Елена Русанова – How to Hear Yourself and Start Creating (страница 1)

How to Hear Yourself and Start Creating

Acknowledgments

To the teachers who see children as they truly are - free, luminous, and not meant to be fitted in. To my children, and to the heroes of this book, who follow their spark wherever it leads, even when the world pulls the other way…

Preface

Hello, dear reader!

My name is Elena, and I'm a mother of two sons, as well as a former HR and career consulting professional. After a fascinating journey full of ups and downs and unexpected shifts in reality, I started writing - revealing and highlighting the opportunities that surround us.

I'm a trained psychologist, which no longer scares anyone the way it used to. Even schoolchildren and students now come to psychological sessions and training without embarrassment. It's becoming just another form of understanding - one that allows you to face your fears, the "cockroaches in your head," your beliefs, solve a problem, or look at a conflict from a different angle.

All we really want in life is to be happy, to feel lightness and joy as natural, basic states.

But how do we achieve that? No one told us. Unlike the constant presence of suffering, pain, and melancholy - all the shades of which are regularly fed to us through news, film, and literature. The phrase "Life is pain" has become a catchphrase for many, like a well-known meme.

The ability to dwell in a state of joy, happiness, and harmony is the first thing we should think about and learn. This - not the pursuit of success or the "hunger games" of survival that external pressure and other people's narratives try to impose on us. They scare us into thinking that without chasing that "carrot," life has no meaning.

Throughout my professional career, I've often asked myself: “Who am I, and what is my talent?” And if at first glance it's not as obvious as, say, the striking talent of an artist or musician - something immediately clear - then it's hard to decide. So, possessing seemingly standard qualities like "you're quick-witted, cheerful, playful, a good communicator, and well-organized," you start focusing on external influences and what the system tells you.

I've tried many things in my life: a corporate career as a top manager, consulting, working in startups, infopreneurship, and numerous other businesses and investments - including, for example, selling candles and perfumes through marketplaces. I've always eagerly responded to the various opportunities offered by trends and external tendencies. And I kept waiting for outside clues about what to do next, what skills and abilities the system and the service market would like me to acquire.

But in the end, I understood only one thing: no one outside will ever truly tell you what you need to do or what your talent - that very spark - is. Neither tests, nor guides, nor teachers, nor employers will tell you your place in this world.

You can only reach it by yourself and alone with yourself.

The system can "circulate" you as a clear participant in the social order - a waiter at a bar, a delivery driver, or any other position precisely defined by the labor market. It manages society's needs based on supply and demand, fashions, and trends that suggest, for example, that there are enough financiers right now, so you should go into IT. It insistently recommends choosing a field that's in demand, not one that comes from the heart. It forces you to listen to outside advice, analytical calculations, and statistics - rather than your own heart, natural talents, and gifts.

You may not fit into others' expectations...

But another way is possible - the path of freedom and creativity in its broadest sense. Creativity from the heart. The spark you discover for yourself.

In this book, I will reveal the basic steps and possibilities for exactly that. I will draw closer to the treasured depths and the priceless core that resides within each of us. I'm sure this will reach you at the perfect moment - depending on your soul's readiness and your ability to hear and respond. Just try to read and perceive with an open heart. And if something stirs active resistance, then it's not yet time; don't rush. Everything has its time...

A Few Words on Tomorrow

"What defines a transformer is not the cog in his chest but the spark that resides in their core. A spark that gives you the will to make your world better". (Alpha Trion in Transformers One)

The world is changing at an incredible rate. And you, dear reader, are seeing this every day.

Technologies are taking over spaces where previously only humans were. Artificial intelligence is becoming ingrained into our lives and work, reminiscent of the plot of the movie "Terminator," only without the apocalyptic ending. Schoolchildren and students are writing essays, theses, and term papers using neural networks, creating videos and photos, replacing human voices and faces with avatars.

Social networks have become a replacement for television, and we spend more and more time endlessly scrolling through TikTok and other feeds. We get our news from Telegram channels and chats. And our thumbs are so toned that any bodybuilder would envy them.

New professions entering the labor market are surprising with their popularity, widespread response, and taking top spots on the list of top specialties. YouTube bloggers and TikTokers are riding the wave and often earning more than other professions.

Fresh schoolchildren can become fascinated with cryptocurrency, delving into the intricacies of mining or working with exchanges. Young and young alike are actively exploring artificial intelligence, using it in social media marketing, copywriting, and blogging. My seven-year-old son is already creating 3D spaces in Roblox Studio, having previously learned Scratch as a more intuitive block-based programming language. Former actors are becoming quest or performance animators, embracing the trends of popular TV series like "The Squid Game," "Game of Thrones," and other films that capture our hearts.

And maybe adults don’t like this (especially grandparents), but this is a given of the changes that are happening.

Technology can be used to your advantage or just a waste of time…

We've increasingly begun to think about our free time and hobbies. How can we make our hobbies profitable, so that work isn't torture or boredom, but rather transforms into creativity as a natural part of our existence? A lifetime of employment from 9 to 5 until retirement is no longer the only option for a professional path and a living.

Numerous platforms for gig work and project-based work sites are popping up. And if you draw, write music or lyrics, code, or even play computer games, all of this can generate income, essentially replacing traditional work.

Do you feel like most of the old templates and settings are outdated and no longer relevant? Well, you're right.

Although it’s possible that right now some adult is continuing to tell you that you need to:

– choose a profession once in your life and know exactly who you want to be;

– get a job with an employer, building a career only within their framework, receiving a salary and stability forever;

- to be someone, to define one’s status and calling, and not to waste time on nonsense or suffer through nonsense (insert any other overheard phrase).

All of this merely reflects anxiety and conveys outdated approaches, hidden beneath good intentions, care, and consideration. Anything that doesn't fit into the familiar is immediately considered strange, incomprehensible, and therefore has no place.

Do you know of examples of people your age or adults earning money remotely and living a more free life than those around them? But this is possible; you just need to see the options and directions for growth and not resist the changes that are sweeping away everything old and no longer viable.

First of all, let's take another look at the face possible stereotypes and limitations, which you encounter in one way or another when communicating with adults. What intuitively seems outdated or unworkable to you now, or perhaps you simply know that things can be different.

For example:

– It's important to choose a job for life, one that's useful and socially significant for others. Show up to work on time and leave on time. Take all-inclusive vacations to the countryside or the seaside. Slowly save for a mortgage and pension, so you don't die of poverty in old age. Better yet, start your own garden and tend to it - then you'll definitely never run out of food.

– You need to do something that's understandable and useful to others, something tangible, like building houses or making bricks. Something you can touch and feel. Anything else (blogs, videos, and so on) is like 'selling air,' and therefore, the devil.

– Stability and certainty are important in everything: today one way, tomorrow exactly the same.

– It's best to be where you were born. A well-known proverb reflects this: 'Where you were born, there you'll be of use.' Live in one place, without thinking about other cities or countries. The key is to understand whether this is your own conviction or something imposed on you. After all, you can be happy anywhere; it's just a matter of where your soul calls you, and that's important, too.