29 QUESTIONS WITH LIZ TRAN
Open to learn how the prolific writer gets so much done without getting down ☁️
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Liz Tran is an executive coach, the creator of Reset, and the author of The Karma of Success.
Hi, you have to enjoy it. Novel idea but what if the creative process was [checks notes, visibly struggling] … fun? Liz puts herself in a good mood before she sits down to her clicky clacky keyboard to write. Imagine it — having a good time? Doing what you… love? A revelation.
Obsession is the lifeblood of creativity, but it isn’t accidental. Preternatural fascination with your work is a skill that’s developed with patience, practice, and discipline. (Discipline isn’t a dirty word, btw)
Rejection is only redirection if you get in motion. Woof. The Universe helps those who help themselves. Liz’s first book proposal was turned down, and yes, she had faith that she’d eventually find a publisher who’d understand her vision, but she also put in the work to upskill and improve her writing.
PROCESS (8)
What are your creative rituals?
These are my three non-negotiables when it comes to creativity:
Nature
Movement, and
Rest
The short version of this is standing barefoot in the grass for five minutes, a 20-minute Yoga & Pranayama exercise, and making sure I got a good night’s sleep the night before.
Physical space or mental space?
Mental space! When I have mental space, the physical doesn’t matter. I’ve done some of my best writing in uncomfortable places like a sweltering tent, a crowded coworking space, and on a moving train sitting next to strangers.
Mental space is everything. I get off social media, am very careful about what I see and consume in terms of content, and am careful about who I spent my time with.
How do you actually get started?
I do whatever it takes to ensure I start in a GOOD MOOD. That is my main priority. So this might mean exercise, or eating my favorite breakfast, or even watching a comedy special for a few minutes.
Once my mood is right, I light some incense, announce my intention for that day’s writing, and start typing.
What are your three favorite creativity tools? Please give us specifics, we want to add to cart.
My trusty Stalogy notebook. When I’m actively writing, I keep a gratitude and self-gratitude list every, single, day. I NEVER skip this practice.
Beeswax votives. I burn one a day as I write.
What’s on your desk right now? Send us a pic.
It’s more of what’s around my desk. I sit on a yoga ball, or I’m walking very slowly at my standing desk on a mini treadmill.
What do you do when you’re feeling deeply, existentially, sand-bags-tied-around-your-ankles stuck?
This usually happens because I’ve pushed myself too close to burnout, and I know the secret is to nurture myself.
First, I cry and I don’t hold anything back. When we cry, we actually decrease the cortisol, and thus, the feeling of stress in our bodies.
Next, I take a break. I walk away from the work for as many days as it takes, and I refill my energetic tank with completely unrelated activities that make me happy. I have faith that the inspiration will come back once I start taking care of myself again.
Do you have a system? Are you Wes Anderson-style organized or are you the live action embodiment of the Tasmanian Devil?
I generally have a plan, but I’m always deviating from it, changing things up as I go. The one thing I never change are my habits. To be my most creative, I need those three non-negotiables — nature, movement, and rest, plus I never skip my nightly journaling.
Tell us about your process. When? How? Are you strict about it?
When I’m writing, I’m also working full time as an executive coach, so I have to be extremely vigilant about my time management.
I say “no” to every unnecessary meeting, social event, or obligation.
I make sure that all my energy is going into taking care of myself, and no one else.
I give myself the time and space to become completely obsessed with my work, and that can only happen if I’m very, very, strict.
When I have mental space, the physical doesn’t matter. I’ve done some of my best writing in uncomfortable places like a sweltering tent, a crowded coworking space, and on a moving train sitting next to strangers.
MINDSET (6)
What grinds your gears creatively? What gives you the ick?
I hate the association between creativity and chaos, giving a free pass to creative types who drink too much, miss deadlines, and self-sabotage. The real truth is that creativity needs stability. It wants you to show up every day with a clear mind, ready to hear its call.
Name one thing you’ve created that makes you beam with pride.
The last chapter of my book is called “Let Your Struggle Be Your Making.” It’s the most honest, raw, vulnerable thing I’ve ever created. I wrote it in a crowded communal room of a coworking space, surrounded by strangers, with tears streaming down my face. I felt like I was in a trance as I wrote. I couldn’t stop. When I was done, I knew it was really good. Everyone who reads this chapter inevitably cries, too.
Tell us about your creative nemesis.
Negativity is my #1 nemesis. Because I still work while I write, I have a tendency to feel sorry for myself, thinking, “Oh woe is me. This is so hard.” This negativity only hurts my creative flow.
I have to actively remind myself how lucky I am to GET to do this work, and how incredible it is to work for myself, doing work I love, and still make money while I have plenty of time to write.
Any notes for your haters? What about your lovers?
To my haters — I love you! Keep hating on me. To me, that’s an incredible sign that I’m writing honestly, not censoring myself, and breaking my early life pattern of people-pleasing. To my lovers — I’m so glad you’re here.
Andy Warhol used to change his perfume every three months because he wanted to have scent memories associated with that time period in his life. What scent will you associate with this time in your life?
Newman’s frozen pizza, which I ate much more than I’m proud of, because I was too obsessed with writing to stop and eat properly.
What’s your current hyperfixation?
Getting these old apple trees on my property that haven’t made fruit in 15 years to produce again. It may take two or three more years of constant TLC to get them to a good place, but there’s a beautiful metaphor in there I can’t stop thinking about. If I can do this one thing, it feels like I can do anything.
I give myself the time and space to become completely obsessed with my work, and that can only happen if I’m very, very, strict.
INSPIRATION (7)
Favorite meme (present-tense or ancient)?
The “She’s so brave” elevator dog song on TikTok. I am always making up silly songs for my dog around the house, and this one showed me I can really up my game.
Where do you seek inspiration most?
Personal stories of real people. Sometimes this comes from conversations with people I’ve just met at a party. Other times, I scratch this itch by reading memoirs and personal non-fiction. My favorite writers are Rebecca Solnit, Amy Tan, Mary Karr, and Joan Didion.
Last piece of media that really stuck with you, and why?
Zoe Kravitz and Channing Tatum dressed up for Halloween as Rosemary’s Baby. May we all strive to be as creepy and non-sexy as we can for Halloween.
Who did you look up to as a burgeoning creative person?
I constantly think about how Emma Straub wrote two bestsellers back-to-back during two pregnancies. I am pregnant now, during this time, I launched my book, The Karma of Success, did the book tour, plus wrote the proposal for my next book. Emma is my OG role model for leaning into this highly generative, creative, physical, and spiritual moment and then transferring that energy to work, too.
What’s a reliable perfect portal place for you? (a place/experience that you know will transport you to a new way of interacting with the world)
Any nature walk. Give me an hour with some trees, and they will tell me everything I need to know.
What’s a piece of advice someone else gave you that lives in your head rent-free?
A challenging but brilliant ex-boss would always say, “You don’t get what you don’t ask for.” Over the years, I’ve learned to value my time, energy, and creativity, and to ask for what I truly believe I’m worth, plus some. I always think that if I’m not uncomfortable asking for compensation, then I’m not asking for enough.
What was a canon event for you that you wouldn’t go back and interfere with even if you could?
Getting rejected by my dream agent with the first version of my book proposal. She said she liked the premise but “the writing was too repetitive.” I went for a run, cried, and resolved to grow as a writer. So I did.
I took writing classes. I wrote hundreds more pages that I never did anything with. Then, a year later, I had an amazing agent and book deal.
I always think that if I’m not uncomfortable asking for compensation, then I’m not asking for enough.
PERSONAL STYLE (8)
Night owl, early bird, or a secret third thing?
Night owl who’s spent the past decade trying to turn into a early bird.
If you had to get a tattoo in the next 30 minutes… whatcha getting and where?
I’d get an X tattooed on my ring finger. I am extremely absent-minded when it comes to any physical object — phone, keys, air pods, etc, and I’ve lost my wedding ring twice already….
What’s currently gracing your beverage rotation?
I drink a big mason jar of red raspberry leaf tea everyday. I love coconut water for hydration, and now that it’s the season, I’m having a bone broth every day.
Give us an example of a design, movie, book, experience from growing up that has shaped the way you work and create now?
Anything angsty, emotional, and self-reflective, like those teen shows — My So-Called Life and Dawson’s Creek. Navel gazing is my favorite thing.
What’s your relationship to the moon?
She’s the boss, and I’m just living in her world. I always know what phase of the moon we are in, and plan my work and social commitments accordingly. Plus, I’m even on a text chain with two friends that is literally just pictures we take of the moon.
On the Freak to Fairy Scale, where do you fall?
Definitely freak. Don’t the freaks have more fun?
You have to change your name to an emoji, a la the artist formerly known as Prince — what do you choose?
🐾 🐾 Puppy paws — a symbol of forward progress, movement, momentum, and it also makes for a super cute signature.
Congrats! You are a guest lecturer at Spacies University. You are teaching a bunch of wide-eyed freshman about your technique and process. What would you call it? [Bonus: What would the final project be?]
“How to go for it: a 4-week course to stop making excuses and go after the big dream.” The final project is taking the leap toward whatever dream you’ve been deferring.
As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
I love these interviews so much. 🩵
I am so loving theseeee 🌾🌾🌾