The Shinah Show – Details, episodes & analysis

“I’m still afraid to put myself out there because now there are so many more experienced calligraphers than there were back then.” - Shinah

Today I’m talking about one of the biggest fears that keeps calligraphers from putting themselves out there – competition.

When you’re just starting out, you may think that NO ONE will want to pay you for your calligraphy – but in reality, you are so wrong. Not everyone wants to spend thousands of dollars to address their wedding invitations in calligraphy (but perhaps they ARE willing to spend a few hundred on an up-and-coming calligrapher who has the skills to get the job done).

Join me on this episode of “The Shinah Show” as I share real life examples of beginner calligraphers who landed well-paying jobs just by putting themselves out there (and how they did it!). I’m also sharing the fears I hear from students all the time, and how to:

• Ditch the “calligraphy bubble” & the lies it tells your brain 
• Quit catastrophizing (and why it’s successes worst enemy)
• Set yourself apart from “all the other calligraphers”
• Focus on the non-financial benefits of a creative side-hustle to motivate you, and help you think less “black and white”, and more about what’s possible if you just step a little out of your comfort zone

I have met COUNTLESS students who have feared competition & putting themselves out there. But once they did, they never looked back (and were soooo happy they did it!). I hope this episode inspires you to pursue your creative passions and be your truest self.

Wanna hear about the EASIEST way to start a calligraphy biz?? Click HERE to listen to episode 52 of “The Shinah Show” – Easiest Way to Start Your Biz!

Let's tackle those fears together!!
We're right in the middle of my “Newbie To Pro Calligrapher” Challenge - and there's still plenty of time to jump in! Lessons & videos will remain posted in our Facebook Group. so you can catch up on your own time! Join HERE so you don’t miss the free lessons, daily prizes, and tactical business tips.

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“I’m no longer afraid to put myself out there... Because of my hearing loss, I’ve always been a little intimidated by new people. But calligraphy has given me a great deal of confidence. And I’m proud of my work.” -  Amanda Nicole Borne

Today, I’m talking to my student Amanda - a substitute teacher and calligraphy biz owner who is also dealing with progressive hearing loss. 

There’s SO MUCH VALUE in our conversation, including:

• How calligraphy has provided connection and confidence, despite hearing loss
• Creative ways to get calligraphy jobs that I’ve NEVER HEARD of before - with NO social media!
• How Amanda is using the profits from her calligraphy biz (hint: it involves international travel and life-threatening surgery for her husband)

Amanda took our calligraphy courses during the pandemic, despite both her and her husband losing their jobs… and she says the investment was “Absolutely worth it. It’s not like taking a trip, where you do it once and then only have the memories. I learned a SKILL that I can use for the rest of my life.”

Find Amanda at LoveLettersByAmandaCalligraphy.com

Get started on YOUR calligraphy journey for FREE with my “Newbie To Pro Calligrapher” Challenge starting September 2nd! Join HERE so you don’t miss the free lessons, daily prizes, and tactical business tips. 

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“What if it goes RIGHT?!?”

Jana Ricci began her company “Fishtail Flourish” after stepping away from a 6-figure career as a Director of Marketing. Finally giving herself permission to do something for herself, she became immersed in my calligraphy courses during COVID - and never looked back.

Jana spends a lot of her time in (go figure) the small town of Fishtail, Montana. Tapping into her “posse”, she quickly picked up a job teaching calligraphy and spreading her love of calligraphy within her community. These days she can be found around town hosting classes, networking, and creating commissioned pieces for individuals as well as charity events.
Join me as I speak with Jana and discover:

• How to shed your identity & say out loud who you truly are (don’t compare!)
• Why starting SLOW is still starting
• How my Biz Starter Guide course was extraordinarily useful – even for someone who came from the corporate world
• Why it doesn’t matter how many calligraphers are out there (*spoiler alert* they aren’t you!)

It is so important to hold the belief in yourself that you can succeed FIRST - then everything else will fall into place. I hope this inspires you to do so.

Jana Ricci can be found at:
@fishtailflourish
Fishtailflourish.com

Ready to take your creative business to the next level?! My Biz Starter Guide Course is open for enrollment right now through July 7th, 2024!
Come join me and learn how to establish your business easily - and without the headaches and stress of doing it yourself! Want even more help?? I'm opening my "Inner Circle" Business Program to a handful of students, where we'll be doing a deep-dive into establishing your business with one-on-one coaching from me! Click HERE for all the info!

FOLLOW SHINAH: 

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram:  @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“Is it easy for you to know what you want?”

- Shinah

Picture this: you wake up and realize that you have an entire day to yourself. You can do literally anything — you have no responsibilities or obligations.

Do you know right away what you would do?

Or do you feel lost or anxious just thinking about it?

How you answer these questions depends on how strong your ‘want muscle” is. 

What the heck is a want muscle, you ask? I define the want muscle as the ability to be deeply connected to what you truly desire at any given time, free of outside influences.

If you have a strong want muscle, you definitely have some good ideas about what you want! You could probably name a list of things right now if I asked you. You’re probably really decisive and have no trouble being the one to pick a restaurant for a date!

On the other hand, if you have a weak want muscle… making decisions is probably a lot more difficult for you. You may even struggle to figure out exactly what it is that you even want! Chances are you’re happy to go along with the crowd, instead of choosing the things that would actually bring you the most joy.

My want muscle was so weak that I spent ten years of my life as a lawyer... even though it made me miserable! 

The want muscle is a concept I learned from a coach of mine, and it totally changed my mindset. Because you know what you can do with muscles? You can build them up and strengthen them.

No need for a warm-up, we can start working that muscle right now! All you have to do is hit play!

Tune into this episode of The Shinah Show to find out:

• How to identify whether or not you have a weak want muscle — and what may have caused it 
• The impact that having a weak want muscle can have the way you live your life
• How to strengthen your want muscle so you can pursue what makes you happy!

Highlights:‌ ‌

• 01:20  The ‘want muscle’
• 02:05  Is your want muscle weak?
• 03:22  Why ‘wanting’ isn’t that easy
• 04:50  What led to my weak want muscle
• 05:59  What happens when you have a weak want muscle?
• 07:41  Shift your mindset & identify what you DON’T want
• 08:52  Learn how to listen to yourself
• 10:20  Identify the outside influences
• 11:29  Free resource for you!

Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“I was just really afraid to waste anything, and it was holding me back from trying a lot of things in my life.”

- Shinah

Fear of “waste” and letting go of the things that bring you down can prevent you from finding the things that light you up!

Fear of wasting something (time, money, effort, etc) is what keeps people in jobs that they hate. It’s what keeps people in bad or even abusive relationships. It’s what keeps people from switching their majors in college, even after they’re totally sure that their first choice was the wrong one.

The idea of “waste” is something I’ve struggled with for my entire life.

It’s definitely what kept me practicing corporate law even when I KNEW that it made me miserable.

I held off on quitting for so long because I’d put ten years into studying law, taking the bar exam, and building my career.

I thought that if I quit my job and tried to do something else instead, all of those years would have been a waste.

A waste of all that time. A waste of a ton of money. A waste of a huge amount of effort.

Letting go of something you’ve spent a lot of time on can feel wrong, or uncomfortable, or even scary. But I’m here to tell you: you’ve gotta do it!

Leaving my work as a lawyer ended up being the best possible thing that I could have done. I’m so much happier as a creative entrepreneur than I ever was as a corporate lawyer!

I know this is a topic that affects a lot of you as well, because every time I talk about my programs I get messages from people talking about their fear of waste. 

Your fear of waste may not be keeping you from anything as drastic as switching careers, but I can promise you that it’s holding you back from something that could potentially bring you joy.

So let’s dive in and talk about exactly why fear of waste should NOT be the thing that holds you back from creative expression and exploring your interests! 

Tune into this episode of The Shinah Show to find out:

• The two biggest questions I get about wasting time and effort  
• Why the sunk cost fallacy is a powerful argument against sticking with the things that don’t light you up 
• Why the real truth is that NOTHING is actually a waste!

Highlights:‌ ‌

• 00:52  Why talk about waste?
• 02:20  Growing up with the idea of waste
• 03:16  The dark side of not being wasteful
• 04:39  The sunk cost fallacy
• 08:51  Destination v. journey
• 10:57  Pivoting
• 13:13  Nothing is a waste!
• 15:09  Free resource for you!

Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“Stop putting such a burden on yourself to find your ‘passion.’ Maybe just go find yourself some passionate practice!”

- Shinah

In this episode, I’m going to debunk a myth.

The myth of passion.

Our society has some really strong beliefs about the nature of passion. It’s supposed to be this thing that ties us to our innate purpose in life — think of examples like Mozart or LeBron James. 

Passion is supposed to be this thing that lives inside us and draws us to our fate — and once we find that destiny, we’re supposed to somehow just excel at it automatically!

For the longest time, I felt like there was something wrong with me, because I never seemed to have that passion. In my last episode, I mentioned that I tried a long list of creative pursuits and never really felt passionate about any of them.

I tried woodworking, painting, making jewelry… you name it.

None of it ever lit me up. And I didn’t discover any hidden, amazing talent.

Maybe you feel the same way and don’t really have a creative outlet that sparks your interest.

But here’s the thing: I just hadn’t developed mine before I tried calligraphy. And I wasn’t a total pro when I first started, either!

So, let’s reframe the thinking about passion: passion is not something you find somewhere. It’s not your soulmate. It’s not out there waiting for you and it’s not your destiny.

The truth is that creative passion is something that you cultivate through practice.

And in the latest episode of The Shinah Show, I break down the how and why of unlocking it!

Tune in to find out:

• What goes into the myth of passion and why you need to reject it right now  
• The three ‘somethings’ that will help you develop your own passionate practice 
• Why developing a passionate practice doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve discovered your lifelong destiny — and why that is totally okay! 

Highlights:‌ ‌

• 00:39  The myth of passion
• 02:55  Why the idea of innate passion is a myth
• 04:08  #1: something you enjoy
• 05:07  #2: something that you can see progress in
• 06:15  #3: something that you can work towards
• 07:35  Passionate practice doesn’t equal destiny
• 09:00  What I’ve observed in my students
• 10:15  Finding passion changes lives
• 11:35  Free resource for you! ‌

Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

Facebook: facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“After I quit law and started exploring creatively on purpose… this felt different to me.”

- Shinah

Before discovering creativity, I worked as a corporate securities lawyer (which is as boring as it sounds), working incredibly long days. Before quitting law, I was yearning for some sort of creative expression or outlet in my life.

I explored many, many different creative things before falling in love with calligraphy  and eventually turning it into a super-successful business. 

So, some of you may be wondering — why calligraphy?

That’s exactly what I’m going to explain in this episode of The Shinah Show.

To do that, I want to break down the way that I approached creativity during three very different eras in my life: while I was still working as a lawyer, while I was in my ‘discovery phase’ after quitting law, and after I found my calling as a calligrapher and calligraphy teacher.

Before I quit law, I tried a long list of things like jewelry-making, watercolor painting, and woodworking, without really finding a level of connection. Let’s just say that I dabbled — I’d try something out, maybe stick with it for a few weeks or months, and then let the supplies gather dust in a closet somewhere.

It wasn’t until after I quit law that creativity started to feel more... intentional.

It felt like I was exploring on (and with) purpose — and accepting an invitation to myself to learn from my explorations.

And that shift in mindset? It was exactly what I needed to open myself up to really discovering the creative pursuit that would light me up!

Tune into this episode of The Shinah Show to find out:

• The difference between exploring creativity and exploring creativity with purpose — and why it matters
• The two reasons why calligraphy was the perfect creative vehicle for me 
• How passion and purpose actually play REALLY well together

Highlights:‌ ‌

• 00:41  Why calligraphy?
• 01:35  How I approached creativity before
• 03:12  How creativity felt post-law
• 04:40  Creativity after calligraphy
• 06:00  The purpose of purpose
• 07:24  Two reasons for choosing calligraphy
• 09:13  Find your creative purpose 
• 12:00  Free resource for you!

 ‌Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

Facebook: facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“I was raised to think that there was only one path that I could take… the traditional corporate path.”

- Shinah

So, how exactly does someone with absolutely zero business or artistic training launch and grow an almost-million-dollar business as a creative entrepreneur? 

If I hadn’t done it myself, I’d be just as confused as you!

In this episode, I dive more deeply into the nitty-gritty details of how I transformed from an unhappy corporate securities lawyer to an unsure wannabe creative entrepreneur to a wildly successful calligraphy artist and teacher who loves what she does.

(And since I love breaking things down, we’re going to tackle my story in three parts!)

My story starts back in childhood. I grew up with the idea that there was one path I needed to take in order to be successful. You know the one: study hard, get straight As, get into the best school I could, and land a prestigious job and financial stability.

As you can probably tell, perfection was a major theme during that period of my life.

To be honest, it never even occurred to me that there were other ways to be truly successful. I never really stopped to think about what I actually wanted my life to look like.

So, I took that path. I went to Harvard, got my law degree, landed the job… and felt completely miserable.

Until I decided to do something about it. 

The rest of the story? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Tune into this episode of The Shinah Show to find out:

• What finally pushed me onto the path of creative entrepreneurship  
• What I needed to do (and stop doing) in order to grow my business to $900k per year  
• Why it’s totally okay to not love EVERYTHING about running your business 

Highlights:‌

• 00:41  Let’s break it down
• 01:34  Part 1: How did I end up so miserable?
• 03:24  “Wait, what do *I* want my life to look like?”
• 05:19  The breaking point
• 05:54  Part 2: Creative exploration
• 07:02  Finding “the one”
• 07:45  Calligraphy business first steps
• 09:46  Part 3: Finding my sweet spot
• 11:14  Don’t feel guilty about not loving everything
• 13:29  Japanese concept of Ikigai
• 14:07  No overnight successes
• 15:48  The numbers
• 17:44  Stay on the path
• 18:26  The bottom line

Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“In this episode, I’m going to share with you the one shift in thinking, the one mindset trick that has allowed me to do this — build a hugely successful creative business.”

- Shinah

Fact: the way that you think of yourself and your capabilities can make or break you as you go after your creative dreams

Scary but true!

I want to share with you the one major mindset shift that has allowed me to build a hugely successful creative business that lets me live the life I want to live… when I had ZERO experience doing anything like it before.

But first, let’s get one thing clear: life doesn’t become perfect once you do something creative for a living. Being an entrepreneur has its own challenges and anxieties, and it’s not a simple 9-5 gig.

Being your own boss doesn’t solve all of your problems — it just changes the shape of the problems you face.

But... it can also change the way that you think about yourself.

I used to think of myself as pessimistic, risk-averse, and SO NOT a businessperson.

Now, I think of myself as someone who is constantly growing, learning, and getting stronger. I no longer see failure as a reason to stop trying. I see possibilities and challenges as fun, instead of intimidating.

Being an entrepreneur changed the way I think about myself, because it also changed the way I THINK.

Taking multiple risks has helped me learn how to take calculated, educated risks. Making sales and building my network has given me new confidence in my entrepreneurial abilities.

Point being: the limiting beliefs you experience now may not be true. And if they ARE, they sure don’t have to stay that way!

Tune into this episode of The Shinah Show to find out:

• The four things I used to believe about myself — and how entrepreneurship has changed my way of thinking  
• Why being wrong about yourself may actually be the most exciting thing ever 
• The social science experiment that proved the malleability of human personalities — and how this benefits you in business

Highlights:‌ ‌

• 00:10  Previous episode recap
• 01:19  Life is never perfect
• 02:55  Change how you see yourself
• 03:39  4 things I used to believe about myself
• 07:09  How I’ve changed
• 09:58  What if you’re wrong about yourself?
• 11:07  We are more malleable than we think
• 13:19  This episode’s takeaway

Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

“I actually don’t set an alarm in the morning. I just kind of wake up naturally whenever I want to wake up.”

- Shinah

I’m Shinah, a former corporate securities lawyer turned full-time calligrapher and calligraphy teacher.

My entrepreneurial journey could not have surprised anyone more than it surprised me.

Look — I practiced the most boring type of law imaginable before launching my business, Crooked Calligraphy, five years ago. I’d never really considered myself creative, or entrepreneurial, or an artist.

I wound up studying and practicing law because I thought that’s what I had to do. And once I was officially a lawyer, I thought that was it — I was stuck in this career that didn’t totally fulfill me or light me up… for the rest of my life.

I am here to tell you: I was NOT stuck… and neither are YOU.

Your brain may be telling you that your dreams are out of reach.

That you won’t be able to make money or support yourself by following your passion.

That the risk of taking that leap into trying to build your ideal life is way too high.

And that’s why I am launching this show. I want to explain how I made the transition, share the lessons I’ve learned along the way, and support you in your own journey to building the creative life that you’ve always wanted.

Tune into this episode of The Shinah Show to find out:

• What my typical day in 2021 looks like compared to 2012 — and how you can achieve the same transformation
• The importance of creating something every single day
• How your brain may be lying to you about what you’re capable of — and why you should second-guess your objections

Highlights:‌ ‌

• 00:34  The Shinah story
• 01:29  You are NOT stuck
• 02:16  A typical day in 2012 
• 05:45  A typical day in 2021
• 08:15  Build an authentic life
• 10:25  Next week ‌

Links:‌ ‌

Learn calligraphy with me: www.freecalligraphyworkshop.com

Follow me!

Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

facebook.com/crookedcalligraphy 

Show notes can be found at theshinahshow.com

Watch these episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJJZS9jYDmzePAnaGDiFuw 

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

FREE WORKSHOP:

• “How to Become a Calligraphy Pro” Educational Workshop

FOLLOW SHINAH:

• Join our community of creativity-seeking souls over on Instagram: @crookedcalligraphy

SUBSCRIBE:

• Love podcasts? Listen to The Shinah Show wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!