Episodes
331 - Your Inner Critic is Drowning Out Your Creative Voice
If you second guess every creative decision, panic before sharing your work, and overthink every piece, this is called hyper-vigilance and it’s a trauma response. The creative journey is full of bumps and bruises, but sometimes these wounds don’t heal and they get in the way of a healthy thriving creative practice. If you’re sick of the negative anxiety filled voices in your head drowning out your creative voice - the 3 exercises in this episode can help. This is part 4 of the “Over Overthinki…
330 - Keep Going or Quit? 3 Surprising Landmarks on the Path to Breakthrough
It’s natural to think that the creative path would get easier as you get closer to breakthrough or that the signs you’re onto something would be obvious. But if you study those who have experienced a big break in finding their thing creatively, you will see the signs you’re going the right way are unexpected and easy to miss. In this episode we do a deep dive to identify some extremely common signs you should keep going and how many overlook these signs and quit too early. This is part 3 of th…
329 - 15 Surprising, Strange and Powerful Ways for Overcoming Creative Fears
Do you have fear and anxiety around making creative work? If you get stuck in your head, second guessing every decision and ultimately feeling torn about what you have made, this episode is for you. It’s time to remember why creative work used to be your passion and rekindle your play and excitement about making again. In this episode you will find countless ways to do just that… well we did count them… there’s 15 ways in this episode, but come on, that’s a lot for one podcast episode! We tal…
328 - If You Only Listen to One Episode of This Show Make It This One
I love creative people so much and I hate to see them struggle. But most of the creative people I know are in a constant state of struggle. In this episode I want to share the one thing in my creative practice that solves the biggest obstacles facing creatives. If overthinking and your inner critic are killing your creative practice or causing creative block. Listen to this! This is part 1 of the “Over Overthinking” Series.
327 - The 6 Types of Personal Projects and How to Know Which Kind to Do NOW
If you’re feeling stuck or unable to move because you don’t know which direction you should head, this episode is for you. If you don’t know how to spend you creative time right now, this episode is for you! If you’re not careful, the creative journey can become a whole lot of waiting around. This is not ideal because you could be using this time to make your opportunities and find your own next creative breakthrough. In this episode I want to share with you 6 types of a personal projects tha…
326 - The Invisible Difference Between Ordinary vs Transcendent Creative Work with Brian McDonald and Jesse Bryan
Who’s your current favorite artist or creator right now? With them in mind, doesn’t it seem like those who truly capture our attention have something more than the run-of-the-mill creativity but instead harness some kind of mysterious creative magic? They may even be using the same instruments and devices, but there’s still some indescribable, seemingly undefinable gap between the ordinary and the transcendent. In today’s episode, I speak with story experts Brian McDonald and Jesse Bryan and w…
325 - The 3 Step Creative Journey from Forgettable to All-Time Favorite
Have you ever went looking for new art in your field to stoke your creative flame, but inadvertently squelched your fire completely when you realized just how overwhelmingly stiff the competition is these days? Being a creative can feel impossible. Even if you get past all your inner demons and can find the discipline to show up on a regular basis, you then face an even greater challenge: an enormous sea of competition. But there is good news: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE THE BEST you only have to b…
324 - The Counterintuitive Step to Finding Your Creative Secret Sauce with Amy and Jen Hood
How do you embody who you really are as an artist? How do you find what makes you truly different? How do you hone in and tap into that inner creative voice? In this episode of Creative Pep Talk we have the incredibly inspiring founders of Hoodzpah Design, Amy and Jen Hood. Amy and Jen are twin sisters, and they do have things in common, but anyone who knows them, sees how clearly they have discovered and embodying their own very distinct creative identities. In this episode we dive into th…
323 - Do Not Miss These 3 Essential Things to Help Potential Fans Find You
If you google “build it and they will come” the second most searched term is “build it and they will come bible”. This notion is so pervasive in our culture that we’re convinced it’s BIBLICAL! The problem? Well, beside the obvious issue that this is a line from a 90s Kevin Costner flick, this idea hurts artists and creatives. How? It convinces us that our only job is to make the work and that means we leave the job of being discovered to our audience, but finding and enjoying our work is not o…
322 - How to Fine-Tune Your Thinking to See Your Best Ideas
Creative work is subjective, but that doesn’t mean there is no good or bad, it just means that you define what’s good. Often though, we forget to actually do this! This episode is a deep dive into the practice of doing just that, how to develop your definition of good. We will also explore in real time how this process makes all the difference. Andy works as an illustrator but credits much of his creative practice to his design training. So, in this episode, we are joined by the Adobe Wiref…
321 - How to Find Your Path by Finding Which Torch to Pick Up with Barry Lee
This episode is so deep!! I am so inspired by the depth of Barry Lee’s art and how he puts his whole heart and soul into everything that he makes. If you’re looking for how to find your creative path and need tips on how to put more of your essence into your work, you need to dive into this episode. This conversation was so moving and inspiring!
320 - 5 Steps and 27 Tools for a Super Energizing Mid Year Creative Reboot
If you feel like you’re slipping creatively or you’ve lost your creative spark this year, right now is a great time to reconnect with your creative path. This episode will give you a framework for tapping back into your creative intentions, give you a strategy for resparking progress in your goals and help you get excited about what’s possible for the second half of this year.
319 - 3 Things to Do When You’re Afraid The Times are Moving Faster Than Your Slow Progress
“Just keep going” they say, but should you keep going even when you know your pace is so slow, that by the time you get there, the thing you’re working towards will be gone? I have found myself in this situation so many times in my creative career. In times like these I have found a few tools to be useful for breaking this speed barrier. In this episode we will dive into 3 practices to help you unlock faster progress in your creative work on the creative side and the business side.
318 - How One Artist’s Strategic Personal Project Turned into a Book Deal and Dream Clients with Stacy Michelson
Listen to this episode if you feel like the answers are right in front of you but you just can’t seem to put your finger on them. Today on the show we have an artist whose journey truly exemplifies so many Creative Pep Talk strategies and principles. In this episode you will hear how Stacy Michelson learned to put her true self into her creative projects and how this unlocked so many creative career doors!
317 - Sick of Your Own Work? How to Make Work You Love Again in 5 Steps
Do you ever look over your portfolio or back catalog of work and just feel sick of it all? Do you fear your work is irrelevant? It’s easy in times like these to rush to making new stuff that’s on trend, but in this episode I want to introduce you to a solution that is essentially the opposite of that. In this episode we talk about: - How to get in touch with the invisible thread running through your work - Why priming yourself with the right inspiration before making work is essential and how …
316 - How to Tap Into Your Highest Creative Self with Morgan Harper Nichols
Listen to this if you need to find the pulse of your creative path again. Morgan Harper Nichols is BACK! This conversation had me ON FIRE creatively while simultaneously inspiring me to the point of tears! We dive deep into the science of making creative magic, exploring and owning the parts of yourself that you’ve tried to run from and so much more!
315 - 6 Secret Ingredients for a Breakthrough Creative Project
Some folks think creativity is all about the ideas, and others say that ideas are a dime a dozen and what really counts is the execution. But the truth is - each layer of a creative project matters and in this episode we identify the crucial layers and how to approach them to give your creative projects everything they need to take off! Whether you’re someone who rushes to put stuff out there before it’s ready or someone who gets bored after the idea phase and can’t seem to finish anything, th…
314 - How to Drown Out the Noise and Find Your Creative Pulse Again
Are you trying to be everywhere and feel like you’re getting nowhere? Is your creative flow overwhelmed by competing noisy thoughts? Is it getting harder for you to put yourself and your work out there? In this episode we will help you identify the distractions and reconnect with the pulse of your creative path so that you can create from a place that equals real progress in your creative career again. If you feel like you’ve been on a side road and want to get back to a place where your eff…
313 - How to Make Creative Rules When You Don't Know What You Want with Austin Kleon
This was a super cathartic chat with creative powerhouse Austin Kleon. In this chat we dive into some really big questions around influences, what happens when your creative heroes disappoint you and how to find what you want to do by using the shortcut of defining what you’re against. If you don’t know Austin - he’s the author of several incredible books including Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work and Keep Going. I think of Kleon as my older cooler creative cousin, who’s much more well re…
312 - Do You Know Who You Are? Find Your Creative Identity Now
Most artists have a deep desire to be known, but you can’t tell the world who you are if you don’t know who you are. In this special episode we dive deep into a 5 step process for finding and finely crafting your creative identity. If you’re afraid you’re not sure who you are or you’re unsure if you’re effectively communicating who you are in your work or online - tune into this JAM PACKED PEPisode to unlock powerful and effective brand messaging.
311 - How Your Creative Journey Ripples From Personal Breakthrough with Rostam
TODAY ON THE SHOW WE HAVE ONE OF MY CREATIVE HEROES! Grammy award winner Rostam Batmanglij!!!! Now I bet many of you are already fans, but if you’re a fan of Haim, Frank Ocean, Carly Rae Jepson, Vampire Weekend, Charli XCX or Clairo you’ve almost certainly already enjoyed Rostam’s incredible work as a producer! This conversation is a deep dive into Rostam’s creative journey and there are so many takeaways and moving tidbits. Can’t wait for you to hear it! We talk about: - How Thinking Through…
310 - This 4 Step Process for Finding Your Focus Unlocks Super Potent Motivation
The worst thing about being lost is not knowing whether every step is getting you closer to being found or further away. It’s maddening! Have you ever felt this way in your creative journey? Is this dread haunting your creative process? More often than not, this is because you are lost. When you don’t know where you’re headed, you can’t know if what you’re working on is getting you closer to your goal or further away. The answer is not to buckle down and muscle through. You don’t need more mot…
309 - 10 of My Favorite Creative Podcasts & The 10 Super Insights They Taught Me PART 2
Part 2 of our TOP 10 Podcast COUNTDOWN! Listen in and hear some of my all time favorite creative podcasts, specific episodes of theirs I love and even specific tips, tactics and mindset shifts from these episodes! These insights have been SUPERCHARGING my creativity lately. OK! HUGE NEWS!! We just launched our very own CREATIVE PODCAST NETWORK!!! The Co-Loop Podcast Network is NOW LIVE: co-podcast.co What podcasts inspire you? This is the question I get maybe more than any other. SO! I’ve de…
308 - 10 of My Favorite Creative Podcasts & The 10 Super Insights They Taught Me PART 1
Listen in and hear some of my all time favorite creative podcasts, specific episodes of theirs I love and even specific tips, tactics and mindset shifts from these episodes! These insights have been SUPERCHARGING my creativity lately. OK! HUGE NEWS!! We just launched our very own CREATIVE PODCAST NETWORK!!! The Co-Loop Podcast Network is NOW LIVE: co-podcast.co What podcasts inspire you? This is the question I get maybe more than any other. SO! I’ve decided to answer this question in a BIG WA…