You were born creative. Let’s get you back into it.
1:1 creativity coaching to charge your creative energy, move through the fear that’s blocking you, and finally feel like the artist you already are. Without burning out to get there.
↓ LET’S BE REAL FOR A SEC
You’re not blocked because you lack talent. It’s most likely fear.
Maybe you’ve got a buried notebook full of ideas you keep meaning to make. Maybe you make constantly, but can’t bring yourself to share any of it. Maybe you flinch a little when someone calls you an artist, feeling that you haven’t earned that title.
I lived in that forever-flinching state for years.
Here’s what I’ve watched happen with every creative I’ve coached: the potential never left. It was always there. It just got buried under the burden of fear: fear of being seen, fear of failing, fear of taking it seriously, fear that you’ll burn out again if you really go for it.
That fear has nothing to do with your character. That fear can be an energizing force rather than one that keeps you stuck.
That’s what we do together.
WHAT BECOMES POSSIBLE
It might be hard to imagine if you’re burnt out, but it’s a connection that can be rebuilt.
Imagine creating consistently, not in a frenzy or in all-or-nothing bursts that end in a crash, but as a steady, renewable way of living.
Imagine building a creative practice that gives you energy instead of draining it.
Imagine learning how to take care of the different branches of your creative system in order to keep the ideas flowing, unafraid to express them.
THE METHOD
The Four Codes of Creative Energy
Most creativity advice is a pile of disconnected tips. The Four Codes is a system.
I built it over six years of trial and error, climbing out of my own burnout. The framework synthesizes research from four major domains: flow psychology and deliberate practice, mindfulness and metacognition research, embodied cognition and exercise science, and social creativity and arts-in-health literature.
It’s the lens through which every single thing I do runs.
Community
Connecting with, supporting, and creating alongside other artists. The antidote to the isolation that kills so much creative work. (This is the one nobody else in coaching actually gives you. It’s the Code that changed everything for me.)
Craft
Honing your skill through pressure-free practice, learning, experimenting, and play. Confidence is built, not summoned.
Clarity
Quieting the noise (external and internal) so your real ideas can rise to the surface. Through journaling, stillness, the building of self-awareness, and getting some distance from the feeds.
Condition
Caring for the body that makes the work. Movement, rest, and actually metabolizing your emotions instead of stockpiling them. This is the missing piece in almost every creative life I’ve seen, including my own.
The Codes feed into one another. You can enter the cycle anywhere, but it only works when all four are moving. When one eclipses the others, burnout follows.
Coaching is how we get all four turning again.
HOW COACHING WORKS
A one-on-one space to think out loud, move through the fear, and get clear on what to make next.
The Four Codes are the lens; your real life and your real work are the material we shape each session.
Sessions happen over video, or in person if you're in Memphis. When there's homework, it's the kind that gives energy back.
Both run four weeks, both are four 1:1 sessions. A guided Intensive through the whole framework, or Open-Ended sessions you steer.
Who this is for
- ✓You have real creative ability and a quieter, persistent fear that won't let you use it.
- ✓You're tired of starting, crashing, and starting over.
- ✓You're ready to be seen, to share, show, or finish the thing.
- ✓You want a practice that feels like self-care, not self-optimization.
- ✕You want a "hustle harder, grind it out" coach. I tried that path once. It landed me in a hospital. We're not doing that here.
- ✕You want someone to make your art for you. The work is yours. I'm your guide and Creative Cheerleader.
WHY ME???
My name is Zack Orsborn, and it's my life's purpose to help creatives be fearless.
I didn't arrive at this from a textbook. I grew up in a small Mississippi town where creative expression was something to hide. By the end of college, I'd been diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a psychotic break, was deep in addiction, and was cut off from the creative spirit that was supposed to be my birthright.
Then I found my way back: through sobriety, therapy, daily walks, drinking enough water, and a slow, stubborn rebuilding. I turned myself into the experiment. What made creativity flow? What dammed it up? The answer became the Four Codes of Creative Energy.
I'm coaching from the road I actually walked, as someone who reconnected to their creative energy.
I’m a writer, multimedia artist, creativity researcher, creative director, and community builder.
I also design creative systems that help artists stay energized and connected.
I started Like Really Creative and developed The Four Codes of Creative Energy, a framework that helps people build and maintain creative momentum.
Everything I do starts with my art practice that spans writing, visual art, photography, and music.
With more than 12 years of award-winning experience in creative direction and design, I bring together art, strategy, and community design to create lasting spaces where creative energy can multiply and make a difference.
Learn more about me, my creative wellness work, and view my art portfolio.
Highlights
- ●12+ years of award-winning creative direction and design
- ●Designer on The Backchannel, a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative series
- ●Three-time Associated Press award winner & 2026 AAF Mosaic Award nominee
- ●Featured artist: MoSH LGBTQ History Exhibition & the Urban Art Commission's Movable Art Collection
- ●Cover artist for The Pinch, author of Rare Materials, columnist for Focus Magazine
- ●Member of Ugly Art Co. Collective, Artist Advisory Council for Music Export Memphis, and Community Connector for City of Memphis Office of Creative & Cultural Economy
I'm the Founder of Like Really Creative, the part no other coach can offer. When you work with me, you get more than just sessions on a screen. You're getting a way into a living, breathing creative scene with guidance on how to build your own creative community.
PROOF ★
"I haven't framed my art in a long time. Now I want to make postcard prints of the collage. Seeing some of my stuff displayed in front of me is like, 'Oh yeah, I forgot I made all of this stuff.' For a long time, I thought I was only a real artist if my art was on a wall in an expensive building. That's not the case. I'm seeing art differently now."
"Zack is empathetic, warm-hearted, honest, and has a wealth of knowledge. Every session, I come away with new insights, helpful tools, and fresh energy to get out and create. Maybe most importantly, our sessions make me feel a sense of "enoughness," like my voice matters and like I can create freely out of a sense of love and excitement."
"Zack is doing amazing work that is obviously needed here. He has hit a nerve in the city and is responding in a genuine, caring way."
"I asked Zack to help me generate ideas and cultivate an approach to content that felt authentic and aligned with the version of my creative self I wanted to present to the world. Zack is a fount of ideas and the monthly checkins and frequent feedback helped push me out of my comfort zone and gain a better grasp of how to market myself. Zack is a great person to have in your corner. His coaching was instrumental in me seeking out novel collaborations with other creatives."
Two ways to work together.
Pick the option that feels the most natural to you. Payment plans available!
The Four Codes Coaching Intensive
A guided reset through the full framework. Four 1:1 sessions · 45 min each · one Code at a time.
- 1Community: find or build the connection and accountability you've been missing; community building ideas based on your interests.
- 2Craft: design a practice that grows skill and confidence, minus the perfectionism.
- 3Clarity: ways to clear the mental and digital noise so your real ideas have room; hone in on your intrinsic purpose for creating.
- 4Condition: get your body involved, so your energy is renewable not borrowed.
You leave with a personalized Four Codes practice you can actually sustain with a clear sense of yourself as the creative you already are. You'll have tons of new ideas to explore.
Open-Ended Sessions
A focused exchange with an open agenda. Same four-week commitment, same four sessions. You set the agenda each week (with guidance if needed).
- →Moving through the fear sitting on top of your work right now
- →Talking through ideas and shaping your next project
- →Getting unstuck when you've been circling the same wall
- →Figuring out your creative direction when things feel foggy
The Four Codes still run underneath everything, but you set the agenda. Four 1:1 sessions over four weeks · 45 min each · video or in person.
Not sure which? Book a free fit call and we’ll figure out the right shape together. No pressure either way.
Still deciding?
-
An enthusiastic Creative Cheerleader that cares more about the love of the creative process than the extrinsic value of the finished product. A giant creativity research nerd that stays on top of all the latest studies and is constantly learning about artists and creatives. Actionable items that feel pressure-free. Brainstorming and idea generation. A really, really good listener.
-
If you are making art, you are an artist. If you are reading this, I assume you are a real human, as well.
-
Then this is the right place. I believe in a gentle practice, not something you have to strain or strive for. You can start from an empty tank. That’s where I started, so I completely get it.
-
Absolutely not. I’m a creativity coach, not a therapist. Coaching isn’t a substitute for mental health care. What I offer is a structured, supportive path back to your creative energy. I’m very honest about the difference.
-
Nah. We can meet on Google Meets. If you’re in Memphis, we can meet in person or we can still meet virtually.
“Every one of us was born a creative being. When we are disconnected from this birthright, we lose touch with our True Creative Selves. Creativity is a necessity we have been taught to abandon. If each one of us were encouraged, with enthusiasm, to express our creativity, many ills of society would dissolve.”
Zack Orsborn
CREATIVE ENERGY COACH & FOUNDER OF LIKE REALLY CREATIVE