Maura Molloy Interview – On the Joy of Consistent Creativity
In this episode, I sit down with the singer, music instructor and business owner, Maura Molloy. We discuss how creativity works best when it’s a part of your daily life.
Maura approaches every aspect of her life with a creative slant, whether it’s songwriting, directing a play or making a video for her Classical music business Maura&Co Music
If I’m writing songs I’m constantly thinking about it. You know, if I’m riding in my car or doing a yoga class. You know, I never stop thinking.
It’s like a jigsaw puzzle to me sometimes…. Until it fits I can’t stop. It bothers me.
It’s such a feeling of satisfaction when you solve the problem. In a lot of ways, creativity is problem-solving.
— Maura Molloy
Episode Highlights
Making a Living as a Musician
“I am a kind of happier than most people I know. I’m not searching for fame. I get up every day and I want to create and I want to create beautiful music. And that’s what my ultimate goal is.”
How Staying Creative is Like Working Out
“You know I really think you have to be deliberate about the process. Just because you might have creative tendencies, doesn’t mean you’re going to live a creative life.
I’m one of those people who works out every day.
And I do that for two different reasons. As a singer, I really care about my body. It’s my instrument but also it’s my mental…. you know by working out every day I keep my mind free and some of my best ideas come in the middle of a yoga class. ”
How Maura Recharges Her Energy as an Extravert
“I tend to recharge in other things that don’t involve music. I don’t listen to gobs of music. Like when I’m in the car, I want silence.
So if I’m not around people I keep my world really quiet. So that I can hear my inner dialogue in a way. I feel like the world… sometimes you can’t hear yourself….
If you can like shut the TV off for a couple of days, it’s really powerful. But it’s so hard to do that… so I strive for when I’m not around people to keep my life quiet.”
How Video Can Help Solve Wedding Problems
“I love thinking about what problem I could solve, in the intro [to the video] for the bride or something that’s going to spark my clients’ creativity by seeing what other brides are doing and what their choices are.
I’ve got a couple of things now: meet the musicians, where I introduce my own musicians.
And I’ve learned a lot about them. Things I didn’t know. So I think that it helps my marketing.
The client gets to see me, they got to know me. And I think they trust me a little more and they see how vested I am. I really care about their weddings.
Even though I’ve sung at over a thousand weddings, I really care.”
Episode Outline
00:08 Intro to Interview with Maura Molloy
01:47 Start of the Interview
03:27 Making a Living as a Musician
04:46 We Have to Work at Staying Creative
05:24 Why Maura Works Out Every Day
05:51 How Her Mom Instilled A Love of Art
06:56 Why Following Through is Critical to Staying Creative
07:58 Why Most Kids Become Less Creative as They Age
08:59 How Childhood Experiences Hold Some People Back from Further Creative Work
09:50 How Creatives Are Like Athletes Working Out Every Day
11:36 The Joy of Creative Problem Solving
14:47 How Introverts Create Differently from Extraverts
20:58 Making Videos for Bridal Music – Maura’s New Endeavor
22:45 How Video Can Help Solve Wedding Problems
25:29 Learning to Love the Technical Aspects of Video Creation
26:38 How Repetition Helps Free Up Creativity – Ave Maria Example
27:53 You Must Expect Obstacles
28:44 Why It’s OK That Fear Never Totally Goes Away
30:17 Where to Find Maura Molloy Classical Music
[32:26] Ending Remarks
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The Stay Creative Project is designed to help content creators stay inspired, so we can keep making great stuff to help us change the world.
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