By Moni Hardy. 

“I wonder where I left my pen.”

“Children, where is Mama’s pen? You know I need it to write down my ideas for the project.”

“It’s right where you left it mom, on your desk.”

“Oh, so it is. Carry on.”

Depending on your Meyers Briggs Personality Initials, you may be thinking, “if he were more organized there would not be wasted time looking for a pen.” Or perhaps on the other end of the spectrum of initials, a comment like, “I so get the creative messy mind that misplaces a pen.”

Why would I want to create anything?

The reason varies from person to person, and our reason may change over time. Perhaps lack of funds encourages us to improve our at home Covid skills such as hair cutting, bread making, painting, sewing, writing or podcasting. Thankfully hair grows back.

To take this out of the realm of the hypothetical, I will share some of my own reasons for creating content. The world that God has created around me is a place of beauty, however it has been tainted by ugliness. With the life I have been given, it is my mission in life to reveal, contribute, and inspire others.

I am not able to speak things into existence, yet I long to produce creative substance that further accentuates the beauty around me and points others to the true Creator.

The Four Types of Creatives

The Deliberate and Cognitive Creative: A Skilled Thinker

A problem solver which requires time and dedication along with an abundance of knowledge of a specific area. Requires time to “test” for solutions and answers.

The Deliberate and Emotional Creative

This type is a logical, rational, decision maker that is influenced by their emotions and have “Ah-ha” moments of creativity.

The Spontaneous & Cognitive Creative

This creative has as thought of all the facts with the conscious mind, but may need to step away for the unconscious part of the mind to connect the dots for creative solutions.

The Spontaneous and Emotional Creative

The type of mind that writers or artists, or painters who have sudden realizations, or epiphanies. Although rare, these “epiphanies” do take place. This sort of creativity allows for a deeper look at a situation from a different view point. This is not something that can be learned, it is internal, intuitive.

Knowing your mind and the way it works is half the battle before heading into a creative endeavor. The process of creating content may look different than someone else, so comparison between ourselves and others is not always the best policy.

For example: Podcast Host A: Makes lists, makes more lists to hack away at the fluff and expose a direct line of attack. Pulls together a team of experts and assigns tasks, in alphabetical order, and sets follow up appointments to gain insight into the statistics gathered. Prays and drinks lots of coffee and starts over.

Host B: Waits for inspiration, posts sticky notes everywhere, creates color coded journal notes, purchases stickers to add to the sticky notes that still stand out after a few months. Determines to gather all the info including the stack of composition notebooks from the nightstand and composes the first script. Tosses that baby out into the world. Prays and drinks lots of coffee and starts over for next week.

Either way, it’s a good idea to gather on a community coffee break with other podcast hosts to encourage each other to continue sharing not themselves, but the important message with which a Christian Podcasting Group has been entrusted. When you realize that you have a message to share, it’s time to delve into the wisdom of those that have gone on before you and make a plan of action.

The Mindset of a Content Creator

If you know in your heart and mind that you have been called to share, begin with prayer as to how you should proceed. I can share for myself, it was a call, and I jumped in immediately and learned the nuts and bolts of podcasting along the way. Others have learned and prepped and launched.

Either way these two types have moved forward. Have you noticed I have said nothing about skills? Skills can be and will be learned after the battle in the mind has been won.

Mindsets that hold us back:

• Fear: What if people don’t like what I have to say? As in any endeavor, fear can hold us back and is something to be overcome. Fear not, for I am with you says the Lord, but I know that sometimes that takes awhile to get from my head to my heart.
• Imposter Syndrome: Your mind races, I’m not as talented as others. No one will listen to me. Someone has already done this.
• Procrastination: How many times have you had a deadline on a project loom near, and all of a sudden house cleaning is an urgent compulsion. Postponing or delaying a task till the last minute creates more fear and tension. Just do it, and let me tell you, I’m talking to myself here as well.
• Comparison: Ever heard the quote, “Comparison kills?” Well it does. If you would like some advice here before you begin on your journey, please don’t worry about the listen or download numbers.

Podcasting is a slow growth, long term medium.

Of course we will make mistakes. Like the time I procrastinated, had a bad case of imposter syndrome, compared myself to others and was afraid that no one would listen, and then to top it all off, I thought I lost an episode. I fell into tears and insisted that I had to finish immediately. Thankfully my sister was visiting and coaxed me out of the studio.

I now have a sticky note that reads, “There’s no crying in Podcasting!”

We can do this. We are Overcomers.