Episodes

Does planning make perfect? Or is it best to shoot from the hip? Should you meticulously obsess over the details or should you just let those creative juices flow??? In this episode I want to share a principle that has helped me strike a balance and tap into my own personal peak creative performan…

Being a creative person is incredible... except when it's not. To be a pro creative you've got to work hard and be a professional, but playing that part can sometimes lead to ignoring your needs and emotions. There's a secret I know about most creative people. They can look all cool and collected…

Would the people that know you best, see 'you' in the art that you make? The self discovery and artistic development required to pull this off can seem like an impossible mountain to climb, so I asked artist Jon Burgerman, how has he done it? I don't know anyone who is as good as Jon at downloadin…

Do you have a sense that you've yet to realize your full potential? Do you often feel like you have much more to give but can't seem to figure out how to make it happen? These feelings have haunted me my entire life and over the past few years I feel like I'm finally unlocking some of my inner hi…

Every journey has it's ups and downs and your creative career journey is DEFINITELY going to have some serious downs... or you're not doing it right!! This episode is about failure and how you can not only get through it, but start to embrace it as the secret to success! I also offer a tactic I f…

What do you do when something's broken? You take it apart. I think we all have a deep sense that EVERYTHING is broken right now and because of that we are deconstructing EVERYTHING!! For this reason, this year's 99u conference theme of "Challenging Everything" felt VERY APPROPRIATE to me. In t…

Anyone can deal with the good times, but it's how we deal with the hard times that defines our creative careers. In this episode I want to share tools for getting back up when the chips are down and you're feeling crushed. I've been dealing with some burnout and struggle and I hope these ideas a…

Do you ever feel like you're hiding behind the subjectivity of art? Like the fact that creativity is subjective, means no one can tell you you're bad or good. Right? I would say: wrong! Take the very creative world of food for example. Like what's good food and bad food might be up for debate to a…

Chris Piascik has been doing a daily project for 10 years!! In fact, he's built an entire illustration career on the back of this project! In this episode, Chris shares the core insights he's learned about personal projects throughout this enormous journey!

Is it just me, or does it seem like people think creative work only matters if it's reaching insane amounts of people? Like if you've never made something that's gone viral, than you're not really in the REAL creative game? Like if you don't have a bonkers amount of followers on social media than y…

It can be extremely discouraging when you pour yourself into your creative work, and it fails to connect with an audience. In this episode I share everything I've learned about growing an audience, including specific examples and tactics I personally employ, as well as a few ideas I've been waiti…

Today's show features an extremely special guest!! JENI of JENI'S ICE CREAM! In this episode we hear Jeni's story and the breakthrough moments that lead to her extremely creative and successful business, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. There are so many aha moments and lessons from this episode, I kn…

Did you know that you may be subconsciously sabotaging yourself? Well since you're doing it subconsciously, you probably don't! In this episode we talk about how to recognize your self sabotage and how to fight it. We also talk about Shiny Object Syndrome and why starting tons of things and neve…

Everyone wants to know the secret sauce to directly approaching those you want to work with. How do you contact the publishers, record labels, or clients you want to work, for in a way that actually works? In this episode I will share the only method that's worked for me and exactly how I've used …

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Creative Pep Talk is teaming up with Elle Luna and Lindsay Jean Thomson for The 100 Day Project this year!!!!! In this episode, Lindsay and Elle both share how their personal stories have powerfully impacted their creativity and personal projects. Lindsay walks us through her st…

"I barely have time to make personal work, and when I do have the time, I waste it trying to figure out what to make, or second guessing what I'm making!" Does this sound familiar? If so this episode is for you! We're often told that personal projects are the key to unlocking our creative career…

When it comes to your creative career, do you ever feel lost and confused, wandering in a metaphorical desert? In my experience, making progress in your creative career can feel random, haphazard and lonely, but I don't think it has to be this way. In this episode, we tap into the power of finding…

Honored to have esteemed and hilarious illustrator and cartoonist Gemma Correll back on the show today!! I had a fantastic time chatting with Gemma and also had some major take aways to chew on for my own practice... so I'm sure you will too! In this episode we talk about anxiety, self care, knowi…

When comedian Steve Martin was asked advice on breaking into Hollywood his advice was simple and brilliant “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” Yes! This advice is true and helpful, but there’s just one problem: how do you “get good” when the arts and all things creative are “subjective”? What’s t…

I’ve been waiting literally years to bring you this series and I could not be more excited!!! In this episode I tell the up and down story of my career path and the biggest lessons I learned along the way. This is my ‘keynote’ talk that I have been developing over the past few years and I am so g…

The further you go in your career, the easier it is to get stage freight. Whether it’s a your first conference call, a call with the creative team at Apple, or standing face to face with Adam Levine, you are going to encounter intimidating situations. And yet, you will only do your best work if you…

There are a million reasons we like to bury our heads in the sand and just get lost in our art, but if you want your creative business to consistently thrive for the long haul, we need to stay tuned to the culture, where our audience’s attention is and what people are responding to in our work. Ca…

It’s easy to want to give up on social media as a means to grow your creative business. With changing algorithms, fickle engagement and snail paced growth, it’s easy to feel like ‘what’s the point?’, right? BUT THERE’S A HUGE BUT and here it is: the people who are crushing it in the creative world…

Whether you’re 22 or 52, it’s very easy to feel like you’re falling behind. In this episode Lisa Congdon brings inspiring stories from her new book “A Glorious Freedom - Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives” that prove it’s never too late to start a new path. I’m thrilled to have Lisa on the …