WRITTEN & LIVED BY KELLI BINNINGS
Built from hard-earned experience, psychology principles, and a whole lot of trial and error, this book shows you how to stop defining yourself by what you do and start owning who you are. The Breakout Creative is a self-empowering guide and a much-needed reality check for anyone trying to build a career in the creative industry. It’ll show you how to turn your story, your habits, and your messy, one-of-a-kind perspective into a marketable and memorable brand no one can copy.
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The Revelation
In January 2023, I decided to write the book I wish I had when I started on this creative career journey. I had the talent, I spent years (and lots of money) investing in learning the skills, but something was still missing. I didn’t know how to package what made me unique. I had the passion and respected the grind, but the self-doubt, competitive comparison, and fear of rejection always seemed to outweigh what I deeply felt I was capable of. I spent years diving deep, figuring out what I wanted, defining my values, and ultimately shaping the person I knew I could become. That’s when the breakout creative was born.
After nearly a decade wrestling with these deep thinking questions, exercises, and psychology principles, I wanted to create an actionable book that empowered it’s readers to believe the next level version of themselves was possible. It was time to stop asking: Am I good enough? Talented enough? Do I have what it takes? And start shaping the person you were meant to become by owning your decisions, habits, and behaviors.
Being the most talented person in the room doesn’t make you the most magnetic, most successful, or the most memorable. Because what you do isn’t as memorable as who you are and how you make people feel. People want the person, the package, and the perspective behind the work. They want you! And as a Breakout Creative that means owning the answers to your deepest unknowns.
The Breakout Creative will help you find your voice, own your story, and position you as the powerhouse creative you were always meant to be.
100% Human Made Promise.
This book was written by a human for humans.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This isn’t a book you just read; it’s a book you do.
20+ worksheets over 11 chapters, designed to help you find your voice, own your story, and position you as the powerhouse creative you were always meant to be.
Kindle Edition Available on Amazon. (opens in a new tab)
Challenge Worksheets
Just enter your email and the code on the “How to Use this Book” page to download.
Psst! Flip to the "How to Use this Book" page to find the code.
Breakout Creative Stories
“I see my mixed media and collage practice as a collaboration with the past, transforming forgotten books into one-of-a-kind artworks that continue those stories and transform them into something new and unexpected. ”
What People Are Saying About The Breakout Creative
I love how authentic the writing feels. It has personality, humor, and reads like you're sitting across from me having a conversation.
Whitney M., Event Producer, Experience Designer
Every time I put the book down I can't help feeling excited for the next time I can pick it up again!
Remy B., Graphic Designer
I find myself being more aware of my thinking and what I'm feeling about projects. Usually I move through those feelings but then I remember your questions from the worksheets and in chapter challenges and it's a really helpful shift in perspective!
Aleks J., Behavior Change Strategist
This book is required reading for any aspiring creative. It is full of wisdom and inspiration and gives you all the mental tools you need to excel in your creative career.
Emma N., Designer, Marketer, Systems Builder
The Breakout Creative is the kind of book every creative needs on their shelf. Kelli takes the messy, exhilarating, deeply human experience of creativity and makes it relatable and real. From passion and flow to comparison, imposter syndrome and the darker parts of the journey, she makes it feel remarkably fresh, clear, and practical. It's insightful without being heavy, actionable without being prescriptive, and full of Kelli's unmistakable personality. I found myself underlining something on nearly every page.
Robyn J., Brand Strategist
Honestly, the voice is the best thing about this book! It's funny, it's direct, it swears when it wants to, and then it turns around and gets genuinely tender exactly when it needs to, without ever feeling like it's performing either mode. I found myself dog earring pages just for the analogies (the running, the diamonds, the chef and the signature dish) because they're not just pretty images. They actually carry the idea somewhere by the time you finish reading them. It's a distinctive, big-hearted, well-researched book that will land hard with working creatives who need permission to take their own psychology as seriously as their portfolios.
Khalid A., Brand Strategist, Designer, Writer
I’ve always felt different. Not an outcast, just never fully part of the crowd. A non-conformist who questioned everything and spent years wondering if that was the problem. When actually, it was the whole point.
What followed were years of psychology, therapy, and relentless self-discovery to answer one question: Who am I, and what am I here to do?
I came out the other side with clarity, purpose, and a career that finally felt like mine. Creatives pour everything into their work and still wake up wondering … Am I enough? Do I belong here? Well, you do. And this book is your roadmap to proving it.
I hope this book inspires you to do the same. To celebrate what makes you different and make that curious, non-conformist version of yourself proud.
Become the powerhouse creative you were born to be.
