PerfectWhelm with Eric Slivoskey: The Podcast That Helps Enhance Your Life · Eric Slivoskey, life coach

51. Write Your Own Rhythm: Music, Motivation, and the Creative Process - Part 1 of my Conversation with Jerald Simon

·58 min·3 clips

Gerald argues that music and motivation shape nearly everything, from sporting events to meditation at 60 beats per minute.

Eric begins with a warm holiday update from St. George, Utah. He talks about Thanksgiving with family and friends. There are hikes, sunny weather, football, good food, and Christmas lights. He also mentions a board game called Crokinole, which came as a gift from his uncle David and aunt Meg, who visited from California. The conversation then settles into the larger themes of the episode. Eric frames the show around the space between stagnation and high anxiety, where growth can happen without burning out. He talks about values, beliefs, resilience, and goal setting. The focus keeps returning to what makes a life feel meaningful and sustainable. One of the central ideas is the difference between doing and being. Eric pushes against the tendency to define a person only by a job or a career. The conversation opens up around the phrase creator instead of composer or author. That broader identity matters because it leaves room for more than one kind of making. Music is part of it. Writing is part of it. Gardening can be part of it too. The episode treats creativity as a habit of becoming rather than a narrow role. There is also a strong emphasis on self-inquiry. Listeners are asked to consider what they love. They are asked what they cannot stop thinking about. They are asked what gives them joy when they get up in the morning. Those questions are used as a way to find direction without forcing an answer. The talk stays grounded in lived experience rather than theory. It has the feel of a long, thoughtful conversation rather than a polished lecture. The host keeps circling back to practical steps. Specific plans matter. Deadlines matter. Accountability matters. That kind of structure gives an idea a better shot at becoming real. The episode closes on that note of steadiness and follow-through. It is less about dramatic reinvention than about making room to create in a way that lasts.

As heard by us

A quiet case for creativity as identity, not just output.

This episode lands on a plain but useful idea: creativity is less about labels and more about becoming the kind of person who keeps making things. Eric Stavosky begins with a warm holiday recap, including the first Thanksgiving in St.

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Why you'd press play

When your creativity needs structure more than hype, this episode points you back toward being before doing.

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