Creative on Purpose Live!

that we have actually— oh, I think we're probably live. So welcome to Creative on Purpose Live. To learn more about Creative on Purpose, visit creativeonpurpose.com and get going with the difference only you can make. Remember that this broadcast is also an iTunes podcast. Check it out and leave a 5-star review. 30 seconds of your generosity helps spread the goodness delivered by my guests. Let's get to today's show. Welcome to Creative on Purpose Live. These conversations are about flying higher and endeavors that make a difference. Do the work you're meant to do now. It's time to be creative on purpose. Are you ready? Let's go! I'm your host, Scott Perry, author of Onward! and Difference Maker Coach at Creative on Purpose. Visit creativeonpurpose.com to start stepping into possibility with the difference only you can make. This month, we're profiling members of the Difference Maker community at Creative on Purpose. Let's meet today's guest. Abbie Pearce, welcome to the broadcast. Please tell our viewers who you are, what you're up to these days, and where we can connect with you to learn more.

Hi Scott, thank you for having me. Uh, so yes, my name's Abbie and I am a coach for creative types, uh, and I'm currently in, uh, the southwest of England, but I sort of can reach to all corners of the globe. Um, and I'm currently working on a fiction novel that tells the story of change. And, uh, yes, and I'm recovering akimbo Ahmet.

So just out of curiosity, because I have a feeling that's, uh, people that tune in, uh, some of them may be people like us who have done things like that. What are the Akimbo workshops that, um, you've actually participated in?

Okay, uh, so I started off last year by doing, uh, the marketing seminar because I was leaving the Royal Navy to start a freelance life of service. And didn't really know where to start. So having followed Seth for a long time on his podcast and blog, I thought it was a good place for me to learn, and it was that indeed. So I've continued with the connections that I made there, and I have a mastermind group that I meet up with weekly. And as opportunities arise, the Creatives Workshop then came into being last year and gave me the idea to write my fiction novel. I then realized I needed to learn a bit more about writing stories and did the Story Skills Workshop. And then just as that was finishing and I was going into the editing phase, which is, you know, a challenge in itself, the Writing and Community came along, and that's where I am now.

Yeah, so you and I, well, I am a repeat offender in the marketing seminar as both a student and a coach, and have also coached and been a student in writing, uh, in, uh, Story Skills. You and I are currently together in Writing in Community where I published a book just a couple weeks ago, and you're very excited. I'm very excited to hear that you're getting ready to publish yours. Um, before we get into the book, which I'm really curious to learn a little bit more about, I would love— you mentioned Mastermind, and, and if I heard correctly, that came out of the marketing seminar. Um, I credit the mastermind that I helped create in the Marketing Seminar 1 as being the lever that ratcheted my forward progress the furthest and fastest in terms of getting my endeavor off the ground. I'm just curious for you to speak just for a second about the mastermind and what impact, if any, it's had on your progress.

Um, yeah, so Prior to the marketing seminar, if somebody had mentioned Mastermind to me, I'd think of, you know, a black chair quiz show, British iconic kind of quiz game. And then thanks to— it was actually you that ran a Zoom call about creating Mastermind groups. As we were getting towards the end of the marketing seminar, there was about sort of 6 of us or so that sort of still helped each other and nudged each other along the way, and we're still sort of right at the end of the 200 days. And we said, well, let's carry on meeting up and seeing how we're getting on and nudging each other along. And it's over a year, you know, coming up to a year now, and we're still meeting regularly. We've got sort of 6 or 7 different specialisations across about 7 different time zones. And yeah, having that weekly accountability, meeting up with people and going, you know what, I'm really fed up this week and I can't be bothered. And they kind of go, come on, it's just the dip, it's just tired. Have you thought about this? And they, they hit you with the hard questions that you fear to ask yourself. Yeah.

Can't, just can't underspeak the virtue and the value of having a group of fellow travelers that are helping you stay on the hook, keep you accountable, ask, reflecting in a way that's meaningful, insightful, inspirational. Sometimes, you know, occasionally delivering a little tea and sympathy when we've gotten our butts kicked a little extra hard out there in the world. But also helping dust us off and continuing to do the work that's so necessary to do out in the wild, out in the, in the world where the difference really needs to be made. So also curious, uh, for you to just share a little bit more about the book, because I love that it's— it sounds like it's actually a work of fiction, but it's also— it seems to be kind of category or fitting in this genre of self-help or personal development.

Yeah, yeah, you've got that totally right, Scott. So when I started the creative— uh, right, yeah, the Creatives Workshop, um, I went in with the intention of, um, creating and, and refining some kind of coaching program. Um, and at the time as well, I had these scribbles of writing on a scrappy bit of paper that I'd had by my bedside for about 3 months as well. And, um, in using the prompts, I was going to veer towards more the coaching program and then use the dailies as this sort of indulgence to write this fiction novel. And then I had a bit of a light bulb moment, probably after a conversation with someone else from Akimbo, um, and I kind of thought, why don't I do the two but integrate them a little bit better? So I didn't really want to write this self-help, help others type non-fiction. I wanted to write fiction because there's just so much more possibility, and it's just making stuff up. And I mean, and yes, of course, it's my first novel, so there are elements of, um, sort of semi-autobiographical, um, bits and pieces. But, um, I just thought it would be a lot more fun, and it's just not so heavy, and you can just read a story and feel inspired and, and see how some of the stuff is similar to your own and And hopefully it inspires somebody to take action whilst they're reading a fiction novel, but to take action on their real-life narrative.

Yeah, I love it. I'm thinking about challenging myself with trying my hand at fiction after several kind of personal development, self-help, or help others type of books. So really inspired by your example there. I can't wait for that book to enter the world. And then also really want to dive in on what you're up to and the difference that you're making with Evenix. Tell us about what, what that is and about your coaching program and about the difference that you're making out in the world.

So much like a personal trainer, but I'm sort of a coach for your brain, not your butt. And I have a couple of different options ranging from just quick 15-minute check-ins just to give you a kick up the backside and just make sure that you're keeping on track, whichever on track, you know, whatever that looks like to you. To some sessions where we actually sit and co-work together, and I sit on your shoulder, can help you dig deeper on questions that you're asking about your creativity or whatever it is that you're making. Particularly for writers, I'm looking into that sort of story arc and picking your way through that, because I've been there and it's hard to do on your own, and things are better when you do them together and when you've got sort of this bucket list endeavour to write that book, you know, that one time. You can come and do it with me and I'll help you along. So that's my main sort of endeavour on that part. But I've also been experimenting with doing some Gather and Share digital campfires, as we do in the Difference Maker community, and I know that they're really powerful and really valuable. So I've been doing a very similar endeavour and bringing people together to share their own personal stories with each other. And it's sort of ever more emerging that there's some of the themes that we follow. It sort of follows the phases of learning where we're incompetent, competent, and self-sabotage, and then finally there's a success story. And I don't sometimes think we give ourselves enough credit, so it's a part of that is to celebrate our successes as well. So it's looking like that might be an ever more emerging workshop, which is a little project that I have on the back burner for next year to give me something to do in '21.

I love it. You indicated that, you know, your ideal client identifies or is engaged in some sort of creative endeavor. I'm just curious as to if you have a definition or a framework for what that actually means. What does it mean to be a creative?

Oh gosh, that's like saying, you know, define beauty. You know, creativity is in the eye of the beholder. And through my veteran networking background, I sort of have this conversation. It's surprising actually how many people don't perhaps identify themselves as being creative, but they actually are. So I'm— my sort of comfort zone, or I wouldn't want to say comfort zone, but my speciality is creativity with words. But if you're somebody that is creative in their job, or it's part of a hobby, we can work on that with you. Or it might be that you're creative with film, or I've got a very good friend of mine who's a makeup artist, and there's an element of creativity with that as well. And sometimes it's about not sort of coaching the creativity as such, it's still coaching that person to be brave and step into their discomfort, you know, and sit in that discomfort zone, particularly for people that are freelancing and it's putting their work out in the world and telling people what they do and, and being confident and courageous and brave. Yeah.

Well, you may have already touched on the answer to this, but I'm just curious. So it's pretty, pretty clear to me who your enterprise is for and the problem or the challenge that you help solve. What's the biggest challenge for you in the work that you do as a coach through this endeavor of Evenex?

My biggest challenge, um, I— oh, that's a really tough one.

Too many to choose from?

Yeah, can I get— can I have an A, B, C, and D please? Is this like Millionaire? Like, can I not have— is this not multi-choice? Um, okay, I suppose And yeah, my biggest challenge is actually finding bravery and courage and confidence to put myself out there and tell the world what I'm doing. Yeah, so I know what it feels like, and I know it's, I know it's challenging and it's difficult. And, um, I'm particularly, given my previous life before, um, I'm used to having to fit in and be the same, and that was supposed to be a strength. And I think when you become freelance, you have to be you, and you have to stand out, and you have to be different, and that can be very uncomfortable. So for me personally, that's been the biggest challenge, is finding my voice and figuring out what it actually wants to say rather than sort of regurgitating the party line.

Well, you're pointing to something that I think is, I find almost universal in all of the people that I work with, but also all the people that I interview on this broadcast. And I'm approaching 200 guests on this broadcast. Almost everybody is engaged in an endeavor that began as a problem of their own that they were trying to solve, or an itch that of their own that they had that they were scratching and in large part what they build, the offering that they have, and the problem that they solve is just a process that helps other people not go through all the agonizing years of time in the desert or out in the wilderness, you know, being lost and lonely and frustrated and afraid, and instead trying to help people get through that period in a much more, in a much more purposeful and expeditious manner. So I really love that part of it. Along the way, people like you and I who are engaged in meaningful work, at least in my experience, this might not be true of you, Abbie, because I know you're perfect in every way. But occasionally mistakes are made. And I'm just curious if there is a moment that stands out as, you know, a particularly difficult challenge or mistake that you made along the way. How did you recover and how did you leverage that moment to, you know, learn and get even better and stronger with the difference that you seek to make in the world?

I mean, the biggest— I could pick any story, but the moral always is what, what was the gift? What was— what could I learn? So it's, it's very much intentionally having to think in that mindset. That doesn't come naturally to me, and it's very hard. I'm very much— I always used to be, um, I remember actually you might have commented on this on one of my posts in one of the, um, Creators Workshops where I talked about being very black and white, and I can flip between the two. And I'm, you know, typical Gemini, I'm either one or the other. Um, I, and I look for the opportunities to be the Grey Lady in between and being able to see both sides of it. It's really hard, it's really challenging. But one particular mistake, if you want to go down that road, so somebody had recommended sort of different places where you can put ads and things about what you do. And we have, I think much like in the US, in the UK we have Craigslist, where I put a very lovely advert about what I do and the things that I can help you with and things like that. And I was really, really, really pleased that within about half an hour of putting the advert on, I had about 3 responses. The only thing is it really wasn't the kind of job that I was prepared to do. So that was very interesting to go through, to go through that and to sort of have a bit of a panic moment and think, oh God, what have I done? Such a— I'm so stupid. How could I have been so silly to put that on there? And you know, you delete the ad, you kind of sleep on it, and you try the next thing the next day. So yeah, it's just always looking at— looking for that learning opportunity. And it's just— it's not the end of the world.

Well, isn't that like one of the lessons that we all have to learn at some point if we're going to be the kind of person that's on this journey of developing ourselves and, you know, trying to excel in whatever endeavor we've chosen for ourselves, we have to embrace the fact that, you know, we're navigating the unknown and that mistakes will be made. And at least for me, one of the first things I had to— an aha that was, you know, clearly obvious but not obvious to me was any of the mistakes that I make are not fatal and they're not career-ending. You can't— especially in the digital domain, there's nothing that you can't treat as a, as a current draft and, and, and make better. The other thing that I, I'm just wondering what your, your take is on this challenge is, you know, again, because a lot of what we do is online and it's done out loud and in public, is that, you know, when you are standing up to be seen and speaking up to be heard online, some people will speak back. Some people will be supportive and encouraging and interested in what you do, and others will be more discouraging and only interested in elevating themselves by putting you down. And so just wondering how you navigate You mentioned the imposter and the inner critic. How do you navigate the external critics that are out there in the howling wilderness known as the internets?

Short answer with great difficulty. Slightly longer answer. So I did have some sort of odd comments in places where I'd put my work for people to see. And I think to a certain extent, you— I was almost looking back now, I'm almost glad that I did get a few sort of not so nice comments because then I could look at it and just get— they're just comments and you kind of have to go through it a little, to a little extent. And it's great because then you'll keep putting the post up and then a week later you'll get a wonderful comment from somebody and you'll just be like, oh God, I'm so glad that I helped 'You,' and it was, you know, 'I'm so glad that this resonated with you,' and all like the bad stuff kind of goes away. I mean, yeah, it's a pain in the butt, and people can be quite nasty, but if it's any of your own stuff, you've always got the comment filters, and I would always recommend to have that sort of like the approval on comments up and running so that it's not out in public. But yeah, and I suppose the other thing— I remember when I was writing the book and there was some sort of things that I wanted to use, and I remember in one of the writing groups I was like, can I use that word because it's a brand? And then we had a— we've had this conversation as well, haven't we, about sort of if there's sort of that intellectual property and if it gets copyrighted and reused or plagiarized and all that sort of stuff. And basically the end of the conversation, we were like, if somebody wants to copy my stuff, then let them, let them run through it. But yeah, I think sometimes as well, we We perhaps assume that more people are listening or watching than we actually realize. Yeah. So if it happens, it happens. And then if it's really, really horrible, delete it, see a friend. Yeah.

No. Yeah. Well, that's— I mean, that's a really brilliant point that I just want to highlight is just the contextualizing all of this stuff. And we talk about this a lot in the Creative on Purpose and the Difference Maker community is contextualizing you and your endeavor in terms of the span of humanity and the cosmos. Like, you know, you are simultaneously the most important thing and the least significant thing in the universe at any given time. And so why not do the best you can? And why not just accept things as they come? Because In the end, all you have is the quality and the integrity of your efforts. And so, and I love what you're saying about putting the criticism in context. I mean, oftentimes the framework that I try to use is, you know, you want to have, you need feedback from people and you need to solicit feedback from people who know you, who understand you, who support the journey that you're on, who support your efforts to improve yourself. Everybody else is an anonymous troll for better, you know, for all intent and purposes. I mean, sometimes strangers will say nice things and that's always nice. Don't let it go to your head. Sometimes strangers say really horrible, mean-spirited things. They're strangers and they're not in your corner. So why would you pay any attention? And I think one of the things that's is so important is to build that kind of resiliency. It's not armor. You don't have to armor up just because you're going to go out on the internet. You just, you should remain vulnerable, remain curious, and remain willing to put yourself out there and be able to just discern the difference between meaningful feedback coming from peers and fellow travelers and irrelevant criticism and snark coming from complete strangers who couldn't give a flip about you. To begin with. Um, so as we're nearing the end of our time together, I just want to give a shout out to John who is, uh, on Facebook. He's, uh, asked a quick question that I'm going to let you, uh, answer before I ask you the last question. He's asking if Even-X is your full-time endeavor and how did you get there from the previous life that you talked about, which is interesting because you did mention you were in the military. Um, it seems as though going from military to creative coach is kind of an interesting juxtaposition. So where are you at in terms of Evenix as a full-time gig, and how did you get there?

Yeah, um, I don't know, John, it's all a bit of a blur. I can't remember. So in terms of the coaching, that was a big part of my job in the military in the sort of last 3, 4 years of my work, um, and sometimes I was better at it than others, and, and that was very much a steep learning curve in those final few years, um, and really I think when— by the time I left the military, um, last summer, um, it's been very much a journey of exploration, going boldly where no lady's gone before, um and trying to figure out— I knew I wanted to coach, but it was, but it was part of that marketing seminar and the work that we've been doing together in the Difference Maker Community where I've been able to zero in and shift where I want to put that endeavor as well, and who are— who I feel I can help the most. Um, so it's been part of my own creative journey that has actually then helped with guiding that as well and, and finding that compass. Um, And particularly, like we said earlier, you know, it's your own sort of challenges are the ones that you feel that you can help with. So yes, I'm all about creating safe spaces for the awkward moments of learning so that we can master the fear and practice the tenacity for sharing our creativity with the world.

Yeah, love it. So important to just highlight too, it's not for those that aspire to, you know, lean into a creative endeavor, maybe even turn it into some sort of, you know, side gig side hustle, second act career, or what have you. Doesn't mean that you have to give up on whatever it is, the work that you have to do that allows you to take care of your responsibilities and obligations. The work that you get to do is actually probably better off as a side hustle or side gig because when you turn your passion project or your purpose project into your primary income, it gets very easy to make concessions, uh, and out of urgency and out of the need to make it, you know, financially viable. So much better to build it up alongside something that's already working. I mean, hopefully your, your main gig is something that, you know, if not fulfilling, doesn't, doesn't suck your soul. But as long as you're, you know, can take care of business, um, that other thing could be cultivated and grown at a pace and with the integrity and intention that's required to make it a strong, sustainable, and continuing viable enterprise. So 2 last questions. The first is you just referenced Difference Maker. So Difference Maker is the name of the Creative on Purpose coaching program. You're also a member of that Creative on Purpose community. Would love if you have any thoughts about, you know, just the value of either the coaching or community and how that's helped you continue to grow and sustain your enterprise at Evenex.

Yeah. So they're like another mastermind group for me. We do coworking sessions which help again to nudge the project along, you know, bit by bit. And having that knowledge of people there, that wealth of knowledge and experience, Um, and, uh, yeah, so I, I'm funny enough, today I was actually drafting up the acknowledgments page on the novel, and, um, obviously Scott, you've got to, you've got to mention, but so do the difference makers. And that the phrase I actually said to them was, you keep me insane, because that's my sweet spot. So thank you to all the difference makers and for all the work that we're doing together. We, we keep each other insane, which is great.

Yeah, well, I have to say, I mean, you and I will be in a co-working session in just a half hour or so from now. But those group calls that we have every week are just as valuable for me as, as they are for any of the, the clients, current or former. And the whole idea is we endeavor better when we endeavor together and having a group of peers, all of whom are on a journey of their own, but it's a similar journey in that we are all trying to make things better by helping other people step into the possibility and step into their potential. And so, um, appreciate you being a member of that community and also for all the contributions that you make there and, and in the world. So Abby, last question. Um, I'm just curious about any last tips or advice that you would have for someone like you, um, who is already out there making a difference, or maybe even more pointedly to somebody that aspires to be on this journey of helping make things better by stepping into their potential in some sort of endeavor that seeks to make a difference? What's, what's a piece of advice or a tip that you would provide them with as we're closing?

Don't do it alone. You can try, give it a go. Good luck. But when that fails, give me a call or give Scott a call or find, just find others, find others. To work with, um, because it's, it's really, yeah, alone is very lonely.

Yeah, I love that. It was actually something I just posted something about that in Writing in Community earlier today. One of the things that, and I'll just, we'll close by letting you affirm this, that one of the things that's so wonderful about Akimba Workshops and about our community at Difference Makers is each of us is so profoundly talented when it comes to helping somebody else see the thing that they don't see that's right in front of them, probably an obstacle that they put there themselves. And at the same time, we are absolutely terrible at seeing the self-imposed impediment that we placed right in front of ourselves. And that's, to me, one of the real superpowers of our community or the Forward Link community for Akimbo Workshop alumni is you get to have, you get to continue to have this group of fellow travelers, this fellowship that is continuing to help you see what you don't see, so that once you can't unsee it, you can actually do something about it.

Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. Yeah, look for the work. Don't shy— don't hide from the work. Look for the work.

Awesome. Abby, so great to have you on the show. For those of you tuning in, please visit— oh, I'll throw your, uh, your website up here one more time. Just one last question, Abbie.

What—

where does the name Evenix come from?

Um, so thanks to Louise Karch and, and some other TMS work, it was a word smush that I made. So it's partly, um, evolve and phoenix. So it's all about sort of changing. So it's Evenix. Just think Stevie Nicks.

Evenix. Evenix. Awesome. Love that. Abbie Pearce, thanks so much for being on the show, but also more importantly for the difference that you make. Wonderful to spend this time with you.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Thanks, you all, for tuning in. And Abbie and I really appreciate you lending us some of your valuable time and attention. We hope today's broadcast motivates you to lean into an endeavor that matters with greater curiosity and courage. You can learn more about Abbie at Evo— go ahead, say it, Abbie— Evenix. And of course, it's always great to hear and see you at creativeonpurpose.com. Now, Go out and make the difference and keep flying higher. Abby Pierce, thanks so much for your time today.

Thank you.