This episode is a little longer than usual, but we think Kendra’s words are worth it. We giggled. We made fun of folding fitted sheets. And we so, so enjoyed her perspective on making time for creativity amidst the craziness of children, home renovations, and the changing seasons of life. She gets seriously real about not feeling guilty about taking time for yourself, and how being a mom is not always what fills her creatively. She’s exactly the kind of creative, regular person we had in mind when we started the Chasing Creative podcast, and we hope you will enjoy and learn from her words of wisdom on being your own creative self.
This episode is a little longer than usual, but we think Kendra’s words are worth it. We giggled. We made fun of folding fitted sheets. And we so, so enjoyed her perspective on making time for creativity amidst the craziness of children, home renovations, and the changing seasons of life. She gets seriously real about not feeling guilty about taking time for yourself, and how being a mom is not always what fills her creatively. She’s exactly the kind of creative, regular person we had in mind when we started the Chasing Creative podcast, and we hope you will enjoy and learn from her words of wisdom on being your own creative self.
P.S. from Abbie: Do you ever get a little tongue-tied when speaking to one of your internet crushes? I totally do. And Kendra is one of them. So… when I said at 1:45 that I’m not a wife or a mom… it was my mouth getting ahead of my brain. I’ve been married for nearly 10 YEARS and somehow declared that I wasn’t. Oops. Love you, Scott! I’m not a mom, though, so I was half correct. :)
Here’s where to Find Kendra:
Website: http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lazylazygenius
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelazygenius/
Podcast: http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/podcasts/
Here’s where to find Ashley:
Website: www.BrooksEditorial.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brookseditorial
Instagram: http://instagram.com/brookseditorial
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/brookseditorial
Here’s where to find Abbigail:
Website: www.InkwellsandImages.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbigailekriebs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbigailekriebs/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkwellsandimages/
Mini Book Club:
Kendra's recent fiction reads:
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
Wild - Cheryl Strayed
Kendra's recent nonfiction reads:
Ignore Everybody - Hugh McCloud
Creativity books Kendra's excited about:
Deep Work - Cal Newport
Rework - Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Presence - Amy Cuddy
Kendra’s favorites of all-time (fiction):
Till We Have Faces - CS Lewis
Harry Potter (duh)
The Wingfeather Saga - Andrew Peterson
Jane Austen, Bronte sisters, etc.
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Favorites of all-time (nonfiction):
Anything by Tina Fey or Mindy Kaling
Anything by Emily Freeman
Thinkertoys - Michael Michalko… this is a good one to talk about because it gives ideas to engage your brain in unusual ways when you need a fresh take on your creativity.
What Ashley & Abbigail are reading:
Divergent - Veronica Roth
The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater
The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Out of Sorts - Sarah Bessey
A Prayer Journal - Flannery O’Connor
Overwhelmed - Brigid Schulte
A Million Little Ways - Emily Freeman
Quotes from this Episode:
“I couldn’t get the writing jitters out any other way.” - Kendra
“If I am going to do this, I need to have a new perspective.” - Kendra
“This is not where your value comes from. I feel like I need to help people connect dots differently for their life.” - Kendra
“I feel like everybody needs some sort of creative outlet, and I long for people who haven’t found it yet, to find it.” - Kendra
“One thing I’ve learned in starting businesses: they build on each other and your creativity changes with your life.” - Kendra
“The things that don’t matter: folding fitted sheets.” - Abbigail
“I’ve learned is that tips can only go as far as how kind you are to yourself with you don’t follow them.” - Kendra
“Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself as kindly as you do your best friend.” - Kendra
“Everybody has their own personal method for overthinking things that don’t matter.” - Ashley
“I know that for a long time I saw makers and artists as people who used paint.” - Kendra
“Being a mother is not always what makes me come alive. I think it’s OK.” - Kendra
“I can be a fully creative version of myself and be a mom at the same time.” - Kendra
“I never gave myself to permission to be bad at things.” - Kendra
“I didn’t create because I was told I couldn’t.” - Kendra
“You can choose to be a maker. It works a different part of your brain. It engages a different part of your soul” - Kendra
“You can approach life in general as art.” - Abbigail
“Don’t do anything during those hours that your children are gone that you could do when they are around.” - Kendra
“I don’t do anything while she naps that I could do while she is awake.” - Ashley
“There is time. It is OK for you to claim it for yourself.” - Kendra
“It’s OK to be frustrated with the way life is. But go into with the thought that you are going to make for as long as you can.” - Kendra
“Life is hard. Being a person is hard. No one is exempt.” - Kendra
“You can live a life that doesn’t have constant production and it be full and not at all wasteful.” - Kendra
“If I want to work, I trust that desire to work. If I just really want to watch TV, I trust that desire.” - Kendra
“If you feel guilt about sitting down to watch TV, then maybe you should be working on something instead.” - Abbigail
“You know yourself and you need to be kind to yourself.” - Kendra
“End products are not the sole reason for creativity.” - Ashley
“Cheryl Strayed is a magician. She made me want to go hike. I don’t hike.” - Kendra