the joy of collaboration
I felt the pull to write about the joy of collaboration the other day when I was talking about it. In the shower. To myself. See I do this thing where I pretend that I’m being interviewed. Imagine: Phone rings. I don’t recognize the phone number, but I pick it up anyway. Hi, this is Lindsay. I’m so glad I answered because it’s Terry Gross calling from Fresh Air on NPR and she wants to interview me! Again. Sometimes it’s Oprah, sometimes it’s Glennon, or my friend, Rebecca.
I do this because the idea of being interviewed terrifies and excites me. I do this because I need to practice talking even though I do it a lot and even though all through growing up, my mom told me I talked to hear myself talk. She wasn’t incorrect.
My pretend interviews help me prepare for when I’m out in the wild. I have just a bit of anxiety from time to time and preparation helps quell my nervousness a tad.
So, as I’m lathering up with my new purple shampoo that appears to be staining my hands and causing my skin to look like “Vamperina’s”, I chuckle and say, Great question, Terry.
Terry’s inquiring about what makes a successful creative collaboration. (Ignore the fact that there are a million and five other people more skilled to answer this question and that the word successful to me in this way means it’s working, and it brings joy.
I tell Ter:
1. Work with someone who knows more than you do.
My creative genius artist friend, Stephanie is brighter and more creative than me. I know this sounds self- deprecating, and I know it’s not a competition, but I say this in all honesty. However, I rise to the occasion when I’m with her. She believes in me, and we admire and respect each other. I listen and learn so much from her and feel smarter and braver in her presence.
2. Work with someone who “gets you.”
We both have a touch of something like ADHD. I don’t say this flippantly.
When Stephanie and I talk, it’s fabulous, we’re all over the map, it’s like playing connect the dots or like we’re making a constellation with our sparkly words and dramatic choreography. We touch on 25 different topics in five minutes, some of which we return to, some of which we leave out there floating in the ethers to be discovered by another creative forager. Our conversations are not linear. They are engaging, intuitive, and make perfect sense to us. And when I say something inappropriate or strange, Stephanie doesn’t flinch or roll her eyes. She either laughs or joins in on the fun.
3. Work with someone who thinks outside of the box.
Celebrate weirdness and dream big. It’s so much more fun and enlivening to work with someone who isn’t afraid to take the leap blind-folded with jazz hands.
4. Work with…someone.
Creative work can be lonely. It’s often a solitary gig physically speaking, I do believe in muses and magic too but it’s really nice to mix it up and have another actual human being in your corner who you can bounce ideas off of and support each other on good days and vent together on bad. Even working silently but together is enriching. It’s nice to be able to say out loud when sitting at a café, “I have to pee” or “I want a scone”. Loneliness is Evel Knievel incarnate and it’s worse for our health than smoking cigarettes.
5. Work with someone who shares your values.
Stephanie and I both value intuition. We talk about feelings, senses, hunches, and the idea of an embodied knowing. With the cover of my book for instance, I was like, here are some words I like: cardinal, sailboat, wonder. Here are some colors that come to mind: pink, blue, green. It’s engaging the senses…the smell of roses right after it rains. Whatever I tell her, she’s like, “Great, got it”, and then she does her thing. When she sent me the first iteration of the cover art, I was like “Yes, that’s it”, a beautiful representation of a feeling. She’s a dream weaver, making ideas and feelings breathe with color, movement, and life.
6. Collaboration isn’t just for people.
This may be a little woo woo for some. But I’m going there, Paula. I believe we collaborate with spirits, angels, and ancestors all the time. If we stay open to the idea that this is possible, that we can receive signs, messages, and ideas, then there is a beautiful abundant magical and supportive energy here to inspire, guide, and encourage us. I love serendipity and divine timing and I’m so thankful for the presence of these angels. Magic is not just for magicians.
7. Trust is essential.
Collaboration feels good. It’s nice being together. It’s like looking at a gorgeous sunset with sherbet colors, sure, it’s great to take it all in on a solo adventure. But when you’re with someone who loves sunsets too, you get to dance around and celebrate. Together. It makes it that much sweeter.
Please check out Stephanieongart.com for more visual beauty. And in case you haven’t heard and pardon me if you’ve heard too much but I’m excited, my first book, All I Feel is Love is available now where books are sold!