THE SYNCREATE PODCAST: EMPOWERING CREATIVITY
HOSTED BY MELINDA ROTHOUSE, PHD
WELCOME TO SYNCREATE, WHERE WE EXPLORE THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN CREATIVITY,
PSYCHOLOGY, AND SPIRITUALITY. OUR GOAL IS TO DEMYSTIFY THE CREATIVE PROCESS,
AND EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CREATIVE.
SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW US ON SPOTIFY, APPLE PODCASTS, YOUTUBE
OR WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS
HOSTED BY MELINDA ROTHOUSE, PHD
WELCOME TO SYNCREATE, WHERE WE EXPLORE THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN CREATIVITY,
PSYCHOLOGY, AND SPIRITUALITY. OUR GOAL IS TO DEMYSTIFY THE CREATIVE PROCESS,
AND EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CREATIVE.
SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW US ON SPOTIFY, APPLE PODCASTS, YOUTUBE
OR WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS
EPISODE 126: CREATIVE SPARK SERIES - COMPOST & COSMOS
WITH MELINDA ROTHOUSE & CHARLOTTE GULLICK
listen to the audio podcast here:
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO VERSION HERE:
In this installment of our Creative Spark series, Charlotte shares several anecdotes, including the story of a man she met while picking up a load of compost, who told her all about his pet pig, Cosmos. With her superpowers of listening and asking questions, Charlotte has a knack for drawing out people’s stories, which is always a source of creative inspiration. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.
For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to engage with the people you meet in your daily activities–ask questions, get to know them a little bit–and see what possibilities this can open up.
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in
Episode 124: Finding Your Story
Episode 106: Creative Confessions
Episode 98: Creativity and Humor
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at [email protected].
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, please reach out to us. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information here on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes.
Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!
We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at [email protected].
For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to engage with the people you meet in your daily activities–ask questions, get to know them a little bit–and see what possibilities this can open up.
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in
Episode 124: Finding Your Story
Episode 106: Creative Confessions
Episode 98: Creativity and Humor
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at [email protected].
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, please reach out to us. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information here on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes.
Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!
We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at [email protected].
EPISODE-SPECIFIC HYPERLINKS
Melinda Rothouse Website
Charlotte Gullick’s Website
The Syncreate book by Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick
Charlotte Gullick’s Website
The Syncreate book by Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
Melinda: Welcome to Syncreate, a show for creative seekers. We explore the deep human stories of creativity, psychology and spirituality. We believe everyone has the capacity to create. Our goal is to demystify the process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative. What holds us back? Why do we get stuck and how can we fully embrace our creativity?
We talk with visionaries and change makers and everyday creatives, working in a wide range of fields and media - from the arts to science, technology and business. We aim to illuminate the creative process, from imagination to innovation and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life.
Charlotte: I'm Charlotte Gullick and I'm a writer, educator, and writing coach. We are the coauthors of a book on the creative process, also called Syncreate. At Syncreate, we’re here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you're not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, now available in both print and audiobook format, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world.
Hello happy listeners. We're so glad you're with us. Today, we're going to be talking about the hilarious title of Compost and Cosmos, or otherwise known as “How can listening to other people's stories give us an expanded sense of creativity, and what does it mean to be open to other people's stories in a world where we're moving really fast and it's hard to know what's real?” So, the reason that this came to us is, recently, I and my spouse went to get some compost and we had ten bags of compost, and there was a man who was loading it into our car.
And so, what I should also say is my brother-in-law, he's like, “Charlotte, how do you get people to tell you the the intimate details of their lives?” (Laughter) And I don't feel like I do anything in particular except for, I ask questions and I just feel like I'm open to the people's stories. So, there we are. The compost is being loaded into the car, and I feel really bad because this man is lifting heavy stuff and it seems like we should be helping him. And he's like, “No, no. This is my job.” So I ask him, “Do you have a garden?” He's like, “Yeah, I do.”
And he was telling us about his garden, and he has a lot of beans. And who eats the most beans is his pig. (Laughter) So he has a pig that lives in his house. And the pig’s name is Cosmos. And I learned a lot about indoor pigs in the space of ten minutes, at how important this pig was to this man, just by asking a couple of questions. I learned that he would probably never have an indoor pig again.
Melinda: Oh well. (Laughter) You never know, until you try. (Laughter)
Charlotte: I said “Is your pig house trained?” “He is. Unless he's angry.”
Melinda: Uh oh.
Charlotte: (Laughter) Such a personality. “And what is your pigs name?” “Well, we have a dog named Luna and a cat named Star. So, of course you got to stick with the cosmological or you know, like, astronomical pattern.”
Melinda: Oh, right.
Charlotte: So you, of course, you have to name your pig Cosmos. (Laughter) I don't know. And for me, it just… it lifted me up a little bit to learn about this man and his pig.
Melinda: Yeah. Well… and I'm sure that hearing other stories obviously informs your own work. Gives you ideas for stories that you might write or characters, or how to fill out certain characters. Right?
Charlotte: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I don't ever draw directly from something I've heard, because that's not mine. But I think what it does is, it keeps my mind very alive to the different ways that we are all moving through this world.
Melinda: Yes.
Charlotte: And I think that helps me, one with empathy. Like, you never know what's going on for someone. And then I think we also get quick impressions of people, like, “Oh, I think that guy… I thought that guy with this pig was very grumpy, and he was angry, but he had turned out to be so pleasant…”
Melinda: And very entertaining. (Laughter)
Charlotte: Very entertaining. He's like, “Come back soon!” You know? And I also think about like, the capacity of humanity. And this story, I was on the public transportation system in the Bay Area in San Francisco, and I'm just riding along, and a man turned to me across the aisle and he said (or he asked me), “Do you think Valentine's Day is the right day to tell my wife that I'm a cross-dresser?” And I was stunned and like that… and also just thinking about how the intensity of what he was carrying and asking a stranger for (a perspective).
And I had been through enough therapy at that point to be like, “Well, we can plan things, but being attached to the outcome can set us up for disappointment.” And so we talked it through and like, “It might be really hard for your wife on that day if she's got expectations…” And he was a little, you know, I think maybe sad that I didn't say, “Yes, that's the right day.” But what I asked, “Please tell me about your outfit.” And so, then he was just like, delighted to tell me about what he was going to wear.
Melinda: Aww.
Charlotte: And did you know, it is very hard to get a size 14 blue pump? I had no idea. And I think that kind of the again, that richness of his humanity in that moment is, you know, it's something that stays with me.
Melinda: Definitely. And why do you think he reached out to you? Just because you were there? Or was there something about you that you feel like invited him to ask the question? Or was it just that you were a perfect stranger?
Charlotte: I think it was a combination of a perfect stranger who didn't have a wall up.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: You know, like an invisible wall. And I get why people have invisible walls. Yeah. My sister had a friend who, (laughter) she’s a very tall woman. She's like 6’3”. And she's a person of color. And she told a story about being on the subway in New York. And one of her friends saw her… she’s like, “Oh, my God, I was terrified of you.” (Laughter) Just because she had to put a face on to interact with the public, too. So maybe there's a certain triplet in that kind of like, “Oh, I get to be open…” You know?
Right. I think that there's, you know, a lot of social structures that might say that, “I'm more approachable than someone else…” And not that I think that's right. But I mean, I just also… if I think, you know, how shame can boil in us… or I think for me, like a shame wave, like those most embarrassing “Why did I say that? Why did I do it?” And sometimes, it just spills out of us. I think that's probably what was going on for him. That man who wanted to know if Valentine's Day was the right day to tell his wife he was a cross-dresser.
Melinda: Yeah. Amazing.
Charlotte: Oh, and I think just, you know, another one that just blew me away. I think the point here is, like, we don't know who someone is. And if it's okay for us to be open and ask people a couple questions here or there that, like, as you were saying, like, it keeps us in expanded place… which I think is something that creativity can do. When my mom was in the hospital, she was having - it was a couple of years ago - she was having some breathing issues, and they called in a respiratory expert, and then they called in another one, because they wanted to consult with each other.
And after that was done, I was talking to the man. I'm like, “How did you get into this work?” And he said, “Oh, I used to be a helicopter pilot in Iraq. And there were people there who were helping children who were being airlifted out, and they were respiratory therapists. And when I, you know, the pilot is saying, those guys are the real heroes. Or those women are the real heroes. I want to do that next.”
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: And, I think that's a really interesting question. Like, “How did you come into this line of work?”Yesterday, I went to the urgent care with my sister, and the medical assistant’s name was Hope.
Melinda: Ohhh.
Charlotte: And I was like, “So, how do you feel about your name? (Laughter) And she was like, “I'm glad I'm not named Angel.” (Laughter) And it was just like, a quick way to get to know people too. Is that openness.
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. But what I like about that story you shared about the helicopter pilot respiratory therapist is like, it kind of shows this chain of like, he was inspired by seeing what other people were doing, and then he changed his life, or went into this particular line of work, and then he's helping all these other people… and then he inspired you. And it's just illustrates, like, how every single day, with the stories that we share, we can - we're part of this chain of inspiration, you know?
Charlotte: Absolutely. And I feel like stories are the great common denominator. And that they have the potential to make these - in addition to the inspiration - it’s just like, moments of human to human connection.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: It's like, almost creating little pieces of art in these interactions.
Melinda: Yeah. And these day-to-day interactions can then, in turn, inspire our own creativity, which is kind of our Pro Tip for today, right?
Charlotte: Right.
Melinda: Like, maybe directly or indirectly, like you said, you don't necessarily like, borrow from stories that other people share with you, but they open up possibilities for you. But I'm sure there are many creatives who - I'm just thinking about like, comedians with their standup routine or whatever it might be - you know, you overhear a conversation on the trail.
Like, I overheard a couple different conversations on the trail this morning that were just like, “Oh, this is like, a little window into someone's life, because they're talking on the phone to someone, you know.” And like, maybe it inspires a song or whatever it might be, you know, in maybe overtly, or in a more subtle way. Right.
Charlotte: Yes. Yes.
Melinda: So what's the… how would you articulate the actual Pro Tip?
Charlotte: So, our Pro Tip around this is to, when you're going throughout your day, if there's someone that you have an interaction with and you have an opportunity to ask them just a little bit about why they are doing what they're doing… and then to see what that opens up.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: You know, if the person who delivers your mail and you haven't ever connected with them, you know, like “How did you come to do this thing?” or I sometimes I'll ask people like, “What's been the best part of your day?” And a lot of people start, you know…. so, I think that the Pro Tip is to find a question that feels like something that you can ask someone so that you can make a more personal connection. And for me, “What’s been the best part of your day?”, I've asked it across the board and it's almost something that I do.
Melinda: Yeah. That you're known for. I mean, it reminds me of like, what we call powerful questions and coaching, that are meant to draw out, like, deeper wisdom. But I love that as, like, kind of an icebreaker, even like, a cocktail party instead of like, “Oh, so what do you do?” Like, “Well, why do you do what you do?” I guess that requires asking what you do first, but like, getting deeper underneath, just like the cover story. Right.
Charlotte: Underneath the cover story. Exactly.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under @syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review.
Melinda: We're recording today at Record ATX Studios in Austin, with Charlotte joining us from the Hudson Valley. The podcast is produced in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios. Thanks so much for being with us, and see you next time.
We talk with visionaries and change makers and everyday creatives, working in a wide range of fields and media - from the arts to science, technology and business. We aim to illuminate the creative process, from imagination to innovation and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life.
Charlotte: I'm Charlotte Gullick and I'm a writer, educator, and writing coach. We are the coauthors of a book on the creative process, also called Syncreate. At Syncreate, we’re here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you're not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, now available in both print and audiobook format, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world.
Hello happy listeners. We're so glad you're with us. Today, we're going to be talking about the hilarious title of Compost and Cosmos, or otherwise known as “How can listening to other people's stories give us an expanded sense of creativity, and what does it mean to be open to other people's stories in a world where we're moving really fast and it's hard to know what's real?” So, the reason that this came to us is, recently, I and my spouse went to get some compost and we had ten bags of compost, and there was a man who was loading it into our car.
And so, what I should also say is my brother-in-law, he's like, “Charlotte, how do you get people to tell you the the intimate details of their lives?” (Laughter) And I don't feel like I do anything in particular except for, I ask questions and I just feel like I'm open to the people's stories. So, there we are. The compost is being loaded into the car, and I feel really bad because this man is lifting heavy stuff and it seems like we should be helping him. And he's like, “No, no. This is my job.” So I ask him, “Do you have a garden?” He's like, “Yeah, I do.”
And he was telling us about his garden, and he has a lot of beans. And who eats the most beans is his pig. (Laughter) So he has a pig that lives in his house. And the pig’s name is Cosmos. And I learned a lot about indoor pigs in the space of ten minutes, at how important this pig was to this man, just by asking a couple of questions. I learned that he would probably never have an indoor pig again.
Melinda: Oh well. (Laughter) You never know, until you try. (Laughter)
Charlotte: I said “Is your pig house trained?” “He is. Unless he's angry.”
Melinda: Uh oh.
Charlotte: (Laughter) Such a personality. “And what is your pigs name?” “Well, we have a dog named Luna and a cat named Star. So, of course you got to stick with the cosmological or you know, like, astronomical pattern.”
Melinda: Oh, right.
Charlotte: So you, of course, you have to name your pig Cosmos. (Laughter) I don't know. And for me, it just… it lifted me up a little bit to learn about this man and his pig.
Melinda: Yeah. Well… and I'm sure that hearing other stories obviously informs your own work. Gives you ideas for stories that you might write or characters, or how to fill out certain characters. Right?
Charlotte: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I don't ever draw directly from something I've heard, because that's not mine. But I think what it does is, it keeps my mind very alive to the different ways that we are all moving through this world.
Melinda: Yes.
Charlotte: And I think that helps me, one with empathy. Like, you never know what's going on for someone. And then I think we also get quick impressions of people, like, “Oh, I think that guy… I thought that guy with this pig was very grumpy, and he was angry, but he had turned out to be so pleasant…”
Melinda: And very entertaining. (Laughter)
Charlotte: Very entertaining. He's like, “Come back soon!” You know? And I also think about like, the capacity of humanity. And this story, I was on the public transportation system in the Bay Area in San Francisco, and I'm just riding along, and a man turned to me across the aisle and he said (or he asked me), “Do you think Valentine's Day is the right day to tell my wife that I'm a cross-dresser?” And I was stunned and like that… and also just thinking about how the intensity of what he was carrying and asking a stranger for (a perspective).
And I had been through enough therapy at that point to be like, “Well, we can plan things, but being attached to the outcome can set us up for disappointment.” And so we talked it through and like, “It might be really hard for your wife on that day if she's got expectations…” And he was a little, you know, I think maybe sad that I didn't say, “Yes, that's the right day.” But what I asked, “Please tell me about your outfit.” And so, then he was just like, delighted to tell me about what he was going to wear.
Melinda: Aww.
Charlotte: And did you know, it is very hard to get a size 14 blue pump? I had no idea. And I think that kind of the again, that richness of his humanity in that moment is, you know, it's something that stays with me.
Melinda: Definitely. And why do you think he reached out to you? Just because you were there? Or was there something about you that you feel like invited him to ask the question? Or was it just that you were a perfect stranger?
Charlotte: I think it was a combination of a perfect stranger who didn't have a wall up.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: You know, like an invisible wall. And I get why people have invisible walls. Yeah. My sister had a friend who, (laughter) she’s a very tall woman. She's like 6’3”. And she's a person of color. And she told a story about being on the subway in New York. And one of her friends saw her… she’s like, “Oh, my God, I was terrified of you.” (Laughter) Just because she had to put a face on to interact with the public, too. So maybe there's a certain triplet in that kind of like, “Oh, I get to be open…” You know?
Right. I think that there's, you know, a lot of social structures that might say that, “I'm more approachable than someone else…” And not that I think that's right. But I mean, I just also… if I think, you know, how shame can boil in us… or I think for me, like a shame wave, like those most embarrassing “Why did I say that? Why did I do it?” And sometimes, it just spills out of us. I think that's probably what was going on for him. That man who wanted to know if Valentine's Day was the right day to tell his wife he was a cross-dresser.
Melinda: Yeah. Amazing.
Charlotte: Oh, and I think just, you know, another one that just blew me away. I think the point here is, like, we don't know who someone is. And if it's okay for us to be open and ask people a couple questions here or there that, like, as you were saying, like, it keeps us in expanded place… which I think is something that creativity can do. When my mom was in the hospital, she was having - it was a couple of years ago - she was having some breathing issues, and they called in a respiratory expert, and then they called in another one, because they wanted to consult with each other.
And after that was done, I was talking to the man. I'm like, “How did you get into this work?” And he said, “Oh, I used to be a helicopter pilot in Iraq. And there were people there who were helping children who were being airlifted out, and they were respiratory therapists. And when I, you know, the pilot is saying, those guys are the real heroes. Or those women are the real heroes. I want to do that next.”
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: And, I think that's a really interesting question. Like, “How did you come into this line of work?”Yesterday, I went to the urgent care with my sister, and the medical assistant’s name was Hope.
Melinda: Ohhh.
Charlotte: And I was like, “So, how do you feel about your name? (Laughter) And she was like, “I'm glad I'm not named Angel.” (Laughter) And it was just like, a quick way to get to know people too. Is that openness.
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. But what I like about that story you shared about the helicopter pilot respiratory therapist is like, it kind of shows this chain of like, he was inspired by seeing what other people were doing, and then he changed his life, or went into this particular line of work, and then he's helping all these other people… and then he inspired you. And it's just illustrates, like, how every single day, with the stories that we share, we can - we're part of this chain of inspiration, you know?
Charlotte: Absolutely. And I feel like stories are the great common denominator. And that they have the potential to make these - in addition to the inspiration - it’s just like, moments of human to human connection.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: It's like, almost creating little pieces of art in these interactions.
Melinda: Yeah. And these day-to-day interactions can then, in turn, inspire our own creativity, which is kind of our Pro Tip for today, right?
Charlotte: Right.
Melinda: Like, maybe directly or indirectly, like you said, you don't necessarily like, borrow from stories that other people share with you, but they open up possibilities for you. But I'm sure there are many creatives who - I'm just thinking about like, comedians with their standup routine or whatever it might be - you know, you overhear a conversation on the trail.
Like, I overheard a couple different conversations on the trail this morning that were just like, “Oh, this is like, a little window into someone's life, because they're talking on the phone to someone, you know.” And like, maybe it inspires a song or whatever it might be, you know, in maybe overtly, or in a more subtle way. Right.
Charlotte: Yes. Yes.
Melinda: So what's the… how would you articulate the actual Pro Tip?
Charlotte: So, our Pro Tip around this is to, when you're going throughout your day, if there's someone that you have an interaction with and you have an opportunity to ask them just a little bit about why they are doing what they're doing… and then to see what that opens up.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: You know, if the person who delivers your mail and you haven't ever connected with them, you know, like “How did you come to do this thing?” or I sometimes I'll ask people like, “What's been the best part of your day?” And a lot of people start, you know…. so, I think that the Pro Tip is to find a question that feels like something that you can ask someone so that you can make a more personal connection. And for me, “What’s been the best part of your day?”, I've asked it across the board and it's almost something that I do.
Melinda: Yeah. That you're known for. I mean, it reminds me of like, what we call powerful questions and coaching, that are meant to draw out, like, deeper wisdom. But I love that as, like, kind of an icebreaker, even like, a cocktail party instead of like, “Oh, so what do you do?” Like, “Well, why do you do what you do?” I guess that requires asking what you do first, but like, getting deeper underneath, just like the cover story. Right.
Charlotte: Underneath the cover story. Exactly.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under @syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review.
Melinda: We're recording today at Record ATX Studios in Austin, with Charlotte joining us from the Hudson Valley. The podcast is produced in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios. Thanks so much for being with us, and see you next time.
