Ellen Lubin-Sherman: A Creative Journey

Ellen Lubin-Sherman got her start in business feeding gossip items to Liz Smith, the esteemed former gossip columnist at the New York Daily News. Those early days of name-dropping were the perfect foundation for her later work in cultivating and branding identities for some of the country’s most luxurious products. Today she uses that expertise to coach corporations and business leaders in the art of creating a polished presentation.

Today, in addition to executive coaching and consulting, Ellen is a sought-after speaker for companies and groups that are desperate to know how they can become fabulous.

You can find out more about Ellen and her work on her site The Essentials of Fabulous.

1. Creativity is important because….

Creativity comes in many different guises.  For some people, it’s cooking.  Or interior design. Or gardening, personal style, writing and performing.  Creativity is a wonderful gift but it must be cultivated and protected from negative influences.  Creativity is important because it lifts your spirits, enhances your force, brings pleasure to others (as well as yourself). Creativity can only thrive when you make it a priority. ( click to tweet)

 _____________ is killing creativity

I’ve said it many times.  Stephen Sondheim (the great composer) could not have written “Sweeney Todd” (his masterpiece) if he was looking at his email, sending a text message, or looking at his Facebook.  Social media is marvelous but creativity requires flow.  Flow is the ability to lose track of time because you’re completely engaged with whatever you are doing. I’m also a big champion of daydreaming.  I like to listen to my head instead of someone’s voice.  I like to fantasize, observe, create imaginary narratives of people I’m watching.

 I get the best creative ideas when I’m….

I am especially productive and deeply creative when I’m ironing or driving my car.  I keep a pad and pen in my laundry room.  I have a pad and pen in my glove compartment.  If the muse alights when I’m driving, I’ll pull over and write down what I just heard in my head.  In fact, I’ve written at least fifty percent of my blogs in my head before I touch the keyboard.  I don’t listen to music or talk radio.  I listen to my inner voice, the writer’s voice.

 My top 3 sources of creativity are…

I read a lot.  And I’m not a snob.  I’ll read the tabloids while on the supermarket line as well as The New Yorker.  I’m always reading.  My three top sources of creativity are personal observations, the New York Times, and listening to friends talk about their lives in a deep and meaningful way.  My most recent blog was about cluelessness about money.  A friend lamented she knew nothing about her family affairs.  That spurred me to write about it.

 When I need a new idea I…..

I read humor because it loosens me up.  I’ll pick up a favorite book and just open to a page and read it.  Laughing out loud is the antidote for a temporary creative block.

 When something isn’t working the way that I planned it to I…

I used to get wild and nervous when things didn’t work out and I realized I was writing myself into a corner.  Now I know to step away from the material.  I’m hyper-critical of my own work so I’m always tempted to delete material because I feel “it isn’t working.”  Some of my funniest pieces were in the “something isn’t working out” category. Not everything works and not everything has potential.  I stop what I’m doing and move to a new topic.

  I create because…

I don’t play tennis.  I don’t golf.  I didn’t like to take my children on “play dates.”  The truth is I have very few hobbies.  I know how to write.  I know how to write the way I speak.  I know how to be conspiratorial with my readers.  I love creating stories.

 My work is about…

Entertaining people with my observations.  Motivating people to keep going and believe there’s something out there for all of us and we cannot stop until we find it.  Psychoanalytically speaking, I grew up as a lonely child and relied upon my imagination to keep me company.  Writing is a balm for me.  Yes, it’s hard work.  But it’s not lonely because I’m enjoying my own company.