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You're listening to, Maybe You're Like Me, the transparent musings of a God Girl chasing After Her purpose. Maybe you're like me as a podcast for dreamers and doers who take life's lessons and level up to look more like Christ. We'll connect through super relatable stories, growing pains and aha moments that most of us share, just not always out loud. I'm your host, Alicia, Watson, creative entrepreneur, playwright, author, wife, mother, daughter of the king, and so much more. And I can't help that Maybe You like me.
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Hey, hey, beautiful people. Thank you so much for joining me for another episode of Maybe You're Like Me, I don't know, If, you're like me, But life is coming at me fast. We are busy. Time is fine. I keep trying to go and visit my family in other states and when I blink, another month has passed, but it's busy in a way, a good way, a blessed way. So I won't complain. If, you are like me and busy. I really wanna thank you for showing up here, for listening, for sharing these episodes, for leaving reviews, for commenting, and all the good stuff that you take time out of your day to do. Okay, so work is really picking up, which is good. I had to shut down my books for a long time, so it is great to be in the mix again, get my creativity on and serving others with these gifts and talents that the good Lord has given me.
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If you're new around these parts, I own and operate Ali Watson Media, and I'm a branding photographer and videographer. So I am a creative and I do creative things for a living and I love it. But creativity is tricky because it's not like business knowledge, your technical skills. It's not a standard process that you can absentmindedly, implement and go home. It kinda just has to strike you. So Maybe, you're like me and you are experiencing a creative block. When I was branding my dad's book back in 2018, I was driving down the street in Waldorf, Maryland, probably listening to music and minding my business when all of a sudden there was this book cover design right there sitting in the front of my mind. I don't nowhere something that I had been mowing over and over and over, trying to make good and not cheesy, trying to make reflect the, you know, the content of the book.
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It just came to me. But at the most inconvenient time, I even knew at that moment exactly how I was gonna create it. So I had to pull it down and write it all down. The title of his book is My Rainbow is Black. And before that, I was experimenting with rainbows and black and white colored rainbows, fields, stock folders of children, urban city, neighborhoods, families, and just all these other things for the book. And at one point I just gave up. I decided to just take some pictures of my camera the next time I saw him and just put his face on the front collar the day. But I ran with this random idea that I got while I was driving and when I finished with it, it was totally different from what I had been imagining. It was a crowd of black and brown, huge ovals that looked like faces.
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Standing behind an oval with a black hat on my dad, boom, a cover whenever my dad wears a t-shirt with the book cover, he gets so many compliments. He's sold books from that cover design. He's made connections with people in the airport. I mean, it's just amazing and I'm incredibly proud to have been able to just bring that dream into fruition for him. That's how creativity works. It can't be forced, but I also do believe practice is important. Sitting down or just going out to create with no expectations or deadlines is also very important. And growing that muscle, practicing concepts and reverse engineering other people's creativity, just to try new things is also incredibly helpful in developing your eye, your style, and your skillset.
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But when you're on a deadline, having a creative block can be gut wrenching, especially when you've procrastinated or the deadline is just rushed to begin with. So here are some things that I do when I'm having a creative black, and hopefully you can use some of these to help you too. The first one is to take a brain break and come back to it later because it's really not something you can force, like I said, so don't force it. I've learned not to give myself tight deadlines too, and if someone's coming to me with a rush project, I make sure that I don't take that. If I don't feel like I can accomplish it without stressing myself out next, you should just sleep on it. Sometimes you need an app or just to go ahead and shut it down and attack it in the morning with fresh perspective, but it does not serve you to keep pushing yourself because you're not gonna come up with something that you really like from that force perspective.
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Next, I would say to gather inspiration. And I'd say do this beforehand and on a regular basis before you even need the inspiration. So as you're surfing the internet and social media, or even when you're watching TV or movies, create and keep a bank of inspiration noting what elements speak to you and why they speak to you. Go get inspired. I usually find inspiration in different avenues than what I'm actually working on. So if it's photo and video that I'm working on, I might go visit a museum or it definitely happens when I'm listening to music or watching business and motivational interviews or just watching other people's processes in general. I also say that you should work another muscle, another creative muscle.
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It's like skipping leg day. Don't skip leg day. You don't wanna have like a really above upper body and don't have any other, any other muscles anywhere else. So even if I'm never gonna share with anyone else, I enjoy doing creative things like singing and songwriting and painting and coloring and coloring books and crafting and decorating my home like this flexes muscles that I don't necessarily use in photography and videography, but it gives me another creative outlet to generate ideas and inspiration, clean something. I know from experience that it's very hard to create in a cluttered space. So even if I leave and go somewhere else, the thought of needing to clean will still clutter my mind.
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So usually before I start a creative project, I will clean up if I have time to do so or make my kids do it. You can take a walk, sunshine, fresh air, nature noises, they all do it for me. And if I want to make that experience top tier, I'll walk by water. Just getting out into nature really helps spark creativity for me. It relaxes me, relaxes my brain, and refreshes me to pick back up where I started. So take that break, take that walk, get outside, especially while it's still summer, we can do it. Stop overthinking it. Take the focus off of yourself and off of whatever you're doing, being good and just have fun with it. The truth is, you're far more experienced and exposed to your kind of art and your clients and your friends and a lot of other people.
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What you think you're about to be judged on might be completely overlooked. Don't be so hard on yourself. Stop overthinking it. Just do it. And along with that, I like to say toss it up to the ceiling and then bring it back down. This is something I say when I'm directing actors by telling 'em to go too far and let me bring them back down to an acceptable level of what I'm looking for. So I say that to you, Go too far with your design. Go too far with your music. Whatever creative thing it is, take it out of the box and take the breaks off of it. Go crazy with it and you might just happen upon something that really works while being able to toss or shelve the rest. Get another set of eyes on what you're working on. My husband previews every project that I work on, and it's not just for affirmation of my dopeness, but again, he's looking from a layman's perspective.
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So what I think might be bad might be really impressive or just right. I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my stuff. So his unbiased opinion and perspective really helps me to see clearly and get over whatever blocks I'm having about it being like super good. And lastly, pray about it. I actually lead with prayer. I start off every project with a prayer. I pray before the shoot. I pray before the edit. I pray before the delivery. I want God in all of my projects because he can see what I don't. He can see what I can't. He can see the future and who the project will connect with and the opportunities that will come from it, and the mindset and experiences of the people who will be impacted by it, the people who need to see it. I don't want it all to depend on me.
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I want him to get the glory. I'm just the vessel as always. So yeah, I get it. Creative blocks are frustrating. I know, but they're just obstacles. Blocks are not stops. So don't give up and don't doubt yourself. If none of these things work for you, find something that does and let your work move you forward. Creativity and are are subjective. Whether something is good or bad, it really depends on the person consuming it, and that can change from person to person. The point is to get it done and out into the world so that people can connect with it. Don't attach their response to your self work. What you create is your creation and you are God's creation. You were fearfully and wonderfully made by such a meticulous creator.
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Tap into that. Well, that's all I have for you today. If you're like me, I would love to hear from you. Reach out to me on Instagram at the Alicia Watson, Send a DM and let's chat If, you know, someone who's like us. Please share this episode with them and please subscribe. Great, and you listen to find podcast. I hope you all have a wonderful week.
