Compass for Creatives: workshop, islands, connection

Even as a talented musician, singer or songwriter you can get quite desperate when others don’t acknowledge your talent. Sometimes you even think about quitting music all together, though you can’t imagine a life without it.

I can help you to create the life you want, a life full of music and a life where you are appreciated for your creative talents. It takes only 6 weeks!

Here some reactions pn the first edition of this workshop that finished mid July:
"I loved the workshop and working with you."
"It was definitely worth the time and money."
"This workshop engages the “higher” forms of business. It’s more a personal development rather than a “how to” workshop yet it connects directly to business. Would I recommend it? Definitely!" (Sky Hunter)

The next workshop starts on September 15 and runs to October 23.
Click here for more information.

Do you think of holiday too, when hearing the word ‘island’? I often wonder what’s so special about islands. Some people love them, others hate them. It's all about how you deal with limitations.

Island lovers are often charmed by the limitations an island gives. You are bound to the ferry-times for arrival and departure. The number of inhabitants is limited, same for services. On the small Dutch islands you don’t have a hospital. For romantics, life seems so simple on an island. And you have lots of sea with beaches!

Island haters feel locked up when arriving on an island or they find it plain boring. They can’t stand the limitations and the lack of services or the lack of entertainment. You can’t avoid people and you don’t have a choice. You have to adapt to the circumstances, no choice there either. And often, besides the beaches, there’s not much to do on an island.

Sometimes limitations can stimulate our creativity. When I did theater lighting I was asked to make a lighting design for a child's play. I had 4 players, 5 different situations (lost, swamp, witches, sports, happy end) and only 10 (!) lights. I still think that this was the best lighting design I’ve ever made! I became more creative by the limitation.

In the Netherlands we have two great music festivals situated on small islands, Oerol (see picture) on Terschelling and Into The Great Wide Open on Vlieland. They sell out every year and it’s a very special kind of festival experience. There’s also G! Festival on the Faroe Islands. When the weather is bad, bands and audience can’t arrive or depart. The islanders are used to it while it drives many tourmanagers crazy.

I know, there’s no direct link between love/hate of islands and how you deal with limitations. Though I do think that they are somehow linked. I love to stay on an island for a two-week holiday, but I wouldn’t want to live there. In the long run the limitations would make me crazy and I would feel bored. What’s your attitude towards islands?

Connection is about connecting to yourself, your inner source. You can start with listening to yourself. This will help you to create a map of where you are, where you are coming from and where you want to go. What is it that keeps you busy? What patterns do you see? And what longings do you have?

It is a risk to start to connect with yourself, to discover your creativity. You might discover something you don't like about yourself. But it's definitely worth it. In the end, there is nothing to be afraid of! Go for it!

Even nasty emotions of the past like jealousy can assist you. Jealousy tells you more about yourself than about the person you envy. It gives you a direction, it helps you to write your own map. When you look back: who did you envy? What did you envy about this person? And what is it you can do to make it happen to you?

I grew up as a girl on an animal farm. The animals had to be fed every day, so we couldn’t travel for summer holidays. During my time at high-school I felt stuck in the small village. Fascinated by the great diversity of cultures, I envied everyone who had traveled abroad. Later on I made it work. Now I live in a foreign country and work with artists from all over the world; I travel abroad frequently and I speak three different languages. I love it!

Jealousy means, that you want something while believing that you can’t get it. If you make this process more conscious, you are able to figure out how you can make it work, after all!

There is one caution though when connecting and listening to yourself. It’s regarding the perfectionist in yourself. “Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead” says Julia Cameron. It’s better to connect to your inner, playful child and just create. Save the critical look for later.

“A painting is never finished. It simply stops in interesting places.” (Paul Gardner)


Hello , It's summer time! Time to relax, after I've finished the first edition of my brand new developed empowerment-workshop for musicians last week. The reactions were fabulous, see below. The next workshop starts on September 15! Are islands and holidays also the perfect combination for you? Or do you hate being on an island? Islands are limited, surrounded by the sea. Is this a positive or a negative factor for you? Read more about it below. In the series about Grip on Creativity I share some thoughts with you about Connection. It's about connecting to others, to yourself and to your inner source of creativity. Enjoy the summer :-) Take care, Hilde Spille	Index July: Workshop "5 Empowerment tools for musicians ..." Islands - how do you deal with limitations? Grip on Creativity (7 of 14): Connection Calendar About Hilde Spille Connect Calendar Thu. Aug. 20: guest lecturer at seminar: BKKC summer school - aan de slag met je ondernemerschap! See here for more information. Tue. Sep. 15 - Mon. Oct. 26: lecturer at workshop: "5 Empowerment tools for musicians - Online workshop to learn in 6 weeks how to move from insecurity to an upward spiral towards success" See here for more information. About Hilde Spille Hilde Spille has worked at Paperclip Agency since 1995. As senior agent, she is booking Dutch and European tours for bands from all over the world. Names on her roster include(d) Chloe Charles, Jodymoon, Deleyaman, John Watts, Balkan Beat Box, I Muvrini. Paperclip Agency, facebook Hilde is now combining her rich experience in the live music business with her accumulated knowledge from her master's degree in Cultural Psychology and her interest in books about (personal) leadership. You can find the results in more than 100 posts on her blog Compass for Creatives, in the personal coaching of artists and in the workshops she developed (D.I.Y. Attitude, Grip on Creativity and more). Compass for Creatives, facebook Connect Hilde Spille Paperclip Agency P.O. Box 1519 6501 BM Nijmegen the Netherlands T +31.24.323 9322 e-mail, facebook, twitter, linkedin If you like this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to anyone who you think might like it too. Thank you. © Hilde Spille
5 Empowerment tools for musicians - Online workshop to learn in 6 weeks how to move from insecurity to an upward spiral towards success Even as a talented musician, singer or songwriter you can get quite desperate when others don’t acknowledge your talent. Sometimes you even think about quitting music all together, though you can’t imagine a life without it. I can help you to create the life you want, a life full of music and a life where you are appreciated for your creative talents. It takes only 6 weeks! After only 6 weeks: you will have the right network to support your musical career you will know your purpose, the flame that keeps you going on as musician you will resonate with energy and have found your own rhythm you will go for it and make things happen you will enjoy what you are doing with a positive mindset you will know how to enter the upward spiral, using the 5 empowerment tools. Here some reactions pn the first edition of this workshop that finished mid July: "I loved the workshop and working with you." "It was definitely worth the time and money." "This workshop engages the “higher” forms of business. It’s more a personal development rather than a “how to” workshop yet it connects directly to business. Would I recommend it? Definitely!" (Sky Hunter) The next workshop starts on September 15 and runs to October 23. Click here for more information. Islands - how do you deal with limitations? Do you think of holiday too, when hearing the word ‘island’? I often wonder what’s so special about islands. Some people love them, others hate them. It's all about how you deal with limitations. Island lovers are often charmed by the limitations an island gives. You are bound to the ferry-times for arrival and departure. The number of inhabitants is limited, same for services. On the small Dutch islands you don’t have a hospital. For romantics, life seems so simple on an island. And you have lots of sea with beaches! Island haters feel locked up when arriving on an island or they find it plain boring. They can’t stand the limitations and the lack of services or the lack of entertainment. You can’t avoid people and you don’t have a choice. You have to adapt to the circumstances, no choice there either. And often, besides the beaches, there’s not much to do on an island. Sometimes limitations can stimulate our creativity. When I did theater lighting I was asked to make a lighting design for a child's play. I had 4 players, 5 different situations (lost, swamp, witches, sports, happy end) and only 10 (!) lights. I still think that this was the best lighting design I’ve ever made! I became more creative by the limitation. In the Netherlands we have two great music festivals situated on small islands, Oerol (see picture) on Terschelling and Into The Great Wide Open on Vlieland. They sell out every year and it’s a very special kind of festival experience. There’s also G! Festival on the Faroe Islands. When the weather is bad, bands and audience can’t arrive or depart. The islanders are used to it while it drives many tourmanagers crazy. I know, there’s no direct link between love/hate of islands and how you deal with limitations. Though I do think that they are somehow linked. I love to stay on an island for a two-week holiday, but I wouldn’t want to live there. In the long run the limitations would make me crazy and I would feel bored. What’s your attitude towards islands? Grip on Creativity (7 of 14): Connection Connection is about connecting to yourself, your inner source. You can start with listening to yourself. This will help you to create a map of where you are, where you are coming from and where you want to go. What is it that keeps you busy? What patterns do you see? And what longings do you have? It is a risk to start to connect with yourself, to discover your creativity. You might discover something you don't like about yourself. But it's definitely worth it. In the end, there is nothing to be afraid of! Go for it! Even nasty emotions of the past like jealousy can assist you. Jealousy tells you more about yourself than about the person you envy. It gives you a direction, it helps you to write your own map. When you look back: who did you envy? What did you envy about this person? And what is it you can do to make it happen to you? I grew up as a girl on an animal farm. The animals had to be fed every day, so we couldn’t travel for summer holidays. During my time at high-school I felt stuck in the small village. Fascinated by the great diversity of cultures, I envied everyone who had traveled abroad. Later on I made it work. Now I live in a foreign country and work with artists from all over the world; I travel abroad frequently and I speak three different languages. I love it! Jealousy means, that you want something while believing that you can’t get it. If you make this process more conscious, you are able to figure out how you can make it work, after all! There is one caution though when connecting and listening to yourself. It’s regarding the perfectionist in yourself. “Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead” says Julia Cameron. It’s better to connect to your inner, playful child and just create. Save the critical look for later. “A painting is never finished. It simply stops in interesting places.” (Paul Gardner)

5 Empowerment tools for musicians - Online workshop to learn in 6 weeks how to move from insecurity to an upward spiral towards success