What difference does it make to me if you fulfil your creative potential or not?

It’s a question that I’ve spent a long time chewing on. And in honesty, it was difficult for me to answer at first.

Because it meant I had to somehow unpack why I AM bothered. And I’m bothered quite a lot actually!

The truth is, I care because I know what life looks like, feels like, tastes like, on both sides of the door – where one side is your life right now, and the other side is your alternate reality; a life where you just choose to believe in yourself and what’s possible.

I care because I know what it’s like to live through a very dark depressive episode (which I believe was born from me building a life for myself that was actually the expectations of others). I realised my life wasn’t mine, and I don’t want anyone to endure that, and go on believing there’s no alternative. 

I care because I’ve witnessed my mother, an incredible creative talent (she was born to write IMHO), live her whole life depriving herself of that, because she didn’t believe it was possible for her. 

I care because I’ve witnessed my husband, an incredible creative talent (he was born to write too), live a big chunk of his life choosing a compromised version of that, because he didn’t believe the alternative was possible for him either…and through the power of coaching and committing to his craft over the last seven years, he’s now a full-time, international bestselling fiction author, signed to one of the most prestigious literary agents.

I care because I believe in the power of coaching. Some coaches are disappointingly edging on the cusp of pyramid-scheme vibes, but at its core, coaching truly is an art form that can quite literally change the way our brain works, and subsequently the reality we then create for ourselves. Knowing how to facilitate that change for people and then choosing to keep it to myself feels kinda greedy, and massively out of integrity to me. 

I care because I’ve seen what IS possible, and it’s just not as inaccessible as we’ve been conditioned to believe. Yes privilege and inequity exists and we don’t all get to start from a level starting block. Yes it takes commitment, grit and your own ongoing mindset work to embody your true identity as an artist. But when you’ve witnessed client after client and peer after peer transform their lives before their eyes, it’s hard to keep quiet about it. 

I care because whether I’m talking about social justice and equality, or our working lives and our creative potential, the same principle applies: I believe no-one truly wins until we all win. It’s not enough just for me to love what I do by myself. I know that there’s room for everyone, and I really do see it as part of my duty to humanity, to invite in my fellow creative comrades who are ready to give that to themselves too. 

Ultimately, I care because I want to do whatever I can in my lifetime to build a world where hate and fear have little to no traction to breed anymore, because no-one has anything to feel particularly hateful or fearful about. Just as it is in nature, there really is enough for everyone. And I believe living as our true selves and fulfilling our true creative potential is how we get there.

So yeah, it kinda does make a difference to me if you fulfil your creative potential or not :)

Yours, K x