Finding possibilities is the name of the game in this episode, and let me tell you, we’re diving into some seriously fun territory! We’re back with our Make Fun of Habit series, inspired by Mike Brennan’s workbook that’s all about injecting joy into your creative practice. I mean, who doesn’t want to turn their artistic endeavors into a playground of possibilities? Together, we’ll explore how to flip challenges into opportunities and uncover those hidden gems in our creative journeys. So grab your favorite drink, kick back, and let's chat about how we can all sprinkle a little more fun into the art-making process!

Making Fun A Habit Series

30 days to add fun to your creative practice. I will be going through Mike Brennan's Make Fun A Habit workbook and help you make fun a habit. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike on my other podcast Find A Podcast About and talking about his podcast Creative Chats. This workbook leads you through steps to rekindle the fun in your life and get you into a space where you are your most creative. This is a 30-day book and I will tackle each day as if it were a week and provide insights on how to use his ideas in your creative practice. Each chapter is broken up with a short story, questions to ponder, action items, and tips.

Diving deeper into the conversation, Timothy unpacks some juicy questions posed by Mike Brennan in his workbook. One of the standout moments is when he reflects on where he struggles to find possibilities in his own creative journey, sharing a sincere insight about battling low energy levels due to MS. But fear not! Instead of sulking in a corner, he flips the script and talks about the limitless possibilities that art can offer, no matter the challenges. It’s a refreshing perspective that encourages all of us to pull on our creative boots and stomp through the muck of limitations. He also reminisces about past surprises that came from embracing possibilities, like the unexpected joy of experimenting with podcast formats — who knew spouting off into a mic could lead to such a rich tapestry of connections and conversations?

Takeaways:

• Creating art is all about finding possibilities, so don’t hold back on your creativity!
• Tim’s journey with MS shows how art can thrive even in challenging circumstances—energy is key!
• The podcasting world is wide open; there are no strict rules, just your unique voice!
• Homework doesn’t have to be boring; think of it as fun challenges to spark creativity!
• Reflecting on personal challenges can flip your perspective and lead to breakthrough ideas!
• Persistence is the secret sauce in creativity—don’t stop trying different approaches!

Links referenced in this episode:

• findingfindapodcastaboutxyz
• timothy.brian.substack.com
• tkbpodcaststudio.com
• findapodcastaboutxyz

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Create Art Podcast Commentary Finding Possibilities part of the Make a Habit series hello friend.

This is Timothy Kim O.

Bryan, your head instigator for Create Art podcast where I use my over 30 years of experience in the arts and education world to help you tame your inner critic and create more than you consume.

So we've had a number of interviews in the past few interviews and I wanted to get back into the Make Fun of Habit series which is from Mike Brennan.

And he hosts a podcast called Creative Chats.

And this is from his book Make Fun of Habit.

Now I've had him on my other show, Find a Podcast about which you can find at Finding Find a Podcast about xyz.

And that's where I help you find your next binge worthy podcast.

But with this book, it's a workbook.

It takes you through a month of activities to help you do what the book says, make fun a habit.

And as creatives, we all need to put that fun back into our creative practice.

I think.

Anyways, so there's 30 chapters in this book and it goes through a whole month.

If you read it straight through, you'll read it through very quickly.

I know I've gone through it a number of times.

And this episode we're going to be talking about finding possibilities.

This is chapter 24.

Let me talk a little bit about the workbook and then we'll get right into this.

Okay, so what Mike does is pretty much tell a story about the topic, something that relates to in his life, in his creative practice, how he got the idea for putting this topic in the book, and then he gives you assignments.

Yes, there's homework.

It's okay.

It's not bad homework.

It's good homework.

You're going to want to do it.

So he'll have questions for you to answer.

He'll give you tips and action items on how to actually make fun a habit in your creative practice.

All ties in very nicely.

What I've decided to do is to take each chapter and make it into an episode for this podcast.

Links to his book will be in the show notes there for you.

So if you want to go ahead and pick it up, tell Mike I sent you.

And he's a really great guy.

So you're going to enjoy this book as much as I have.

All right, so the title of the chapter is, you know, finding Possibilities.

And that's something that I really enjoy about it.

I mean, in the story he talks about possibilities that he has found in his creative practice.

And I know for me possibilities are limitless you can do anything with whatever creative project you're trying to get out into the world.

So let's dive into his questions, and the first one is, where do you struggle to find possibilities and why?

So for me, I really don't struggle to find possibilities.

My struggle sometimes, because I have ms, is to find the energy to pursue these projects.

And I can tell you I've.

I've not been behind the mic in a little while here, mainly because, you know, a lot of things are going on in the world that directly impact me and, you know, exaggerate my Ms.

So my, my energy levels have been really low.

So that's where my struggle is.

But for possibilities, I don't really struggle with that because I can take a look at something, at an idea that I have and really go down that rabbit hole.

I don't know what it is about me, but I really don't have that kind of an issue.

And I think one of the reasons why I do that is because, well, multiple reasons.

Some of the music that I listen to is really experimental.

They're trying new things.

They're not always successful, you know, in terms of record sales or whatnot.

I.

The type of art I enjoy looking at really does that for me as well.

It's really experimental.

And so I try to surround myself with folks that really go through all the possibilities that they can go through.

So the next question is, when have you experienced possibilities in the past that surprised you?

And podcasting for sure, there are different formats, different ways to do podcasting.

I do it this way because I think more people can relate to it.

You know, doing commentary, doing interviews.

That's the format of this show.

And but with podcasting, there are no hard, fast rules.

I mean, yes, this format is effective.

I'm not going to, you know, try to blow smoke up ya, but there you make up your own rules.

With podcasting, I can do anything I want.

I can do this all.

I've done multiple experimental podcasts and podcast episodes on different podcasts that I run.

And that's what really surprised me, because podcasting is kind of a technical art form.

What do I mean by technical art form?

There's a lot of technology involved with it.

There's not a lot of putting my hands on something and creating it, or so it is.

I have an idea.

Let me talk about that idea and maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't.

Maybe you'll like it, maybe you don't.

So for me, podcasting really turned into something that I can do.

Solo if I want to.

I don't have to wait for anybody else.

Now, you know me, I'm.

I have a theater background, and with theater, you have to have a lot of people there with you, sharing your vision and, you know, presenting it to an audience.

But with podcasting, I'm just sitting here in my man cave, spouting off stuff, throwing music in there, throwing artwork in there, and that really surprised me as to where I take this art form.

For me, the third question is, in light of what you may be facing, how would you answer the question, what does this make possible?

So, for me, what does podcasting make possible?

Well, I'm actually starting up another podcast.

I know, shocking surprise, but it's going to be about my journey with MS, and I'm calling it my solo journey with Ms.

And it's a documentary, which I never.

You know, 10 years ago, if you said, hey, Tim, you're going to make a documentary about a chronic disease that you're going to develop, I would have said, dude, what are you smoking?

And get it away from me.

So that's what surprises me is where I can take this art form and, you know, meeting people from across the country, from across the world.

And that was my.

That was my thing.

That was what I wanted to do.

Kind of reminded me of Pump up the volume.

It's a 90s film with Christian Slater.

And I always go back to that and go, yeah, that's initially what I was trying to do.

And now I look at what I have.

I just took some.

Just took a look at some pictures that I have of my space where I do the podcast at.

And it has gone from, you know, just a little old laptop with a crappy microphone, and now I've got multiple microphones, multiple laptops, you know, external hard drives, multiple email accounts, different accounts to do different things.

And I have to sit back sometimes and go, wow, this is where this rabbit hole led me.

And it's pretty interesting, and it's a lot of fun for me.

It's a lot of fun.

Hopefully, it's a lot of fun for you, too.

That's why you're listening to it.

All right, the next section is Action Items.

And this is what I really love about his book.

He gives you stuff that you can do, gives you kind of some homework.

So first thing is reflect on your current situation and identify challenges or reasons why you want that change.

So my current situation is, you know, I work a full time job.

I do, you know, three hours of commuting up to D.C.

every day.

So that can be challenging to get here in the studio, in the Man Cave studios and knock out some stuff because my energy levels are so low.

So what am I doing?

Well, I've joined three online Ms.

Groups to, you know, kind of help me deal with that aspect of it and just, you know, being more cognizant of my time that I have to devote to this.

As I'm recording this, it's Sunday morning, My wife and kids are asleep, but I'm awake.

You know, I'm sitting here drinking coffee and talking with you.

So these are some of the challenges that I have.

And that's why, you know, I want to be here with you and talk to you about these challenges.

Maybe you're going through the same thing and maybe I can give you an idea on how to overcome that challenge.

So the next action item is flip those challenges into a possibility statement.

What the heck is a possibility statement?

Oh my gosh.

Well, the challenges that I have are, you know, just let you know.

So with ms, you know, it's possible for me to live and thrive using Ms.

And help other people who are newly diagnosed or who are having challenges with Ms.

I can share my experience and knock that out.

As far as, you know, the three hour commute, it's my possibility statement is it could be a four hour commute, it could be a two hour commute.

But I'm working with my day job, with the job that pays for all this kind of good stuff and finding ways that I can cut that commute down by moving to a different office, different location, or trying to do some telework.

So that way I can have more energy to focus in on my art, which is what I really want to do.

Also, with the lack of time, I'm finding new ways and using AI so that way I can maximize my time in creating there that I want to create.

So using different technologies, these challenges give me the impetus to explore these new technologies so that way I can create the art that I want to create.

The third action item is choose one or two alternate situations and focus on those.

So an alternate situation for me would be to go back to remote work or get more telework time.

So I'm pursuing that with, you know, the organization that I work for in the daytime to see if I can't, you know, do more work from home.

And that would be really great.

As far as my Ms.

Goes, I have a new neurologist that I'm going to be seeing and, you know, using the, the experience of others in these online groups, you know, helping me manage my Ms.

In a better way than I have been managing it in the past few years.

So that's where I would like to be in a year or two is to, you know, have, have that managed very well and to have my time managed very well so that way I can create more things.

And number four action item is commit to taking small actionable changes to your current situation to explore the possibilities.

Well, I am taking those actionable changes right now.

I've joined up with three online Ms.

Groups.

So that is, you know, a change.

And I've got, you know, the, the schedule in my phone.

So that way I know, you know, exactly where I'm going to be on what day I'm going to be there.

And, you know, the other actionable item, step I took was to, you know, find a neurologist and get going with that aspect of my life to manage my time better with my creativity.

You know, I'm using different AI tools and I'm using different project management tools and I'm getting back into the, hey, this is a project management kind of thing.

And that's going to help me schedule my creativity better and organize it in a better format so that way you can get it.

As much as it lives in my head, it needs to come out of my head and come in over the airwaves, over the ether and into your ears and into your head.

So those are the small actual items or steps that I'm trying to do.

Okay, so Mike gives us.

He ends it off with different tips.

And the first tip is to talk to people.

Well, I'm talking to you.

I'm talking to people online about my Ms.

I'm talking.

Actually, I'm.

In September, I'm going to a podcast conference in North Carolina called the Empowered Podcast Conference.

So I'll be talking to those people about what they're doing to manage their time better.

You know, different templates, different tricks that they're using.

So I'm already doing this kind of stuff and it's fantastic and, you know, it's going to help me and it's going to make more possibilities for me in the future.

His next tip is to be creative.

Oh, my gosh.

While I'm talking to a bunch of creatives in every episode here, whether I'm interviewing somebody or just talking directly to you.

So be creative in the ways that you're bringing possibility into your artistic practice.

That's, that's the whole thing is we are creative.

You and I are creative.

We do things that most people don't do, and that's okay.

I mean, I do.

I think most people should absolutely, you know, the art that I've created, that's brought joy into my life.

I know you've experienced that, too, otherwise you wouldn't be listening to this podcast.

So let's be creative on how we bring those possibilities about.

Let's think outside of the box.

I know that's a cliche, but, you know, whatever we're what, whatever the tried and true method is, let's turn that on its head and find different ways to create possibilities for ourselves.

And then the last thing, the last tip he gives us is to be persistent.

You know, things aren't going to change unless we change them.

Think about that for a second.

Things are not going to change unless we change them and unless we work to make the change that we seek to have.

So if one thing doesn't work, try something else.

Keep going at it.

There are an infinite amount of ways to bring possibility into your life.

So get to work on that.

Okay?

That's what I have for you today.

I hope you've got something out of this.

I know I certainly got something out of it.

And just a few things to leave you with.

I'm still running the newsletter.

You can get that over on Substack.

You can go to timothy.brianubstack.com and Brian is spelled B R I EN.

I know, actually, you don't need to put a dot between the Timothy and the Brian.

You just do Timothy brian.substack.com and there I post, you know, notices on, you know, hey, this episode is coming out.

And then I use Google Notebook LM to do a kind of a deep dive into whatever topic I'm talking about.

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Share the podcast with friends you have.

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Now I do run another podcast.

It's and I mentioned it earlier, called Find a Podcast about.

You can find it at Find a Podcast About X, Y, Z.

And that's where I help you find your next binge worthy podcast.

So give that a look.

See for yourself.

It's called TKB Podcast Studio.

You can find that@tkb podcast studio.com and what I do there is I lead you through the noise, through quiet professionalism to get your podcast up and running, or if you already have a podcast, to get it fixed and to make it even better.

So definitely check me out on that website.

All right, that's all I got for you today.

I need to get on with my Sunday.

I can hear my kids waking up.

So go out there, tame that inner critic, create more than you consume, and go out there and make some art for somebody you love.

Yourself.

I'll talk to you real soon.