Transcription

• Speaker #0

  Have you ever thought about your creative work through the lens of not only how you want to express yourself, but also what you want to leave to the world? What is the impression you want to leave about who you are and what you care about? Well, today we're going to chat about why creativity isn't just about personal expression, but also about your unique creative legacy. Hello, and welcome to Unleash Your Inner Creative Minisodes. My name is Lauren LaGrasso. I'm your host. I'm a Webby Award-winning podcast host, producer, and creative coach. And every other Wednesday through the end of September, I am coming on the pod to give you bite-sized Unleash episodes. Each show will contain actionable advice about creativity, working toward your dreams, and self-development. They are full of tools, stories, and inspiration that you can implement into your life immediately. So let's get to it. Today's topic is building creative legacy. What it is, why it matters, and how to start to make this a primary focus of your creative journey and work. So what is creative legacy? Okay, so in order to tell you what that is, I need to take you on a journey back to when I was but a whippersnapper. It all starts when I was in high school, okay? I was probably like 16 years old, and I was in church choir. And I was in church choir with this woman who was probably my mom's age, maybe a little bit older. Her name was Diane. That wasn't really her name. I just don't remember her name. But we're going to call her Diane for the sake of the story, okay? So Diane was a lovely lady. She was going through a hard time and we were singing at a Christmas show. So, you know, people are thinking about people they love and people they've lost at Christmas time, understandably. And Diane was telling me about how she had recently lost her mother and how her mother, like her, was also a singer. And then she said this thing that struck me. She told me that her mom, before she had passed, had made an album. She had... gone into the studio and recorded a CD. And I think that struck me for two reasons. Number one, it was kind of the seed that implanted in me that someday I would become a songwriter, or at least an indie artist. I just didn't have an understanding at that phase that a non-Britney Spears type could make an album and they could just do it. So she, I think, was one of the first people that really made me think about the power of being an indie creator and creating something totally through your own self-determination. But the second thing and the thing that I'm here to talk to you about today was it really solidified this idea of creative legacy for me. It struck me that when Diane's children ask her what her mom was like, what was grandma like? Of course, she can talk with them about her and her memories. But the fact that she can also say, would you like to listen to her? That she can turn on the CD and they can hear the songs and the words and the melodies. that she felt were important to express who she was, what she wanted to say in the world, to me, that is creative legacy. I would give anything to be able to hear, you know, my grandpa was such a great comedian and he wasn't ever like a professional comedian, but he was a comedian. He was such a great comedian and he actually had a great voice. Like I would give anything to have a CD of him singing. When we can pass down to our future generations, whether it's kids, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, whatever it is, a piece of our creative soul. To me, this is true generational wealth. That is your creative legacy. That is you giving them a gift and also keeping your memory alive forever. You're leaving your mark by reminding future generations what your voice sounded like, what your mind's eye looked like, a business you thought was important. what your inner thoughts read as. When we unleash our creativity, we unlock our own immortality because we live on forever in our work. Even if it just touches one person who passes it on and remembers who you are, it is so powerful. So it's not just about you going out there and unleashing for yourself. Yes, that is a big part and probably the most important part, but it's also about what you want to leave for your family to remind them of who you are. what you sound like, what you care about. It is a gift, a deep gift, to leave them a time capsule of your soul like that.

• Speaker #1

  Two lives, stories of people who have faced darkness and how those moments transformed them.

• Speaker #2

  He called 911 and that's when I had my cardiac arrest. I was clinically dead for 24 minutes.

• Speaker #1

  We all have two lives. The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.

• Speaker #2

  When I woke up in the ICU and I'm... completely dependent on machines and people. My whole worldview just shifted, like being born into this totally different life where none of the rules are what I thought they were.

• Speaker #1

  I'm your host, Laurel Morales. I'm a longtime public radio reporter with a couple Two Lives stories of my own. Every other week, I bring you an incredible story of someone who chose to flip the script, to pull themselves out of the darkness, and transform. I personally feel drawn to these stories because they've unlocked the mysteries of how I overcome my own darkness. Two Lives. New episodes every other Tuesday.

• Speaker #0

  I love the fact that I have almost now 300 episodes of my podcast that for my future children when they ask me, what were you like in your early 30s? I can tell them, I can share as many stories as I want, but I can also say, do you want to hear what my voice sounded like when I was that age? Do you want to hear what was important to me? Do you want to hear what I was scared about? Do you want to hear the questions I had? Here, listen to this episode from 2019 of my podcast. Do you want to hear the songs of... that I sang about when my heart was broken? Do you want to hear the songs that I sang about going to therapy and doing that for the first time? I love that I have this big library of work to share with them someday to show them what I sound like. And I think it's just one of the biggest gifts. So when you go to create your work, especially if you're going to create your work and you're feeling some doubt or you're feeling like, I don't know if I should do this. Does it even matter? First of all, it does, no matter what you think. it really, really does. Just getting it out there in and of itself, taking a chance on yourself, not turning yourself down, that matters deeply. But when you go to put out work, if you can try to remember, you're literally creating a time capsule of your life, heart, and soul, and your creativity, not only for the whole world, but also for your family and friends and those you love most and your future generations. If we can keep this creative legacy in mind, I think it takes some of the pressure off of it weirdly and makes it feel important no matter what happens to it because it is. It's not just about how many people it reaches. It's about reaching the right people and your people in particular. So remember, when we unleash our creativity, we unlock our own immortality. We pass down true generational wealth and we solidify our creative legacy. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. This Unleash Minisode was hosted and executive produced by me, Lauren LaGrasso. Music is by Liz Full. For more information on the show, you can follow us at Lauren LaGrasso and at Unleash Your Inner Creative on social media. If you like what you heard today, especially if you like these Minisodes, leave us a rating and review so we know that you like them. Tell us any topics you want coming up and we will start to put that into rotation. And I wanted to let you know, in case you don't, that I do creative coaching. And if you're interested in having a little guidance in your creative life, feel free to email me, lauren.lagrasso at gmail.com. I would love to set up a free discovery call with you. And come back tomorrow because I have a very special bonus episode for you with two of the greatest people I've met. I cannot wait to share it with you. I love you and I believe in you. Get out there and build your creative legacy. And I will talk with you tomorrow.