much or too little on your passions, but to really assess what’s working and what’s not. Which leads me to…
• Be brutally honest. Pretend as if you owe nothing to nobody, you haven’t made a single commitment, you wouldn’t upset anyone by saying “ no” , and there are no such thing as repercussions. How do you want to spend your day/week/month? What would be fun for you? Make sure you turn off your brain for this one, just for a bit. Listen to your gut. Listen to your heart. See what they say and give that great stock. If that proves difficult…
• Lay down on your couch or nestle in to your favorite chair and close your eyes. Envision YourNameHere Land, where you paint the scenery and decide on the laws and activities. The trees might be purple and everyone might have to sing instead of talk – who knows? Let yourself go to this place and live there for just a few minutes. When you see that scene and walked around in that universe for a while, open your eyes. What did you do? Who was there with you? What did YourNameHereLand look like? What made it so amazeballs? Write down everything you can remember, or at least what made a difference. Then, see what you can translate to The Real World. You might not be able to paint the trees purple, but you might be able to give yourself a purple fence in your backyard. And how awesome would a purple fence be?
• Pick up The Artist in the Office, especially if your day job is killing you. This’ll totally help you not only have fun while you’re there (as much as possible, anyways), but might even help you appreciate the gig with new eyes. I know it sounds impossible, but just trust me on this one.
• For the love of Pete, don’t bite off more than you can chew, and/or never leave time for yourself, and/or burn the candle at both ends. Nothing hurts the creative part of the practical creative then become a headless chicken. Trust me on this one, too. It’ s not a pretty sight.

Above all, try and remember that you’re not a human oxymoron. Who wants to be an accountant that does nothing but work, eat, sleep, and watch TV anyway? (Not us!)

Michelle Ward, aka The When I Grow Up Coach, works with creative people to devise the career they think they can’t have – or discover it to begin with! A certified life coach by the International Coach Academy & a musical theater actress with her BFA from NYU/Tisch, Michelle has been featured in “Newsweek” and “Metro News”; is a co-host on Spring; & encourages everyone to discover what makes ‘em amazeballs on The Declaration of You, an e-course with Jessica Swift. She could be found coachin’, bloggin’ & givin’ away free stuff at whenigrowupcoach.com.

Susannah is a photographer, writer and the creator of the Unravelling e-courses. A Polaroid addict and very proud aunt, she is currently hard at work on her first book, to be published in spring 2012, and collaborating with Jenifer Altman and Amanda Gilligan on a how-to book about Polaroid photography, also coming out in 2012.

Hi Susannah! Can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about what you love and the work you do?

Susannah: I am a photographer and a writer and for the last two years I’ve been teaching a self-awareness e-course called Unravelling. The course has been the inspiration for the book I’m currently writing about healing and creativity, and I’m also collaborating on a book about Polaroid photography with Jenifer Altman and Amanda Gilligan. Both books will be published in spring 2012.

You have such a gorgeous creative style. How would you describe it and your inspiration?

Susannah: This is actually a really tricky question to answer! My home is filled with mid-century furniture and I shoot all my photographs with vintage Polaroid cameras, so I guess that vintage aesthetic filters through into everything i do. I’m also very inspired by simplicity – in colours, words, intentions and living. I own a lot of books, and way too many cameras, but everything else is kept to a minimum because i don’t like clutter, either in my house or on my website

You talk a bit on your website about always having a hand in photography but rekindling that inspiration after the death of your partner. Can you talk a bit about those middle years…the years you weren’t as inspired, and why?

Susannah: Those middle years saw me pursuing a different path for a while. After art college I didn’t have the confidence to pursue my photography dreams so I worked a regular job before going back to university to do a journalism degree. From there I worked on several national newspapers before taking a job as a fashion editor – that lasted two years before I left to go freelance. Writing has always been a part of my world, but I am so grateful to have now come full circle back to photography. The two work together for me – a 50/50 even split that bounce off each other!

I think lots of us have experienced that lack of confidence in pursuing our dreams. What do you feel was holding you back or bringing up that self-doubt? And how did you overcome it?

Susannah: Age and circumstance. When I left college I was 22 and back then (1995) the photography I wanted to do didn’t seem to have a place in the world yet. I didn’t want to be an editorial photographer, which is where most of my peers were headed, and I couldn’t see how I could make a living as a fine art photographer. I also didn’t own a computer and digital photography was still in its early days — i didn’t know how to find an alternative path.

What has changed for me now, aside from advances in technology and opportunity, is that I feel more confident in myself and my voice. As I healed in the years after he died I really got to know myself, a painful yet powerful journey which has changed everything for me — I guess this combo of being older, a bit wiser and feeling more ‘me’ has helped me to feel more confident in my work. I still have my bad days and lots of insecurities, but going through a bereavement like I did means I know intimately how short life is, and I just don’t want to waste any more time. We’ve gotta be brave and put ourselves out there, in whatever way that means for us.

Wow! Such a powerful message to absorb, that life is short and we have to be brave, put ourselves out there and stop wasting time. Was it this message that inspired your Unravelling e-course?

Susannah: Unravelling started as an evening class I taught locally. I didn’t want to teach a regular photography class so I drew inspiration from my healing journey and how I’d been using photography as a way to get to know myself again. The class was a great success and as blogging was such an important part of my life it seemed natural to find a way to share the class online somehow.

Can you tell me more about your course, what kind of transformations it’s inspired in yourself and others, what are your intentions with it, etc?

Susannah: Unravelling is an eight-week course for women that I first led online in January 2009. It’s not a photography class in that I don’t teach any photo techniques or talk about processing — instead, I invite the Unravellers to use their cameras to look at their lives, almost like they’re looking for clues and documenting what they find. The writing exercises get them digging even deeper into how they view themselves and their world.

In week five we turn our cameras to our faces and time and time again it’s the Unravellers who didn’t want to share their face photos who end up making videos of themselves talking to camera! The magic happens when women gather together in a safe space and are willing to delve into their lives with fresh eyes — they support each other and the transformations are always so incredible to witness.

As for me, leading the class has taught me how to be brave on camera as I share a new video with the class every week; it’s given me the confidence to share my thoughts without being embarrassed. Going forward into 2011 I’ll be launching an Unravelling members’ site in June—it’ll be a cosy supportive space where people can hang out, make friends and nurture their hearts. As soon as I’ve delivered the manuscript for my book I’ll be starting work on the new site!

I talk about unjobbing on my blog and I’m always fascinated with the creative ways in which people fulfill their life purpose while also paying the bills. Can you talk a little bit about fulfilling your own purpose with the work you do and some other challenges you’ve overcome (or are overcoming) in the past few years?

Susannah: In the years since the bereavement I have learned how to live on my own as an independent and self-supporting woman. It hasn’t always been easy— and I have the credit card debt to prove it! — but I got a first sense of my true purpose when I moved to a new city (by myself and not knowing anyone there) in the autumn of 2008. That was when I was invited to teach the evening class, and from that small beginning I discovered the work I feel most passionate about — holding a space for women to heal their hearts and reconnect with themselves. Helping them learn how to become their own greatest ally.

I always hated working in an office and have been self-employed in one way or another since 2002, but for the last two years I’ve been creating this online business of mine; there’s no how-to manual so every step of the way I am learning and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. I’ve never considered myself to be a business-minded person so it still surprises me that i have a business at all – I guess it helps that it’s not exactly a traditional business

SO loving what you have to say here Susannah; so many tangents we could talk on. But I want you to leave everyone with one answer: If you had to sum up in a single short sentence one piece of advice you’d give to women, or even one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self, what would it be?

Susannah: Next time you stand in front of a mirror, smile at the woman you see there; she is your greatest ally and it’s time to get to know her.

Thank you Susannah for your beautiful, wise words!

You can read more about Susannah Conway’s shenanigans on her blog at SusannahConway.com and connect with her on Twitter. Registration for the next Unravelling class opens on Saturday December 4th.

In fact, until last week, there were three truths he held firm to:

1. That only women made good artists
2. That he was not artistic, nor interested in anything art related
3. That at some point in the next few years he would have to outgrow his beloved LEGO collection

He no longer believes any of that.

In fact, several nights ago he declared that he is going to be a sculptor, and that he wanted to go to bed early so he could get started on a new project the next day. The last words he spoke before falling to sleep that night were, “Tomorrow begins my sculpting career.”

Why the change? Zeb met one person who inspired him to view things differently.

His name is Chris. He’s a sculptor and he, his painter wife and their 4 year old daughter are currently living next to us in their RV.

They’ve had fun building light sabers out of PVC and duct tape, and the kids all love the dragons he made out of melted plastic trash.

But I think what first intrigued Zeb was that Chris loves LEGO so much he travels with his collection! For awhile now Zeb had assumed that growing older meant giving up the fun of childhood; Chris and his creative nature prove you can be a fun-loving kid at any age.

Over the weekend, Chris held a “funshop” for the kids, showing them how to make their own dragons from wire and modeling clay. Zeb, the once self-critical perfectionist, is IN LOVE with his creations. He excitedly points out how he executed his ideas, what didn’t work and what he wants to try next time. My heart swells just thinking about it all.

This is what I was hoping to find on the road: awesome people who help us open up and expose more of the world and all its options to our son. Two months into this trip and we’re already hearing things from him we no longer thought we would hear, we’re seeing him do things passionately he once swore he couldn’t do and we’re watching him take pride in his work.

A big, huge thank you to Chris and Becky for your inspiration, patience and kindness.

Between his new-found passion for sculpting, the dozen unschooling kids he’s spent every day with, the endless games they play and the beautiful surroundings, he’s already dreading our upcoming departure date. And with all the fun we’ve had with the NuRVers this past week, so are we.

To see more of what we’ve been up to, check out the Happy Janssen’s daily blog posts.

I have to admit I was a little taken aback by the fact that someone viewed me as creative. To be fair, they are newly following me, so maybe they just don’t know that a couple recent tweets don’t really constitute creative genius.

But at the same time the title “creative mother” felt a bit inspiring in and of itself. As I read it a little something twanged inside my head and stated with a bit too much pride, “Why the hell not?” I may not show my creativity fully or often (or in some ways, ever) but that doesn’t mean the title still doesn’t belong to me. “Dammit, I am creative and I don’t care what anyone says!”

Look at him just run into the unknown!

This word, creativity, has been on the tip of my tongue for the past few weeks. It’s not something I’ve dedicated much deep thought or time to but it’s there, dancing around me.

And despite my inactivity on the matter, I have been feeling insanely creative. I’ve been feeling inspired to create. I can feel it bubbling. But even in those moments where I almost let it out, I routinely put it away, allowing myself to become distracted or interrupted. Motherhood, obligations, huge tasks we’re trying to accomplish. I haven’t even made time to blog!

I won’t say I haven’t enjoy it, all the time spent in frenetic activity. I’ve even enjoyed keeping some thoughts to myself, letting them play out in my mind, not writing them out for all posterity and then losing them amidst the commotion.

There’s a time for that. I think.

But there’s also a time for more. And I’m not even exactly sure what that means!

Loved watching this woman sway and dance under the water,
hands in the air without inhibitions.

I want to be creating more, not just with my words or my eyes, but with my hands. I want to get lost in the flow, where movement transcends thought and you just are: in that Moment, feeling more than thinking.

Most of my “art” has been of a practical nature. Growing things that feed me, talking of things that inspire me, exchanging philosophies or ideals that will shape my actions as a person or parent. Even my photography has turned into a documentation of my practical side.

But today as I worked on decluttering and packing our “art room”, I realized how strong a pull it was to be wildly impractical. I couldn’t bring myself to pack anything. I looked at my childhood dollhouse that I want to finish. I saw the photo frames I’ve been dying to alter. I saw our paints that have sat untouched for months. And I just knew I have to find a way to do this.

Is it the impending divergence from “normal life” that has me out on a limb? I began to feel it soon after we finished painting the interior of the RV. Clean, bright, crisp, full of possibilities and one step closer to unfettered dream chasing, and I feel we’re on the brink of soaring right off.

Weeping Rock @ Zion;
thousands of years of pent up water seeping out

I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing. I only know I’m sucking in all I can find on creativity like a vacuum and I can feel the shine of it seeping from my eyeballs and I just gotta get my hands on something, anything. Just like these words, I want to find a way to let it all spill out.

In this moment, I don’t feel like I can Be until I can Create.

Regardless of the manic tone of this post, I hitting Publish anyway. If authenticity isn’t organic, what is?

In each scenarios, we are failures. Not in the grandiose way of the Titanic sinking. But in the simple avoidance of a solution.

See every seed planted, every idea, goal, task, every inspiration regardless of size came from a Grand Muse. One who does not carelessly sow. And we allow that spark of brilliance to burn out. Sure, that wall may seem too tall to climb or life may just be too hectic. But what are we to say at our account when looking back we see just how simple it could have been. Especially when put into execution by a master design.

What must be done or said in every situation is unmistakeably easy. Visually knock down that wall of opposition, verbally bash self-doubt, speak the desired goal and watch it move toward finish. We have been given a great gift. In our souls is the key to fruition. It is the image we are made in. By recognizing our spiritual connection with God on an earthly level, we simply must call it out of ourselves. Through His spirit, he fills ours with power and ability. We are intrinsically a part of Him and He a part of us. The bible says he knows the desire of our hearts, yet still says to ask. It is the power of profession. In our voice, our tongue, our words or spoken thoughts and wishes.

And to get off on a tangent… between my rekindled art of organized thought, my green tea and my own words, I’ve been thinking and growing. What sets us apart? We are organic, living, breathing mammals similar to many other creatures. What is different in us? What tangible evidence sets us above or separate?

It is our spirit, which is our thought, our voice, our intelligence, our creativity. The image we are made in is neither organic nor human, but emotional, mental energy. Everything has an energy, or exists. But we live! We feel, grow, change and create. We as humans with a Godly image have the knowledge to build, design, learn.

And it is a great responsibility, this mental capability that sets us above. It creates a choice. As organic beings, we would not be aware of an outside impact, only our singular existence, like an animal who eats, sleeps, exists rarely thinks outside of itself with the exception to offspring, but acts on instinct. But as spiritual, intellectual and emotional energy inside of organic beings, we must admit the intertwining of our lives with our surroundings.

Which leads to a great abuse of such heavenly power. The morality of being spiritual is often tossed aside. And the idea of being intellectual takes precedence. Those who deny the spiritual responsibility altogether for the intellectual benefits of creativity. And then the question is then, because we can, should we?

God giving us a choice does not say God appeals to both options.

But back to my first point: all power, life, death, creativity, ostracism, encouragement, wisdom, foolishness, and ability lies in our tongue. For our tongue releases words emanating from thought, which emanate from emotion, which emanate from spirit, which emanates from God.

Simply put, just speak it.