On today's mini-episode we're talking all about constraints, limitations, and how to have an imagination based on *hope* for your future. There are three main points I want to make, to help us get out of the "woe is me" mindset. So listen below to hear those thoughts and my answer to whether I think imagination is insanity or not.

This week I'm preparing to leave my temporary home base of Atlanta to venture out into over 45 days of book readings, live performances, and workshops throughout the US. Since this month's theme in the School of Bravery and here on the podcast is Risk & Rejection, I thought I'd take a couple minutes before packing up my suitcase to talk about the upside of risk and the benefits it offers.

In today's peep show episode, we discuss my 6 go-to steps for recovering from rejection. This is so important for any creative or visionary. Those of us who have big ideas, often encounter rejection of those big ideas. But understanding how to handle and recover from rejection is ALSO crucial. If you're putting yourself out there, most likely, you will encounter rejection. Here are my tried and true methods to bouncing back as quickly as possible without denying yourself the time to heal...

The past 2 weeks were filled with unexpected changes in my personal life. These changes greatly affected my work life. So in light of this month's top of "power of choice" in the realm of self-promotion, today we're chatting about how to regain your power by enforcing boundaries and drawing new lines in the sand. This is a crucial skill for anyone with personal life and a career - we all need the ability to balance crisis between the two realms.

In this episode I give several real-life examples of how I have personally gone about self-promotion in a different way. I also honestly explain some of the benefits and drawbacks from doing self-promotion differently. I'm really hoping this slight variation in this month's theme is helpful for you! If it is, let me know!

It is imperative that we call BS when we see it. In ourselves, in others, in our surroundings - if we see folks faking authenticity or trying to be a square peg in a round hole, we need to call it out. So that's what we're talking about today.

This week we're chatting about how to prepare for your next season of bravery and how to use some forecasting skills to make that happen. Using all the information we have available can be powerful, especially as we make plans for the future - which is what I'm doing this month while finishing up this national book tour. Come out and say hi!

Last week we released my book "Bare Naked Bravery: How to Be Creatively Courageous" into the world and it was a smashing success! However, last week turned my brain to absolute mush, take a listen to hear all about it!

n reaction to how close the publishing date for my book was the other day someone asked me, "Are you just so proud of yourself?!"  The question caught me off guard because if I'm being honest I wasn't proud of myself. I wasn't proud because I hadn't taken time to feel that yet. So that's what today's episode on the Bare Naked Bravery podcast is all about: How to Make Space for Powerful Moments.

This week I needed to hop on a soapbox. I saw a quote the other day attributed to the lovely Brené Brown which I (shockingly) disagreed with. Normally, I love Brené's work, but the quote I read of hers did not sit right with me.

When I look back over my life, I can see just how powerful planning for seasons of bravery can be. That being said, I've gotten really burned by making some really audacious goals and not being able to attain them. There's an art to making plans, especially plans that you can stick to. That's what this week's Bare Naked Bravery podcast episode is all about: how to plan for seasons of bravery!

Earlier this week I submitted the final manuscript of my book Bare Naked Bravery: How to Be Creatively Courageous to my formatter. To celebrate such a nerve-wracking accomplishment, I reached for my phone, posted several fun announcements on social media, did a quick “hooray” via Facebook livestream in the Bare Naked Bravery Community group, and then I took 2 shots of tequila. To give a taste of the things I uncovered this weekend, this week’s peep show episode of the Bare Naked Bravery podcast is all about how we can build our bravery with the help of rituals!

This week's peep show episode is all about how to stop wasting your time and energy in areas of life or your creativity that just doesn't pay off. The law of diminishing returns is an important one and pertains to having incessant worrying habits, over-planning things, over-controlling things, and even not caring about things enough! We'll chat a little about how to spot crazy-makers in your life and what make s a good system for preventing and stopping these creativity leaks.

We're spending today's peep show episode in the realm of the real bravery I'm experiencing right now. I'm doing the final revisions of the Bare Naked Bravery book this month. It's kinda terrifying, but fortunately something happened which we talk about today.

Sometimes the bravery we face happens without warning. Sometimes we know it's coming. So when we have advance notice of an oncoming brave season of life, how do we prepare for it? That's what this week's peep show episode is all about. Specifically, how do we lean on our intuition to tell us what we need to prepare and *why* we need those things.

Bare Naked Bravery recently celebrated it's 1 year birthday! So exciting! I spend today's peep show episode talking about the big changes in store for the Bare Naked Bravery Community in the coming season. I also reveal some of my decision making process in the midst of all these changes and celebrations. Take a listen!  

BareNakedBravery is asking for what you're worth.

This week on @barenakedbravery we're talking about a VERRRRY common question for creatives: How to ask for what you're worth!

Fellow Creative Misfit, Tamara submitted the following question: "I'm in a really bad place financially. Like really bad. It seems like everyone I'm talking with about becoming a client of mine is back peddling and turning away. What do I do?" Ohhh girl. I've been there. and I've got some things for you to think about... perhaps they will reveal your next steps for getting yourself out of a financial pickle like this one.

Fellow Bare Naked Bravery community member submitting this stellar question for this week, "How do you balance self-care with self-discipline?" Suuuuch a good question! So that's what I dive into today. Where is the line between kindness, compassion, and getting uncomfortable? Do they belong together? Let's find out!

Over the last couple weeks I've seen this happen a lot: my creative friend will go on vacation, work maybe 1 hour everyday while away only to return to a super hugely financially profitable week! Why does this happen?! And how have I been able to be soooo productive? It's allll about the 80/20 Pareto Principle. 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. That's what we're talking about today on this week's peep show mini episode!

The lovely @libby_bryant (from Instagram) asks, "How do you put yourself out there if you don't know exactly what you want? Should you just wait until you're 100% clear?" This is a question we ALL face as creatives, which makes it a perfect one for today. Emily Ann answers with personal experience and hopefully some extra pizzaz too!

Today's Peep-Show focuses on Go-to Ways to Get a Bravery Boost Before doing something that makes you nervous. 

Eryn Morgan (@eagleandmouse on Instagram) asked me a couple weeks ago about how I find the motivation to sit down and be creative. Time Blocking is a huuuuge factor in this for me. If you're curious about how to get started with this, then this is the episode for you!

Worry is not entirely a bad thing. However as with a lot of things in life, if it's used in excess, then it most definitely is a bad thing. So when you've found yourself stuck on the hamster wheel of worry, what do you do to cut yourself free? How do you turn worry into momentum, especially momentum that's going in the *right* direction? That's what we're talking about on today's peep show mini episode!

This week I'm driving all the way across the country! My creative sabbatical in Atlanta, GA has wrapped up and I'm headed back to the Pacific Northwest to nestle into a new life on Orcas Island, WA. I'm really excited about it and this week's Peep Show is all about how much I gain from these long road trips. There's something magical about being in the midst of big horizons...

I faced a looooong to-do list this week, which is why today we're looking at why it's so important to celebrate and connect, even with the small stuff. Our seasons of bravery sometimes BEG us for this and I know that sometimes those really dark seasons of bravery make it really hard to reach out and connect with folks. But it's sooo soooooo soooooo important that we do this. Take a listen and learn how I did that this week.

I've given some crazy wonderful announcements this week and my brain is going ALL over the place, so here we are at the end of this week and I'm really wishing I had done this one thing more: expression, for the sake of expression. Take a listen to this week's Peep Show episode to find out what I mean and why it's so so important to me.

This week I was asked to write an article for Teach Well all about setting difficult boundaries. I know that many of us creatives and entrepreneurial types have to deal with this topic a LOT in business. But even as just a human you have to set boundaries. So that's what we're talking about today. I've identified 7 steps you'll need to take to set, hold, and enforce a difficult boundary (with a bonus 8th step.)

I got LAID OUT with a cold earlier this week and was confronted with some honesty that changed a few things for me. So that's what this week's peep show is all about: regaining control of the brake pedal, taking your foot off the gas pedal, and making decisions that require projects to either come to a full stop or get postponed. 

This subject was brought up this week by a Bravery Student of mine. She's a creative and someone caught her off her game. Their comparison comments messed with her groove, so her question to me was "What do I do now that I've begun to second-guess myself?" The whole situation pushed my Mama Bear buttons and today's peep show episode covers my official answer to that question...