Posts Tagged ‘Authenticity’
Why A Platform Is A Responsibility, Not A Quest For Glory
In the last 48 hours social media has gone into meltdown in reaction to the disgraceful comments made by Donald Trump in 2005, comments which effectively endorse patriarchy and rape culture.
Comments which have no place in civilised society.
And no place in the White House.
As a regular visitor to social media, there has, rightly, been outrage – both at the comments themselves and some people’s reaction to them. Including from myself.
There’s been many comments which have left me dumbfounded. One of these was from a major author a critic of Trump’s comments – who made clear there were people DM’ing them their outrage, but not saying anything publicly for fear of losing their platforms.
And when I saw that, I was shocked.
Read MoreEpisode 57 | Kent Sanders & The Artists Suitcase
Kent Sanders – author, coach, teacher, blogger, joins me today. Kent shares his own creative journey and about strategies he has discovered which can help artists overcome fear, take action in their creative path, and be more productive in their creative life, which he calls his ‘Artists Suitcase’. Kent shares honestly and vulnerably about his…
Read MoreWhy It’s Easier To Believe In Others Than In Ourselves (& What We Can Do About It)
“Believe in yourself”.
How many times have you heard that mantra preached to you? I’ve lost count of the times I have.
I think a more accurate, helpful phrase might be
‘Trust In Yourself’
You see I’ve always a great believer in encouragement. I’ve always been an optimist when it comes to other people. I have great belief in others potential. I love to encourage others, and I have great confidence in others ability to grow and thrive.
But I have none for myself.
Read MoreEpisode 55 | Jim Woods & How To Be Authentic In Our Art
My friend Jim Woods, an author, writing coach, and blogger, joins me today. We discuss his own creative journey, and the challenge of leaving a stable job behind to risk it all on a creative career, in his case, as a writer. Today we talk about how to maintain authenticity in our work, how to…
Read MoreHow Writing (& X-Men) Saved Me From Myself
One value I place above all is authenticity. And on a blog, this means always being honest, and being vulnerable as much as is appropriate.
I firmly believe the best creative work – including our lives – is always honest, always authentic.
Tell the truth, the last few months have been tough for me. Without going into too much detail, I’ve been feeling led to confront issues from my childhood, which I’ve buried and run away from for 20 years. They’d been undermining me and controlling me for too long – and this year, I knew it was time to confront them. I knew this would mean going down a dark path, into the valley, and knew this would impact me – but I also knew it was, and is, absolutely necessary for me to grow.
What I didn’t expect was the depths to which this would go, and has gone.
Read MoreThe Biggest Failure Of An Artist (& How To Avoid It)
Not too long ago I shared a blog post which was the most difficult I’ve ever had to share. Hitting the publish button for me isn’t usually an issue, but this one was different. This post covered arguably the two most divisive issues around – religion and politics.
And not only that, it’s title – “Why Jesus Would Welcome Refugees & Eat With Donald Trump” – had the potential to alienate both liberals and conservatives. Conservatives would disagree with me on refugees, and liberals on Donald Trump.
Above all though, it touched on a subject which many of my closest friends disagreed with me on – the idea we shouldn’t ban Donald Trump from the UK.
I admit, it was very tough to share this post. And out of sensitivity, I didn’t put it on my personal Facebook profile, because I’d already offended people with my response on a Facebook conversation a few weeks ago and didn’t want to stir this up again.
However, I didn’t hide the post. I still publicised and promoted it. On my writers page, on my Facebook group, on Twitter and elsewhere. Anyone could find it if they wanted.
Because if I didn’t do this, I’d have become a hypocrite.
Read MoreEpisode 41 | ‘Science’ Mike McHargue on Becoming An Atheist & Rediscovering Jesus Through Science
Mike McHargue, from the ‘Science Mike’ & ‘Liturgists’ podcasts, joins me today and shares his powerful and deeply moving testimony, of how he lost his faith, became an atheist, and then rediscovered the way of Jesus in a whole new way – grounded in reason, science, logic…and wonder. We also talk about the fascinating interconnections…
Read MoreEpisode 40 | The Two Doctors: 3 Proven Secrets to Healthy Balance with Dr Kate Hendricks Thomas & Dr Theresa Larson
Dr Kate Hendricks Thomas & Dr Theresa Larson both return to the podcast today, as we discuss in more detail the three scientifically proven principles for a healthy balanced life, as Kate outlines in her book, ‘Brave Strong True’. Kate, Theresa and I discuss the three principles of social support, self-care and spirituality/religiosity, how they…
Read MoreWhy There’s No Foolproof Methods – Just Our Story
I read a post recently, from last year, called ‘A Letter To Donald Miller’.
It presented some very well reasoned arguments about Donald Miller, a NYT-Bestselling author writer who had spoken about uncertainty, doubt, and mystery. And how he was now selling products and posting blog posts which, in contrast, were about guaranteed results, promises, and certainty.
Now I’m a big fan of Donald Miller. The one thing I treasure above all things in writing is authenticity, and whenever I read Don’s words, whether it’s in books or blog posts, they are always honest. He’s always vulnerable and shares his story honestly. I’ve learned so much from him.
To be honest, I’ve not figured out whether I agree with the poster about Don, or not. That needs further reflection.
The real message to me from this letter though, was this: Whether intentionally or not, Don had given the impression that he had abandoned mystery, questioning and doubt, and moved to certainty. Moved from accepting we don’t have all the answers, to selling courses which promise all the answers.
And for me, those guaranteed, fix-all solutions these type of courses sell us? They simply don’t exist.
Read MoreEpisode 37 | Nish Weiseth on Mental Illness, Hope & Speaking Our Story
Nish Weiseth, author, speaker, mom & fan of Dr Pepper, joins me today. With great vulnerability, Nish shares her own powerful story, including her struggles with depression, and how this shaped both her faith & her creative life. Nish also shares how she discovered the incredible power of story to shape lives, and began a website…
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