My Creative Life is a weekly interview, with the same five questions,
with folks who are living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions.
This week I'm honored to have the inspirational Shannon Jackson Arnold who is a writer and writing coach. Of the many services she provides she will help you with your manuscript, publicity and even keynote speeches! Check out her website to get motivated! http://www.theinspiredwriter.org/
1. What do you do? (career wise - whatever you want to share) I am a writer who loves exploration and discovery. (My new project is a series of books for spiritual seekers.) I also coach and teach writers artists and solopreneurs through my business, The Inspired Writer. I love to be an inspiration catalyst and seed-sharer for others to bloom bigger in their life. (Can you guess that I love flowers and flower metaphors?) I'm also a blogger, a paper artist, budding photographer, work-at-home mom, wife and much more, so I'm often flowing among my myriad passions and roles.
2. How did you
prepare for this career? (formal and informal education, books, workshops?) The three things that helped me the most were: writing regularly, reading regularly and sharing what I've learned. Some training came from my education (college and various writing workshops), but most came from hands-on experience. I've been fortunate to have a career that spans newspapers, radio, magazines, corporate communications, marketing and books. In recent years, I've added leadership, personal and spiritual development courses, too. And I'm always reading, usually 4-5 books at a time. (My favorite books to recommend to writers: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.) 3. Besides living according to the values of creativity and independence, what other values are you honoring by following this path? The necessity of self-expression, self-love, curiosity and service. The power of possibilities. And the belief that we are all here to offer something that only we can give.
4. What struggles or challenges do you face, if any? I notice that I can sometimes be fearful (both about success and failure) and will sabotage myself by doing other busy work to procrastinate working on my writing or business projects. I'm learning, though, how to shift out of these behaviors. I also sometimes find it a challenge to find a flow that feels good among my many roles. So I'm always playing with the flow and checking to be sure all the flowers in my life's garden get tended!
5. Can you give some advice to folks who would like to do what you do? Write. Read. Believe in your dreams. Go for it. Be patient. Be persistent. Be kind to yourself. Give back what you learn. Bloom big — the world needs the beautiful flower you are.
