Episodes
189 - Finding Peak Creative Performance
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 performance. Your peak performance will be a different recipe than mine, but hopefully my process will help you find yours!!! This episode comes from personal experience, studying best creative practices of …
188 - Why You're Off Track
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 and pro when they need to, but behind that cool facade there is often a volcano of emotions. I know the truth about you... you're emo. You may not listen to My Chemical Romance (anymore) but you sti…
187 - How to Get More YOU into Your Art w/ Jon Burgerman
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 downloading their essence into their art and in this episode I chat with Jon about what the process of getting to this place looks like.
186 - The Key to Unlocking Your Creative Super Powers
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 hidden gems!! In this stripped back / behind the scenes style episode I share the clues that have helped me make progress in my journey of creative self discovery.
185 - Your New Secret Weapon for the Hard Times
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 found that helped me complete my yearlong goal in just a few months!!!
184 - Challenge Everything!! 00:0053:36
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 this episode I want to share the breakthroughs I had while at 99u this past month and how they've impacted my outlook in my day to day creative career and my big picture perspective as a person. In th…
183 - How to Relight Your Fire!
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 are as energizing for you as they have been for me!! Even if you already feel good today, I hope this episode takes you from good to great!!
182 - Why You've Got to Get in the Game!!!
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 degree, but ultimately undercooked poultry can objectively kill you! That is undoubtedly "bad food". I believe that in the world of professional creativity, value is more objective than you think an…
181 - The Power of Persistence w/ Chris Piascik
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!
180 - Do the Opposite of "Going Viral"
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 you're creativity just doesn't really matter? In this episode I want to argue the opposite. I want to prove to you that deep impact is better than wide appeal when it comes to your creativity. I also …
179 - How to Grow an Audience
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 waiting to share for a long time!
178 - How to Create Art People Crave w/ Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Ice Cream
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 know it's going to be one of your all time favorites!! Thank you so so much Jeni for taking the time to give so much to the Creative Pep Talk Audience! You are so amazing!
177 - Are You Sabotaging Yourself?
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 never finishing any of them is killing your chances for progress. I also share my method for knowing what to focus on today.
176 - How to Approach Those You Want to Work With (The Creative Career Path Series Pt. 5)176 - How to Approach Those You Want to Work With (The Creative Career Path Series Pt. 5)
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 it! We will also talk about the power of pivoting and what questions to ask yourself when your at the end of your current path.
175 - Power in Your Story with Elle Luna & Lindsay Jean Thomson (The 100 Day Project)
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 story of being diagnosed with breast cancer and how it impacted her writing and Elle shares about her new book, "Your Story is Your Power" and how and why she claimed her feminine voice. We also talk t…
174 - The Trick to Knowing Exactly What to Make (Creative Career Path Series Pt. 4)
"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 goals, but if you've ever done a personal project yourself, you know it's not that simple. What's the key to making effective personal projects that cause real breakthrough in your career? Find out …
173 - Find Your Place (Creative Career Path Series Pt 3)
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 where you fit in the industry (your market) and how to then, and only then, stand out (your niche). I personally return to these ideas on a very regular basis and they never cease to give me clarity…
172 - Knowing Your Target with Gemma Correll
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, knowing your target and the bad and good of having 500k+ instagram followers! Gemma is a star and you're going to love this episode!
171 - The 1 Thing You HAVE TO DO! (Creative Career Path Series Pt 2)
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 the secret to “getting good”? In this episode I share a career changing principle that unlocks the first major step in your journey. The ideas in this episode have become a foundation in which I’ve …
170 - 4 Creative Career Lessons that Changed My Life (The Creative Career Path Series Pt 1)
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 glad it’s now ready to share with you! The Creative Career Path Series is my 7 step plan for making intentional systematic progress in your creative career. This process is years in the making, from s…
169 - Courage to Be You w/ Emmy Winner James Pearse Connelly, Production Designer on The Voice
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 can show up in the moment unafraid of voicing your ideas and true opinions. Today we have a super special guest, Emmy award winning James Pearse Connelly, production designer for shows like The Voic…
168 - The Power of Finding Your Audience
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. Can you imagine any business completely ignoring their audience / the market and succeeding long term? Can you imagine a stock broker that didn’t follow the stock market? I believe that creative profess…
167 - Exciting Social Media Ideas
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 often credit their success to social media… I don’t think there’s debating it, social media is important to our creative career… no matter how much we wish it wasn’t true. In this episode we share…
166 - It's Never Too Late with Lisa Congdon
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 podcast again! My last interview with Lisa is one of my favorite episodes and as it’s one of the most popular episodes of the show to date, I’m guessing you feel the same way!