234: Don’t Forget How to Play & Work Your Life Away
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Don’t Let Fear Dictate Your Next Move
No one has it all figured out.
I promise you…
Everyone is:
Doing their best to find their groove.
Trying hard to grow and find themselves.
Dealing with their own demons.
Everyone's on their own roller coaster ride navigating bipolar seasons of...
Sunny days where you’re in the zone, flying high with confidence, and everything seems to click…
Mixed with...
Phases of wicked turbulence where comparison and imposter syndrome fuel raging creative funks (and nothing seems to work).
2021 has been a rollercoaster for me, with far more downs than ups.
The highs have been that I’ve:
Had my most successful year of business profitability wise.
Locked down a plan for my family’s present and future financial situation.
Worked myself into the best shape of my life built on good wellness habits.
The lows are that I’ve been dealing with:
A nagging shoulder injury that’s stunted my fitness/wellness journey.
Mad anxiety, short spurts of depression, burnout, and tons of uncertainty.
Deciphering this huge void of emptiness I’ve been feeling.
Today, I want to share a bit of the shit storms I’ve been navigating this year, as I certainly don’t have it all figured out.
I’m hoping that being vulnerable and sharing what I’m learning about myself may reveal some of your own blind spots while you’re building your creative business.
Within this episode could be the missing link you’ve overlooked or abandoned to get you out of a funk.
The Money Doesn’t Fill Everything Void
I’ve gotten too deep in the “business realm” weeds since going full-time coaching in January 2020.
I realize most of this stems from a scarcity mindset and fear of failure…
More specifically, a fear of:
Failing myself and my creative dream and letting down my family.
Losing it all because I can’t handle being self-employed and the overwhelming responsibility it puts on my plate.
That my significant decline in growth and reach via social media and my podcast since 2020 signals a slow and painful death of my business.
I’ve gone so heavy with my brand into the coaching lane because that’s where my greatest strength and passion intersect, and where the most demand for what I do lives.
Coaching also pays the bills, so somehow everything else that doesn’t pay the bills serves as a distraction, right?
As I write this, I guess everything has been about money and getting my financial literacy in check, if I’m being honest.
(Which has been a blessing and a curse.)
I’ve felt so far behind in my 30’s…
Which made me so tunnel vision after having kids to:
Get out of debt.
Build a rainy day fund for my family and my business.
Learn how to invest and then execute a plan.
(If you want to learn step-by-step how you too can get your money in check, check out Pt. 2 and Pt. 3 in the Side Hustle to Main Hustle Series!)
If I got obsessive about my financial future...maybe it’d become a safety net if I somehow fucked my creative business up?
Yet, while I’ve been crushing it as full-time Creative Side Hustler’s Coach (or so I think)... something has been missing.
I’m hella fulfilled with coaching—it’s where I’m truly my best and providing the most value to the world.
But that’s only 1 of 2 huge buckets that need my attention to help me feel the most fulfilled in this creative world.
On discovery calls with coaching prospect students, I always ask them, “What are you doing when you’re at your very best creatively—where time stands still and you’re lost in the sauce doing work you love?”
I lead off with a quick reference example of two scenarios where I’m at my best:
I’m at my best when I’m on coaching calls working directly with a creative badass like you—asking questions, workshopping, and equipping you with the tools to get out of your own way.
I’m also at my best when I’m drawing personal work (not for clients). I get lost in the details no one will ever notice as I take what was just an idea in my head and turn it into something in my own voice and style.
After dealing with a nasty rough patch of burnout this past July through September…
It finally dawned on me that I had lost sight of what got me here in the first place.
The Importance of Play
I totally ignored and abandoned the importance of “purposeful play” in what I do.
Shit has become a grind for me as of late...it's been strictly business 24/7 in my world for too long.
What’s been missing is the escape I always had where my imagination could go wild and any canvas was my playground.
What has been missing in what I do is drawing...it’s what I’ve always done since I was a kid.
I didn’t realize how badly I still need to unleash my inner child’s creativity and let my pen flow.
I’m an artist at heart first who became a designer, and then later, a coach.
Art is the foundation. I can build a dope ass skyscraper that looks great and successful on the outside…
But the foundation is shaky and sketchy when the creative play spirit is MIA.
This episode is a form of therapy for me (as are 90% of my solo episodes) because I have some serious shit to work through.
Upon its release, I feel like I’m finding myself again within my work.
Identity Crisis
I looked back at this year’s body of artwork…
And I’ve only drawn 8 friggin’ times:
4 podcast solo episode artwork mini-series (Squirtle, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Charmander).
2 birthday invitations for my daughter and son.
1 Space Cat and Dog mug design collaboration with my Deneen Pottery family.
1 podcast solo episode artwork that you’re seeing today.
8 weeks of drawing out of 52 aren’t enough for me to feel fulfilled.
It boils down to the identity crisis I’ve been experiencing.
It felt like I had to kill the artist/designer identity I’ve built under the name Perspective-Collective…
In order for the Coach Scotty Russell identity to take shape, pay bills, and be taken more seriously.
When, in reality, I can still be an entrepreneur, coach, podcaster, AND creative all in the same lane of Coach Scotty Russell?
While I’ll still create and share side hustle growth-based educational content and speak toward getting your money right...
I’m making drawing a more frequent routine in what I do moving forward because art still needs to be rooted in what I do.
I still need to pay the bills through coaching and digital products, but art is just as important for my mental and spiritual well-being.
My quality of life depends on it.
It’s a Game of Seasons and Cycles
Maybe you too are stuck and needed to hear that you’re not the only one struggling.
I promise you, you’re not alone, and I’m using this little platform as a way to work through my own shit publicly.
This creative empire you’re building goes in seasons and cycles.
There are always going to be funks and moments of severe questioning.
But, on the other end of those funks, come the seasons of finding your groove and being in the zone.
Any season of shit I’ve gone through before was always followed up by my next breakthrough.
I’m trusting the process, knowing what I have cooking behind the scenes and embracing this newfound identity will pay off.
I’ll start growing externally again, once I start growing internally again and reconnect with my artist identity.
So a few friendly little reminders as I part ways with you today:
It’s OK if I don’t want to monetize your creativity.
It’s OK if it’s just for you.
It’s OK and extremely important to have fun.
Otherwise, what you’re doing becomes just another mundane day job you were trying to escape.
Don’t forget how to play and work your life away...
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Credits
Music - Blookah
Executive Assistant - Paige Garland
Photo & Video Specialist - Colton Bachar
Social Media Coordinator - Hannah Schick
Animation Specialist - Greg D'Amico