🎨 Unblock Your English The Artist's Way

Hey Reader,

Speaking a second language is an art, so if your English feels blocked, you have to treat it like a creative block.

Thankfully, there's a teacher who has spent the last 30 years solving creative blocks. Her name is Julia Cameron, and she's the author of the timeless book, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. The Artist's Way has sold over 5 million copies and been translated into 40 languages.

Today, I'll share the most actionable takeaways from The Artist's Way and show you how to unblock your English with them.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

– Pablo Picasso

Here's the main message of The Artist's Way: You were born an artist, with an artist brain, full of wonder and playfulness.

Then you got older. You developed a logical brain full of thoughts and fears. It made you overthink things, avoid any chance of failure, and forget your artist brain. So if you want to be an artist, you have to recover your artist brain.

Does that remind you of anything? It should, because you were also born a language learner, with a language-learning brain.

You learned to speak your first language by mimicking adults, making up words, and laughing at yourself the whole time. You didn't know what grammar was. You didn't care what people thought. You were just having fun and learning from your mistakes.

Then you got older. You developed a logical brain full of fears and thoughts, and this is the brain you used to learn English. You tried to think your way to fluency, accumulating knowledge so that one day, when you felt ready, you could finally speak.

But that's not how it works, for language or any other art. Not if you want to put them in use.

Luckily, you don't need to build an artist brain or a language-learning brain from scratch. They're both still a part of you. All you need to do is recover them.

And that's where Julia Cameron's life's work can help. The Artist's Way presents a 12-week program known as the "artistic recovery." It also makes a connection between your creativity and your spirituality and is a wonderful book worth reading in full, regardless of your goals.

However, this email will focus on the most actionable takeaways for you, a language learner trying to unblock their speaking.

Here they are, along with some ideas on how you can start using them in your language practice today:

Write Your Morning Language Pages
Take Yourself on Language Dates
Uncover Your Language Blocks
Become a Beginner Again
Allow Yourself to Play

1. Write Your Morning Language Pages

“The morning pages teach logic brain to stand aside and let artist brain play.”

– Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

The most non-negotiable action is the morning pages.

Morning pages are 3 pages of writing what you're thinking about (i.e. stream of consciousness), without editing it, early every morning. That's about 750 words about whatever's on your mind. And since the point is to stop overthinking, there's no wrong way of doing it.

By getting all your "bad" writing out, you're making space for the good stuff to come out. It also helps you make a habit of shutting your logic brain out, because the only way to overcome your fears and blocks is through action, not by waiting until you're "ready."

Morning pages work the same way with your English.

If writing by hand is too big of a change, start by typing. Or even better, say them out loud. 750 words is only 5 minutes of speaking, and you can use AudioPen to transcribe yourself and get feedback. Just don't review your pages for the first couple of weeks. The point is to stop worrying about the outcome and focus on the process.

No matter which method you choose, you'll soon start feeling comfortable with the discomfort of using your English before it's perfect and eliminating your block. And by taking action and failing forward every day, you'll be on the road to recovery.

2. Take Yourself on Language Dates

"Yes, artist dates are silly—that’s the whole point."

– Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

When's the last time you immersed yourself in a hobby for hours without trying to be productive?

Daily habits are fundamental. But once those are in place, you need to make time and space to go out and play. That's why you need artist dates, the other essential part of your artistic recovery.

But unlike the date nights you plan with your partner or on Tinder, this one is with yourself. If it helps, imagine your logical self taking your artistic self to the bookstore, the movies, or the park. Just make sure you nurture your creative side and dedicate focused time to it.

If you want to unblock your English, you have to do the same and take yourself on language dates.

Watch a movie with no subtitles, get lost in the English section of a bookstore, or travel somewhere where English is dominant (i.e. not Miami). Whichever you choose, commit to the practice, make it your sacred space, and make sure you enjoy it in any language.

Remember: Creation is born from consumption and curiosity. Input leads to output. So explore, be present, pay attention, and immerse yourself in English as much as you can.

3. Uncover Your Language Blocks

"In order to recover our sense of hope and the courage to create, we must acknowledge and mourn the scars that are blocking us."

– Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

You can't course-correct a plane that's still on the runway. So once you decide to put your ego aside and get better, you have to get out of your head, and take action.

Pain points are big problems for artists and language learners because they prevent you from getting started. They lead to procrastination and avoidance, and those are two difficult habits to break. That's why it's important to uncover them as soon as possible.

Part of the language journey is to go from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence. In other words, to know what you don't know. Sometimes that's grammar or pronunciation, but other times the knowledge gap is emotional or mental.

Many learners think they're blocked by time, but that's usually a sign of a larger invisible problem. Is it motivation or discipline you need? Are you afraid of making a fool of yourself? Or do you need more accountability and support?

Whatever it is, just remember: Pain is part of the process, so you have to uncover that incompetence before you can manage it.

Identify the obstacles and find the courage to conquer your block.

4. Become a Beginner Again

"To recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner.”

– Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

The most difficult thing about getting unblocked is embracing the beginner's mindset again.

Some call it the growth mindset. Others refer to it as humility or presence. Whichever you prefer, the point is that you have to fall in love with the process of being a beginner again. This is especially true if you're trying to recover a previous level of English.

Aim for progress and uncertainty instead of perfection.

That means making mistakes instead of avoiding them. You'll have to improvise and use awkward moments as learning opportunities instead of excuses to stay quiet. It also means looking like a fool at times and accepting that taking action is the only way forward.

Because no matter what your ego wants, you can't get better and look good. Even if it's just temporary, you have to choose.

5. Allow Yourself to Play

"Creativity is play, but for shadow artists, learning to allow themselves to play is hard work."

– Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

It's crazy to admit, but the older you get, the more difficult it is to stop working and give yourself some guilt-free playtime.

I always saw second languages as games, but as a teacher, I realized many students treat English as an extension of their work. And while I understand how important English is for your career and life opportunities, I don't think it helps to treat it like another work task.

You didn't treat language learning as work when you were 2 years old. It was a game. Imitating the people around you and discovering the intricacies of your voice was fun. But then you grew up, and your play spaces became workspaces.

Language dates are a perfect way to reclaim your play space.

Create a physical or digital space you can use as a dedicated play space for your English practice.
Combine your language time with a physical activity like walking or going to the gym.
Buy a notebook to draw, doodle, or scribble in when you're out on your language dates.
Rediscover hobbies you enjoyed as a child, and combine them with English.
Choose one of these hobbies and take a course in English to make both part of your playtime.

Whatever you do, remember to choose adventure over efficiency or productivity. Lose yourself in the moment, and let yourself play.

What about you? Do you treat your language practice as an art? Or work? Have you tried any of the tips above?

Send me a reply and let me know.

school cafeteria 🍎

Hungry for more? Have some leftovers

"The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by."

– Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist 📚

📚 The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron (WorldCat)

The book that started it all. If you want to go more in-depth than the takeaways above, you can follow the book's 12-week program complete with all of the additional prompts and challenges.

🎧 Ms. Mural, Lupe Fiasco (Spotify)

One of hip-hop's most cerebral artists uses a dialogue between artist and consumer to highlight the disconnect between creators and their audiences. The lesson for you: Don't let other people's opinions affect your practice. Keep flowing and keep going.

📺 Your Elusive Creative Genius, Elizabeth Gilbert (TED/YouTube)

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of one of the most iconic books of the 21st century, Eat Pray Love. She's completed The Artist's Way herself three times and has said in interviews that there would be no Eat Pray Love without it. In this TED talk, she talks about the ups and downs of her own creative journey.

📝 The Master and The Fool, George Leonard (tim.blog)

This excerpt from George Leonard's book, Mastery, had such an impact on metalearner and lifestyle guru Tim Ferriss that he asked for permission to share it on his own blog. Why? As Tim says:

"It explores a question: What are the keys to rapid and lifelong learning? There are many keys, but arguably the most important is found in this five-minute read…"

work with me ✈️

How I Can Help

"Whereas the passion mindset focuses on what the world can offer you, the craftsman mindset focuses instead on what you can offer the world." – Cal Newport

If you’re ready to take the next step in your language journey "the artist's way," you don't have to do it alone. Here's how I can help:

Make Language Pages Simple with Rocket Fuel 🚀

Rocket Fuel was designed to make your language practice simple, playful, and daily. That's why it's the best and most cost-effective way to unblock your English:

Speak your daily pages thanks to 24-hour limit
Rediscover playtime and get creative when you reply
Uncover your main blocks with daily feedback from me
Get comfortable being a beginner again in our 1:1 space

Sign up using this link and get a free 1:1 onboarding call (30 minutes) with me to get to know each other so we can navigate around any failure points together.

Prefer to start now and schedule later? Sign up here

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