Why Creative Leaders Outperform - And How to Become One

Speaker A: It's really on everybody's mind within the creative industry at the moment that we've got friends that made content for films and special effects or like even actors. And everybody is feeling slightly threatened by what's going to happen within the industry because of AI. And then there has been a slight U turn with it all as far as what people are realizing that what makes us human and unique in the way that we are is our creativity. Introducing creativity to people that don't feel like they're creatives. So there are so many different ways and inroads. Keep testing stuff out because something will make your soul sing.

Speaker B: Hello, it's your leadership coach, Estelle Reid and host of Optimizing Lead leader, uh, Brilliance, the place for calm m confident and strategic leadership. Stay tuned to the end for a mini coaching and reflective practice. Find out more about my services by heading over to estelle read.com. today we are looking at executive presence through a completely different lens. Joining me is an absolute master of movement and a, uh, true leader, uh, in community driven creativity. Simone Jenkinson has spent decades directing high intensity global productions with huge teams. Today she breaks down how to leverage breath, work and targeted meditation to cut through corporate noise, regulate your nervous system and lead your team with calm clarity. I'm really proud to be introducing my brilliant sister, Simone Jenkinson. So welcome everyone. I have got my gorgeous sister. Uh, I was just saying that it was December 2020. We did our last podcast together.

Speaker A: That is such a long time ago. And you think everything that's happened since,

Speaker B: for me, you're a natural leader, a leader of communities. Wherever you go, you somehow bring together communities of people, don't you? You like the jam in the sponge and you did it in Argentina and you've done it now in Galicia. When I say you're a natural leader, you are really great at creating, uh, an objective, aren't you? Gathering people around it and then really directing them towards it. You are truly directing people, aren't you, actually, uh, and metaphorically. So come on, tell us, what does your typical week look like? What are you involved in?

Speaker A: It's split between events and classes that are happening in the house and the work that I do in the community out in town. You were saying, what non negotiables do I have? So every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is we've got a group of friends where we meditate for half an hour. That happens once I've sent my little girl off to school and, um, we zoom meditate. And it's it's, it's part of my mental hygiene and then I usually go straight into a movement class. I teach movement, which is called elo, which runs through everything that we do. And it's a mixture between Tai chi and yoga and Pilates and all healthy movement, basically, so that people are able to get into their bodies and, um, feel like they're strengthening themselves and feeling grounded. In the afternoons, I am, um, either teaching theatre in my classrooms, a theater in town. It's wonderful. So I teach. I've got 20 students and it's split into two groups and one group is physical, so it's devised theatre, which is my background, and then classical theatre, which is what I studied. So that's off text and. But it's all original work and. Yeah, but they're really beautiful. Lovely bunch of people that are dedicated. We love it. And it's a buildup at the moment too. We've got two shows happening in June and then at, ah, the weekends we often have events. So this weekend we've got this guy that's coming and his name is Noel and he's come from Cuba and. And he's going to teach us Cuban salsa and it's going to be hilarious and wonderful. So that brings in a lot of the community to the home because we've got a studio in the house and then on Sunday I've got a workshop as well, so it's busy and I also have taken on potting, so twice a week meet up with friends and we've got a kiln and a wheel and just loads of clay and glazes now and we're really kitted out. So, yeah, it's lovely.

Speaker B: Sounds so idyllic. And we had this, I think last time when we recorded a podcast that it's so much like the Good Life Paint a picture.

Speaker A: It's a big old farmhouse that was built in 1927 and I'm actually in what was the bar. Um, and they had pigs downstairs. So we've got a nice little house where our guests stay. Um, and then we've got the main house next door that we've been gradually doing up over the last several years of. Uh, it was just a skeleton of a structure when we first got here and we've gradually turned it into a really beautiful home that is everybody's home. I often compare it to being it's like a pub because we've got the kitchen and the lounge and the dining room and it's just all open. But people feel at home here. So we it is a very open house where everyone knows where to get their tea and coffee and just help themselves what they like. The house is always full of people and it's lovely.

Speaker B: Where does that come from? Because obviously we had the same childhoods. Not exactly the same, but we.

Speaker A: What.

Speaker B: What's the origins of the open house? Everybody's welcome. Where does that come from?

Speaker A: I think our house was pretty open because we were free spirits. We had a lot of freedom. So Mum didn't really. She wasn't controlling. And we were on an estate and it was on at, uh. The back of the house was the playing field and it went into the countryside. So it's a little bit like walking through the house to get access to the field at the back. I feel like we always had our friends in the house.

Speaker B: You're right. It was like the fun house, wasn't it? You could almost get away with certain things if you came to our house. And ours was the house that you had sleepovers at, wasn't it?

Speaker A: Yeah. We could have a sleepover. Mum would be none the wiser.

Speaker B: Well, I remember that one time we just got Rupert the puppy and we snuck him up in the bedroom and I was having a sleepover with Anya and I rolled over in the middle of the night and he left a present for us. We're there in our sleeping bags. But that was just classic, our house, wasn't it?

Speaker A: Yeah, but, yeah, I just love being around people. But I also really do love. We have quite a lot of time where there's nobody here and we're completely alone and there's no noise and we're completely isolated and we've got no neighbors. And on, um. It's best of both worlds, really. Yeah.

Speaker B: It's absolutely heavenly, folks. It's like a combination of the Lake District in Cornwall. It's beautiful.

Speaker A: Yeah, it is. It's really beautiful. I fall in love with it more and more. Um, and we're constantly discovering new places and feeling like we're part of this place rather than just visiting it. It's. It is a really beautiful place. I love it.

Speaker B: Let's shift gears and, um, talk about Hilo and the. This is something you've designed yourself. So what caused you to design it in the first place? What was the challenge that you were overcoming by designing it?

Speaker A: Elo comes from its Spanish word, and it means thread. So thread in our industry, which is performance and creating events and narratives and telling stories. So it's. You would see it as the thread of a story, but also it Is we would have a saying in Argentina that it was how you pull the thread out of somebody in order for them to unravel and for you to see who they really are. Our previous company when we were in Argentina was called Cuela, which means rope. And the reason for that was because, because we worked a lot with harnesses and ropes. So we worked in commercials, doing stunts and we worked on a few films. But we mainly did live events which meant that we were working at altitude. But also the word cuarda, uh, in Spanish means to be in agreement with and in accord with somebody. From having that company in Argentina for 10 years where it was quite ah, an adrenaline run business. It was a creative production company where we would create bespoke live events for brands and our main clients were Coke, Coca Cola and Stella Artois. We worked with Nivea a few times and a big client was Oral B. So it was all branding and they were high stakes and a lot of money. So um, we would have two or three events a year which took us all over the place and it was exciting. We had a great team of people and a massive warehouse with a workshop. And it was an opportunity to work with friends and to create bespoke work. We loved it, but it was also quite highly strung. We'd be working 16 hour days and eating rubbish food and it would be big teams, a lot of money and working to the ticking of a clock. So when we left Argentina we wanted to take it down a notch and it was interesting to feel that adrenaline still rushing through our veins that when we first arrived here we thought that we would continue doing events because that was our industry and it's a way in to be a creative but also earn a wage rather than being an independent creative where it's really quite difficult to find funding and um, a consistent wage. So thanks I think to Covid were able to unravel and unwind from our experience in Argentina and it meant that we were able to connect to our baby because that was the main reason that we left Argentina was because I had Ava originally started thinking about creating a space for creatives to come and be in that beginning, uh, stages of creating ideas which is where the nugget of an idea might be born.

Speaker B: Tell me more about and I realize I'm still mispronouncing it hilo because I can't say it in Spanish. Um, and so you were saying it's to do with movement, it's about strengthening. Very important for menopausal women to be strong, to Be honest, age, to be honest, aging people. It's great to be strong, isn't it? So tell us about what it involves, what you're doing in your classes and why this became important for you.

Speaker A: So when I'm talking about elo, the movement practice, the reason that I started it, yeah, it really was to do with my own need to move my body. I've always been moving my body and as the years have gone by, it needs, it needs taken care of in different ways. And so came up with a routine that is accessible to people that have maybe found yoga a little bit too challenging or are competing with themselves in order to get into the positions. And so it's a really gentle practice. But there's a beginners, intermediate and advanced class. And yeah, the reason for starting it was one, we've got this beautiful studio, so I started coming up with my own routine and wanted to share it. And two, it's really lovely working with other people and then being. Getting stronger. So I've got some of my students that are coming, have been with me for the last five or six years and, uh, we'll turn up every class. They love it. We're addicted to it. We absolutely love it.

Speaker B: So tell me about. You were saying you needed the movement and you needed the gentle practice now to give everyone a bigger picture of your life before even your own business, you were an aerial theatre, uh, artist. You were at the Roundhouse in London where you've been all over the world with this theatre company. You've plucked famous people out of the audience such as Madonna and who was

Speaker A: it, Rolling Stones and Mick M. Jagger.

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Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So you were very physical, weren't you, in your previous life? And is that part of the connection as to why you've developed this practice to help with that? Or is it.

Speaker A: There's a whole group of it. So we started performing. I was 23, um, and I performed until I was 32. And it was, it was really challenging for. We were like athletes. We would be performing eight shows a week and rehearsing and warming up. So it was it was challenging, uh, so far as you needed to work through injuries. We were wearing harnesses so people got broken ribs, we got bus noses, we're always bruised. And your body was constantly in pain. And I don't think that people realize that when you see performers, dancers and physical performers that they are actually in pain. There are, you're always working through an injury. So there's a whole generation of us that were part of those physical theatre companies flying around and doing a lot of heavy duty high impact work on our bodies. So um, we've all got knackered knees and necks and aching ribs and we've come out the other end of it injured, basically like all tractors.

Speaker B: So is this connected to your practice then? Is this the reason you practice?

Speaker A: Yeah, so mainly it is. The main reason for doing a practice is because it makes you feel good. It's the. Our uh, spinal cord is where all of our energy is flowing and it's our highway for all of uh, our good energy, bad energy blocks. It can all happen along that spinal cord. And the majority of the class is about waking up our spine and breathing really deep. So filling ourselves with oxygen and that. It's all really basic stuff and it's all borrowed from loads of different practices but it's basically uh, shortcut to feeling like you're completely centered in your own body. And so it starts with quite a vigorous warm up from your toes all the way up to the top of your head and then waking up our spines. I have three days a week training as well, which is. So if we're not, if I'm not teaching ELO in the morning. There's a group of women where we meet at nine and we walk about 3km up a hill and get absolutely completely puffed out and filling ourselves with oxygen again and then march back down the hill. So we've got all of that lovely high impact on our ankles and uneven ground. And then I train them as if they were training to be in one of the shows I used to perform in. So they're all middle aged women and we're getting strong. They've never done a push up and they're getting there and it's. I think if you're able to get into your own body there's a sense of empowerment and like I say, they're all really simple tricks but you need to abandon yourself in order to allow yourself to completely and utterly take advantage of their exercises. So if there is self criticism in there and so often people say I can't do this Then lo and behold, they can't just to pull pick up

Speaker B: on a couple of points that you've said. So going back to, oh, you were saying that your body hurt, you're in pain and you're talking about your spinal cord and how it has energy blocks and all that type of thing and you really do not think about that at all. And so recently I have uh, been having a bad back and that isn't like me at all. So normally if I get a bit of sciatica, uh, talk to myself and it will disappear. So the logic for me is tension. So being uptight, clutching one buttock cheek, which then sends the pain down the leg. But that's fine, that's my warning sign. So one of the things I'll talk about is it's the equivalent of if you're driving your car, you've got a flashing warning light, what do you do? Do you ignore the warning light or do you take the bulb out or actually do you pay attention to that warning light and do something about it? And rather than popping pills, I'll go, okay, body, what are you trying to communicate to me? Yeah, so the fact that you are getting people to be really in their bodies and centered, I'm going to ask you about how you do that in a moment. But also this point about abandoning yourself to self criticism. I'm going to tie it up in a loop with art as well. We're going back to pottery. So days and I have been on a pottery course for the last five weeks. We've got our uh, last lesson tonight and I'm going for her because I wanted to help her to unwind and it's been hilarious, which has been brilliant. She has. And she goes in with that attitude that you've just described, which is abandoning yourself. She does that totally. She doesn't care. As in she's not perfecting. She'll just go, there you go, that's my.

Speaker A: Yeah, make.

Speaker B: Whereas I am still analy retentive and self critical in that moment. And um, yeah, I have ah, done a lot of work on not being a perfectionist and in my day job. Right. But what I've realized, and this is how art can teach. And I apologize because I'm probably being really clumsy about your industry. But it's how much art can teach you about the stuff that you've got to work on. And what it has taught me is that, that I'm too uptight. I spend too much time perfecting, getting rid of fingerprints and then I put more fingerprints on um. So it is taken me until last week to really chill out.

Speaker A: Yeah. There is a correlation since the last time we did our last podcast, we have uh, evolved and changed and come to terms what with what our mission is here and what it is that we're doing. And so much of it is to enable people's creativity. So ELO is it's like a self indulgent practice that I do with friends who come and we are uh, gradually training our bodies and um, disconnecting ourselves from the world that's going on outside and really coming out of the class every time feeling better. But then beyond the ELO classes we are promoting creativity here in it's all about creativity. And we feel like in today's climate of AI and the direction that we're all going in and it's really on everybody's mind within the creative industry at the moment. There's that we've got friends that made content for films and special effects or like even actors. And everybody is feeling slightly threatened by what's going to happen within the industry because of AI. And then there has been a slight U turn with it all as far as what people are realizing that what makes us human and unique in the way that we are is our creativity. So it will be valued in a way that creativity will be valued and will be a resource and will be something that people will want to train within themselves more and more into the future. It's something that I feel quite strongly about, feel like it's inevitable. And so within, with that in mind, it's introducing creativity to people that don't feel like they're creatives of going.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: So there are so many different ways and inroads in order to get to a creative space and the Marvin. We're promoting writers and dancers and painters and like, but we're doing every single type of course you could think of in the house.

Speaker B: But would you say there's a connection with art and um, therapy or. Of course work on yourself because. And also it's. It can art be a form of feedback? Because I'm thinking about the audience that will be listening. So going back to the metaphor of the pottery gig. So the feedback is you're a bit uptight, love, and you need to learn to chill out and you've still got some work to do on um, perfectionism M Because that tension is being translated into the thing that you're making. So that would be like the immediate feedback and then. Yeah, I just wondered what your view was on that.

Speaker A: Yeah. So it is, it's definitely therapeutic. And something like pottery, which is, it feels like it's part of who we are. It, we've always as human beings forever made pottery. So it's just, it's like cooking. It's something that naturally we, we're able to disconnect and tune into and being completely and utterly absorbed. I think when you're creating something and pottery is a really good one for that. Like we, we run pottery courses here and they fill up and it is just such, there, it's such an easy recipe. I tell you what, it's just giving people loads of tea and um, a lump of clay and they're off for two and a half hours. Happy as Larry flipping love it. But then when you start bringing, it's an interesting one because at the moment we're going into two parallel things that we would like to promote and introduce to people that come and stay with us. And it is to do with creativity and meditating. So when you think about those two massive words and ideas, it can be quite, uh, intimidating. And people will often say I'm not creative and I don't know how to meditate. But actually they're the most natural things and easiest things that we can access. And there are so many different ways in order to do it.

Speaker B: What would you recommend is the easiest way for non creatives to get creative and what would you recommend they do?

Speaker A: First of all is that you should do exactly what you and Daisy have done and take up a class, just give it a go. But that sometimes is quite terrifying. Feels like you're going into completely new territory and you don't want to feel like the new person in the classroom. So one easy, ish way of, uh, accessing what it is that you really want to do is to meditate on it. The meditation process is if you, I think, yeah, it was David lynch who said you can meditation or ideas like fishes. And when you meditate you can get little tiddlers at the top of the surface or you could dive deep and get the really good, amazing, uh, ideas, the big fish. And most of my ideas will come when I'm meditating. And that doesn't mean to say that there's, I think there's a false pretense of people wanting to reach nirvana that's going, oh, I don't feel connected at one with the rest of the universe with a universal consciousness. I'm doing it wrong. And you're, you're just not going to get there. So put it down. There's Something really quite addictive. Sounds negative, but you do feel like it's uh, ah, like a place that you want to continue going back to because it feels, it's just a really satisfying space to be in. So I can remember reading about David lynch and he does something which is called transcendental meditation.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: But there are, uh. I don't want, I don't want people, your listeners, to get caught up in terminology or it. Let's just break it down into something really simple.

Speaker B: Yeah. Can we do that now?

Speaker A: Yeah. So. But the only way that you're ever going to get to the bottom of anything is by keep turning up for yourself. So turning up every day.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: It's a lot like journaling or morning pages that if you keep revisiting it and you're able to have a stream of thought and ideas, or you get to a point where you feel like you're almost observing what it is that you keep repeating, then the habits will show themselves. So it's, it's being mindful. So you're sat in a comfortable position and you become aware of the weight of your body and going from your feet all the way through your legs, your knees, into your thighs, into your hips. And by then you're already thinking about what you're going to eat tonight or how somebody looked at you and you've already gone, oh, where was I? I think I was about my knees.

Speaker B: So what do you do in that moment?

Speaker A: Just keep coming back so you get

Speaker B: as far as your knees. Then what do you do after your knees?

Speaker A: You go, you do a scan all the way up your body. So I would go from my hips through to my belly, go up my rib cage. I'd go to my armpits, my shoulders down, uh, my arms to my elbows to my wrists to my fingers, go back to my spine, work up towards my neck, feel. And all the time you're obviously escaping and thinking about shopping lists, but you're coming back and you're using the exhalation in order to relax all of those bits of your body because you're holding tension in loads of different spaces that aren't necessary.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: So you end up feeling the weight of your body and the gravity that's pushing you down into the cushion or the space that you're sat in. And that in itself is you. So you're mindfully being in your body and you're mindfully listening to your surroundings and your breathing. So that, that's just like step one of practicing. If you're able to practice that over the next month or so between 10 minutes and half an hour, and that is fine. Don't give yourself a hard time. It's so easy to give ourselves such a hard time with those and the, the being diverted and going to the places that are distracting you. Those are your morning pages. Those are the places where you're journaling and you're going, I'm really preoccupied about whether I'm doing a good enough job. I'm really preoccupied about whether I'm going to reach this deadline. And really you start being able to observe where your thoughts are going. And a lot of the time you're just bouncing about like a flipping ping pong ball all over the place. But if you're able just to keep coming back to. So you've got your body, you've got the mindful reconnection with your body and then you've also got your breath obviously, which is a uh, reflex that is going to enter and leave your body. But then there's a whole world of, you know, when I was saying like it's mental hygiene. It really is. So there you're going to be going through that process of going, I'm not doing this right. I'm thinking about that, uh, giving yourself our time. You've got your whole critique going on, but there are moments where you're able to really sit and the objective is to, if you're able to say hello in your head so you can hear or you can observe that hello in your head. Yeah, you. In the same way you want to be getting to a point where you're observing what it is that you're thinking and it's from that point of observation that you're trying to get to, which is impartial. It's the impartial, deep knowing part of yourself. If you imagine that since we are, I've known you all of my life and we are the same people, but our bodies have changed, haven't they?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: We're not those tiny little people that we were. And then the teenagers and 20s and 20 years ago, 10 years ago, we're changing. Our body has evolved. So the vehicle that uh, were our, our uh, point of view is being carried in our uh, vehicle. Our body is constantly in a state of change. So then if you're able to observe your body as being separate from you and then you're also able to observe so you're the way that you think and feel, the way that you feel about love, your success, what your objectives are, all of those have changed over the years too.

Speaker B: Can, um, we just now bring. Start. We're going to start bringing things to a close, but before we do, just going back to our bodies. And what you were saying earlier about your practice. What do you recommend? If there were some movements that people could carry out based on. On your practice that you do with your group of people, what would you recommend? Is it like doing sit ups? I'm just kidding. What would you. What is there a standard movement that we could carry out?

Speaker A: It's difficult to talk about without doing so. I suppose on a really basic level is to understand where you've got tension on a really easy place to start. If you imagine yourself that we're always slightly out of balance and out of kilter. Uh, so if you're able just to. I have rolling pins that people warm up their feet so you're able to take out all the toxins of the soles of your feet and all of that and then place them on the ground. And then. So you feel like your feet are completely connected. And then it's again, it's like going through a checklist of stacking yourself up over your feet. But if you imagine that you're full of water and you want to make sure that the level of water along your chest and along your hips and along your thighs are all at an even level. So you might have to lean a little bit more into one foot or lean forward towards your toes. It's just getting centered basically and getting into your breath. And then soften your knees and you put your hands on your belly and connect with your breath. It's a really good place to start.

Speaker B: I'm looking at even my shoulders now. They're like that.

Speaker A: Uh, so we all carry happies.

Speaker B: Well, I know I've got one. I'm trying to figure out what's going on there. So how do you know when you're centered? What will people feel when they have centered themselves?

Speaker A: I think it's just a, uh, mindful feeling of, um, being inside of your body. So if you're elo. Uh, as talking with the thread, a lot of it is like you're connected like a puppet. So you're lifting your hand and you're lifting your head and then you're getting dropped down. So there's threads running through your body. So if you're able to feel like you're in, uh, an interconnected state that you're gonna, you're gonna just end up feeling slightly more at peace with yourself. Yeah. And, and in the space and in Your own um, body. It's, it's all of. It's just slowing down, isn't it really? Yeah. Dedicated a bit of time to yourself

Speaker B: and so on the. Because you've mentioned a few times, breath work. What do you recommend when it comes to breath work or is again is there anything that we can do?

Speaker A: Um, lots of really amazing breath work. Being able to. The one that really works for me three days a week is marching up that hill with my ladies and getting puffed out. Actually getting really puffed out. You're, you're regenerating yourselves. Like it's, it couldn't be more healthy for you to get your heart pumping um, and get out of breath so you really feel like using your lungs.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: But you can um, cheat that too. So there's. Have you heard of the fire breath where you lift your arms and pull it down so you're punching it into. That's a uh, practice that uh, lots of people use in Kundalini Yoga. And there's. There are so many different types of breasts out there depending on uh, how it is that you want to. Whether you want to feel more grounded, more energized. But I think the simplest and easiest if you're going through that checklist of making sure that you feel centered in your body is if you uh, are taking short breaths in and um, blowing out. So I would start with three breaths in, five breaths out. Yeah.

Speaker B: No, that's great. And what does the fire breath do? What's the purpose of that?

Speaker A: Basically it's hyperventilation.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: So it gives you a natural high.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Uh, and it takes you to a space that you just feel completely and utterly energized. I've done it in quite a few practices. Oh God. We could talk for flipping hours about stuff, couldn't we?

Speaker B: No, but that's look as we all would like more energy having that in your back pocket. Being able to.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think to be energized. I think it's really good to be able to do it with an instructor. But if like taking classes with people of uh, all of this stuff. When it comes to anything that is slightly more extreme like Kundalini or the fire breath or I think it's good to do it with a group of people. You always need to be sat down when you're doing that one for example. Because there are chances that in one practice you put a load of pillows behind you and you do it to a chance of um. So hum. So uh, it's like a rhythm that you will keep up with for several minutes and then you end up lying back onto a load of pillows behind you. And it's a shortcut to get into a place of meditation. Oh um.

Speaker B: Gosh. There's so much isn't there out there that you can do for yourself. But like you said several paragraphs. What do you say it's been with yourself or being in your body and carving out that time for yourself. That's what I really feel.

Speaker A: Yeah. I think it's really good for you to be able to carve out that time for yourself so that you feel connected with yourself and know that you're doing yourself some good. But also if you want to be a uh, creative, it's a place that you can explore ideas. It's a place where you are uh, completely on your own being able to explore.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Lovely gateway. It's lovely. Mhm.

Speaker B: So to close, what three actionable tips would you recommend? And it might be a summary of what you've already advised because you've given us so many. Fancy a chat? Or maybe you're interested in the optimized leader program. Next level. You can book a free 15 minute call. See the link in my show notes tips.

Speaker A: I would say definitely when it comes to creativity, find. Just keep giving things a go. Keep giving uh, whether it's painting, pottery, writing, dancing. All of them are expressions of stuff that takes you out of your habitual reflex of being a monotonous trying to keep up with your daily life routine. If you're able to break that by taking some kind of class and just keep pract, just keep testing stuff out and find because something will make your soul sing.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And I think it's a really amazing thing if you're able to do it with a group of people.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And then I think meditating and just give it, just do it. You can start with a couple of minutes. You've got absolute freedom to do it any way you like. And know that every time you feel like you're being distracted, all of that is fodder. All of that is good stuff because you're discovering stuff about yourself.

Speaker B: Another. Any um, websites or apps or YouTube channels that might get people off the starting blocks or.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think something uh, this is more like a positive thing and it's something that I said it suggested to you a couple of years ago I think which is deep at Chopra's abundance. 21 days of abundance. Yeah. And I think that just as uh, an introduction is. It's just really positive. It's a really Positive ease, easy, simple. And you're dedicated for 21 days, which is a good thing. Yeah, no, that's cool.

Speaker B: And I think I remember doing that again during. Might have been during lockdown, but I remember doing it when I was painting furniture. And it was magical.

Speaker A: Yeah, it is. It's really magical. He is such a dude. He is, uh, somebody that will talk about creativity being really important to us as human beings. Yeah, yeah. So, yes. One, two, and then a third one. Yeah. So finding something that's creative, trying out meditation. And I think maybe if you're trying out meditation in order to just find a really quiet space and you're feeling like it's being really noisy. If you're. There are different ways in, and one of them is mindfulness and another is breathing. And. But you can put music on, on in the background. There are no rules or hard ways in order to do that. But if you're finding it really difficult to get to that place. Movement, doing yoga, or the practice that we're talking about is elo, is a really good place to switch off your mind. So by doing movement, you're concentrating in where it is that you've got your weight and your mind is switched off. You're just in the here and now. So, yeah, I love that you are

Speaker B: doing meditation via zoom. Is that a class or is it just friends?

Speaker A: Yeah, we just turn up because we do meditation retreats here. And, um, we've done it like three or four times and it will be a six week course and then a, uh, weekend. And so it's built up quite a community of people and they, we want to continue practicing. So all we do is we all click on and just turn off our microphones and meditate for half an hour. But it makes a difference because you're showing up for other people.

Speaker B: Yeah, it does. So you're accountable, aren't you, to each other.

Speaker A: Exactly, exactly.

Speaker B: And when you're doing that zoom practice, does anyone guide the meditation or is it literally, I'm here, I've turned my camera off and I'm doing my own thing. What's, uh, that. That is flipping brilliant. Exactly.

Speaker A: Ah. I will put my microphone on and go, okay, we've got two minutes. Let's just dedicate it to the people that we love. Oh, yeah. A moment of two minutes where you're grateful for the people that you love. And, um, you just sent it out nice vibes. Then at nine o' clock, we switch off.

Speaker B: That's really cool because that's an idea, isn't it for people that they could set up their own groups, couldn't they?

Speaker A: They definitely could. Yeah. Why not?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: There isn't. This is like I say, with creativity or meditation, there is. There's no massive rule book to it. The only way that you're able to get into any of those, either one of them is by. Keep practicing.

Speaker B: Yeah. And that, what you've just said there, that really, uh, sums it up perfectly because. And I think that's why I struggled with pottery and though. So for those in the business world, we're used to rule books. We're used to following a process. What's the procedure? And that's what can be scary about creativity. Because all of a sudden you've got a blank canvas to create what you want. And that's the. It is. You can be freed by the fact that there's no real book. Like for example tonight where we finished all our makes. We've glazed them. Um, we didn't need to go this week, but we're turning up with our clay gnomes that we made at Christmas with mum. Remember we went to that class? So we're gonna go and paint them and God knows, I'm sure we won't get turned away at the door, but we are breaking the rules and we're going. We're just going to do this week. Is that all right?

Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. Breaking the rules. There are no rule books. Yeah.

Speaker B: Uh, uh, although entrepreneurs. That's why they're entrepreneurs. Is it? There are no rule books.

Speaker A: Yeah. The box.

Speaker B: Yes, my love. Thank you so much. That was so packed full of so many practical things that people can implement and help them to be calmer, uh, better leaders. Top banana. Thank you so much.

Speaker A: You're very welcome. My sister.

Speaker B: Before we sign off, I'd like to invite you to my quick reflective practice called Pause, Reflect, Act. As your leadership coach, I'm here to help you translate today's insights into personal growth and, um, your next steps. Um, answer the prompts that follow in your journal or notes. Alternatively, you can access my complimentary journal and, um, self coaching tool in the show notes. Here's this week's journaling prompts and, um, coaching questions. And, um, it's from the episode with my sister. So the first question is relating to creativity and identity. So Simone talks about helping people who don't feel like they're creatives, but she helps them discover ways in which they are. And where in your life have you dismissed yourself as not creative? And what creative outlook have you been curious about? And what's really stopping you. Number two Abandoning Self Criticism the episode explores how self criticism blocks us in creativity, but also just in life, and how perfectionism can actually get in the way of progress. So what would abandoning yourself to the creative process look like? Number three Turning up for Yourself Simone says the key to both meditation and creativity is simply keep showing up for yourself consistently. So where in your life are you waiting until you feel ready before you commit to a practice or pursuit? And what would it mean to just begin imperfectly today? If you'd like to be notified when the next episode drops, remember to subscribe. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit. Finally, if any of these topics have sparked your interest and you'd like to work with me, you can apply for a free discovery call@ah estellread.com let's see if we're a good fit. You'll also find plenty of free resources there. I'm Estelle Read, executive coach speaker and, um, bestseller bestselling author, and this has been the Optimizing Leader Brilliance Podcast. Thanks for listening. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Please consult with a qualified professional for any specific advice related to your situation.