181. Creativity Is Your Birthright: Overcome Perfectionism, Smash Creative Blocks & Share Your Work Fearlessly With Pia Leichter
181. Creativity Is Your Birthright: Overcome Perfectionism, Smash Creative Blocks & Share Your Work Fearlessly With Pia Leichter
Creativity Is Your Birthright: How to Overcome Fear, Perfectionism, and Creative Blocks
If you’re human, you’re an artist. That’s the bold truth at the heart of this week’s Embodied Writing Warrior conversation with Pia, a creative midwife who partners with visionary rebels to bring their wildest ideas into the world.
We dive deep into the connection between the creator and the creation — and why you can’t truly unblock your creativity without tending to the human behind it.
The Myth That “I’m Not Creative”
Pia shares how one of the biggest blocks for her clients is the belief, “I’m not the creative type.” This belief often hides fear — fear of rejection, ridicule, or simply the risk of trying.
By getting curious about where these stories come from, you can start to dismantle them and replace them with beliefs that align with your truest creative expression.
Fear, Safety, and Sharing Your Work
Creativity can feel unsafe because it opens you up to judgment and criticism. Pia challenges us to ask: What makes you feel safe? and Can you trust your future self to manage the discomfort that might come with putting your work into the world?
She reminds us that criticism is the price of admission for entering the creative arena — but resilience grows each time you face it.
Perfectionism Isn’t Human
Perfectionism, Pia says, is not human — it’s robotic. The flaws, stumbles, and quirks in your work are often what people connect with most. Setting boundaries with your inner perfectionist during the messy, conceptual stage allows creativity to breathe.
Movement, Sound, and Creative Flow
Writing and other cerebral creative work can leave you stuck in your head. Pia’s daily movement and vocal release practices keep her connected to her body, helping new ideas surface naturally. Movement becomes a form of emotional processing, unlocking deeper creativity.
You Are the Creative Director of Your Life
From choosing your soundtrack to deciding how you’ll spend an afternoon, you have the power to infuse every moment with artistry. Pia leaves listeners with this challenge: If you were to creatively direct your next scene, what would it look like?
Listen to the full episode to learn how to:
Build resilience against creative criticism
Use movement and sound to clear creative blocks
Turn imperfection into a creative asset
Reclaim your creative birthright
Links & Resources:
Welcome To The Creative Club (Book) — available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, Audible, and Apple Books
Embodied Challenge from Pia
Become the Creative Director of Your Next Scene
Ask yourself:
If I were to creatively direct my next scene, what would it look like?
Consider every element — set design, costume, props, soundtrack, script, lighting, mood — and make intentional choices that spark joy, energy, or inspiration.
💡 Example from Pia:
“I’m going to put on my old Guns N’ Roses t-shirt, swipe on fire-engine red lipstick, pour a glass of cherry kombucha, blast Doshi on the speaker, and dance in my kitchen.”
This can be big or small — from a full-day adventure to a few minutes of magic. The key is to infuse everyday life with intentional creativity so you start building evidence that you are the creative director of your story.
Transcript
Kayla: Yeah. Welcome to the Embodied Writing Warrior Podcast.
Pia: Kayla, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here amongst mermaids and unicorns and MacDonalds.
Kayla: Yes, we were literally just talking about that before we started, so this is gonna be a mystical, magical, and creative conversation.
Pia: Absolutely.
Kayla: So I already know, Pia, that you are an author and you basically have built your life around creativity, which is so cool to me. And love if you shared with the listeners a little bit more about you.
Pia: Absolutely. Um, where do I begin? So, I am a recovering nomad. I have moved around my whole life, but I grew up in, on the lower East side Manhattan and Brooklyn.
And then I moved to Montreal, Puerto Rico, Ottawa, back to Montreal, New York. And then this pattern continued as an adult. I just. It became my default. So I lived in, uh, London, France, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, and now I live in Copenhagen, Denmark. So it's a little bit of my background. Copenhagen is where I, uh, dropped anchor and decided to create roots, which is a, was the new adventure for me actually.
That's just a little, who am I? How did I get here? Like literally physically, how did I get here? Um, and in terms of what I do well, I creatively partner with visionary rebels, uh, the con, unconventional, unconventional dreamers and inspired misfits to bring their wild visions and ventures into the world to creative impact.
Um, so basically I do that through creative partnership. And what I have is I have both, uh, coaching and all of the creativity skills that I've developed and acquired after working for well over a decade as a creative director, copywriter and creative strategists at different creative agencies, uh, working with some of the biggest brands in the world, um, until I launched Collective Studio.
Three years ago? Is it three years? Three and a half. I always get confused. Three and a half years ago, um, where I bring those things together to, another way of saying it is that I'm, I'm a creative midwife. I help people birth their businesses, their brands, their books, their creative ventures, that their dreams really, uh, I make them real in the world.
Kayla: Mm-hmm. I love that you've been able to bring. Your corporate skills and then also the coaching piece, the helping people not just be creative, but break through all the blocks that would stop a person from being creative. I think those two skills together are what really allows someone to create a lot of magic.
Pia: Um, absolutely. And just a note on that, it's interesting because often we tend to separate, uh, the creation from the creator. It's kind of like, you know, we think about, oh, if, if I'm having trouble creating or if something is going on, it's because my creativity is stuck or something.
it always comes back to the person who is creating, and that's beautiful because that's both very liberating. And sometimes it can be challenging 'cause it means that we might be also what's getting in our way. But it's really exciting to work from that place because then what is created from that place is just, wow, the impact, the potential, uh, the possibilities are, are quite explosive when we work from the creative.
Space, meaning the person creating, because often we can limit ourselves and limit what we might create because some of us might get disconnected that happen to be as well hand up, uh, from ourselves. And so actually reclaiming our creativity and getting unstuck is also about reconnecting to who we are.
Very much so. Those two things are so interconnected. And it's interesting 'cause when I hear people talk about, uh, creative blocks, it's, it's almost as, as if the creativity is blocked, but not the creative. So it's, it's, yeah, it's really meaningful work.
Kayla: I would love to dive deeper into this because creativity is this.
Spiritual growth, personal development vehicle that you can truly use. And like you said, there is no separation between the creator and the creativity and the creative work. And I would love to hear what are some of the most common blocks, creative blocks, but actual spiritual, mental, emotional blocks of the creator that hold them back from doing their best work.
Pia: Oh, that's a fantastic question. Well, one of the biggest ones, which really was an impetus behind me writing my book was the belief that I'm not creative, right? Like I'm not the creative type. I only know how to draw stick figures. Um, and I think that belief holds us back from being creative. 'cause of course you're creative.
If you're a human, you're an artist that play, you're a natural born creative. It's how our brains are wired. It's what enabled our survi survival as a species. It's in our DNA, it's our birth. Um, and I think that if we get curious, 'cause I think it's interesting, instead of getting curiosity kills judgment, so getting curious about our, the, the stories we might tell ourselves or what I call the scripts or beliefs like I'm not creative.
Like where if we got curious, it's like, where does that come from? What, how is that serving you? Because usually we choose beliefs because they serve us in some way, even if it might not seem like it. That belief might serve in the sense that. Well, if I'm not creative, then I don't have to take the risk of creating what I really wanna make real in the world, and I don't have to risk ridicule or rejection or criticism.
So that keeps me safe. So it's, it's activating that curiosity and then flipping the script and then making sure that we also align our behavior to our new belief because the belief without the aligned behavior. Creates cognitive dissonance internally, and then nothing will happen because our bodies and intuition and all of ourselves are like, really?
You really believe that? But yet you're, you're not creating the thing. Um, and so then it's figuring out what creativity looks and feels like to you. So that's, that was a whole lot of words to talk about. One of the, the biggest blocks. And then I think there are other stories or beliefs that get in our way.
Also, it could be about money. You know, if I choose a creative life, then I, I won't survive or thrive financially 'cause of the starving artist story. So we kind of absorb a lot of these societal. Stories, they run deep and uh, they're myths. They were just created by someone. So I think it's important to rewrite them in a way that serves our creativity and serves us and allows us to live and express like freely and fully whatever it is that we wanna express.
And so the biggest blocker is fear. Fear expresses itself through different stories. Some of them might be inherited from your family or from the collective, and some of them we might have created ourselves in order to quote unquote keep us safe. So there, there are many more, but those are like 2, 2, 2 big ones that creativity isn't safe to follow the creative right route.
It's not safe because oftentimes that means finding our own way. Because everyone's unique creative expression is going to look different because of course it will, because there's no Kayla McDonald in the world like you, right? So when you express yourself creatively and you start to chart your own path, it will of course look different and be wildly unique.
Um, and that can feel scary and that can take a lot of courage because you're not looking out and seeing, Hey, I don't see anyone else doing it like this. Um, but that's beautiful. It's a signal because it means then you're doing it. You're away and you're finding your way, and it can be magical and frightening and liberating all at all at once.
So yeah,
Kayla: I think you touched on a huge thing that maybe we can dive even deeper into this idea that creativity is not safe because it does open us up to that fear of judgment. That fear of rejection, that fear of maybe being misunderstood or, um, triggering someone. And this is interesting because it's a conversation I just had a couple days ago, and this friend of mine wasn't working on their book because they didn't wanna get anything wrong because they felt like their book needed to be universally true for everyone.
And if you put that kind of pressure on a creative project. It is impossible to have anything be universally true for every single person consuming it because we do all have our own filters, our own realities. So when your clients and your people come to you and they have this block around creativity being unsafe, how do you help them start to move through that particular block?
Pia: Well, it's easier to take, uh, the example you just mentioned, because everyone's journey is unique, so there's not like a, a template or a one and done way of, of helping, uh, you know, move into safety. I guess there is, there's also thinking about what safety feels like in your body, what fa, what safety feels like to you, what makes you feel safe?
That's always a beautiful question because it extends beyond creativity, but taking risks and doing a lot of things in life. And it, it can be a challenging question to answer. 'cause I've asked that question like, what makes you feel safe? And you're like, oh, I don't know, but let's, let's look at it like, when have you last felt safe?
What were you doing? Does it feel like in your body? You know, oftentimes just. Deep breaths, like connecting to the present moment, feeling your feet on somatic practices, feeling your feet on the floor, feeling gravity, pulling you down, taking a deep breath, remembering where you are, putting your hand on your heart.
I mean, these are things that make me feel safe. Anyway, um, those, so I think it's, again, activating curiosity and thinking about what, what makes you feel safe overall. Um, and then if I looked at your, the example of your friend. I would almost get curious about, you know, what she's avoiding and also what's true for her.
'cause in the search for Universal Truth, I'm hearing bypassing the exploration of what feels true for her. Because ultimately, when you get closer to what feels true to you, I think you do have your finger on the pulse of a universal truth. But that 'cause we're human and there are certain things that we share and that takes vulnerability.
'cause it's like, oh, like what's really true for me? And usually that requires sharing our own personal stories. And especially in the age of ai. Um, I think personal narrative and our own experiences really make a difference and are really important. 'cause our stories are unique, but yet. They have those universal themes of being human on this planet that run through them.
So that's what came up for me as I was listening to that. Like, oh, well, what holds, what feels true to her? And. What happens? I sometimes it's like to get curious about can, let's say the worst thing happens, right? Like what happens if she follows what feels true, publishes the book and then someone says, uh, that's not true, or, I didn't like that, or that didn't make sense for me.
Then what?
Just, again, just getting curious. But then, then, because you know what it's, it's how are you gonna regulate your emotions? How are you gonna manage your emotions, your nervous system, when you share something in with the world, and you might get criticism because that is the price of entering the arena.
That's the price of entering the public arena. Some people will love your work and some people won't like it, and some people won't even read it or look at it. And so I think it's actually a gift. If someone says, oh, like, okay. Didn't feel like a gift. At the time when I got my first two star review, I can tell you, but when someone wrote it, it's like.
After the ego subsided, it's like, Hey, that person took the time to read my work and write a review. And that's their experience of the work. And me and the little Mel Robbins wink. Like let them have their own experience of the work. Let them have their own experience of me. It's not about me. It's not for me to dictate what their experience of my work should be.
That's not mine. And maybe if someone loves what I'm doing, they see a piece of themselves reflected in it. And maybe if someone doesn't like what I'm saying, they might see a piece of themselves reflected in it. And our freedom lives in our ability to let praise and criticism not. Stay where it should be, not get into our bones and our veins.
Sure it's gonna sting. I ate some chunky monkey when I got that two star review and I allowed the feelings to like be there. And you know what? I didn't die. I was very afraid of that before I was like, oh God, I didn't die. I was okay. It passed and it taught me so much. It also taught me it gives you resilience.
Like, yes, this is what's gonna happen. So those are. That was like, so like a coaching moment of questions I would ask your friend. And then this was not a coaching moment, this was just me sharing my own experience of how do I create safety? Well, I have to be prepared to manage my emotions when someone has maybe a, not a good experience of my work.
Like am can I manage myself in that? That's the most important thing. And the only way we really find out is by doing it. There's no other way. I wish there was an easier No, I don't wish there was an easy way. 'cause that builds your resilience, that that builds your capacity to be able to take more creative risks in the future.
And isn't that part of what makes life worth living? To take risks in the direction of things that we really wanna create and that matter and that we, we wanna leave, hopefully, or put out in the world to make an impact. That's another question I'd ask your friend. Would the potential of someone not receiving your work well mean that the people who would receive it, you know, you, you're gonna keep that from them?
Like, who are you not to share that? There are people out there who need exactly what you have to share, and maybe there are people who won't like it, but are you, are we gonna keep that to ourselves and keep it from people who need it because we're afraid of the two star review?
Kayla: Thank you so much for sharing all that.
And as someone who also got their. Two star review on the book they wrote, and it wasn't even a review, it was just a rating. So then I'm spiraling like, do they just hate sharks? Were they scandalized by the sex scenes? Like, why did they give me, you know, there was that spiral and then I had to be like, A, this book is not gonna be for everyone and that's okay.
B, could I have done things to make it a three or four star review? Were there quality issues? Possibly that gives me a chance to improve my craft. And C, if someone's just gonna do a drive-by rating and not even take the time to tell me why it's a two star review in their mind. I bet they're not out there publishing books.
I bet they're not out there putting their work out into the world because then they would probably have a little bit more. Of a pause before giving those kind of ratings. So am I really interested in a drive by two star review? No. I value feedback, but that wasn't necessarily feedback. And the other thing you mentioned is that no work is gonna be universally loved by every single person like Lord of the Rings.
I honor that. That man is a good writer and he's very well loved, and he has great world building, and I can't get through a single one of his books because I don't like reading about a meadow being described for 10 pages. That's me. That's not a universal truth. And I think about some of the best books I've read that have changed my life.
Those books get 1, 2, 3 star reviews. Nobody is exempt from that experience. And when creative people can. Remember that and know that this is a chance to actually build that resilience and build that emotional regulation, and then also get really good at taking the feedback that's helpful without letting it affect their sense of self-worth.
Those are such powerful skills to build. Across your entire life. So thank you so much for sharing that. Absolutely.
Pia: Well, thank you also for sharing, because what's interesting is what you just said about, uh, the person leaving the drive by two star review probably didn't release something is I think it was in the artist's way.
Julia Cameron, I think she mentioned something along the lines of, uh, critics are a frustrated artist at heart, so sometimes people who criticize are also people who wish. That they had the courage to share that work. Like, oh, look at that person sharing this about sharks. And I can't even share my thing.
Like, I don't know, I'm just making it up. And that's one part, and it reminds me of Bene Brown's. Um, it's actually, is it Roosevelt? I think it's Roosevelt's speech. He has a gave, gives a speech, and it's an excerpt about being in the arena. It's a beautiful one. So he, he's basically saying like, when you're in the arena, you're gonna be bloody, you're gonna be dusty, all eyes are gonna be on you 'cause you're in the arena.
And you know, for the people who are just critiquing you, it, it's because they've, they, they've never, they're not in the arena with you, the people who are in the arena with your, uh, he didn't write this. I'm saying this, well, high five, you, you know what I mean? So I am so much more, um, cognizant. Of and, and I can recognize other people in the arena.
And one thing that my editor told me that I loved was, whenever you read anyone's work or you experience anyone's work, you can always find something that you appreciate in it. And so when it comes for me giving reviews, I think of that all the time. I find the thing that I appreciate and I share that.
And I actually, to be honest, I don't give bad reviews because I know what it takes. So it's kind of like, I'll just skip it, you know? I'll be like, okay, I'm just, um, because I know what it takes and I honor that that person had the courage to put their work out there, and I wanna support that. And whether it resonates with me is, you said it just 'cause it doesn't resonate with me doesn't mean it's not good.
It just means it's not my cuppa. You know, and that's that. So who am I to like, do drive-bys? I'm I gonna do a drive by? I am, I'm just gonna not do anything. And, and if someone makes a request, I'm gonna f I'm gonna find the thing that I appreciate. I'm gonna share that because I can see they're in the arena and I just, I, I wanna like honor that courage it takes to be there with your ripped jeans and your bloody knees.
You know? Um, so I just wanted to add that, 'cause I thought it was a really important point you made.
Kayla: Exactly. So the people that are in the arena doing the creative work, putting themselves out there, they are not gonna be the ones that are giving the anonymous ratings or whatever it might be. And there was this one conversation I had with another creative, and she talked about those people who will leave those ratings and reviews or just like, you know, the trolls or the people that just trash other people's work.
She said when she thinks about those people, she just thinks about like a little child and they've brought their work to their parent and their parent just like rips it up or just shames 'em or says it's garbage. Um, those people leaving those reviews, how many of those are just. Speaking hurt little children who had their creativity shunned or silenced when they were little, and now they're taking that out on the rest of the world because, oh my goodness, these people get to put their workout.
Like, yeah, why do they get to when they're so like repressed themselves? And I think that a lot of compassion for those people who do leave those kind of reviews and ratings as well.
Pia: I think that's the word, compassion. And when you have compassion for those people, you can have compassion for yourself.
Like it just, compassion is contagious, you know? So it's just, and also honoring how something makes us feel and knowing that we can take care of ourselves in it. And that sounds to me like the work of your friend, like, Hey, this is gonna happen if you wanna get into the arena, that's the admission fee. So.
Can you manage yourself? Can you trust your future self to manage your, your emotions in that, that she'll take care of you. You'll be all right. You know? And then if the an, I think that's where the answer lives. It's not in trying to find that universal truth that no one will have any issue with at all, and say one word, you know that that doesn't exist.
And I, and having compassion for that part of her, I, I have comp, I understand that. It's like, well, if I find that thing, then I am a bulletproof, no one can come at me. And the truth, the hard truth is none of us are, when we're putting our work into the world, that's what creates connection is our vulnerability.
Kayla: So can you speak to the impact of perfectionism in the work you do with your creatives? Because I imagine that is a big topic and I'd love to cover that here.
Pia: Oh, heck yeah. Oh, the perfection. Like I ask people when we get into perfectionism, like what is perfect?
And there is no definition because it's an illusion. There is no such thing as perfect. Not in nature, not not in, not in anything. If you look closely enough and the imperfections are like these beautiful little portals that bring people closer to us 'cause it's what makes us human. Perfection is a robot, is ai.
It's not even perfect, but you know what I mean? Like, it's just like that's, but perfection is, I guess what I'm trying to say is perfection is not human. And I remember, uh, when I, when I was years ago and I worked at an agency in London, we had a communications specialist who came in to train us on the art of pitching and all of this and presentations, and she said, you know, it's actually good.
To stumble and to be imperfect and to make mistakes. Because if a, if a talk is delivered too perfectly, people disconnect 'cause they don't feel connected to the speaker because they, they don't, they can't, they can't relate to it. It's just to pitch perfect. Like if you've rehearsed over and over again.
And that stayed with me for years, it still stays with me. And there is a vulnerability in our capacity to be able to show up with our beautiful flaws. It's it, it is just, and it can be so gorgeous. Those beautiful flaws can be what people connect to in your work. And another thing, who's to say what's perfect or what's not perfect?
Who's to say what's good or what's bad? Maybe your version of bad is someone else's version of good. That also helps. So when we get over really critical about our work, it's like, Hey, wait a minute, but what if someone else sees that and thinks it's great? Who are you to start to judge? So that's a whole bunch of words.
Practically, if the inner perfectionist comes into the room for me, the inner perfectionist, she looks, she's also like my, my critic, the inner critic. So she comes in when? When something is fresh. Either when I'm doing something for the first time and I've never done it before and I can give an example.
Or if I'm just sitting down to a blank page, I write. So that's the example I'm using. And usually I'll start like writing a sentence and it'll be like, oh really? You're gonna use that word? Like something, it's like, Hey, get outta here. Like thank you for trying to protect me. 'cause that's what that voice is trying to do, is trying to do what your friend is doing, make you bulletproof so that you're safe.
Right. Honestly, thank you very much for coming in, inner perfectionist slash inner critic. This is not the time and space for you. This is the pure creative space. This is where I get to suck. It gets to be shit. It gets to be messy. It gets to be whatever it wants to be because I'm just rolling up my sleeves and playing in the mud and I celebrate myself just showing up.
That's all I need to do. Show up. You can come back later when I need to edit and evaluate the piece. You are more than welcome to bring your, your, your critique perfectionist tendencies and thoughts, and usually that works really, really well. So I would create, I advise like create a firm boundary of like this.
This is sort of the conceptual phase and in the conceptual, it's a precious tender time. There's not room for that. So questioning what it is. Questioning why it's there, and then if that's, that curiosity doesn't do enough to remove its charge when it comes up in that tender conceptual phase saying that this is not the time or the space for you, but thank you for trying to protect me, you can come back later.
Those are some practices. And the other thing I noticed is the inner perfectionist really pops up when I'm doing something new. When you're doing something for the first time. There's so much uncertainty and there's a lot of like fear of like, oh, what if I don't get this right? Like when I narrated my audio book for the first time, I never narrated a book before.
I was really surprised how frequently that perfectionist was coming into the room like. Because I've lived in so many different countries, I pronounce things funny, like I don't have a straight American accent. There's some words that I'll say a bit differently. Um, and then she was just coming and say, oh, you said that wrong.
Say it again. And, and, you know, I just had to kind of bear with it, bear with her, and keep going, and not let it stop me. And then eventually she got quieter. I went from hate, not liking the sound of my voice to halfway through, narrating like halfway through the book. A learning to really think I sounded quite nice for the first time in my whole life.
So I think the only way, the only way out is through, you know, and dealing with the perfectionist trying to, you know. Tell her what her space is and when it's not, and then understanding when she might get more activated. I'm saying she, 'cause that's what she is to me. When she might get more activated and it's usually when you're doing something for the first time, it's brand spanking new.
You're putting yourself out there or you're really in that early conceptual process. This is it's times of uncertainty. Those are like scaffolding voices that try to keep us safe. And also I think just recognizing that recognizing when they come in the room and when they get loud can be really, really helpful for removing their charge.
So there's no, unfortunately, one silver bullet way of dealing with the inter perfection are many different ways, and it also will depend how it, uh, manifests for each person.
Kayla: Hmm. I think two through lines I got out of that was number one, just that awareness. So knowing what might trigger her, knowing where she's most likely to show up and be very protective because it really is a protective part.
And then the other part is understanding that this isn't a bad part. We're not trying to like. Hurt her, kill her, make her go away. She actually has a role in our creative life. She just has less of a role or no role in that initial messy, juicy, creative phase. So those are the two kind of through lines I got from all of that that you really just shared with us.
Pia: Beautifully summarized.
Kayla: Mm-hmm. Also, you have a very nice voice, so I'm glad you, uh, thank you uncovered that during your book narration journey.
Pia: Thank you. Yeah, that was, uh, it was fascinating. It's really interesting because going, reflecting back and looking at the book writing process and also the audio book narration process, the first few chapters of my book were the ones that needed the most editing.
It sounds obvious, but it was a good reminder that you have, I had to go through it not being great. To get to becoming great because towards the end, the last few chapters, I was like, Ooh, you know, because I became a better writer by writing. But I had to, I had to start writing that book. I mean, I had written before, but not a book, so I had to start.
And the same with the audio book. I had to rerecord the first few chapters and still it was like, oh, another reminder. Yeah, I got better by speaking. It got better narrating. 'cause the, I kept narrating. And, but we have to build the resilience and our capacity to be able for it not to be so good in the beginning and to know that that's part of our creative process.
It's part of the, our development process, and we're gonna get through to the other side and be in a different place.
Kayla: Absolutely. Yes. I think that's a huge point to make for anyone listening who wants to be more creative is I. You're not going to do your best work at the very beginning, regardless of what new thing you're doing.
For me, the biggest one I've battled with over the past couple years has been Instagram reels, and for the longest time I was like, like social media. It's, it's toxic. It's, it's distracting people. It's, it's bad for people's brains. Yes, I'm sure there is, you know, being in a scroll hole doesn't make me feel great.
However, there's lots of great creators on there that do great work. But a big part of it was me feeling like I was bad at making reels, but I would tell myself this whole story about no social media's just not very true. And eventually I had to realize, no, I just suck at making reels. So I'm gonna keep practicing and I'm still not the best, but I'm better than I used to be.
And who knows where I'll be a year from now. Right. So I think it is allowing yourself to be that beginner and trust that your quality will improve with repetitions over time.
Pia: Absolutely.
Kayla: So what's been the most challenging creative project you've ever taken on?
Pia: I think it must be the book, because that was the biggest, I mean, biggest in terms of commitment and investment that was required for me. Um. So I think that was the biggest challenge because you, you, you really have to, uh, keep showing up for it for quite a long time. So you, you know, you keep showing up and you keep showing up.
You gotta be willing to go through that uncertainty, like all creative projects and, uh, really commit. It, it takes, it takes a creativity is also commitment. Um, especially when you're writing a book or if you're making a film or if you're doing something that is more of a longer term project. And for me, coming from working in creative agencies, kind of like a creative SWAT team, so we get different briefs and then you solve the problem and then you move on and then, you know, it's not long term.
And I also would write like short fiction and flash fiction and poetry. So, you know, a lot of the work that I did wasn't. Like very long form. So I think that that was definitely the biggest challenge.
Kayla: can you take us inside what your book writing process looked like? Any habits, rituals, any special things you did to bring the book to life?
Just people can get a glimpse inside your creative process.
Pia: That's a beautiful question. Well, I, I, time blocked, which was really important for me and. This didn't feel, it didn't feel like a story. It felt needed and really wanted. Like I, I really wanted one day where I could just write, do you know, I didn't wanna block in the middle of the day where I would have to stop at some point.
'cause sometimes you, I get into a flow and I just wanted, wanna see it. I wanna ride it out. I don't wanna feel like I have to, oh, I have to stop at three or something. That would just kind of stress me out. So I had, I would take Sundays. S it's like an absolute full day. And then usually I would have like a Thursday where I also try to do a full day.
And then in between I would have, I'd take what I could get, like if I had a, an hour, an idea. And I think allowing, at least for me, having some space and allowing for, um, ideas to Marin. And insights to kind of develop in between where I'm not like cracking a whip every single day. I need to it. It was very helpful for my creative process, at least for me.
And there are also other things going on in my life and it was learning a choreography of learning how to create for myself and create with others. So there is, it was new because usually I'd work with creating for with others and so it actually kickstarted something. I'm gonna be continuing. Forever, which I'm really glad, which is like, yes, of course.
If my purpose is to unleash creativity, creativity to build a better world, I'll also have to unleash my own in a whole bunch of different ways, right? Like, I need to drink the Kool-Aid. Um, and I, I didn't, I had that epiphany as I was writing the book, like, oh, what? Yeah, of course. It's not only about helping other people, it's also about doing that for myself.
So that was a beautiful epiphany. Um, but it was a dance and a choreography and allowing myself to stumble, but having two full block days. Very good meditation. Meeting myself, meeting my thoughts, meeting the stuff that was coming through. It's like this incubation, marination period and then was really important to me.
So morning meditation, morning journaling. Maybe not every day, but like artist pages. Another wink, wink to Cameron, but like, just allowing thoughts that came up. Keeping a note, my notepad open on my phone or like physical paper nearby. Um, all very helpful to and movement. My, I was hoping you bring up
Kayla: movement.
Pia: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Movement, meditation, journaling. Those are my three rituals and macho MAA lattes in the morning. Like those are my three rituals that just really keep me grounded and connected to my, my creative essence. If we wanna myself like, 'cause it starts, as we said at the beginning of our conversation, it's about the person creating.
So it's about remaining connected to that to to source you. Um. So that along with the sort of the time blocking was, I, I think what, what really saw me through. And then towards the end, I actually had the summer off to just write, because it was crunch time. So that at some point I was like, okay, this, I need to step this up, I want to step this up.
I want, I really need to roll up my sleeves and like get steeped in this, map it out, see the whole thing. Um, so there'll be a time when you, you're, you have to press the pedal.
Kayla: Absolutely. Yes. So you touched on so many magical things about a writing journey. The movement specifically I wanna touch on because.
Writing and writing specifically, I'm a writer as well. I know there's other types of artists. It's so cerebral and you can get so in your head. So when you're able to take that time to move, whether it's running, dancing, whatever it might be, I find that's where a lot more inspired ideas come through, or connections get made while you're moving.
So I would love to hear what your movement routine looked like and how that actually facilitated some of your creativity.
Pia: Well, I do this thing, it's a hangover from COVI actually, um, called the class 'cause I could do it at home. It's tearing to me. It's beautiful. It's like mindful movement, but it's like cal calisthenics, like it's movement, you know?
And it's also about moving energy. So, and energy is move through body. So you could do burpees, you could do tons of different things, but not about the burpee. It's about moving. Through things that might feel sticky or uncomfortable, and knowing that you can do, you can do hard things through, through your body, so like an embodiment practice.
And also use your voice a lot. Which I really like, like, like you just like allow energy to, to be expressed vocally, sound gutterly or however you want it. You can go high if you want to, not words. And I, and that has still is really important for processing emotion for me and allowing things to come through and out, and energy not getting stuck.
And as you said, writing is very cerebral, getting a chance to get into my body. And I actually might laugh. I have a notepad right next to where I work out because it's so weird, like when my mind is kind of turned off. 'cause I'm in my body not turned off, but I, I'm not thinking really, I'm kind of in my body.
Ideas pop up. They just kind of come outta nowhere and I wanna catch 'em when they're, when they, when they show up. So that's one movement practice that I find lovely. It's really, and to this day, like I did it today, like I find every day at least four times a week. But if I can move and shout and make noise and process and move energy, uh, it's so important for the re for my creativity and my work.
Kayla: Mm-hmm. I think the sound piece is so key as well. I don't know if this shows up for you in the work you do with creatives, but the clients I coach, they often have like a lot of somatic stuff here. So the tightening in the throat, the contraction. And I believe one of the best ways to move that out and through is to make the sounds to sing, to, you know, do the whatever sounds need to come out to just unlock that area, because I think it is a very common one that can close up for many people.
So thank you for sharing that as well.
Pia: Especially women. Mm-hmm. I mean, we've been told to be quiet for long and in this day and age as well. Once again. You know, um, fear of being seen, fear of being heard, fear of being too loud, fear of being too big, fear of being too much. Uh, unfortunately, I think a, we're saddled with a lot of that, so it's so important, um, to clear, to open, to claim, to be supported, to be all seen, to give yourself permission, but also to model it for other women to be together and be like, let's.
This together. Let's fucking roar. Like, let's do the thing, let's, let's, let's let it out. Let's, it's safe here. It's okay in like, let's create spaces where we can do that together. Let's create spaces where we support each other as we create, as we enter the arena. Let's create spaces where we roar, uh, and where we move and where we make.
Um, these are spaces I definitely wanna be part of holding and co-creating 'cause they're just so important and spaces I wanna be in too. We all need some more roaring in our lives.
Kayla: Absolutely. And just that permission slip for those women who have been told they're too much or whatever it might be, to actually just be their full selves.
And you know, I have had that like too much wound my whole life and you know, even in recent times I have like. People I know be like Kayla. Sometimes the the things you say make people really even uncomfortable. You know, there's that part that like contracts and goes into myself and then I have to remind myself, yeah, that made them uncomfortable, but that doesn't mean I said anything wrong or did anything wrong.
And some people don't have that capacity to hold space for women who speak their mind or whatever it might be. But again, that's more about them than about. The person who's saying it. And I think when women can actually open up this conversation and remind each other, Hey, you're not too much, just because that one person was uncomfortable or triggered doesn't mean you did anything wrong.
That could have just been, you know, triggering some wound in them that they might have actually needed to have triggered so they can work on it.
Pia: Absolutely. And you know what? It's not your responsibility to make other people feel comfortable. That's not what you're put on this earth to do, like people's responsibility to deal with.
Their discomfort, regulate their emotions, take a closer look, make their own decisions. Oh, maybe I don't wanna hang out with Kayla. Fine. Like, you know what I mean? Like there's a lot of availability choices that are available and that those are their choices to make and their emotions to manage. And you're right, I do think, uh, how people feel or what people might say about another is often more a reflection of what's going on with them within them.
So, you know, I think, yeah, and even saying that made that person feel uncomfortable, you're like, okay, well how would that person like to deal with that? Maybe you should ask them that question. How would you like to deal with the discomfort? What made you uncomfortable? You know, like, but that's not, that's not your respon, like our responsibility to do, I think.
We have a responsibility for how we show up, for the energy we bring and for showing up fully as ourselves so we can model that for other people who to, to also help give them permission to do the same. That's the best gift you can give anyone is to show up so rawly authentically, authentically, fully you, that you just like hand out that permission slip right to every anyone else to be, show up fully as themselves and then to trust that we, we can consciously share.
How things make us feel without making anyone else wrong or right. Um, and we can have those conversations and we can manage that together
Kayla: definitely. Because I don't think discomfort. Even means wrong or bad ever. I think about some of the things I've heard from other people that made me uncomfortable and I was able to, you know, do that self-reflection of why did this make me uncomfortable?
And it was often those moments of discomfort that helped me break through something I need to, to break through on my own, um, which I couldn't have done if those people had been scared of like, you know. They wanting to water themselves down or, or be fully authentic.
Pia: True. They say, uh, triggers are our biggest teachers, you know?
Kayla: Yes. All right. So Pia, I have so enjoyed this conversation. Now, if people wanna connect with you further, reach your book, do all the things, how can they do?
Pia: Uh, collective Do Studio is home-based, so it's where you can find out more about me, my work. Um, welcome to the Creative Club. The book is there, and it's also on amazon bookshop.org.
I, um, released the audiobook two weeks ago, so that's now on Audible and Apple Books and yeah, everything is, is, is on the.
Kayla: Great, and I'll include links to all of that in the episode description. And I always love for my guests to give the listeners an embodiment challenge, a journal prompt, something they can take and embody after listening to this.
So what do you have?
Pia: What do I have? Well, the book is really an invitation to become the creative director of your life. So I would like to leave people with a question, like, if you were to creatively direct your next scene, what might it look like? We're talking set design, costume, design script, score, you know, all of it.
Uh, and I'll give an example just to bring it back down to Earth 'cause it could be huge or it could be, you know, just also in the small. So that could be like for me, I'm gonna put on my old Guns N Roses t-shirt, put some fire red engine lipstick on. I'm going to get some cherry kombucha and put Doshi on the speaker in my kitchen.
And I'm just gonna dance. That's gonna be my creatively directed scene. Just me in that moment, you know? And you can almost like envision it, and it might sound small, but I think it's really powerful because it creates evidence that, of course, you're creatively directing this show. Of course, you get a chance to choose how you want it to look, how you want it to feel, what you wanna have in it next, how you creatively respond to anything that comes your way.
So. That's what I would leave people with.
Kayla: I love that so much because it lets people to no longer take those small moments for granted. Like every moment can be a creative experience, whether you are having that experience or someone's about to make lunch and they decide they're gonna light a candle and quote on their favorite tunes and dance while they're chopping up their vegetables.
It doesn't have to be this like mundane. Drudgery filled experience. It gets to be creative. You get to weave in this sense of everyday magic. So thank you for that.
Pia: Oh, I love the way you described that. Thank you so much for having me on. It was a really, I felt we could have kept talking, so that's always a wonderful sign of an electric conversation.
Those thank you.
Kayla: Yes, and thank you as well.
