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Mark McGuinness is a rare cat – part poet, part coach for creative professionals, part old-time, overeducated Brit who thinks deeply about stuff you and I have never heard of … a man who has lived the life and who has watched and worked intimately with hundreds of others who’ve done the same.
Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The War of Art
I’m an award-winning poet who has been coaching creative professionals since 1996. I live in Bristol, UK and work with clients all over the world.
Over nearly three decades I have worked one-to-one with hundreds of outstanding creatives, spread across six continents and just about every conceivable field of the arts and creative industries – including fine art, literature, film, television, radio, theatre, music, design, advertising, architecture, fashion, luxury, dance, computer games and creative entrepreneurship.
As well as coaching private clients, I have delivered training, coaching and consulting for organisations including 99U, the BBC, The British Film Institute, British Telecom, Channel 4, The Design Trust, Frog Design, HOW Design, The UK Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, Magnum Photos, McCann Erickson, The Royal College of Art, Transport for London, The University of Warwick and Vodafone.
My work has been featured in media outlets including Creative Review, Vogue US, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal.
I’ve written four books for creatives, two of which have been translated into Russian. I also contributed chapters to two international best sellers from 99U, Manage Your Day-to-Day and Maximize Your Potential.
I host the podcast The 21st Century Creative, where my guests include Steven Pressfield, Marcus du Sautoy, Scott Belsky, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Jocelyn K. Glei, Michael Bungay Stanier, Javier Weyler (Stereophonics), Joanna Penn and Todd Henry.
But the part of this work I enjoy the most, that is always fresh even after all these years, is sitting down with a talented, inspiring and ambitious creator to help them figure out the next phase of their work and career…
Why I do this work
I help my clients in many areas, including their creativity, productivity, communication and presentation skills, writing, marketing, sales, networking, money, strategy, business models and leadership.
But most of all I help them show up as their most creative, courageous, and resilient selves – at their desks, in the studio, on stage, with their own clients, or in front of the camera.
And behind the scenes, I help them handle the pressure, make the big decisions, and have the difficult conversations that are unavoidable on the road to success.
I do this because I know what it’s like to be the odd one out, the one with the crazy vision, the one who feels compelled to do things his or her way.
I do it because I know how lonely it can feel on those days when you have to make a big decision, or deal with a big unexpected problem, or hold true to your vision when the people around you don’t get what you’re trying to do, or why.
And I do it because I know what it’s like to have someone in my life who really understands me and my vision, who will support and encourage me to be my best self—and who won’t accept anything less than my best.
I want to be that person for them. Maybe I could be that person for you.
If you’re interested in exploring how I could help you transform your work (and maybe your life as well), the first step is to answer the questions on this page.
I think the biggest benefit of working with Mark came from having someone in my corner who unequivocally had my back and believed in me.
Craig Behenna, Filmmaker and Coach
Get to know me a little better…
If this is your first visit to my site, a good way to get to know my ideas is to read this article I wrote in 2017: Creative Coaching: 21 Insights from 21 Years’ Work.
I also expanded this article into a short book, 21 Insights for 21st Century Creatives.
You might also like to get a sense of what it’s like to talk to me, by listening to my podcast, The 21st Century Creative.
Some episodes feature interviews with my coaching clients, including Aileen Bennett, Christina Patterson, Daniel Boettcher, Emily Kimelman, Fabrice Bourrelly, Jarie Bolander, Javier Weyler, Josh Szeps, Laurie Millotte, Maria Bovin de Labbé, Nick Dunin, Sara Milne Rowe.
Of all the writers I know, I have learned the most about how to be a productive creative person from Mark’s writing. His tips are always realistic, accessible, and sticky. It’s not just talk, this is productivity advice that will change your life.
Jocelyn K. Glei, author, host of the Hurry Slowly podcast, and Founding Editor, 99U
My background
Poetry
As a practising poet, I have first-hand experience of the highs and lows my clients encounter as creative professionals – including the fascination of the work, the sting of rejection and the drive to perfection.
My poetry has been published in leading literary journals, as well as carved in sandstone and turned into a diamond ring. My competition awards include Third Prize in the Stephen Spender Prize, the UK’s biggest competition for poetry in translation.
In 2021 I launched a poetry podcast, A Mouthful of Air, with funding from Arts Council England; it has been selected by Podcast Review (from The Los Angeles Review of Books), as one of The 9 Best Podcasts for Poetry Lovers.
As a poet, I have benefitted from the guidance of two world-class mentors, the poet Mimi Khalvati and the voice teacher Kristin Linklater.
To me, it was also a very positive aspect that Mark is a poet – and I believe a lot of his understanding and sensitivity about the world, about language, and creativity were so strong because he is a poet.
Canan Marasligil, Writer, Literary Translator and Artist
Deep work
At a certain point, your artistic development is linked to your personal development.
I discovered this in my twenties. One day I was agonising to my therapist, Catherine Kirk, about what to do with my life, when she asked me:
Why don’t you do this?
I was dumbfounded by the question. But prompted by her encouragement I began training as a psychotherapist and set off on an odyssey of self discovery, under the guidance of several outstanding teachers, including my long-term mentor Dr John Eaton.
I spent 19 years as a psychotherapist, including a year in the NHS, helping clients with all kinds of mental health and relationship issues. I also spent many years as a trainer and clinical supervisor for other therapists. My work with a therapy client was featured in a Discovery Health Channel TV documentary series, In Therapy.
Early in my practice, I realised that there was a particular energy in the room when I worked with creative professionals – novelists, actors, film directors and others. Because of my poetry, we were on a similar creative wavelength. So in 1996 I began to offer a specialist coaching service for creatives.
Over time, I realised creative coaching was my unique way of serving clients, so in 2015 I closed my therapy practice to concentrate on my coaching. And I continued to learn – from my coaching mentor, Peleg Top, as well as Rich Litvin, Steve Chandler and other teachers.
I start each day sitting on my meditation mat, a practice I have maintained for many years. Because, as I say to clients, the creative life begins and ends with self-knowledge.
I always felt as if Mark was inviting me in to a space where I could be a bigger version of myself.
Rob Gale, Art Director and Illustrator
The Creative Economy
Early in my career, I tried different types of coaching, including executive coaching, life coaching, and the mental game of professional sports. But I kept coming back to my work with creatives – they were my tribe and I wanted to help them as much as I could.
As well as coaching creatives, I had worked in publishing and commercial copywriting. But I really wanted to understand the big picture of the creative industries.
So in 2004 I enrolled at The University for Warwick for the MA in Creative and Media Enterprises – an innovative Master’s program that examines how the creative economy works, how to manage creativity, how to develop and exploit intellectual property, and how business strategy applies to creative enterprises.
The MA was also the opportunity for a deep dive into the research on how creativity really works, beyond the popular myths and cliches.
So when I sit down with a client, as well as helping them grow as a person and develop their unique talents, I understand the wider industry context they are operating in – which means I can help them take a strategic as well as a creative approach to their career.
I could tell that here was someone who knew what it was like to work in the creative and cultural industries.
Ian Poitier, Writer, Director, Producer & Consultant
Creative entrepreneurship
It was in the marketing module of the Warwick MA that I first came across the idea of blogging, in a book by Seth Godin. And when I started my first blog in 2006, I embarked on another adventure.
Within a couple of years I was partnering with Brian Clark, a serial creative entrepreneur and founder of Copyblogger.com. With Tony Clark, we launched the Lateral Action website as an educational resource for 21st century creative entrepreneurs, incorporating a popular blog and an in-depth e-learning program.
Brian taught me how to write for an audience in a way that would hold their attention and deliver value. My blogs, and later my books and podcast for creatives, have attracted private coaching clients from six continents, as well as invitations to speak and coach in North America, Europe and the Middle East.
My writing and podcasting have given me and my family the freedom to live where we choose, leaving London after many years for Bristol, a creative hub in southwest England.
My current business partner is Mami McGuinness, also my wife. Together we run The 21st Century Creative Ltd, serving clients worldwide and publishing books and podcasts.
Many of my clients are independent creatives or creative entrepreneurs; as a business owner myself, I know the pressure of responsibility, as well as the rewards of succeeding on your own terms.
Mark’s unique skill as a coach is being able to empathize as a creative professional, but also challenge as an ambitious entrepreneur.
J.F.Penn, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author
Qualifications
I have a BA in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, and an MA (with distinction) in Creative and Media Enterprises from The University of Warwick.
My psychotherapy qualifications include two postgraduate diplomas from the National School of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (UK), and certifications in Brief Solution-Focused Therapy, Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Reverse Therapy and Stress Management.
Important:
I spent 19 years as a psychotherapist, and my background in therapy means I can ‘go deep’ with clients and address the emotional truth of their creative work and their career decisions. But my coaching is not therapy. My coaching clients are high-performing creators who engage me to help them realise their full potential – creative, personal and professional.
I also take client confidentiality very seriously, and am used to working with clients who have a public profile, for whom discretion is essential.
Mark’s background in psychotherapy enabled him to comfortably pivot between the professional and the personal and made me feel like I was in very safe hands.
Amir Sheikh, Designer and Artist
Find your unique creative blend
As my story shows, my work today is a unique blend of the knowledge and skills I have learned from world-class teachers, mentors and coaches – in poetry, psychotherapy, coaching and creative entrepreneurship.
If you’d like help developing your own unique creative blend, here are some questions to get our conversation started.
Mark is patient, kind, professional, helpful and inspired. He has a keen insight into how we work as creatives. He knows why we do what we do. I don’t know how he does it, but I’m forever grateful.
Josh Casaubon, Artist (Musician, Idea Man and Actor)
The fact that Mark is a poet himself adds honesty and power to his coaching. The sources of his wisdom are deep and varied, and in every session he zeroed in on concepts and sources of inspiration that helped me break through… He’s open. He’s intuitive. He’s occasionally hilarious. He’s an enabler of extraordinary acts of creativity.
Layne Mosler, Author and Writing Coach
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