Welcome To Marie Unplugged

In the U.S. we’re celebrating July 4th, which commonly inspires thoughts of freedom and independence. One of the reasons I do what I do is because I value freedom, in all its forms.

After 7 years of writing and producing MarieTV, I must say that I’m proud that it’s evolved to become the show it is today. We have viewers in 195 countries, have over 30.5 million views and counting (thank you!) and are more committed than ever to MarieTV’s continued growth.

That said, I’ve also been craving the freedom to do something experimental.

Something outside the confines of our typical work. Something fresh that would challenge me to learn and grow in new ways. So recently, I started messing around with some new camera equipment.

What follows is the result of my first few days. A few things to keep in mind about what you’re about to see:

• This is not MarieTV. This is not about “delivering value” in the conventional sense of that word
• This is an experiment. I may or may not continue making and sharing these kinds of videos
• Adult language: Yes, I’m an adult and, at times, I use four-letter words. They’re bleeped out but if you have kids around, wear headphones

In our careers and lives, it’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of doing what we’ve always done. We do what people expect of us. We do what we expect of ourselves.

But real progress in life comes from taking risks.

The problem is, taking risks becomes harder and harder as time goes by. With any degree of experience or success comes added levels of responsibility. You’ve got payroll to make, team members to support, a family to take care of and a reputation (at least in your own mind) to protect.

That often means you start to feel anything but freedom.

But here’s what’s interesting. Success on any level can’t last unless you trust your intuitive hunches and challenge yourself to keep on growing.

One way to define freedom is the state of not being imprisoned. Which includes not being confined by limited ideas about who you are, what you can create and who you’re capable of becoming.

So in honor of the holiday, let’s flex our creative freedom, shall we? Let’s support each other’s hunger to be brave and adventurous. To develop new capabilities. To try things out, especially if they feel exciting and/or terrifying and/or interesting and/or fun. Most especially fun.

Let’s give ourselves room to play and learn and grow, with no pressure whatsoever on performance or perfection. Because as the saying goes, “Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.”

If you want to check out what I made in the spirit of creative freedom, here it is.

Now, I’d love to hear from you. In the comments below, let me know:

What risk — creative, emotional, or otherwise — are you hankering to take in your career or life? What’s one step you can take right now to make that happen?

Share as much detail as you’d like in your reply.

Thousands of incredible souls come here each week for insight and inspiration, and your story may help someone else have a meaningful breakthrough.

Important: share your thoughts and ideas directly in the comments. Links to other posts, videos, etc. will be deleted as they come across as spammy.

Thank you so much for reading, watching and coming along on this journey. Your kindness continues to make this the best and brightest community online.

With so much love,

XO