Green Light Your Creativity with Cliff Beach

Creativity through the lens of a musician, author and entrepreneur 

"I believe that we are created by the Creator to create."

Cliff Beach is a multifaceted creator, storyteller, and motivator whose work bridges hustle culture, personal growth, and creative expression. As the author of Side Hustle & Flow, Side Hustle & Flow: Shape Up!, and now Side Hustle & Flow: The Daily Grind, Cliff draws from his own journey of balancing passion with purpose to help others unlock clarity, ambition, and resilience.

A seasoned radio personality and host at KCSN/KSBR The Socalsound, Cliff also created the podcast and radio show Deeper Grooves, where he blends culture, music, and thoughtful conversation. His writing and media work reflect a commitment to deeper insight and everyday inspiration.

Cliff has navigated the worlds of entrepreneurship, wellness, media, and mentorship with a grounded, honest voice—encouraging readers and listeners to pursue goals without sacrificing wellbeing. Whether through brief daily prompts, in-depth personal essays, or candid interviews, he champions continuous growth, joyful discipline, and the transformative power of reflection.

He lives in California and continues to explore new ways of helping others craft lives of meaning and momentum.

https://sidehustleandflow.net/

Book - Side Hustle & Flow: The Daily Grind: 365 Days To Shine

https://www.facebook.com/cliffbeachmusic

https://www.instagram.com/cliffbeachmusic

https://www.youtube.com/cliffbeachmusic

https://x.com/cliffbeachmusic

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:20

Welcome to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast. I'm your host, Mari Reisberg. Over the past several years, I've combined my degrees in acting and somatic psychology to share my sustaining creativity techniques with performers. And now I've decided to share it with a bigger audience that includes you. I believe we are all creative, and this podcast is all about that. I'll be interviewing people from all backgrounds, ages, and creativity experiences to share just how creative we all are. Today I'll be chatting with Cliff Beach, musician, author, and entrepreneur. Please enjoy Cliff Beach. Welcome to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast. Today I'm chatting with Cliff Beach, musician, author, and entrepreneur. Welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 1:15

Hi Mari, so nice to be here. Thank you.

Speaker 1 1:17

I am thrilled to chat with you about creativity because I know it is steeped in your entire life. But before we get there, why don't you share a little bit about who you are and what it is you do?

Speaker 1:31

Oh, that's amazing. Uh yeah, I'm a uh Los Angeles-based musician. I'm originally from the East Coast and Washington, D.C., Maryland. Um, but yeah, I've I've loved music and creativity basically my entire life. I think since since I was born, basically, I started singing from the the moment the doctor slapped me on the behind. But um yeah, I mean, I came from a musical family. So my whole family loves music. A lot of people are really great singers and um, you know, just full of a lot of joy. Um, my family, a lot of them are ministers in church. And so um I knew that I didn't want to do that, but I loved just going and hearing the music and seeing people and being out in the town. Like my grandma used to um outside of church, like produce concerts. So we would have really big gospel artists come to DC and she would MC them. Um, she used to sing before before she got quote unquote with it called Saved or Born Again. Uh, she used to sing um music in nightclubs. Um and yeah, and so um yeah, they they loved music, and so we heard a lot of um different types of music, and then she was really into musical theater, so we would watch a lot of like the old movie musicals together, and so um I grew up um and went to school. My mom felt that she wanted me to take piano lessons, she felt that that was like a calling. So no one in my family really played instruments, so I didn't enjoy practicing as a kid, but um, but I do I'm I'm thankful that she forced me to do it because it really took years until high school before I was like really into it. But I loved choir, I loved um, I loved participating in plays and musicals and going to see shows in DC. I mean, it's great to be from, I would say, like a bigger city because you have the opportunities when you go to the downtown to see like a lot of things, like a lot of people who travel come through town and stuff like that. Um, I love to read books. I was a pretty bookish, nerdy kid, um uh a very introspective, kind of introverted kid. Um, but it's funny because I I tell people when whenever they ask me about stuff, I was like, I kind of was uh I was labeled like a bad kid in school because I kind of like would just wander off and do like random things. But so but I was I wasn't actually bad, but that's just like they didn't know what to do with me because I was just like they'd be talking about one thing and I would like be on a tangent of something else. It's just my mind was thinking differently. Um and then you know, I would I would talk out of turn, like I I couldn't wait to like to hold something in. I would just blur blurt it out. Um, but it's funny because now like I do that stuff now and like people kind of get it. It's just like the artist's way, but back then it was not. Um so it's okay. I think I think people just have to wait a while, like wait around and move around, and eventually like it'll work out. You're your your black swan will make sense like when you're with with the swans, you know, not with uh yeah, but it wasn't until almost high school where I switched to want to do music full time. So I was just gonna do normal, I was gonna become a doctor, you know. That was what everybody said. Oh, you should be a doctor. So I was like, okay, that sounds interesting. Um, but then I realized like I don't like blood and other and nasty stuff. So that wasn't for me. But um yeah, it was like basically we went to visit this little kind of backwoods church in North Carolina, like on a traveling trip. And this pastor out of the blue, like I didn't know them, they didn't know me. I'm I'm probably 14 or 15. He comes out of the pulpit and down into the audience, you know, uh, and he steps over to me and he's like, You, you, you have a gift. You need to use that gift. Go do music. Wow, yeah, yeah. It felt like my blues brothers moment where the light hit me. Like, do you see the light? I see the light. So I um, so yeah, I did a full 180 pivot and um I decided not to do pre-med and and and then applied to Berkeley College of Music and got in conditionedly, and they were like, You're gonna start from the bottom. I was like, okay. And and so yeah, I had to like hustle to to to get up to speak because there were kids who had like won all these scholarships and had done like all these things, like traveling internationally for music, where I just kind of like done everything in my little town. But uh I was fortunate because I had a friend who it was really like um serendipitous because I had a best friend from high school who wanted to go to that school, and so he would always talk about it. And I was like, I'll just follow you. Like, I'll just I'll just go where you're gonna go. Because I didn't know any, I hadn't even heard of it. And so um it was funny because we were roommates the first year, and then he ended up leaving school, and I ended up staying, but he was just uh he was so prolific at the time, like it's so interesting how like he had written symphonies and had them played for the band and won like huge competitions, and I was like kind of like a just kind of around person, but it's like you know, it we all bloom at different times. So I was just excited that I I kind of tagged, I tagged along. I got to tag along with a friend, and that that was how I ended up where I was, otherwise, my life would have been completely different. So I think creativity just takes you down a path and you don't know where you're gonna go, but it you stay very open and say yes to things, and it's scary. Like I was just last night talking to someone about big dreams, and they were like, Oh, I want to do this thing, and I was like, Well, why don't you do it? And they were like, Well, this and that. I was like, I just try to push people to do it because it's always scary, and and and there's always reasons not to do it.

Speaker 1 7:32

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I you kind of just shared a little bit about like creativity and how to kind of zhuz it along, but what does it mean to you to be creative?

Speaker 7:47

Yeah, you know, it's like I think I think as you get older and you reflect back, you start to see how things make sense. I I'm not gonna say like I put it together or anything made sense in the beginning. Like, I was just like, I want to be a good singer, and then like I want to be like, you know, I started a band and then they were like, we need songs. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna write songs, and then it was like we need a producer, okay, then I'll produce. So it wasn't like I woke up and was like, I want to do all these things. It's just like the necessity became the mother of invention and made me those things over time. But um, I tell people now, I'm like, I believe, honestly, I believe we're created by a creator to create. And I say it multiple times, we're created by a creator to create, no matter what you believe. I do believe that, like by design, like humans are creative. And I think it's difficult because I know a lot of people who will say, I'm not creative. And once you do that, you have put a cap or a ceiling or a lens over it where you won't. The universe is not going to show you the secrets if you don't want to hear them. So you're not gonna get them. And so um what I've learned, I I watched a really great TED talk by a person who's now passed away, Sir Ken Robinson, and he explains K through 12 school. Yeah, and in the Western world, he's from England, but in America too. Essentially, what happens, and why I started out saying like people thought I was bad, is that school it makes people less creative over time. Not because they're trying to do that, but what happens is that things that are made to control naturally like beat out the creativity because because because kids come in, like you can remember kindergarten, everyone's like, I want to draw, I want to color, I can write, I can do other stuff. They say yes to everything. They're sponges, and you believe you can. They're like, I want to sing, I want to dance. Like people just spontaneously do things, you know. They're like, I made up this dance, I made up this song because that's what kids do. And then eventually they're like, Oh, this is kind of uh you're weird, you know. So, like, don't do that. And then, and then by the end, like they poll, you know, seniors and they're like, Well, you know, who wants to do these things? And like very few do it because they don't want to stick out, they don't want to look foolish. Um, and so uh yeah, I just you know it's it's so freeing because I remember when I was switching from music to books, um, and I'm working on my book, Side Hustle and Flow. So I I had originally I had done music like my whole life. So I got out of college in the early 2000s and moved to LA. And then I kind of worked and like figured some stuff out and then did creatures for a while and then came back to school. And finally I was like, okay, I want to do music again in 2010. And I've been doing it since then. But in 2014, I started, I was like, hey, I want to write this book. It was called The Art of Awesome. And I was trying to figure out basically like how does one person's life like look amazing and another person's like a tragedy, you know. But like they came from like the same thing. How does that how does that stem out? Where it's like, you know, why can't we all do it? You know, why can't we all be rich and skinny? What's up? And so um, and so um I I started interviewing people because that was the only way I learned. Like I was like, when I don't know anything, I'll just like who's who's winning at that? I want to go talk to them. So like I hit I messaged a few people who were so gracious, you know, uh I was like, I'm a writer. And they're like, okay, sure, come by. So I went to talk to them, and then after four interviews, I was like, I'm an imposter, I can't do this. So I shelved it, I shelved the book for years, and then like maybe six years later, 2020, musicians. Um, you know, everyone's like starting to cough around me. I'm like, gross, like no one covers their mouth. I'm sick of the way you live. And then they're like, oh my god, it's a pandemic. I was like, I had no idea. So they locked LA down, and then we're like, okay, we don't have shows. And then CNN comes and they're like, Oh, can you talk to us about what musicians are doing the pandemic? I was like, Am I the only one? Like, there's so many. You want me? Sure, I come. So we did that, and I was doing like these online shows, and I did like three to five or six of them. And then I was like, I was like, this is not for me, I don't do this. So like the CNN thing ran, and everyone was like, You just love doing these things. I was like, I don't love it, but uh, it was what I was doing at the time. So I was like, I want to write. Like I was like, I want to, I feel like that's something you can do when you're hunkered down. Like I was like, I feel like this is this is this is Walden Pond. I'm gonna do this manifesto. So I get the book back out, and um anyway, I took this writing class because they were giving like a lot of free classes to keep people sane during the time, so you could like go online and do stuff. So I took this class um by Scribe Media and a writer, his name is Tucker Max. He wrote a book called I Hope I Help They Serve Beer in Hell. It was like made into a movie. The movie sucked, but but the book was pretty good. But basically, they do like ghostwriting and stuff, and ghostwriting can be very expensive. So they were like, or you can take the street class and struggle and learn how to write. But I was saying the freeing thing about creativity or anything else in the book, what the first lesson that they taught me is they were like, people won't write because of they didn't say imposter syndrome, but basically they were like, People are afraid that they they don't have anything to say, that nobody will like it. And they were like, We're gonna free you because you you don't have anything new to say. They're like, Everything has been said to death. It's okay. Like, because it hasn't been said by you, it will be fine. And so that's what I tell people now. It's like you can do it. It doesn't matter if your song sounds like other people or not, or people love it, doesn't matter. No one has heard your thing. And if you don't do it, then we're never gonna hear your thing, you know. And so uh it was very freeing because I was like, okay, now that that's over, and that band-aid has been ripped off, and it's like, yeah, um, you know, everyone's like, you hope you have a novel idea. Very few do. Like it's very rare. Like there's a lot of books, and a lot of people have talked about this, but nobody has your X Factor, nobody has your DNA, your snowflake, snowflake, your fingerprint. And so that's why creativity is exciting because so many people can create and so many things can happen. And it's it's not rocket science, like it doesn't have to be this all or nothing, you know. And sometimes you just learn enough to be good enough. Like sometimes you just know enough guitar to be the hero at a party when you walk by one, you know. Like that's enough, you know. You don't have to always, not everyone is trying to aspire to the highest thing. I mean, I think do it, and if you want to, yes, and it will be difficult. But I don't know. I just think there's so many times, like I've met so many musicians who are great, and the doubts and the fear, you know, I had this pastor who taught me, he said, uh, we spend so much time uh doubting our beliefs and believing our doubts. It's the opposite. Doubt your doubts, believe your beliefs and and get the thing done. And so yeah, there's just so I I tell people my one of my biggest fears for musicians and creative in general, is when you create a hard drive record, like you've done it and now it's stuck in the computer and you don't want to put it out. Like eventually you have to put it out because that's the only way that the world will know it exists and that it hears it and you can promote it, or even anybody can find it. Yeah, it's like so. That's but creativity, it's nonlinear and uh and it's trial and error. I I don't think anyone starts out, and also you suck, you suck before you succeed. I have to remind people that it's like you were a baby and had to learn to crawl. You're not gonna just you know hop out of the womb and be standing up and talking back. Like that doesn't work, like that's unnatural. So you're gonna suck a lot, you know, yeah, before you finally get there. It would just be weird if you were. I mean, some people you're like, okay, they have a natural gift, but that's like really rare. Yeah. You know, I tell people, like, I've worked uh in digital marketing for beauty for a long time, and they used to have that phrase, like, maybe she's born with it. I can tell you almost often, no, nobody is born with it. You know, that's why they go to the store and try to buy miracles. So no one is born knowing everything about creativity. Like you just have to figure it out as you go.

Speaker 1 15:56

This is so true. I appreciate your words and perspective and reminders. And I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about your books. I know you have a few of them out in the world and what they're about and how they support people.

Speaker 16:13

Oh my gosh. Well, I remember after I finally got the first book done and then finally got it published with the publisher out of the UK, Black Spring Press. Um, I was like, wow, that was like, I'm glad I did that. I was like, never again. Like, I would not be doing this. And so um, yeah, so the book was out. It really was how to put things together. Like it was like time management, productivity, focus. Like I spent a lot of time on personal development. So it's like a self-help personal development book, but it wasn't like a I'm a guru. It was really like I'm in the trenches. Like, if I can do it, you can do it. Like, I didn't know anybody. I moved to LA, I didn't know anybody, I didn't have a plan, I didn't have a job. Like it worked out, but um, but this is how you can like have success in terms of putting things together. Like, if you want to make an album, these are the building blocks. Like build a build a band, do this, go to a studio. Like, you know, if you don't have the money now, you can record it yourself. Like, I was just using some AI stuff the other day. It was like amazing. I know that some people are like, oh my god, no, not AI. But I was like, there's some cool tools that like help you figure out stuff. I'm not saying like the tool is do all the things in the tool, I'm saying use the tools if they help you. But um, so that was the first book. And then on that journey, I had realized, well, I didn't realize in 2019. Basically, I went to the doctor, and the doctor was like, You're fat. I was like, What? He's like, You're fat. I was like, Can I get a second opinion? He was like, Yeah, you're ugly too. I was like, Oh my gosh, like this thing you talk to me. But anyway, they were like, You have some health problems that you probably want to do something about. I had fatty liver and diabetes and other stuff. And so on on this journey, I was like, okay, let me figure out a way to get a dietitian and get some weight off and exercise. And and so that became the second book. Like it was like shape up because the first one was like, okay, I can be productive, I can grind, I can do all this stuff. But then I was like, oh my gosh, if I was healthier, I could have gotten so much more done. Like I would have had so much more stamina and vitality, especially as I as you age. And so that was like, okay, that's that was I was like, I want to write this down because people are like, What did you do? What did you do? I was like, I'm not gonna be able to tell everybody a lifetime of what I did. I was like, I'm just gonna write it down. So we did that, put it out, and it was cool. And then I had met a lot of people, like, you know, from the music world, like music is great because you know, a song is like three minutes. Like people are like, I can commit, you know. A full-like movie, okay, that's a little bit longer, like a book. Some people are like, I'll wait for the movie. Like it's long. So um, I had with the third book, I was like, you know what I'll do is I'll do a daily. So, like in the Christian world and Bible stuff, they'll do like these kind of daily devotionals. So I was like, I'll just do like prompts, like a little short 15, 30 second thing. And so that book came out this year called The Daily Grind. And so basically, it was just like, you know, when you wake up in the morning, if people drink coffee, it's like when you grind your beans, they're the freshest, right? And then you have your coffee and it's great, but it's also like you do it in the morning, you do it with intention, you do it before work, you know, you do the thing for you early. And so that was like the concept of having like a 365, like doing it every day because motivation, like bathing, it doesn't last. Like you have to, you gotta do it every day. So after that, I was like, oh my gosh, now I have this trilogy, but I did not start out, you know, making uh uh three books, but I I it will it will eventually do that in the same way when I said I'm gonna make 10 albums in 10 years and didn't know how to do that, I did because I put the word out there. Like, so I think a lot of creativity is putting the words you know out there and letting them take life and take shape. And I always tell people like the book or the song or whatever you're working on, like it will it will speak to you, like it will tell you what it needs and it will put the right people in front of you. And it's you know, it's like withered rods, like you have to walk the yellow brick road, and then you meet the people and stuff, and you figure out like you had the magic all along, but you just gotta you gotta make the steps. The baby steps in any event, it's like you know, you one stair on the staircase at a time, and then you'll get there. But yeah, it's just it's funny because everything you end up doing and you say yes to, um you do you don't know anything before. Like, I I I pivoted into radio during the pandemic after a podcast, and I didn't know anything about radio. And they're like, Do you want your own show? I was like, Yes. They're like, Do you know anything about radio? I was like, no. And then they were like, Um, can you be the houseman for the television show? I was like, I've never heard of this person, but now he's one of them, and it's great. Um, and I they're like, Do you know anything about being on TV? I was like, nope, no, I don't. I was like, I'm around studios, so I'm sure I can drive somewhere, I can make it to the Burbank, and sure. So we did. And so I think, yes, you you're gonna have to, you're gonna you prepare, like you know, you practice, you do the things, but but but a lot of people like some opportunity is gonna come and you aren't gonna exactly be ready, you know. There's a very famous, I mean there's so many, but I read Success Magazine and Sarah Blakely, who did Spanx, and I didn't know anything about Spanx before I learned about her. But basically, she had um made the prototype, worked on it, you know, forever. And then she got it to Oprah, and Oprah's like, love it. I'm gonna make it one of my favorite things. She was like, Can you manufacture a crazier amount? And she was like, Yeah, totally. She couldn't, she didn't have any manufacturers, she just had the one. But she said yes, and she got it done, and then created a billion-dollar company. Because you you have to, if Oprah is there, you have to say yes and take the opportunity. Like, you know, the Oprah effect's gonna help you. You know you're gonna have the orders and be able to make it. But if she was like, Well, I don't have this, I don't have that, because that happened to me like one time. Someone's like, Well, this famous person, you can get them pretty cheap. They're around. Can you put them on your record? And I wanted to do it. And I talked to like three people, and they're like, Well, you don't have like a PR agent, it'd be hard to promote it. Like, do you have the money? I was like, uh, so I said no. And so I have regret of doing that. So now I don't do that anymore. I was like, because by the time the album came out a couple years later, I had the PR agent and I had avenues. And if I said yes, I would have been there, but or I would have said, How do I do that? Or maybe uh now I had this person, I could sit go to the PR people and say, Hey, I had this great experience. Can we talk about it? So it was like, you just you just have to you just have to say yes and green light yourself and the fear. Sometimes sometimes it's great to tell people, sometimes it's not great to tell people. Like Sarah Blickley, she incubated and created the prototype and she didn't tell anybody until it was done because people, you know, they want to protect you. And sometimes family and people close to you, especially I will say this people who haven't had dreams are the worst people to talk to your dreams about because they can't tell you how to dream, they can't tell you how to do that. And so they're like, no, don't do that. They're gonna be like, do the practical thing, do the logical thing. I was like, humans are illogical and counterintuitive all the time. I was like, it's fine. But I think you just I I just want people to I would love to see more people just do that. I would say if you if you if you couldn't fail, what would you do? You know, and if you're like, oh, I would do that, then do that, you know? That's a good question. Yeah, because that's why people are afraid. But it's like everyone who's successful has failed and they failed hard and they failed publicly. Like that's just there's no way around that. Absolutely.

Speaker 1 23:40

I'm so curious. What are those things in your life that you're dreaming, the bigger dreams that you're saying yes to, whether you have the infrastructure or foundation for it or not?

Speaker 23:56

Oh, oh, yeah. I mean, I'm always talking to people. I mean, I love touring, I love getting out. And so I think, yeah, I mean, right now I've worked on, I've tried to pivot and work on scripts, which I'm like, I don't know if this is for me, but I did do a script and it did get selected for something, and I was like, okay, this is super expensive. So now I'm working on another one for a contest. And um, you know, it's just like a little fun thought experiment. It's like not everything I do is like, oh, it's gonna become gangbusters. Of course, it'd be great if it does, but some things I'm not as serious about, like I'm not as invested in. Sometimes I just do it because I'm just like, hmm. The thing that I like about that is that when there's a contest and something to do, it's like, okay, I have a deadline, I it's I'm working towards it. There are other people doing it, like, okay, that's interesting. But more importantly, is the irony is before I see the contest and decide to do it, I didn't have an idea. I wasn't thinking about that thing before, you know, like now they're like, oh, can you write this horror thing? And then all of a sudden I'm like, where did this idea come from? I wasn't thinking about writing this thing, and it's and it and it unfolds. And so, yeah, like one time someone was like, Hey, do you they were like, We you're working with this band. Can this band do this Christmas concert for the city? And I asked the band, they were like, No, we can't do it. And I was like, Well, um, I was like, I have a band, I was like, I can do it, and they were like, Okay, yeah, that'd be great. And so we did, and then we ended up taking all the songs that we arranged, and then we recorded a Christmas album. And I had always wanted to do a Christmas album, but it was like because one person said no, and I said yes, and I was like, Yeah, sure, whatever, I could do it. And then we did, and but but I wasn't thinking about it before. So it was like that happens a lot where it's like when the opportunity comes, you know, when you get the opportunity to work with someone different, or someone comes, like it makes you think different and it shifts. And if you go with that shift organically, then you will end up maybe in a different place. But sometimes you, you know, when we discovered America, we were looking for something else, you know. And now we're like, there we are. This is cool. Like this, I mean, I'm not saying everything they did was cool, but I'm saying like it was cool that you know, that we realized that maybe the world isn't flat, and maybe there isn't a sea monster at the corner of this page, you know, and we can do something different. So I I think that's why I I think curiosity is the word I always use. I think having that childlike curiosity, um, you know, when a kid is learning to walk, there's never a doubt in their mind that they're gonna do it. And they just keep doing it until they do. And that's something that we burn off and lose after childhood. But I like to carry that forward. And the same way I tell people, like, you know, kids, they laugh all the time. Four-year-old laughs 400 times a day, 40-year-old laughs four times a day. You don't need Botox. If you want to be younger, laugh a lot, you know, like enjoy your life. Find things that spark joy in you and do them. Um, even if it's for a little bit of time, it's better to have a little bit of joy, like even 30 minutes a week or whatever, it's better to have something than nothing. And I think sometimes it's really hard. And and people get busy, life gets complicated, it gets complex, you know. But it's like whenever I feel like a kid doing some of these projects because you laugh and you're silly, and you're make, you know, when you're when you're doing something monotonous, like you're editing an album for hours and hours and hours, like you have to laugh. You have to do you if you're gonna be with someone. I was getting a tattoo once at a tattoo artist, and um, someone came in and they were like, Oh, can you do this thing? And um we talked for a few minutes, and he was like, I can't do it. And then when they left, I was like, You're a great tattoo artist. Of course you could do it. He was like, This person is a snooze to talk to. I don't want to be in there for four hours. So I was like, Yeah, you know, when the when I get to see my friends, when I get to see my band, when I get to see my engineer, like I was just recording trumpet the other day. And as tired as I was, I was like, Oh, that's a drag, you're gonna drive an hour after working on tax or whatever it was. But I was like, when I got there and I saw the people and I hadn't seen them in a while, and just the light and energy of being around them, like it was uh infectious. And it's like to have people I've worked with so many people for so many projects over the years and seen their growth and my growth, and we came up together. Um, you know, I it feels like it feels like kids at recess to me when I go out with them.

Speaker 1 28:31

I love it. Oh my goodness, Cliff, this has been such an incredible conversation. I love all of the reminders and pieces of inspiration that you've shared with us today. I have one last question for you. What does it feel like in your body to be creative?

Speaker 28:52

That's a great question. I think I feel it all over. It's all encompassing. I I imagine like there's certain types of I want to say anime or certain type of cartoon where you see someone do something where like their their chest lights up or they light up and they think that's how I feel when I'm when I'm singing. Um years ago I learned this this this Quaker hymn, and they they say, you know, I I go through all these things, but like when I see the beauty of you know the flowers and the world around me and the light and the sun, it's like how can I keep from singing? Like, how can I not, you know, when I have that much, that much joy. And so creativity for me is all-encompassing. It's like a white light, and I and it, and it shines out, and you have this transferring of transference of feeling between whoever you're interacting with and it creates this loop, this symbiotic relationship. But I think, you know, I toggle because you know, it's kind of like you're you're being and you're doing, you're doing, you're being and you're becoming, and all those things. But I think ultimately, for me as a creative or a musician, like you know, even sitting here now, I'm a musician, even if I'm not singing. Like it's just it, I am it. It is, you know, it is me. We are one. And so that's how it feels. It feels like literally everything in my body, every cell, every every aspect of me. Um, you know, your your your lungs and your heart and your blood pumping through, like everything, everything's important. And I just want to remind people, especially having health challenges, you have a million-dollar body, you have a million-dollar smile. There was um a thought leader, Zig Ziggler, and he talked about how this person had like lost their arm in an accident, like they were like at McDonald's and like one of the doors shut on them, and they were like, and you know, obviously they sued McDonald's and they got a lot of money, or whatever it is. He was like, Why do you think they gave them a million dollars for that arm? Because it's worth a lot more than you think. And if that was one person, it's everybody. You do you do have a million-dollar body. When you get to wake up out of bed and in your right mind decide what you're gonna do and have that autonomy, like that's a gift. That's a gift. Someone didn't that day, you know, and it starts the day wrong when you don't, you know, wake up fresh like that. So I think, I think, yeah, creativity is just knowing that that light is all around you and that it's a blessing and a gift. And I always tell people, like, you know, when you go to a great restaurant, there's a chef there, like they put the food together, but like they don't make the ingredients, even if they grew it, like you don't make the seeds. So like I am conscious and aware, like under this umbrella, that like I didn't create music and I didn't create the notes, and I don't think I ever could, but I'm thankful that someone did and that I can use it to my benefit. And if it helps one person, then hopefully they spread that to the next person and so on and so forth. But yeah, just everyone create. You're created by a creator to create. You are, I am, everyone on this planet is. Not everybody will, but everybody can if they choose to. And it is a choice. And if you don't choose, then by default, you've chosen.

Speaker 1 31:59

Right. Well, thank you so much for joining me. If people want to learn more about the work you have in the world, music, books, entrepreneurial spirit, how could they go about doing that?

Speaker 32:11

Yeah, well, I mean, there's many ways to find me on Cliff Beach on all social media platforms at Cliff Beach Music. All the books are we're all fine books, are sold or listened to under Cliff Beach. Uh, the book series is called Side Hustle and Flow, uh, with ShapeUb and Daily Grind. And then my website, SideHustandflow.net, you can read uh articles for me every you know five a week up there for free. And people can email me Cliff at SciHustonflow.net.

Speaker 1 32:39

Perfect. Well, I will put links in show notes so people have easy access. And thank you so much for joining me. I I feel like I've been cleansed and enlightened and expressed creatively just by hearing you do it. So thank you so much.

Speaker 32:54

Thank you, Martin.

Speaker 1 33:03

Thanks for listening to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast. We'd love to keep in touch, so follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We are at Sustaining Creativity. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, tag your friends and family so they can listen too. We'd love to hear from you, so leave your reviews, comments, and questions. Check out our website, sustainingcreativity.com, for upcoming offerings and creativity coaching. Tune in Tuesdays for our next episode. And remember, with creativity, anything that's possible.