How to experience Creative Joy in business
Creative joy...
As a heart-led entrepreneur, your main reason for starting your business in the very first place is likely because of the joy/ the thrill of building something new that no one has created before. Perhaps you have a vision of building a grand business empire or perhaps you are just want freedom to pursue your heart’s desire with no one else controlling your time. Regardless, there is a deep soul desire for creating something new, in a way that is joyful to you.
And the further I go along my own entrepreneurial journey myself (5+ years and counting), I realized the importance of this feeling of joy in business. I learned that: joy of creating what you love is the root of creating what you want in business.
Because no matter how tough the journey of building a business is, when you find creative joy in your business, you become so absorbed in the creative process itself that you naturally hone in, develop, and master the skills in your business as a natural by-product (especially when it comes to marketing).
This is how work begins to feel playful, enchanting, and fun. Because to you, working on your business is like you are creating art with a satisfied heart in a golden sunlit meadow. And because it is hard to not consistently show up, for your business is a sanctuary of creative delight, your visions of soul-filling success then becomes inevitable to you…
Reasons for losing creative joy in business
However, with a lot of business advice and strategies centered around how to monetize content as fast as possible, it is easy for a lot of feminine beings to lose this sense of joy and excitement around the creative process. This can looks like being agitated, controlling, and on edge around your creative process— because creativity (in content creation) is seen from the lens of what you “have to” post for vitality/engagement/sales rather than what you “want to.”
Thus, even when you have an exciting idea to create content around, your inner critic may jump in quickly and say things like…
“But will it make people pay me immediately?”
Soon to find that your initial creative spark poofs away…
And I totally get that because there was a time in my business journey when I hired a copywriting coach and felt ‘trapped’ around how I could express in my business. The copywriting strategies did work, however, it ended up leaving a hollow feeling in my chest– as I felt like I had to try to speak like someone I am not/ speak like that “successful” 7-figure coach in order to sell.
This hollow feeling, I learned, was coming from the unmet desire of the feminine spirit within who desires to express her fullest self in her own natural way. She does not want to be pressured, forced, nor contorted to express in a way that does not sound like someone she is not, just so she could “sell.” And when we disavow to this inner feminine desire, we end up losing our innate joy and satisfaction in business.
And in a lot of women I have worked with as well, I saw that in fact this wild, majestically beautiful expression of the feminine spirit becomes lost, constrained, and diminished due to rules and restraints around how we “should” show up in our business. The most common reasons of this includes the pressure of needing to sell/convert content immediately. Other reasons includes things like fear of judgement, fear of being seen and/or being unseen with low likes/low engagement.
So with this constrained feminine spirit you will find that it becomes harder to show up to show up in business. Business will then begin to feel like a chore/ a set of checklists you “have to” do to make progress, instead of letting the cavernous creative calling of the feminine spirit move you. And as a result, creative joy, that is, the essence of the feminine spirit becomes sucked away and crushed within…
Consequences of losing creative joy
With all these rigid expectations set around content creation, what I’ve learned is that we start to treat business like a transactional machine rather than a sacred spiritual practice.
And just as how factory workers/managers would deploy their machines, we start to run our business with adrenaline, rush, and brute force. Instead of flowing with the rhythms of creativity, our minds then becomes shrouded with anxieties about the future and unfulfilled desires. In wild mayhem, our heads our constantly filled with questions like “What next?” And “what ifs?” because we are impatient within our business.
All of that cajoling, expecting, and rushing in our business, specifically in our creative expressions does either one of two things to us:
We either push ourselves in a ways that are aggressively demanding on ourselves
Thus, leading to things like burnout and overwhelm,
with an empty feeling in our chest and thoughts of dissatisfaction hovering in our headsOr we freeze up around content creation
which leads to holding back in our true expression,
With lack of confidence,
or total withdrawal from content creation altogether (even though you have a burning desire to create your art/ your content deep down).
None of the two consequences lead to a sustainable success nor fulfillment in our business (and our lives) long-term.
How to have creative joy in business
And what I’ve learned to bring creative joy, that is the soul of your content, comes down to reviving that natural, organic expression of your unique feminine spirit within. And although I wrote this part in a numbered way, I don’t want you to see this a step-by-step checklist you, but rather as ingredients: just like how water, sun, and soil are important pieces for nourishing a plant. Below are what I’ve found to be essential creative joy infusers in business…
Connection to your core creative purpose
Our creative purpose is the reason (we believe) is why God/the Creator has put us here to create what we create. It is what keeps us going/ what brings us fortitude even if our creative endeavors are not recognized (yet). It is a reason for what makes you give birth to your specific creative expressions, for a cause that is greater than yourself. And it is when we connect to this creative purpose that we ignite the fire of the feminine spirit, and her creative joy, in us.
Yet, in this day and age when marketing is seen through the lens of what makes money the fastest, it is easy to lose touch to this divine creative purpose as you are rushed to acquire immediate results from your content. Yes, converting your content to sales (i.e. buying customers) is a vital part of having a business.
However, chasing for sales without a greater reason for why you create what you create, ravages the heart of our deeper feminine souls.
In fact, I realized the importance of our core creative purpose when I lost the joy of creating content myself, in the summer of 2022. Back then, I was focusing so much on getting sales that I did not know what my unique purpose/mission in my business was anymore. Instead I felt myself speaking in ways I thought+have seen to make money fast, and therefore ending up to sound similar to other abundance/spirituality coaches.
And that, to my deeper soul, was deeply unfulfilling— it felt like my soul had wayyy more to share/to create/to channel than what I was creating in my content. And it was only after taking a break from my business, that I realized that the reason why I felt unfulfilled was because my core creative purpose was unfulfilled. Because my mission is actually to support entrepreneurs ignite their inner prolific artists to thrive in business and I learned how I was not fulfilling that (and therefore felt empty). From that experience, I learned how important it is to dig deeper than lucrativeness, when building our businesses, for us to actually build a thriving, fulfilling business that also fulfill our hearts+ a genuine need in the market.
For you to find your core creative purpose, you can ask questions such as these to yourself:
- What is the deep creative desire that you have had all along (perhaps even before you even learned about money)?
- Why do people genuinely need YOUR work?
- If your business is missing in the marketplace, in what ways would there be a gap? (Hint: you want there to be a gap because you are filling an essential gap, driven by your unique creative purpose)
2. Diving deeply into topics you love
Another essential ingredient of experiencing creative joy, I have discovered, is to enter the realm of depths. That is, to become so immersed in your creative process that the outside world seems to fade away, and you enter into a transcendent reality where time dissolves into eternity, and it’s just you and your limitless creative ideas, flowing in meditative harmony with every word you type.
I know that such an expression above may sound unattainable and over-idealistic, but I can attest to you, that is totally possible once you devote uninterrupted hours of creative space on a daily basis (speaking this from my humble beginnings of being a blogger).
In fact, as entrepreneurs, we get the opportunity to experience flow-state like this, almost everyday— especially if your business strategy involves content marketing. We get to experience this every time we write a post, film a video, and/or record a podcast. I don’t know another career with such freedom and flexibility of being able to experience flow-state through our creative process like an (online) entrepreneur does.
However, what stops us from experiencing the blissful depths of creativity is the shallowness of our modern age— rife with distractions, mindless scrolling, and short-form content, hijacked to merely get quick validation on social media.
Thus, rather than diving deep into our creative act with focus, deep-thinking, and introspection, we give into squeezing out micro bits and pieces of content through fragmented attention spans. In turn, you may only experience quick-hit bouts of dopamine rush, such as when the algorithm machine ‘rewards’ you with likes and virality, rather than experiencing creative bliss for expanded hours throughout your days/your entire creative process —if you were to dive more deeply into your creative acts instead.
So if your intention is to experience more joy within your creative process, my tip for you is to carve out uninterrupted hours of deep thinking and reflection. This doesn’t have to be unrealistically long, rather the focus here is the quality of the depth instead. Not only this will help you cultivate a sacred space for your feminine spirit to bestow you with ample creative ideas/gifts, it will also benefit your business with more productivity (in a feel good way), better problem-solving ideas for your clients, and enhanced momentum in expressing your zone of genius.
3. Experiencing beauty within little creative acts
If business is a ship navigating at night, beauty is a moonlight that bathes our path with a silvery light. Beauty is what soothes our souls, in a way that makes our creative endeavors whole.
With the acts of your business, specifically in content creation, you get to grasp this ethereal grandeur: beauty. Whether that is how you pose in a picture, the filter you place on a video, or the kind of words you choose to write on your posts— you get to play with beauty who is dancing within your creations, through various senses.
And when you invite her: the graceful ballet dancer (i.e. beauty), business transforms from mundane to mesmerizing spectacles, each expression captivating your soul and your potential customers alike.
Yet, despite beauty’s healing, evocative, and awe-inspiring effect on our hearts (and that of our potential customers), she is normally devalued and downplayed by most masculine-oriented business strategies.
The value of our content is diminished only to “saying the right things” when the truth is, it is not just the words we say, but also how we say that leads to the trust and resonance with your customers. And beauty is the how of what we express, for she is the one who paints the texture, tone, and touch our words and images within our content.
Which is why beauty is an essential element of creative joy and aliveness—especially if you are a soulfully expressive, heart-led feminine being.
In fact, I have found that it is easier for me to receive ideas on what to post about once I have ‘absorbed’ some beauty: whether that is to have a whimsical fairy-like photo taken of me or watch a bush of Azaleas nearby. And of course that doesn’t mean having a perfect Instagram feed nor looking ‘put together’ everyday (in fact, as I write this article at this moment, I have thick glasses on with unkempt hair!). Absorbing beauty simply means to open our hearts to her and let her transform your thoughts, emotions, and perspectives as you create content…
4. Letting your unique soul shine through
Business becomes boring when we don’t allow ourselves to be ourselves. It starts to feel like another job or to put in another way, another “trap”that simply pays our bills when you don’t comfortably express your uniqueness (i.e. your God-given marketing edge).
Yet, in this day and age, especially in the coaching industry, it’s easy to begin feeling like you need to look/speak/act like your coach to be successful. It’s easy to be so “inspired” by someone who is making so much money that you start to replicate their business—from branding to systems and even the way you write/sell/articulate your offers.
And if you find yourself there, I want to let you know that you’re not alone. I have been there and I know how empty and unfulfilling it is to finally realize— that your “magnetic”client-attraction is just because you look/sound like someone else.
But what I also want you to know is that allowing yourself to be who you are is actually wayyy more magnetic.
In fact, being your true self (who is different from others on social media) is more freeing, more liberating, and more fulfilling to your soul. On top of that, you begin attracting people who want to work with you because you are you— and not because you are a cheaper version of someone else. Because there is only one you in this world, with your unique traits/values/beliefs/ideas etc., what you offer also becomes one of one-in-a-trillion value.
And so my love, express all that you are for the act of expression itself is the root of creative joy in business. Because when you own all of you— from the way you write to the crazy, unpopular, unspoken ideas in your head— and trust that all of those are exactly what your ideal clients want (and need), and you let them express, creative joy, like a feathery pillow for you to rest on, arrives in your business in consequence…
If this article has invoked blissful awareness within you, you’re going to love the transformation inside my upcoming Free 5-day course (Content Treasure Chest) for experiencing creative joy, fulfillment, and flow-state through creating content that connects. You can sign up for my newsletter here to stay updated.
