3 Keys to Creative Confidence

This is a guest post by Jason Pockrandt. He is the author of The Confident Fathers Guidebook: 5 Steps to Personal Transformation, which you can download for free through Friday, March 27.

When I first took a leap of faith from a job I hated, I had no idea where I would land or how God would take care of me. I struggled for three months fighting a battle to be creative against the middleman mentality of just getting a job and being confined to work you despise.

At that time in my life, there was only one thing I needed to begin the journey of transformation into the confident creative I am today. I needed to break free from the negative beliefs I carried about myself. It was time to stop hiding in the shadows as a “closet creative” who was always wanting more but staying fearful.

I needed to find confidence and clarity in who I was and what I had to offer. 

Since that time, I’ve learned three keys to creativity that have helped launch my personal success and all of my creative endeavors. These are all based on developing your confidence.

1. Confidence in your prices

When I first told myself that I was a life coach, I was the only one who believed it. I was terrified to ask anyone for money. I simply wanted to help others stop struggling. I didn’t think I was worthy enough to charge someone for it.

My coach looked me in the eye and said, “If you want to be a coach, you need to get paid. Otherwise you’re just a really great friend.”

That day I decided to simply pick a price I thought was fair based on the value I was offering to clients by providing transformative results in their lives. Two weeks later I claimed my first coaching client. I transitioned from $12.48/hr. to $133/hr. by finding confidence in my pricing as a creative entrepreneur.

Simply put, you must research your market. Do a self-evaluation of your personal worth. Next, pick a price and share your worth with the world. Do not look back. Stop doubting yourself and your skills.

2. Confidence in your self-worth

A second negative belief that previously held me down was that I was not worthy enough to pursue the creative endeavors I envisioned for myself. Here’s what I found once I began coaching clients and writing books.

You must value yourself, your art, and your creativity before anyone else will. I spent months putting on a facade, touting my skills and abilities as a coach. But then I would go home and question my craft by night. Who was I to be a coach, to change lives and help people reach success? I thought my coaching client Adam was just a fluke, a lucky connection.

You must value yourself and your art first before others ever will. 

3. Confidence in your communication

My last discovery regarding success was that I was missing confidence in my communication. If I didn’t believe I could help others get the results they needed, I would have trouble marketing myself. Many creative people struggle in this area. Sometimes we get excited about our craft but struggle when communicating it to others.

As a creative person, it’s crucial for you to understand and communicate the following:

Whom do you serve, and what do you offer? You must know and understand your audience and what you are offering them through your skill set. I personally serve new and expectant fathers to help them rediscover who and what matters most, so they too can live a legacy worth leaving. Michael Port’s book Book Yourself Solid is an excellent resource to help in this area.

What is your “why”? I write, speak, and coach new fathers because I know how it felt to live my young adulthood without my father. When I was 17 years old I lost my Dad, and I was crushed. When I knew I would become a Dad without that support, I was scared. I intend to take that fear away from new fathers during their transitions into fatherhood.

Are you ready to become the confident creative you were created to be—one who is sharing your art with the world?

Jason Pockrandt is an author, speaker, and coach who reignites millennial fathers by guiding them to rediscover who and what matters most so they too can live a legacy worth leaving. In addition to The Confident Father’s Guidebook, he is the author of Tear Your Box Apart: A Manifesto on Freedom, and the forthcoming Father-Daughter Conversations (Fall 2015). You can connect with him on Facebook and Twitter or get updates on his blog at jasonpockrandt.com.

Photo courtesy of Gratisography