A scary roller-coaster (x2)

About creativity, the scream from within and a pivot

Drawing by Tineke Tammes

Today I’m going to write a highly personal post. It’s not going to be very coherent, just warning you. But it’s from the heart and all indicates a change in direction, a pivot that has been the result of a LONG battle inside of me. Oh, and it’s got a request to YOU. That too.

So buckle up and let’s get started.

The rollercoaster of changing careers

You may - or may not - have been around me for a while. Those of you who have know my story:

Twenty-five year career, thirteen of which as a Business Change Manager, supporting thousands of people through - often impactful - organisational changes.

Towards the end of those 13 years an unmooring (good word) happened, a NEED to do something DIFFERENT, something with IMPACT, which started a 4 year journey to figuring out what I wanted. At the end of which I had this:

I know, right? Clear as mud.

The home-coming - or not

I decided to retrain as a coach, supporting the vision I’d created of the life I wanted to live. (Want to know more about my vision? Complete with drawing? And how YOU can create a vision too? Go here and read all about it: Bare feet on cool tiles).

They often say that the niche you choose reflects you - but five years younger:

• The younger me, who struggled to find out what she wanted to do.

• Who had to read the entire shelf of career change, build-your-own-business, battle-your-money-mindset, spiritual and practical books the library (and the Oxfam charity shop) could provide me with FIRST.

• Who had to do every single personality test she could get her hands on, listen to TED talks and get her inspiration from EVERYWHERE, before she - finally (FINALLY!) - started taking action and IMPLEMENTING all of that inspiration into actual practical steps.

• So that - crucially - she (me, in case you lost the thread of the story - I did! 🤣) could help YOU do the same. Change careers. Find out what you WANTED and then making that a reality. Follow your dreams.

It was - and still is - GREAT.

When I get to work with you I can SEE the transformation, the unthawing, the realisation that something is changing for you.

Except.

Except there is this other part of me too. The other parts of that bubble diagram. The parts that are screaming inside of me.

The anchor: creativity

You see, one of the KEY things that helped me through those four years in the wilderness, in the (in proper change management words) ‘transition zone’, was my creativity.

Because in ALL of the turmoil I found that drawing and painting and writing brought me back to myself. It gave me back my sanity, it provided me with a quiet space to work things out in the back of my head, it gave me ideas and inspiration.

Some KEY resources helped me to consciously ACTIVATE my creativity too. One day I’ll write a post about it, but for now I want to shout about a number of resources:

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron - I found it in the (say it with me) Oxfam bookshop and it saved me! (I now run an annual The Artist’s Way GROUP to help YOU to unlock YOUR creativity too. Come!)

• Emilie Wapnick’s TED talk on multi-passionate-ness (if that were a word)

• Martin Seligman’s work on Positive Psychology

And lately, the Positive Intelligence programme helped me solidify and further my knowledge and understanding and provided me with access to the tools to unlock my creative brain (Sage) in ANY situation.

The other - even scarier - rollercoaster

The point is: I’m not the person I was five years ago. The world is not the same as it was five years ago. YOU are not the same as you were five years ago.

I’ve survived the five years of having a business supporting women in making career transitions. I LOVE doing that. I will CONTINUE doing that when I can.

But there’s this other part of me too.

The creative one. The painter one. The one who draws cartoons at every opportunity. The one who has to draw her thoughts in incomprehensible diagrams, because she is ridiculously visual. The one who gets over-excited when Portrait Artists of the Year is on Sky Arts. (It’s on NOW! Every Wednesday at 8 pm UK time! Watch it, it’s BRILLIANT! If you’re not in the UK - you might have an equivalent too!).

The one who sees her uncle and aunt paint and sell their paintings and doesn’t want to wait until she’s 70.

The one who just FEELS there’s more.

What I’ve built - so far

THIS is what I’ve built. What you see here. Or - if you are more of a reader than a visual person - you can read what I built here:

• My flagship Career Freedom coaching programme - with which I’ve helped numerous women change and transform their careers. Now enhanced with a Career Freedom PLUS option, with LOTS of extras AND, incorporated, the …

• Positive Intelligence programme - starts with an 8 week intensive ‘bootcamp’ to help you start changing habits and build mental resilience, quieten your inner Saboteurs and access your creative, wise (Sage) self, giving you the life-long tools to be resilient, and happy (a new GROUP programme starts on 28 October!).

• My Visual Coaching session in which we draw YOUR career story

• The Artist’s Way Group, a once-a-year 12 week programme to unlock your creative brain

• And of course this newsletter, the Career Freedom newsletter, here on Substack and every week in your inbox

That’s my business side - and here is my art website too!

What’s next

• Art

Anyway, that’s all a very long way of saying that there’s MORE. I FEEL there’s more.

First of all, I have this itch (not literally) that I’ve got to scratch. To see what my art can do. To do more of it. To see if you - anyone, others - want it, like it, buy it. Where I can go with it.

Which means that I’m painting. Lots. And playing. And experimenting. For my own wellbeing. But also to see what’s possible.

• Ideas

I’m also planning and creating.

Because I’ve got ideas. Lots of them.

But it’s no good leaving them inside my brain, or on paper. Or more accurately, somewhere in a folder, for ‘later’.

No, I’ve concluded, it’s better if I create WITH you. Which is why I’d like to run a couple of ideas past you.

My ideas

Ready for a view into my brain? Here goes:

I believe you - too - are creative. But that you don’t get to USE that creativity often enough. That it’s all about productivity and to do lists, toxic workplaces and struggling to survive. No moment unused, no TIME to be creative.

I want to change that. I want to UNLOCK your creativity, create TIME for creativity, give you the TOOLS for creativity. So that you can use that creative brain of yours to - yes - change careers, get IDEAS for what’s next in your career. But also to use it IN your work, at home, to BE creative, DO creative things, and - yes - also because creativity is FUN.

And here are some ideas I’ve come up with on how to do just that:

• This Career Freedom newsletter on Substack

Did you know you can pledge your support for my newsletter? You see, you can pledge your support for £5 per month, or £50 per year. Lots of writers on Substack build a community around their (paid) newsletter, united in a common purpose. I’d like to do the same.

So, I’m thinking:

Once I turn the ‘paid’ feature on you can - for a PAID membership - join the community with the ability to comment, get early bird booking on group coaching programmes, a monthly get together (Book/Ideas/Boast/Accountability Club), full access to the archive of articles and occasional subscriber-only posts with inspiration, personal stories, tools and exercises. And of course you will continue to get the weekly articles I write too!

ALL with the aim of unlocking your creative brain and making YOUR (career) change happen!

Starting from January 2025

• Grow

I talked about the Positive Intelligence programme. From January I will start an ongoing membership (called GROW) where members, who have gone through this IMPACTFUL, life-changing programme can GROW and learn to APPLY the principles and habits learned in the programme to everyday situations (like stress, conflicts, persuasion, productivity, emotional intelligence, happiness, health and wellbeing).

Starting from January 2025

• Workshops

Visual Coaching - Remember my Visual Coaching session in which we draw (out) your career story? What about an afternoon workshop where we do this TOGETHER? Not only will you have a lot of fun, you’ll have a visual reminder of ALL you’ve achieved (so far) in your career AND leave with renewed confidence in being able to tell YOUR story!

Play projects - Have YOU got a creative project that you just CAN’T get started on? One that you can’t FINISH? A quick project with which you want to ‘test’ a business idea? Doing stuff together is SO much more fun! I’m thinking 6 to 8 weekly meetings in which we share our project and support each other in moving forward with it.

Side hustles - Similarly, have you got a BRILLIANT idea for a side-hustle, or a tentative one, that you’d like to get ideas, feedback and support on? Do you not know how to get going? Let’s do it together!

Starting from (TBC)

• Membership

I’m EVEN thinking of building a membership where - for a monthly fee - you get access to ALL of this ⬆️ (and more).

Starting from (TBC)

What I need from you

I’d like to ask you the following questions:

• Would you like to be part of a brand new community here on Substack? (If so, please pledge your support and I’ll know!)

• Which of the workshops appeal to you? (answer the poll above)

• Would a membership where you could get access to ALL of the above be something you’d like to be a part of? (answer the poll below)

Thank you for your support!

Conclusion

I started this article by saying that it was going to be a highly personal newsletter. As it turns out it has been a high-speed tour around my brain, talking about the direction of my business, gauging how this resonates with you. A rollercoaster ride on steroids. Thank you for reading this far!

This journey has felt really personal. IS really personal.

It’s bringing together a long-felt burning deep inside me, a desire to express myself, to bring OUT what’s inside me, and to see where that takes me - with a shift in business direction to a place where I’ve been heading for a while now.

A shift with still ALL the same circles, but with CREATIVITY at its core.

I want to help you unlock YOUR creativity and bring THAT to the world. In your career, in a side-hustle, in your creative projects, in your art.

What do you say? Are you up for that?

Tineke X

P.S. Next week my Create 2 Change Challenge starts in which we use the FIVE Sage powers of Empathy, Explore, Navigate, Innovate and Activate to start taking those all-important first steps to unlocking your creative brain and making change happen.

Five daily emails - ONE video lesson, ONE reflective exercise, ONE creative task. Coming? Sign up here: Create 2 Change Challenge

🔴🟡🟠

Tineke Tammes is a Career & Creativity Coach supporting professional women in creating fulfilling work and happy careers. Besides that she is also a lifelong feminist, part-time portrait artist, never-only-read-one-book-at-any-time reader, and obsessive doodler.

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