Create the Work of Your Life

C. Jordan Blaquera
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Visual Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Master-Certified Life & Artist Coach. Co-founder of the Create Anyway Collective // Helping creatives & women bring your big, creative dream to life. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 6 months: www.CreateAnyway.Today/

  1. 32: Am I Ready? The Wrong Question Artists Keep Asking

    1d ago

    32: Am I Ready? The Wrong Question Artists Keep Asking

    Readiness is often control in disguise, and the pursuit of certainty prevents artists from doing their most meaningful work. You'll learn why successful creators don't eliminate uncertainty before they begin, how even masters like Meryl Streep experience doubt, and why willingness is a more powerful creative skill than confidence.If you've been postponing a creative goal, waiting for the perfect moment, or telling yourself you'll start when you feel ready, this episode will challenge that belief and offer a different path forward.The question isn't, "Am I ready?"The question is, "Am I willing?" Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    22 min

  2. Jun 3

    31: No One Is Coming to Enforce Your Real Work

    You keep every deadline someone else sets for you. So why do yours keep falling apart? In this episode, Jordan Blaquera names what's really happening when artists move, soften, or abandon the deadlines they make for themselves — and it has nothing to do with discipline. It's a self-trust problem. And every broken commitment is quietly costing you more than you think. Jordan shares the behind-the-scenes story of how this podcast got relaunched — including a peer challenge, a recording session deep into the night before a flight, and the moment she realized: I didn't want the dessert. I wanted the result. You'll leave with a clear understanding of why internal deadlines feel optional, what that's doing to your creative work, and one simple way to start rebuilding trust with yourself — even if you've been breaking your own word for years. Your work is too meaningful to be optional. This episode is about what it takes to treat it that way. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    26 min

  3. May 27

    30: Escape Deadline Dependency as an Artist

    What if the deadline isn’t the reason you create? What if you are? In this episode of Create the Work of Your Life, C. Jordan Blaquera challenges one of the most common beliefs artists carry: “I can’t create without a deadline.” Jordan unpacks why deadlines only work when you choose to cooperate with them — and how relying on external pressure can disconnect you from your deepest, most authentic work. This episode explores deadline dependency, creative autonomy, internal authority, and what it really takes to create the work of your life without waiting for permission, pressure, or structure from outside yourself. Timestamps 00:00 — Why “I can’t create without a deadline” is a dangerous belief03:12 — The truth about who actually gives deadlines power07:48 — Externally motivated work vs. your real work12:34 — How retirement, caregiving, and structure create deadline dependency17:15 — Why autonomous artists create their own containers20:42 — Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and internal creative authority25:06 — Why your authentic work will never be summoned by external deadlines29:18 — The shift from waiting for structure to creating structure33:11 — “The deadline isn’t the reason the work is getting done. You are.”36:05 — Final reflection: What would you make if you stopped waiting for something outside you to make you create?Resources Mentioned in This Episode Create Anyway CollectiveAbout Create AnywayListen, rate, and subscribe to Create the Work of Your Life. If this episode resonated with you, share it with another artist who’s waiting for the “right time” to begin. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    22 min

  4. May 15

    29: The Artistic Regret You Can Still Do Something About

    What if the regret you fear at the end of your life is already quietly accumulating right now? Explore the hidden pattern of “structured deferral” — the habit of continually postponing your creative work for a future that never actually arrives. Through personal stories about caregiving, loss, fear, and finally stepping into coaching and the Create Anyway Collective, Jordan unpacks why artists so often tell themselves “I’ll do it later,” and why later keeps repeating the same patterns as now. This episode is a direct invitation to stop waiting for the “right time” and begin creating the work of your life today. Listen, rate, and subscribe to Create the Work of Your Life. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    16 min

  5. May 6

    28: The Cost of Putting Your Art Last

    You've probably said it to yourself: "I don't want to be selfish." And then you answered the text. Did the laundry. Took the call. Said yes when you meant no. And your art waited — again. In this episode, Jordan names the word that stops a lot of artists cold — selfish — and reframes what's actually happening when you put your work last. This isn't about blame. It's about the cost. When your art is constantly at the bottom of the list, your work doesn't develop. Your artistic voice — that singular, irreplaceable thing that can only come through you — stays out of reach. You stay scattered. And quietly, over time, you stop believing your work matters at all. Jordan breaks down:Why women in particular are conditioned to feel that time for their art is indulgentWhat's really happening when you're "endlessly available" — and who it's actually hurtingThe difference between selfishness and appropriate self-directionWhy art specifically requires time, repetition, and protected space — and what becomes possible when you give it thatThe one question to replace "Is this selfish?" withThis episode is for the artist who is tired of waiting until everything else is done — because everything else will always be there. Your work won't create itself. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    16 min

  6. Apr 29

    27: The Creativity Fantasy that Keeps You From Working

    You don't feel like creating today. Maybe you're dragging your feet. Maybe the idea that felt exciting last week feels heavy now. Maybe you've been telling yourself you'll start when you feel more ready, more inspired, more like a real artist. This episode is about that feeling — where it comes from, why it gets louder the closer you get to your real work, and what to do instead of waiting for it to go away. Jordan shares why she published only seven podcast episodes in two years and three months — not for lack of ideas, but because of the creativity fantasy: the belief that creating is supposed to feel like flow, passion, and ease. And the way that fantasy quietly keeps artists from making the work they most want to make. In this episode: What the creativity fantasy actually costs you — and the math that makes it undeniable. Why resistance gets louder the closer you get to your real work (and what's actually driving it) What Chuck Close and Twyla Tharp both understood about showing up without waiting to feel inspired Why making the stakes too high is one of the most common ways artists stop themselves before they start. The reframe that changes everything: your worst created piece is infinitely more valuable than your best uncreated one. If you've ever: Convinced yourself you needed one more thing before you could beginTold yourself you'd go to the studio tomorrowWondered if real artists struggle the way you do — this episode is for you.Mentioned in this episode: The Creative Habit by Twyla TharpChuck Close on inspiration and showing upWork with Jordan + David: The Create Anyway Collective (CAC) is a six-month high-touch mentorship program for visual artists who are ready to stop waiting and start creating a cohesive body of work — ready to show, share, and sell. Learn more or join the waitlist at createanyway.today/cac Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    25 min

  7. Apr 14

    26: The Honest Truth: What to Do When Your Spouse Doesn't Like Your Art

    What do you do when the person closest to you just doesn't connect with your art? In this deeply personal episode, master artist coach Jordan Blaquera shares the story of her own long struggle with this exact situation — and what she finally did about it. Jordan opens up about the years she spent in silence, afraid that admitting she didn't love some of her partner David's work would be read as a failure of love or support. She unpacks the painful conundrum she found herself in: tell the truth and risk hurting him, or hide the truth and betray herself. The breakthrough she arrived at is simple but powerful — you can love the artist completely and still have your own honest opinion about the art. These are not the same thing, and untangling them can be the key to both creative freedom and authentic intimacy. If your partner's silence about your latest piece has you spiraling, or you're carrying the weight of an unspoken opinion about someone else's work, this episode will help you look at what meaning you're making — and whether it's actually true. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    21 min

  8. Apr 10

    25: Equal, Not Special: A New Way to Think About Being an Artist

    What if believing you're special as an artist is actually holding you back? In this episode, Jordan Blaquera makes a provocative case that the idea of art — and artists — being uniquely special, mysterious, or reserved for the chosen few is one of the most limiting beliefs a creator can hold. Drawing on six problems with "special" thinking, Jordan explores how it clouds your judgment, fuels feelings of inferiority or superiority, disconnects you from others, and can leave you feeling like a victim of circumstances beyond your control. The antidote isn't lowering your standards — it's rooting your worth somewhere nothing can touch it. When you stop chasing specialness and start asking "what do I want to create with my time, energy, and resources?", something surprising happens: the work gets freer, more original, and more genuinely you. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    37 min
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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Master-Certified Life & Artist Coach. Co-founder of the Create Anyway Collective // Helping creatives & women bring your big, creative dream to life. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 6 months: www.CreateAnyway.Today/

Information

  • Creator
    C. Jordan Blaquera
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © C. Jordan Blaquera
  • Show Website
    Create the Work of Your Life

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