Tapping Creativity

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 12!

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 11.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 10.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 9.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 8.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 7.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 6.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 5.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 4.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 3

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 2.

The Creative's Journey / The Hero's Journey - a 12 part series that I made with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum from Magenta. We filmed this a couple years ago, so while the particulars of our stories have changed, the stages and patterns of the journey are no less apropos. This is part 1.

Kicking off 2023 with a special 12-part series, discussing our journey as creatives in relationship to the archetypal Hero's Journey. Recorded in Sebastopol, CA with Jeff Barnum and Louisa Barnum of Magenta Studios. Bookmark this one! And if you prefer to watch, check in out on YouTube.

When I first moved to LA, I had all these dreams and aspirations of making big movies and winning an Oscar. But winning an Oscar is not a goal. I don't have control over it.When I look back, I see just how much of what I thought were goals were just dreams and in some ways they really became pipe dreams because they weren't clear enough for me to make specific marked progress along that.It took me way too long to figure out that I needed to be making smart goals. And that as author Maria Nimeth says, “The biggest obstacle to hitting our goals is that we're not as married to the goal as we are married to the plan of how we're going to get there.”So what is a SMART goal? Listen in as we discuss Planning: the third step in the 9 P's of Powerful and Effective Creating.Here are the worksheets for making SMART goals and mapping your Weekly MilestonesLink to video: https://youtu.be/-FOrRueK610Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

What is patience in creative work? Hint: it's not waiting. Patience doesn't mean waiting for the right time to do something - which is a big fallacy that people fall for. Patience is not for the doing, it's for the completion and outcome.I hope this episode will illuminate you on how you can be more patient with yourself and your process, and get clear about when you're doing something else in the name of patience.Also here is a worksheet here called a letter of forgiveness. I want you to write a letter to yourself forgiving yourself for anything you've said that you would do but you haven't. Forgive yourself for not being further along in your creative process or your creative life or this project.And here's a worksheet to review your work  - with a view towards the futureLink to video: https://youtu.be/BHtOQ7XZT6U

In her book, ‘Big Magic', Elizabeth Gilbert says that the central question upon which all creative living hinges is: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden inside of you? If you've been following this Creative's Handbook miniseries so far, by now you have an affirmative answer to that. But the question follows: do you have the courage to keep going in the face of certain adversity? Can you persevere? Because when you start creating, there are always going to be things that are going to come and push against you. On this episode, let's talk about Perseverance as it pertains to the creative process.You may find the worksheet to guide you this week here.Link to video: https://youtu.be/POLNJumRkaY

What does ‘Pivot' mean? In the business world it's a buzzword where to pivot means to make any big change in your niche, service or direction of business. However ‘Pivot' means more than that in reality. On this episode of Creative Handbook's miniseries I delve deep into one of the most flexible P's in my book. Pivoting can happen at any stage of your creative process. So how and when do you pivot successfully?Here is the worksheet for this week: Worksheet 6 - PivotLink to video: https://youtu.be/mq3AyFtuKek

Why do we need to schedule pleasure and leisure time? Because there's a limit to our ability to be productive. Which is why the great creatives of the previous generations: Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin and the rest spent at most 4 hours a day in the creative endeavors. The need for rest is backed up by scientific studies, which is also why modern companies have adopted a workday where leisure time is factored in.On this episode we dive deep into how pleasure goes hand in hand with creativity. And how to take time out without feeling guilty for it at the end of the day.If you are interested in booking 1:1 coaching with me, book a free discovery session.Link to video: https://youtu.be/Yv9hZSl_KnQ

You don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your training. That's what the Marines say. Whatever you do habitually determines whether you will succeed in your endeavors. So what can you say is your creative practice? Do you have a practice or do you hate systems too and the boundaries they come with? What happens when  you fall off the wagon and break your practice for a day or week?On this week's episode of The Creative's Handbook miniseries we delve into the fifth element in the 9 P's for Powerful and Effective Creating.Here are some resources to help you review your practice.Link to video: https://youtu.be/iTxoD6eDEQY

How do you achieve what you're come up with after the first 3 P's? First and foremost, you need to write down a schedule. Why is this necessary? How do you go about it? That's what's in this episode.On this 4th P of The Creative's Handbook miniseries, we cover the space that PREPARATION occupies in the creative process. How to stay faithful to your framework when you're on a roll or when blocked. And when it may be necessary to change your schedule.There's no worksheet this week - simply write out a schedule in your planner, add it into your calendar app, or print out a calendar page and fill it in. Video link: https://youtu.be/O1vnBhVZCUc

What is the first step to choosing what project to do? For me, it's the Brain Dump. This is where I pour down on the page all my thoughts and prospects. It answers several questions like: “If I could live 10 lives simultaneously or if money wasn't an object, what kind of things would I do creatively?” “Is this the thing that I really want to do? What are other ways that I could express that?” Or “Am I ready for that? If not, what can I do to prepare myself?”Here's a worksheet to guide you through with that. Brain Dump WorksheetHave a listen and if you have questions or struggles with picking your project, reach out to me and book a 1:1 session here.You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/-ZO7XNM3Z3oWritten and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

Purpose is that wellspring from which we can derive energy when things get challenging. Therefore finding your purpose for creating is essentially the first thing you should do in your creative journey.In this episode, as we launch the 9 P's of Powerful and Effective Creating, I'll share what I've observed as the most common pitfalls when it comes to creatives finding their purpose and how this element is iterative as the creative process pans out.Here is a worksheet to guide you with finding your purpose - getting clear on your “why”.Link to video: https://youtu.be/D6d0gspqW7A

Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being and it is a creative process. Do you want to know the creative process that I used to make 9 Narrative Feature films, 8 documentaries, a sitcom pilot that I wrote and set up in Kenya, countless short films, music videos, commercials, I toured Europe with my acapela trio and released a CD, launched a couple of blogs and podcasts, and a couple of books? I call it The 9 P's of Powerful and Effective Creating.In the next few weeks we will explore what these P's are, and how you can use them too to achieve creative success. It is based on my book, The Creative's Handbook, which can be found here on my website.Link to video: https://youtu.be/RQS22EtUe5sWritten and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

How did the great success stories begin?I asked my past guests to shed light on how they started out their journey as creatives and have mashed up their responses for today's episode. I hope they will resonate and that you will take inspiration from them to chart your own hero's journey.PS: I have something special cooking for you starting next week.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

How do you turn a supposed failure into success? Vinnie Potestivo advises, "Give it time". On this episode you will learn about how to set yourself up for success by pattern breaking and finding what makes you stand out and running with IT.Our guest this week, Vinnie is an Emmy Award-winning media brand advisor, producer and content coach. He has a proven track record of creating & casting compelling content that has had a direct positive impact on pop culture such as MTV's TRL.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

Our guest for this week, Geoffrey Calhoun, used to work as an MRI technician. What turned him to professional screenwriting?  What did he take to make that pivot? In this episode we discuss several topics from his book, The Guide for Every Screen Writer: ranging from his writing process, writing exercises that have helped us both, and why there is nothing wrong with having a day job as a screenwriter.Calhoun is a screenwriter, author and creative coach.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

Why do true crime series appeal to us? Not the click bait titles actually, but literary works about actual crimes.According to our guest today, Kim Daly, it's because of the powers that victim focused stories have. From the power to heal, building community, to informing the readers on what precautions to take in order to limit the chances of falling victim to these crimes.Kim Daly is an author and editor. Her latest book, The True Crime Files is now available here.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

It's commonly said that Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. I have found this to be true in my projects over the years. Part of the sweat is poured in the research stage so as to flesh out the inspired idea.Our guest today talks about how he has gone about researching for his three novels. The creative process of each required different approaches: from reliance on introspection, to reading, to interviewing others.E.C. Hanes is an author, veteran, business leader and former state senator candidate. His latest novel, 'The Bus to Beaulah' , a gripping story about immigration and human trafficking can be found here.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian LeeSponsored by WeStrive

Collaboration is a key part of the creative process. No artist can ever do it all by themselves: whether the project is writing a book or recording music or shooting a film.On this episode of Tapping Creativity, we revisit conversations we've had with various creatives on what is critical to them when choosing collaborators and how they keep the ball rolling until the professional connection turn into personal relationships that last years.Have a listen to these tips by the poet and Hiphop artist Propaganda, writer-director Aaron Fjellman, film composer Adrian Lee and filmmaker Brian Crewe.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

As creatives, life always reminds us that the application of our creative gifts isn't limited to our arts and crafts. Creativity is essential in all spheres of our being.On today's episode, Omar Garriott shares his insights into how creativity is useful in building professional relationships and business in general.Omar is a tech entrepreneur for good. Together with a former colleague at LinkedIn, Omar wrote the book ‘Conquer LinkedIn: Get Your Dream Job of the Future'. We discuss this book and especially how  we can leverage our creativity to make the best of social media.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

We all carry creative wounds with us. These wounds may come from life itself, or from other creative projects or how people react to these past creative works... On this compilation episode, I talk to writer Brooke Adams Law, writer Rea Frey, actor and painter Iman  Nazemzadeh and illustrator Hallie Bateman about:1. how they define creative wounds2. how they deal with these wounds and3. how not to get trapped in these wounds in the first place.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Must poetry be inaccessible? Can you be a full time poet? What is more exposing -publishing your own poetry or editing an anthology of other poets' works? I had so many questions for this week's guest, the poet and writing coach James Crews, and he was gracious enough to share his insight. Apart from talking about how he started out as a poet, and how to build a community as artists,  he also read from his upcoming collection 'Path to Kindness' . Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

"Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've started." I totally agree with David Allen on this. Not just from the funk I'm in right now but also looking back at how stress and fatigue affected my creative work in the past.How did I manage to stay creative in spite of the stress and exhaustion? Listen in:Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Are you afraid of failure? Do you question your ability even after years of mastering your craft? What if we're to tell you that failure is a necessity to any creative's process?This week, I host Taylor Lewis -of the filmmaking trio Lewis Brothers.  From setting each other on fire in their parents' backyard,  they started their production company before graduating high school. They have grown an impressive client list (Amazon, Microsoft, DJI) that has them shooting projects all around the globe. Check out their filmmaking course here.You can also book a 1:1 coaching session with me here.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Are you scared of the options before you? Do you feel like retreating back to your comfort zone? Don't. And this is just the episode for you. As I'm also in the process of making big changes in my life, here's my take on the benefits of risking it all.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

We all have creative wounds. As we all carry shrapnel from bombing a performance or from our expectations blowing up on our faces. How do we heal from the rejection, negative criticism or utter indifference of the world to our work so that we can continue to create? I posed this question and others to our guest this week, Brooke Adams Law.Brooke is a writer and creative coach. She uses writing as a tool to help women step into sovereignty, reclaim their voices and remake their stories. You can buy her latest novel, Catchlight, here.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Do you feel stuck in your creative work? What is holding you back from creating your dream project? Is it having limited resources? Or interruptions in life? Or lack of time?According to our guest this week, Austin Kleon, all these can work in your favor. Creativity becomes a matter of subtraction and routine. As Stephen King says, it can overwhelm you to write a 365 pages long book, but what if you wrote a page a day?Austin is an Austin based 'writer who draws'. His books, mostly about creativity, have been on the New York Times bestseller lists for years, translated into tens of languages and sold over a million copies. He recently released a 10th year edition of his classic, 'Steal like an Artist'. Gift yourself or someone else a copy here.You can also book a free 1-on-1 coaching session with me here.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

One part of the creativity process that's overlooked is deep listening. Listening to yourself, and others too. It's equivalent to the negative space in art and design as it allows our perspective to broaden up amongst other things.How good a listener are you?Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Are you ready to get into massive debt for your film or other creative project? Our guest for this week charged a couple of his short films to his credit card. Does he regret it? No. Why? We have to take control of our stories and pay our dues at some point. Brian Crewe is an all round filmmaker. He is an acclaimed director, producer, writer and editor. He  has directed numerous projects including the award-winning short films "Cabeceo," “Far,” “Une Libération,” and “Electoral Emissions” as well as commercials for Princess Cruises.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Mostly, we define ourselves by what we do for ourselves or for who we want to be perceived as. In essence, we identify ourselves with our egos, these tiny fractions of who we really are. What if though, we pursued what makes us one with others in our lives? What if we served others wholly?Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Where does creativity and fatherhood meet? Isn't a father far different from a creative? Our guest for this week had a epiphany that the road to being a good father is akin to the hero's/ creative's journey. We talk about that and other things like, how his background of being raised by a single mum affected him, and how he makes time to write even while being present for his son.Kendall Smith is an author and dedicated father. His latest book 'Rookie Father' is a playbook offering pragmatic advice to men experiencing fatherhood for the first time. Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

How do you define a hero? For me, it's someone who not only transforms the lemons that life throws at them into lemonade, but they actually also become the lemonade fix in and of themselves. They not only transform the world around them, but become the alchemist of their own person.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

How does it feel to have an award winning best seller at 22? What does it take to do it again SEVEN more times in different genres?Our guest for this week has answers to this and many other questions I had about her creative process, how to overcome writers' block and more so all about her latest novel, Secrets of Our House.Rea Frey is an author, podcast host and CEO of Rightway which she founded to assist aspiring writers become published authors. Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Self-focus is too often confused with selfishness and self indulgence. Yet it is not so. Say, when there's an emergency, airline personnel always advise that you put on your own oxygen mask before you try to help others with theirs. Right? So why do we guilt trip ourselves or others over boundaries we create for ourselves? Isn't there such a thing as over-empathy?Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Hello from Nairobi!This week's episode was recorded in Kenya. In the course of my trip here a snow storm got us stuck in Turkey for a couple of days.  How do you approach such unexpected situations?Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Will Nevins-Alderfer is a renown jeweler and metal smith. He is mostly known for his mokume gane jewellery.  You can view these here: https://www.wrmetalarts.comOn today's episode, Will tells us what mokume gane is, and his journey to mastering this ancient Japanese art. He also takes us through his creative process as  a jeweller -how he translates clients' dreams to reality. And how his educational background, as a Waldorf lifer influences his creative and business life.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Justin Nchini is a Cameroonian filmmaker. His debut feature, Hidden Dreams, is Cameroon's entry for Best International Feature at this year's Oscar Awards. You can watch the trailer here.On this episode we talk about how he made the feature from a short film I guided him to do at Cinemadamare Africa back in 2019. And the role of mentors in his journey as a creative.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

How many of your new year resolutions have you kept so far? And how impactful were the ones you did last year?On this episode, I talk about my new year resolution practice and how I handle relapses. Plus the group coaching program I'm launching this February :https://www.matthewctemple.com/group-1-lp/Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

What's the secret to having a fulfilling career in Hollywood? Nay, a fulfilling life anywhere? I asked my friend, the actor Iman Nazemzadeh, and his response was unequivocally: serve others. Over good old Taiwanese tea, he served me gems from his life experiences as a painter, actor and son of an Iranian man. Listen in for all that tea.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

To start us off with the new year,  the actor Iman Nazemzadeh, alias, Ethan Rains hosted me for a virtual tea ceremony.In this part of the podcast recording, we explored several questions such as: What does tea do for him as a person and as a creative? How do you make the best Taiwanese tea? What is the connection between tea and creativity...Have a cup with us, and do share the thoughts and questions that came up during this.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee

Are there ever any guarantees that a work of art will be completed? Or that it'll be received with critical acclaim? Or even at the very least, just perceived how you conceived it in your mind? NO! NO! NO!The whole process of creativity sometimes actually needs jumping in, without actually knowing what we're doing or jumping in a way of saying, I didn't have time to lay everything out to make sure that I survive. But I have to go anyway, and do it and take the risk of failure. Welcome to the podcast, tapping creativity with myself, Matthew Temple. And each week, we're going to dive into questions and issues and inspiration around creativity and the creative process.Written and Produced by Matthew C. TempleEdited by Tyen MusaOriginal Theme Music by Adrian Lee