Episode 56: Victory Over Obstacles - Embrace The Journey

[00:00:00] Voice Over Artist: Welcome to YourCreativeChord, hosted by creative force, Jenny Leigh Hodgins. Jenny Leigh is an author, poet, and hobbyist nature photographer with over 30 years of experience as a piano, music, and chorus educator and performer. As the voice behind YourCreativeChord, Jenny Leigh shares inspiring narratives, practical tips, interviews with creators, and uplifting wisdom for nurturing creative flow and inspired living.

Join her on this empowering journey where creativity and inspiration meet transformation! 

[00:00:44] Jenny Leigh: Welcome to YourCreativeChord Podcast. I'm Jenny Leigh Hodgins. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by juggling too many roles? Today, I want to share my journey of overcoming obstacles, even when life [00:01:00] seems to derail my plans. As an author, podcaster, speaker, pianist, composer, poet, workshop and online course creator, and creative empowerment coach, I'm learning to juggle a lot while caring for my 84 year old mom.

My key message for you today is this. Sharing our mistakes and failures is essential for practicing authenticity and self compassion. 

By being honest about our struggles, we not only help ourselves, but also connect more deeply and inspire others. How does sharing your own struggles help you connect with others?

What challenges have you faced in practicing self compassion, and how have you addressed them? 

Mystery author Louise Penny took a [00:02:00] line from a Leonard Cohen song and titled her book 'How the Light Gets In'. The gist of that poetic line is that everything and everyone has flaws, and that's how the positive light gets in.

That light, shining through the cracks, makes something or someone even more beautiful. That's relatable to how I view musical performance and art of all forms. We're not moved by flawless technique. We're touched by authentic expression and humanism. Performances with mistakes reveal the humanity of the performer and that realness makes the art or message powerful.

There is profound power in relatableness. Perfection is not authentic and it has no power to move the heart. It's in the [00:03:00] idiosyncrasies, the mistakes that make us uniquely relatable. When we show our imperfections, we let the light in so others can see the beauty of our true hearts.

Can you think of a time when being open about your mistakes helped you connect with others?

Since leaving my teaching position eight years ago to move from Florida back to Kentucky, I've worn many new hats and each day brings new lessons in online technology, social media, marketing, and caregiving. It's been a constant flow of challenges, but I'm learning to embrace them.

In addition, my previous role as HOA board president brought a unique set of problems. The tasks involved, although unrelated to creativity, were crucial in preventing our community and property from [00:04:00] neglect. These responsibilities took me way out of my comfort zone, pushing me into non creative, problem solving scenarios. 

However, this experience helped me grow as a person, expanding my capacity for problem solving, honed my writing, speaking, and leadership skills, and ultimately contributing to my personal and professional growth. Tackling the unknowns of my entrepreneurial journey includes wrestling deeply with lifelong patterns of anxiety while keeping my creative fires burning.

Paving a new path takes courage, resilience, and energy. I have crashed and burned more times than I can count since I left the teaching world to tackle online business, writing, and course creation while being in [00:05:00] place to protect and prolong my mother's wellness and quality of life. 

But sharing my mistakes, failings, and fears is a great lesson for practicing authenticity and developing self compassion. By being honest and transparent here, I'm showing you, and myself, how important it is that we share our vulnerability and our seeming failures.

The truth is, we're all human. We all experience failures and setbacks. Hiding those away is contrary to creative living.

It's also counter to the reality that success often comes directly from failure. 

 Holding myself accountable here is a way to show that you and I can get back up on the horse.

Even if we've fallen into the slop and are covered in it, you and I can [00:06:00] still get back up and try again. 

There's a short video that was flying around social media of a little girl trying to mount a pony. I don't know if you've seen that. The video shows her jumping up, falling down,

grasping the pony's mane, slipping off, and lunging forward in multiple attempts to get on that pony. Over and over, she fails.

It's remarkable to watch this child's attitude. She doesn't waver once. She just keeps trying. And she finally succeeds. Wow, the look on her face when she makes that glorious breakthrough is a monumental statement for having a never give up attitude. Her persistence paid off, and the joy on her face when she succeeded reminded me of the power of resilience.

When I face setbacks, I muster that little girl in [00:07:00] myself to refresh my resolve. 

We're all human, and success often comes from failure. Failures lead to reiterations. And reiterations can lead to success for those who don't quit. 

 The balance between my creative output while learning and doing the technical and administrative parts of launching my online business as a creativepreneur is an ongoing steep climb. Some days I literally want to hurl my computer out the window, But i'm getting better at it. All my upcoming podcast episodes, books, and courses are completely in sync with how I roll as a creator and in line with how I harmonize many moving parts.

Like an ocean contains many kinds of waves. Peaceful, subtle, flowing, roaring, [00:08:00] crashing, stormy. These are all part of the same beautiful ocean. You and I juggle multiple ideas and skills constantly. This is how most people function. 

But sometimes we forget how these diverse interests and skills function to replenish our creative juices. Learning something new, tackling something out of our wheelhouse, or doing some task that's necessary but not easy, they're all non creative catalysts for boosting creative flow. 

Neurological pathways are ignited in our brains through these kinds of non creative things. And these new pathways fuel new ways of thinking. These new ideas support our creative energy. This is a great thing to remember when you have to do a chore that feels like drudgery for you. Just remind [00:09:00] yourself that you're fueling your creative fire.

How do you find inspiration from everyday activities that might not seem related to creativity?

We don't achieve victory by avoiding problems. We win victory because of obstacles. Everything I do embodies the mission of YourCreativeChord to achieve victory by using obstacles as opportunity to fulfill my greatest potential and empower you to do the same. This is where creativity and inspiration meet transformation.

How do you redefine obstacles as opportunities in your life?

Because Buddhism is my foundation, I practice a [00:10:00] reality based spiritual optimism centered on cause and effect and a core belief in human potential. So even when life throws curveballs, I will never give up. I'll deepen my determination to show victory as an artist for peace. 

Remember, creative flow is about getting back up again, finding solutions, creating value from mistakes, and breaking through walls to reach new heights.

Let's keep pushing forward together. 

Pardon this brief interruption. I'm Jenny Leigh Hodgins and I'm excited to share two resources that can truly enhance your life or serve as thoughtful gifts for those you care about. First, Kaleidoscope of the Heart, A Collection of Poetry and Lyrics, is a beautiful, diverse, and therapeutic exploration of the human experience.

[00:11:00] My verses reflect my inner transformation and serve as a powerful tool to help others tap into their inherent empowerment. With a range of poetic and lyrical styles and themes, from relationships and nature to self empowerment and resilience, this collection offers hope and strength through the power of authentic expression.

Whether you're new to poetry or a longtime reader, It's reflective and spiritually optimistic qualities make it a unique source of comfort and insight. One reader shared, quote, Jenny has gifted us with a comprehensive dive into universal matters of the heart, nature, relationships, loss and grief, hope, and the artist's life.

This poetry offers moments of introspection and illumination about our human condition. End quote. Second, if you or someone you [00:12:00] know is interested in learning piano, Start Piano, What You Need for Successful Learning is an invaluable guide. This book covers everything from choosing the right keyboard and finding a great teacher to mastering effective practice techniques. It's perfect for new learners and those returning to the piano. Both books make fantastic gifts as well. For holiday shopping or special occasions, buying Kaleidoscope of the Heart in bulk to share with friends and family is an easy way to spread inspiration and joy.

Similarly, bulk orders of Start Piano can equip aspiring musicians and educators alike with valuable tools for success. You can discover both books at YourCreativeChord.com/books. 

I am confident they'll bring value and inspiration to you and those you care about. 

What strategies do you use to maintain your determination and push through [00:13:00] challenges?

I would love to hear from you in the comments on your favorite listening platform. 

What strategies do you use to maintain your determination and push through challenges? For me, it's self-care. When I take good care of myself, I have more energy to tackle obstacles. This looks like walking in the early morning, spending time to study and chant my Buddhist prayer, enjoying breakfast on the patio to immerse myself in nature, making time to play the piano daily, and guarding my night routine for quality and abundant sleep.

I would like to give you some practical tips. Here are three ways I'm learning to manage my multiple roles and maintain my creative spark: 

First, embrace vulnerability.

Share your struggles openly. It's [00:14:00] okay to be imperfect. I'll give you an example. 

Last week's episode, I used a new introduction with my voiceover artist in the intro, and there was a slight mistake with one word coming in front of another word in the wrong place. For example, I believe she said something like, "Jenny Leigh is an author, poet, hobbyist, and nature photographer."

And she was supposed to say, "Jenny Leigh is an author, composer, poet, and hobbyist nature photographer." And when I heard that glaring mistake that I made in the editing process, I completely spaced out and didn't see that. I decided I'm just going to put a note in the description of the episode instead of reediting it because, "Done is better than perfect."[00:15:00] 

And I edited it for the video version and now it's correct for going forward for other episodes. So I'm showing you very clearly I left that mistake there and I'm, I'm admitting to it. I missed it in the editing process. 

But it's okay. The content that I'm providing in the episode is valuable and that's where the authenticity is and showing you that I make mistakes and cleaning them up as I can and leave it when I don't have time--

that's called being human. 

So embrace your vulnerability, share your struggles openly. It's okay to be imperfect. It makes you relatable to people. 

The second tip I have is to stay persistent. Like that little girl with the pony, keep trying. No matter how many times you fall, never give up.

And the third tip is find balance. Embrace and [00:16:00] appreciate your non creative tasks or the things that you don't like doing. Non creative work fuels your creative energy because it's different. It's something different for your brain and doing different things and new things and challenging challenges opens up new pathways of thinking and that gives you creative energy.

So find the balance between non creative and creative and appreciate both.

Which of the practical tips shared today resonates most with you and why? I would love to hear from you on that. How do you plan to apply these strategies in your own creative journey?

Let's recap what we've discussed today:

 Sharing our mistakes and failures is essential for authenticity and self compassion. 

Embracing vulnerability and learning from our failures helps us connect with [00:17:00] others and grow. 

Balancing creativity with daily challenges is an ongoing journey and achieving victory often comes because of obstacles, not through avoiding them.

Remember, every setback is a setup for a comeback. By sharing our true selves, including our struggles and failures, we let our light shine through the cracks, inspiring others and deepening our connections.

Next, let's reflect.

You may want to pause your podcast app or the video if you're watching this on YouTube, and get a journal and a pen to write your thoughts. Or just spend some quiet time reflecting on these ideas. And again, I would love to hear your responses and reflections. Please [00:18:00] feel free to reach out to me at Jenn@YourCreativeChord.com 

or leave your thoughts in the comments on your listening platform.

Here are some questions for you to reflect on.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by juggling multiple roles? What are some ways to help you better manage it?

 For me, I had a wake up call to set healthier boundaries. This lightened my burden and focused me on doing things that align with my values.

What are some of the biggest challenges or failures you've faced and how did you overcome them? 

Recalling this victory, how does this memory strengthen your self [00:19:00] belief? 

Looking back on my failures, these remind me how I've endured hard things. And that has helped me grow and strengthened my resilience. It gives me more confidence that I can do the next hard thing. 

That reminds me of a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.

I don't recall it verbatim, but the gist of it, she said that when you really look at the hard thing, the thing that you're most afraid of, and you deal with that most difficult thing that you've ever had to do, you learn that you can do whatever comes after that. And I used that quote to encourage 

myself through the loss of my dear brother back in 2004.

That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to face. It was very shocking and fearful, as any unexpected death would be. 

That quote from Eleanor Roosevelt really encouraged me that when you go through hard things, you forge [00:20:00] resilience and strength to do anything that comes next.

And that's how I feel about my own failures and mistakes as well. I endured it, I got through it, and it's made me stronger. I can do the next thing because I did that thing.

How do you stay motivated to keep trying after experiencing failure?

I hope these questions help you reflect on your own journey and inspire you to keep pushing forward. 

Thank you for listening to YourCreativeChord podcast. I'm Jenny Leigh Hodgins. Talk to you next time where creativity and inspiration meet transformation. 

[00:20:51] Voice Over Artist: Thank you for joining this episode of YourCreativeChord. We hope the discussion has inspired and [00:21:00] empowered you. If you've enjoyed today's episode and have ideas you'd love to share or topics you'd like us to explore further, we'd love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

Your feedback not only helps us improve, but also guides the direction of future episodes, ensuring we continue to inspire and empower our amazing listeners like you. For more updates, inspiration, and community interaction, visit YourCreativChord.com/getinspiredhere 

Your engagement and feedback are deeply valued.

Until next time, keep embracing the places where creativity and inspiration meet transformation in your daily life. Thank you again for engaging with YourCreativeChord. Take care and have a harmonious [00:22:00] day.