Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to Energetic Advantage, the podcast where energy isn't woo, it's your edge. I'm your host, Jessica Cerato. Intuitive strategist, lifelong pattern decoder, lover of numbers, and energetic guide for visionary leaders. Around. Here we go. Energy first, strategy second. Every episode will give you a perspective, a tool, or a timeline shift that helps you lead from your power.
Because the truth is your energy is your most undervalued asset. Until you learn how to use it, get ready. You're about to have the advantage. Let's begin.
Episode Intro: All right, buckle up. Today's guest is someone who has spent years helping people reconnect with one of the most underutilized energetic advantages we have, creativity. Carla Catherwood is a creative facilitator, movement guide, entrepreneur, consultant who believes creativity isn't just something reserved for artists.
Creativity is a [00:01:00] leadership skill, a business advantage, an energetic advantage, and a tool for navigating life. You know, Carla is epic. Her work spans dance, functional fitness, somatic movement, business consulting, you know. But what I find most fascinating is how she helps people access creativity in practical ways as a process.
You know, Carla is the founder of Army of Sass. It was one of the very first heels dance training programs. She launched back in twenty ten before the Pussycat Dolls, right? Long before conversations around confidence, self-expression, and embodied leadership became mainstream, Carla was creating spaces where people could explore those things through movement.
And in today's conversation, we are talking about what creativity actually is, why so many people mistakenly believe that they're not creative, and how creativity shows up in leadership and [00:02:00] business, and really how curiosity, experimentation, and yes, even failure, can become some of our greatest creative assets.
So whether you're building a business, leading a team, navigating a life transition, or simply looking for a fresh perspective on a challenge you're facing, I think you're gonna get a lot out of this conversation. I love Carla, and I'm so excited to introduce you to her today. So let's dive in.
Jessica Cerato: Welcome back to the Energetic Advantage Podcast. Season one was all about leadership, how we lead, how we hold power, how we make decisions that actually moves things forward. But season two is about creators, because here's what I know to be true. The most effective leaders are creatives First, creation is the original leadership act.
Before there's a plan, a strategy, before there's a title, there is a willingness to begin. And today's conversation is a perfect embodiment of that and [00:03:00] a epic way to start this season because you, my friend, miss Carla Catherwood are so willing and I love that about you. So welcome, Carla. I'm so excited you're here.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Carla Catherwood: Thank you for having me. I'm excited.
Jessica Cerato: So excited. You know me, no small talk. Let's get right into it. You're really passionate about the idea and the concept that we are all creators. Can you break that open for us, especially for the people who don't necessarily identify as creative.
Carla Catherwood: Absolutely there's creation is everywhere and it doesn't always look like drawing or singing or dancing or, you know what I mean? It looks many different ways. So I want you to think of this so. Every person on this planet, wherever you are, we often have an idea of where we want to go or a thing that we want to do or somewhere where we want to take ourselves or [00:04:00] build out.
so we're here in one way, but we have this vision which is here. So whether you think you're creative or not, often what happens is we. Do a bunch of things that gets us to the vision,
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: So that in between, that's creativity.
Jessica Cerato: Ooh. I love that. I've never actually heard it described as that. So in this process, where might people unknowingly shut down? The creativity that I'm hearing for you is inherently there in all of us.
Carla Catherwood: Take themselves too Damn seriously,
Jessica Cerato: Mm.
Carla Catherwood: it's not
Jessica Cerato: that. Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: So that, I mean, it is deep because when you have a vision, it's very important are very focused on the execution of that. vision or that idea. And often what happens is people get an idea of how it needs to be done, and I think a lot of the times, the [00:05:00] way that life often takes us, whether we want it or not, is not necessarily, obviously that straight line.
And anyone that's an entrepreneur knows that success is. This, you've seen, everyone's seen all these memes where it's
like success,
Jessica Cerato: Yes. Agree.
Carla Catherwood: whether it's a project or it's a business or it's, anything really, that process is often what happens is we get in our own way because we get stuck in how we think it needs to happen.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: So what can happen is can we. Almost surrender to the process versus hold on, so hard and grip so hard. And when I say surrender, I don't mean it in a oh, Ana, or I don't mean it in a way of you're giving up to me. Surrender is giving in.
So where and how can you just give [00:06:00] in and flow with the process?
Obviously you'll know when things are right and when things are wrong along the way, but that path doesn't have to be, so it is not going to be straight. So first of all, just get that outta your head and, and just allow yourself to go on, on this, this flowing like river.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah, I love that. And I think you've just named an energetic advantage that we might not even realize. It's what you said. It's you know when someone is like white knuckling and taking themselves and the things so seriously. And you also know when people are having fun, even when their work or their impact is serious.
Carla Catherwood: Mm-hmm.
Jessica Cerato: I just love this because it also tells me it's like creativity is, yes, you have an output of your creativity, but it's not something that you necessarily need to do. It's actually who you [00:07:00] are. And that energy, of having fun in the creation is so important and you can't replicate that, right?
Like it's, it's like I'm just laughing of like how many times. when you're not having fun and you try to convince yourself that you are, it's this is fun. This is gonna be fun. You can't you can't mess with that energy, right? You can't, you
Carla Catherwood: and I think one way to tap into the enjoyments or just like the the surrender side of things is ask yourself this, what else is possible?
Jessica Cerato: Hmm.
Carla Catherwood: So that has been a key North Star for me. Anything and everything that I have ever done, ever will do. I'll have this vision, I'll get into the work and I'll just think what else is possible?
Jessica Cerato: I love
Carla Catherwood: And it's, and then it just kind of like, oh, it just opens up your mind to think outside of what's there in the box already But also from a business strategy side, if you don't [00:08:00] do a competitive analysis and look at what's out there compared to what you have, and then ask yourself what else is possible, that's the difference between are you Blockbuster or you Netflix.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
And so this is like just the perfect segue into, I think a huge tenant of your work, which is like looking at creativity as curiosity. So you've kind of explained a little bit why this distinction is so important. But I have a question I feel on behalf of, some people are listening, you hear a lot of well, they're naturally creative or they're naturally curious.
And I, it's funny, I just wanna leave this question, I think open-ended for you of do you believe that, that it comes quote unquote more naturally to some people than others? What is your, how do you feel about that?
Carla Catherwood: I don't know about naturally, but I think it's really [00:09:00] somewhat to do with an openness to it.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: And I believe that there is creativity in structure
Jessica Cerato: Yeah, let's, let's jam about this. 'cause you and I were just talking, is like for me, any type of like small talk or conversation without a purpose really stresses me out. and it actually is what was stopping me for so long to have. A podcast because I heard and saw so many funny podcasts or the things that I watch, and it's oh, they just get on there and let it flow.
And for me I knew if I wanted to do this, I needed to have some type of structure or at least some semblance of direction. Before, I don't know if I before to feel safe in creativity or before actually to let my creativity, you know what, and I'm feeling, I, I would love to hear your [00:10:00] thoughts on this because right now I'm getting, I don't think I need a foundation, but I at least need like scaffolding.
Like I just can't free flow, but like scaffolding helps. So can you talk to me about actually how you help people do this? Like how do you start to tap into this creative power that's in all of us? And like how do you help people build whatever helps them like more fully embrace or be comfortable in that creative process?
Carla Catherwood: Absolutely. Yeah. And you're right. And you know what's funny is that in my consulting and coaching business, it's called me EO be the CEO of your life. And I do work with creative entrepreneurs, predominantly women in the service-based industry, and. A huge part of what the work that we do is, the first thing we do is we talk about basically building your house, building your foundation, because most creatives or most people in the service industry is not a one trick pony.
There's gonna be a house and there's gonna be all these different rooms. So the [00:11:00] first thing that we do is we create and build that foundation, right? So what is the concrete foundation of which we're building? The house with, and that predominantly when I work with people, we start with by building a blueprint of some form.
So I have an outline of how I work with people, but really until I get into people's work, it's its own. Frame of a house, but then when I get in, it's like, how many rooms are there? I mean, everyone's got a a base, everyone's got a roof, everyone's got rooms. But how many rooms?
How many levels? How many, you know what I mean? Everyone's house looks different, and so in order for me to go in and collaborate with my client, we've gotta build the structure first. Otherwise, it's just. It'll just get lost in the sauce,
Jessica Cerato: I love this so much I have to share, I'll share it when she's on. But I have a friend and she just [00:12:00] produced and starred in her own one person show. It was like two hours. Okay.
And she's, she's, very intuitive like me. And a couple days before the performance, she had her final script. And her printer wasn't working and she messaged me and she said, is this a sign that I like, shouldn't have a script?
And I was like, no. Like this script
is the support. Totally.
But it's just laughing of I think there is this underlying. Maybe belief of in order to be fully creative, we need to be free flowing and whatever. And yet, like I, I love, yeah, I love, yeah. You're like, no. Okay. And this is like literally I want everyone to listen.
We are speaking to one of the most creative people. I know you know this podcast, you know that the way I pick my guests is I close my eyes and I go into meditation and I see the names and the faces that pop up [00:13:00] first. And for season two specifically, this season, when I tapped into Creator, I got Carla.
And so you're hearing this from one of the most creative people, and we're gonna go into a lot of your creations in just a second and. It's not only, it's okay to have some structure and foundation, what I'm hearing is it's necessary.
Carla Catherwood: Necessary. Absolutely.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. Okay. And so I wanna get into some of your work now. And one part I love a lot of things about your work, but in through line for me is your work is very embodied.
So it involves music, movement, somatics. how does being in the body unlock creativity in business, in life, or in leadership in general?
Carla Catherwood: Often we hold so many thoughts and ideas in our brain, right? You and [00:14:00] I briefly spoke on this whole kind of neck up idea and yeah. A lot of people hold things in their brain and it just spins and Sure. You might, you might write it down, you might plot it through. But our bodies are connected to our nervous, our minds are connected to our nervous system.
So if you want to feel safe in your work, if you wanna feel grounded in your work, if you wanna feel movement in your work. Ain't nothing to it, but to do it, we gotta move, we gotta move our bodies, however we can, however you are able to, right. I am a, a true believer of, even if all you can do is sway your neck and your head.
It's still moving, there's still some form of flow. There's no right way. There's no wrong way. There's a million different ways to to move energy through [00:15:00] your body and to embody these feelings, these sensations, or to work through certain things that maybe are even blocking you
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: mm-hmm. I mean, that's its own conversation on its own, but it's, it, I think it's important to, to take the energy that we have from the day to day and we just gotta put it somewhere.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. And I'm kind of getting from what you're saying, that movement is actually what helps create access to these new ideas and it actually fuels and supports. Our creativity, and I'm laughing of how many times I'm sure everyone listening can relate to this, of I just need to sit down and write.
I just need to lay down in stillness and meditate. Like we're, we're kind of, for whatever reason kind of programmed to be like, oh, but you know what, I'm just laughing. This goes back to your, what we were saying earlier. It's let's get serious about creativity. I'm gonna [00:16:00] sit down and do it.
And it's both of those things, like stopping your natural movement in your body and also creating such importance in your brain that this is serious is actually really pushing against your creativity, even though you have good intentions for it.
Carla Catherwood: Mm-hmm. I mean, meditation is great. Being writing is great. Yes. And.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: What else is possible, right? So don't stop in one modality. I, trust me, I do all the things. I'll write, I'll meditate, I'll move, I'll walk. Oh my God, I'm that person. Like when I'm driving. And I listen to music, or if I'm just in absolute stillness and I'm driving or if I'm walking, if you ever see me on like the sea wall in Vancouver when I'm visiting back home, or if I'm like, I live on the waterfront here in Toronto.
If I'm like on the waterfront, if I'm walking through the city and I have my AirPods in and I'm just like, I'm just like [00:17:00] in this like almost like this canvas blank stare. I'm like, she's in another, she's creating something. I don't know what it is. But it's something. So for me it's like some sort of movement.
It gets, it gets me going.
Jessica Cerato: I love that. And it's the same. I always laugh. I'm sure you have the same as I walk a lot in the neighborhood and a lot of the kids like tell my kids your mom's always talking to someone. And they're like, no, she's talking to herself. I'm like, oh, yes, I'm Or the dog. I mean, either one, but it's getting that creativity out.
Yeah. Okay, so this movement, I think, well, I know has been such an important part of the history, like back when you were performing on stage in cruise ship. So can you talk to me about where you really began to cultivate this love, this appreciation, or tell me how it felt like. Like when did you really first realize that, wow, this [00:18:00] is my uniqueness, this is.
Carla Catherwood: Mm-hmm.
Jessica Cerato: how I'm meant to serve?
Carla Catherwood: Energetic edge, I would say there was a few points. The first one was when I was on cruise ship, actually I was in Nashville. I was training the, we were there for five or five or so weeks, and we were training in their production facility with all the production shows before we went.
And I'd never danced in heels before I was 20 at the time. This was a very long time ago. Everybody
Jessica Cerato: For laughing before,
before socials, before foams. Thank goodness for that.
Carla Catherwood: Before MySpace.
Okay. It was a long time ago. And some people are listening. What's MySpace? Oh God. So yeah, so it really started, it started there. And so we are at this production facility. We're learning all the dances. I think we're about like, we're probably like two thirds, just over half through the whole process.
And they literally come in and they literally chuck me a pair of three [00:19:00] inch heels. They chuck all the people, half them had danced in heels before, half haven't. And I was. Okay. So I just put them on and I did everything I've ever done. But in he, I, I don't know how I, my ankles survived. I don't know how.
I was 20, so yeah, it makes sense.
Jessica Cerato: Well.
Carla Catherwood: And I was, I was young and pliable and so that was like a really interesting moment and I was like, Ooh, this feels good. I like this. It felt really good. And then when we. We had one show that was like more of a musical theater style, and it was like a Broadway kind of review show.
And we did some cabaret numbers and so we had the big feathers and I had a hat, like a secret bra with the underwear, like the, the feather thing and like the fishnets and the heels and the gloves. And we, we did this thing where we like danced around in chairs and with the toes pointed up and it was very cabaret style, and I was like, this is, yes.
It was always like my favorite number out of [00:20:00] all the numbers. I was like, yes, I love this one. And then fast forward to about 2003 or four. The years are very,
Jessica Cerato: Melding I don't know, somewhere in there. Yeah, so I don't even know how to shorten this one, but I was doing a fundraiser for a friend of mine who was shot in the back at a nightclub shooting in Vancouver the previous year. I was actually at this nightclub, and it was, it was a pretty big deal. There were people that lost their lives.
Carla Catherwood: Unfortunately, two gangs just decided to whip out guns and start shooting at each other, and there were people that were innocently hit shot. Killed. And even this little lady here, I was nicked by a bullet. I was literally had my hand over my head like this, and it went, and yeah, I'm, I was very, very blessed and very lucky to walk away with nothing but a bandaid.
And so [00:21:00] this industry friend of ours was up from LA and he was teaching and a bunch of us were going out. We were just dancing. We just wanted to dance all night. And so unfortunately that whole process happened and a year later my mentors were like, Hey, we'd love to do a fundraiser for Steve, but we're really busy with our production season.
If somebody else wants to do it, nudge, nudge we'll help. And I was like, I'll totally do it. Done. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'll figure it out. So not only did I produce a. Like a live entertainment showcase. But I ha I saw this snippet of the Pussycat Dolls before. They were a singing group.
I saw them on, I saw Robin Anton and her crew on much music. And this was before like PVR days where you could film it and go back or like YouTube or it was like before any of that. I just happened to catch it and I was like. Whatever that is, I wanna do it. They were in like the Viper room in LA and they had like celebrity guests, like singers, but then there was like this dance troupe and I was like, I'm gonna do [00:22:00] that.
But no singing, just dancing. So fast forward a few months later, I produced this fundraiser. I'm like, I'm gonna put a piece in. So I gathered like a, a crew of a gaggle of ladies. I think there was like 12 or 16 of us. I dunno. There's a whole bunch of us. And a friend of mine helped me come up with a name.
It was, we called it the Burlesque Beauties. And then I cut it down to about six people and then it turned in to a whole. Thing. And so from the burlesque beauties, we had our own cabaret shows. We had corporate sponsors. there was no nudity or stripping or anything. It was very like the first number I ever choreographed was to hanky panky, A good spanking by Madonna
from like the Dick Tracy soundtrack.
It was like. our friend's sister, like we, I think we went to like Vicenza and got like busier and like high wasted Panta Lois and like all these things. And then our, my friend's sister came in with like her glue gun and like little so bits and like literally I think I had a glue gun like [00:23:00] burn on my like.
Jessica Cerato: Left cheek.
Carla Catherwood: My backend, my butt cheek. Literally. I think it might still be there. I saw her last year. I was like, I think I still have the mark on there. But it was very like put together and next thing you know, yeah, we had her on cabaret shows. We started, we. Dance at the Playboy Mansion for a private event.
Once we got flown around for corporate events, yeah, it was, it was a good time. It was great. It was really fun. And, but through that process, women would like my friends and all their friends would be like, Carla, you're a dance teacher. We wanna learn how to do this. I put together a class and I was like. Okay. I'm a dance teacher. I've been teaching dance at that point for a long time and I was like, yeah, I'll, I dunno, I'll figure something out. I was like, bring your friends, we'll do it. Sold out, packed. And being like the. I come from a really heavy duty jazz dance background, like ballet, jazz, like very much conditioning and, and syllabus.
And when I started doing all the moves that me and the girls would do, I was like, oh God, this is a, I just, I started [00:24:00] to just naturally break it down so then everyone could just look the same.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: Like the dance teacher, me you own, let's get information people. Beginner or not, I don't care. We need to figure this out.
So I then from the class, I created a syllabus. From the syllabus and class I created a program. So that's where. Toronto comes in about 2010. I moved to Toronto. I started a program that was, I think originally it was like four weeks and then they performed in my cabaret show and that was the, the beginning seed of Army of SaaS.
So Army of SaaS was the world's first heels, dance syllabus. And I licensed, I had 40 plus locations across Canada and the US And yeah, it was a time, it
was a time.
Jessica Cerato: and I just want to reiterate what I'm just feeling through that story is like how much fun you were having, right. Again, you're like I remember those times. Like I [00:25:00] really was, and yes, structure and strategy came into it, but it was this sense of, I think this is also perhaps where creativity can really become contagious is there's two components that I heard.
There is one feeling the energy, so someone sitting and watching and feeling the energy of how much fun and also. Freeing and, comfortable and brave in your bodies while also at the same time noticing, oh, like with some structure I could do that. And I love that because so many times we shy away from creativity because we don't feel we are brave enough or bold enough.
To go first. So when I ask you that, like was that ever, was that ever a question or a doubt in your mind [00:26:00] of, wow, like this is going to be the first and how do I feel about that? Or were you just so in the
Carla Catherwood: I didn't even think about it.
Jessica Cerato: See, this is okay.
Carla Catherwood: I was just like, we need to figure this out because we all need to. I was just like an OCD dance teacher that was like, we all need to look the same.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: And then I was, each one, to be honest, it all kind of, each one just happened. It was a natural progression and again, came out of not just my curiosity, but other people's curiosity.
So the dance classes started because people, like the women were coming to me and they're like, I wanna learn how to dance like that. And I was like, okay. So I built something to provide something for my friends and their friends, and then it just popped off. And then when I went to go license, it's because I created this big movement in Toronto between these programs that moved into this big creative [00:27:00] showcase, like show at the end.
Like we, we would sell it with the Mod Club. I don't know if I mean there's people listening from all over the place, but it's, I mean, it's an iconic. Spot. I think The Weekend did their, his first show there. There's always like it's, it's. It's an iconic spot and we would sell it out all the time.
And, and just because other people, like people wanted to express themselves and then they wanted to bring their friends and family to, to witness bear witness their own transformation. And when other dance teachers or studio owners caught wind of this, they were like, you should franchise this. And I was like, looked into franchising and I was like, well, you can't franchise.
Franchise creativity. So that was the interesting part of it, because there is, yeah, you, you can't, it just doesn't actually work. And also dancers don't have franchise money. I love y'all, but that's not our, our world, unless you come from like [00:28:00] other parts of money within your own portfolio, but predominantly those dance teachers or, or leaders in the industry. When I looked into everything, I'm like, that just just doesn't make sense, because franchising, it's almost it's, it's very much like here, it, it's exactly on point. So think of it like McDonald's.
So if you want a franchise, McDonald's or a Tim Horton's, it's going to be exactly the same. So a Big Mac in, New York City is gonna taste exactly the same as. North Vancouver, British Columbia, or Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it's all gonna be the same. Whereas when you go into, it's almost like paint by numbers, but if you were to license. It's more along the lines of Hmm, here's a coloring book. Here's a bunch of colors, stay in the lines. And that's where like the, the contract comes in and it, it, it provides you more creativity. So that's why the [00:29:00] syllabus was so important because I would teach people the foundations of how to move their body in a feminine way in heels.
And then they had, and then we would provide them the shows, but not necessarily the choreography. They can interpret it how they wanted to. And because the, the amount of work it would take for us to, and also just I know my own community and people like be, like, I, I wouldn't sign up for that.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah, because, because creativity really breeds creativity. And so by doing it that way, you created an impact and a ripple. Beyond what like the cookie cutter duplication could have. Like it. And it wasn't just that they were licensing a program, I feel it was like there was also a licensing for their own creativity and permission to like really tap into that, which is the base of the program.
I wanna go here because I wanna give the people who are listening, so for those who feel disconnected. From their creativity [00:30:00] right now or listening to us talk and be like, yeah, that sounds great, and what is one way, or just a few ways that they can really begin to reconnect with that creativity inside of them.
Carla Catherwood: Yeah, and just remember that, I just want you to ask yourself, I want you to think of the vision that you have. What's the thing that you want to accomplish? What's the thing that you want to build? What's the thing that you want to create? Whatever that is, and I want you to ask. What else is possible?
What are the steps that you know Yes. What are the steps that need to be done to actually build it? 'cause a huge challenge for a lot of people, especially in the creative world, is they'll have this vision, but they get so overwhelmed with the how they just drop. They drop it.
Jessica Cerato: I drop out. Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: And that idea, that concept is there for something.
So if you can build some form of [00:31:00] foundation, like step, how are you gonna do, project manage, it's kind of like an event, so I've produced some trillion different events throughout the last, like 25 years or so. So it's it it, if you think of an event, you just think, okay, what, how do you want it to end? And then you just begin to work it backwards. What are all the things that need to happen? And then along the way, each step along the way, you just keep asking yourself what else is possible. It's that question alone is gonna continue to open doors that you're like, oh, maybe I could do this with this person.
Or, Ooh, this, maybe instead of it being, in this say venue or this. I dunno, there's, there's so many different ways I could take this.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: if this, say it's in this venue, I could do it in this kind of venue, yeah. There's, there's so many different ways to go about it.
Jessica Cerato: I
love it. You did, You did
Carla Catherwood: like, did
I?
Jessica Cerato: this [00:32:00] because I feel that there's no one right answer to the question of creativity. And so I love to do a quick, quick fire round with you where I'm going to spout off some quick sentences or questions and I'd love for you just to answer as quick as you can. And for those listening, you can also play along because I just think this alone will show you that we all feel and think and act so differently.
And so I love this. Okay, so in, here's me, I'm like giving a structure in 30 words or less. No, I'm not gonna do that. But just right off the cuff, what comes to you? Creativity is blank.
Carla Catherwood: Possibility.
Jessica Cerato: Most people block their creativity by doing this.
Carla Catherwood: I'm just holding on too hard to like a, a narrow lane.
Jessica Cerato: Love it. The body gives us clarity. When we do this more often.
Carla Catherwood: Move.
Jessica Cerato: A, [00:33:00] a sign that we might be disconnected from our creative energy is.
Carla Catherwood: Anxiety, Mm.
Jessica Cerato: Creation requires more blank than confidence.
Carla Catherwood: Just action.
Jessica Cerato: Hmm. I love that movement that you return to. When you kind of start to feel a little stuck,
Carla Catherwood: Oh God. Give, put on some house music. Take me to my, my friends to like a dingy club somewhere. I'm gonna dance.
Jessica Cerato: love it. And one permission that you wish more people would give themselves as creators.
Carla Catherwood: Just loosen the grip.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah.
Carla Catherwood: Permission to just explore there's no wrong way of doing anything when you are creating because there's no end road. It just keeps going. So if you don't like where it lands. Ask yourself, What's the mirrored opposite of that?
Then that will show [00:34:00] you bing where to go next.
Jessica Cerato: Hmm. I love it. Okay, so if someone's listening and they're like, give me some, Carla, can you let us know how people can experience to work with you, whether you're in the studio or more in like a consulting context, because like a true creative, you do both, all the things. So tell us all the things.
Carla Catherwood: Yeah, well first of all, you can find me on Instagram at Carla Catherwood. I do have Facebook. I'm just never on there,
just come to Instagram. True. Like actually not there. And yeah, so you can find me there. But in regards to facilitating from like a consulting or coaching side of things, so if you have a service based industry or a service based business, and you're looking to just create structure around an offering or a business or a process or a concept.
Or looking to multiply what you do, say you have something already that's very successful. I've helped a few people with licensing models as well. You can get ahold of me. You can just get [00:35:00] [email protected]. You can find my website. MEO coaching.com. So you can find me on there. You could book a, a discovery call.
You can come and meet me online. You can shoot me an email. And then when it comes to embodiment in the studio, so I work regularly. I am a hot Pilates instructor at Jaybird Studios Studios. One of my near and dear friends, she's one of the, the founders who, fun story, she was part of that original cabaret group.
Jessica Cerato: I didn't know that. Oh
Carla Catherwood: Yeah, we go back. We go back. She's my girl. And yeah, so I work with Jaybird and I love it. I just, I went and took a class this morning. I just really enjoyed my, I actually took Ariel's class, so shout out to Ariel Swan, one of the founders at Jaybird there. And it, it just was such a beautiful, embodied experience.
So it's a, it's a dark space. So there are studios in Toronto and Vancouver currently. I know they're expanding outside of that. [00:36:00] Mapped area as well, so stay tuned. Yeah, so it's a blackout studio. It's candle lit. There are no mirrors. It is heated and there's a Dolby sound system, so it's very all encompassing.
Jessie came and took one
of my classes in Vancouver.
Jessica Cerato: loved it. It was so good. Talk about like just being in your body with not only no distraction, but I think the environment really supporting and giving you permission to really do that. And of course it has a lot to do with the. Facilitator, which I took your class. So I loved it.
But yeah, and you know what, I just was laughing because a lot of times, we maybe are not creative or we don't engage in a creative process, or we don't move our body or make time because we think it's gonna take. So much time. But in that example, in that studio, it takes [00:37:00] what, like two seconds to drop in and after a 45 minute class, which is no time at all, you feel like sometimes a completely different person.
And the same, I think with a creative process is, it, I'm just up with the belief. It, it doesn't have to take time in order to be. Like successful, and I think you're just such a testament to that when you were creating all of these things is like any outside person might've said, oh, like wait on that, or wait till you have this, or, practice or perfect for a few more
Carla Catherwood: No, it's, I
mean, that's the whole, I mean, creativity is so, the whole, yeah. The whole purpose and point of creativity is just begin. Just do it. Just, and, one of my other offerings is I teach dance still, so I still teach dance. So I have, I'm actually doing a, a workshop slash. It's also like a six week series.
So people can either come in for the workshop or they can do the full six weeks here in Toronto, it actually starts on my birthday.
It's just like how the [00:38:00] dates, 'cause we're like, oh, let's do Tuesdays. Like my collaborator, the studio collaborator that I'm working with. And it's actually like sort of solar eclipse in Aquarius Fire Horse New
Year. There's like all these
things. I'm my birthday's. February 17th. That's my birthday. And yeah, it's full on, it's starting this year, so I learned how to DJ so I can make my own mixes. So I got back, coming back to that idea of creativity and it kind of takes, you don't need to be perfect.
I haven't touched my deck since last March and I literally took them out today. I opened it up and I actually was like.
Jessica Cerato: Blowing the dust.
Carla Catherwood: Like low and then took a Swiffer and was like, okay. Yeah, so like fully did a Swiffer situation, pulled it up the first like few like, you know, you have to get your crate organized, you have to get certain playlist things, and then you start doing it. I'm like, like, it just was so unhinged. [00:39:00] And, but about 15, 20 minutes into it, I was like.
Things started to click again and I was like, okay, okay, we okay. It's gonna, okay. I'll actually make this mix. Okay. It's gonna be okay. We got this and, creating this mix for this, this get motivated workshop thing. And it is just a reminder that it doesn't need to be perfect to begin and just get in there.
Just roll your sleeves up. It might get weird for a bit. Let it. We gotta work through the weirdness, it's almost like whether you're in dance or whether it's sports, we're, we're always gonna be dominant on one side, whether it's your right or your left. And the opposite side is gonna be more challenging, but the cost of you not working that other side. Is injury. It's, it's just a lack of being able to keep up. It's a lack of progression. And I would say the same thing as creativity. If creativity is challenging for you, think of it as your left foot or your left or whatever [00:40:00] it is that opposite side. So you gotta work that muscle to get it going, and then it's going to equal you out.
It's gonna bring you that harmony that. All of us just want in our lives,
Jessica Cerato: yeah, I feel that. And so, I have an idea for everybody. Think back to something that you really enjoyed doing, where it was fun, where you felt in motion, and literally, as Carla just said, like dust off the blank. Dust off your shoes, just dust off your swimsuit, dust off your paints, your water, like whatever it is, dust off.
Cooking is so creative, like dust off the pans. Here's me telling people to cook when, I don't, but dust off the stuff in your kitchen, whatever stuff is in your kitchen. Like just, I, I love that analogy just here of because I feel sometimes, the hardest part is, is perhaps like dusting it off, but as you said, once you do that and you're actually in the [00:41:00] flow of creativity there's so much possibility and what it brings to our life, as you just said, is much more than the result of that thing.
It's the feeling that keeps us alive because. Yeah. It just keeps us alive and if anyone totally analytical and logical or is listening, I will tell you that creativity is how we solve problems.
So if you wanna solve a problem, here's, here's gonna be bring us back to our youth. If you got a problem, you, I'll solve it.
I sang that the other day and my kids are like, what song is that? I was like, dude, we need to talk anyway. Creativity is how we solve problems. And it's how we lead and in allowing ourselves to move before we have it all figured out. And, so to end, I just, if, if something in this episode stirred something in you, pay attention to that because that is your creativity, [00:42:00] that's your creative energy and like knocking and all you really have to do is, is open the door.
And connect with Carla. So find her on Instagram, reach out, connect, like tap into that creative energy. That feeling that I get when even I just see you in your everyday life that is energetic advantage and I'm just, ugh. So happy that you continue to share yours with the world. So any last things you want to say here?
The floor is yours. How can we make this a, a performance metaphor? The, the final act or the, the, it's, it's yours. What do you wanna do with the stage?
Carla Catherwood: okay, well, I, I have a saying and it might trigger some people, and that's okay. Do it.
I don't believe in problems
Jessica Cerato: Hmm.
Carla Catherwood: there's a solution to every problem. If there's a solution, then there's no [00:43:00] problem. But we have to get a little creative sometimes. So we've gotta get out of our own lane. We've gotta look, we've gotta think of it, kind of like hover above the, the challenge.
Let's call it a challenge, and go, what's the way out? What else is possible? What needs to be done? And then ain't nothing to it, but to do it. And if there's a solution, well, if there's a problem, there is a solution. And one thing I will say is that like in order to find that solution, just look. When you have a challenge, I want you to ask yourself, what is a mirrored opposite to that challenge?
That is your answer that you're looking for. Like we already have the solutions. We already have the answers. We just have to look and mirror what the challenge is. That is the answer. And then creativity. Is the how
Jessica Cerato: Mm-hmm.
Carla Catherwood: to get from one
Jessica Cerato: good.
Carla Catherwood: to the other,
Jessica Cerato: So good. [00:44:00] Okay. Everyone say it with me. Ain't nothing to it except to do it. Did I get
Carla Catherwood: to do it ain't
nothing to it, but to do
Jessica Cerato: I'm like, for some reason Carla sounds so much cooler than me when I say it, but that is the gist of it. So thank you so much, Carla. Thank you for sharing your creative wisdom and your energy with us today.
Thank you all for listening and we'll see you next time.
Outro: Thanks for being here inside The Energetic Advantage. If today's episode open something for you, share it, tag it, or send to the person who popped into your mind. And remember, energy first strategy second. Your advantage has always been in you. Now it's time to lead with it. See you next time.
