Standout Creatives: Business, marketing, and creativity tips for solopreneurs launching their ideas

This is a replay of episode 27 with Lee Moyer. If you want an idea of what it's like to build a successful career as an artist and illustrator, look no further than Lee. He has some great advice that's worth re-sharing for those of you who didn't catch it the first time or for those who want to re-listen to Lee's great wisdom. -- Lee Moyer is a polymath and illustrator who has been working for over 35 years. He has worked with book publishers, theaters, and game developers among many other things. In this episode, we talk about a lot of topics including learning from others, how to handle criticism and information overload, and his Kickstarter project The Doom that Came to Atlantic City. Here are three things you can learn from Lee: How to become a better artist Lee is a big believer in learning from those who came before you. He never had a traditional art education and doesn’t think it is necessary to become a great artist. In order to become a better artist, he studied under other artists and absorbed their knowledge. This allowed him to learn under the best and the brightest instead of going into debt by going to art school. He is also a big believer in joining forums and learning from artists on the internet. These avenues make it easier than ever to become a better, more refined artist. The importance of criticism Lee believes criticism is an important part of becoming a better artist. Instead of letting criticism get to you, learn from what others are trying to tell you. People who critique your work are using their own time and energy to give you constructive feedback. Listen to what they they have to say and instead of taking it personally. If people didn’t like you, they wouldn’t bother to critique you. Dealing with impostor syndrome Everyone must deal with impostor syndrome. Even the late, great B.B. King was not immune from it. In order to overcome your feeling of not being good enough, you have to know and believe your work will turn out well. Even when you feel like nothing is coming together, you have to work through it. You need to be stubborn enough to work through the lulls in order to create something great. Just keep working and you will be fine. Read more shownotes from episode 27 with Lee Moyer.

A recap of episode 72 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Amy Oestreicher wheres she talks about being a detourist, being more capable than we think we are, and how our creativity benefits from taking small risks.

Amy Oestreicher thought she had her life all figured out. Ever since she was young, she felt she was born to perform. She was all set to go to college for musical theater when medical complications derailed everything. During her senior year of high school Amy started having stomach pains. When she went into surgery to fix it, her stomach shot out of her body and she went into a coma for months. She spent years and many surgeries in hospitals trying to reach some semblance of normalcy. During this trying time, Amy turned to creativity to help keep her busy. She started painting and she even developed her own one person play based on all of her troubles and overcoming adversity. With one play in the books, and another on the way, Amy is the prime example of what it means to persevere. In this episode, Amy talks about being a detourist, being more capable than we think we are, and how our creativity benefits from taking small risks. Here are three things you can learn from Amy: Become a Detourist As we go through life, we often face obstacles that push us past our comfort zones. We face obstacles that scare us. Amy believes we need to force ourselves to take risks, to push past the comfortable. “Unfortunately I think we all get something that pushes us sooner or later but obviously, to prepare ourselves, I think we have to look for the scary… We have to take the risk. We have to go inside and ask that question… ‘If I could not fail, I would do this.'” Amy believes we need to follow our curiosity. We need to stop feeling so comfortable and safe. We need to embrace the risk even in the face of the unknown. “My TEDx talk was about being a detourist, and for me, a detourist is someone who at least shows up and has this curiosity. I think that’s the best thing we can do with anything in life even if life seems settled and okay. Be curious like what if, ‘What if I went in this alternate direction?’… The truth is, it’s not so hard for adversity to find us but I think sometimes we do feel comfortable and safe. We do have to really go inside and ask ourselves ‘What is a risk I can take in this moment?’ And the truth is if it’s not, even if you’re not in a comfortable place, I say start with a gratitude list. That’s what I tell anyone.” Being a detourist requires knowing yourself. And one of the best ways to get to know yourself is by creating a gratitude list. Your gratitude list will reveal what’s important to you, even if it scares you. “Those gratitude items on my list… were actually my values. And the more I did those lists, the more I realized what was important to me. So the reason I think anyone should start with that is, you’ll realize what’s really important to you and what you need to go for, even if you’ve been scared of it.” We Are More Capable Than We Think One of the things that you might realize over time is that we have the capacity to do great things. Even if you don’t know exactly what you are doing, you can create beautiful results. That’s exactly what Amy did when she got back into acting after all her surgeries. “It’s fake it til you make it. I feel like, just by acting, I was the actress back at work with the director. I felt like my mind was in such a better place.” Don’t let your lack of experience prevent you from doing something you believe in. With the fake it til you make it attitude and the willingness to embark on new adventures you can make the impossible come true. “The truth is, I booked a theater in New York when I still had tubes and bags on me and I had never even touched professional theater after the hospital. So it was a big risk and it was an investment. So I think we were all very nervous cause I had never done anything like this in my sick or healthy life.” Amy did not let her lack of professional experience dissuade her. She did not let the financial risk or her own nervousness get in the way. She went after what she wanted, regardless of the obstacles she faced. That is why we sometimes need to force ourselves into uncomfortable situations. We need to push ourselves to the limits to see what we are truly capable of. “Sometimes you need to light a fire under you to get yourself in gear. You know why I don’t ever feel like a victim is because I think we are always more capable than I think we are or than other people perceive us as. And sometimes it takes saying ‘You know what, I’m going to fail,’ to see that we don’t fail.” How Our Creativity Benefits from Taking Small Risks We often believe risk is a huge commitment or step in our lives that will change our whole perspective on the world, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Even the smallest risks can take you in the right direction. “I like to ask myself ‘What is the smallest micro-movement I could take? If I were an amoeba… what is the tiniest thing I could do?” That’s because risks aren’t an all or nothing proposition. Risks lie on a spectrum. You don’t have to quit your job to take a risk. Risk can be almost anything. “Risk is not an all or nothing thing. There are a spectrum of risks we can take. It doesn’t have to be quit my job and become a performance artist. It could be I’m going to make myself sit and write that opening paragraph I’ve been putting off… and I think that’s what makes it a little bit easier to start with. Not I’m going to paint a canvas. I’m going to take a crayon and draw a stick figure. So, there’s no excuse.” One important lesson we can learn about creativity and risk can be learned from kids. Kids aren’t worried about embarrassing themselves or making mistakes. They embrace it in the name of creativity. “Creativity can feel really superfluous, you know, like why I have this to do or that to do. But kids own it. You see that it’s a priority to them.” If we just allow ourselves to take risks and look at the world from a child’s mind, we can slowly create a world where risk isn’t such a big deal. Read more shownotes from episode 72 with Amy Oestreicher

This is a replay of episode 26 with Katy Walker and Joel Mejia. Life can sometimes overwhelm us. We get bogged down by all the negative things around us. That's why it was such a pleasure to do an interview with people like Katie and Joel. Their positivity, and inspirational work is something we should all aspire to follow. --- Katy Walker and Joel Mejia are the co-directors of the Time is Art documentary, a film that follow’s Jennifer Palmer’s journey after her aunt’s death and her exploration of synchronicity. They are also the minds behind Things Are Changing Productions, a creative collective that produces youth media programs, indie films, and music videos. In this episode we explore what you must do to take action, why you should work with limitations, and the benefits of empowering others. Here are three things you can learn from Katy and Joel: You should look inward for answers Looking inward is one of the most empowering things people can do. Many of us go days without taking the time to look within ourselves for answers. We are so busy trying to be productive that we forget to think things through. Most of the time, the answer we are looking for is already within us. The next time you are stuck looking for answers, pause and look inside yourself. You might be surprised by what you discover. Limitations make you more creative Big budget blockbusters have an almost an unlimited amount of money to work with. They are given every resource they may need, which might be the reason so many of them fall flat. Joel believes the best way to get the most out of an artist is to give that artist some limitations. When you are up against a wall, you are forced to come up with a creative solution, which often lead to the best results. Most of us believe the more free you are, the easier it is to be creative. The problem is, this gives you t oo many options. The next time you are stuck, give yourself some limitations. You may be surprised by the results. The benefits of empowering others Katy and Joel are big believers in empowering other people. They believe apprenticeships are a powerful form of teaching. When someone becomes your apprentice, they are not being forced to learn. They are looking for long term value and a longer term education. They are also running a series of workshops along with the film. This encourages people to engage and collaborate with others, which leads to a more powerful experience. They want people to connect through the film and the workshops and create long terms connections from it. Read more shownotes from episode 26 with Katie and Joel

A recap of episode 71 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Cassia Cogger wheres he talks about why we need to be open to new ideas, the importance of avoiding complacency and being consistent, and the art of simplification, among many other things.

Cassia Cogger has created art ever since she was young. In middle school she won a national contest for a laundry detergent brand. And unlike most artists, she began selling her art early in life. After college, Cassia abandoned her artistic pursuits and got a job as an editor at a trade magazine. It was during this time that Cassia realized she wanted to become a full-time artist. So she picked up a few odd jobs to support her painting business. Before her daughter was born, Cassia was featured in a magazine as a rising star in water color. But after her daughter's birth, she stopped painting as frequently. It wasn't until after her second child was born that Cassia got serious about art again. The same art magazine wanted to follow up with her to see what she had done in the past five years. This was the call to action she needed to get serious about art again. In this episode, Cassia talks about why we need to be open to new ideas, the importance of avoiding complacency and being consistent, and the art of simplification, among many other things. Here are three things you can learn from Cassia: We Should Always be Open to New Ideas One of the things that holds artists back from reaching their full potential is being too closed minded. Many artists only want to learn about one specific thing. They are not open to exploring new ideas. Cassia used to have these closed minded ideas about art, but after a while, she started believing art can be enhanced by everything around us. "Art is everywhere and can be anything, and to limit it to something like a painting or a sculpture, I was really missing out at that time seeing work. And when I do think when you do say 'I do this' or 'I do that', you're missing out as well." Many artists are afraid of exploring something new. We like the safety and comfort of the known. Cassia believes this mindset is holding us back. "That entire new world can be kinda scary, right? The unknown is scary. What we know is safe and it's easy and it's comfortable, but you're not growing or shifting or changing or learning." During our conversation, Cassia realized that she wasn't just an artist. She realized she was a learner and explorer. "Having this conversation right now, maybe even more than being an artist, I am a learner... I am the consummate student. I just love information and I love figuring things out, and I love coming to the next eureka phenomena until two minutes later when something else kind of hits me. There's nothing that excites me more and maybe the creative process or making artwork is what keeps me in that state of openness that allows me to keep receiving new information again and again and again." Avoid Complacency and Become More Consistent A lot of times, we try to do things the same way, even though they don't work. We repeat the same mistakes because it's easier than trying to forge a new path for ourselves. Cassia believes we should stop being satisfied with the status quo. Instead, we need to try something new. "I think a lot of people hit a wall and they aren't satisfied but... they think they need to go through it, right, instead figuring out that they can build something to go over it or carve a path go around it, or heck let's burrow a tunnel to go under it. There are a number of people who reach that point and I think it's very comfortable and it's fine and wow, that would be awesome." Another thing holding artists back is their failure to develop a routine behind their work. Instead of learning how to create work consistently, we try to work when we feel inspired. But routine is essential to becoming a better artist. It's the reason Cassia become a more creative and productive artist. "You reach this point where I have wanted to buck routine my entire life, and now I'm like so much more productive and creative and just a better person when I kinda have my systems and processes and routines and frameworks in place because I'm not wasting all this energy on trying to figure out the world around me." The Art of Simplification One of the things that plagues most people, especially artists, is our tendency complicate things unnecessarily. Often times we do so much planning and thinking that we over complicate things. But the best solution is often the simplest one. Cassia's art is the result of simplifying the things around her. "Art making for me is distilling my experience. It's removing the non-essential from the world around me through the process of making, and maybe that's expressed on the page, maybe I just experience it in the process, but it's about simplification." That is why she relies on routine and consistency. When we create routines, we are able to be more productive. We are able to maximize our time because we are no longer wasting our time on the unnecessary. "In a perfect world, I do find in my perfect world, that routine and consistency just leads to far greater... productivity because I'm not wasting my time on all the other stuff." Read more shownotes from episode 71 with Cassia Cogger

A recap of episode 70 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Kent Sanders where he talks about why breaks are important, some of the biggest things holding us back, and changing our mindsets about money.

Kent Sanders has lived a life full of creativity ever since he was young, but it never occurred to him that he could make a living from his creativity. When Kent was young, he separated his love of creativity from his love of religion. It never occurred to him that he could combine those two interests. After working in the ministry for a few years, he decided he wanted to go back to school to teach. He wanted to challenge himself by doing something new. While finishing up his master’s degree, a realization dawned on him. He realized he could combine his two passions for art and religion. So he became a professor at a religious college where has taught everything from technology, to art, and film. In this episode, Kent talks about why breaks are important, some of the biggest things holding us back, and changing our mindsets about money. Here are three things you can learn from Kent: Breaks are Extremely Important One of the things that plagues many workers today is our pull to always be working. Society has led us to believe that we must work all the time in order to be successful. Kent believes it’s not about the number of hours you work, but how effective you are in the hours you do work. “The more that you work, the more people tend to look on that as a good thing. Where ‘Oh, this person has worked so much. They haven’t taken a vacation in so many years, and they’re working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, and that’s such a great thing, and they’re so devoted.’ We kind of have a messed up culture, I think, in the Western world in that regard. Where we believe that the more you work, the more effective you are, and that’s not true at all. It’s not necessarily about the number of hours, it’s about how effective you are, how you are using your time, and are you focusing in on the right things?” Instead, Kent believes we need to set healthy boundaries for for how much we work. “We kind of have to set these limits four ourselves so that we can have some healthy boundaries.” Because when we work so many hours, we can become distracted. We tend to lose focus. Half the time we are working and half the time we aren’t. Kent believes we can prevent this by setting up times to complete different tasks. “Sometimes we operate in that space where we’re kind of working, we’re kind of not working… to me it’s much better to set a clear, delineated line. And have specific times for things. That can be a real struggle because we can work any time and anywhere. To me it requires more self-discipline and more clear boundaries that we have to set because other people are not setting them for us.” The Biggest Thing Holding Us Back is Us One of the false perceptions people have about creativity is that restraints are a bad thing. Many artists believe restraints hold us back from doing our best work. Kent believes restraints can be helpful in our creative work. An example of this is how Kent uses timers when working. Instead of giving yourself unlimited amounts of time, you should set time limits for your work. “Actually if you set a timer and you only focus intently on that one thing, it’s amazing how fast you can get something done. The problem is that it requires a lot of focus and mental energy, and sometimes we don’t want to spend that mental energy because it’s hard. It’s really hard to focus on one thing for even ten minutes or a half hour. So that’s something that has been helpful to me, just placing that limit on yourself. But also, I think, other kinds of limits can be helpful too… because you’re forced to find other solutions to get something done.” Kent also believes our resources are not holding us back. What we are missing is a tenacious spirit. “To me the issue is not do I have enough time to get something done or do I have enough money to get something done. To me the issue is, am I going to figure out a way to get it done no matter what, and that to me seems to be the single biggest key to success for almost anything. It’s not about the talents or gifts that you have. It’s not about how much money you have or how much time you have. It’s about having that really tenacious spirit where you say ‘I’m going to get this done no matter what. I’m going to find a way to make it happen.’ It may take longer than I want. It may not exactly be the way I wanted or it may not get done the exact way that I envision it, but I’m going to make it happen. And that to me is the most critical thing of all. You’re willing to kinda plow through the obstacles and figure out creative ways to get things done and just make it happen.” We Need to Change Our Mindsets About Money After talking to many artists, I’ve come to realize that many artists struggle with the idea of making money from their art. They believe marketing is a necessary evil instead of a tool to help progress their careers. Kent also had these same struggles until he realized that giving doesn’t pay the bills. “I just like to give. That’s just part of who I am, but giving doesn’t pay the bills. You gotta charge for things at some point. And once I kinda got past that initial discomfort, I think my mindset began to shift a lot on just what it means to sell things and to think more in terms of business.” This is often times the biggest obstacle artists face. So changing your mindset can make a huge difference. “Once you understand selling things isn’t bad, that selling things is actually good, then your whole mindset kinda changes because you have to support your family. You should be compensated for the work that you do. But it’s really not about you getting paid. It’s really about doing the best for the person who you’re selling to.” The best way to look at it is by realizing how much value your work has. When you don’t charge for your work, you devalue it. What Kent realized was that if you want customers to get real value from your work, you have to charge for it. “People just don’t tend to emotionally value things that they have not personally invested in. So really the best thing we can do for people sometimes is to charge them for what we do because then that person is going to value it more. They’ll probably be a lot more likely to follow through with what they have bought, whether it’s a book or a course or something. So I think once you get past this idea that making money from something is bad, you know, you’ve got to kinda ditch that idea and understand that making money from something can be a really good thing because when you have money, it lets you do more good in the world.” Read more shownotes from episode 70 with Kent Sanders

A recap of episode 68 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Bob Baker where he talks about doing things that interest you, why you need to be persistent, and what separates successful artists from unsuccessful artists.

This is a replay of episode 23 with Tim Lawrence. With so many people going through adversity, it is important to remember that we can grow through even the most trying circumstances. --- Tim Lawrence is a copy editor, writer and adversity researcher. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Barclays Center, and Lincoln Center, and has copyedited for New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling authors. In this episode, Tim talks about growing through adversity, the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle, and the power of listening. Here are three lessons you can learn from Tim: You have to challenge yourself if you want to grow When we grow up, we do everything we can to make life easier on ourselves. We are taught to seek comfort instead of adversity. While this may lead to an easier life, you will also stagnate. Challenging yourself is the only way to grow as a person. It forces you to be in the moment. You become more aware of you body and mind, and grow outside of your comfort zone. Otherwise you will be left unfulfilled and bored. Instead of running from adverse circumstances, confront them. That is the only way to grow. The benefits of a minimalist lifestyle One of the great revelations Tim had was the power of owning less. When he was making a lot of money, he also owned a lot of stuff, and was still unhappy. Now that he is making a lot less, he also owns less, which has made him a happier person. What he has come to realize is that by owning less, you are able to serve people more effectively. You have less distractions and you are able to focus on what is truly important. Instead of owning more things, he recommends saving money so you can have experiences. When you travel, you come face to face with cultures that are different from our own. And you realize that things like possessions, status, and power are valued a lot less than they are in the Western world. The power of being a good listener Early in life, Tim discovered that listening was a very important aspect of connecting with other people. When people were going through tragedy, they would come to him because he knew how to be a good listener. He now uses this skill to help both people who are going through adverse circumstances, and those who are trying to share their message with the world. It has been crucial in his work with successful people. Through listening he is able to dive into other people’s worlds. He allows people to expose themselves for who they are without judgement. This had led to strong relationships that can last a lifetime. Read more shownotes from episode 23 with Tim Lawrence