We were lucky to catch up with Mysti Cozart-Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mysti , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Creativity can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I would say that my ‘flare for the dramatic’ as my father had called it; came from an early age of listening to him preach as a very charismatic preacher. I grew up in a household where we talked a lot and listened just as much. A very spirit-filled home with so much love and warmth and encouragement.
From a very young age I loved to play with my Barbie’s. I had a passion for ‘setting the scene’ once I had all of my Barbies in place. I always created the dialogue, the set, the costumes and behavior right down to proper stage placement. I absolutely loved put on a show. The more I played, the more dramatic the scenes became. I remember playing with other children with Barbies, but some had little patience with me as they seem to get lost in the production factor of it all. Ultimately,I would end up playing alone. I always started the scene with ‘Action’! I suppose those moments were the start of my love for being ‘creative’.
When I was in high school, I remember the class president writing the ‘Where will your classmates be in twenty years’ project for our yearbooks. Donna had written-I see Mysti Cozart (Smith) on Broadway performing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Well, my passion may not have taken me to the theatre for Broadway in New York, however, it did lead me to Broadway in Nashville, TN-right smack dab in Music City. I was blessed enough to have been on television, radio and small sets for writers/performers nights with my sister. Those days of creativity will forever be grained into my mind, my heart and my soul.
Ultimately, my creative mind and spirit had landed me in Texas where I have continued my creative lifestyle with my husband, Brad. We literally encourage and inspire each other to be creative on a daily basis. I find solace in writing and it is such an opportunity for expression. I find new ways to create new ideas for books, songs, films, television ideas. When I feel restless in my spirit, I find my way back to our recording room/office space in our home and begin to let my fingers do the talking.
I would say that seeing more out of situations and continue to put that pen to paper-is how I keep my creative side alive. Having a mind that is always thinking of new ideas and new hooks and tag lines keeps me lighting that flame for the candle of creativity. YOU are the only person that can hinder your imagination. Allowing yourself the grace for making mistakes, learning from them, and returning to the drawing board-keeps creativity alive. There are no limits to what you can create when you set your mind to it.
I am constantly creating. Even if I have not shared it with the public, I am always thinking of new ideas and creating a world for characters live every day.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am currently the content creator for CORE Entertainment Group, Inc., a division of Mocha and The Flame Productions, LLC. We are still creating and working on new ideas for filming in the upcoming year. I am working on a Western as well as a new book that I hope to have released in the coming year as well.
The most important things that we want people to know about us, is that we are working on the film Want Love?… which we hope to finish filming this year and releasing in the next year as well. Our focus for the future is to continue to write and release new content as time permits. We had planned on releasing it sooner however, the lock downs and Covid crisis and put that on hold and changed out time stamp.
We are looking forward to all of the new projects that we plan on taking on in the very near future. Please stay tuned! Please check out our website for all the news and updates for what is to come.
Right now, we are just so thankful and blessed to have each other and no limits of what we create for our future. We are really enjoying our time being married (as of October 15, 2021) and taking it all one moment at a time.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The most impactful moments where I learned the most was probably accepting that not everyone is going to like what I created. Being an active listener and taking those moments to heart and really understanding what it was that I hoped to accomplish within myself. Hearing the word NO-was the best thing I could have ever heard. Being told that I couldn’t do it or won’t do it, shouldn’t do it-whatever the situation may have been at he time only drove me further to set and reach new goals for myself.
I would tell others to do what you love! It doesn’t matter who doesn’t like it. At the end of the day the only thing that really matters is if you like it. Be yourself. Write what you know. I always tell the story of Willie Nelson pulling up a chair next to me in Printer’s Alley-Nashville and asking me if I was a songwriter or a writer at all. He then proceeded to tell me that as long as I wrote what I knew-I’d be a great writer. That was inspiring. I hold that moment in time close to my heart.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was encouraging me to do what I loved. They always said that no matter what else is happening in the world, do what I loved! They taught me that being creative and loving art of writing was a gift and that I should use it. They also taught me that other people’s opinions are simply that -an opinion.
They have both past on from this world and entered into the afterlife to have a closure walk with the lord, but I still feel them encouraging me every time I pick up a pen.
Contact Info:
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Image Credits
All images owned by: Core Entertainment Group, Inc.
