The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Welcome to Syncreate, where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology, and spirituality. Our goal is to demystify the creative process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative.
Creativity. It’s a word we throw around all the time, but what does it really mean? On the Syncreate Podcast, we share stories of the creative journey. We talk to changemakers, visionaries and everyday creatives working in a wide array of fields and disciplines. Our goal is to explore creativity in all its facets, and to gain a better understanding of the creative process – from imagination to innovation and everything in between.
The Syncreate Podcast is hosted by Melinda Rothouse, PhD. She helps individuals and organizations bring their creative dreams and visions to life through coaching, consulting, workshops, retreats, and now, this podcast. She's written two books on creativity, including Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities (winner of a Silver Nautilus Award for Creativity and Innovation), with Charlotte Gullick. She's also a musician (singer-songwriter and bass player) and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Episode 104: Creative Spark Series - Creativity Can Save Your Life with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick
Have you ever used your creativity to navigate a difficult situation or make an important life decision? In this episode of our Creative Spark series, Melinda and Charlotte describe how creativity can save your life, both literally and metaphorically, sharing stories from their own experience, including dislodging a boat that had run aground, to a hurricane rescue mission, to evading a water moccasin while kayaking. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.
For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to think about a time you used your creativity to deal with a difficult situation, so the next time you find yourself in a pinch, you can use your creativity more intentionally to deal with it.
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 84: From Surviving to Thriving, Episode 98: Creativity and Humor, and Episode 102: Creativity as a Path of Adventure.
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.
Episode-specific hyperlinks:
Show / permanent hyperlinks:
Melinda: Hey everyone. Before we begin today, we wanted to invite your feedback on the show. We'd really love to hear your thoughts on potential topics and guests, as well as what you enjoy about the show and how we can make it even better. So, please email us your thoughts at info@syncreate.org, and we'll follow up with you. Creativity and community are absolutely vital in challenging times. Creativity is also consistently named one of the top skills of the 21st century, particularly with the advent of AI.
Welcome to Syncreate, a show where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology and spirituality. We believe everyone has the capacity to create. Our goal is to demystify the process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative. What holds us back? Why do we get stuck, and how can we fully embrace our creativity? We talk with visionaries and changemakers, and everyday creatives working in a wide range of fields and media - from the arts to science, business and technology. We aim to illuminate the creative process, from imagination to innovation, and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life.
Charlotte: Hi. And I'm Charlotte Gullick, and I'm a writer, educator, and writing coach. We are the co-authors of a book on the creative process, also called Syncreate. At Syncreate, we’re here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you're not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org.
Our book, now available in both print and audiobook format, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world, including our monthly Creativity Coaching group. We'd be delighted for you to join us.
Melinda: Welcome back to the Syncreate Podcast. This is one of our Creative Spark mini episodes, and today we're going to be talking about how creativity saved our lives. And also, kind of another way to frame this is like, when have you used your creativity to get out of a jam? Kind of like that old show that some of us remember on TV back in the day, MacGyver. Who was this guy who just with, like, a pocket knife and some chewing gum and a rubber band, could fix anything, anywhere, at any time and was always like, you know, creatively getting himself out of all kinds of situations. So, we thought it would be fun to do an episode, like, really, truly, like, creativity can save your life in certain situations, whether it's more like literally or metaphorically.
And so, an example that comes to mind for me, was when I started writing songs and this was - I had finished my first Masters. I was sort of like, I'd moved to San Francisco, started a job that I was really excited about, didn't work out, kind of down in the dumps. It was a rainy winter, and there was a lot going on in my personal life, and it was just a really challenging time, I would say I was probably the most depressed I've ever been in my life.
And that's actually when I started writing songs. Partly because I was a bit lonely and had some time on my hands, but it was like, a great way for me to channel what I was feeling and what I was dealing with. And, you know, I'd been a musician and a singer for a really long time. And I had, you know, taken some bass lessons and things like that.
But this is when really, truly, started writing the songs that, you know, appeared on my first album and, you know, it was quite cathartic in a way, and a way to kind of like, voice my struggles in a sort of creative and somewhat positive way. So, it's not like creativity saved me from a burning building, but kind of metaphorically, it did, emotionally and psychologically. So, how about you, Charlotte?
Charlotte: Well, I'm just thinking about that. Like, when we claim ourselves. And I think the creative process is one of the ways to claim ourselves. And I mean, like, to investigate, to know… who is our authentic self? That it is life-saving. And I think it's not just - it's how we move out of just surviving into thriving.
Melinda: Yes.
Charlotte: The creative process holds the potential for us to do that alchemical work so that, yeah, these terrible things have happened to me, because that's part of life, but the creative process allows me to become, ownership of it and like, decide what I'm going to do with it creatively. (Laughter) It's making me think about, because, you know, I have this weird - no, we shall say, interesting hearing habit of I don't quite hear accurately. So for years I thought that antidote and anecdote were the same words. So, I was like, you know, that person just needs a good anecdote and they’ll be okay. (Laughter) Oh, snakebite? Just tell them good story! (Laughter)
Melinda: Right. (Laughter)
Charlotte: And I was like 25 when I figured out that there was actually a difference between - I mean, I could see them, but here I, you know, I do not have distinguishing hearing. But now I'm actually decided this is a I think a good story can save your life. An anecdote can be the antidote.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: Or the song, you know, like, whatever it is. So, I'm thinking. Yeah, again about the alchemical. Like, I am, I am saying yes, to myself and it also makes me think about this chapter in a Natalie Goldberg book. I think it's in the book Wild Mind, where there's a story of a woman who was working with a therapist and, the therapist said, I want you to figure out what you like for yourself. Not horses, because your dad like horses or, you know, pretty pillowcases because your mom, liked pretty… like, what is it?
And the woman didn't know, and it took her, a month to figure it out. And she came back, and she said, I authentically know that I like chocolate. (Laughter) And from there, she built her authentic self. You know, it's like this encounter with ourselves, with letting go people pleasing. All those things to kind of like, I'm going to be with myself. And then creativity is the conduit for like what we decide to do with it. Makes me think about my dad, who, was a very working class fellow. But he also played the piano. And I wonder about the relationship between his playing the piano and his ability to, as you pointed out, old school, say, MacGyver solutions.
He was very creative with baling wire. (Laughter) And I think about those things that come… you know, like, what did I inherit from him, watching him do that? So, in June, we went on a trip to see loons. Because my mother loves this bird.
Melinda: And a loon is a - yes, a type of waterfowl. (Laughter)
Charlotte: Yes. It's a type of waterfowl, yes. (Laughter) My mom loves them so much that her phone ring is a loon.
Melinda: Oh, wow.
Charlotte: And you're like, what the hell is that?! And she has loons on the side of her car.
Melinda: She knows what she loves!
Charlotte: She knows what she loves. And she'd been on one trip before to see them, and she saw one loon. And so, we were going to take her, and we went to the Canadian border and we were gonna do it. We saw one loon.
Melinda: Oh gosh! (Laughter) A single loon. (Laughter)
Charlotte: A single loon.
Melinda: A play in three acts.
Charlotte: They're huge birds too. So, we're in the Thousand Island area, and we're on a pontoon boat which Dreux has never driven before, and I’m like... “Go over there.” I had a hunch, and so we went, and then we got hung up on shoals. So we're on a pontoon boat, and we're hung up on shoals. There's a loon with its neck all the way out, feeling like real threatened and stuff. And, we had a friend with us and they're like, “What do we do? What do we do?” I'm like, “Oh, let's all shift our weight over here. Oh, let's shift our weight over here. Let's try this.” Like, that was totally a creative response.
Medina: Yeah. To we’ve run aground.
Charlotte: We've run aground. Do we call the Coast Guard? No. We think creatively, that's how we do it. Eventually, Dreux got into the water and pushed us out, so it was fine.
Melinda: another creative solution.
Charlotte: Another creative solution. But I mean, like, if we had thought about… how could we see this problem through different lenses? How could we change our approach so that we get, unmoored from the shore? (Laughter) Like, that's totally the creative process. So that one flipping loon. Are you happy, mom?! (Laughter) So…
Melinda: Quite an adventure.
Charlotte: It was an adventure. It was loony!
Melinda: We've got some nautical themes going on here. (Laughter)
Charlotte: Yes, we do have nautical themes going on. So, if you're thinking to yourself, these two chatting right now, how does this solve problems in my life? I think it's like, how do I get - can I be creative with the problem that's in front of me? Can I look at it from an angle… another angle? If I were to create like, a frozen moment (tableau, per se), and I saw it from somebody else's perspective, how could that help me move through this moment, that might be difficult otherwise?
Melinda: Yes. And we do have, something bordering on a life-or-death shared experience. (Laughter) And so, we've talked about this before, but when we went to Louisiana some years back to rescue my mom from Hurricane Ida and - as well as her cat, from whom she had become separated - and we were in the swamps outside of Lake Charles, Louisiana, (laughter) and we got shaken down by a very angry man who was threatening to “Hang me upside down by my ankles and shake me for loose change...”, I quote. You sort of got us out of that pinch by some quick thinking on your feet. (Laughter)
Charlotte: It's true. It’s true.
Melinda: Talking him off the ledge with your mediation skills… “I'm sorry, sir. I don't think I caught your name. I'm Charlotte.” (Laughter) Like, “Let’s start over here.”
Charlotte: Let’s start over here.
Melinda: Like, this is totally insane. And are we about to get shot? And, “Okay. Let’s take a fresh start.”
Charlotte: Yeah. What’s our common goal in this moment where you're threatening to hang my friend by her ankles off the porch that might also be falling off because of a hurricane? (Laughter) Yeah. That was creativity in action, right?
Melinda: It was. It really was. And at the very least, you gave us a little time until the person who had the cat was able to appear, and, diffuse. I mean, you diffused… and then I ran away and got the cat. (Laughter)
Charlotte: It was stalling a little bit.
Melinda: (Laughter) While you continued to talk with the insane guy.
Charlotte: Who was also displaced from the hurricane. Right?
Melinda: Yes. Right.
Charlotte: So, like, he was trying to establish ego or something again. I'm thinking about, classic storytelling move. When you said, “And my mother somehow became separated from her cat.” (Laughter) That is like, disastrous! Like, when the two primary characters get separated, right? Oh, no!
Melinda: “You go this way! I’ll go that way!”
Charlotte: Audience is immediately tense. I mean, it was not fun for your mom to live that. Or for the cat to live it. Or for us to encounter it. And they came back together. Just in case people were worried.
Melinda: Yes. They were reunited. We hightailed it back to Texas. And -
Charlotte: With your mother.
Melinda: We lived to tell the tale.
Charlotte: And this was… I mean, to bump up their creativity, I got to hear some of your mom's cat poems.
Melinda: Oh, yes. My mom shared her poems on the car ride.
Charlotte: And it was awesome.
Melinda: Yes. Yes.
Charlotte: See - I never knew your mom composed cat poems.
Melinda: Yes. Yes. Right there in her house.
Charlotte: It was great.
Melinda: Yeah. That was definitely an adventure. So, yeah. So, there's all kinds of ways we can use our creativity to get ourselves out of a pinch. Or whether it's a real life or death situation, or something more metaphorical. But our Pro Tip is to, you know, have you think about, when have you used your creativity to deal with a difficult situation, whatever that might look like in your own experience? So, again, you know, in this idea of everyday creativity, it's not necessarily some rarified thing. Every time we're using our creative problem solving skills, we're exercising our creativity.
Charlotte: And that makes me think about how we talk about this in our book is… I mean, one of our goals with folks is to help them feel like they have more facility with the creative process. And we talk about divergent and convergent thinking. And for me, that's like, “Oh, I'm in a jam. Which kind of thinking would be useful to me?” That’s such an empowered approach to creativity, and just life itself.
Melinda: Absolutely.
Charlotte: Thank you for joining the Syncreate podcast today. Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under @syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave a review.
Melinda: We're recording today at Record ATX Studios in Austin, Texas, with Charlotte joining us from the Hudson Valley. The podcast is produced in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios. Thanks so much for being with us, and see you next time.
