009: Tiffany & Monica
In this episode, we're joined by Monica Kang, CEO & Founder of InnovatorsBox and the author of Rethink Creativity, to chat about all things creativity, innovation, and resilience.
We discussed:
What led Monica to start InnovatorsBox after a career in public policy
What having a “creative mindset” means
How we have been misinformed to think we are not creative
How tapping into your creative mind builds resilience
How to get started with unlocking your creative mindset
Why creativity starts with getting curious and self-awareness
Show Notes
How to be kinder online: http://bit.ly/EQOnline
How to spark your family’s creativity: http://bit.ly/ParentsCreativity
How to host better digital meetings: http://bit.ly/MeetingHack
Stories of hope and positivity: http://bit.ly/CuriousMonica
How to stay creative about everything: http://bit.ly/CreativityShow
About Monica H. Kang
Monica Kang is a creative educator who is transforming today’s workforce through the power of creativity. As the Founder and CEO of InnovatorsBox®, Monica teaches creativity in a tangible, practical, and relatable way regardless of industry or job title. She has worked with clients worldwide including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, government, and nonprofits. Monica’s work has been awarded across numerous platforms, including The White House, Ashoka Changemakers, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). She is also the author of Rethink Creativity: How to Innovate, Inspire, and Thrive at Work. Driven by her lifelong love of knowledge, she is also an adjunct professor at BAU International University where she teaches entrepreneurship and leadership. Prior to InnovatorsBox®, Monica was a nuclear nonproliferation policy expert in international affairs. She holds an M.A. from SAIS Johns Hopkins University in Strategic Studies and International Economics and a B.A. from Boston University.
Follow
InnovatorsBox
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Innovatorsbox/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovatorsbox/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InnovatorsBox
Monica
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicakang/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monicahkang
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hi.mhk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/monicahkang
Transcript
[opening medley by RootHub]
Tiffany Yu: Welcome to Tiffany & Yu. I’m your host, Tiffany Yu. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it’s also Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. So on today’s episode, we’re joined by Monica Kang, a fellow AAPI entrepreneur, who is a creative educator transforming today’s workforce through the power of creativity. We’re going to be chatting with Monica about how unlocking your creative mindset is key to building resilience, we’re going to talk about rethinking creativity and how all of this starts with self-awareness and getting curious.
Tiffany Yu: Hi everyone, it's your host Tiffany Yu here and you're listening to Tiffany & Yu. I'm here with my friend and the CEO and Founder of InnovatorsBox, Monica Kang. Hi Monica!
Monica Kang: Hello.
Tiffany Yu: So, Monica and I met back in 2016, when we were both at a conference called Hive. And she and I were both running these side hustles at the time, mine was Diversability. And we both had the chance to run these unconference workshops and attend each others. And it was the first time, I felt like I really bonded with Monica then. Since then, Diversability and InnovatorsBox have partnered together on an event. I've been able to see all of the incredible products and conversation cards and books that she has written and created and just so excited to be on this conversation now.
Monica Kang: Thank you for having me and vice versa. Love seeing what you've been doing.
Tiffany Yu: So, I always like to start, or I think your background is just so interesting. So, I would love to hear a little bit more about kind of that founding story of how you came to InnovatorsBox.
Monica Kang: Absolutely. So, I started InnovatorsBox, because I realized I really needed it for myself. Originally, I've lived my entire life thinking that I wanted to be a diplomat. So my entire career track was in public policy, foreign affairs, international affairs, and specifically in nuclear weapon security. And I was in that space where I got to be-- as a government contractor at DOE and State, helping colleagues and other country partners around the world understand how they can rethink about how they do nuclear security and safety so that if something happens, they are prepared. And the short form from there is right kind of now doing innovation work and helping people learn how to be creative at InnovatorsBox.
Tiffany Yu: I think that's such a drastic change. I guess my career change from finance into disability advocacy is also quite drastic but yeah tell our listeners a little bit more about what InnovatorsBox is, what type of programming do you do, what the whole universe looks like.
Monica Kang: So InnovatorsBox, we are a creative leadership firm on the mission to unlock creativity for all. And what that means that is because creativity is something that I think we have a lot of stigma and bias on what we think it is. And I know I'm in my room I have some artwork that I've done before, but that's only one form of creativity. There's many other forms including how to do your numbers better, how we communicate more thoughtfully, and most importantly, that's when we're probably at our best selves and most alive and I will speak a little bit more on that later, I know we're having a conversation. But on the business front, as a result, I currently work with different corporations to nonprofit, higher education, all different kinds of organizations and leaders-- help them understand how they can be more creative, why that's important, and what that impact means, and where they can do that talk and walk through cultural leadership and team building programming. So everything that we do at the essence is, how do we unlock that creative mindset, regardless of where they are and often through the workshops, speaking, facilitation, the consulting the projects we do is helping them deliver that through those engagements. But at the essence, it's always how do we help them see from black and white light to see color of possibilities.
Tiffany Yu: I love that. And part of the reason why I was so excited to have you on this podcast is, you know, you talk about this creative mindset and I think we're so stuck in our ways of what creativity looks like. So what is the creative mindset? What is creativity? How would you define that?
Monica Kang: Creative mindset is a mindset in which where you see possibilities when everyone else sees black and white. It's where you are being able to stay flexible but be grounded in what your truth means and know you making decision and choices and how you present yourself because you know what your colorful version is, and you're not putting yourself in a box. And while that might all sound very figuratively, it has real implications in culture, leadership, and the way we work and the way we live. And so that might be a situation where we don't have a creative mindset, which was-- the reason why I started the company was, I was at the state before where I was depressed, even suicidal, and had a very difficult time at the job I loved, but crying to work every day. And that was because I forgot how to tap into that skill set. I got so used to following the path of, this is what the perfect career is, this is what the right path is of what success looks like that I forgot what it was for me to build what my color of Monica being the full potential means. And when more of us probably show up that way not only would be more engaged at work, we would probably have a more inclusive and diverse creative culture where everyone feels psychologically safe to share their ideas, perspectives, and build on that instead of judging, instead of feeling scared to share something, instead of feeling unsure, we would build on those, and amplify positivity around that. Those are some of the things that I share with people, where the mindset is key. And in a way, it's you know everything we do is very research backed as well because I know it's hard for people to grasp, "Well how do I make that tangible? So what does that actually mean in a culture?" A simple way to think is like well you physically know how your body reacts when you show up to work that you love, you will be excited to show up to the office on Monday, or virtually at this point, or you would be so excited for Friday because the weekend starts. That's a hint of how you're feeling already in that system as a culture and I think when a culture of a company does not enact that creative mindset or we individually don't know how to do that, regardless of what our environment is, then we feel stressed, we feel more frustrated, we feel tired. And that's the reason why we've been on the mission of, how do I help more people, because I know what it was like when I didn't have that, and was very stuck.
Tiffany Yu: I love that and I think what's interesting, you and I both come from very-- I guess what I would call like analytical type--
Monica Kang: I still am.
Tiffany Yu: --conservative, still am. I love the way you talked about color because it can be figurative and literal.
Monica Kang: Absolutely.
Tiffany Yu: And so as a result of, for me, like leaving the finance industry, now I wear a lot more color. I'm not wearing that uniform anymore. But I think I'm even trying to like challenge my own mindset around how I view creativity, right, so you and I having this conversation, I would say, I am probably leaning more into the camp of saying like, oh I see CreativeMornings, but when I show up at CreativeMornings, people are like, "Oh, are you a designer? Are you in this other creative field? Are you a filmmaker? Are you in the arts?" And I'm just like, well I'm none of those things, am I creative? So how would you respond to someone who came to you and said, "Well, I am not creative."
Monica Kang: Thank you for sharing that. You actually hit exactly one of the three reasons why I realized the work of InnovatorsBox needed to exist. And that was because as you have correctly pointed out, unfortunately, while there is a lot of amazing work, and I'm so glad about the people who are doing the work they do and where they are. But where I found the gap was that, as somebody who was in nuclear security, I hated the part of showing up to places where I was that nuclear kid, I was that nuclear person, or I was that non-creative person who was interested in creativity. And like something about that didn't sit right, and based on science, this has been proven since 1950s and yet we still have this stigma in society. I realized that maybe we still carry that misunderstanding of how innate creativity is for all of us and how natural part of human being is because the people who are talking about creativity for a long time have often been from the artists, psychologists, researchers, which is phenomenal. We need, we absolutely need this. But over time as a result, we kind of forgot how diverse form creativity means. And so, I realized I wanted to create a community or a way we build programs where everyone shows up and they can bring that colorful version. They wouldn't have to ask that, are you that engineer, are you that creative, whatever that perspective is. And so that was one piece that I wanted to address that in hence the way we format and engagement. And so for the time being, what I share with people to help them debunk that is I break that down into different narratives that I think people can relate to, such as exercise, or food, what we consume, as well as our sleep patterns. Because even health, physical health, it wasn't probably not until-- if we look at research back in the tent years like there's probably still advertisements, like smoking is completely fine. Like we've seen a lot of misinformation. And what I found that's been discouraging for us to understand about creativity on top of not finding the right people that we can relate to is that we forget to understand how our minds of how we understand even creativity and how we grow from it, is what we consume from it. So the reason why that's one of the questions I love answering is because it is such a human and natural response because of the way society is built what creativity means, and where I love to start is sharing about you know think about exercise. No matter how much Tiffany trusts me as a person, if I say, guess what, I'm going to be healthy for life because I went to a 10-hour workout routine yesterday and I'm good. And Tiffany is like, "Yep, no. I don't believe." Because that's not how our physical body works, like you have to do stretches every day, how you sleep, how you eat, all of that matters because it impacts how our physical body functions and how it, as a body and how routines that help. If that's how much effort it takes to think about health and our physical matter, how does it work for our mental? And I think that's where a lot of the misnotion is, you know, those small steps are really critical. And there's a reason why there's a lot of different exercises, you know, for instance, I don't have to run a marathon to know that I'm healthy. And that should be the same thing to think about, just because you don't feel like you are feeling in tune to quote quote creative in the traditional art space. That's just like you liking different form of exercises because you know how your body works. And so what is even more important is, once you understand how to debunk how creativity is for all of us, is then thinking more about okay then, what is actually the piece that ignites me to want to be creative? What does that actually mean for me? And how do I then make time for it? But we need to actually start from that first piece and acknowledge that, oh it was okay why I felt that way because the way I've been consuming and learning about it was misinformed. The second thing I like to share as an example, if that still grasping hard for folks is like think about food. I hope Tiffany would say this, but Tiffany would probably not hate me if I said, "Tiffany, let's have Pad Thai today but tomorrow I'm gonna feel like sushi. And then the next day I might want to have pasta and then the next day I just might want to have salad." She's going to be like, "Monica is a weirdo. She likes always different foods." No.
Tiffany Yu: I like all those foods too.
Monica Kang: Yet, the reason why-- like it's mind boggling to think that, then why do we then see creativity as one form if it's okay for us to love all these different foods, love all these different ways of exercising? There should be other ways that we like to strengthen our creative muscle and how we feel alive to be creative. And so there's absolutely a way that works for you as you're all listening. You just have to know what it is and if you don't know it, that's probably the starting point of exploring, what is something that I felt last creative and alive?
Tiffany Yu: I love that and I think to your point, what's been interesting-- so one of one of the episodes I chatted with our social health expert Kasley Killam, and she talked about how right now during this time of quarantine, managing our social health, staying connected is super important. For introverts, that might mean a one on one conversation, for an extrovert, it might mean joining a 25 person dance party. All of those are okay, right, but there is this misconception that introverts just want to sit by themselves alone, like we all still have that desire for human connection. So I'm actually going to take a quick break right here and when we come back, we'll continue this conversation with Monica Kang from Innovators Box.
[break]
Tiffany Yu: And you're back with Tiffany Yu. You're listening to this episode of Tiffany & Yu with the CEO and Founder of InnovatorsBox, Monica Kang. Hi, Monica.
Monica Kang: Hi!
Tiffany Yu: So before the break, we were chatting about-- There are many of us, myself included, who say "Oh creativity? That's not for me." And Monica explained how, similar to the different ways that we exercise or the different ways we consume food, we're all going to have different preferences in terms of how we tap into our creativity. I think one of the things I wanted to ask you-- So you mentioned you know as much when you were working in in the corporate world, would you consider that the corporate world?
Monica Kang: That was more the government world.
Tiffany Yu: When you when you were working in the government world, as much as you loved the work you did, you did feel you feel depressed sometimes, you had suicidal ideation. I want to tap into kind of like the benefits of creativity for your mental health or for any other aspect of your life. Why is creativity important?
Monica Kang: Absolutely. So so many ways to address, let me--
Tiffany Yu: And I guess I'll step in here to say, you know one of the things that I've found in terms of tapping into my own creativity is really tapping into inner child Tiffany, and this playfulness and this joy. And as someone and you and I have chatted about this before, but as someone who has experienced childhood trauma and has been on a grief journey, I'm acknowledging that I can sit in these places of doing the mental health work I need to do there and healing, but also doing the mental health work to really tap into joy, to really tap into playfulness.
Monica Kang: It's important to understand creativity in situations even like this, even more so like this, because when you know how to tap into your creative mind, you have the skill to understand how your mind works. And that's why I'm deliberate with the word choices, creative mindset and not just ending with the word creativity. Creativity is the action that forms out of what mindset and what you create. And often, when those who have seen my presentation-- I do also talk about how, in the whole innovation circuit you hear those three words, and those three words mean different, which is idea, creativity and innovation. And this is because the idea stage is when we're just with that thought. "Oh, this is a different thought. How would I mix these two objects that are completely not relatable and create a new product? How would I think about these two audiences that never worked together to collaborate, what would that mean?" And that's the idea stage. But the action stage, when we evaluate and think about what can we do, that's the creativity. And I mentioned earlier about how it's, you know, all the consistency of the small steps. It's not just doing one workshop or one exercise that's going to get you healthy or be creative, it's all the small things over time. Because when we're at that creative state, we're at a mindset of flow. And one of the things that science has constantly proved is that when we are creative, we can't be stressed out. Because our mind functions differently when we're at those two states. So in other words, if you are stressed, and you want creative solutions, you know it's not gonna work because you were stressed. And so, when you understand the science behind that. The reasoning why humans crave to be creative and want to understand that and know that it's a human part of who we are, because that's when we're expressing and thinking about how our mind processes and ignite and build on that, whatever that means for every person because it's different, again it's different for everyone. It's not just arts. Then it becomes easier to also think about that in the addressing of stress, uncertainty, I'll use probably the words that feels right now for a lot of people-- anxiety, because then I can look at those uncertainties, all those different buckets and look at them and look in a more thoughtful way. "Okay, I don't like you here. I am very uncomfortable. But I also know if I dwell with you too long, I can't be happy or be creative or all these other things that I also care about." And that's where I started again with the earlier piece about, you know, even to understand how your creativity works, the self awareness piece actually is key. And that's still the same case in answering why it's important to understand creative mindset, even in panic and uncertainty. And so on the other hand, if you have a strong creative mindset, which is something that I've been trying to help more companies, leaders, and you know every individual around the world, because when you do, you build resilience, you build understanding of like, "Okay. I have no control over what's happening out in the world other than what I can do is stay home, stay protected, but I can also focus on how I spend time with the way I consume everything and stay healthy and positive minded because I know, once I choose to do that. I can spend that day being more positive and curious. I can spend that day being more exploratory instead of staying in negativity." And so that was when I realized, it really helped me get out of it. Because people asked me like you seemed happier than when you were before, and I didn't know that. I didn't actually know what the cause was and it was only in hindsight for me to recognize. That's why InnovatorsBox, the way it was formed was because I knew something helped me but even when I first went through, I didn't realize it. That's why, in a way, if it takes this crisis for more people to understand why it's so important to build that self awareness, to understand how our mind works, and know how to kick in our creativity, no matter what that situation is, I hope that would help help more people build resilience, less fear. I think it's okay for us to be scared, but then know how to walk with fear instead of feeling scared and remaining in that feeling. So those are some things I wanted to share.
Tiffany Yu: There was so much in that that I just want to repeat back. So one is, you know, how you talked about the fact that tapping into this creative mindset kind of is that the antithesis of feeling anxious or feeling stressed, and one of the pieces of feedback that I got, at least me working through my grief journey, was that play was the antithesis of that, right. So when I was sitting in these moments of play, I wasn't dwelling on my grief or sitting in that darker place. The second thing you said was really around this-- so as we're recording this, we are in the midst of our coronavirus pandemic. And many of us came into this with many feelings of stress and overwhelm and anxiety. And Monica and I actually just finished a conversation-- she has this positivity series. And we just had a conversation and after our conversation about all the things that are bringing us joy right now, I just felt so much, so much happier. And so just being able to like tap into that conversation. And then the last thing you said was like who wouldn't want more resilience. Right. And I remember seeing an article that said, the number one most admired trait from recruiters or, you know, people who are looking into job candidates is grit. It's the ability to, you know, work through your adversity, become more resilient, have this like grit to just keep trying again. So I just wanted to highlight that all of that was in this beautiful response that you just provided us. But I guess one of the things I wanted to ask you and I think I know what the answer so this might be a leading question, but would you say that all of us have that creative mind?
Monica Kang: Absolutely. And for some, if that starting point means that I don't believe in that idea, then that's where you start. For others, it might be that "You know what, that's true. I haven't done this in a while." Then start with that. I think what's important to also know is that every person's journey, whether it's building on what you already know, or reconnecting to something that you almost thought you forgot that you had, then that's good. Start where you feel comfortable. Don't try to compare with somebody that you see online, or see somebody else do certain ways as the measurement stick. Focus on where you are now and where you want to be. And I love one of the quotes, I believe it was Bill Gates, I'll have to double check, but he talks about how you know we underestimate-- Oh, actually I do have it in my book. Like, I love this quote so much that I put it here. And it goes back to the perspective, oh yes Bill Gates. "Most people overestimate what they can do in one year. And underestimate what they can do in 10 years." And I think when we put that into perspective, whether it's that you wanted to figure out how you can be more creative and what that means for you, take that into notion, and start with concrete mini goals from-- If that one thing is that you know what, okay that's great Monica then I'm going to make time to do creative but I don't know where to start. So that's your starting point. Take the next month, and see what is at least two things you can do differently in your routine or one thing for five minutes. Make it doable and consistently doable. And it's important to celebrate because if it's fun, going back to Tiffany saying, playful, then we're more likely to be curious. "Oh, I wonder why that didn't just feel right, or like I wonder why I wasn't as excited about this when I thought it was." That's all now intel, you have more data points. Data people, that's now data points. You reinterpret that in the way that you can process this and now you're learning so much about yourself. And that's where I think the resilience and the grit and those insights come together because, as you're learning more about your creativity and your creative mindset, you get to understand more about how you're processing and feeling your thought is to know how to also build more positivity and abundance mindset even at times of scarcity.
Tiffany Yu: I love that. So you mentioned take-- changing something in our day for five minutes. I'd love to give our listeners like some concrete ways that they can tap into their own creative mindset, understanding that we all have different starting points. So let's say I really just have no idea where to start, you mentioned changing something for five minutes. Do you have any other tips of things I can do to really to really tap into that place?
Monica Kang: Another place I like to start. I'll give two other suggestions. One is kind of doing a quick check in, what are the knowns and the unknowns and the unknown unknowns you think. And can do this in a couple of different topics. I think one topic that you want to think about is what you love. So what are the things you know you love and you care about? What are the things that you're not sure if you like it or not? And the unknown unknowns. Let's say when you do that, you realize you know what, I just realized I love reading books. Okay, so then let's use that as a curiosity point of view, and explore. In the next month, what are at least two different books that you would read that is not in a topic that you've ever read? Just start there. Or maybe you found that you love movies. And you actually have a whole collection. Okay, can you look up the artists, the actors, the movie directors? Learn a little bit about their history, what inspired them to even want to build that? Why is it that you like those movies more than others? So I told you when we talked about you know the analytic background like that's okay, bring that out. This is me actually really analyzing almost, right. I'm like analyzing now, like I go into this whole rabbit hole, like, oh, Tiffany, did you know this history, this movie director met this person at this time, and this life event led to this, and then because the whole exciting point of view. And so what I what I hope people are hearing from these examples is that being creative does not mean just creating as an action, it has to start with what you're consuming how you stay curious to get into the flow of creativity.
Tiffany Yu: So tell me if this is creative. So I'm five feet tall. And one thing I like to do is I like to look up other celebrities who are my height and look at how they're dressing or their sense of style and really try to better understand like, oh, are they really-- do they really, you know, celebrate the fact that they're five feet tall, are they dressing in a way that makes them look taller or are they like that?
Monica Kang: Yes. And it depends more on how you use that information and how you're processing that to do what with it. Because I think often what then could get a little murky is, and this is a gray area, which is a beautiful piece is that-- when we are permitting ourselves to be creative, more curious, and courageous-- a lot of C's the words you know-- and Asians, we don't like to get C's, but there are a lot of good C's in the words. Actually I'm going to use the word clarity, we're gonna feel more clarity in that, you know what I realized while researching all these different fashions outfits, I'm curious about this because I think I care about-- I'm always curious why people choose to show themselves. Why do I care about that? I wonder why I care about that. Well maybe because I care about how I share my voice with the world. Or maybe because I am upset about how certain people don't get to share that world. Maybe that's the kind of thing, or maybe I just love fashion, that's great too. But I think the key is that what you choose to do with it. And the more consistently you think about how you assess how your mind wanders and like navigates that, then it becomes a beautiful thing of like "Oh, if I had to build a product out of that, what would that look like? Oh, what would be the pain point? Why should I even care about it? Who will be my audience? It doesn't have to be just like products but the key is what I hope you're hearing through this is, practice-- get used to comfortable and be comfortable with all these different questioning, because it's tapping into your curiosity. It's tapping into, not just like blah, but I wonder why not, I wonder why? Another phrase I love that I help people think about as a starting point is, whenever you feel like you're making a statement or blah, whatever that reaction point is, change the phrase and just say, "I noticed. And I wonder." Just start with that. Because how we feel reaction, whether that's, "Oh, I don't feel creative" or "Oh, I have no idea how this fashion interest is going to lead me." That's a reaction and that's okay. But when we know how to tap into our creativity and process that and take the courage to explore that, then we might understand more about how we respond. Because reaction and response are two different things. You can be okay to feel how you're reacting to situations, even this whole conversation of like, "I'm not sure if I'm ready." If that's your initial reaction, but your choice of what you do with, that's your response. I think when we know how to tap into our creativity, because we know that it is taking a risk. It is asking us to do something wild. We get more curious, courageous, and get comfortable with uncomfortable and uncertainty, which is where the resilience comes.
Tiffany Yu: So, what does the 2.0 version of this look like? So let's say, well actually I just love that tip of kind of like picking something you're already interested in, whether it's books or movies, what you need me think about was actually my love of earrings, and that those couple of times where I've just like bought earrings that I thought were totally not me. And they were very loud and very large, and I wear them anyway, and I just felt, I felt totally different when I wore them because I was having so much fun with it. Yeah, just shifting something in something that you already love. So let's say that you've done that, is there a 2.0 version of it or have you tapped into that creative mind space?
Monica Kang: Absolutely. So that's the beginning point, because it's hard for us to create or be creative when we are not curious or don't have enough materials to start with. So everything that we just discussed. That's basically you gathering like materials in your mind. You tapping into all these random knowledges, random resources, random things that you love and you don't like. It's also very important to understand what you don't like and why, and be curious about that, because that's again a data point. And so for those who are like, oh yeah I've already been doing that very well, where do I go from here? Then let's think about how do you now then hone that into what creativity means for you? So for some, it might be expressing that through writing. For others, it might be speaking. For others, it might be product development. For others, it might be just like talking about that and bringing people together. Whatever that is, then you want to explore but how would I amplify that? How would I make time of doing that consistently? And how would I ever make sure to dig that even deeper to see what is a part of that element that is really bringing me joy? So let's talk about product development as one example. Product development, it might be that you like the creating part of the product development, or it might be that you like the part when people receive that product and they are so mesmerized or it might be the place that, because of the product development you brought these different people together. You're seeing how they ideate and work together and just gel on that and you get excited about it. And again, it goes back to that first point which I said it's still self awareness. And so to even get to that 2.0 to 3.0, 4.0, I believe, and I think consistently I've seen throughout history, people who are very creative minded are very self aware. And is even more curious how they can do more of that. And at times, they might be the one who is not the loudest because they're actively listening. They might be the one who has all these odd jobs because they were just so curious, but they focused on building. And so yes, consume all these things, stay curious. Then through that, think about what intrigues you to want to create it and why that's something you care. And then probably that next third stage is even when you want to express it. And for some that express might be, I'm just going to tell to my parents. I'm just going to tell to my kids. I'm just going to tell to my colleagues. And that's your form of expression. It doesn't always have to be everyone in the world. Because when we circle through that well, we're probably happy. We feel alive, our minds are flowing and listening with limitless potentials and thoughts, and we use constraints in a more powerful way to build on that. Oh, because of this being a situation, what would I do with it?
Tiffany Yu: Yeah. So we are-- many of us are in our homes sheltering in place right now. What are you hoping that we learn or that we're doing during this time that we can then bring out when we emerge out of shelter in place?
Monica Kang: I think self awareness is a key part. Take this time to get to know, what's something that you're noticing that brings you joy? What's something that you are noticing that makes you sad? Knowing that actually really helps. What makes you-- What are the things that you feel when you talk to certain groups of people? Why's that feeling coming across? What are the things that you do that you lose track of time? Why is that the case? What's something that you've done that you had to laugh out loud and you just could not stop laughing? What's something that you did that, you know, you realize that you were sharing your best strength and you cannot wait to hone that craft? Whatever that is, I think the more we are curious, wanting to dive into that, then it becomes a natural thing of, "Oh because I'm so curious about how these two together. I wonder what that creation might be. Okay, let me take a little bit of courage and try that out and start that." So be self aware, take the time to get to know you, and if it starts with just starting with those two questions, Why do I like these and why do I not like these? Why do we love this and why do I not? What can I do about it while I'm staying home or if you're out and about? Start there. Explore ways how you do it consistently and think about how you see the progress. Because if we're also not taking the time to reflect and see how the journey goes, we might miss on the beautiful flowers that is right in front of us, because we're so focused on the end goal. So don't rush through it, enjoy the journey through it, and I think I hope that is part of the journey that you learn how being creative is bringing so much joy. It's not just-- There's no end to it. That's the amazing piece of it.
Tiffany Yu: Yeah, that's, that's beautiful. And you and I have both chatted about how I've been, I have this new thing I do every day ,which is like close every day with six minutes of gratitude journaling. And it's been a really powerful exercise for me because a couple days ago I was actually in a really bad mood. And I wrote in my gratitude journal around how, number one, I'm grateful that I can be at home, and still be in a bad mood, but then it got me really thinking through, okay what caused that? Why did it affect me in that way? And then the past couple of days have been much better, but I think the advice, don't rush through it.
Monica Kang: Absolutely.
Tiffany Yu: And this whole thing it's a journey, right, creative mindset, it's a journey. So, I'd love to close the conversation there. If people want to find you, where is the best place to do that?
Monica Kang: I'm on social media platforms so LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, but love connecting especially on LinkedIn and Instagram if you do, find Monica Kang or InnovatorsBox. And my handles are a little all different so I will share that with you in the chatroom. But find me, I would love to connect and I have also a lot of free tools and resources as well as videos onto these topics that I hope will inspire you to find what your creative jams is. I just hope that, whether it is you tuning in and exploring what that might be or us connecting to explore that more, I just hope that we can help create a world together that is more full of color and limitless and that's what we're on the mission for. Thank you for having me.
Tiffany Yu: Thanks so much, Monica.
Tiffany Yu: Thanks for listening to this episode of Tiffany & Yu. This is your host, Tiffany Yu. If you enjoyed this conversation, please leave us a rating and write us a review over at Apple Podcasts. It allows these conversations and these episodes to be discovered by other podcast listeners. I’m hoping that we can co-create something here that’s valuable for you, so to the extent that you have feedback or other topics you’d like us to explore, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find us at http://tiffanyyu.com/podcast. And a special shoutout to RootHub for our opening and closing podcast medleys. We release episodes weekly, so I hope that you’ll join us next week for the next episode.
[closing medley by RootHub]