Episodes

Why do doctors and pilots both need checklists? Because even life saving information is easy to forget! That’s why in this episode we establish the ten ideas that define this show and what we think staying on track in your creative journey is all about. Every idea on this list significantly impacted my creative practice. In this episode:- Why you need to embrace a small audience- The one thing you will be lost without- A prompt for creating a new foundation for your practice- MUCH MORE this episode is JAM PACKED to help you start your year right!

Think back to a time in your creative journey where you felt right on the heels of your potential and you knew the exact way to spend your energy. Pretty much all of us have been thrown off this path at this point. In this episode I want to share with you 3 specific exercises that have helped me re-spark my passion for my creative journey and awakened decisive direction and excited action again! In this episode we dive into:- Why getting lost is part of the process and therefore what skill we need to master- A tool for seeing the essential things you uniquely need in your everyday- The opposite of a New Years resolution and how it creates the environment for reaching your most important goals

Are you feeling like the world is leaving you behind? Do things feel so noisy and fast paced that you fear you don’t have a chance to ever really be seen as a creator? If you’ve been creating from a place of fear and anxiety and want to get back to creating from passion and heart, it starts with tapping into who you are and that means getting deeply acquainted with your story. In this episode we talk about how to do just that. In this episode:- A Technique for Finding The Most Powerful Aspects of Your Story- What to Do Instead of Chasing Trends, New Social Media Platforms & New Software- How Finding The Stories that Defined You Can Act as Breadcrumbs to Finding Yourself

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of being exactly where you’re supposed to be on the creative path. You’re seeing 5 steps ahead. Things are coming together in your work with surprising serendipity and satisfying ease. Your progress is meaningful and tangible. You’re passionate about what you’re doing and there’s a peace around where you currently find yourself. In this episode, we explore a process for finding where we are stuck and how to get back into the groove again, so that we can show up in the new year with our best creative selves, full of excitement and motivation. In this episode: - The Old School Mindset the Holds Most Creators Back - Identify Which of the 3 Problem Areas You’re Stuck in and How to Beat Them - The Big shift in Strategy that Changed my Creative Journey __________

Are you finding it hard to get your hopes up about what comes next for you creatively? Does it ever feel like no matter what you do, the results are the same? In this end of the year episode, we explore a 3 step process for finding your next step breadcrumbs, as well as the inner reservoir of energy for making it all happen.In this episode we dive into: 1 - Why Our New Year Efforts Often Fall Short 2 - Stepping Away from Your Creative Work to Step Up in the Next Chapter 3 - A Tool for Intuitively Getting in Touch with Your Top Lesson From Last Year

Have you ever hit a wall where you really could not create ANYTHING whatsoever? Our guest Sha’an d’Anthes AKA Furry Little Peach REALLY HAS but she didn’t stay there. In this episode I want to share the 3 things that really helped her get through this creative valley. We also explore the tips and tools that have helped her thrive on her creative journey as a superstar illustrator and YouTuber!! Episode art by Furry Little Peach and Andy J. Pizza

Your work is totally on point. You’re doing everything “right” but somehow it’s still falling short. Well in the words of Jack Black in the movie School of Rock - “Rock isn’t about getting an A”. So what is it “about”? What is YOUR art about? In this episode we will dive into what it means to give your art as much substance as it has style, and how it can make your work resonate on a totally different level!

Do you like your work better than ever but feel like people “get it” less? Have you ever made something that you were certain was your best work, but no one else seemed to notice? If you can’t figure out what’s wrong with your work and why it’s not working on people, it might not be your work that’s the problem at all. In this episode we will explore all the space around the essence of your work and learn ways to set the stage for your best work to truly shine!

I have good news and bad news. Bad news first: It’s true most people are not creative. At least Aristotle wouldn’t think so. Most folks agree that the phrase “we are what we repeatedly do” is a good summary of his mindset. And so, if that’s true. The crucial mark of the artist or creator is just one thing: do you do it repeatedly? Essentially, is being creative a habit? And so, since most people do not have a creative habit, Aristotle would then conclude, most people are NOT creatives! And that brings us to the good news: if you are what you repeatedly do, you GET TO DECIDE whether you're a creative. Being creative isn't a thing you have or you don't, it's a practice. Tad Carpenter is one of the most prolific creative people I’ve ever met. Yes. He has a clear abundance of talent, but the reason I wanted him on the show today was because I think he has some basic principles that can help you be a true creative. As we dive into his multi-year creative project, this episode will help you…

There are so many obstacles on your creative path, and the biggest one? You! And the only self sabotage that ever really stops you is the one that we don’t know is self sabotage! In this episode I want to share a framework that you can use in 3 totally different ways to finally get out of your own way and start making the progress you know you’re capable of. We will explore: - What to do when you feel you’ll never be original enough - A Trick for Getting More Useful Influence from your Heroes - Find Your Creative Type So You Quit Comparing Yourself to Others - A Method for Finding Your away Back Onto The Creative Path

Do you feel it? The enthusiasm in the creative world is at an all time low AND the algorithm and noise of social media is not helping! It’s taken a lot of extra work for me to find purpose and enough excitement in my work to keep at it with the kind of vigor that a creative practice requires. BUT the past couple weeks I’ve found some fresh ideas that have really helped!! If you’re sick of trying to please the algorithm and would much rather enliven yourself and your creative audience at the same time - this episode will help. We dive into: 1 - The Best Time to Post (This is not what you think it is! HAHA) 2 - How to Figure Out Who You’re Making Stuff For 3 - A New Perspective on How to Connect Online 4 - How to Find the Kind of Vulnerability that Deepens Your Work in Meaningful Ways

Are you sick of your work being white noise? Why does some creative work grab people and some is just yawn-worthy? If you want to unlock a deeper well of resonance in your creativity that has the power to move people - this episode is for you. In this episode we explore: 1 The Shift Needed to Making Work that Hits Hard 2 Why You Need to Know Your Teachers 3 Identifying What Your Work is About 4 What Your Unique Role is As an Artist 5 AND MORE!

Your creative voice isn’t something you go OUT to find, it’s something you go IN to find. In this special guest episode of Creative Pep Talk, we chat with incredible illustrator Rebecca Green about how to hear your ideas when you have them, storytelling and the struggle to own your strengths without having to do it all. Rebecca is so good at what she does and this chat was so inspiring! As a new friend of the show, I am definitely hoping for a round 2 of this chat! This week's episode art is a collaborative piece between Rebecca and I and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

Some people say that creativity is all about perfect timing, but in my experience, the best work comes from those spaces where you lose track of time completely. If TIME has become a brutal master and “staying relevant”, “hitting the cultural zeitgeist”, “keeping up with the times”, “missing your chance” or even “posting at the perfect time” has taken all of the joy out of your practice, this episode is for you! In this episode you will:1 - Identify when you are your most creative self.2 - Uncover what your natural ideas look like when they show up3 - Get homework on how to lose yourself in creative work again today!

Nothing feels better than when you’re unlocking your best work, finding the perfect opportunities and experiencing the best of your creative practice, but sometimes those times from the past can make you feel completely lost in the present. If you feel like you have lost your path at some point in the creative journey, this episode will give you a process for checking in with yourself and your work in a way that can help you find your flow again. In this episode we dive into: 1 - A Process for Finding What Fuels You 2 - A Method for Integrating Your Efforts for Maximum Results 3 - Creative Homework to Help You Find The Pulse Again

If you hate the work you’re doing, feel lost in the pursuit of finding what you’re truly equipped for and what really lights you up, this episode is what you need. Finding which of the 10 Sparketypes you are, can help you find what type of work makes you come alive! In this episode I sit down with Sparketype creator Jonathan Fields and he walks me through each type, what makes them really light up and how to find out what your type is. A clear awareness of who you are and what makes you tick is the ultimate key to unlocking creative breakthroughs and this assessment was so insightful for me that I had to get Jonathan on the show to share it with you!!

We all know the best way to grow our social media platform is to post regularly BUT not only is it hard to know what to post, it’s also IMPOSSIBLE to make that much new stuff! In this episode I want to share with 31 new social media post prompts and only ONE of them requires you to MAKE A NEW PIECE OF WORK? I want to prove to you that you can win on social media without working yourself to death and all the while even maybe having… FUN? Let’s go! Take my new skillshare class! “Social Media for Creatives: 5 Exercises to Power Your Freelance Career” https://skl.sh/truefansclass

If you keep hitting the same walls, long for someone with more insight to see your real talent and ultimately you’re worried that you’re going to miss your chance to reach your creative potential, this episode was designed for you! In this episode you will find: - The Mental Shift that Will Unlock Stunted Progress - The First Step of Finding “Your Thing” - How to Give Context to Your Work so Others Get It - Who You Need to Be Looking For and Who Can Change Everything in Your Practice if You Find Them

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 Overthinking” Series.

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 the “Over Overthinking” Series.

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 talk about things like: - Getting Out of Your Head by Letting Your Creative Instrument Do The Thinking - “Singing” a Different Way - Eliminating “art” From Your Work - AND 13 MORE THINGS!! This is part 2 of the “Over Overthinking” Series.

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.

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 that I built my practice on, how to know which you should be working on right now and how to get started. LET’S GO!

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 we dive into the difference between art that falls flat and art that cuts to the core of its audience. These two guests brought a wealth of creative insight and totally blew me away!!! I left this conversation reeling from the mind blowing creative perspective shifts!! One of my all time favorite episodes!!