Fatima Bey: 0:04

This is MindShift Power Podcast, the number one critically acclaimed podcast where we have raw, unfiltered conversations that shape tomorrow. I'm your host, fatima Bey the MindShifter, and welcome everyone. Today we have with us John T Blossom and he is out of Hawaii. He is a former teacher and a multi-award winning novelist for Young Adult Books. How are you today, john T Blossom?

John T. Blossom: 0:36

Oh, I'm doing just. Great Thanks for having me on, Fatima.

Fatima Bey: 0:39

Thank you again for coming, so I'd like to dive right in. So tell us, what are your books about?

John T. Blossom: 0:45

Okay, well, I have seven. Three I released recently Mahina Rises, the Last Football Player, and a novel about the theater called To Be. Mahina Rises, a young adult coming of age magical realism novel set in Hawaii. It's about a young girl who inherits shamanistic dreams from her native Hawaiian family and it's what she does with those dreams. It makes for a really interesting adventure story. The major themes in that book are how to get along with Mother Nature and the environment.

John T. Blossom: 1:18

The Last Football Player is a young adult coming of age science fiction novel, near Future, about a young boy who is about to become a freshman in high school football star in the Silicon Valley in approximately 2040. However, his father is deeply concerned about him getting injured, so he pulls a bunch of strings and gets football banned instead of telling his son he can't play, and so now he's very unpopular and he has to go to a tech lab and meet people he doesn't really like. But he learns to appreciate them and together they make a robotic football team to get around the ban. So it's about technology, ai, robots, what the future is going to be like on the football field, but also in our daily lives.

Fatima Bey: 2:14

I'm sorry but that is so interesting.

John T. Blossom: 2:19

Well, you know, I wrote it for the middle grade and high school crowd, and what's funny is that adults really enjoy it too.

John T. Blossom: 2:28

They think it's just a kick, because everybody you know either played football or they liked football. Not everybody, but many people have football memories in it, and it's a lot about what football is really about. What's the essence of it? Because they have to teach the robots to play, and so in order to do that, you have to know what football really is about, and so I won a couple of sports book of the year awards, and I can understand why because it's not just your usual hero goes and plays football and gets the cheerleader yeah, that's been done over and over again.

Fatima Bey: 3:10

One thing I will say that I notice about your books is the themes are not all the same and they're just so unique. A lot of times we see stories and it's kind of like regurgitated the same thing over and over again. Yours aren't? They really aren't, yeah.

John T. Blossom: 3:26

Well, that's one of the advantages of being a retired teacher, because, you know, I don't. I'm not trying to make a living, and many, honestly many writers make a living by writing a popular book and then turning it into a series because everybody wants the next book in the series, and I do have two books that will have two books in the series. I guess you could technically call them series, but that's not my interest. My interest is in writing books that have themes that relate to high school kids, based on my and middle school kids, based on my experiences as their teacher for 30 years.

Fatima Bey: 4:03

And that's fascinating to me, because a lot of times, people write a book just based on, maybe, their own childhood, you know, which is understandable as well, but the fact that you took your teaching experience and now you've turned it into something, even you know something different. Tell us, how did you become a writer? Yeah, tell us, thank you. How did you become a writer?

John T. Blossom: 4:24

Well, as I mentioned, I was a teacher for many years, and so I was an English teacher and also a ceramics teacher. So my interest was in teaching kids to think like writers, to be able to read perceptively, and one of the ways you learn to read perceptively is to try your hand at writing yourself. And so for all those years, I was making kids write in class, writing in journals, grading their papers, encouraging them to write, telling them writing is really exciting. It's a wonderful thing to do. And then, when I retired, I said okay, I've got a chance to do this. I've been telling people this my whole life. I better put up or shut up, and it's been an unbelievably fun way. I'm more busy now than I ever was when I was a teacher, and I'm doing something I really love and yeah, so it's kind of a dream come true for me.

Fatima Bey: 5:26

You are living proof of something I talk about a lot on this podcast, which is I talk about careers and you know, future things and related to them, but I also talk about the fact that it is okay to have different careers in your life. Very often, we're taught that okay, if you're going to be a doctor, you have to be that for the rest of your life. No, you don't, you can. You're a teacher, and then you switched on over to writer Beautiful, and you're doing something that you love and and that is something I want every single young person listen to follow in your footsteps. On that principle, do what you actually love, and it's okay if you do something for a season and then switch. I'm glad that you enjoy what you're doing. So tell us what is creativity?

John T. Blossom: 6:09

Oh well, can you ask me some easier questions?

Fatima Bey: 6:13

No, this is your favorite topic, so go ahead and tell us.

John T. Blossom: 6:20

You know it's something I've discovered my whole life because I've been a creative person and people say you're very creative and I never really had a moment in my life where I wasn't. So I guess you know it's hard for me to compare myself to any time when I wasn't creative in one way or another. And I'm pretty sure that it's not a thing, but that it's a process and that, yes, it results in art and yes, it may result in music or dance or whatever the medium writing, or even culinary or woodworking or automobile shop or whatever. Yes, it produces art objects, but that's not ultimately the whole story.

John T. Blossom: 7:09

I think what a lot of people forget to talk about when they talk about creativity or defining creativity, is that it really is the permission that you give to yourself to be playful in order to bring something new into the world.

John T. Blossom: 7:30

And that element of play is hard for us to embrace in ourselves as we get older. No-transcript product. But if you're thinking about the end product too much in the beginning, it'll just stifle you because without that element of play, of play, you don't tap into your true nature Like I'm thinking, like my cat is behind me while we're talking and she's very calm and most of the time she sleeps. But every once in a while she'll pick up a you know a toy and toss it in the air and play and run around and be ridiculous. True to herself. There, in that moment of play, she's not thinking about whether I'm going to yell at her or whether I'm saying something, whether she's violating some rule. She's just in the moment, enjoying her physical body and her playfulness. And I think that's the key. If you have the impulse inside of you to do those kinds of play in that kind of way, you should honor that and give yourself permission to do that, because then you might discover something that really is meaningful in your life.

John T. Blossom: 9:43

So what I hear you saying is if someone feels under pressure to create a piece of art and be done with it and create it perfect the first time, that's not necessarily the way to go about it.

John T. Blossom: 9:54

Yeah, it's a way your time and enjoying the process of creation toward that end goal. Because like take, for instance, when I'm writing one of my books, if I'm sitting down to my computer and I have 10 chapters to go, or maybe I'm halfway through and I think, oh, I've got to get done with this book, how am I going to get from here to the end? And I'm not thinking about the scene I'm in at the moment. That scene is going to suck. I have to focus on that moment, those characters, that situation, immerse myself in the process, play with the scene in my mind, get things down on the paper just for fun, see where it goes, and then eventually you do that over and over and eventually you have a novel. And then you go back and you hone it, for you hone the project in the editing process. But the initial creativity is all about the cat-like playfulness, the why not? That you have in your brain.

Fatima Bey: 11:04

So I'm going to reword some of what you said and apply it to different mediums. So if you want to be a musician, you got to play with notes. If you want to be a guitarist, you're going to have to play with all kinds of different ways of what you're going to make some horrible sounds and some great sounds. If you want to be an artist, you're going to have to make, paint, a lot of different pictures, play with it and not be afraid to make something that looks crazy. If you want to be a makeup artist, you're going to have to play on some faces and see what works and what doesn't. If you want to be a hairstylist, you're going to need to play with some mannequins or your friend's heads and see what works and what doesn't. I can go on and on.

Fatima Bey: 11:43

It's okay to play, because I completely agree with you on that If we don't play, we can't really what's the word I'm looking for develop the greatness of our creativity, Because there are a lot of people I see that are just amazingly creative. But if we sit inside the box of well, you can't do this, you're supposed to think this way, you're supposed to think that way, that is a trap, a prison for your creativity, Would you agree?

John T. Blossom: 12:12

I completely agree and I think you expressed that very articulately. I don't think I could have done it better. Thank you, yeah.

Fatima Bey: 12:20

I try to do that intentionally, because I know that people listen differently. So I will often rephrase what my guests say, not because you didn't say it right in the first place, but I know that people listen differently, so rephrasing.

John T. Blossom: 12:34

Well, I wish that I'd had you when I was teaching. I could have had you in my classroom, kind of interpreting what I was saying to the kids.

Fatima Bey: 12:44

I would have been cracking jokes too, so it might've been too much fun.

John T. Blossom: 12:49

No, no, it should be. It should be a joy. English and art it should be a joyful activity. You know, people take it so seriously they kill the fun of it. I mean, reading is fun and creativity is fun. Yes, it's hard. Sure, it's challenging. Yeah, sometimes you really, you know, get upset with yourself because it doesn't come out the way you want, but you try again because essentially, the process is just lots of fun. So try.

Fatima Bey: 13:20

I mean yes Go ahead, go ahead.

John T. Blossom: 13:25

No, I was just thinking that you know, oftentimes artists, if someone has an art orientation, they, you know, they're not really mainstream. You know they're, maybe they're not as popular as other kids or, uh, you know, as they don't get as many likes on social media or or whatever, because their minds are are thinking differently, they're, they're, they think differently and and they can't help it because that's the way they're wired. And if they get too much, oh, you're a weirdo, or whatever. That can discourage them from developing their superpower. And, oh my gosh, it's creativity a superpower. In fact.

John T. Blossom: 14:10

I've come to believe, like I stopped teaching before AI really took over, but I have come to believe that in the age of AI, a lot of the mundane tasks of writing and math and other things and business and all that this is going to get taken over and done by computers. What's left? The only thing that's left, is human creativity, because computers and I go into this in the Last Football Player but computers don't have a human body, so they don't have the same connection with the earth, they don't have the same creative history that's in their genetics. They only have what we've given them and AI is a regurgitation tool, right. It only gives what we've already given to it. So if 99% of the people are depending on AI to write their emails and to do their business plans, the 1% of the people who are creative are going to stand out, and they're the ones who are going to be successful.

Fatima Bey: 15:24

Yes, I want to back up to something you said a moment ago, because that's a key part of the conversation that I really want to convey today the weirdos, the ones who are marked as or labeled as weirdos, as strange, because they don't think inside the tiny little box that our society says we're supposed to think inside of, and that's where 90% of the creative minds are. They're outside the box and very often I completely agree with your statement Very often the greatest minds, the greatest creative minds, get stifled because they're forced and shoved into a conformity box and it kills their creativity. Did you find that happening with you when you were younger?

John T. Blossom: 16:13

with you when you were younger. Sure, to a certain extent I had sort of a different upbringing in that I had to be very self-sufficient early on in my life. My family life was kind of a mess, so I had to pull myself up by the bootstraps and my only salvation was school. And my only salvation was school and at school I found supportive teachers because teachers liked my creativity and they liked that I was a good student. Much about the other kids only because I had spent my whole life being independent in my family. So I was kind of a self-sufficient kid.

John T. Blossom: 17:01

But for someone who perhaps wasn't that self-sufficient and maybe stands out in their family for being creative and they go to the school and maybe they've had siblings who are football players or maybe a little bit more conventional in their thinking, they might feel a little self-conscious and people say, oh, you're nothing like your brother. I mean, what's up now with you? And then they feel horrible about themselves, which is really too bad, because in creative people have the advantage. So my advice to those kids if you find yourself in that position where you're getting put down for being kind of socially awkward or thinking outside the box, or maybe you have interest in things that other people don't have interest in and you're a deep dive and they give you a hard time about it. My advice is to find your tribe. Find the other people who are outcasts like that and be their friends. Be the person who's emanating love and creativity, not the person who's using creativity to put other people down. You know we're getting defensive and that can be tough advice to take, because teenagers are insecure and we all want to be accepted.

John T. Blossom: 18:26

But I can guarantee, you know, in a high school or any kind of school, from 10 on up to 2,000, 10%, maybe 15%, are going to have an arts-oriented creative. Maybe they're theater people, maybe they're art people, maybe they're music people, and chances are they're fairly quiet about it. Chances are they're feeling the same way you feel, uh, about maybe not revealing um, your, your talents, uh, those are the people to make friends. Sit down with them at the lunchroom, you know. Ask them. You know. Oh, I see you're drawing something. Do you mind showing me what you're drawing? Because I really like drawing too, you know, and all it takes is is one or two friends like that and wham. Your high school experience is so much better.

Fatima Bey: 19:22

Yes, yes, yes, I agree. I love the advice that you just, I was just going to ask you to give, and there you go giving it, the advice that you give to those who are feeling that way right now, because there's a lot of them who are different thinkers, and I love the different thinkers because I think that's where a lot of buried treasure is, and creativity, I think, is the buried treasure. It's a buried treasure in a lot of people, and there's some adults who are listening right now, john, who are like you know what. I could have been him when I was younger, I had all this creativity, but I stifled it, pushed it down, and now I'm just a corporate robot. Is it too late for them to do something about that?

John T. Blossom: 20:04

No, because those whispers are still in your subconscious. For the adults in that situation is to take some kind of meditative practice, some kind of quiet time just with yourself, where you're not on your cell phone, where you're not worrying about the ticker tape and you're just focusing on your breath and your body and what is inside your soul. Start listening to those inner voices, because the voices of inner creativity are whispers. They're not a hurricane, despite what some people say, you know. Oh, I had to play the violin and the symphony because I just couldn't do anything else in my life. Well, unlikely, more likely, they had violin lessons. It was hard at first and then they had a teacher who was encouraging and they found some talent and then they got reinforced and then it became the hurricane impulses that you have, especially when you're a teenager. Gosh, you know, man, that was a pretty cool drawing I saw on Mary's notebook. Maybe I can do a little drawing. Well, then you just do it. You have to listen to those whispers and try a little drawing in your notebook. Try to post a meme. If you see a meme that's really clever, somebody posted, you know. Just maybe post one for yourself and just try it. You never know what's going to catch fire in your soul.

John T. Blossom: 21:49

And for older people, you know, it's easy for them to think, well, I'm just not creative. But no matter what job they did, they had to bring some level of creativity to it. Like I had a doctor come to my booth where I sell my books and he said, oh, I'm not a creative person. And I said, well, what do you do? So I'm a surgeon, I'm a heart surgeon. I said you tell me that when you go into somebody's heart and you look and every person's a little bit different, you're not applying just even a little bit of creativity of how to fix this person's, you know, aorta or whatever. And he said, no, no, no, I just follow procedures. And I said, well, I kind of doubt that, I kind of doubt it.

John T. Blossom: 22:30

I think you're more creative than you give yourself credit for yeah because kind of the opposite, even, within the procedures you need creativity, yeah. I think so. I mean, maybe he wouldn't admit to that because you know, if somebody died under his, you know watch they said well, you weren't following procedures, you were being creative with my body, right? So maybe he just has to cover himself, you know, by saying that that is true, that is true.

Fatima Bey: 23:05

Well, john, I love talking to you, even off air. We talked for a long time because you're very interesting to talk to, and I just want to give you one more opportunity to give the audience. One last word of advice for all the young listeners in the world Anything you want, what advice would you give them?

John T. Blossom: 23:31

I think that the advice that I would give to someone is to, no matter what, always give yourself permission to play, play. A mindset of play, a mindset of enjoyment, a mindset of diving in and trying things playfully, is how you're going to find your tribe, it's how you're going to find your mentors and it's how you're going to find the purpose in your life, the things that you do in your life that put you in the flow state where you're so involved in what you're doing that you can't even, you don't even realize that the time is going by. Those are the magical moments of connection with love, with the earth, with your own nature, with other people. Those are the ones that the most satisfied people in the world seek out, and it comes through that process of creativity, of play, leading to serious purpose.

John T. Blossom: 24:44

So I guess that's what I would say and try to support other people. Try not to get sucked into the. Oh, she thinks she's a musician and she sucks. Look at the way she plays the clarinet. She can't even make a note. Try never to get into that, because this is a person who's playing at becoming herself and, um, you know, and every person deserves your support in love. Uh, and the more you give it to other people, the faster you'll find your tribe and the faster you'll be able to do something that gives you meaning in life.

Fatima Bey: 25:22

How can people find you?

John T. Blossom: 25:26

Well, all my books are on Amazon or wherever you buy fine books. It's under John Blossom and it's also under JT Blossom. My early pen name was JT Blossom. I have four books under that name and the three I mentioned before under John Blossom. I have four books under that name and the three I mentioned before under John Blossom, and then my website lists all my books and has links to places to buy them and information about them at jtblossomcom.

Fatima Bey: 25:59

And I hope that with this met, with this episode today, you helped other creatives to blossom. Ha ha, dad joke, I just made it up. You know that there are more.

John T. Blossom: 26:14

There are more dentists named Dennis than any other name, so I think there is something to that. I really do. I didn't know that and in do. And in fact, the dream that was the basis for Mahina Rises was me flying through my orchard when it was my apple orchard when I was a kid in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when it was in full bloom, when I was a kid in Milwaukee, wisconsin when it was in full bloom.

John T. Blossom: 26:43

So yeah, I think that names do have a little bit of influence. I'm not saying it's the only reason why I'm creative, but if my name had been Steelheart or you know, or let's see some other, I don't know Brick Wall, if my last name was Brick Wall.

Fatima Bey: 27:12

I'm not sure I would have been quite as a creative a person.

John T. Blossom: 27:15

I don't know about that. All those people out there named Brick Wall are going to get mad at me, so I take that back.

Fatima Bey: 27:22

I don't know any Brick Walls. Thank you once again for for coming on. It has been a pleasure talking with you and I really do hope in that we've opened up the minds of some truly quiet creatives who need to branch out.

John T. Blossom: 27:37

Me too, Fatima. If we did it for one person, it was worth our time. Thank you.

Fatima Bey: 27:42

Amen, amen, amen. And now for a mind-shifting moment. I want you to think about this. Creativity is actually a gift. It's a talent and it comes in many different forms. Do you have a creativity gift that you've been suppressing because it doesn't fit in to the box? You've been told to climb in and stay in Because it doesn't fit in with your corporate surroundings. Do you have a creative gift that you've been suppressing? Maybe it's time to explore, have fun with it, because one thing I do know if you were given a creative gift, it wasn't by mistake. Your creativity is there to bless the rest of us, but that can't happen unless you first develop it. So take a chance today, starting today, and develop your creativity. The world is waiting. You've been listening to MindShift Power Podcast. For complete show notes on this episode and to join our global movement, find us at FatimaBaycom Until next time. Always remember there's power in shifting your thinking.