Working with creatives all over the world has meant getting invited into deeply personal spaces and circumstances that would otherwise be inaccessible for me.  The beautiful thing about being an intuitive empath is that I feel what is going on before anyone says anything. For creatives, this has meant being a part of a process that allows them to feel understood in ways that they’ve never experienced but have always craved.  The relationship we cultivate is more intimate than even working with a therapist. This is because the work that we do is a full-body experience for me, as much as it is for my clients. Because of that deep level of authenticity, creatives are able to free themselves from perceived judgment and lean into conversations that feel like their next manifesto. This energy allows them to be who they truly are, and not just who they feel like they need to appear to be. 

This position could not be more in alignment than if I dreamed it up myself!  Before even starting, I knew it would connect me to the folks that would find spiritual guidance the most beneficial: creatives and entrepreneurs.

DISCLAIMER: This is the point where we are going to be engaging in some very honest dialogue about what it means to work with creatives and entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). If you identify as either of those two persuasions, or you manage them, hire them, train them, then read closely. This is a good place to park your feelings, and open your spirit; see this as an exercise in compassionate feedback and transformative learning.

Here are the 6 things I (an empathic psychic medium) have learned working directly with Portland creatives and entrepreneurs over the last couple of years…

1. All are seeking validation

2. Soul purpose feels murky even when they are living in it

3. Low confidence is persistent

4. Anxiety and depression are common among creatives

5. Spiritual guidance is super useful in getting clear in your business or creative project

6. Most creatives are highly intuitive and often empathic

The list above is quite comprehensive, but not exhaustive. Ready? Take a breath and let’s dive into the finer details of my list. 

All are seeking validation.  Creatives tend to seek two forms of validation, first as a person, then as a creator. The friction occurs because quite often, that creativity falls a bit short.  Although that may sound harsh, it’s not meant to. I’m not here to drag anyone’s edges. It is actually an example of how Portland is missing the opportunity to use its uniqueness to support the very thing the city is known for; creativity.  

Here’s the truth, validation is a very common human theme. There is not one person that comes through this life without seeking a level of belonging or connection, and that is validation.  With creatives, there is a higher need for validation because they are ultimately changemakers. Change is foreign and usually requires persuasion in order to be adopted. Furthermore, validation can sometimes show up as approval-seeking tendencies and that completely derails originality.  Such tendencies dampen creativity on both the physical and spiritual levels. 

What is unique about Portland is that very little to any validation is required to be a contributor in the creative space. Portland is the exact type of place where a creative focused on branding entrepreneurs partnered with an empathic psychic medium could not only exist but also thrive.  This very fact screams “Do whatever it is you want to do!” 

With this mindset as a foundation, novice creators are drawn to questions like “Is this the right project?”  Or, “Where am I going wrong?”   This is compounded by the fact that even seasoned Portland creatives exude this novice energy. However, the real turning point occurs when they connect with the concept of choices, especially aspects (the components that make up the choice).  Cementing this understanding is critical to understanding themselves more and going deeper within. In life, there are only choices. Anything has the ability to positively or negatively impact outcomes based on the energy an individual puts forth.  Plus, learning how to dissect choices and viewing them one aspect at a time allows you to bring the pieces back together in a less abstract way. 

However, it becomes difficult to make these decisions in the absence of emotional clarity.  These creatives are not really seeking advice about start days and timelines, they’re actually trying to articulate the deeper questions such as: “Am I right for this project?”  Or, “Am I emotionally open to be able to give from a deep place of creativity?”   Many times the answer is no, but with Portland’s community-driven culture, many position themselves in spaces to contribute to things they are either not deeply connected to nor have a solid background for. They enter into these opportunities thinking that creativity will make up for any deficiencies that they have.  This unusual norm creates a very exclusive environment in a city that is already oddly self-contained. In essence, the way the Portland creative community operates creates the need for constant validation because it is culturally tone-deaf. Yes, I did say that. As jarring as this point may seem, it fits into the greater narrative of creative culture found throughout the city. The rest of the list will build upon these concepts.

Soul purpose feels murky even if they are living it.  The number one question most of my clients ask me regardless of if we have a single meeting or an ongoing engagement is about soul purpose.  This means I’ve had extensive experience navigating these existential and philosophical ponderings. And, what I have learned is that when you are not deeply connected to your emotions consciously or subconsciously you have a hard time feeling your soul purpose tangibly and taking the appropriate action to make it a reality. 

Honestly, regardless of your geography, as long as you are chasing passions you will never arrive at your soul purpose.  We all have many things that bring us joy, and that we love to engage in, but not all of those things amount to soul purpose. Portland creatives and entrepreneurs are passionate about finding passion. Let that marinate. Folks are more excited about the idea of things than the reality of them. And, when passion cannot be extracted organically it is created.  A commonality in the creatives that I have worked with over the years is that a singular bold move or an act of creative passion is the same as arriving at soul purpose for them. With this implication, you can understand why validation is such a rampant theme and also why working with an intuitive is alluring for this crowd. I want to make sure this is clear: it is quite difficult to chase passion and arrive at purpose. While sometimes the two can overlap or be the same, what you love doing and what your soul came to this Earth to do are usually two different things. People often conflate them, but don’t stand in your own way of finding a purpose that elevates your passions. In my line of work, where the ego has planted roots, the soul will be difficult to recover.  

Creativity is available as a direct connection to the soul.  People are always intrigued and compelled to ask questions about the creative process; the journey.  The journey is ever-present on the minds of Portland creatives and entrepreneurs, and as a result, many find themselves on others’ journeys.  While this may not be limited to Portland creatives, I have found that they have a tendency to look to others for ways to intellectually innovate existing processes, and position themselves as experts vs. creating an authentic pathway for themselves through the use of those with specific expertise. 

Nonetheless, intelligence does not equal passion or manageability of your creation. All forms of creation are gifts from the eternal wishing well that serves as the Divine energy in the universe. There can be no supreme idea or untouchable artist without the invocation of Spirit resulting in the need to seek on a soul level.   All things uncanny are no accident, in creation, this is your first clue Spirit has presented itself to partner in your creative pursuits.

Low confidence is persistent. Fear is inevitable whenever change is present, and creatives should be experiencing change often.  This can create a space for fear to take root and spread. With Portland creatives, self-belief, as it relates to creative confidence, is almost always non-existent.  This is because the ego has difficulty interacting and naming a specific source of inspiration and can never fully compartmentalize the exact moment creative execution was realized in a tangible way.  All creators hold a certain level of confusion about their own success even when it appears linear.

For some of the PNW  creatives I have worked with, fear is persistent; even when they are living completely radical lives.  It becomes this eerie presence of discomfort and an internal conversation about self-worth and their value as a human being.  With others, fear shows up as invisible handcuffs that keep them in an eternal winter prison of approval seeking that does not allow them to be fully present in any aspect of their lives.  This form of fear can become so crippling that it can be hard to decipher your true desires and wants; plus, it relies only on ideas that are widely acceptable to others. In considering this,  I can’t help but wonder what types of ad campaigns would come out of Portland for Nike and Adidas, or the clients of Wieden if they had more creatives that had greater emotional space for the work, instead of ones who are consumed by their trepidation. Consequently, this fear leads to creatives who fall prey to their own internal dialogue while they work in survival mode, instead of liberated individuals thriving in creator mode. 

And, there is also the form of fear that is completely resistant to change.  I notice this quite often in the 50+ founders. With these older creatives, everything is laced with judgment.  Unfortunately, this is only the emotion of fear navigating the course of things and is almost never in alignment with who they really are or how they truly want to show up in the world. 

I find that fear and time are deeply woven together.  For some, fear is about the judgment they might receive for being too old to make very logical and clear changes to enhance their state of being. And, for my younger clients, they often feel like they should be more rooted in adulthood versus their idealistic youthfulness. Since they have little foundation built, they are terrified to make any concrete decisions.  This apprehension can also reveal itself as avoidance, complete resistance, and often deflection. By the time I meet many of my clients on their journey, they have learned to negotiate their fears and reason with it. By applying logic, their fear is neither completely terrifying nor debilitating; however, it remains constant and a continuous barrier to growth. Consequently, this keeps them from confidently making decisions. Essentially, fear keeps the much desired “easy-button” at bay. 

Anxiety and depression are common among creatives.  Mental health concerns do not discriminate.  Anyone can be affected by anxiety or depression as a one-time occurrence or a lifelong battle.  With creatives, the tendency towards these types of concerns is great due to the highs and lows they experience creating, failing, getting rejected, and battling self-worth.  Indeed consider what it might mean to be a “starving artist,” I bet you could conclude that anxiety or depression could easily manifest in that type of lifestyle. Furthermore, there seems to be a persistent culture of self-torture in order to achieve perceived validity.  Many creatives internalize the idea of “paying their dues” to mean extreme highs and unimaginable lows. You’ll often hear of people providing their “struggle narrative” as a means of showing their dedication to and passion for their art. 

As I’ve mentioned before, passion is not always a soul purpose. As you can imagine, the continuous friction between pursuing passion, ignoring purpose and potentially struggling financially compounds and ignites the sparks of anxiety and depression. To add more complexity to this equation, I find many creatives (in and outside of Portland) harbor this fear that seeking help, talking about your problems or finding a mental health practitioner to help one navigate the extremes diminishes one’s art. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Many creative agencies encourage and advise their employees to get therapists, professional coaches and trained professionals to help them process the depth of their work and the toll that it takes. This also ties into the fact that many creatives have low confidence. Once again, you can see how this is a potential recipe for disaster. 

Spiritual guidance is super useful in getting clear in your business or creative project.  Many people don’t even think about spiritual guidance as a solution to getting clear on their business ventures.  In general, people don’t value getting clear as much as they should. And when I say clear, I mean having a perception, purpose, and intention that you are working towards with confidence and certainty. The average person looking for a psychic reading may ask about money, career, or finances. But working as the Intuitive in Residence focused on creatives, entrepreneurs, and larger organizations, these people have more in-depth questions.  Why wouldn’t they?  There are often managing or spending millions of dollars. Any one of their decisions could be the difference between taking a huge risk or passing on an opportunity, making a specific hire, or putting their entire reputation on the line.  

The problem with spirituality mixed with business is that people have made spirituality so small and irrelevant and that it has a limited range of access to clarity. Spirituality is not finite in the way people relate to it, and largely connection to religion either pulls people away or into the guidance that is available to everyone.   Intuitive guidance belongs in business, human resources, and creative decisions. Channeling this advice can be the basis for a flawless strategy plan. I want to stress the value of this guidance, especially in human resources. I have noticed that HR teams in PNW organizations often take a hands-off approach and exhibit a tendency to either excuse bad behavior from some individuals and team while avoiding others altogether.  Additionally, intuitive guidance helps individuals dig deeper internally and is powerful in helping people to engage with personal biases on an intimate level. Bias awareness and identification are the cornerstones of a health HR practice that creates and upholds a positive company culture, happier employees and accountable executives. 

Most creatives are highly intuitive and often empathic.  This is a key concept because “empathy” has become a loosely defined term in work and creative culture. Through working directly with thought leaders, strategists, and other business owners, I have seen that many of them are very intuitively gifted. Some creatives have a very low degree of intuition or empathy and don’t identify with the gift at all. For others, it’s a high level of identification and recognition.  In my experience, the term empath doesn’t really define their identity because there’s no support for that framework in their lives. People will self-identify as such without a full comprehension of what that truly entails. There can be no true exploration of intuitive gifts without understanding the pathway or what your purpose within the gift actually is. Often, that purpose is separate from making you a better creative or a deeper thinker, it has its own unique function. What’s more surprising is that many have heard this about themselves during their journey and simply brushed it off or accepted it as who they are in a very shallow way. Most have only internalized the negative aspects of being empathetic or intuitive, without taking the time to develop all aspects of the gift.  Such an imbalance creates much emotional discord. 

Emotions are critical when seeking a deep understanding of diverse creative abilities and the gift of empathy. Why? Because high-level creatives operate on emotion and many other elements that are purely abstract. One of the major roadblocks for creatives across the board is not working in harmony with their emotional aspect.  Some of you just read that statement and are seeing yourself reflected in those words. That’s good because emotional clarity must be established before one can fully be living in their soul purpose. Be mindful that when you understand what you are truly feeling, you can be in control of your entire being. Think of your emotions as fuel and clarity as the system that steers you.          

Now, I promised you 6 things I have learned working with creatives and entrepreneurs but here are a few more things that have come up every single time, and in no particular order:  

• Abandonment issues (either self-abandonment or abandonment by a parent)

• Approval issues

• Disconnection from the inner child

• Various emotional triggers

Ok, so that’s more like 10, but I want to be completely transparent on all the commonalities. 

Before I wrap this up, allow me to share one more thing.   The sentiment I find ironic is that most people have some level of feeling that spiritual guidance is a bit taboo.  The founder of a company I partnered with once did a pitch to a major prospective client, and the guy responded: “You know you sound crazy, right?”  Despite this supposed disbelief, he was still interested. What might be even more surprising is that his company RULES the professional creative space.  The fact that he was still interested is noteworthy.

It shows that even in fear about this deep level of guidance, creatives and entrepreneurs are the original thought leaders.  To me, that means that creatives and entrepreneurs are more intense than side hustlers -- my client roster has proven this time and time again.  And there is no doubt that they are more committed to success and emotional clarity than constant instability, flying by the seat of their pants, and ultimately failure. 

Yeah, creatives and entrepreneurs have taught me a lot in TWO years. 

Alas, if you are still on the “stop and start struggle” in your creative venture, business, or want to make your side hustle your primary focus, I urge you to tell me more about what’s going on here, and we can take the first step in CLARITY.

If you are ready to learn more about your personal journey, schedule an Akashic Records Reading here.

Check out these recent episodes of the podcast:

What are the Akashic Records?

Put me In Coach: How Career Coaching Transforms Work