Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pascale. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Pascale, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I am, for the most part, really happy as a business owner. After 12 years of working for myself, I’ve found so much joy in the freedom, creativity, and meaning that comes with it. But I’d be lying if I said I never have moments where I wonder what it would be like to have a regular job again.

Sometimes I catch myself wishing for the things I imagine come more easily with a traditional job—someone to tell me what to do, a colleague to chat with over coffee, a clear line between work and home, and, of course, the stability of a steady paycheck. I admit thinking at times: “Wouldn’t it be nice to just show up, do the work, and not carry all this responsibility on my shoulders?”

In these moments, I take a step back and remind myself that I have the power to create these things for myself. If I need structure and guidance, I can hire a coach to help me stay on track. If I crave connection, I can seek out a “business bestie” and plan weekly coworking sessions. For better work-life boundaries, I can set clear times for work and rest—and actually stick to them.

The steady paycheck is trickier, but I remind myself of what I gain in return: the peace and contentment of building something that truly matters to me and creates a meaningful impact. It’s not always easy, but that’s also how I get to build resilience. It teaches me how to hold myself steady through both abundant and slower seasons of business.

In those slower periods, I’ve found opportunities to reconnect with my creativity—making art, reflecting, and integrating what I’ve learned. It’s a reminder of my own cyclical nature as a living being, that I thrive in seasons of high creative output and quieter, introspective moments.

While I sometimes romanticize the stability of a traditional job, I know that the life I’ve built as a business owner gives me something far greater: the freedom to live and work in alignment with who I truly am. And that’s a kind of happiness I wouldn’t trade for anything.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello! I’m Pascale, the founder of Dear Creative Mind, a space dedicated to creative liberation. I work as a coach for artists and creative entrepreneurs who want to use their art for meaningful good, but often feel entangled in the complexity of their own minds.

I believe that creative minds have the power to change the world— the art they create holds the keys to reimagining reality. But sometimes, instead of creating freely, they get caught in stories they tell themselves—stories that keep them stuck or looping in circles. That’s where I come in: as a coach, I help people untangle those stories, find their focus and flow, and move from the world of ideas into action—so they can finally bring their rebellious ideas to life instead of letting them swirl around in their minds.

My mission is to encourage people to stop fighting against their creative nature. It’s not about becoming someone else or better—it’s about finally allowing themselves to express what’s already alive inside of them. This means shifting their relationship with their creative self and learning to collaborate with their intricate nature, rather than resisting it.

In our co-created space, creatives let go of the pressure to fit into a mold. We step away from societal expectations and challenge the notion that creativity or business has to be “done a certain way.” Here, we focus on tuning into what’s truly inside of them and allowing that to come forward so they can create something that feels real and meaningful.

I also host the Dear Creative Mind podcast, where I explore living a creative life that’s grounded, sustainable, and joyful. Through meditations, coaching, and conversations with inspiring artists, I explore what’s possible when stepping outside the conventional and asking: What else could be possible beyond the limits we place on ourselves?

And lastly, I host a few community gatherings every season so we can connect and create alongside each other.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most important lessons I’ve had to unlearn is that there’s nothing wrong with me, and that I don’t need to force myself into some tiny box. For a long time, especially in a society that rewards conformity, I thought I had to fit a certain mold to succeed—whether that was in my business, my art, or even how I interacted with others. As a creative person, I often shapeshifted, trying to make myself more palatable for the outside world, but that only stifled my creativity. I thought there was something inherently wrong with the way I functioned, that I had to change to be “better” or more acceptable.

But over time, I realized that creativity thrives when we allow ourselves to exist as we are—without forcing change for the sake of fitting into someone else’s idea of what’s “right.” The key was to create or find environments that nurture me, ones that support my growth without asking me to become someone I’m not. I had to let go of the notion that I had to follow the same rigid structures that society or the corporate world often promotes—because those structures don’t always foster creative flow. What I needed was a way of working that allowed for more space, more freedom, and more of my true self to show up.

Another lesson I’ve had to unlearn was the idea that creativity is all about constant hustle. In the past, I resisted periods of rest, thinking that if I wasn’t always “doing” something, I was somehow failing. But what I’ve learned is that creativity has its own rhythm—there are seasons of rest, and there are seasons of action. Both are equally important. When we fight against the natural ebb and flow of our creative energy, we get stuck. What works better is embracing the “both/and” nature of creativity. It’s about learning to move between rest and action, structure and freedom, order and chaos. Creativity flourishes in that space of tension, not in rigid, linear expectations.

Lastly, I learned that softness is strength in creativity and entrepreneurship. Forcing things or pushing harder doesn’t lead to growth—gentleness, patience, and trust in the process do.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After running a slow travel agency for a couple of years, and living a nomadic lifestyle since 2015, it felt like a natural shift to start guiding others who wanted to create a life and business that allowed them to travel freely. In 2018, I slowly began coaching individuals who dreamed of working and traveling the world, and I set up my practice, built courses, and was all set to officially launch at the end of 2019. Then the pandemic hit in 2020, and everything changed. Travel came to a halt, and with it, the foundation of what I had built.

During that time, I realized something important: most of my clients were artists and creatives. That’s when I finally admitted to myself what I had always known deep down—that my true calling was to guide creatives on their rebellious path.

Contact Info:

• Website: dearcreativemind
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearcreativemind/
• Other: https://dearcreativemind.substack.com/
  https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/dearcreativemind