Living in a big family I escaped from chaos into creativity. Music was my life – listening, playing, making sounds with anything I could find – decks, guitar, whistle, recorders, ocarinas and my voice. My idea of a worthwhile career was to create music. From being a Cathedral chorister I set my mind and heart on being in a band.
Epilepsy, parents and others intervened. I “had to get a proper job”.
Yeh right!, We’ve heard that one over and over. So many shattered dreams! Get a grip I thought.
Epilepsy was a gift to me. It is an early warning system alerting me to danger. I can feel it – whether its a compelling attraction – or a threat from others; I sense trouble ahead – spotting patterns and behaviours that most don’t see, like a sixth sense.
Most beautiful and surprising, epilepsy gifted me with a creative mind.
My early and middle years found me developing a social action charity that transformed and empowered individuals and communities involving networks of thousands. Our work was picked up by government departments and authorities in the end because it was was working – people were getting involved and lives were changed. Rolled out as a government programme the good stuff got watered down – and with it the joy. The work would never reach its potential when controlled bu politicians who we all know are lost and in denial.
But seeing people’s behaviour switched me off. Despite being supported and empowered and given incredible tools, now they dug holes, fought with each other and everyone, while new funders pulled their strings like puppets, and set their agenda. Desperately trying to impress government officials and powerful partners was playing into a developing and disempowering agenda and not getting to the root causes of the problems and big issues of the day.
I sat alone one day and thought to myself,
“Julia and I have created all this. Now Julia is sick. They’re not children. We’ve given them some amazing tools. Now leave them to find their own way. We have cast the proverbial pebble in the pond. We’ve taken the horses to water. Time to end this part of your career, Stephen. It’s killing you, You’re not creative anymore. If you’re not creative, you\re not effective.” That was 2014.
Such a sense of release. Happiness pulsating inside me. Freedom. Motivation. Energy. As if my true self had been allowed back out of the box
I continued to developed new work (in the US) and, crucially I made time to be creative.
I invested in myself and trained in the Method. As an actor, I’ve been in a film a year ever since, written material for 2 albums, reconditioned my voice and completed 8 episodes of a TV drama series. WTF what have I been doing LOL.
Soon our band will be in the studio.
We’ll create, recreate and regenerate within a community of great people and mentors who believe in giving value.
We’re in a community of thousands of people globally who take stock, connect with their dreams and take action to make the changes – and find health, wealth, purpose and connection. Who appreciate life. We’ll introduce anyone who asks.
But, we’re still on the journey.
For our songs and our message to catch on, we need more than a wing and a prayer.
We need to learn another set of skills – to market online.
We love being creative and to see other people being creative. We love to see people living well, with income streams that allow them to live their best life. We’re meeting more and more people who, like us, are discovering that building their own online business is a joy..
What’s your dream?
Set your unique creativity flowing!
Find out how we did it soon.
