Hello, I’m Sheryl.
I help creatives find the success they want, while making work they love. I’m here to support you, challenge you, and help you thrive as a creative professional.
I’ve earned my living as a writer for more than 30 years.
I started writing for New Musical Express when I was still at school, and later became editor of The Face magazine, then the Observer magazine before leaving office politics forever and going back to freelance writing for the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Elle, GQ and Vanity Fair amongst others.
Over the years, I’ve been lucky to work with some of the world’s best writers, photographers, stylists and art directors. I’ve also been able to meet creatives from almost every field and ask them lots of questions about how they work, why they do what they do, and what they need to be at their best.
I’ve interviewed Madonna in her home in Miami, and Angelina Jolie on set in India. Quentin Tarantino told me how he dealt with failure, Bryan Cranston shared his wisdom, Noel Gallagher made me laugh till I cried. I was able to ask people at the very top of their game how they get their ideas, what they do when they’re stuck, about the mistakes they’ve made and what they learned from them.
I’ve watched a new ballet being choreographed at Sadlers Wells, top athletes prepare for the Olympics, and been on the set of countless films and TV shows. I’ve interviewed artists such as Anish Kapoor, Marc Quinn, Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono; architects from John Pawson and Frank Gehry to Zaha Hadid; and fashionistas from Giles Deacon, Marc Jacobs and Issey Miyake to the industrial designer who gave us the iPhone, Jonathan Ive.
I’ve danced in clubs all over the world, from the Paradise Garage in New York to Full Circle in Slough, and written a book about it: Adventures In Wonderland, a history of club culture before, during and after the acid house/rave explosion.
About 15 years ago, I also trained as a life coach.
I’d pushed myself past exhaustion and into a hospital bed, was burned out and had lost my mojo so completely I’d almost forgotten I ever had it. I probably needed a coach instead of training to be one, but the skills I learned slowly bought me back to myself, and helped me find a new, more sustainable and satisfying direction.
Since then, I’ve worked quietly with all kinds of creatives, helping them organise busy lives or cope with rest periods that went on far too long, to overcome creative blocks or simply prepare for a new album, film, tour or round of press and TV interviews.
Confidentiality is crucial to such clients, but I can say that I’ve worked with numerous Brit and Grammy winners, with Oscar and Olivier nominees.
I’ve worked with opera singers and rappers, dancers and directors, photographers and fashion designers, and in recent years I came to realise that I was enjoying coaching far more than I was enjoying journalism.
This site is about sharing some of the things I’ve learned along the way. Information and ideas that might help you live your best life, do work you are truly proud of – and make a good living, with less drama and stress.
I’m a certified women’s coach with One of Many, an NLP Practitioner, and I’ve studied with America’s foremost creativity coach, Eric Maisel. But my main qualification is that I’ve lived in this world, and I know how it works.
If you are interested in working with me, you can apply for a 90-minute introductory session, because I believe coaching is something you really need to experience, not read about. Find out more about that here.
My suggestion?
Start by reading my Creative Thinking posts, and sign up to get The Creative Companion, my bi-weekly newsletter full of ideas and resources to help creatives thrive. Or try my free ten-day course on growing your creative business, which will help set you up for the success you want if you’re just starting out, or give your business a health check if you’re more established.
Then forget your perfectionism, and just get going. Make a small change. Learn something new. Create something.
Bake a cake or plant a window box, write a story or a song, paint a room or sculpt an artwork. Then make another small change. Learn some more. Push a little out of your comfort zone. And go create something else.
And of course, if I can help you on the journey, I’d love to hear from you! Email me at sheryl@thecreativelife.net
