Clarity Sparks Creativity

The Genesis of Unboundium

Have you ever made a strategic plan? I never considered making one for myself until I heard Liz Craft and Sarah Fain’s conversation with Todd Schulkin on Ep. 415: Strategic Planning (A.K.A. Our Corporate Vision Board) of the Happier in Hollywood podcast. 

Todd’s definition of a strategic plan appealed to me:

“it's really just saying, where do we want to get to and how are we going to go? But doing it in a sort of research-based informed style, and I think the simplest way to think of it is it's a roadmap, and it's a roadmap of looking at where you are now and where you want to get to, and what are the steps you need to take to get there, and really breaking it down.”

I have a lot of big goals I’d like to accomplish by forty—a milestone birthday I still can’t believe is just a little over two years away—and I know I could use a roadmap to help me get from where I am to where I want to be. But…I’m also a Rebel (thank you, Gretchen Rubin, for this invaluable insight), so I knew I needed to follow his advice in my own way. 

One of the greatest challenges in living life as a Rebel (“someone who resists inner and outer expectations”) is that creating a roadmap to accomplish my goals can backfire. If I want to reach my destination, I’ve got to start from the right place and bring along tools that comfortably fit my hand. 

Since I already had an ongoing chat with Anthropic’s AI Claude about harnessing my Rebel tendency to reach my birthday goals, I decided to recruit it as my strategic planning partner. I pulled up our chat and asked for help coming up with a 3-year strategic plan, taking into account my Rebel tendency. Along with that request, I shared more context: 

- Who I hoped to be in 3 years? 

- What I had accomplished so far this year and some of my other successes over the years

- What life circumstances might impact my long-term plan

- How I work best 

Together, we created a momentum map for the next three years for me. Then, we mapped out a strategy for the first quarter, incorporating tactics and tools that fit my Rebel tendency, life circumstances, and working rhythms. 

The clarity I gained through our chat and the creative ideas we came up with sparked the creation of my Momentum Map and Clarity Console in Notion. (Two resources I’ll share with you soon.)

I was first introduced to Notion through Brigitte Marie’s free Daily Dashboard. Brigitte helps neurodivergent folks create systems that work for them through her business, Energy Design. I had enjoyed her segment about the value of creating work rituals on Off the Grid’s episode Three Magic Rituals to Transform Your Business. When she mentioned her Daily Dashboard, I couldn’t resist following the link in the show notes so I could experiment with a new free resource.

While Brigitte’s dashboard didn’t work for me, it inspired me to start playing around in Notion. It’s become one of my favorite virtual spaces to create new systems and resources because it’s intuitive, visually appealing, and endlessly customizable. My creative brain needs visual systems that are easy to redesign whenever I discover something isn’t working. 

As I played around in Notion and brainstormed new ways to improve these resources with Claude, I had an epiphany:

Clarity Sparks Creativity 

That’s my Rebel motto. Gretchen’s Rebel motto, “You can’t make me, and neither can I," always bugged me. Why should Rebels be defined by our greatest challenge instead of our greatest strength?

The spark that generated that motto turned into a burning flame to create a community for Rebels, creatives and entrepreneurs. A virtual space where we could share the unique ways we find to build meaningful lives on our own terms and the systems we create along the way. Since storytelling has always been my favorite community-building tool, the solution was obvious: I should create a newsletter. That’s what led me here to the founding of Unboundium. 

Whether you’re a Rebel questioning conventional wisdom, a creative seeking your own path, or an entrepreneur building something meaningful, I hope you’ll find the clarity to unlock your unique potential here.

Ready to discover what can happen when you stop fighting your nature and start working with it? Become Unboundium with me!

Lab Notes Abstract: Next Week’s Experiment

Ready to turn your clarity into momentum? Next week’s Lab Notes will introduce the Momentum Map —a 3-year strategic planning template designed to work with your tendency, not against it.

Inspired by Todd Schulkin’s definition of strategic planning as “a roadmap looking at where you are now and where you want to get to,” this isn’t your typical rigid planning system. Instead, it’s a flexible framework that honors your natural rhythms while helping you chart a course toward your biggest goals.

The Momentum Map includes tendency-specific planning approaches, implementation tips that respect your working style, and quarterly planning worksheets with creative ideas to keep you moving forward without feeling constrained. Perfect for Rebels, creatives, and entrepreneurs who want direction without rigidity.

Lab Notes are exclusive to Innovators and Pioneers, but this foundational resource will be available to all subscribers as our gift to the community.


 Copyright © 2023 Lindsey Renee Jacobs. All rights reserved.