Create Your Unique Symbol (& 6 more updates!)
Dear friends, gather ‘round the fire and let's explore the creative happenings of late—workshops, challenges, and other adventures.
Hey friends, first, happy easter! Second, let’s gather ‘round the fire and explore the creative happenings of late—workshops, challenges, and other adventures—that have filled my days. Along the way, I'll let you in on some personal moments too.
Also, I’d love to hear your stories, so feel free to share the wonders that have graced your life.
Let’s go!
Quickly jump to your preferred section:
A Workshop to Craft Your Unique Symbol
In just a few weeks (Tuesday, April 25th), I'll be hosting a special
workshop salon that will guide you to create your very own unique symbol. The idea emerged while I was soaking in the beauty of Austria, sharing time with my dear friends and (whom I met through Twitter). Initially, I envisioned people making symbols of steel, wood, stone, or clay—and I’ll eventually work up toward hosting something like that—but for now, I’m embracing the digital realm first.If your heart calls you to join, follow the sign-up link.
The workshop invites you to dive into the depths of your life story, exploring your subconscious, (inner) relationships, and cherished memories. We'll then gather the most meaningful and significant fragments, molding them into a symbol that's uniquely yours. This symbol will hold a treasure trove of emotion and meaning, ready to unfold in your mind whenever you catch a glimpse of it, reminding you of what truly matters.
The 100-Day Creator Challenge
We're approaching the end of our 100-day creator challenge, reaching day 93 today. Throughout this voyage, I've written an abundance and even ventured into the realm of video creation. Witnessing the heartfelt writing, videos, and audio from fellow creatives has been a joy. It's been truly inspiring to see people connecting and overcoming obstacles they never thought possible.
But I must confess, this challenge has demanded more of me than I anticipated. Writing daily is one thing, but hosting and facilitating this challenge is an entirely different experience. Next time, I may focus solely on facilitation or enlist a helping hand, perhaps even charging a (small) fee to justify the time spent on this labor of love. It has encroached on family time, but the growth and transformation others have experienced make it worthwhile.
As we approach the finish line, I eagerly await the opportunity to connect with everyone who participated. I'm curious to learn about their insights, experiences, and any feedback they have to offer. So, if you're reading this and are part of the challenge, know that I'll be reaching out to hear from you in a few weeks! 😘
Creative Self-Assessment + Archetype Quiz
Last summer, I crafted a creative self-assessment during a solitary hackathon. Over 200 folks have completed it, each receiving personalized charts and insights into their creative strengths and points of improvement. But I believe it can be even more illuminating, so I've been quietly refining it.
My aim is to help people delve even deeper into their creative spirit. I've identified about ~20 aspects of the creative life, each accompanied by introspective questions and lots of insightful resources (probably a small book worth!). I envision this blossoming into a product I can share with the world, akin to StrengthsFinder (those of you who’ve worked in the corporate world probably have heard of it), but specifically for the creative life. I haven't come across one focused on creativity, so I thought, why not create it myself? The assessment is designed to help you understand your creative strengths and weaknesses.
Additionally, I've been working on a "Creative Archetype Quiz" that you might have seen in the newsletter. (During our 100-day creator challenge, I’m sharing a few of the archetypes, but they still require some refinement. They're a bit too similar for my taste.) The quiz will be a free offering, a stepping-stone to the self-assessment experience. If you're intrigued or have any ideas or suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Card Deck for Self-Discovery
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Some of you may remember that I've been working on a self-discovery card deck. I designed it back in February, and the printed cards look quite striking. However, the packaging presented a challenge.
In short, I found a printing shop for the packaging, but the results haven't entirely met my expectations. The size is accurate, but it has some tiny irregularities (misaligned words on the side, and the edge of the glued side is seen on the front). As I don't want the packaging to detract from the overall experience—leading customers to rate it four stars instead of five on Etsy for my first product 😅—I want this creation to be a top-notch offering.
I've considered enlisting help specifically for the packaging design. While I'm confident in my ability to create the images, translating digital designs into a physical product requires a skill set I'm still learning. I'm no expert, and with all the other projects I'm juggling, I don't want to invest all my time mastering packaging design when I could seek assistance from others.
Admittedly, I struggle with asking for help and typically prefer to journey solo for this type of stuff. But perhaps this is an opportunity for me to embrace the value of relying on others.
Course & Coaching Adventures
Over the past nine or ten months, I've been slowly weaving together a course curriculum. I've also had the invaluable opportunity to test most of the exercises with a coaching client. Receiving feedback on what's working, what needs improvement, and what requires clarity has been a transformative experience. I've run some of these exercises as workshops, but guiding one person through the entire process provides a solid point of reference.
My next step was to create the full course and launch it, but, as you can see, my hands are quite full with lots of different projects. So, for now, I'm considering focusing more on coaching and group sessions since it requires less upfront work (such as producing videos and crafting a complete curriculum; coaching sessions can be customized to meet each client's unique needs.)
While I do still plan to launch a course this year—possibly a beta version in July—I will likely test the course curriculum in small groups first. As I mentioned earlier, one of the primary exercises, creating your own symbol, is already scheduled as a workshop. There are more workshops in the works, such as Working with your gift, Your atomic unit of productivity/creativity, Exploring archetypes, Understanding values, and many others. But I won't reveal all the surprises just yet.
The Aesthetics of Meaning-Making
As I've been navigating the waters of these projects and products, I've noticed they seem somewhat separate from my art.
Let me “side-note” this: I think there is an art in teaching and coaching (as well as in the making of the card decks). But in this case, what I mean with “My Art,” is the personal stories, fiction, parables, poems, and essays I write.
And I write for myself first. That’s why this publication is free.
But since I'm also creating products and providing services, I’m starting to believe it's best to present them under a different name.
I don’t want to fall into the trap of my name becoming synonymous with a card deck brand or teaching/coaching business. What I want to put into the world as a product or service should be able to stand on its own. Also, if I do ever want to get someone on, for the fulfillment and customer service of card decks, for example, it just feels too weird to me if an employee says, “I’m a Customer Service rep. for Jibran el Bazi Card Decks.” (But maybe I’m overthinking it…)
If anything, I want my writing to be “Jibran”-branded. (Maybe I will eventually sell a book, or two). So with that idea in mind, for my more businessy stuff, I'm drawn to "The Art of Meaning Making," as it captures the essence of the products and services I’m building, AND it’s close enough to what I named this writing here (“Meaning-Making”).
Practically, this means I may end up dividing my writing. But I'm still uncertain about it. The last thing I need is to manage multiple websites, like Substack, my blog, Etsy, a course site, and another Substack." That would be overwhelming. So, for the next few months, I'll likely keep everything here. But be aware that I'm considering organizing the content into different categories in the future.
Life Behind the Scenes
Now that we've covered an array of updates related to my art and business ventures, let's delve into some personal life updates.
Lately, I've been quite occupied with family life, as our kids have numerous school and social activities (almost like the school & teachers had the idea to “catch up” with what they missed during all the last years). Anyway, I’m the "vliegende keep" at home, since my wife has a demanding job as a high school director.
Vliegende keep is a Dutch saying that literally means someone who is playing both the goalkeeper AND plays in the field.
Being vliegende keep means I’m all over the place as I'm the one at home managing all the child-related tasks, such as biking them to school, picking them up, arranging play dates, “holding down the fort” in the afternoons, and preparing meals. But also random stuff like going on a claim-hunt—is that even a word?—since the Dutch-Gov-Shell-duo created earthquakes causing cracks in our walls…
To make space in my schedule for all that, I took unpaid leave for half a year—or a sabbatical, however you wanna call it— from my part-time job. (For which I’m really grateful.) This allows me to focus on the above projects and maintain harmony at home while also preparing for a big celebration my wife and I have coming up. Next to that, I also want to allocate a bit more time for relaxation. I've been working nights, which isn't strictly necessary, but I suppose it's because I chose to have so many projects going on at the same time. (I should probably prioritize one thing at a time...)
With all that said, I'm curious about your life. What’s been keeping you busy lately? Any updates or exciting news? Please share your stories with me, for I find immense joy in learning about your unique journey.
Until next time!
Warm regards,
Jibran
Thanks again for hosting this challenge! It's amazing that you're able to host AND write daily AND work on these other creative projects – all on top of work and family! Regardless of what name the projects fall under, I'm excited to see where you take them!