Cynthia Morris: A Creative Melting Pot
As a writer, teacher, author, and speaker, Cynthia Morris stays pretty busy. But she’s also a coach and has made a career guiding creatives through their career ups and downs.
We caught up with this Colorado-based freelancer to find out how she does it all—and what’s next!
Kristen Fischer:Tell us how you got started in your current career. You’re a coach, a writer, a teacher and a speaker. Did you start with just one thing? How did these all come together?
Cynthia Morris: I began writing in 1994, and gave myself five years to write without worrying that it would be any good or publishable. In 1995, I read The Artist’s Way and it completely opened up my sense of what is possible. I explored every art form imaginable and began teaching and writing more. A few years later I heard about life coaching. I thought, “Great, I can do what I’m already doing and have more time to write.” Little did I know how consuming a business can be. I’d been teaching since 1994 and so when I became a coach, it was easy to apply my facilitator skills to coaching workshops. I’m still trying to bring everything together in one coherent form. I have a handful of 30-second elevator pitches.
KF: What do you do for creative people with your coaching? Why is it so vital for creatives specifically to have a coach? Why did you choose to focus on creatives?
CM: Creative people need support because they’re making stuff up out of nowhere. It takes enormous confidence and courage to follow a creative idea through to completion with zero guarantee of a payoff. Many people fail because they can’t handle the uncertainty. They want to know that their work will be received.
I help creative people develop a style of working that suits their unique needs, circumstances and goals. Forget the idea of a prescribed way to make art, build a business or live a life. Creatives rebel against rigidity. Their system has to work for them. I give them permission to do it their way. That may sound weird, but we often need a yes nod to feel free to go forward with our ideas. I help my clients develop confidence and their own wisdom with regard to what is true for them and their creative path.
I’m a great brainstormer. I help generate ideas that my clients are too afraid or too in the box to even entertain. I’m a Genius Generator™–I spark your inner genius. People come to coaching for help with staying accountable. It’s incredibly scary to go for what you want and I make it more fun, easy and doable. Many of my clients are creative people who want to be more business savvy. It’s a great pleasure to work with smart, talented people like my clients.
I focus on creatives because I am one. Everything I think I know about the creative process comes from my own experience and that of my clients.
KF: So, what are the challenges of your career?
CM: Mates of State, a great band, have a song called “Everyone Needs an Editor.” The screamed refrain goes “I am right all the time!” It’s tongue in cheek and a fun song. My biggest challenge is that I need an editor, or a sounding board, or a board member on site for when I need a reality check on my ideas. I have a tribe of valuable friends and colleagues here in Boulder who listen to my plans and encourage me. It’s so essential to have support on the creative journey and since I do that for others, I need to make sure I have it for myself.
KF: That’s so true! So you have garnered some impressive media coverage. Many FSw readers are looking for ways to get publicity. How have you done it?
CM: That’s kind of you to say. I’d love more! Everything I’ve gotten has come to me because I have gone for it with chutzpah. The Health magazine piece came because I saw a posting for ‘Real Beauty” and thought, sure, that’s me. I’m real. Can I say I’m a beauty? Many people would say, “Oh, I can’t claim that,” and they wouldn’t go for it. I did and it paid off. Keep your radar tuned to opportunities.
KF: And you’re also an author, which many people aspire to be. How can creatives leverage their skills and experiences to get into the publishing industry?
CM: Seven sentences: Don’t give up. Persistence is the key to success. Don’t believe anyone who says it can’t be done. Don’t undersell yourself. Just be real. Use your unique voice to sell your work. Hang around only positive people who believe in your genius.
KF: And what’s on the horizon for you, professionally?
CM: Oh boy. Big, big changes here at the Original Impulse home office. I can’t reveal my plans yet, but they involve more art making, more world travel and more fun for me and everyone I work with. Oh, and I’m seeking a book deal for my novel next year.
For more information on Cynthia, visit her blog at http://www.vivelaslink.typepad.com.
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