Episode 111: The Artisan Life – Join a Collaborative Community

Finding Your Groove With Kathleen Thompson

Collaborating with one or more other people is a great way to have community as an Artisan. On this episode, we’ll explore 4 characteristics of collaboration that you can use to magnify your talent and skill.

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On This Episode

Rhythm of Life – A Bucket, a Trowel, and a Snow Blower Walk Into a Snowstorm
Random Riffs – The Last Gasp
Feature Segment – Join a Collaborative Community

Today's Quote

The fun for me in collaboration is, one, working with other people just makes you smarter; that's proven. -Lin-Manuel Miranda

Rhythm of Life – A Bucket, A Trowel, and a Snowblower Walked into a Snowstorm

We had a last-minute winter snow. 13 inches of wet snow. When I tried to clear it with the snow blower, the chute that throws the snow got clogged. This caused the blower to stall. All the way at the end of the driveway. UGH.

Listen to the episode to hear what I did, what I learned (and not just about snow), and what you can learn too.

Random Riffs – The Last Gasp

Have you ever had the experience when something supposed to be over and wasn’t? It happened last night. It’s the 3^rd day of Spring, and yet we had 3 inches of snow in the night.

Winter was supposed to be over. Technically it is over. Yet, you’d never know it by the weather.

This “not over when it’s supposedly over” used to happen with tech projects too. And how often is that true in life too?

Sometimes the thing actually isn’t over. Sometimes have to live in both realities for a while.

At other times it’s the last gasp before it gives up. It looks impressive. Like it will never end. And yet, it will be gone tomorrow.

We can’t always tell which it is. It may feel like forever. It may be hard to hang on. Hang on. Find support through that last gasp. That one more thing you think you can’t take. You can. Spring is coming.

Feature Segment – Join a Collaborative Community

I recently worked with a songwriting coach on one of my songs. We did quite an overhaul of it. It was quite the collaboration between us. This experience showed me 4 characteristics of collaboration that make it a powerful way to experience community. And in turn, grow as an Artisan.

1. Start with a song. A fleshed-out idea.
2. Open hands, open heart. Check your ego.
3. Break it to make it
4. Collective greatness greater than sum of parts

Resources:

Lysa Terkeurst – It Will Be Okay

Ann Voskamp – The Broken Way

Adam Grant – The Creative Power of Misfits

You’ve probably seen a sports team loaded with superstars that doesn’t win a championship. Then a ragtag group of misfits creams everyone. That’s the power of collaboration. That looks like respect, trust, and holding space for one another. Even when it’s noisy and even looks chaotic.

So find a person or people to collaborate with. Bring what you have. Be open and willing to break it. Trust the process and each other. And watch what happens.

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Want to build artisasnship? Join a community of collaborators.
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Artisan Series

090: Why You Should Be an Artisan at Work
091: The Three C's of Artisanship
092: Are You a Creator, Consumer, or Critic?
093: Where to Start as an Artisan? With a MAP.
094: What's Your Signature Scent?
095: The Foundations of Craftsmanship
096: Follow Your Curiosity to Build Craftsmanship
097: Craftsmanship Requires Change
098: Building Craftsmanship – When it Gets Hard
099: Building Craftsmanship – Take Care of Your Tools
101: Building Craftsmanship – Be an Apprentice
102: Building Craftsmanship – Practice
103: 4 Habits That Foster Creativity
104: Time for Wonder
105: Forget the Big Bang Theory
106: Constraints Ignite Creativity
107: Seal Creativity With a KIS
108: Creativity: One Ring to Rule Them All
109: Creativity: What's Old is New Again
110: Creativity: Create Your Own Seal

The post Episode 111: The Artisan Life – Join a Collaborative Community first appeared on Kathleen Ann Thompson.