February 26, 2025 • 14 mins
280. Why You Need to Join a Creative Community
In this episode of Creative Chats, Mike Brennan discusses the significance of creative community and the importance of engaging with fellow creatives. He shares his experiences attending various meetups in Nashville, emphasizing the need to overcome hesitations and actively participate in community events. Mike encourages listeners to push through discomfort, take ownership of their creative journeys, and seek out opportunities for connection and collaboration.
3 Key Takeaways:
🎨 The Power of Presence - Mike emphasizes the importance of being present in creative communities, sharing how strategic participation in meetups has helped him form valuable relationships and uncover opportunities.
🎨 Overcoming Hesitation - Learn about the common excuses creatives face when engaging with community events and how pushing through discomfort can lead to personal growth and unexpected benefits.
🎨 Building Connections - Discover why it’s essential for creatives to move beyond solitary workspaces, engage with others, and contribute to the richer tapestry of a supportive community.
Episode Highlights:
[Timestamp] 00:01:27 - Mike shares his personal journey of rediscovering creativity after a long hiatus.
[Timestamp] 00:04:40 - Insights into how attending meetups in Nashville is shaping Mike’s creative experience.
[Timestamp] 00:09:06 - Encouragement to challenge excuses and participate actively in creative communities.
Links and Resources:
Mike Brennan's Website: https://mikebrennan.me
Daily Creative Habit Membership:Â https://www.mikebrennan.me/membership
Daily Creative Habit (Free) Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dailycreativehabit
Â
Don’t forget to subscribe to Creative Chats and leave a review!
Your feedback helps us continue sharing valuable content to fuel your creative endeavors. Dive deeper into your creative practice by joining the Daily Creative Habit Membership at https://dailycreativehabit.com. Come be part of our growing community and let’s create together!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Welcome to the Creative Chats podcast with Mike Brennan.
Hey. Welcome, friends, to another episode of Creative Chats. It's the
podcast for artist makers and content creators where we talk about
creativity, the creative process, and story. I'm your host, Mike
Brennan. I'd love to connect with you over on my website, which is
(00:26):
mikebrennan.me. I have a host of resources
there created just for you because I wanna see you
win. I wanna see you create. And I know that the
difference that creativity has made in my life, and I wanna see that
happen in your life as well. And so that's why I do this podcast. That's
why I create these resources. That's why I continue to show up time and
(00:47):
again to cheerlead you on, to tell you that your
creativity is important. It matters. And it doesn't just
matter to you, but it also matters to the people around you. Even if
you're just starting or maybe you're coming back to it after being away for a
long time or you've been in the middle of it trying to figure it out
and trying to see, can I make this into something as part of
(01:09):
my livelihood? Or maybe I want to just keep this as something
that's just mine as a hobby or a passion project, but I
struggle with showing up consistently. I have dealt with all
these things in my journey over the past thirteen years, especially
since I came back to my creativity after being away for ten years. And so
that's why I talk about these things. That's why I have these conversations. That's why
(01:30):
I have this podcast. And today, I wanna talk about creative
community and the importance of getting together
with other creative people. And I'm gonna share this clip that
I previously recorded. I just had this kind of burning
desire to shoot this message out there on social media. And so
I I thought about it, and I said, you know, I think this would actually
(01:51):
be a good kind of mini podcast as well.
And talking about the the importance of of
creative community is something that is very timely for
me because in my new home here in Nashville, I've been getting
out to a lot of different groups and meeting a lot of people and trying
to figure out who's here and what's going on and what opportunities are here.
(02:14):
And so whether you find yourself in a new place or perhaps you've
grown up in the place where you still are today many years later,
there are opportunities around you. And if there aren't, maybe there's an opportunity
for you to be the catalyst to bring something of
creative community. And I just also wanna let you know
that speaking of community, I have an online
(02:37):
creative community. It's called Daily Creative Habit. There is a free
Facebook group that you are welcome to join. I'd love to see you
in there. It's a place where like minded creators can come
and share some questions, share some work in progress,
share just a sense of what's happening. And the more you
you share, you know, the more you give, the more you get out of it.
(02:59):
It's that kind of thing. And I would encourage you, join if you're on
Facebook, join this group. It's designed to
help you be encouraged to have a place to ask questions,
to have a place to show work, to have a place to know that you're
not alone in this creative journey. And if you're looking for something deeper,
I also have the daily creative habit membership. Now this is a paid
(03:20):
membership that it meets monthly. And, again, there's a
private Facebook group where we post some
weekly prompts, and then we have some discussion around that. And then once
a month, we have a live Zoom call where you get to ask some
questions and have some direct feedback. And I
would love for you to be a part of that as well. You can go
(03:41):
to dailycreativehabit.com for links to either
one of those groups, and I would love to have you part of the deeper
community for Daily Creative Habit. So now
I wanna get on with the show here and bring to you this
this thought, this rant, this prompt about
creative community, and really encourage you
(04:05):
to listen with open ears, be
open to thinking about community, creative
community differently than perhaps you've been going about it. We all
have biases. We all have things that get in our way. We all have excuses,
honestly. And maybe this is a time when you can be a little more
open and accept this challenge from your
(04:27):
your old uncle Mikey here. So without further ado, here is
my own creative chat with myself about creative community, and now it's for
you.
Hey. So there's something that I want to talk about,
and, man, this might be a little
(04:47):
bit of a rant, or fireside chat,
let's say, with your uncle Mikey. So
I've been attending a lot of events here
in my new home, Nashville. And these are meetup events. These
are artists meetups. These are places where other creative people hang
out and so much so that someone joked the other night
(05:10):
and they said they kind of feel like it's, you know, they never know where
I'm gonna be. It's like where's Waldo? Because I'm showing up a lot of
places. I'm going to as many different things as I can
strategically because I'm in a new place, and I need to meet new people.
And I wanna be around fellow creatives. I want
to understand what's happening here. I wanna
(05:31):
learn. I wanna see what opportunities there are. I want to build
friendships, relationships, and partnerships and
collaboration opportunities, whatever that looks
like. But in order for me to do that, I have to get out there
and be a presence and let people
know me as I get to know them. And in
(05:53):
doing this, I've encountered a couple of things
that I really kinda wanna address right now. And,
you know, this isn't aimed at anybody specifically. So if
you hear this or see this and think, oh, man. He's talking about
me. Do with that what you will. I'm probably not.
But at the same regard, there have been a a few people that
(06:16):
I've just noticed some things, and it's made me think about a couple of things.
And so that's why this little fireside chat, if you will.
And that is when it comes to these opportunities to
have meetups, to get together with other
creative people, there sometimes is this
hesitation. And I've heard it from other
(06:38):
people that, you know, I tried,
but it just it wasn't great. I didn't enjoy the group or I
didn't feel welcomed or I don't know. It's just not for
me. Like, there's a whole host of excuses as to
why they don't wanna come out to
some of these meetups. Now I will say, not every meetup is going to be
(07:00):
a %, is gonna be fabulous, is going to be something that
you should spend your time, especially if you have a little of it,
going to. You need to protect your energy. You need to be wise and
strategic. But at the same time, you need to get out there. That's my point.
You need to be a part of a community and not just
simply online. And I say this as someone who has an online community.
(07:24):
It's important to be able to sit across from somebody
and have a conversation, to show work with each other, and to
laugh, and to interact, and to high five, and hug, and
do all the things that happens in
a community. Now it's not gonna happen the first night that you show up, but
certainly, as I've continued to go out to things, I've
(07:46):
started to see some of the same people, some of the same familiar faces.
And it's amazing. It's great. I love it because it is starting to feel
a little bit more like home more and more each day for me
being new here. Now if you're somewhere where you've been your whole life, it's
harder to do that. I get that. And also, you may be in a place
where perhaps you don't have local meetups, and
(08:08):
the ones that are there maybe don't meet very often
or aren't run very well. I get that this is a big topic. But
what I wanna say is for anyone who is more in
the camp of there are opportunities there, but you're not taking advantage
of them because perhaps it doesn't look like what you
want it to look like. I wanna
(08:30):
challenge you. Go out to these things. Be
a part of these things. Help make it look like what you want it to
look like. Like, as creative people, we need to stop hiding
in our caves, in our studios, burying ourselves so
much with the process of work that we forget to pick our head
up and go interact with other people and
(08:52):
have this sense of connection and perhaps get into
conversations and find out things of what someone else is doing that may
actually inform what we're doing as well or that we can simply just
cheerlead them on like we need them to do for us.
That stuff doesn't happen when you sit by yourself in solitude
continually day after day and don't take advantage of any opportunities to actually
(09:14):
engage. Now I get it. Some of you, I hear you already. You're like,
Mike, but you don't get it. I'm very introverted. It's very difficult for me to
get out and to meet people and to engage and I show up and I
feel like the wallflower. I feel like I just I'm invisible and I
I'm awkward and I don't know what to say and it just feels
gross. I get it because there are still
(09:36):
times when I enter some rooms where I don't know a soul and I feel
that too. But what I've done is I've told myself, I want
to push through that uncomfortableness. I wanna push through the
awkwardness, and I wanna grow as a person
and not give myself excuses as to why
this won't work or why this isn't for me or why this
(09:58):
group pushing the blame on them because it's easier,
and I don't have to take ownership over my own things that I
need to grow in. Look. It's
your journey. It's your life. You get to decide
what you want that to look like. You get to decide what things you do
and what you don't do, who you engage with and who you don't. I'm not
(10:20):
gonna tell you what to do, but what I am saying is the more
open you are to connecting,
to even people in places that are less than
ideal, don't give yourself an easy out.
Do the work that it takes to be a part of a true
community of showing up, of contributing, not
(10:43):
just taking, not expecting everything to look
exactly like you want it to look like and and saying
if it's not, I'm simply not gonna show up because you'll
miss out. You'll miss out on so many wonderful opportunities that are right
there to connect. Conversations that may
never happen because you're not in the room. And so what
(11:05):
I'm saying is get in the room. Figure out a way to get
in the room. And trust me, things will start
to change in one way or another. And, again, not every not every
meetup is going to be amazing. Not everything is going to be run the way
that you would like it to be run. And maybe there's opportunity for you to
get involved in a deeper level to help bring some change of some things. And
(11:27):
I know we're all busy people and we don't need more things on our plate
and trust me. I get it because I'm there too. But at
the same time, we need to value
this connection of community, especially as creatives.
I can't tell you the amount of people that I have talked to lately who
have said, man, I I feel like I'm so dry and thirsty for
(11:48):
this because I have been lacking this. I don't have a place to
go and talk about things where people get me, where they
understand what it's like to be a creative person, where
they understand maybe some of the process that I'm struggling through
or just even dealing with mental health things. And I'm not saying that that's gonna
be like, hey. You introduce yourself and be like, yeah. You know what? I have
(12:09):
a lot of anxiety. I've got some depression, and it's really affecting my work and
and the way I live. And so I'd like to talk about that tonight.
Or maybe that is something you do. I don't know. Again, I'm not gonna tell
you how to show up and what to do, but what I am saying is
I'm throwing down the challenge for you to show up.
Stop making excuses. Stop trying
(12:30):
to have everybody come to you on your terms
the way that you want it, the way that you want
somebody, you know be the be the kind of person that you want to
come to you. Challenge yourself. Take
what's yours to own in this process and in this, opportunity
(12:51):
and own it. I dare you. I dare
you to go out and be a part of a creative community. I dare you
that if there isn't one, I dare you to start one. I
dare you to get out of your own way, get out of
your own cave, get out of the place that you are just burying yourself
with more and more and more work and sacrificing
(13:13):
the relationships around you that you need
that they need. Places where things could
actually level up for you or bring opportunity
or simply just be fellow
people in the same room that can root for each other because
we all need that. So that's all I have to
(13:35):
say about this really. And, again, just some thoughts that
have been flying around my head, some things that that have been,
challenging me as I go out to more and more opportunities for local
meetups, for artists, for art crawls, for all the things that are happening.
And I understand. I'm very fortunate to be in a place where these things are
happening. But, again,
(13:58):
what is yours to own in this? What can you do? I'm
throwing the challenge out. Go and do something. It's up
to you.
Thanks for listening today. I'd appreciate if you would subscribe, leave
a rating and a review. It really helps this podcast be seen
(14:21):
and heard by others.
Welcome to the Creative Chats podcast with Mike Brennan.
Hey. Welcome, friends, to another episode of Creative Chats. It's the
podcast for artist makers and content creators where we talk about
creativity, the creative process, and story. I'm your host, Mike
Brennan. I'd love to connect with you over on my website, which is
(00:26):
mikebrennan.me. I have a host of resources
there created just for you because I wanna see you
win. I wanna see you create. And I know that the
difference that creativity has made in my life, and I wanna see that
happen in your life as well. And so that's why I do this podcast. That's
why I create these resources. That's why I continue to show up time and
(00:47):
again to cheerlead you on, to tell you that your
creativity is important. It matters. And it doesn't just
matter to you, but it also matters to the people around you. Even if
you're just starting or maybe you're coming back to it after being away for a
long time or you've been in the middle of it trying to figure it out
and trying to see, can I make this into something as part of
(01:09):
my livelihood? Or maybe I want to just keep this as something
that's just mine as a hobby or a passion project, but I
struggle with showing up consistently. I have dealt with all
these things in my journey over the past thirteen years, especially
since I came back to my creativity after being away for ten years. And so
that's why I talk about these things. That's why I have these conversations. That's why
(01:30):
I have this podcast. And today, I wanna talk about creative
community and the importance of getting together
with other creative people. And I'm gonna share this clip that
I previously recorded. I just had this kind of burning
desire to shoot this message out there on social media. And so
I I thought about it, and I said, you know, I think this would actually
(01:51):
be a good kind of mini podcast as well.
And talking about the the importance of of
creative community is something that is very timely for
me because in my new home here in Nashville, I've been getting
out to a lot of different groups and meeting a lot of people and trying
to figure out who's here and what's going on and what opportunities are here.
(02:14):
And so whether you find yourself in a new place or perhaps you've
grown up in the place where you still are today many years later,
there are opportunities around you. And if there aren't, maybe there's an opportunity
for you to be the catalyst to bring something of
creative community. And I just also wanna let you know
that speaking of community, I have an online
(02:37):
creative community. It's called Daily Creative Habit. There is a free
Facebook group that you are welcome to join. I'd love to see you
in there. It's a place where like minded creators can come
and share some questions, share some work in progress,
share just a sense of what's happening. And the more you
you share, you know, the more you give, the more you get out of it.
(02:59):
It's that kind of thing. And I would encourage you, join if you're on
Facebook, join this group. It's designed to
help you be encouraged to have a place to ask questions,
to have a place to show work, to have a place to know that you're
not alone in this creative journey. And if you're looking for something deeper,
I also have the daily creative habit membership. Now this is a paid
(03:20):
membership that it meets monthly. And, again, there's a
private Facebook group where we post some
weekly prompts, and then we have some discussion around that. And then once
a month, we have a live Zoom call where you get to ask some
questions and have some direct feedback. And I
would love for you to be a part of that as well. You can go
(03:41):
to dailycreativehabit.com for links to either
one of those groups, and I would love to have you part of the deeper
community for Daily Creative Habit. So now
I wanna get on with the show here and bring to you this
this thought, this rant, this prompt about
creative community, and really encourage you
(04:05):
to listen with open ears, be
open to thinking about community, creative
community differently than perhaps you've been going about it. We all
have biases. We all have things that get in our way. We all have excuses,
honestly. And maybe this is a time when you can be a little more
open and accept this challenge from your
(04:27):
your old uncle Mikey here. So without further ado, here is
my own creative chat with myself about creative community, and now it's for
you.
Hey. So there's something that I want to talk about,
and, man, this might be a little
(04:47):
bit of a rant, or fireside chat,
let's say, with your uncle Mikey. So
I've been attending a lot of events here
in my new home, Nashville. And these are meetup events. These
are artists meetups. These are places where other creative people hang
out and so much so that someone joked the other night
(05:10):
and they said they kind of feel like it's, you know, they never know where
I'm gonna be. It's like where's Waldo? Because I'm showing up a lot of
places. I'm going to as many different things as I can
strategically because I'm in a new place, and I need to meet new people.
And I wanna be around fellow creatives. I want
to understand what's happening here. I wanna
(05:31):
learn. I wanna see what opportunities there are. I want to build
friendships, relationships, and partnerships and
collaboration opportunities, whatever that looks
like. But in order for me to do that, I have to get out there
and be a presence and let people
know me as I get to know them. And in
(05:53):
doing this, I've encountered a couple of things
that I really kinda wanna address right now. And,
you know, this isn't aimed at anybody specifically. So if
you hear this or see this and think, oh, man. He's talking about
me. Do with that what you will. I'm probably not.
But at the same regard, there have been a a few people that
(06:16):
I've just noticed some things, and it's made me think about a couple of things.
And so that's why this little fireside chat, if you will.
And that is when it comes to these opportunities to
have meetups, to get together with other
creative people, there sometimes is this
hesitation. And I've heard it from other
(06:38):
people that, you know, I tried,
but it just it wasn't great. I didn't enjoy the group or I
didn't feel welcomed or I don't know. It's just not for
me. Like, there's a whole host of excuses as to
why they don't wanna come out to
some of these meetups. Now I will say, not every meetup is going to be
(07:00):
a %, is gonna be fabulous, is going to be something that
you should spend your time, especially if you have a little of it,
going to. You need to protect your energy. You need to be wise and
strategic. But at the same time, you need to get out there. That's my point.
You need to be a part of a community and not just
simply online. And I say this as someone who has an online community.
(07:24):
It's important to be able to sit across from somebody
and have a conversation, to show work with each other, and to
laugh, and to interact, and to high five, and hug, and
do all the things that happens in
a community. Now it's not gonna happen the first night that you show up, but
certainly, as I've continued to go out to things, I've
(07:46):
started to see some of the same people, some of the same familiar faces.
And it's amazing. It's great. I love it because it is starting to feel
a little bit more like home more and more each day for me
being new here. Now if you're somewhere where you've been your whole life, it's
harder to do that. I get that. And also, you may be in a place
where perhaps you don't have local meetups, and
(08:08):
the ones that are there maybe don't meet very often
or aren't run very well. I get that this is a big topic. But
what I wanna say is for anyone who is more in
the camp of there are opportunities there, but you're not taking advantage
of them because perhaps it doesn't look like what you
want it to look like. I wanna
(08:30):
challenge you. Go out to these things. Be
a part of these things. Help make it look like what you want it to
look like. Like, as creative people, we need to stop hiding
in our caves, in our studios, burying ourselves so
much with the process of work that we forget to pick our head
up and go interact with other people and
(08:52):
have this sense of connection and perhaps get into
conversations and find out things of what someone else is doing that may
actually inform what we're doing as well or that we can simply just
cheerlead them on like we need them to do for us.
That stuff doesn't happen when you sit by yourself in solitude
continually day after day and don't take advantage of any opportunities to actually
(09:14):
engage. Now I get it. Some of you, I hear you already. You're like,
Mike, but you don't get it. I'm very introverted. It's very difficult for me to
get out and to meet people and to engage and I show up and I
feel like the wallflower. I feel like I just I'm invisible and I
I'm awkward and I don't know what to say and it just feels
gross. I get it because there are still
(09:36):
times when I enter some rooms where I don't know a soul and I feel
that too. But what I've done is I've told myself, I want
to push through that uncomfortableness. I wanna push through the
awkwardness, and I wanna grow as a person
and not give myself excuses as to why
this won't work or why this isn't for me or why this
(09:58):
group pushing the blame on them because it's easier,
and I don't have to take ownership over my own things that I
need to grow in. Look. It's
your journey. It's your life. You get to decide
what you want that to look like. You get to decide what things you do
and what you don't do, who you engage with and who you don't. I'm not
(10:20):
gonna tell you what to do, but what I am saying is the more
open you are to connecting,
to even people in places that are less than
ideal, don't give yourself an easy out.
Do the work that it takes to be a part of a true
community of showing up, of contributing, not
(10:43):
just taking, not expecting everything to look
exactly like you want it to look like and and saying
if it's not, I'm simply not gonna show up because you'll
miss out. You'll miss out on so many wonderful opportunities that are right
there to connect. Conversations that may
never happen because you're not in the room. And so what
(11:05):
I'm saying is get in the room. Figure out a way to get
in the room. And trust me, things will start
to change in one way or another. And, again, not every not every
meetup is going to be amazing. Not everything is going to be run the way
that you would like it to be run. And maybe there's opportunity for you to
get involved in a deeper level to help bring some change of some things. And
(11:27):
I know we're all busy people and we don't need more things on our plate
and trust me. I get it because I'm there too. But at
the same time, we need to value
this connection of community, especially as creatives.
I can't tell you the amount of people that I have talked to lately who
have said, man, I I feel like I'm so dry and thirsty for
(11:48):
this because I have been lacking this. I don't have a place to
go and talk about things where people get me, where they
understand what it's like to be a creative person, where
they understand maybe some of the process that I'm struggling through
or just even dealing with mental health things. And I'm not saying that that's gonna
be like, hey. You introduce yourself and be like, yeah. You know what? I have
(12:09):
a lot of anxiety. I've got some depression, and it's really affecting my work and
and the way I live. And so I'd like to talk about that tonight.
Or maybe that is something you do. I don't know. Again, I'm not gonna tell
you how to show up and what to do, but what I am saying is
I'm throwing down the challenge for you to show up.
Stop making excuses. Stop trying
(12:30):
to have everybody come to you on your terms
the way that you want it, the way that you want
somebody, you know be the be the kind of person that you want to
come to you. Challenge yourself. Take
what's yours to own in this process and in this, opportunity
(12:51):
and own it. I dare you. I dare
you to go out and be a part of a creative community. I dare you
that if there isn't one, I dare you to start one. I
dare you to get out of your own way, get out of
your own cave, get out of the place that you are just burying yourself
with more and more and more work and sacrificing
(13:13):
the relationships around you that you need
that they need. Places where things could
actually level up for you or bring opportunity
or simply just be fellow
people in the same room that can root for each other because
we all need that. So that's all I have to
(13:35):
say about this really. And, again, just some thoughts that
have been flying around my head, some things that that have been,
challenging me as I go out to more and more opportunities for local
meetups, for artists, for art crawls, for all the things that are happening.
And I understand. I'm very fortunate to be in a place where these things are
happening. But, again,
(13:58):
what is yours to own in this? What can you do? I'm
throwing the challenge out. Go and do something. It's up
to you.
Thanks for listening today. I'd appreciate if you would subscribe, leave
a rating and a review. It really helps this podcast be seen
(14:21):
and heard by others.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.