LOUDER GIRL GETS INTO GOOD TROUBLE WITH CREATIVITY

My dad had 19 careers throughout his "working" life.

Navy pilot. Stockbroker. Junkyard owner. Author. Real estate broker. Geodesic dome builder. Actor. Singer.

He was also a woodworker, stained-glass artist, sculptor, jewelry maker, and house builder.

Dad followed his curiosity wherever it led him.

My mom was different.

She was the glue of the family. The rock.

She made dinner every night. Packed school lunches. Did the laundry. Cleaned the house. Made our clothes. Baked the best chocolate chip cookies. She even painted a mural of flowers on our entry wall.

Image: Homemaker

When my brother was in sixth grade and my sister and I were in high school, Mom went to work full-time at a bank at age 35 and stayed there until she retired at 70.

Looking back, I realize I grew up with two very different models of life.

One was creative.

One was responsible.

So, I chose what the oldest daughter of an alcoholic father often chooses.

I became the responsible one.

Image: Responsible Girl

I got good grades. Became a registered dietitian. Built a career at UC San Diego. Got married. Had children.

By society's standards, I was succeeding.

Until my life fell apart.

A panic attack in New Orleans.

Molly's ruptured appendix.

A separation.

A divorce.

And then something unexpected happened.

I discovered writing.

All the grief. The rage. The fear. The joy. The healing.

Everything I had spent years pushing down came pouring onto the page.

Writing didn't just help me survive.

It helped me come alive. To be whole. To be human.

Creativity Is the Courage to Make Something from Nothing

Creativity is the courage to take an idea, a feeling, a dream, a truth, or a possibility and give it form.

A painting.

A partnership.

A poem.

A movement.

A business.

A boundary.

A garden.

Image: Creating a Garden

Creativity is the act of bringing something into the world that did not exist before.

Sometimes what we create changes the world.

Sometimes it changes us.

Often, it does both.

Creativity Is an Act of Resistance

We live in a culture that celebrates innovation but dismisses creativity.

We celebrate entrepreneurs who build billion-dollar companies.

We question artists who paint, write, dance, sing, and create because they must.

We are taught to:

• Be practical.
• Make money.
• Be productive.
• Create only if it leads to success.
• Don't waste time.

Many women embody an even harsher message: Take care of everyone else first.

Your needs can wait.

Your dreams can wait.

Your art can wait.

So many of us stop creating long before we discover what we might have created.

The War Inside Us

After earning my PhD and being "set free" from UC San Diego, I spent a year sleeping and licking my wounds.

When I finally emerged, I knew I wanted to create a community for women.

A place where women could find their voices, tell their stories, and be seen and heard.

LOUDER GIRL was born.

But so was fear.

Fear of being visible.

Fear of failing.

Fear of being judged.

Fear of getting it wrong.

My first business coach handed me a copy of The War of Art.

"It changed everything for me," she said.

She was right.

Author Steven Pressfield calls the force that keeps us stuck Resistance.

Resistance whispers:

• You're not talented enough.
• Nobody cares.
• You're too old.
• It's already been done.
• Who do you think you are?

Resistance lives inside us.

But it also lives in a culture that rewards conformity over authenticity and performance over self-expression.

The answer is not to wait until fear disappears.

The answer is to create anyway.

Creativity is Not About Talent

Image: Big Magic

One of my favorite ideas from Big Magic is that creativity does not require permission.

You do not need credentials.

You do not need certainty.

You do not need to feel ready.

You only need curiosity.

Creativity isn't reserved for artists.

Creativity is:

• Starting a community.
• Reinventing your life at 60.
• Journaling.
• Telling your story.
• Embracing curiosity and play.
• Designing a life that feels like your own.

Creativity is how we participate in life.

It is how we discover who we are.

Creativity is Leadership

Traditional leadership tells us to:

• Produce.
• Control.
• Scale.
• Win.

Ignited Leadership invites us to:

• Imagine.
• Create.
• Connect.
• Transform.

Every social movement began as an idea.

Someone imagined a world that did not yet exist.

Art does the same thing.

Creativity helps us envision new possibilities for ourselves, our communities, and our future.

That is leadership.

Your Creative Rebellion

What wants to be created through you right now?

Not next year.

Not when you have more money.

Not when the kids are grown.

Not when you feel more confident.

Now.

Because the world doesn't just need more executives, experts, influencers, and innovators.

It needs more women willing to create.

More women willing to tell the truth.

More women willing to make art.

More women willing to get into good trouble.

Ready for More Good Trouble?

Good trouble starts when you stop abandoning yourself.

When you tell the truth.
When you trust your voice.
When you choose courage over comfort.
When you lead your life instead of waiting for permission.

That's Ignited Leadership.

And you don't have to do it alone.

Join the FREE LOUDER GIRL Community

A place where women:

• Cause Good Trouble
• Lead their lives first
• Get creative
• Listen
• Support

When You Join, You'll Receive:

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