Courtney M. McSwain

Purpose-Driven Storytelling For Your Business

Q&A

Erica “Rivaflowz” Buddington on…Celebrating Failure

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Photo Courtesy of Erica “Rivaflowz” Buddington

Following online breadcrumbs often has its rewards, which was certainly true when I came across the work of Erica “Rivaflowz” Buddington during a spell of Twitter wandering. At age 26, Erica is already forging a writing identity to be reckoned with. She is a former HBO Def Poet, Brave New Voices Slam Champion, Upworthy.com fellow, journalist and emcee. Her writing has been featured in popular online magazines such as Ebony.com, MadameNoire, The Root and The Grio, and she publishes her own work on Rivaflowz.com and IfNoOneHasToldYou.com. She is also one of the youngest program directors of the Harlem Children’s Zone – a nonprofit pipeline agency that serves a 100-block radius of the Harlem community.

I invited Erica to share her thoughts on celebrating failure, and her reflections underscore one of the most important lessons all artists can learn: There is no “right” way to live a creative life. Here’s more of what she had to say.

What role does failure play in your creative work?

Failure is a huge part of my work. The failure of my relationships pulled the most beautiful prose from me. It’s the reason for my incredible spoken word pieces, the dating series and three unfinished novellas.

Those three unfinished novellas could also be seen as failure; however, their fragments have landed on my blog in short story form and helped to push my following to new heights. My lack of interest in finishing them also made me realize that they weren’t projects I was passionate about. That realization led me to the work I actually live for.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned on failure?

Sometimes failure is a blessing in disguise.

[While] my blog was taking off and I was performing poetry everywhere, I kept feeling like I wasn’t a “real” writer. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously until I had a published book with my name on it. I didn’t feel like I’d be accomplished until I was on a panel with all of the greats discussing my work.

I traveled to California to take part in V.O.N.A., a workshop for writers of color, and studied with StacyAnn Chin, Willie Perdomo, Junot Diaz and many more. I ran away to Rhode Island where Callaloo hosted their workshop at Brown University. I spent days immersed in my short stories about the Harlem Renaissance or novel about Fort Green’s gentrification. But when I got home, I placed them in a drawer and forgot about them. I thought something was wrong with me…that my lack of immersion [in writing] upon my return to Brooklyn meant that writing wasn’t for me.

[Meanwhile,] I’d wake up everyday at 6 a.m. to prepare myself for work, writing long to-do lists and reading numerous articles on education. I’d spend the day jotting down data and innovating things to keep my students in program. There was so much consistency in my career as an educator and not nearly as much for my writing.

It hit me one morning, walking to work, that perhaps education was my forefront passion. Perhaps writing in between the cracks was all I needed to sustain. I could still be a “real” writer while educating the next generation. I wasn’t failing. I was winning in education and writing at my leisure.


Have you ever celebrated one of your failures? If so, what happened and why was that failure a good thing? If not, can you think of a failure that you should have celebrated and why?

I most certainly have celebrated failure. I’ve popped a champagne bottle or two when I was at the end of my rope with a task. Sometimes, there’s nothing else you can do. When you’re in this predicament, you have to look forward to the progression and mending. I think second chances are always worth celebrating.

What do you think keeps people from talking openly about failure?

A lot of people think failure equates with inadequacy. They are afraid of other folks’ perspectives on their challenges. From my perspective: Getting back up from failure is the strongest triumph of all.

What advice on failure would you give other artists & changemakers?

Most people aren’t waiting for you to fail; they’re watching to see how you get back up again. So get up, over and over again.

Thank you Erica for sharing your story! Be sure and follow Erica’s adventures on her website, Twitter and Instagram.

Robyn Peel On…Celebrating Failure

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Robyn Peele ImagePhoto: Courtesy of Robyn Peel

This post is part of the Q&A series, “Artists & Changemakers On…,” where artists, creative entrepreneurs and social change agents share their thoughts on each month’s blog theme. Today I’m thrilled to have Robyn Peel share her thoughts on celebrating failure.

Robyn Peel is a coach, mentor and facilitator who wants everyone to live bold, meaningful and fulfilling lives. Like last week’s Q&A guests, I met Robyn while attending the Pioneer Nation conference earlier this year (seeing a pattern?). In truth, I owe Robyn a debt of gratitude for inspiring this month’s theme. It was while talking with her during one of the conference sessions that the idea of celebrating authentic failure – the genuine attempt at creation that completely bombs for one reason or another – began to crystallize. Robyn and I both agreed that, too often, we rush to judge people whose projects aren’t home runs the first time around instead of viewing failures as an opportunity to dissect the situation, figure out what went wrong and make adjustments for the next attempt.

Naturally, I had to invite Robyn to share her thoughts on celebrating failure for the blog this month. Here’s what she had to say.

What role does failure play in your creative work?

Over the past few years I have become much more willing to try things out with no expectation as to whether they will work or not. I use the word “play” when I am starting on something new, as it allows there to be more lightness about the journey. And it is almost impossible to fail at playing! I use this play as a time to explore and learn; to notice what works and what doesn’t and to learn from both. I believe we can always improve and grow in our lives. The things that work and the things that don’t will always teach us something.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned on failure?

Failure is a perception not a reality. What one person deems a failure another person deems a success. And the way we respond to what doesn’t work will shape our future. The people who are seen as successful have a different attitude to trying and failing. They are willing to throw mud at the wall and see if it sticks. If it doesn’t they will try something new and see if that sticks. They just keep trying and trying and then one day will be deemed an overnight success!

I believe failure leads to innovation and change. We are not going to get something new if we are afraid to try and risk failing. We need to be bold and try things to get the brilliant and life-changing actions this world needs.

Have you ever celebrated one of your failures? What happened and why was that failure a good thing?

Last year I planned a “walk and talk” event where a group of people would come together to discuss a topic (Redefining Success) and walk through nature at the same time. It seemed to sit so well with my mantra: “Connect with Yourself, Connect with Others, Connect with Nature.” Rather ironically, with the topic as it was, no one turned up!

So I just did the walk myself and thought about what success meant for me. What once would have shattered my confidence – having no one show up at an event – became an opportunity for me to get clearer in my head about what I wanted in life and what success meant for me (and it isn’t about the numbers in any sense of that word – income, blog hits, number of clients or number of people at events). I embraced and celebrated that failure so much that when I came home so happy my partner presumed I’d had a great turnout!

What do you think keeps people from talking openly about failure?

Too often in the public arena and in the media people who fail are picked apart and dragged through the coals. They are publicly ridiculed, and that is something we are so afraid of. We deem failure to be something that we must keep to ourselves at all costs.

As a society, we seem to celebrate successes so openly but keep failures hidden away. I think this keeps us from changing or finding solutions to so many problems we face. It’s time to talk about all the things we try, whether they work or not; someone else could take our lessons (or failures) and find an amazing solution.

What advice on failure would you give other artists & changemakers?

Let’s start by not actually calling it failure. You tried something and it didn’t work out as you had envisioned. You have learned, you haven’t failed. To me it is much more important to try than to succeed. By giving something a go, you are much more open to success than if you stand on the sidelines hoping and wondering “what if?” Be open and curious about the things in your life that didn’t go as planned. What can you learn from them? What can you do differently next time? Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater – learn and grow with every experience.

Thanks Robyn for sharing your story! Follow Robyn Peel as she works with 20-somethings to help them get clear on who they are, what they want and then to make the conscious choices to bring that dream into reality. You can connect with her on Twitter and Google Plus.

Jen Adrion and Omar Noory On…Celebrating Failure

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Jen Adrion and Omar Noory ImagePhoto: Courtesy of These Are Things

This post is part of the Q&A series, “Artists & Changemakers On…,” where artists, creative entrepreneurs and social change agents share their thoughts on each month’s blog theme. Today I’m thrilled to have the illustration duo Jen Adrion and Omar Noory share their thoughts on celebrating failure.

I first came across the work of Jen Adrion and Omar Noory, the creative duo behind the paper goods and brand illustration studio These Are Things, while at the entrepreneurship conference Pioneer Nation. The two were keynote speakers sharing the evolution of their company, which delivers travel themed art to customers and retailers in all 50 states and over 40 countries. Jen and Omar have grown their business to the point where they work with major brands like AFAR, Airbnb, American Greetings, HOW and Southwest Airlines. Luckily, they didn’t shy away from discussing their growing pains during their talk. Hearing that they had endured stumbling blocks and, dare we say, failures was a breath of fresh air. It was great to know that, despite any setbacks, they continued to fight for their creative dreams and were willing to examine missteps to glean lessons for the future.

Encouraged by Jen and Omar’s story, I immediately thought of them when I decided to devote the blog to failure this month (wait…did that come out right?) I invited them to share their thoughts on failure within the context of their work, and here’s what they had to say.

What role does failure play in your creative work?

J: Failure is an essential part of any work, and I feel like this is especially true for creative endeavors. It’s a natural part of the creative process.

O: If you really are doing anything worthwhile, you’re going to stumble as you’re learning and growing. Failure is such an intrinsic part of our everyday life that we don’t even notice it anymore. It actually feels strange if we aren’t failing because that means we aren’t pushing ourselves or trying anything new.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned on failure?

J: Everyone fails, whether they choose to share it or not. Everyone. No exceptions. It’s just a natural part of life. All great successes are built on a mountain of failures, so learning to embrace failure is the quickest way to rack up more successes.

Have you ever celebrated one of your failures? What happened and why was that failure a good thing?

J: Very publicly, actually. In 2013, we fulfilled a longtime goal and moved from our home state of Ohio to a beautiful apartment in NYC. It took us years to build up the courage to make the move, and once we finally did, we were so happy. But a few months into the experience, we realized that we were in over our heads. Our business, which was still running out of a warehouse back in Ohio, was running into problems without us there to oversee it. So, we made the difficult decision to bail out of New York after only eight months.

O: The worst part is that we were scheduled to speak at a conference in Cleveland two weeks before we moved back. It was our first big speaking gig as These Are Things. The timing was terrible. Neither of us felt comfortable getting on stage and talking about our “success” when we were in the middle of what felt like a crushing defeat.

J: So, we got on stage in front of a few hundred people and told our story, including all of the many ups and downs we’ve experienced as we built our careers as illustrators. You can watch the talk here. It was a terrifying experience, but today it remains one of the best things we’ve ever done as These Are Things. People really connected with our talk and we left the stage feeling like we’d been honest about our journey.

What do you think keeps people from talking openly about failure?

J: I think it comes down to a fear of being judged. There’s a lot of pressure to make it seem like everything is 100 percent perfect all the time. Especially with social media – who isn’t intimidated by a perfectly curated Instagram feed? When all we see is perfection, it makes us feel like we’re the only ones experiencing failure, which isn’t true at all. If you can change your perspective and view failure as a sign of growth and progress, it becomes much easier to speak freely about your own experiences in a real, authentic way.

What advice on failure would you give other artists & changemakers?

O: Failure is not a permanent place. It’s never as absolute or final as it may seem. While a failure may feel disastrous in the moment, in reality, there aren’t many failures that you can’t walk away from. You learn something and you move on, stronger and smarter than ever.

Thanks Jen and Omar for sharing your story! Get more advice from Jen Adrion and Omar Noory in their new e­book, “Designed To Sell: The Unconventional Guide to Creative Freedom,” which provides a proven step-by-step plan for building your own successful creative business. And be sure to follow These Are Things on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Leah Lakins On…Money & Creativity

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Leah Lakins Head Shot

I’m excited to debut a new Q&A series, “Artists & Changemakers On…,” where artists, creative entrepreneurs and social change agents share their thoughts on each month’s blog theme. Today I’m thrilled to have independent editor and writer Leah Lakins share her thoughts on money and creativity.

In January of this year, Leah Lakins fulfilled her 14-year dream of living in New York as an editor when she launched her own business, Fresh Eyes Editorial. Just nine months into business, she’s accruing some pretty major credits, including editing the expanded edition of “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” (Amistad, 2014) and “Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success” (Amistad, 2014). The Baltimore native turned Brooklyn dweller admits her early success sometimes has her doing a double take. But, she rightly reminds herself of the years spent in the editorial business that prepared her for this moment to shine on her own.

Knowing Leah personally, I was thrilled to see her take the leap into creative entrepreneurship, and I wondered how her relationship with money was impacting her first year as a freelancer. In an email Q&A, I asked Leah to share her thoughts on money and creativity. Here’s what she had to say.

As a creative person, do you find it easy or difficult to think about money?

One of the most powerful recent lessons I have learned in relation to thinking about money is during a recent episode of “Iyanla, Fix My Life” featuring former NFL player Terrell Owens. At the beginning of the episode, Owens is explaining to Iyanla that his finances are off track because his NFL career is over. Iyanla says to him, “If we are just talking about money then we don’t have any issues. M.O.N.E.Y. stands for My Own Natural Energy Yields.”

Iyanla was emphasizing to him that his finances weren’t off track because he was unemployed. He was out of order because he hadn’t taken the time to do the spiritual and mental work necessary to ensure his financial success. That revelation hit me like a bolt of lightening. Ultimately, the influx of money in my life is not just the checks that land in my mailbox or the funds in my PayPal account, but it’s the spiritual energy that I put forth into the world. Do I believe I am worthy of the fees that I am charging my clients? Am I willing to learn about how to appropriately mange my business processes so that there is ease and balance in my finances? Am I honoring my financial bounty with gratitude, charity and responsibility?

When I am willing to do the necessary spiritual work to honor my finances, the actual dollars and cents are easy. Acknowledging my creator, whom I call God, for my creative gift, believing in the worth and value of my creative gift, and recognizing and confidently requesting the monetary value for my creative gift is the hard, ongoing work of this new season of my life.

What has been the most challenging part of balancing your creative dreams with monetary needs?

I hung out my virtual shingle for my business on January 6th, I moved to Brooklyn on January 8th, and I had four new clients, the most significant one being HarperCollins Publishers, by January 31st. I was excited yet terrified. I began to ask God, “Why was all of this good fortune coming to me?” I thought New York was about scraping and hustling to survive, and here I was with not only the ability to survive, but thrive, save, and fund my new Broadway habit.

There were quite a few mornings where I woke up surprised that I was still in New York and saying, “C’mon God, really, whose life is this? Am I secretly on an extended episode of ‘Punk’d’?” My way out of fear was to stop asking “Why me?” and boldly declare “Why NOT me?” Hadn’t I done all the hard work — from being an editorial assistant to now owner and editor-in-chief — to learn all the lessons of becoming a great editor and writer and to earn a decent wage doing so? Indeed I had! So instead of wallowing in fear, why not stand in my worthiness as a creative being, celebrate the value of my creative gift and accept the financial abundance that my Creator was sending into my life?

One of the sweetest financial moments I had this year was sitting in the lobby of my bank with my advance check for my work on the expanded edition of Steve Harvey’s “Act Like a Woman, Think Like a Man.”

This was the largest check I had ever received in my life thus far, and I took quite a few moments to look at the check and to soak it all in. I was pausing for such a long time that finally one of the tellers asked me, “Baby, are you OK?” I told her that I was just fine. I just needed more time to really appreciate this blessing.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned about dealing with money in your creative business?

Always, always, always (and did I mention always?) ensure that you have a contract that specifically details the agreed upon fee, the terms for payment and the timetable for receiving payment. Working under unknown and unclear terms about your financial compensation actually takes away from your ability to work at your highest capacity. I know that I don’t work as efficiently when I’m worried about my rent, gas and light bills instead of the creative work at hand.

Do you have conversations with other creative people about money? What are some of the best lessons you’ve taken away from those conversations?

I must have conversations with other creative people about money — otherwise, I’ll go insane. One of my closest friends stages houses (i.e., she’s one of the cool people who makes your house look gorgeous before you put it on the market), and she and I just had a great conversation recently about business matters. The biggest lesson that I’ve taken away from those conversations is to simply ask about everything. Most creative people I know aren’t naturals when it comes to handling business affairs and managing finances. So don’t fake the funk and act like you know something when you don’t. Ask until you get the answers you need so you can be creative and earn a living.

What’s the dream for Leah Lakins?

My biggest dream is to train the next generation of content creators. Specifically I would love to train more content creators of color. I remember sitting in the lobby of a very prestigious publishing house recently and literally counting on one hand how many editors of color that I saw. There were very few. Why don’t young people of color know that the publishing industry can be a viable career path for them? I think one of the issues is that my generation isn’t going back and telling them what is possible. Therefore, it’s my goal to start mentoring these young people and sharing my career path with them. Ultimately, I would love to teach at my alma matter, Morgan State University, and show students the fine art of creating great content that can be published anywhere from a traditional book to a blog to a website.

My second biggest dream is to produce volumes of inspirational essays. One of my short-term goals is to take the best essays from my inspirational blog, SoulFlakes, and turn them into my first book of essays. I would love to follow in the footsteps of great essayists such as the late, great Maya Angelou, the hilarious former columnist for O Magazine, Lisa Kogan, and my newest favorite Brooklyn-based blogger, Demetria Lucas, who writes the blog “A Belle in Brooklyn.”

Thanks Leah for sharing your story! Connect with Leah and Fresh Eyes Editorial on Facebook and LinkedIn. Also, be sure and follow Leah’s adventures on her blog SoulFlakes.