You started your creative business to be your own boss. So why are you treating yourself like the worst boss you’ve ever had?

You make progress, accomplish awesome things, and keep learning. Yet somehow, it’s never enough.

We’ve convinced ourselves that being hard on ourselves is how we get better.

But what if that’s not true?

In this episode of The Complete Creative, I’m questioning the relationship between self-criticism, ambition, and success. And why the way you’re measuring your progress might be keeping you from enjoying what you’ve worked so hard to create.

We’re talking about:

• Why creative business owners can be their own harshest critics.
• The surprising difference between wanting to improve and believing you’re not good enough.
• What The Gap and the Gain reveals about how we measure success.
• Whether your inner critic is actually helping your business.

I believe we can learn, grow, and change without constantly looking for something wrong with ourselves.

And I’ve got a question that might change how you think about your business.

If something in this episode got you thinking, I’d love to keep the conversation going.

Let’s talk about your life & business. Have something you’d love to work through and haven't figured out how to do it on your own? Schedule a free CLARITY CALL. We’ll talk about what you’re creating, what’s happening now, and what you want to do next.

https://link.creativemindscoach.com/widget/bookings/free-clarity-call-brie

Find me on Instagram. Come say hello! I share thoughts on creative entrepreneurship, mindset, and building a business that works for you.

https://www.instagram.com/creativemindscoach/

Read along on Substack. More of my thoughts on creativity, business, and the way we choose to live and work.

https://substack.com/@briestockwell

Explore the Work Your Way series. A podcast series and companion field guide for creative entrepreneurs like you who want to rethink the way you work.

https://creativemindscoach.com/podcast/work-your-way-podcast-series

October is here, and if you’re a creative entrepreneur, chances are you’ve got a lot going on. Client projects, launches, holiday preparations, and all those things you planned to accomplish before the end of the year.

And maybe it’s all going really well!

But when we’re busy creating and doing work we love, how often do we actually stop to notice what’s happening?

For this month’s activation, I’m inviting you to Look Up. We’re taking a few minutes to notice what’s working in our lives and businesses, where things might need a little attention, and how we can make this season even better.

We’ll explore:

• What you might be missing when you’re busy running your creative business
• Why noticing what’s going right matters
• How to recognize where a small adjustment could make a difference
• Three questions to help you check in with what matters most

I’ll also share a simple invitation to notice the changing season and a beautiful poem that feels especially appropriate for October.

What if something in your life or business is already working better than you realize?

Work Your Way Podcast Series + Field Guide — Explore the series and find new ways to work in your business.

Connect with me on Substack — More thoughts on creativity, life, and creating success in business that feels great.

What if your creative business didn’t have to fit into someone else’s blueprint?

This is the final episode of my Work Your Way series, and I’m looking back at what changed for me as I explored a bigger question: How can we, as creative entrepreneurs, build businesses that work with our energy, our capacity, our creativity, and the lives we actually want to live?

Because being a creative entrepreneur gives us a lot of freedom. We get to decide what we create, when we work, what we sell, how much is enough, and even what success looks like. Which is awesome. And also…that’s a lot of decisions.

Over the course of this series, I started paying much closer attention to what I actually want from my own business. That led to Me Mondays, rethinking how many days a week I want to work, getting clearer about who I want to serve, and questioning some pretty deeply rooted ideas about hard work, money, value, and success.

I also realized I don’t need to figure out the perfect way to run my business. I can experiment. I can change my mind. I can keep recalibrating as I learn more about myself, my creative energy, and what I want my life and work to look like.

In this episode, I’m sharing:

• What the Work Your Way series changed in my own creative business
• Why I created Me Monday and what it showed me about my beliefs around work and value
• How I’m thinking differently about energy, capacity, and how much I actually want to work
• What it means to create a “right-size business” instead of chasing someone else’s version of growth
• Why creative entrepreneurs have an opportunity to design work around the way we actually operate
• Why I’m letting my life and business overlap more instead of trying to keep them in separate little boxes
• How experimentation has become part of the way I create and make business decisions
• Why wanting something different can feel uncomfortable—and why you don’t have to rush to do anything about it

If you’re a creative entrepreneur who has ever wondered, “Does my business really have to look like this?” I hope this entire series gives you a big fat permission slip to ask a different question:

What if it could work your way?

Explore the Work Your Way Field Guide + Podcast Series and use the questions inside to start thinking about what working your way could actually look like:

https://creativemindscoach.com/podcast/work-your-way-podcast-series

If you want support getting clear on what you want and how to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be, book a Life Design Breakthrough Call:

https://link.creativemindscoach.com/widget/bookings/work-your-way-breakthrough

You can also learn more about working with me inside the 90-Day Life Design Intensive:

https://creativemindscoach.com/life-design-intensive-90-days

Work Your Way may be wrapping up, but I’m taking this question with me: How can I keep creating a business—and a life—that feels more like mine?