The following is adapted from Find Your Clear Vision by Creative Mindset Coach Lisa Guillot.

I was given the opportunity to pitch an idea for a TEDx Talk as a Creative Mindset Coach. The concept of the talk was going to be “What’s next?”

Ideas were like popcorn in my head. I was copying and pasting the TEDx application into a Google Doc and filling in the vital information before I thought, “Wait, pause, Lisa. Close the laptop right now. Is this aligned with your vision for the next three months?”

The talk was going to be a few days after the New Year, which meant I would be rehearsing throughout the holiday season. Did I really want to do that?

That summer, I had started my podcast and was writing my book, Find Your Clear Vision. I wanted to have a magical holiday with my kids. They were getting older, and the twinkle in their eye on Christmas morning was not going to be there forever.

I put down my laptop, stepped away, and went to sleep. The next day I called a friend. I made the choice not to submit an application and instead save it on my “Ideas for Later” list. It took a full twenty-four hours for me to choose to align with my vision for the next three months instead of doing what was the default for me—choosing professional work over personal time.

The three steps I took were deliberate: close my computer, sleep, and call a friend. All are practices I rely on to help me choose outside of my default pattern, which is woven with ambition, drive, and professional recognition. My mind plays tricks on me, and without the self-awareness to simply close my computer and step away, I would be leading a very different life, one without balance and deep relationships with friends, family, and, most importantly, my kids.

Creating a life by design happens in small choices. It’s when who you are and what you do is interwoven into your mind, body, soul, and the choices you make. It’s a braided union between creative energy—your feminine energy and masculine energy—which is the container for a holistic whole-self strategy.

The Holistic Whole-Self Strategy

A holistic whole-self strategy is when there is no separation between who you are and what you do. Your mind, body, and soul are in union with how you make choices. You are led with integrity and intention, meaning your thoughts, words, and actions are in alignment with your highest and best decision-making.

Feminine energy—filled with habits, rituals, and connection to your most vibrant self—leads your creative side, and masculine energy—filled with systems and structure and get-it-done energy—provides the roadmap.

The holistic whole-self leaves you living in harmony with feminine and masculine energy, which gives your Inner Platform structure to grow.

Whether you identify as female, male, nonbinary, or somewhere in between, you have feminine and masculine energetic traits—and it’s important to find harmony between the two.

What Is Masculine Energy?

Masculine energy thrives in logical, rational decision-making. It wants to produce, not from a creative place, but instead, from the “let’s get ’er done and move on” mentality.

Masculine energy has us high on caffeine, with the jitters, making snap decisions based on logic and righteousness, from the mindset that “only my logic is logical.” It has us being right and them being wrong. In fact, there is nothing more satisfying to masculine energy than being in control. It’s lonely energy masked in a complex structure with tunnel vision on being safe.

Masculine energy creates a paradoxical thought pattern that productivity results in success, which will make you happy. The paradox is that there’s always more work to be done so there’s no time to be happy.

Don’t get me wrong—there are also benefits to your masculine energy. It provides structure, planning, and the steadiness needed to live in our corporate world. Its tunnel vision enables you to laser focus. But ultimately, masculine leadership has consumed us for too long, and by itself, it no longer works.

What Is Feminine Energy?

Feminine energy flourishes the intangible, nonlinear feeling of joy, beauty, and flow. It wants to explore, play, and discover. Feminine energy dabbles without a deadline, putters around the house, questioning old ideas and playing with new ones. She’s curious about ideas that don’t make sense, willing to stay in the unknown because it’s filled with possibilities and novelty. She is explorative, open, playful, and—dare I say—fun.

She’s mothering—nourishing herself and others. She reaches out, holds hands, and cries with loved ones. And, oh my goodness, she loves. Feminine energy holds space, patiently waiting for you to stay in the unknown of “What ifs?” and “Why not?” and “Oh, that looks like fun, let’s try it out.” She is open to inspiration without judgment and failing without shame.

Feminine energy is led by intuition, a knowing that transcends logic and science, and a connection to your highest self. Intuition is a wise woman who loves unconditionally. She’s expansive, open, and connected to the world from a place of love and compassion. It’s never-ending because it’s sourced by your energy.

Feminine energy is what creativity is made of. She embodies the creative process of releasing judgment, brainstorming with her heart and soul, and declaring a Clear Vision from an elevated place of possibility without knowing how to do it.

Be Fully You

Why is harmony between your masculine and feminine energy so important? Because you no longer have to create a life that separates who you are and what you do. It’s in the union of both sides of yourself that happiness is found.

Now is the time to create what it means to be fully you, claim your feminine creative energy, express it unapologetically, and live your life by design.

The problem is we’ve been led by energy based on self-preservation, getting it done, and protecting me and mine. It’s pushing energy to survive—and that isn’t working anymore. It doesn’t feel good, and it only gets you more of the same. You don’t want to be defined by the past crave to be in harmony in your mind, body, and soul.

You may be thinking, “But Lisa, feminine energy? I’m a little worried I’m going to end up a hippie—barefoot, dressed in a white flowy linen dress, chanting in a drum circle with strangers. I’m a professional, and I like being a professional. How do I blend my feminine and masculine energy in a way that works for me?”

The key is to stay open—to go outside and dream. And before you go to sleep, or right when you wake up. Pay attention to how you feel. Plan for feelings instead of goals.

You Can Be Both

Creative people—hell, everyone—can benefit from the holistic whole-self strategy to unify their masculine and feminine energy and become their fullest, most vibrant self. This is how creatives bring new ideas from “out of nowhere” and make them real. 

The Inner Platform is a container to hold space for both sides of you, all of you. Built on the pillars of inner trust, self-awareness, and expanded energy, it’s a safe playground to be both/and, not either/or.

You can be:
– vulnerable and strong
– empathetic and enraged
– humble and hot
– soft and steady
– stable and spontaneous
– magical and logical
– seeking and grounded
– powerful and personable

You can create space for both sides of you—for all of you. And you must, because you, my friend, are you, everywhere you go.

Embrace True Co-creation

The creative process is the ultimate blend of masculine and feminine energy; it’s dreaming of the unknown, playing in its messy, unconstructed round and curvy form, and giving it structure.

True co-creation with masculine and feminine energy is when you are open to receiving creativity and willing to follow the absurd idea while moving steadily through a process. It’s the power of expanded energy with laser focus.

Creativity is not something reserved for musicians, content creators, or founders in black turtlenecks. Creativity is available and waiting for you to take the first step into the tornado. 

The adventure is calling. The vision is inside of you, in your eye of the storm. The first step in your reinvention is to be willing to take that first step.

For more advice on how to harness the power of your masculine and feminine energetic traits, buy the book Find Your Clear Vision.

Lisa Guillot is a certified transformational life and leadership coach and branding expert. She helps her clients find their Clear Vision and bring it to life through her Clear Vision Framework. Her clients include senior-level executives of Fortune 500 entertainment and media companies, leaders in marketing and tech, and ambitious entrepreneurs.

Lisa is the founder of Clear Vision U, a mindset and personal brand training program, and Be Bright Lisa Coaching. She is also the host of Find Your Clear Vision, a personal branding and mindset podcast.