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I had the pleasure of interviewing Carolyn Elliot back in January. The opportunity to chat about her book, “
Awesome Your Life”, her
coaching services and how she has managed bring the “awesome” into her own life was one of my favorite interviews. Her easy manner, crash honesty and clear passion for life, art and poetry made me feel as if I was chatting with a dear old friend.
Explaining that while working towards her doctorate, Carolyn found herself dissastisfied with the world of academia and academic pursuits. A world she had spent much time in and that had formulated many of her aspirations and drive, she now had begun to question. In the process of trying to heal her own suffering, she writes,
“the reason why my creative conflagration sometimes sputtered was not because I’ve ever been blocked or because I had a uniquely wicked childhood, but rather because I had mistakenly imagined that the purpose of creative work was to entertain or impress, when really its purpose is to make heaven manifest on earth. I realized I’d been playing small-‐-‐and yes, by playing small I mean aiming to get on the best seller list or win a Pulitzer. Such goals are dry and dull because they’re structurally part of the rather lame universe we habitually participate in-‐-‐ the one where struggle and competition are normal, where some folks win big while others lose, where some get to be glamorous artists and authors and others are confined to drudgery.”
As a teacher of poetry, Carolyn wanted to share what she believed is the most important part of poetry and that is, “life is poetry.” We are all, “living our legends” and experiencing our epic tales and that the poetry of others can help us get in touch with that.
For a suffering genius, the world can seem cold and uncaring and the pursuits of its occupants, meaningless and contrite. Longing to bring forth something unique and solely their own, they keep their genius hidden-often to the detriment of themselves.
Without preaching, without painting a rainbows and ice cream view of the world,
Awesome Your Life brings forth practices and visualization that all suffering geniuses can use to bring a bit of awesome into their life. A workbook reminiscent of “
The Artist’s Way” by Julie Cameron, the reader is able to take into practice exercises that will start the shift necessary to make substantial changes and manifestations in their daily life.
In addition to her book and blog, Carolyn offers “low-cost coaching” saying, “I don’t pump people up to meet goals– I help folks question and dissolve the fearful stories and patterns that generate their stress and pain and keep them from living in joy.”
To learn more about Carolyn Elliot, her book and her coaching services visit her website at
AwesomeYourLife.com