I’m so excited to bring you this podcast episode with a juicy conversation I had with the inspiring Margriet Sjoerdsma, a.k.a ODELION. Margriet is a wonderful singer, songwriter, composer and vocal coach who I know from my years in The Netherlands, where she has captivated audiences on theater stages and pop venues with her music and collaborative projects that have received critical acclaim, had her receive music awards and play prestigious venues including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Bimhuis, Tivoli Vredenburg and Concertgebouw.
The conversation delves into various aspects of creative life, including the cycles of creativity, overcoming challenges, finding one's artistic voice, and maintaining a connection to the creative source. Margriet shares her experiences of growth in her career, the importance of following enthusiasm, and how pivotal moments led her to significant projects like her tribute to Eva Cassidy and writing her original English-language songs Songs From Odelion. Furthermore, we discuss the role of mentors, the impact of limiting beliefs, and practical strategies for staying aligned and inspired - and even touch upon the back story of how my own approach for working with the voice ended up getting the name Sing From The Source. The conversation circles from creativity, singing, personal development, to energy, mindfulness, spirituality and so much more!
Takeaways from this episode:
Try not to lean into frustration when you get stuck, but try to stay curious and stay in the process, see what arises in your body and talk to it.
Actively practice self compassion, self acceptance, and self love - everyone needs encouragement, and you can retrain your inner dialogue from a negative to a compassionate and positive one. That opens up space in you, not only for yourself but also to meet other people with more compassion.
Follow your enthusiasm, your hunger for growth and development and be prepared to work for your dreams, and things will happen.
Sometimes being very technical can also bring great artistic growth. First study your ass off and then make it your own!
Remember that singing itself is a creative act, no matter if you sing someone else's songs or your own, you are always expressing yourself.
You have to learn to be aware when you are inspired and act upon it as soon as possible. Sometimes a thing like having to set up a mic or going through all kinds of software before you can record your inspired idea, will destroy the inspiration, so have things ready and be prepared to act on your inspiration when it comes.
Being blocked and getting unblocked is part of the life cycle. And that’s good to know: you’ll get out of it - sometimes it might take a long time, but if you surrender to not knowing where it’s all going, you’ll get out of it faster than if you get into panicked energy.
Like Abraham Hicks says: “There’s not enough action for energy that is not moving”. If you’re not aligned, go ahead and do it…but you won’t get far! First check: Am I aligned? Yes - then I can take action. Am I not? Then first get back into alignment.
I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I enjoyed having this conversation with Margriet! Follow her on Instagram, find her music on Spotify and check out her website to find out more about her music, teaching and what’s up next in her creative life.
Also, I’m hosting a free event, the 12 Days of Sing from the Source. Starting December 25th, and if you wanna join, you can grab your spot here. We'll be doing daily short self-care practices for your singing Self: your voice, your body, mind, energy, and creativity. It's gonna be pretty amazing - so hope to see you there!
Much love,
Katja
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