What's in a Name?

Photo by Austin Kirk on Unsplash

Naming things is hard. A business or podcast name needs to be catchy but not cliché, descriptive but not too obvious, and unique without being too obscure.

Even for someone who used to write headlines every day for a living, naming things is tough.

When I was trying to think of a name for this podcast, ideas would pop in my mind right before falling asleep, of course, or in the shower sans phone or paper. I tried to hold the names in my mind as long as I could, though, and gradually came up with a list.

I now present to you the evolution of this podcast's name:

• Creativity for Life (There's already a book named this)
• Healthy Creatives (Seems a little too "lifestyle-y")
• Healing the Creative Heart (Sweet, but overused)
• Thriving Creatives (Close, but not quite)
• The Sensitive Creative (Redundant, perhaps?)
• Help for the Creative Heart (See other "heart" entry above)
• Sometimes Audacity (A line from "The Artist's Way" — but maybe too vague?)

And then...

• ​Beyond Artist’s Block

Yes! I had a great feeling about this name, but I knew it had to pass the Google test. I tentatively entered it into the search bar and anticipated the familiar disappointment of realizing my bright idea was actually super obvious. But to my pleasant surprise, there didn't seem to be anything else out in the cyberverse with that name. And, so, BAB was born!

What does Beyond Artist's Block mean? The "artist's block" part is self-explanatory (thank goodness!), but I didn't want to just leave it at that. I wanted to instill some hope into the name of the podcast — we won't just be talking about managing artist's block. I wanted listeners to imagine what it might be like to move beyond the limits we and society impose on artists of all stripes. And my goal with the podcast is to connect listeners to practitioners — therapists and others — who get what it's like to face creative challenges. I feel BAB encompasses all of this. And the "beyond" part also gives the podcast some room to breathe and grow — who knows where we'll go from here?

I'm pleased to announce our first full episodes should launch in September. Be sure to like and subscribe, and we'll see you very soon!