Episodes

Buckle up. This episode gets DEEP and it's chocked full of PASSION and ENERGY. This is two dudes cut from the same ADHD cloth. You've been warned! ;) Rogie very graciously shares his journey to becoming the Illustrator / Designer / Developer that he is today. We dive into ADHD and meds, the ups and downs of personal faith and how combining your unique skills can set you apart in the industry. If you are a hardcore Creative Pepperoni, this might just be your new favorite episode!

Are you working hard on your creative work, with your head down, locked in your room, trying to make progress, but still unhappy about the pace of your growth? In this episode we talk about the one thing that has the potential to grow your work and your career unlike anything else. If you’re trying to build a creative career without this element, I don’t think you stand a chance!

Do you have false beliefs about marketing that are keeping you from your full potential? Today on the show we identify the beliefs that are keeping you from selling your work properly and how to change your perspective, so that you can give your creative work the best chance to succeed.

For creatives, nothing hurts more than lukewarm feedback. Up and down, Inconsistent, random praise or radio silence is even more maddening. In this episode, we’re digging deep to answer these questions: What’s at the heart of a thriving creative career? Or how do you steadily grow your audience over a lifetime? What's the key to going from creative hobby to creative business?

If you’re not making a deep connection with your audience, you don’t stand a chance. The first step is having an authentic deep connection to your creative work. Easy right? Wrong. In theory it sounds so simple, but anyone who’s attempted to ‘put themselves onto the page’ so to speak, knows that this is trickier than it sounds. In this episode, I identify what I believe to be the key to making more authentic work.

I believe that your creative career doesn’t get super interesting until you find why you are super unique. But you can’t figure this out in an afternoon by starring in the mirror or taking a career aptitude test. The information you need is collected while on the journey of making stuff! In this episode we talk about what that journey looks like so that you can recognize the stages and maximize your results! This episode is part of our series on Creative Destiny AKA your creative career hero’s journey to reach your full potential.

This episode is the definitive foundation of Creative Pep Talk and contains my favorite ideas at the heart of this show. This is your creative destiny compass. In this episode we answer the question: what are the signposts pointing to my CREATIVE DESTINY? How do I know which direction will take me to my full creative career potential. Should you keep going on the path you’re on or do you need to try something else? Is it about grit or should you be pivoting? Just keep swimming or fail fast and explore something new? My hope is that whenever you’re stuck asking these questions, this episode will be your guide. This episode is the first part of our series on Creative Destiny AKA your creative career hero’s journey to reach your full potential. ALSO this episode marks a brand new chapter for the show, with new album artwork to commemorate our first 1 million listens!

I am honored and privileged to have DEBBIE MILLMAN on the show! Debbie and I talk through some of the questions you need to ask yourself to help uncover your personal brand, clarify your goals and finally connect with what you really truly want for your life. If you don’t know Debbie is the host of THE design podcast Design Matters, for 20 years she was the President of the design division at Sterling Brands and co-founder of the graduate program in branding at SVA. This interview shook me up! I hope it does the same for you!

Do you feel like you’ve been stuck in the same place in your creative career for far too long? In this episode we explore how to get through the desert AKA how to get out of the belly of the whale and into the next right season and take the next right step to fulfilling your creative career destiny! Oh yeah and it’s mostly about sandwiches too.

Daniel Fishel is a top notch illustrator with the accolades to prove it: clients like The New York Times and The Washington Post, an MFA from SVA, and the 2016 Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 in Art / Style. But more importantly to me, he's a great dude with a heart to share what he's learned for the benefit of others. Daniel's put in real sweat equity and deep work to get where he is now, and he's never shy about sharing what's working for him. In this episode Daniel shares the top 5 things he considers essential to his journey, and I'm sure these things will help you on yours.

When done right, creativity is like magic or even alchemy. If you know what you’re doing, you can turn a blank page into something truly valuable! In this episode we will explore what might be holding you back from making your own creative gold! And what better inspiration for finding creative magic, than the one and only Harry Potter? Let’s dive deep into the wizarding world to find our own sorcery. In other words, this episode could be called “Harry Potter and The Creative’s Stone” haha!!

It is my honor and privilege to bring you an in depth interview with lettering legend Erik Marinovich. Erik is such an inspiration to me, both in life and art. He’s such a sweet guy and is also just INSANELY talented. This episode is jam packed with creative wisdom! A few of the topics we cover in this week’s episode: - Creative Community - Passion - Advice for Electricians - Curiosity - Insecurity - Raisin Farms! We also have background vocals provided by none other than my buddy Bob Ewing and my new friends Sean Tulgetske!

A creative career can feel like randomly stumbling in the dark. In this episode, I’ll tell you how you can find a model for success that can guide you into making the next right move for your creative business. If you're feeling lost in the dark, this episode can help you find your path.

Today I talk with pin and patch masterminds These Are Things. These Are Things is a partnership between Jen Adrion and Omar Noory. In this episode we talk through the rollercoaster of running your own business and how to build a sustainable business with blood, sweat and tears, rather than on pure luck. These Are Things just launched a new business to help YOU make your own Enamel Pins & Patches.

What do you do when your creative spark goes out? What happens when you've lost the will to grind out that good side hustle? How do you recover and relight the fuse when you can't get out of bed, you can't see the point and you've lost your inspiration and excitement? In this week's episode I want to talk about a very real and recent encounter with my own burnout and how I relit that spark in a major way.

I’m insanely excited to bring you this episode! This episode is jam packed with wisdom from 18 leading creative professionals. In fact, I’m just completely humbled to bring you these greats. This episode will give you tried and tested answers to this question: what do you do when you’re feeling discouraged in your creative work? I know you’re going to find these answers and insights extremely helpful, but even more so, I hope you just feel encouraged to hear these masters struggle with the same things you do! MASSIVE THANKS to these CPT friends for contributing to this episode and promoting the new CPT book. It’s a dream come true.

Finding your unique artistic voice might just be the key to creative career success. So what’s the key to finding it? In this episode we talk about the key mindset shift that helps put you on the road to finding your voice, with a systematic, step by step process.

You ever have those moments when you look around at your life and wonder how you got there? Do you try to silence that little whisper in your mind that says ‘this is not what you’re supposed to be doing with your life!’? In this episode we talk about embracing that voice and taking action. Life is too short to play it safe and live a life you’re not proud of. Find the secret stash of time and energy you're wasting and maximize it for the career change you want to make.

Dimensional lettering artist Danielle Evans is helping me make this event happen, so I thought what better way to announce it than with a special conversation with her! This is a shop talk / real talk episode. In this episode we talk about how to find your voice, developing your craft and what to do when you’ve achieved some of your goals but still feel like there’s a long way to go.

The only people I know who are truly satisfied with their career are those who are willing to build something completely custom made. Embracing your career as the ultimate creative project can be a powerful and liberating perspective shift, and in this episode, I’m going to explain the step by step process I use to approach my career in a creative manner.

I don’t have to tell you that it’s NOISY out there and it’s never been tougher to stand out from the crowd. In this episode I’ll share 25 ideas that you can use to make a ruckus and get noticed!

Making a good living, making great art is my definition of success. In this episode, I give you practical tips on how to stimulate a thriving ecosystem of creative money making.

Today on the show we have creative sensation KATE BINGAMAN-BURT! Get ready to GET ULTRA PEPPED and learn from one of the most creatively wise humans I know!

Did you ever see that 90s film ‘She’s All That’? Well let’s do that but for your creative portfolio! It’s time to take the glasses off! :D