What if you could step outside your life for a moment, tap into hidden sources of inspiration, and completely reimagine your life’s possibilities? It turns out, you can. 

In today’s episode of The Business of You, we’re hosting creativity coach Susie deVille to teach us how to do exactly that. Susie is a longtime brandiD client, and this is her second time on the podcast  – because our listeners requested that we invite her back for more!

Susie is the founder and CEO of the Innovation & Creativity Institute. An author, coach, and business owner who built and sold a highly profitable real estate firm, she has been researching innovation and creativity since 2005. Her first book, Buoyant: The Entrepreneurs Guide to Becoming Wildly Successful, Creative, and Free, has been called The Artist’s Way for entrepreneurs. Susie teaches us how to be more creative, not just for fun, but in how we approach every aspect of our lives, from relationships to work. 

Are you ready to bet on yourself?

When the recession of 2008 hit, Susie lost it all. She calls it her “nuclear winter period,” a time of deep loss and seemingly endless change. But even when times were dark, Susie could bet on one thing: Herself.

Despite a business and marriage in shambles, Susie knew she had what it takes to get through difficult times. Instead of succumbing to despair, she renovated a building and started a real estate business. 

On the outside looking in, it made no sense. Her friends and family questioned her sanity when she went into real estate during a housing crash, effectively placing her life savings in the hands of an uncertain economic market. But everything paid off when she succeeded. Her business took off, and everything came into alignment for her. 

Innovative thinking requires practice.

When asked why she can weather such extreme periods of change without a hitch, Susie’s answer might surprise you…she practices being uncertain, all the time. 

Before the recession hit, Susie was no stranger to taking calculated risks. She practices creative and innovative thinking every single day using the methods she lays out in her book: walking, meditating, making art, singing, and moving her body. By allowing her brain to become comfortable with uncertainty and creativity, she effectively trains herself to become a more innovative thinker. In her own words, “There is a physiological thing that happens in our brain when we are creating something.”

You can do this too. If you find yourself becoming more inflexible and doubting your abilities, it’s time to read her book – and become more creative yourself!

It’s time to design your life…

Your life is not meant to be lived in a cubicle, doing the same things every single day, with no room for creativity. You are so much more than that, whether you know it or not. 

You create possibilities you would never have discovered by training your brain to think creatively. In her book and her coaching programs, she teaches her clients how to tap into this part of themselves. 

The first thing she asks them to do is design their ideal day. What is your ideal day, and what would you be doing if nothing was holding you back? The answers might surprise you and might be closer than you think. Despite the limitations we assume are there – money, time, and connections – allowing ourselves to dream creates space for our brain to do the work for us, identifying resources to get us closer to what we really want. That is the power of the buoyant way and Susie deVille’s incredible teaching. Tune in to this episode and prepare to discover what you’re really capable of!

Quotes

“It’s about designing and mapping out the life we want to have…and then having the courage to live it.”

“I was faced with quite a dilemma because everything in my life imploded at that point – my finances, my marriage, everything. I needed a plan to get out of this. By the end of 2010, I did it! I launched my own company and renovated a building for my office. People thought I was insane, during a recession.”

“I bet everything on myself. In three years, I was financially free. Because I was forced to make this huge leap and not just stick my toe into uncertainty but dive into the deep end, I was going to find a way!”

“I have a practice that I do every single day – meditating, walking, and creating art. I fill the well of my self-trust that is required to move with agility and speed in uncertain times.”

“Stay in your existing job and start stocking your escape capsule with money, supplies, resources, teams of people and connections to be successful. Do this first. Then you’ll be in a position of not being panicky about your resources. You’ll be able to build in a very thoughtful intentional way, and leverage your resources to make bigger and bigger deals.”

“Write down your ideal day, in detail. Don’t censor yourself, or limit yourself. Then look at it for things that are surprising to you. Suddenly, the things that you typically think will be important to you, don’t seem as important. It might surprise you how little it requires.”

“It’s important to remember things you used to do and enjoy, that you stopped doing when you got busy. Make a list of those things.”

“Don’t wait until you have five million in the bank. Beginning gives momentum. Starting opens you up to new possibilities, new people, new resources and ideas – and it’s all a lot closer to you than you might think.”

“There is a physiological thing that happens in our brain when we are creating something.”

Work With Susie:

If you would like to work with Susie, check out her latest workshop details below.

The Art of Designing Your Big Life Workshop

 (The Rosetta Stone that unlocks ALL human potential!)

Saturday, October 14 from 9 am – 1:30 pm EST (via Zoom)

Ready to achieve more while doing less and map it all out so that you are crystal clear?

There are mindsets, habits, and old limiting beliefs that must go. And there are new, more empowering ways of thinking, being, and creating that must come to the fore.

This requires a strategic plan powered by unfettered access to your inspired action, intuition, and imagination. 

Susie deVille has pulled together and distilled the wisdom of some of the best minds in the fields of neuroscience, quantum physics, creativity, design, and peak performance. She has poured everything she has learned into this transformational workshop.

If you want to map out your most successful, adventurous, and creative 2024 in a supportive and FUN community of fellow seekers, Susie invites you to join in!

Here’s How to Register

Venmo your $197 payment to Susie (@Susie-deVille) OR send it via PayPal (susie@innovationcompass.com).

Purchase 2 paperback copies of BUOYANT from Amazon and email your receipt to:  susie@innovationcompass.com.

Don’t put off what has been pulling at you to create, live, or launch.

PS. If you are not able to attend LIVE, you still will be able to access the entire workshop. Everyone who registers will receive the Replay via email.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Podcast Resources

Check out the website for the Innovation and Creativity Institute: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/

Purchase Susie deVille’s book and hone your own creativity and inspiration: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/book/ 

Become a coaching client of Susie deVille or purchase a course on her website: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/work-with-susie/ 

Follow the Creativity and Innovation Institute on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/innovationandcreativityinstitute  

Connect with Susie deVille on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiedeville/ 

 Susie recommends the work of Lynda Barry in uncovering your own creativity. You can find her beloved book What it is here: https://www.amazon.com/What-Lynda-Barry/dp/1897299354

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