On a Patagonian mountainside Julia, mother of five and owner of a small catering company, found the time and the space she needed to reconnect with her imagination and to listen again to her own creative urges.
Julia admitted to herself that that there was something she had yet to achieve in the creative world; that for her there was still ‘unfinished business’.
In a few short weeks after committing to following the rules of the road, Julia had devised a one woman show that she would go on and take to the Edinburgh festival.
| “Trekking through the wilderness of Patagonia is the sort of trip you always dream about, but I wasn’t prepared for the way my life would change due to some impulsive commitments I made sitting on that mountain.” — Julia |
The show was a success and with the success came new opportunities, including professional acting work.
But that wasn’t all – along the way Julia gained the respect of her friends, was transformed in the eyes of her children and she also learnt the importance that full self-expression has to a person’s well-being. She also had an extraordinary feeling of coming alive while she was doing something that, for her, was worthwhile.
Continue to read about Julia’s journey or click here to start one of your own (www.creative-steps.com/signup)
But why did she bother to start? Click here to hear Julia’s explanation: Julia’s Journey Video 1
Julia was on a trek through Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park raising money for the cerebral palsy charity, Scope.
Away from the commitments and routines of everyday life she found she had time to re-consider what was happening in her life. She was thankful for the things she had; the loving family, happy marriage, good friends and her own modest catering business, but she was sufficiently courageous to accept that there were still things she wanted.
“I had allowed my acting to take a back-seat while I had my family,
a decision that I in no way regret, but I had always promised myself I would
go back to it and I hadn’t done that.”
| ‘On the trek I tried experimenting a little by telling people that I was an actor, something I hadn’t done for years, and I was surprised by both how that made me feel and also the reactions I seemed to get: some people couldn’t care less or else thought it quite normal while others seemed to think I was somehow crazy.” — Julia |
While trekking Julia walked with many different people from a variety of walks of life, amongst them consultants and accountants who asked a number of questions that seemed to suggest they found her aspirations difficult to understand:
“Sometimes it was as if they were really saying: ‘Isn’t it time you grew up and accepted your lot?’”
But one question did stop Julia in her tracks. And at the time she did not know where this question would take her or what she would get from having the courage to answer it honestly.
The question was simply: ‘What do you want?’
It is a simple question, but how many people have the courage to honestly
answer it, especially out loud?
“It took me a long time to answer this question but eventually I settled
on something that seemed right—‘To be and to be seen to be creative’”
The next question followed: “What is it that you think being more creative will give you?”
Julia’s response was defiant and inspiring:
“It makes me who I am; it gives me confidence; it makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile. It’s a test, it’s a goal—it is something to aim for.”
The genie was out of the bottle; it was something she needed to do for herself to become more herself. What would be the costs of not pursuing this?
She now had a direction, if not a specific plan. She also had a compelling reason to begin her journey; it wasn’t indulgent, it wasn’t childish - it was a test, a goal to aim for; “something that gives me confidence and ‘makes me who I am!‘”
Strong motivation can follow this level of clarity. But Julia believed that her enthusiasm could be dented if she were to get on the audition round too early. Too many knock backs could easily take her off-course and besides, “everybody knows, there are not many roles for middle-aged women”. Julia concluded that if things were to change she would have to change them herself.
Within days of returning from her travels Julia had conceived a one woman show which she was later to title, “Potatoes”.
As so often happens to committed people, coincidences combined to help Julia move her project forward.
She was offered an opportunity to perform her show at the Brockley Max Arts Festival in South East London. It was a success. Friends and family saw Julia in a new light; for them she was a creative person and an accomplished performer.
It was a fabulous feeling—and apparently intoxicating: ‘I’m going to take it to Edinburgh!’ she said, and in the afterglow of her first success set her sights on the next destination in her Journey.
For Julia the first step of the journey was to accept a small challenge on a mountainside in Patagonia—that challenge was simply one small step towards her desire to be more creative. Edinburgh was not an objective when she started—the objective was to be, and to be seen to be, more creative. After Edinburgh the journey will continue.
On her journey Julia had to learn The Rules of the Road. She also had to take the five Creative Steps. Her first problem was to find the time and the place to do this – this is a question that is addressed in module 2.
to learn more about the Creative Steps and perhaps start a journey of your own
Know this:Creative Steps is a nine module course that offers guidance on the journey to creativity. It is a study of what has worked for other people and an invitation for you to take on new behaviours and attitudes and see what works for you. It is for people who want to learn how to more consistently and effectively connect with their creative side; it is for people who want to realize a creative dream and, in the process, become more fully self-expressed. Believe this:Once you articulate what you want and why you want it life becomes easier. Things fit into place. When you are clear about what you want you can investigate who has done it before and learn from their experiences. Do This:Learn the Rules of the Road. Use them as you progress on your own journey. Get committed to enhancing your creativity and becoming more of yourself. Sign up for full membership of Creative-Steps.com |
We are all on a creative journey. Each day we are moving, changing, developing; always expressing some part of ourselves. At times our creative journey takes a wrong turn and an opportunity is missed.
Several years earlier Julia had let her dreams drift away; she looks back on that time, click here to watch:
The prolific creative person has belief, they have to be vulnerable and they have to know how to seize an opportunity. Ask yourself how you rate in these three areas. Ask yourself if it is one of these areas that is holding you back?
Seize this opportunity—start a creative journey of your own.