Hey Reader

For the past several years, I’ve used my birthday (October 2nd) to launch things.

Things like books, services, communities, and my podcast, Creative Chats.

I like to use my birthday as a way to give back. To create projects in service to others like you.

But this year is different.

I realized a couple of weeks ago that my focus has been on my move from New Jersey to Nashville. I’ve lived amid boxes and… mess for months, which made it hard to see much beyond that state.

So no new project to launch this year for my birthday.

Or so I thought at first thought.

In reality, I’m launching something completely different, new, messy, and personal. I realized I’m launching a different kind of project… me.

Even writing that sentence feels odd to me. But it’s true. What I’ve been creating (and continue to) has been me in this new season. Asking questions of “What do I want life to look like?” can be both freeing and terrifying.

It’s a new start, in a new place with some new people. Possibilities abound. Yet with so much new, there’s little routine or normal to lean on.

Everything is a decision. It takes time to create. There is no ready-made creation or solution. So it feels … messy.

I operated so long in a daily creation mode, that creating things currently takes much longer leaving me impatient.

So the project I’m launching this year isn’t complete. It’s a work in progress.

There’s no sales copy or fancy graphics. No limited-time offers or pitches.

And while this next statement is the thing I’m attempting to get more comfortable with, I realized it starts with being a gift to myself first, then to others.

There are seasons when you turn inward and do the hard work on the project of you. And the becoming is the prize.

And with that prize, you become the gift that keeps on giving from the overflow of an intentional, purposeful, and examined life.

As I reflect on this new season, I invite you to do the same.

What’s the project you’ve been avoiding? The one that’s messy, uncertain, and deeply personal? Maybe it’s not a "product", but rather, it’s you—your growth, your direction, your creativity.

I challenge you this week to spend some intentional time on the "project of you."

Set aside a block of time to reflect and ask yourself one important question: What is the next step in my personal creative journey?

No fancy tools or perfect plans—just a quiet moment to sit with this and see what surfaces.

Keep creating,

~ Mike Brennan

P.S. Feeling brave? Hit reply and let me know what the "project of you" looks like currently.

DAILY CHECK-IN

Begin to ask yourself these questions every day as a part of your daily creating rhythms:

1. What did I create today?

2. What did I learn?

3. What can I celebrate?

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DAILY PROMPTS

MONDAY: Imagine you are an animal and write a diary entry from that perspective

TUESDAY: Write a poem that includes all five senses.

WEDNESDAY: Write a short story that takes place in a library.

THURSDAY: Grab a mirror and draw a self portrait. Separately draw your face, your hands, and your feet.

WEEKEND PROMPT:

Make a collage of a scene from your favorite hobby or pastime.
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