We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jasper Rose. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jasper below.
Jasper, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Although creative is not a word that people often use to describe my kind of work, it’s definitely a way people describe me. Creativity influences all areas of my life, especially my business! Creativity comes in many forms, and knowing this is one way I keep it alive. It’s not always about painting or music (both of which I love), it can also look like coming up with a new business model, or a new recipe, or a new outfit, or a new brand, or rearranging the furniture, or writing a caption, or combining jewelry, or creating a playlist, or even just planning out the day. Letting creative energy flow through me no matter what I’m doing keeps me effortlessly in that state. It’s our nature to create! That being said, I always keep in mind that I won’t always be feeling creative in the same way towards the same project all the time and forever. Creativity can and will come in many forms, bringing my focus to different interests and areas of my life over time and maybe eventually circling back. I learned very young to lean into this flow rather than to resist.
I view the nature of creativity as a cycle. There are seasons, months, days, hours in which we are naturally more inclined to create, and others in which we need rest. Still others are for reflecting, and others for taking in new information. For example I like to host the most events in the spring and early summer when I’m feeling outgoing, and do more behind-the-scenes work in the winter. When I honor these kinds of natural cycles, everything gets done in perfect timing.
Our environment and circumstances also play a huge role in our creativity levels. It’s all about where our energy is going (or being taken) so if we’re constantly in a chaotic, unstable, or unsafe environment, it’s understandable there isn’t much energy left for creativity. We all need a certain amount of safety, structure and stability in our lives in order to relax enough for ideas to flow. For this reason I try to take good care of my environment so that it supports me and my creativity.
Lastly, I don’t put pressure on myself to share all of my creations with the world. Creativity doesn’t have to be a performance. In fact, when you manifest creations just for you and just for practice without the pressure of presenting it for others to judge, you will learn and improve more than you thought possible.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a Reiki Master Teacher, Coach, and Musician (just for fun). I love what I do because I feel like I get to help create a more beautiful and magical world through my work, and whether it’s a private session, group event, or reiki class, I feel like I learn/grow/heal as much as the client or student does. I feel so blessed to get to help others while doing what I love. You can find me in Austin, online, and sometimes at festivals!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Confidence, while not taking myself too seriously, and having patience. I think true confidence comes from being humble. It’s being able to recognize your imperfections and getting out there anyway. It’s not about thinking you’re the best, it’s knowing that you aren’t and accepting that and showing up anyways. And if you’re afraid, it’s because you’re taking yourself too seriously. When you understand that none of this is life or death and that we’re all just playing characters in this world, the possibilities and fun begin! Nobody cares what you’re doing and if they do it’s because they’re projecting their insecurities onto you. That being said, most of the time what we perceive as others judging us is really just our own self judgment that we’re projecting onto them.
And then having patience. Focus on building a strong foundation rather than trying to become an overnight success. Focus on putting in consistent effort to build credibility and reputation over time. Learn to appreciate this period in which you are learning, growing, making mistakes, and building skills. Realize that there is no destination, only expansion.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
Every weakness has a complementary strength and vice versa. A lot of it depends on context. So instead of trying to change myself to eliminate a perceived weakness, I will try to figure out how this may actually be a strength from another perspective and learn how to amplify it through the way I structure my life while minimizing the effects of the shadow side. For example, I used to think I was “too sensitive” as I was easily affected by my surroundings and felt drained a lot. I tried to fix it by “toughening up” and desensitizing myself. It didn’t really work and I just became disconnected from myself. Now, I understand that this sensitivity is a gift in many positive ways and have learned to amplify and hone it, while at the same time learning strategies for protecting my energy when need be.
Of course there are times when I do need to improve on weak points, in which case I do. The most important thing to do is be honest with yourself in a constructive way. Don’t beat yourself up over it, instead use it as an opportunity to practice self acceptance and make an effort to improve out of self love. We all have areas in which we could use some improvement, and we may need to do that before we’re able to receive some of our blessings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thejasperrose.com/
- Email: [email protected]
