Podcasts about creative career

If you've ever felt stuck in a job that looks good on paper but doesn't feel right for you, this episode is for you. Today we are talking about career switching and how to actually change your career to a job that's more aligned to you. Growing up, I was told that you should pick a career and stick to it but the world of work has changed and so has the way we see our careers/jobs. I'm joined by Priya Raj, a fashion and lifestyle journalist who has written for Vogue India and worked at Business Insider and The Telegraph among other big global publications. Both me and Priya started our careers in Finance and in our 20s realised that it wasn't what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives so we decided to change. It wasn't easy to start a new career in our 20s, but in this episode we are going to share how we did it, what motivated us to take that leap, how we keep our imposter syndrome in check and whether or not we regret it. So if you are someone who's struggling with their career or having a little bit of a career crisis and don't know what to do- then this is the episode for you! In the episode: 00:00:00 Intro00:01:37 Why did we start working in Finance? 00:05:29 What made us want to change careers? 00:12:27 Mental Health at work 00:14:07 How have careers changed in 2026?00:15:23 The rise of portfolio careers00:16:14 How to change your career- practical steps00:17:41 Priya's journey to writing for Vogue India00:20:42 Balancing working in Finance and Fashion 00:21:37 Dealing with imposter syndrome 00:23:10 Career switching internally in tech 00:27:55 The importance of good co-workers00:30:38 Dealing with rejection00:31:12 How to build confidence in a new career00:34:24 Telling family about being a journalist 00:37:46 Priya's experience on BBC News 00:40:16 Corporate 9-5 to creative career 00:44:58 How to reach out to journalists to pitch your brand?00:48:40 What is a press release?Don't forget to follow or subscribe to It's Preeti Personal and leave a 5★ review as it helps other South Asian girls find the podcast and feel a little less alone

Comedy writer Jenny Hagel has six Emmy nominations. The other week, she wrote 20 jokes. One made it to television. She doesn't see this as failure, though. It's the nature of the job. And it might offer the most useful career lesson you'll hear all year. Jenny is a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she also regularly appears on camera in the popular segment Jokes Seth Can't Tell. She is also the author of a new book of essays called Advice No One Asked For. In this episode, Jessi Hempel sits down with Jenny to talk about the arc of her non-traditional career, and what it actually takes to keep going in the face of failure. In this episode, Jessi and Jenny discuss: The live advice show Jenny built during the writer's strike, and how a room full of strangers asking earnest questions accidentally became the most community-building thing she's ever done How humor acts as a spoonful of sugar that lets us endure the heavy stuff a little longer The 411 call that landed Jenny a grad school internship Why the find-yourself period matters, and what gets lost when young people skip it The writing advice Jenny gives everyone: the part where you create and the part where you judge have to be two completely separate steps How growing up queer in the '80s and '90s inadvertently became a blueprint for every out-the-box decision she's made since Why a creative career isn't all-or-nothing, and what the middle actually looks like Find Advice No One Asked For wherever books are sold, and follow Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.

Lauren Smyth is an economics and journalism student at Hillsdale College. Since signing her first publishing contract at age 13, she has written three young adult action/adventure novels, coded two story-based video games, and started a blog enjoyed by readers and writers around the world. When she's not writing, you'll find her flying right seat in a Piper PA-30 aircraft, recording episodes of her Grammar Minute writing podcast, or heading upriver on her paddleboard. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big! Connect with Lauren Smyth:Website: www.laurensmythbooks.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/lsmythbooks *E - explicit language may be used in this podcast.

Bobby Clark is a Melbourne-based artist combining her own experiences and outlining her 'interactions of the world.' She vulnerably interprets her experiences into a unique and distinct visual style. As well as working for herself as an artist, she is also a creator, collaborator and photographer, sharing her passion for motherhood, interiors and style online. In this chat, Liv and Bronte find out more about how Bobby balances her various roles and how she started as a creative, moving from overseas. We also talk a lot about knowing if opportunities and relationships are aligned and managing limited time and priorities in motherhood.To follow Bobby for to @bobbyclark____ or bobbyclark.com.au.Follow our page @howdoyoudoitpod or @rattle_style. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking you out of the Clubhouse and onto the Masterclass Stage.

Episode Summary In this episode of the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast, Tim Melanson chats with author and voiceover artist Aaron Ryan about building a creative career through self-employment, storytelling, and persistence. Aaron shares how he transitioned from wedding videography into voiceover work and authorship, creating a business rooted in creativity and independence while navigating major industry changes like AI disruption. Along the way, he opens up about early struggles in self-employment, the temptation to quit, and the mindset shift required to push through and reach breakthrough moments. This conversation is packed with real-world lessons on pricing, persistence, and building a loyal audience over time. Who is Aaron Ryan? Aaron Ryan is an author and voiceover artist who creates dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, along with nonfiction books on topics like business and personal growth. He also works as a voiceover storyteller, helping bring other people's messages and stories to life through his voice. Based in Washington, Aaron has been self-employed since 2007 and has built a creative career focused on writing, performance, and entrepreneurship. Connect with Aaron Ryan: Website: https://authoraaronryan.com All Links: https://dot.cards/authoraaronryan Host Contact Details: Website: https://workathomerockstar.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workathomerockstar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workathomerockstar LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmelanson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WorkAtHomeRockStarPodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/workathomestar Timestamps 00:00 Meet Aaron Ryan 00:32 Voiceover Career Shift 02:10 Murphys Law Lessons 05:34 Pricing Value Clients 12:31 Turning Audience Into Fans 17:30 Starting Writing Later 20:14 First Book Reflections 21:51 Late Start Advantage 22:42 Inspiration and Seasons 23:11 Bubby Town Studios 26:12 Mentors and Coaching 30:53 Reverse Engineering Books 33:04 AI Disruption and Consent 40:13 Favorite Rockstars 41:44 Final Thanks and Outro

Rachael has a craving that could bring about a big lifestyle change. She discusses with Lauren coming to a realization that she no longer feels at home in the environment she's settled into— and the choice between staying the course or starting a new adventure. The hosts share how they have gained clarity, direction, and the courage to embrace the unknown in the quest to continually live creatively. Rachael's new book “Prioritize Play” is now available for pre-order! Grab your copy today. Post on desire by Yumi Sakugawa Poetry Unbound - Seventh Circle of Earth by Ocean Vuong All Fours by Miranda July Chaotic Creatives Ep 12 - The Spark: How Advice for Dating is Advice for Creating Check out Lauren's Mural Mockups For a transcript of this episode, contact us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com Cover art designed and photographed by Kristle Marshall for Hom Sweet HomIf you love what we are doing and want to support us, head to patreon.com/chaoticcreativesFollow the pod on Instagram @chaoticcreativespod and tag us in the projects you're working on while listening!Say hi or tell us a silly lil joke: chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.comLauren's links:WebsiteInstagramOnline ClassesRachael's links:WebsiteInstagramThe Juice BoxCreative Coaching

Indira Cesarine is an artist, curator, and the founder of The Untitled Space, one of New York City's most vital independent galleries. She has built a practice that refuses to be contained by a single role, and this conversation is a behind-the-scenes look at how she does it. We sat down to talk about her current exhibition "In Full Bloom," a group show featuring 34 women artists working with floral and botanical imagery as a vehicle for transformation, identity, and power. But we went much further than the show itself. Indira shares what it took to open and sustain an independent gallery in New York, how she thinks about building a curatorial vision that is both intellectually honest and visually compelling, and what it means to remain a practicing artist while running an institution. If you have ever wondered what it looks like to hold multiple creative identities at once and build something meaningful across all of them, this episode is for you. In this episode: What led Indira to found The Untitled Space and what the early years actually looked like How she develops a curatorial concept from first instinct to finished exhibition The way her own studio practice informs how she reads and selects the work of other artists What she looks for in a group show and how individual voices come together into something larger Sustaining creative leadership over the long term without losing the work that started it all Links and resources: "In Full Bloom" is on view at The Untitled Space, 45 Lispenard Street, New York, NY through May 22, 2026. Visit www.untitled-space.com for full details. Submit your work to Create! Magazine. We are currently accepting submissions for upcoming issues and exhibitions. Visit https://www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art to apply. Free masterclass: Sell More Art. Build a sustainable practice and start earning consistently from your creative work. Register at https://courses.createmagazine.co/sell-more-art-free-training-2026.

This episode examines a Bluesky thread where cartoonists self-reported their financial realities. While the original question was thoughtful — seeking insight into full-time and part-time comic careers — the resulting discussion revealed a common problem: an echo chamber of discouragement. Brad and Dave emphasize that these threads often skew negative due to self-selection bias. Many successful creators don't participate—either because they're busy, uncomfortable sharing income, or wary of backlash. The result? A distorted picture where it appears that no one is succeeding, even though many are. TODAY'S SHOW Nobody makes a living in comics ComicLab LIVE at the NCS Conference and Reuben Awards, Aug. 6-8, Columbus, Ohio — nationalcartoonists.com Tattoos Baby Blues and Zits announce retirement Death of syndication   You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

How can you navigate uncertainty in a constantly changing market? Why is persistence the key to a sustainable creative career? Plus why distribution is so important, and the four ways to monetise your creative work. All this and more with Adam Leipzig. In the intro, my reflections on running an author-publisher business after a fantastic e-commerce workshop run by Blubolt, and why you will always pay for marketing with either your time or your money; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars; and last call for my Kickstarter Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Adam Leipzig is a producer, former studio executive, and educator whose work spans film, media, and technology. He served as a senior executive at Walt Disney Studios and as President of National Geographic Films. His film credits include March of the Penguins and Dead Poets Society, with projects recognised by the Academy Awards, BAFTA, the Emmys, and Sundance. He is the author of several books on filmmaking and his latest book is Fearless Persistence: Creative Life, Creative Work, and the Ten Laws of Culturenomics. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why writing books still matters in a world saturated with visual media The Jeffrey Katzenberg “next” lesson and the power of fearless persistence How uncertainty and the “long middle” are essential parts of the creative process What film editing can teach writers about cutting, shaping, and refining their work The 10 Laws of Culturenomics, including why awareness is not desire and why distribution is everything How generative AI is changing filmmaking — and why creatives should be the architects, not the tools You can find Adam at AdamLeipzig.com. Transcript of Interview with Adam Leipzig Jo: Adam Leipzig is a producer, former studio executive, and educator whose work spans film, media, and technology. He served as a senior executive at Walt Disney Studios and as President of National Geographic Films. His film credits include March of the Penguins and Dead Poets Society, with projects recognised by the Academy Awards, BAFTA, the Emmys, and Sundance. He is the author of several books on filmmaking and his latest book is Fearless Persistence: Creative Life, Creative Work, and the Ten Laws of Culturenomics. Welcome to the show, Adam. Adam: Thank you so much for having me, Jo. Jo: I'm excited to talk to you today. You have written several books, but you have worked on many more films. So I wondered, why do you think books still have a part to play in reaching people? What do you love about writing books that is different to your filmmaking work? Adam: You can put so much information in a book, and the beautiful thing about a book is that you can pick it up wherever you want, whenever you want, and leave it off and go back to it. It's just waiting for you and it's there. It really allows me, and other authors like me, to share information in a different way, with more details and more stories and more specificity. I love the ability to just share that information and have it always available. You don't need a device, you don't need to have a subscription. You can just go to it whenever you want. You asked me what I love about writing. Like a lot of writers, I'm not sure I love writing, but I do love having written. The thing about a book is that it's a very solitary exercise. A film is a highly collaborative exercise. No movie gets made by one person. It's made by hundreds or sometimes thousands of people. But this book is just me and a laptop and notes and a lot of thought. It's a very introverted, almost monkish existence while you're doing that, and then it has to go out into the world—and that's when it really starts to interact with people. So there's this huge difference between being alone and being always in a collaborative environment, which is what happens when I'm making a movie. Jo: Most listeners will be independent authors in some way, and a lot of us do this because we're control freaks. We like being the only people. So how is that different? You mentioned collaboration in the film industry, but is it almost freeing to do a book without having that? I mean obviously you have editors and publishers and stuff, but— Is it freeing in some creative way? Adam: It is really nice, because there is not another point of view in the room and I can just say what I feel and know that that's there. At the same time, you're right—I have had some amazing editor help and I've had some great early readers that have given me feedback on it and helped me make it so much better than it was when I finished the first draft. I knew that going in. I always test and share what I'm doing to make sure that it lands in the way that I wanted it to land, and it can be helpful for people. Jo: Getting into the book, you have a chapter on “what you do matters.” I feel like this is super hard. This is not a political show, so we're not doing politics, but there are a lot of big things going on in the world. It can be very hard as writers to think, is writing my book actually going to make a difference? So how can you encourage people? Adam: That's the hardest thing, Jo, because there is a lot going on in the world right now. Everything that's going on in the world right now exists because it's following a certain narrative. I don't believe that narratives are come up with because people look at things that are happening and say, “Oh, well let's just write what happened.” I think that we do things from micro experiences that we have with ourselves, our relationships, our families, to the macro experiences of politics and global situations. I believe that happens because there is a narrative that is being followed. So what I say to all creative people is that it's our job to craft and express the narratives that matter—and different narratives—so those narratives can be followed. One of the points that I make in the book is that poets are not overtly really dangerous people. Poets are generally lovely people, a lot of them don't talk too much. They're great to have dinner with, and they just work with words—and often not a lot of words, right? Because beautiful poetry is often concise and simple and spare. Yet there are places where poets are in jail. Because the narratives of those concise, spare, gorgeous idealistic words matter so much that those voices need to be silenced, which means those narratives are dangerous sometimes. Those narratives present an alternate world, an alternate view of reality. I think it's really our job as creative people, as entrepreneurs, as people who are essentially creating narratives out of the soul of our lives and our experience—we want to express those to the world. It's really important for us to express those to the world, especially now, especially because so much is going on. Those narratives are going to become pathways that others can look at and maybe follow. I think that's really important. It's the reason why we do our work. Jo: I absolutely agree with you around writing the narratives that we want in the world. “Be the change you want to see in the world” and all that. I also want to call out the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of books now published, and you come from the film industry, and many more people really watch films or play games than read books. I've wondered about this myself. I've written a few screenplays and sometimes it feels that wouldn't it be better to try and put our words into a visual medium? A lot of authors listening will do micro video like TikTok and all of this. So this is back to the question of— Why books? How can we change these narratives when we feel like we're drowned out by all the media? Adam: I think it's great for authors to express themselves in other media. I have a pretty active Instagram channel, and I love doing that, but it's a really different thing. I'm talking to people in two-minute bursts with very specific things. It's not the same and not the same detail as a book. If we let our understanding of the ocean of content that is always coming to us stop us from doing anything, we wouldn't do anything. That's also true about movies. There are probably 10,000 movies made every year. There are a few hundred that are released. So if every day I thought, “Oh, the movie that I'm working on is maybe not going to be released because there's only a small percent of movies that are made that are released.” Or worse than that, “Of all the movies that are made, there's 500 different shows on Netflix and Apple and Amazon and there's so many choices.” If I thought that everything I was going to do is going to be drowned out, I wouldn't do anything. I just don't believe that's true. I think it's our job to do things. Yes, there's an ocean of content out there, but what we do really matters, and it doesn't have to matter at gigantic scale. We don't know the scale that our work is going to achieve over time. One of the early films that I worked on is a film called Dead Poets Society, and that script was passed on by every studio at least three times. It's probably a film that I couldn't get made now for all kinds of reasons, because it's not a sequel and it doesn't have superheroes or visual effects. When we made that movie, we didn't know the impact it was going to have. It could have been drowned out by things, but it rose to a level that everywhere in the world I go, someone has seen that movie, including people who were not born when that movie was made. We don't know the long arc of our work and the people that it affects. Jo: I love that movie too. “Oh Captain, my Captain.” I can hear everyone saying that behind the screens. This brings us to the title, Fearless Persistence, because of course Dead Poets Society ended up being an incredible success, but not everything turns out so well. I wondered if you could talk about this persistence. How do you keep creating after something you perceived as a failure, or perhaps all the things that didn't get made? Why is persistence so important that you use it in the title? Adam: I've been super fortunate. I've worked with amazing people and on great projects. I've made 40 films at this point, and I'm making more. I've tried to make 400 films. I failed at getting them made 90% of the time, and that's okay. I just keep going. When I was working at Disney and I was an executive at Walt Disney Studios for seven years, there was one movie that we were opening and nobody had really high expectations for it. But it opened huge on a weekend and it beat the competition. We were in our Monday morning meeting and we were dancing on the tables and we were so excited. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was running the studio at that time, came in, looked around the room, put his hands on his hips, and said, “Next.” We just had to move on. I really learned the meaning of the word “next” about four months later when we had a film that we all knew was going to be hugely successful and make a lot of money and give everyone their bonuses, and it completely bombed at the box office. It was like you gave a party and nobody showed up to eat the hors d'oeuvres. We were in the Monday morning meeting, very glum and not sure what was going to happen. Were we going to be fired? What was going to happen? And Jeffrey walked into the room and said, “Next.” Jo: Mm-hmm. Adam: And we just keep going. I think that is the great and defining quality of people who really have sustainable lives, either as creatives or business people or entrepreneurs. We're persistent. We're just like those little birds—you put their beak in water and they just keep bobbing up. We just keep going. It's not about the people who are the most talented, because I'm certainly not the most talented. I'm certainly not the smartest. I'm certainly not the most creative. There are people who are smarter and more talented and more creative than me all the time, and I get so much energy in being able to know them and work with them. But I am super persistent. I don't stop. If there's something that I really believe in, I'll just keep going. I started taking notes on this book 10 years ago. There are movies that took 12 years to get made. You just keep going. There are times, as a producer, where everybody's fallen away. There was a director attached, there was a star attached. They all left, they did other projects. The material is no longer under option. You don't even have legal rights to it anymore. You just keep blowing on the embers and then eventually maybe it gets made. That's what it's about. Jo: Do you think there's some kind of serendipity or something more that makes a book or a film? Is it timing? Is there just some chemistry? You talked earlier about testing and sharing things to see if they're going to work, but as you mentioned, some films you think are going to be amazing and they bomb. Other things are a slow burn. How do you know when to make a film if you just can't predict this stuff? Adam: You can never predict it, but I think you start with: do you really, really think about it all the time? Do you really care about it? It's not like you're in a meeting or you read a script or you hear an idea and you're super excited about it—but are you still excited about it tomorrow morning? The next day and the next? If you keep waking up every morning thinking, “Wow, that's great, I've got to get that forward,” then I think that is the first indication for me that it's going to have some staying power. I don't think I am that different from everybody else. So if it's something that consistently excites me, I feel like there's going to be at least some other people in the world that it's also going to excite. Jo: Do you think you have a voice, I guess, as a filmmaker as much as a writer? Are there things that excite you consistently that you're drawn to? Or do you think it's much wider as a filmmaker than a writer? Adam: I think it's a lot wider as a filmmaker. Part of it's also just my capacity right now as a writer. I really like the writing in Fearless Persistence and I also recorded the audiobook. I love listening to the audiobook experience. I think it's some of the best writing I've ever done. I have not yet found the capacity to write a novel or to write fiction in the way that other people can. So part of it's just my skill and capacity at this point in my writing career, where I think I'm pretty good at expressing ideas in a nonfiction setting, but I haven't developed the skill set for fiction. In movies, I make documentaries. I make fiction feature films. What attracts me is character. It's always the character, the people, the journey. Are the people really interesting? Do I want to spend two hours of my life in a cinema with them, or 10 hours of my life watching those episodes on a streaming channel? That's what always starts with me. If the character is interesting, then I'll keep going. Jo: I think the book, Fearless Persistence, has a lot of your character in it and your experience. It's not just a nonfiction book of prescriptive rules. You did bring a lot of voice into it, I think. Adam: Thank you. I try to make it be like we're sitting down and we're talking and we're having a conversation. Jo: Coming back to the book—a quote from the book: “Uncertainty isn't the enemy of creativity. It's its greatest ally.” You talk about these messy and unpredictable times. I'm what we call a discovery writer. Some people say “pantser.” It mostly is quite chaotic and unpredictable. Could you talk about this uncertainty and messy creativity? Adam: One of the things I really try to do in Fearless Persistence is give support to all of us in this messy, unpredictable—what I call “the long middle”—where stuff is happening, but you're not seeing obvious results out there. You're either in the world or in your project, and you're just in this mess. That mess is a beautiful place, and I'm trying to give support to the fact that that mess is gorgeous and it's part of the process. It's part of everybody's process. We shouldn't feel as though we are not doing our job when we're in that long, unpredictable, uncertain middle. Because out of that, we discover what we actually want. It gives us a way to refine our taste and refine our direction because we are so uncertain. Then there's this moment—and I don't know if you find this in your own writing, Jo—but there's this moment where that uncertainty changes into: there's no choices here at all. This is just what I have to do. I actually think that the greatest freedom is when there's no choices. Where the path is just there, but we've got to get through the thicket to get to that path. And there's always a thicket. Jo: There's a moment for me where the chaos becomes more certain and I'm like, okay, that's the story. I thought it might have been something else, but now that's what it is. I often have too much material as well. So I wanted to ask you about this too, because as an author with a book, editing is hard for us. Of course there are lots of words and we have to go through it all, but editing on a film—I can't even imagine how hard the editing process is. Could you talk about editing and how you cut and organise these massive projects? Adam: Yes, editing is really hard, but it's also so fun. I think being on a set is great. It's the most fun a kid could have. But being in an editing room is also the most fun a kid could have, because you have all of the pieces and there are so many ways to do it. This is where a film is actually made—in the editing room. Probably the way books are made also is in the editorial process between the writer and your own brain as the editor, or if you have someone who's helping you edit it. Editing is really interesting because it's the only craft that did not exist before filmmaking. Everything else existed, right? There were scripts, there were actors, there were costumes, there was art direction, there was production design, there was music. Editing was a craft that had to be invented for film. So it's a craft that's only about 120 years old. When we make a film, the first thing that the editor does is just put all of the scenes together in a first editor's cut, a rough assembly. It's basically every scene that was in the script as it was shot, and the editor just tries to choose the best angles. That generally comes out maybe a week or two after we wrap photography, and that first cut could be three or four hours long because it's got everything in it. Then the process is: let's take that out. Let's take that out. You don't need this. You can move this scene here and move it there before the other scene. We don't really need that shot. Or can we get to a closeup there? And you get it down, down, down—just like in writing where you kill your darlings. I actually find editing the most fun I have. “Oh, I don't need that sentence.” Or, “I can take out three words here and the sentence is better.” We go through exactly the same process in film editing and squinch it all down to the most compelling and efficient way to tell the story. Jo: I'm glad you say it's fun because I also like editing. I find the editing much more creatively fulfilling because I actually can figure out the book that way. It's so funny, I think as writers, many people either love the editing or they love the first draft. It seems like you enjoy the whole process. Adam: I like the editing so much more than the first draft. I feel like I had to get through the first draft. That was my long middle, that was my uncertain period, that was my thicket. Then my editing was, “Oh, great. Let's cross this out. Let's change that word. Let's lose that paragraph.” That was fun. Jo: So let's say we now have a book or we have a film. In your book, law eight of culturenomics is that “without distribution, there is nothing.” So now we have to get this out there, and this is really difficult. Can you talk about how film distribution has changed? Can you also reflect on how it is for writers, because our distribution has changed a lot too? Adam: So, as you mentioned in the last section of the book, I've observed over the past 30 years that when a work is both aesthetically really excellent and also economically viable and sustainable for the creators, it always observes these ten principles. I call them the 10 Laws of Culturenomics. One of them is “without distribution, there is nothing,” by which I mean: unless your audience, your market, the people that you are seeking to share or serve with the work—unless they can get it, it doesn't really matter. It's like that tree falling in the forest and no one's around to hear it. I always think about my market and my distribution before I start making the movie. I was thinking about that as I was writing the book, because I really want it to be there to meet people where they are and I want them to be able to get it. Film distribution has changed a lot, especially during the pandemic. People stayed home and cinema admissions have fallen off 30% from pre-pandemic levels, so people are going out to cinemas less. That means fewer films are being distributed in cinemas for any viable period of time. Sometimes some movies will be out there for one or two days, literally, in cinemas, and then they go right to streaming. On the streaming side, there was a glut of streaming content. All the streaming channels overinvested in streaming. There were too many shows. I don't know about your Netflix queue or your Amazon queue, but it's unnavigable. There is so much stuff. Now they've cut back a lot—they're just doing a lot less. We're in a situation now where anything can get out there somehow. The question is, does your market, does your audience know about it? Do they want to invest the time to experience it? One of the other Laws of Culturenomics is that “awareness is not desire.” There's a lot of things that we're aware of that we don't want to spend our time with. Everybody was aware of Disney's new Snow White movie. Nobody wanted to go see it. Jo: I must say, I'm not the key demographic for that! Adam: But you knew about it? Jo: Was that a live action one? Adam: Yes. Jo: I don't understand those live action ones, to be honest. Maybe that's why— Adam: I think we are sequelled out. I look at the movie business and I just think what audiences really want is something new, please. Something we haven't seen before. We don't want the 95th iteration of something from the MCU. The studios, because the movies cost so much and they're so risk-averse, talk a lot about “pre-aware titles.” In other words, titles that you've heard of before, so you're going to go see the movie. It works to a certain extent, but I just think it's cinematically boring. In that world, you never could have predicted Oppenheimer. You never could have predicted Barbie. Movies that really don't have a precedent, but they did so well because they're different. I think audiences are craving something different right now. Jo: It's interesting though, isn't it? I agree on one level, but then I also watch Bridgerton and we watched the latest series as soon as it came out. I guess that is pre-aware to a point. I don't read historical romance, yet I really like the show. I think it's because of Shonda Rhimes. I watched Grey's Anatomy for about 20 years. Adam: She's great. Jo: She's amazing. So I feel like this is why it's hard, isn't it? It's hard to know. As fiction writers particularly listening, we have very specific genre audiences, and they often don't cross over into other genres. They love their genre fiction. So it is hard to balance original work that may not be easily sold and the other stuff. I guess that's why the studios do it, right, because they think they can make enough money with the next Marvel movie. Adam: Yes, but I'm curious to know what you think about this, because even within a genre, a really good genre movie or a really good genre book is not the same as all the other books or films in the genre. It's familiar in that it does what the genre says you have to do, but it's different. It's got those unique things that make us feel like super fans, that we really love it. It's familiar enough to fall within the genre—and yes, genres have rules that you've got to follow—but then there's something unique and different that's exciting. And that's why we say, “Hey Jo, you've got to read this book.” Jo: I agree with you. I love that you said “awareness is not desire.” This is another problem with our creative work, right? We have to do marketing. We can throw all this stuff out there, and yet it may or may not work. So let's talk about your book marketing. Obviously you are on this podcast, and I presume your publicists are pitching lots of podcasts, but— What are you doing to promote the book that might be different to a film release? Adam: Well, I don't have a hundred million dollars. Jo: Surprise! Adam: Right? I've got a few hundred dollars, so we're just doing it this way. As you know, once upon a time, legacy publishers actually did marketing. Legacy publishers barely do any marketing now. Every author has to do it themselves. So we have to do this ourselves. It's been the hardest thing. I think it's the hardest thing that we've all had to adopt, that we have to do this thing where there used to be a marketing department and you just hand it over to them and we could just be in our own little creative space. But no, we've got to do this also. So what am I doing? I've amped up my social media. I'm speaking. I am on podcasts like this. I'm sharing as much as I can. I'm asking circles of people who have been early readers of the book. I'm really grateful because I've had really enthusiastic response to it, both from creatives and also some business people, which was surprising to me, but really great. Someone said, “This is the best business book in the past 10 years,” which is really interesting, right? Because you read it, Jo, as an author, but she read it as someone who sits on the board of major companies. That was a pretty interesting response. I'm just asking them to be advocates and share it around. I'd just like to be those people who blow on the embers and let's see if we can make a fire. Jo: We talked about the fun bits earlier. I'm enjoying our conversation, but I know that marketing is not necessarily in the fun bucket. Are you finding bits of the marketing you enjoy? Adam: Yes, I love meeting the audience. I love meeting the people that I'm writing the book for and sharing it with. I've been fortunate enough to be asked to run a writer's workshop in Greece for the past few years. It's a retreat centre called Rosemary's House. It's on the east coast of Greece. A dozen writers. I work with writers all the time, but they're always writing a specific thing, like a screenplay or something. This was a dozen writers all writing different things, and I'd never done that before. I had an extraordinary time. The first year I went, I'd had all these notes for this book, Fearless Persistence, that I'd been compiling for some time. But there I was in the room and I was with the people that I was really intending to write the book for, and that kicked me in the butt and I wrote the book. Then the next year I was back and I finished it while we were there at the writer's retreat. So that was great, and I was with another group of writers. I'll be back there again later this year and the book will be out. So it's this fabulous continuation of really engaging with and meeting the people that I'm seeking to serve with this book. I really enjoy encouraging and mentoring and sharing the systems that are undergirding the creative process, and then the process of how do you build a sustainable life, including all these super practical things that they don't teach you in art school or writing school or film school or even business school. How do you actually build a sustainable life in this practice? I love that. I guess that's marketing, but it's also just being with the people that you're there to serve. Jo: I love that you use “serve.” I use the same word. I say, “Who do you serve?” And that can help people, because I feel like creative people are like, “We don't want to be marketers, we don't want to be salesy.” So if you reframe it as service—who are you trying to help, who are you trying to entertain—that actually helps. Coming to the business side, you mentioned systems. You are right, the book has a lot of business in it, which I love because we talk a lot about business on this show. In one section you say there are only four ways to monetise your creative work. So could you talk a bit about those different ways to monetise your creative work? Adam: Yes. This has been true for maybe 5,000 years because it's not about technology, it's just about how work is monetised. There are only four ways that any piece of work is monetised. For sale. You have a book, and you go to your favourite bookstore and you buy the book, and now you own the book. For rent. You could rent a book from your library, or in a movie context, what you're really renting is the seat for two hours to watch the movie. On subscription. People have subscriptions to Kindle Unlimited or other platforms, or people have subscriptions to a streaming service. Free. When it's ad-supported. That's like linear television where there's ads, or Amazon where there's ads and you don't pay for it. For sale, for rent, on subscription, or free—those are the only ways anything is ever transacted. When it's ad-supported, for example, some people have YouTube channels that are very successful. YouTube is free, and then YouTube is making money from the ads and the creators are getting a tiny little slice of the ad revenue. Jo: Like this podcast. I have sponsors who pay, and they're all related to the author industry. They're companies that I use and work with. I personally recommend them, and that means this podcast is free. Adam: Thank you, sponsors. Jo: Yes, thank you, sponsors! I also have patrons—people who subscribe to the show to support it as well. So I guess we don't have to be in one bucket or another. We can have our work in different buckets. Adam: Ideally, you can have your work in every single one of them. Not always, not necessarily always at exactly the same simultaneous moment, but at a certain point as the work gets out there into the world, as it's lived long enough, it probably will be in every bucket. That's great because we want our work to be as accessible to the people that we're serving in any way they want to get it. Jo: I totally agree. And your audiobook, as you mentioned, will be available in those different formats as well. Adam: Yes. Jo: I find that, especially with nonfiction audio, what I love is being able to listen to just a chapter, just a chapter in a specific part. Someone could actually listen to the 10 Laws of Culturenomics separately to some of the rest of the book. I love that. Adam: I'd never done that before. It was so powerful to record the audiobook because up until that moment, my relationship with this book was fingers typing keyboards, electrons on a screen. It was a completely silent experience. Then I was in this recording booth in Los Angeles and I started speaking the words, and I was visualising the people that I was writing it for as I was doing it. It was so powerful. Then I listened to it and I thought, wow, this is actually a really good experience. It was so powerful that I was recently in Paris because I'm working on some films that are in Europe, and I decided to create a special advanced listener edition of the audiobook, where I took the chapters and put them into individual or grouped listening units. In a recording studio in Paris, I recorded some prefaces and reflections on those listening units, which are now thematic. I'm really proud of that edition. It's not for everybody. The regular Audible audiobook is going to be out there, but this version, which is on my website, I think is a really wonderful version for someone who just wants me to walk with you as you go through the experience of the book. Jo: Are you selling that direct from your website? Adam: Yes, I'm selling it direct on the website. Jo: Brilliant, because we all do that too. You can actually make more money selling audio direct than you do from the streaming. Adam: Yes. Jo: I realise we don't have much time left, but I need to ask you this because the film industry and publishing are in this great time of change with the advent of generative AI. We've seen in the last week the actor Ben Affleck's company, InterPositive, has been acquired by Netflix. So it seems like technology is disrupting a lot. How do you think we can navigate this time? What are your feelings around this new wave of generative AI? Adam: It's a great tool. It's not a great writer. It's actually really a terrible writer. You can always tell when generative AI has written something because it has a certain very annoying style, but it's a great tool. I use it in my production. I teach at the business school at UC Berkeley. We train people on how to use it for various kinds of problems and solutions. But the important thing is that you are the architect of the machine. It's a machine. It is like a paintbrush, but it is not the hand that holds the paintbrush. So I am not concerned that AI is going to go make movies that we all care about, and I am not concerned that it's going to disrupt, in the largest sense, the employment picture. Certainly some jobs are being lost, but new jobs are being gained. It's really interesting. For example, you mentioned Ben Affleck's company, which Netflix just partnered with. It's not making new content. It's creating a better production workflow. It's taking what is shot or what is planned in the production workflow and just making it better and more efficient and implementing it and adding to it. That is a really good use of AI. All the creative power retains within the hands of the creative humans, but it's giving the humans more tools. Jo: I've been reflecting on the idea of the film director, in that people often know their names and they win awards, and yet they didn't necessarily write the script. Some do, obviously, but they didn't act in it, they didn't do all the editing, they didn't do all the different jobs, but it's their creative vision. So is that how you see us playing that part? Adam: I do. I think that's a really good analogy. And look, AI—it's good. It's going to keep getting better. It still has massive error rates, so we still have to be very careful about what we attribute to it and what powers we give it, and what facts we believe from it. Jo: So what are you excited about next? Obviously you are promoting this book, you are doing speaking things, but are you looking to your future continuing to work across film and books? What are you excited about in terms of your creative projects? Adam: The big arc of my creative life is creating ecosystems where creative people can do their best work. This book is part of that. With the movies that I make, as a producer, I try to create the ecosystems where people can do their best work. I envision, and I'm excited about, continuing to do that. Whether it is in a book or in a workshop or in a film that I'm making. I just want to keep doing that: creating these ecosystems where people can really do great work and express themselves creatively, entrepreneurially, and with a positive view of the world to come. Because that is a responsibility, coming back to the first question you asked me. Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your book and everything you do online? Adam: You can find me at my website, which is AdamLeipzig.com, just like the city. Of course, the book is available wherever you buy your books, and the Kindle and the audiobook are exactly where you would expect to find them. You can also find me on Instagram at @AdamLeipzig, and you can find me on LinkedIn as Adam Leipzig. I love interacting with people, so come and find me. AdamLeipzig.com is the best place to find everything. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Adam. That was great. Adam: Jo, thank you so much for having me. It was great talking with you.The post Navigating Uncertainty And Fearless Persistence In A Long Term Creative Career With Adam Leipzig first appeared on The Creative Penn.

What happens when pursuing a creative dream becomes a catalyst for major life changes? In this episode, Rachael and Lauren discuss instances when following the creative path has taken them into unexpected territory. Episode Mentions Rachael's new book “Prioritize Play” is now available for pre-order! Grab your copy today. Learn more about Luis Barragán. Watch Rachael's Bedroom Makeover Reel Filterworld - How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka Check out Lauren's Mural Mockups here! We are now booking workshops and speaking engagements as a duo! To bring us to your conference or organization, reach out to us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com.  For a transcript of this episode, contact us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com Cover art designed and photographed by Kristle Marshall for Hom Sweet HomIf you love what we are doing and want to support us, head to patreon.com/chaoticcreativesFollow the pod on Instagram @chaoticcreativespod and tag us in the projects you're working on while listening!Say hi or tell us a silly lil joke: chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.comLauren's links:WebsiteInstagramOnline ClassesRachael's links:WebsiteInstagramThe Juice BoxCreative Coaching

B. Jeffrey, a teacher at Parsons School of Design and author of Creative Careers, discusses how to make a living from your ideas without chasing false definitions of success. He explores the difference between having a vision and proving a concept, why obsession is a necessary condition for building empires like Ralph Lauren or Apple, and how most creative people never ask themselves what success actually looks like to them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Success often comes from staying grounded when things start moving fast. In this episode, Frank and Frankie Guida share behind‑the‑scenes conversations from Nashville with rising country artists Jett Jurgensmeyer and Garrett Bradford. The episode explores how family, work ethic, and staying authentic shape careers in music, acting, and life beyond the spotlight. Through candid stories about balancing multiple paths, learning from hard work, and seizing unexpected opportunities, listeners get a closer look at how long‑term perspective and personal values continue to guide creative journeys both on stage and off. Schedule a complimentary appointment: A Better Way Financial Learn more about Frank and Frankie's book here! Buy Frank's book! Amazon Best Seller, “The Book on Retirement: A Better Way to Stretch Your Retirement Dollars While Living the Lifestyle of Your Dreams.” Buy Frankie's book! Amazon Best Seller, ""A Better Way to Retire: How a Fiduciary Retirement Planner Can Be the Key to Financial Success" CLICK HERE to register for one of our upcoming Tax-Smart Retirement Planning Dinner Workshops. Follow us on social media: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's guest proves that a creative career doesn't have to rely on algorithms, going viral, or luck. If you've ever wondered how to strategize your creativity like a real profession—and build a living from your work—this conversation is for you.Kern Carter is a former indie and current traditionally published author writing books for Penguin and Scholastic. He writes essays at the intersection of publishing and pop culture, offering candid insight into what it actually takes to make a living as an author and creative entrepreneur.www.kerncarter.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kerncarter/In the past year alone, Kern has sold approximately 15,000 books—without being popular on any social media platform—by intentionally building and leveraging community. His journey includes dropping out of high school at 18 when he became a father, earning a full athletic scholarship, self-publishing his first books, securing an agent, and signing multiple traditional publishing deals beginning in 2021.Beyond books, Kern runs a thriving creative business spanning film production (with a film on Amazon Prime Video), ghostwriting, and platforms that support emerging writers. His story is one of perseverance, planning, and playing the long game.1) Designing a Creative Career on PurposeKern, you've said you're living the life you told yourself you'd live at eight years old—and that it didn't happen by accident. How did you approach building a creative career the way someone might approach a traditional profession, with strategy, planning, and long-term vision?2) Prioritizing Yourself While Raising a ChildYou became a father very young, yet you still prioritized your creative ambitions. That's a difficult balance for many people. How did you navigate that tension—and what impact did that decision have on both your career and your relationship with your daughter?3) Selling Books Without Social Media FameYou've sold roughly 15,000 books in the last year without being popular on social media, which goes against most advice writers hear today. What role has community building played in your success, and how can writers start building real relationships instead of chasing followers?4) Playing the Long GameYour journey took 15 years to reach what many would call “overnight success.” How did you stay motivated through the slower seasons, and what mindset shifts helped you keep going when results weren't immediate?5) Education, Income, and the Future of Creative WorkYou've been outspoken about what formal education gets wrong when it comes to preparing writers to earn a living. What do you think aspiring authors really need to learn—and how are you personally adapting to changes like AI entering creative industries?For creatives listening who feel behind, discouraged, or unsure if their plan is working—what's one thing you want them to remember about patience, strategy, and belief in themselves?

ReDesigning Your Creative Career After 50with Philip VanDusenIf you're a creative professional over 50, redesigning your creative career after 50 isn't about starting over, it's about building resilience, relevance, and long-term leverage. In this episode, I walk you through a practical framework for career reinvention, income diversification, and staying professionally valuable in an AI-accelerated world.The Workbook Prompts:"If traditional employment became unreliable tomorrow, how else could I create value with what I know?""Which parts of my work still challenge my thinking, and which parts simply consume my energy?""What would it look like to make that guidance explicit, structured, and an 'intellectual deliverable' that I could be paid for?""List five potential, or existing income streams you could realistically develop over the next few years.""Where in my work does human context matter more than speed?""Write down the names of three people you would want in the room as you rethink, and redesign, the next phase of your career."Many experienced designers, creatives, and agency professionals discover that traditional employment becomes less reliable later in their careers. Ageism, shifting business models, global competition, and AI-driven automation are reshaping the creative industry. Instead of chasing employability, I'll show you how to build resilience, intellectual deliverables, multiple income streams, and a network that actually supports your next chapter.This is a guided workshop for experienced creative professionals who want clarity, stability, and long-term career insurance.If you're serious about redesigning your career with intention, explore BONFIRE, my mastermind community for experienced creatives navigating this exact transition.BONFIRE: Mastermind Community for Creative Proshttps://philipvandusen.com/bonfire________________________________WEBSITEhttps://www.philipvandusen.comBRAND•MUSE NEWSLETTER  https://www.philipvandusen.com/museCREATIVE PROFESSIONAL COACHINGhttps://philipvandusen.com/oneononeYOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/philipvandusenBRAND DESIGN MASTERS PODCAST https://podcast.branddesignmasters.com/subscribeBRAND STRATEGY 101 COURSEhttps://philipvandusen.com/bs101LINKEDINhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/philipvandusen/THREADShttps://www.threads.net/@philipvandusen FACEBOOKhttps://www.facebook.com/philipvandusen.agency/____________________________Philip VanDusen is a branding consultant based in New York. A highly accomplished creative executive and expert in brand strategy, graphic design, marketing and creative management, Philip provides design, branding, marketing, career and business advice to creative professionals, entrepreneurs and companies on building successful brands for themselves and the clients and customers they serve.

KERRI ZANEAI Innovation: Kerri Zane's Creative Career JourneySummaryIn this engaging interview, Kerri Zane shares her extensive experience in reality TV, her innovative ventures into AI in media, and invaluable advice for aspiring producers and storytellers. Discover how she navigates the evolving landscape of entertainment, the role of AI, and tips for success in the industry.Sound Bites"Never give up. I never stop. I never give up.""When someone says no to me, that's when I get started."ChaptersSetting the Stage: Introduction and BackgroundEmbracing AI in Media: A New EraThe Art of Production: Roles and ResponsibilitiesReality TV: Crafting Stories and ConflictNavigating the Pitch Process: Tips for SuccessThe Evolution of Content Creation: From Traditional to AIThe Importance of Human Creativity in AIAdvice for Aspiring Creatives: Never Give UpBooks and Personal Growth: Sharing ExperiencesClosing Thoughts: The Future of StorytellingHow women are rewriting the rules—no apologies neededDrop a

Send us Fan MailJoin me as we dig into the importance of sales, beliefs around sales and how it's connected to your visibility Key Points:The lie: “my work should speak for itself”Sales = articulation of value, not manipulationIf you can't sell it, you can't sustain itThe difference between talent and paid talentHow avoiding sales is avoiding visibilityOwning your price without over-explainingCreative careers die in silence, not lack of skillEnjoyed this episode? Share it with someone you know would benefit from it. Come and level up inside Spotlight: The Inner Room I would be so grateful if you could leave a 5 star review so this episode can make an impact in the lives of others just like you.Follow me on instagram @danniellerhimeslecointeEmail me Hello@danniellerhimeslecointe.com Want to work together?Contact me here

Ever wonder how your favorite illustrators design their workspaces? Jake Parker, Sam Cotterill, and Lee White take you into their studios, past, present, and future. Plus, discover the accessories they can't live without! 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

Today is my 47 birthday and I have a treat for you! This BTS episode is your invitation to trust your creative evolution, even when it doesn't look the way you thought it would. I'm taking you behind the scenes of my career from professional kitchens to content creation to fully stepping into content strategy and the moments that changed everything.I share the origin of “Chef Carla,” and how a moment on TV sparked an identity rooted in energy, visibility, and presence. What started in kitchens evolved into working with major brands, creating hundreds of photo shoots, recipes, and campaigns but underneath it all was something deeper, my super power: content strategy.I share the pivotal moments that shaped my path, like the selfie I posted on Instagram after a Cherry Bomb conference that led to working with Bobbi Brown. To the deeper realization that following the energy is what creates momentum in my life. I talk about what it actually means to follow a nudge and how one small action can open doors you.I also share the turning point of my CreativeMornings talk, where I had to face a hard truth: the industry was shifting, and the work I once identified with was changing. What felt like loss became clarity. It revealed what had always been true, my work isn't just creating content, it's understanding how it works.I explore the intersection of intuition and strategy, the duality of “Chef Carla” as Manifesting Generator and my more introspective Projector self, and how both are essential to my work. I also share how supporting brands to generate real results, including multiple viral moments, and helped me claim my role as a content strategist.This episode is a reminder that your identity can evolve. That letting go is often part of the creative process. And that your greatest strength might already be present, and you might have yet to name it. Whether you're navigating a shift in your career or questioning what's next, this conversation is for you.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or on your favorite podcast platform while you cook, clean, or create. Get the full show notes & transcript on Substack.Leave a comment on Substack or connect with me on Instagram @chefcarlacontrerasxo CarlaPS: Substack curious? Listen to the podcast episode about building your new digital home on Substack here.Disclaimer: Always seek the counsel of a qualified medical practitioner or other healthcare provider for an individual consultation before making any significant changes to your health, lifestyle, or to answer questions about specific medical conditions. If you are driving or doing an activity that needs your attention, save the energy practices for later. This podcast is for entertainment and information purposes only. Note: Some of these are affiliate links. I receive a small percentage of the sales. I appreciate your support of my small Latina & women owned business. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chefcarla.substack.com/subscribe

We all experience periods of low energy and motivation; but as Chaotic Creatives, our ideas and goals never stop calling to us. Rachael and Lauren talk about the necessity of giving ourselves grace when we're feeling drained. They outline some actionable approaches that might help us advance towards our passions even when we aren't feeling up to the task. This episode invites us to willfully take the path of inefficiency as an act of self care in a world burning with urgency and the pressures of productivity. Episode Mentions Rachael's new book “Prioritize Play” is now available for pre-order! Grab your copy today. If you enjoyed this episode, check out episode 21, “The ‘Bummed Hole' Survival Kit,” episode 23, “Purpose, Process, and Embracing the Unexpected,” AND episode 30, “Staying Creatively Grounded While Grieving” Learn more about Rachael's community “The Juicebox”! Check out Lauren's Mural Mockups here! We are now booking workshops and speaking engagements as a duo! To bring us to your conference or organization, reach out to us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com.  For a transcript of this episode, contact us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com Cover art designed and photographed by Kristle Marshall for Hom Sweet HomIf you love what we are doing and want to support us, head to patreon.com/chaoticcreativesFollow the pod on Instagram @chaoticcreativespod and tag us in the projects you're working on while listening!Say hi or tell us a silly lil joke: chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.comLauren's links:WebsiteInstagramOnline ClassesRachael's links:WebsiteInstagramThe Juice BoxCreative Coaching

Can you hold your own against all the other illustrators in the world? In this minisode, Jake Parker and Anthony Wheeler reframe how you think about success and competition. 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

What if you didn't have to choose just one path?In this episode, I'm joined by sports photographer and physical therapist Hannah Kevorkian to explore what it really looks like to build a career that doesn't fit into just one box.Hannah shares her journey into sports photography, capturing major events across the WNBA, Unrivaled, U.S. Soccer, the NFL, Professional Tennis, and the NCAA, all while working full-time as a physical therapist. What started as a creative passion evolved into something much bigger through years of consistency, curiosity, and behind-the-scenes work that most people never see.Together we dive into imposter syndrome, learning to trust your self, and what it takes to grow a creative career alongside a traditional path. Hannah opens up about giving herself permission to step away from expectations, pursue new opportunities, and embrace a true career blend.Her story is a powerful reminder that you can pursue more than one thing, and that some of the most meaningful opportunities come from staying open, following your curiosity, and continuing to show up.

In this episode, Brad and Dave tackle a question every cartoonist eventually asks: Where should I invest my time and energy? From gallery shows to professional organizations to keeping up with “the kids,” this conversation is packed with practical, experience-tested advice. But first things first! Here's Brad's 2021 blog post about the science behind why vampires don't cast a reflection in a mirror. Are Art Galleries Worth It? A listener asks whether exhibiting in a gallery helps grow a comics career. Key takeaways: • Gallery exposure rarely converts into comic readers • If it's not clickable, it's not effective promotion • Sales are often split (sometimes 50/50), cutting into profits • You can usually sell original art more effectively on your own platform • The biggest benefit? Personal satisfaction and a nice ego boost Should Beginners Join Professional Organizations? Brad and Dave revisit a classic question: Are groups like the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) worth it? • 10–15 years ago: Limited practical value• Today: Much more actionable, community-driven, and educational What You Actually Get • Real-world, practical learning (panels, talks, workshops) • Networking with professionals who actually understand comics • Access to events, meetups, and tabling opportunities • Career insight you won't get from general audiences Pro tip: For younger creators, discounted memberships make this a much easier entry point. ComicLab at the Reubens Brad and Dave will be presenting at this year's Reuben Awards Weekend, August 6-8 in Columbus, Ohio. Their session: “Actionable Advice in a Time of Change” • Practical, career-focused insights • Guest cartoonists joining a live panel format • A mix of strategy, storytelling, and real-world experience They'll also be around all weekend — panels, conversations, and (possibly questionable) lunch recommendations. Get on the mailing list so you don't miss out! Call the ComicLab Talkback Line Got a question or something to share?

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this 'hands-on' experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 15 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries. Our season starts off with a real kick when Jayne Towers sits down with Cal Hunter, a Digital Media professional with the NFL, to explore what happens when creativity, culture, and communication converge on one of the world's most recognizable stages. Cal shares how an unconventional background in media and culture shaped his path to the league, offering an honest look at what it actually takes to build a career at the intersection of storytelling and strategy. Jayne and Cal also examine the cultural forces that quietly shape the league's creative direction and keep its digital team moving. Their conversation digs into how fan engagement is built not through highlights alone, but through the kind of authentic storytelling that turns casual viewers into loyal communities. Cal closes with grounded, practical advice for students eyeing careers in media, marketing, and entertainment. Concluding our first episode of the season, Producer and Social Media Manager for Will & Rusty's Playdate Podcast at Almost Friday Media, Andrew Nelson, speaks with Tessa Weir about Nelson's unique career trajectory. They discuss the path that led Andrew from college graduation to running a show almost entirely on his own. Andrew reflects candidly on the stops that shaped him: cutting his teeth under David Dobrik's company, transitioning to the Los Angeles Chargers, grinding through a freelance stretch as a photographer and editor, and ultimately landing at the tight-knit startup. The pair dig into the unglamorous realities behind the mic and what it actually means to shepherd two two-hour episodes from record to release every single week. For students hungry to break into content creation and social media Andrew offers advice that lands with the credibility of someone who hasn't been out of their shoes all that long—and hasn't forgotten what it felt like to be in them.

Which apps actually matter for creative professionals? Watch the video

Should you let trends drive your creativity? How concerned should you be about saturated markets? Sam Cotterill, Lee White, and Jake Parker discuss the state of the publishing industry and how to navigate it successfully in 2026. 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

There are countless worries that come with self-promotion and marketing our offerings. Showing up consistently, sharing what we are working on, and selling can feel as if we are being annoying. BUT it's necessary for our businesses and creative practices to thrive. Lauren and Rachael talk about overcoming apprehension when it comes to this challenging but critical aspect of being a creative entrepreneur. They also share the value of building “it” even when it's not certain that “they will come.” Episode Mentions Rachael's new book “Prioritize Play” is now available for pre-order! Grab your copy today. See Lauren's presentation slide here.  If you enjoyed this episode, you might like Episode 17: Creating Offerings Without Crushing Your Spirit AND Episode 18: Making Sense of Making Money Check out Lauren's Mural Mockups here! We are now booking workshops and speaking engagements as a duo! To bring us to your conference or organization, reach out to us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com.  For a transcript of this episode, contact us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com Cover art designed and photographed by Kristle Marshall for Hom Sweet HomIf you love what we are doing and want to support us, head to patreon.com/chaoticcreativesFollow the pod on Instagram @chaoticcreativespod and tag us in the projects you're working on while listening!Say hi or tell us a silly lil joke: chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.comLauren's links:WebsiteInstagramOnline ClassesRachael's links:WebsiteInstagramThe Juice BoxCreative Coaching

Send us Fan MailIn today's episode we speak with Britney Winthrope, an art director. We speak about her journey, managing creative teams, and balancing different pipelines/productions. http://www.alabapsi.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/@alabapsiBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alabapsi.bsky.socialCreating in Color is a podcast show casing the creative endeavors of Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Anyone from production, illustration, interior design and technology!Creating in Color's SocialsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@creatingincolorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/creating.in.color/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Create_inColorKo-fi: https://www.ko-fi.com/creatingincolorIntro/Outro song by NamikazeSound Cloud: https://soundcloud.com/namikazeYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NamiKazeCapKaybe's SocialsYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@MaybeitsKaybeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maybeitskaybe/Twitter: https://twitter.com/maybeitskaybeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/maybeitskaybeGuest opinions are their own and are not necessarily a reflection of Creating in Color/Kaybe Woods. 

Most people convince themselves they're not ready yet. They need the right gear, the right space, the right moment to start. Nick Ciavarella built two brands in an apartment  and now his work runs on NHL social, ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Barstool. In this episode, Nick, aka 716Nick, breaks down how he turned his creative passion into a career, how anyone can turn free work into paid opportunities, and why relationships are the key to getting to the next level. Topics discussed: Introduction (00:00) Nick's origin story and finding his creative voice (01:56) How the Dishin' brand came together (05:51) Leveraging social media to market your brand for free (08:33) Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs (10:56) Creating content for the NHL (12:46) How to speed up your workflow (16:32) Motion tracking and going viral (19:01) Should you work for free in the beginning of your career? (23:24) How working with creatives drives your own growth (27:27) What brought you JOY today? (30:23) If you're a writer who wants to take control of your finances, read Mitlin Financial's  Write Your Financial Future: A Financial Guide for Authors: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/insights/blog/write-your-financial-future-a-financial-guide-for-authors/ Resources: Sending your child to college will always be emotional but are you financially ready? Take the College Readiness Quiz for Parents: https://mitlin.us/CollegeQuiz Doing your taxes might not be enJOYable but being more organized can make the process less painful. Get Your Gathering Your Tax Documents Checklist: https://mitlin.us/DownloadTaxList Will you be able to enJOY the Retirement you envision? Take the Retirement Ready Quiz: https://mitlin.us/RetirementQuiz  Connect with Larry Sprung: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencesprung/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larry_sprung/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceDSprung/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/Lawrence_Sprung Connect with Nick Ciavarella: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/716nick TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@716nick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-ciavarella-24b757156 X: https://x.com/ehCavo About Our Guest: Known as 716nick, Ciavarella is an influential content creator, cinematographer and video producer whose work within sports has serviced top-tier athletes such as Rasmus Dahlin, Tyreek Hill and several others. He has also helped build viral brand content for national audiences featured on NHL Social, Bleacher Report, Barstool Sports and ESPN. Disclosure: Guests on the Mitlin Money Mindset are not affiliated with CWM, LLC, and opinions expressed herein may not be representative of CWM, LLC. CWM, LLC is not responsible for the guest's content linked on this site. This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Want the key to original storytelling that resonates with audiences? Jake Parker, Sam Cotterill, and Lee White teach the principles of making meaningful art (even if you're short on new ideas).  3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

If you've ever felt successful on the outside but misaligned on the inside, or wondered how to design a life that truly feels meaningful and aligned, today's episode will give you a powerful new way to think about your future. In this episode of The Art of Living Well Podcast®, Marnie and Stephanie sit down with designer, author, educator, and longtime host of the Design Matters podcast, Debbie Millman. Debbie shares the powerful 10-year life design exercise she has taught students for more than 15 years that helps people imagine their future without limitations. Many people appear successful on the surface yet feel disconnected from what truly matters to them. Debbie explains how writing a declaration about your future can help you reconnect with what you actually want, move past fear and self-doubt, and begin taking courageous steps toward the life you envision. Whether you're navigating midlife transitions, career shifts, or simply feeling called to something more meaningful, this conversation will inspire you to pause, reflect, and ask yourself one powerful question: If not now, when? Key Takeaways: Prioritizing courage is the first step toward designing a life that truly aligns with who you are. Writing a 10-year vision for your life can expand what you believe is possible. Confidence develops through repetition and taking action, not waiting until you feel ready. Many people live lives that look impressive on paper but feel misaligned internally. Fear often comes from internal barriers rather than external limitations. Declaring your dreams out loud can shift your mindset and create momentum. Midlife can be the perfect time to rethink what you truly want next. Designing your future begins with giving yourself permission to imagine it. Episode Breakdown with Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction to Designing a Meaningful Life 03:00 – Debbie Millman's Journey and Creative Career 07:12 – The Powerful 10-Year Life Design Exercise 11:28 – Why Declaring Your Future Matters 15:40 – Courage vs Confidence and Taking the First Step 19:18 – Overcoming Fear and Internal Barriers 24:05 – Why Many People Feel Misaligned Despite Success 28:30 – Envisioning Your Ideal Day Ten Years from Now 33:40 – Helping Students Dream Bigger About Their Futures 37:55 – Using the Exercise with Couples or Families 41:05 – Why Midlife Is the Perfect Time to Reimagine Your Life 44:00 – Debbie's Final Question: If Not Now, When? Guest Links: Debbie Millman https://www.debbiemillman.com Design Matters Podcast https://www.designmattersmedia.com Debbie's Life Design Exercise (referenced in episode) Free download This episode is brought to you by Good Health Saunas, offering commercial-grade infrared saunas designed to support detoxification, muscle recovery, relaxation, and better sleep. Visit goodhealthsaunas.com or stop by their Mall of America, Appleton, or Waukesha locations and be sure to mention The Art of Living Well Podcast® for your exclusive special pricing. Freebie + Stay Connected Beyond the Podcast Subscribe to our Substack to get episode updates, wellness tips, and personal reflections from Marnie & Stephanie delivered straight to your inbox. Grab your free Midlife Travel Resilience Checklist here. If you love the show and want to support what we're building, consider a paid subscription for $30 annually. Your support helps fund podcast production and allows us to continue bringing you meaningful, high-quality conversations. https://theartoflivingwell.substack.com/ Want a Reset Before or After Travel? Join our Spring Vitality Reboot (starts May 3) or choose our DIY option you can start anytime. Sign-up Now! Follow & Connect: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theartofliving_well/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@theartoflivingwellpodcast LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-art-of-living-well-podcast/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@theartoflivingwel/ Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4gym3jOPdSHwrpM1BmxyJz Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-art-of-living-well-podcast/id1482050468 Connect with your Hosts: https://www.theartoflivingwell.us/about-us

Ever wondered if your business idea is viable? If there's a market for your product? If you can succeed in this chaotic climate? Dusty Droz of Dux Somnium Games joins Jake Parker and Samantha Cotterill to share how you can create a thriving business from the most niche ideas in 2026 and beyond. 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

Why does fostering community matter? Jake Parker, Sam Cotterill, and Lee White share the benefits of a solid creative network (with a bonus discussion about what makes a best-seller!). 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

After mentoring college students and attending countless panels with filmmakers, artists, and entrepreneurs, I've noticed something important: underneath almost every question is the same desire.Certainty.Students and emerging creators want to know that if they pursue their dreams, they'll land on their feet. They want someone to offer a clear roadmap — a guarantee that things will work out.But the truth is much harder than that: there are no guarantees.In this episode, I talk about why uncertainty is an unavoidable part of creative careers and life itself. From the unpredictable nature of art and entertainment to the massive industry shifts brought by technology, AI, and global events, the world is constantly changing — often in ways no curriculum can prepare you for.I also reflect on my own journey. When I was in college, podcasting wasn't even an industry, yet today it's a major part of my career. That reality highlights an important lesson: the most valuable things you learn aren't specific tools or trends — they're the fundamental principles that allow you to adapt over time.We'll also explore:-Why best practices aren't guarantees-What students are really asking when they seek advice-Why art is inherently subjective (unlike sports)-How mental fortitude and physical endurance support creative work-Why embracing uncertainty is essential for artists and entrepreneursIf you're pursuing a creative path, this episode is a reminder that the goal isn't certainty — it's resilience.

In this episode, Trent sits down with longtime collaborator Eric Ratinoff of Story First to explore the power of storytelling — in film-making, business, and everyday life.  Eric shares how his work helping organizations tell meaningful stories goes far beyond simply “making a video.” Instead, it's about uncovering the deeper narrative: the problem, the stakes, and the transformation that makes a story resonate with an audience.  Together they discuss the curse of knowledge, why experts often struggle to communicate what they know, and how curiosity and asking the right questions can unlock powerful stories hidden inside organizations and individuals. The conversation moves from filmmaking and editing workflows to the psychology and evolution of storytelling — and why humans are wired to understand the world through narrative. More From Eric: Eric Ratinoff is the founder and Chief Storyteller of Story First, a strategic storytelling firm that helps companies and organizations get clear about their story and tell it more effectively.  Story First works with a wide range of non-profit, corporate, educational, and political clients from across the United States, and Eric brings deep experience as a writer, editor, director, strategist, speaker, teacher, and coach. He's been invited to speak and teach about storytelling in a variety of corporate and college settings, including presenting multiple times at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)/National Public Health Information Coalition National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media. Two recent Story First projects, Still Separate, Still Unequal, which examines education inequity in St. Louis, and Transforming 911, which tells the story of what happens after you call 911 in St. Louis, received Gold Telly Awards. Additionally, Eric has taught Technical Writing in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis; served as the Executive Editor for the Ferguson Commission report, Forward Through Ferguson; co-authored A Seat at the Table, an award-winning column on diversity and inclusion in the New Hampshire Business Review; served as the lead organizer and a speaker coach for TEDxAmoskeagMillyard in Southern New Hampshire; and delivered a talk on storytelling and organizational culture, titled “Once Upon a Time At The Office: How Stories Shape Culture At Work,” at TEDxCapeMay in New Jersey. He's also the head boys' track and field coach at Manchester West High School in Manchester, New Hampshire. Website: https://www.storyfir.st  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ratinoff/  More from us:  Website: www.adppodcast.com  Instagram: http://instagram.com/adppod_

Award-winning illustrator Raissa Figeuroa joins Sam Cotterill and Lee White to share her path from making art part-time to becoming the illustrator of over 25 books in 5 years.  3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

After a long period away, Rachael found herself packing it all in when she returned to Detroit. Lauren was there to bear witness and support Rachael through the overwhelm, which inspired today's discussion. They debrief on Rachael's chaotic week, and talk ways to do all of what you truly want, while incorporating guardrails to prevent spiraling into burnout.Episode MentionsThe Wedding People: A Novel by Alison EspachWatch a recap of our Marshalls Workshop in Detroit!Check out Rachael's Online Community, The Juice Box here!We are now booking workshops and speaking engagements as a duo! To bring us to your conference or organization, reach out to us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com. For a transcript of this episode, contact us at chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.com Cover art designed and photographed by Kristle Marshall for Hom Sweet HomIf you love what we are doing and want to support us, head to patreon.com/chaoticcreativesFollow the pod on Instagram @chaoticcreativespod and tag us in the projects you're working on while listening!Say hi or tell us a silly lil joke: chaoticcreativespodcast@gmail.comLauren's links:WebsiteInstagramOnline ClassesRachael's links:WebsiteInstagramThe Juice BoxCreative Coaching

Today's guest is Rob Lowe, also known as Supermundane, an artist, illustrator, writer, and public speaker whose work uses geometric shapes, colour, pattern, and words to create playful, philosophical, and deeply generous work. With a background in graphic design and over 30 years working across the creative world, Rob has moved fluidly between indie magazine design, publishing, murals, community-led projects, and major global commissions, including designing the influential magazines Anorak and Fire & Knives and creating the visual identity for the Champions League London Final. Whether he's working at the scale of a print, a rug, a classroom, or city walls, his focus is the same: making work that feels rooted in shared human experience. He's also the author of Lost Ordinary Magic, a book of “simple things in a complicated world,” which feels like a neat distillation of his wider practice. In this conversation, we talk about how to make accessible work without flattening it, how projects grow through trust rather than ego, and what it really takes to build a sustainable creative career that protects both your voice and your energy. KEY TAKEAWAYS Caring about the people, the context and the conditions of the work isn't extra; it's the strategy that makes the work deeper, more trusted, and more sustainable. Big commissions don't require a different version of you. They require the same thinking, just at a different volume. Scale doesn't have to mean compromise. You don't have to contort yourself to be legible. You don't have to overproduce to be relevant. You don't have to disappear inside other people's frameworks to make meaningful work. BEST MOMENTS “You can work at the scale of a kid with scissors and glue, and also the scale of a city, and still be doing the same work, just with different volume.” “I work hard, but I don't like stress … I work within what I'm good at, so I'm always working with my strengths, rather than trying to force myself to do something that I think I should be.” “There is obviously a recognisable style, but it's more about how I work and how I think and… I have a certain way of looking and seeing the world.” EPISODE RESOURCES www.supermundane.com www.instagram.com/supermundane PODCAST HOST BIO With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals. **** Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today! https://cerihand.com/membership/ **** Unlock Your Artworld Network Self Study Course Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network," offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today. https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/ **** Book a Discovery Call Today To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at hello@cerihand.com **** Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Our guest today is Melanie Jasmine a costume designer and makeup artist based in Texas.With more than 10 years of experience in sewing and design, she began her involvement in the cosplay community at age 15. Within the community she hosts panels and crafting sessions, judges cosplay contests and is a brand ambassador. She represents a newer generation of professional cosplayers who combine costume design, performance, makeup artistry, and branded content creation into dynamic character work. In addition to sewing and fabrication, she is known for using advanced makeup techniques to complete fully immersive transformations.She has worked with a variety of brands, such as Lootcrate, 20th Century Fox, Dreamhack, AVC Entertainment, Anime Expo, Dallas Fuel, Hulu, Coca Cola, and Blizzard Entertainment; creating promotional content and organizing meetups. She also shares insight into how brand partnerships differ from competition builds, what she looks for when judging contests, and how the cosplay industry has evolved over the years.Her work has won numerous awards and when not busy creating, she can be found doing guest appearances around the country. (1:53) How did Melanie learn to sew and who were her influencers?(4:10) What was Melanie like as a little girl before cosplay?(5:28) What brought her to the United States?(8:30) What drew Melanie to costume making and what was the first costume she ever made?(10:00) How did her early years in cosplay affect what she does today?(11:47) How does her work on makeup and costuming influence each other?(14:23) What are some of the tools and materials that are important to her?(17:00) Melanie explains how working with brands and collaborations is different than other projects.(22:51) What does she look for when judging competitions?(26:44) What changes has she seen over her involvement in cosplay.(30:10) What skills do sewists and quilters have that will help them get started I cosplay?(32:56) Where does she find her inspiration?(34:10) What's next for her and what's her dream?(35:26)Is there a question we didn't ask?(35:42) You can reach her at her email melanie@mjasmine.com and on Instagram.@mjasminedesign Be sure to subscribe to, review and rate this podcast on your favorite platform…and visit our website sewandsopodcast.com for more information about today's and all of our Guests.

Should you choose a niche and settle in, or follow the winds of inspiration? Jake Parker, Sam Cotterill, and Lee White teach how to pick the path that aligns with your values in this live-recorded Q&A.  3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

Send a text“Finding your style” is the number one question we get asked, and the one we've asked ourselves for years. In this episode, we're diving into the real question behind it: what if it's not about finding a single aesthetic… but about uncovering your creative identity? We're celebrating the announcement of our new book, Follow Your Art, and sharing why we wrote it, what you'll find inside, and how the entire process changed the way we think about style, niching, and creative confidence. We talk about why committing to one aesthetic can feel like a cage, why effortless ideas are often your most authentic ones, and how your “secret sauce” is built from everything. We also unpack our take on “niching out, not down,” how to write an artist statement that actually feels like you, and how to market your work without feeling gross.All that and more when you listen to this episode:Why “How do I find my style?” might be the wrong questionThe difference between style and creative identity Why committing to one aesthetic feels terrifying (and limiting) The ice cream shop metaphor that reframes everythingHow to identify your creative “secret sauce” Why what feels effortless might actually be your magicThe role of childhood memories, relationships, and non-art influences in shaping your workWhat “niching out, not down” really meansWhat it was like to co-write a book over several yearsWhy creative work doesn't have to feel hard to be valuableAnd so much more! Mentioned in this episode:Follow Your Art (our new book!) https://goodtype.us/follow-your-art-book Free audiobook with pre-order https://goodtype.us/follow-your-art-book Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239923273-follow-your-art Connect with Katie & Ilana from Goodtype Goodtype Website Goodtype on Instagram Goodtype on Youtube We wrote a book! Grab a copy and sign up to access the audiobook when we release it! Love The Typecast and free stuff? Leave a review, and send a screenshot of it to us on Slack. Each month we pick a random reviewer to win a Goodtype Goodie! Goodies include merch, courses and Kernference tickets! Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the showTag us on Instagram @GoodtypeFollow us on Tiktok @lovegoodtypeLearn from Katie and IlanaGrab your tea, coffee, or drink of choice, kick back, and let's get down to business!

Verónica Fuerte is a designer, speaker and lecturer based in Barcelona, and the founder and creative directress of Hey, an independent design studio established in 2007. For over 18 years, she has been building bold, vibrant and strategic design systems that help brands, institutions and cultural organizations connect with people. Alongside her studio work, Verónica serves as a Board Member at Canva, is a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale), and a Board Member of the Art Directors Club in New York. Beyond client work, Hey functions as a platform to share design with the world—from Women at Work, the podcast and community Verónica founded to amplify women's voices in creativity, to Hey Shop, a curated space for objects, prints and ideas that reflect their distinctive approach to design. Explore more https://creative.voyage/

What does it take to build a creative career that lasts? Chef, educator, and creator Justin Khanna joins Alx and Julie to talk about growth, sustainability, and the balancing act between ambition and burnout. From Michelin-starred kitchens like Per Se and Noma to launching his own hospitality education company, Repertoire, Justin shares the pivots that shaped his path and the rituals that keep him grounded. This conversation explores how to sustain creativity — not just in food, but in any passion that demands everything you've got.

In this episode of the Optimized Advisor Podcast, we sit down with composer, pianist, and entrepreneur Harlan Hodges for a wide-ranging conversation about identity, resilience, and building a meaningful career. From a West Texas upbringing and a near career-ending skateboarding injury to working in Hollywood and contributing to major film projects, Harlan shares how adversity redirected his path and ultimately shaped his success. His story is a powerful reminder that sometimes the detours define us more than the original plan ever could. Together, we explore what it means to differentiate yourself in a crowded industry, how to balance artistry with entrepreneurship, and why being fully authentic can be your greatest competitive advantage. Whether you're a financial advisor refining your practice or a professional navigating your own next chapter, this episode challenges you to define success on your terms, stay committed to growth, and keep moving the ball forward—even when the path isn't perfectly clear. **This is the Optimized Advisor Podcast, where we focus on optimizing the wellbeing and best practices of insurance and financial professionals. Our objective is to help you optimize your life, optimize your profession, and learn from other optimized advisors. If you have questions or would like to be a featured guest, email us at optimizedadvisor@optimizedins.com Optimized Insurance Planning

Are you marketing your art all wrong? Jake Parker, Lee White, and Anthony Wheeler discuss how to turn followers into customers (without cheap gimmicks). 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

This episode highlights our top moments discussing productivity for illustrators. Tune in for advice about designing your daily routine, deep work, accountability, and more. 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

Back from the SCBWI conference in New York, Sam Cotterill and Lee White recap the trip, from funny stories to biggest takeaways (plus tips on how to make the most of conferences like these).  3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

What if getting a degree in design didn't mean writing a thesis—but instead meant building a real, revenue-generating business? In this episode, I'm joined by Carina Gardner, who is doing something truly bold: she's opened her own university. The University of Arts and Design is unlike any traditional university experience. Think of it as a trade school for creatives, where students learn practical, real-world skills—like keeping their books with QuickBooks, pricing their work, and running a profitable business. Instead of writing a thesis for a master's degree, students are required to create and run a business. Carina knows both sides of the academic world. She holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota and spent years watching talented creatives hear the same discouraging messages: "You can't earn money as a creative." "Don't study art—you'll just be a starving artist." But Carina—and many of her peers—are living proof that those statements simply aren't true. In this conversation, Carina shares how creatives can build multiple six-figure businesses by selling their art and designs—not by teaching others how to be creative, but by doing the work themselves. This episode is an inspiring look at what's possible when creativity and business come together—with intention, structure, and confidence. In this episode, we talk about: Why Carina started the University of Arts and Design How this model differs from traditional art and design degrees What creatives actually need to learn to earn real income Why running a business replaces a thesis How artists and designers can build sustainable, profitable careers If you've ever loved creating—but wondered how to make it financially sustainable—this episode will open your eyes to a new way forward.

Jake Parker and Samantha Cotterill interview Claudia Rueda, a Colombian author and illustrator whose Smushkin characters connect with young readers in unexpected ways. Learn about Claudia's path to illustration, the role of luck in an illustrator's journey, how to appreciate the small child's world, and more. 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.

Jake, Sam, and Lee discuss Lee's untimely death, Jake's rules for 2026, and how to find work when you're in between jobs. Reflect, laugh, and gain inspiration for the new year with us. 3 Point Perspective Podcast is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, the place where becoming a great illustrator starts!Click here for this episode's links and show notes.