Talking about my creative shift with Dan Blank

A month ago–when working from home was the exception, not the rule–I sat down with Dan Blank of We Grow Media, who is known for being a brilliant marketer and an amazing coach who specializes in helping authors create meaningful connections with readers.

I worked with Dan last fall. I was a member of his mastermind group, and the experience literally changed my life. For what seemed like years, I had been looking for clarity in my career and my creative work and joining Dan’s Creative Shift mastermind group connected me with dozens of other creators who had already quit their jobs to follow their dreams. The mastermind was all about finding clarity and taking action based on that clarity. I gained solid tools and strategies that enabled me to consistently show up for my own work. By the end of the experience, my wheels were turning and I was ready to make my creative shift.

In this conversation, I share the story of how I moved from my day job to establishing my own creative business. He talks about how creativity, and putting in the work, can happen anywhere. In this time of isolation, with everyone having to work remotely, this message is even more pertinent.

I realize that for a lot of people, being stuck at home with schedules all topsy-turvy is a huge shift, and a lot of us are still adjusting and trying to make it work. But even in the midst of all the anxiety, the news, the competing priorities, we can still choose to show up for our creative work.

I feel lucky, to be honest. I was prepared for a total life-changing shift three months ago on the last day of my full-time job. Since then I’ve set up my office in the garage (which I love, by the way, exposed pipes and all), have doubled down on establishing a rigid system of prioritizing work tasks, and I continue to go “to work” wearing day clothes, not jammies (button-up shirts help me get into my productive groove).

In the age of COVID-19, when everyone else is also enduring a life-changing shift, I feel like a lot of the groundwork has already been laid for my wife, my 5-year-old daughter, and myself to work successfully from home. We keep to our schedules; this helps manage everyone’s expectations. We treat work like work, honoring that time. And we’re all doing our best to be fully present in whatever task is in front of our noses.

The best advice I could give to any parent out there who is trying to get creative work done: If you’re with your family, be with your family. If you’re working remotely, work fast and efficiently. If you’re creating, create and let your mind take a rest from reality for a bit. Know that there is still time for everything you need and want to get done, you might just have to get creative.

Even if it’s just five minutes at a time, your work can get done anywhere, under any circumstance. If you believe that, you can make it happen.

Listen to my full interview with Dan Blank below or check out the original post here.