Today, I’m writing about my shift from living in the realm of extremes and into a life in flow, and exploring the connection between three themes that are speaking to an acceptance of multifaceted work and authentic creative expression as an entrepreneurial endeavor.

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100 Liminal Days is an experimental project of embracing my current transitional season after exiting my business by sharing an honest, real-time account of my self-initiation experience in daily posts. I’m using The Artist’s Way as a guiding tool, and sending shorter weekly recaps only via my newsletter. Visit Day 1/100 to learn more and sign up in the footer of this page to get the weekly recaps delivered to your inbox.

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The Changing Beliefs of A Blocked Creative

I have blocked my creativity for decades. I’ve shared in previous posts about how for many years I have held a belief that artists are crazy and can’t make any money, and those beliefs drove my choices to pursue practical productivity and fully repress any desire for childish creativity. It seemed like a harmless, and very grown-up thing to do – to choose career paths and pursuits focused on becoming a high-achieving business type.

I viewed the opposite fork in the road as a choice to be aloof and free-spirited, and, if I’m being really honest, mostly useless in terms of service to others. Sure, creating art and having fun brings joy to myself and others, and that is valuable, but I had all but consciously decided those things were a waste of my time.

As I’ve allowed myself to loosen my grip on those beliefs and just experiment with the idea that maybe there is something far more impactful and possible through the act of authentic, weird, artistic expression, I’ve changed my mind about artists. I haven’t gone to the complete extreme to say that I was wrong for getting really good at being productive and using traditional business endeavors to make the world a better place, but I have moved away from the other extreme of disregarding the impact and importance that artists offer civilization.

Flexing Between the Extremes

Truthfully, where I see myself landing within these extremes is not just to park myself in the happy middle, but to become adaptable and agile with a willingness and ability to fluctuate on this spectrum. What I mean here is that I see myself becoming the type of artist that enters into a space where I unleash authentic expression through writing, painting, speaking, and movement without fear of being seen or heard, and then with equal passion, courage, and commitment, can also move into the space of the entrepreneur who strategizes to optimize productivity and efficiency and to maximize profit.

As I have explored my beliefs and behaviors, I see how I have a tendency to choose extremes, but 100 Liminal Days and this process of rewiring my thinking has helped me learn to notice that some rare moments call for an extreme measure, but generally we are better off to choose a life in flow. This is what I’ve meant by my mantra, less hustle, more flow.

It’s not, “stop hustling, only flow.” Hustling still has it’s place in our lives. Full surrender also has it’s benefits. But choosing to live on either end of this spectrum will burn us out on one end, and result in directionless and a lack of purpose on the other. Moving along the spectrum serves us much better.

Leonardo da Vinci, Becoming Water, and Multifaceted Work

I’ve been thinking a lot about Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci wasn’t confined to a single field – he moved seamlessly between art, anatomy, engineering, and philosophy. This fluidity in thinking allowed him to connect disparate ideas and create revolutionary innovations. He was also fascinated with water and the dynamics of fluid, which is a powerful metaphor for his multifaceted work.

But before I started thinking about da Vinci, my dreams and visions were already speaking to me through the metaphor of “becoming water.” In April of this year just a few weeks after my business exit, I wrote:

I’m becoming water, pulling myself from the futile work, and flowing out naturally with the tides of my new reality.

Later, I had a conversation with a friend about our concerns that multifaceted work goes against the grain of business growth experts and marketing experts – we are told to niche down and focus on a simple, single offering so our “audience” can find us and quickly understand how we are able to help them. In David C. Baker’s excellent book, The Business of Expertise, he doubles down on this idea and teaches readers to develop knowledge and expertise in a T-shape – shallow across the top where we keep a general understanding in a wider range of topics, and deep down the center, honing a single area of expertise.

I agree with Baker that developing deep expertise has incredible value, and I understand that in order to go deep in one area, we must focus on fewer things. But I think there’s also something to da Vinci’s approach. He learned from one field, borrowed from another, and made life-altering discoveries – that’s life altering for generations to follow. This is what it means to become water.

I’m by no means comparing myself to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, but I am seeing a connection between this notorious artist, my visions of becoming water, and my desire for multifaceted work.

Leonardo da Vinci is serving as my historical model. This inspiring creative is someone who embodied multidisciplinary mastery centuries ago. His obsession with water wasn’t just scientific curiosity – it mirrored his fluid approach to knowledge and creation.

Becoming water has become a metaphor and symbol for my spiritual vision as well as a practical methodology. It means releasing rigid definitions of who I am or what I do, allowing myself to flow between different forms and fields naturally, adapting to find new paths while shaping my environment.

Multifaceted work is the lived expression of both. Rather than choosing one singular vocation, I imagine myself moving between art, spiritual guidance, teaching, qigong, writing, and community building – just as Leonardo moved between his various fields. Each domain informs the others, creating “life-altering discoveries.”

This isn’t about being a “jack of all trades” though. It’s about recognizing how true breakthroughs and creativity can emerge from the confluence of diverse skills, interests, and perspectives. It’s not scattering my energy. It’s allowing it to flow where it’s needed, trusting that the integration of these multiple facets is itself the package containing my unique gift to the world.

Your Unique Gifts

And I believe that is the case for you, too. We all have a particular confluence, that overlapping part of the Venn diagram of what we desire and what we are skilled in. So many artists would draw their Venn diagram without overlapping these circles, believing that there isn’t a way to make a living making art. Or they may compromise and convince themselves that they have landed in the confluence by converting their art into something practical. For example, a talented watercolor painter may abandon their easel and compromise by becoming a graphic designer so they can turn their creative abilities into a practical vocation.

I don’t have all the answers, but I continue to believe that art – the kind that flows from a place of authenticity and passion – has a greater purpose in bringing homeostasis back to our sick world. We need that kind of art that moves us to tears. I hope this is inspiring you to go make yours.

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