Tired of Repeating Yourself? Build a Framework
What if your next big idea isn't waiting in your mind — but in the game you haven’t played yet?
This week, during The Raw Alchemist Level 2, we explored what happens when you stop trying to be original… and start playing within a frame. The results? Five raw cookies that didn’t exist before. What unlocked them wasn’t genius — it was the right challenge, the right constraints, and a deck of unexpected prompts. Let me show you why creative freedom sometimes starts with setting the rules.
Why my students made better cookies than their own business ideas
✨A Personal Note
We just finished The Raw Alchemist Level 2, here in Bali (Alchemy Academy).
It was an intimate group — but that gave us the space to go deeper, both individually and collectively.
We explored techniques, dishes, and challenges — all leading up to what truly matters: student growth and personal ideas turned into real projects.
This time, the focus was bold:
🎯 Design the next generation of plant-based, raw products.
In the final two days, students turned their learning into action — not just hypotheticals, but real business ideas:
A ceremonial cacao functional bar infused with herbs and adaptogens.
A collection of raw ice creams for a bakery shop.
Three snacks to help clients transition from old habits to new ones.
A retreat center food concept with a curated raw menu.
A protein-packed, indulgent chocolate bar.
Each idea was thoughtful, targeted — and entirely original.
But here's the thing I’ve observed again and again:
We’re often more creative when we’re not working on our own personal ideas.
Every time we do a creative challenge, something unlocks. The brain flows more freely. The results go further. It’s not always easy — some people resist at first — but when they engage, the transformation is real.
Amanda playing with The COOKIE challenge and her framework.
Why? A few thoughts:
Why We’re More Creative with External Promptset’s break it down?
Less Pressure = More Play
When it's not your idea, the fear of failure shrinks. Ego steps aside. Perfectionism relaxes. And that opens the door to risk and joy..Detached from Identity
When we tie creativity to self-worth, it gets blocked. External prompts — like my challenges — give space to create without judgement.Clear Boundaries = Creative Focus
A well-designed challenge gives clear constraints. Ironically, constraints are creative fuel. When everything is possible, nothing gets done. But when there’s a frame — magic happens inside it.Surprise = Flow
Working with a deck, a prompt, or a persona introduces surprise.That spark short-circuits overthinking and invites intuition to lead.Service Mindset
When working “for someone else,” we shift from self-expression to purpose. We focus less on impressing, more on serving. That’s where depth lives.
🍪 The Cookie Challenge
We all love cookies.
Maybe we don’t eat them daily — but most of us have a favorite. A memory. A ritual. A craving.
For this challenge, students weren’t just making a cookie.
They were crafting something that belongs in the raw & wellness world —
✨ without ever saying the words “healthy,” “vegan,” or “plant-based.”
Each one was guided by The Plant Challenge Tarot Deck®, and a shared mission:
Design a raw cookie concept for the market.
But each challenge was unique — built from a personal card draw:
1 ✨ Emerging Consumer (your audience)
2 📈 Trends shaping their desires
1 🌍 Context (where your cookie lives)
1 🌟 Inspiration to spark originality
2 🛠️ Tools (your creative powers)
This wasn’t a blank page. This was a framework — a creative system that sparked real ideas, with real potential.
They researched, ideated, and prototyped.
Each result reflected:
Their voice.
Their creativity.
And a cookie that could exist in the real world.
And guess what? None of the cookies created exist in today’s market. They were unique, bold, and full of possibility.
The kind of creative breakthroughs that don’t come from waiting for inspiration — They come from playing within a frame.
🎰 Do you want to play?
Here’s your workbook — your mission, your cards, your (cookie) destiny. Print it. Set a timer for 1.5 hours. Disconnect from the internet.
Then… let your brain switch ON and start creating.
Ready to try it yourself?
Where a simple prompt meets powerful imagination.
Print it, sketch it, or copy it into your notebook. What matters is that you slow down and play with it.
Let’s Connect
Sometimes me think, what is friend? And then me say: a friend is someone to share the last cookie with. — Cookie Monster 🍪
So…
If today’s challenge sparked an idea…
If you made a cookie concept that makes you smile…
Or even if you just imagined one you wish existed —I’d love to see it.
📩 Share it with me — a sketch, a flavor, a name, a message.
Let’s keep the cookie magic going. Because creativity is better when it’s shared —especially when it has cookie shape!
Support My Work
If this helped you, consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing to my newsletter, or buying me a coffee. This space is a labor of love—and your support helps me keep building it.
A Note from Me
Do you know why I love this format — writing and sending these letters? Because I love reading and writing. Not because of the insights. Not because of the results. But because it gives me one of the deepest forms of human satisfaction: focus.
The healthy kind. The kind that feeds the brain and quiets the noise. The kind that makes me feel like myself.
I don’t expect you to read every word. Or to play all the challenges. Or to buy any of my products (zero pressure — zero sales pitch). What I do wish for you is this:
That you find your own version of this habit. That you carve out time — even 15 minutes — to be fully present, doing just one thing.
Last weekend, I finally had a few hours for myself — after five full weeks of non-stop teaching and working. And what did I do? I read for five hours straight.
It felt like a reset. A release for my brain. A deep exhale for my soul.
