🔥 Fireside Chat: Slam Poet IN-Q (Oprah’s SuperSoul 100)
You'll never look at poetry the same way
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Meet IN-Q.
IN-Q is an award-winning poet. Multi-platinum songwriter. Bestselling author. And Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 Thought Leader.
If you don’t follow IN-Q. You should.
His poetry is rhythmic, authentic, emotional, inspiring, and deep.
In our Amazon Fishbowl (fireside chat) exploring his poetry book — Inquire Within — we jammed about where IN-Q gets inspiration from, his creative process, and what specific poems symbolize.
Grab the book, write notes, draw pictures, read out loud, turn the book sideways, and tell me if you find the Easter Egg (listen to the last question)!
Insightful Lessons.
Lesson #1: Strategizing inspiration is one step away from manipulation. Do not force yourself to fill a blank page, instead, pay attention to when you are personally inspired (e.g. where are you moved, where are you annoyed).
“Don’t judge the muse when she shows up.”
Lesson #2: Marcus Aurelius said, “If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now.” Regardless of what happens in our lives, you have a choice to blame other people or to understand why something happened to you, how it shaped you into who you are and finding gratitude in it in order to find forgiveness.
IN-Q talks about his journey to forgiveness when describing the most difficult poem to write (about his Dad).
Brené Brown found that folks who can lean fully into joy, have one thing in common, gratitude (Brené’s hypothesis was spirituality).
Measure courage by assessing one’s capacity for vulnerability.
Lesson #3: You have to be willing not to be liked in order to be loved. It took IN-Q’s whole life to be comfortable being silent with other people, to not feel like he had to do something.
Lesson #4: It feels uncomfortable to be a student again. But the only way to grow is to learn and then unlearn. Constantly construct and then deconstruct. Exploration is what life is about, it’s a grand adventure, so stay curious just a little longer.
Lesson #5: Be adaptable to the reality of what is happening rather than your own expectations. IN-Q said he has had so many amazing failures and did not make any money until he was past 30 years old (try being a poet in modern-day America and figuring out how to monetize while maintaining artistic integrity).
Writing effectively is a crucial skill, but writing memorably is a superpower. Rhymes and alliteration work. Supercharge your writing by reading poetry.
Thanks for the inspiration IN-Q and to Dee Murthy for connecting the dots! 🙏
“Defining myself
Is like confining myself
So I undefined myself
To find myself”
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“Fly High, Burn Bright, Be Curious.”