Well, hello there. My name is Morgan Harper-Nichols. I'm an artist and a writer. And this week on the podcast, I want to share with you a five-day series on the most important things that I've been learning about life from the creative process. So whether you are a creative or not, I hope that these lessons can help you and encourage you

as you prepare for whatever lies ahead in your own life. Thank you so much for tuning in today.

One of the most important things I've learned from the creative process as a creative professional, someone who has been making art

for most of my life, is the seven-year gap. The seven-year gap is something that happened in my life

and that I've just adapted as a part of the cycle of life, something that I have to learn how to accept. So I'll break it down

for you. And just to kind of put it in summary terms, the seven year gap is a bit of trusting in

the process, but on a whole other level. So in 2010, I was working my first job as an admission

counselor where I graduated from college and I saved up my money when I was working my first job as an admission counselor where I graduated from college

and I saved up my money within my first few paychecks to buy an iPad. I was super excited because

it was the first generation iPad that ever came out and I was going to have one. I was going to

have one of these fancy iPads. So I bought the iPad and I bought a

stylus and then I paid $9.99 for an art app called Procreate that still exists today. And I sat in

my local coffee shop with this iPad and new stylus, and I pulled from everything

that I ever learned about making art from throughout my life.

And I sat there and I painted a picture.

And I was really proud of it.

It was a woman who was overlooking a sunset and she was wrapped in a blanket and she was just in a beautiful

place, maybe a place that I would like to be myself. And I sat there and I looked at this painting

that I created and I was really proud of it. And for whatever reason, I looked at the painting. I didn't save it. I never

pressed share to share it anywhere until this day I've lost track of it. I don't have it anymore.

But I looked at the painting and I said, I will get back to this later. I turned off the iPad.

I put it in my bag and I didn't open another app like that for seven years.

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