Lessons

Lesson Info

Week 1: Welcome!

Good morning and hello, Internet. Maybe good afternoon. If you're on the other coast or maybe in Europe. I'm Chase Jarvis, founder, CEO creativelive lifelong creator and entrepreneur. And I could not be mawr excited to welcome you to the creative calling book club here. A creative live, Um ah. I just over the moon to to have you join the broadcast today. I'm coming at you live from a remote location. Um, as probably you've seen in your feeds over the course of the past, I don't know, 12 or 14 weeks. I'm excited you're here. The goal for this is to last between 30 and 60 minutes. I'm gonna have got a program that I want to present to. You will have some Q and A throughout. If you're just now joining us on Facebook Live or YouTube live, um, maybe creative live TV. Feel free to go to the actual class page of this course at creativelive dot com slash book club or go to creativelive dot com slash tv and you can participate in the chat. That is where I see your life questions. All you have t...

o do is click, join, chat and the upper right hand corner, and then I will see that in real time. If you want to stay on your preferred platform, maybe Facebook or YouTube live, I will get those questions just a little bit delayed. So, um, I wanted to start off our conversation today again, Um, this is a really important moment because we need creativity now more than ever. That's the reason for us kicking off this book club. I found myself drifting in and out of my creative practice over the past. Ah, I would say, 12 weeks and so many of us in the community. I was getting a lot of messages from you all, and it just occurred to us that this was a really important time for creativity, whether you're looking to escape, whether you're looking to lay some plans where you want to create a project or plans for the rest of your life. If you recognized from this moment that we're all in together, that this is a huge opportunity and I want to reinvent or create a new living or life for myself in the next chapter, now is the time. So that was the impetus behind the class and I wanted to start off today's broadcast with a story, and, um, I've told this in many different ways and shapes and different pieces. But I want o line it up together for you to understand this moment that we're in and why creativity is so powerful also maybe why you're stuck, why you feel incomplete and why you showed up today, which I have to give you a lot of credit for, Um it goes back to the summer between first and second grade. I was seven either seven or eight, depending on my birthdays in July. So I don't remember if it was before or after July, but I was six or seven or eight. And, um, my friends and I had decided to make a film and we washed cars in our neighborhood in order to finance the film. We raise some money over the course of a few weeks, and we hired my my buddies brother. We hired him for $1 to film the project, and we bought film Super eight film with some of the money. My friend Quinn, his father had a Super eight camera, and over the course of just maybe a week or 10 days, we wrote out a script we rehearsed and we recorded all in camera. My first film, it was called The Sons of Zorro. We were had just seen a movie called The Son of Zorro, which no relation, of course, very, very different film. It was Director both, um and we placed it flyers all over the neighborhood. Um, in order to get people to show up, we went to the store. I remember literally picking out what candy bars that we would sell. And we bought the candy bars for, I think, 25 cents and sold them for 50 cents over the course of the next. I don't know, week of promotion. We screened the film and we made a profit, and I was I remember in that moment thinking maybe I could just do this over and over. Now, for those of your listening, this is, um, something from my past. And obviously I bet you did things like this in your past, and you're saying, Wait a minute. That was however, many years ago, the same words that we said to ourselves those were creative and inspirational embedded moments that we whether we know it or not. We've carried forward as an example that little moment in that summer between first and second grade, it carried into my second grade year. I remember I opened up the second grade the first week of school. I did a magic show. I had card tricks. Um, I had all kinds of I saw myself as a really creative person. And then at the beginning of right before the holiday break, there's a student is a apparent teacher Check in. It was attached to the ice cream social, so all the kids were in the gym having ice cream, and there's parents meeting with different teachers. I stumbled into this second grade classroom. Miss Kelly and I overheard her tell my parents that I was so much better at sports than an art. And now, coming off my profitable film and second her in the summertime and all of you know, my magic shows and my stand up comedy act that I'd been developing again. These are all things that we do is second graders, and then I heard on adult that I respected and admired and appreciated. Tell my parents that I wasn't that good at art, and most people would be crushed. I think you are now rather looking back, was it? Oh, that poor little second grader was crushed. But that's not true. I just said, Oh, I'm not good at art. Okay, great. I'm going to do the thing that culture thinks is good for me Or that I'm good at and not what interests me here, where I have areas of passion. And it just turns out that that seed it sent me on a nearly 20 year. Let's call it 15 year, 12 year journey away from the things that I was very passion about. And I did pursue sports. So my second grade teacher wasn't wrong. I was a good athlete, but at what cost? And so wherever you are right now, this is where you're at. And I don't want you to be yourself up. I want you to recognize that you've whether you're stuck in the small s stock or stuck in the capital s stuck. Um, or maybe you're not stuck. You're just here for inspiration. My hope over the course of the next six weeks and as we walk through creative calling is to help you understand that? A It's okay to be in the position right now be It's exactly what you need. In fact, and see that we can together through this program, get you unstuck. Reverse some of these messages and the natural state that you've, um I guess gravitated toward because of all these social influences and, um, and cultural influences on why you are where you are right now. So opening, little salvo, don't sweat it wherever you are. Right now, we can get you fixed, unstuck and back on a creative path. And when I say creativity, I mean creativity in all senses the word creative with small C like art and design in any individual product or practice or programme or project that you're working on. And I also mean creativity with a capital C, which is the the concept of creating everything in your life. You're a creative force. So I want to start off the next little, um, segment of today's broadcast with a reading. And if you, um paid attention to the class page, what we wanted to talk about today ah is just the 1st 2 They're sort of pre chapters. It's called read this first An introduction. If you don't have the book or you haven't read these two things, that's only 19 pages. I don't want you to worry about it. Um, if you have read them, then you are aware that we're just really setting up the problem and helping us understand where we're gonna go over the course of the next six weeks and in turn, Ah, the ark of the book. It is a process is a four step process that will get you unstuck, get you on the right path and unlock, uh, your creativity and by extension, your human potential. So, um, I'm also if you're tuning in right now, I would love to make this interactive before I start this read and let me know where you're tuning in from, um, I will be taking questions. I'll posit a couple moments, and then we'll really attack questions at the end of sort of my my presentation. But just as a heartbeat check, I would love to know love to see where you're coming in from what's going on here. I need to turn that off. Um, just let me know where you're tuning in from And as you're listening to the program and to the reading and some of the exercises that I want to share some of the questions I do want you to respond. This is meant to be interactive. Um, And for those of you who are asking, I could see some questions. Yes, I will be having some guests, maybe even you later on in this six week process. So, um, if you want some one on one coaching Ah, this is the place. We will do it. And we will learn by example because what we find in creativity is in so many other things is there's only a handful of problems were stuck for a handful of reasons, and I've narrowed those down. And a problem that someone in, um, you know, in western France has is probably the same problem that you may be having there in New Jersey or in Sacramento or wherever you're listening to. So we are all in this together and we can learn. I love seeing Alberta, Canada, James and Victoria Lester in Mississippi. Richmond, Virginia. Andy, um, I want to know where you're at. Andy. Um, Helen Reid. Nice to see you. Loca is in Kuwait, Pakistan, Northern California. Thank you so much. Um, we truly have a worldwide audience, and that is part of what makes this broadcast and this community so special. All right, I want to begin. Ah, the actual lesson here with a reading. And it goes a little bit like this. Ask yourself, is the way you're working working is the way you're living working. This is a book about creativity, but in a larger sense, it's about life and how you live it. It's not just about starting a creative practice or becoming a better designer, writer, photographer or entrepreneur. Although this book will supercharge all of those skills. This is about living a richer, deeper, more rewarding life than ever before. Embracing creativity in your life is like that moment when Dorothy steps out of her black and white Kansas house into blazing Technicolor munchkin land. Um, I have had a lot of people ask me about that line and this idea of creativity, providing vibrancy not just to the project that you're working on but to the entire scope of your life is a very, very meaningful take away. And it's a great reminder as we start this journey together, how important it is. So many of us in their early years were taught that creativity is art. We'll remember that art is just a subset of creativity. It's a great subset. It's a great manifestation of creativity but creativity, as I mentioned earlier with a Capital C, that's what we are really on a journey to discover. Ah, and we're going to get to the three steps, the three main pillars of the book in just a second. But I wanted to ask a question now and I would love to see in the comments. If you are willing to type a few keystrokes here, What is it you're seeking? If you listen to that, read is the way you're working. Working is the way you're living. Working in the next line that I didn't read is your You picked up this book for a reason, and I want you or by extension, your in this class for a reason. So I want to know what is it that you are seeking? Put that in the comments right now. I'll see those as you as you share it, but it's a very fundamental yet super easy question to gloss over because so many of us we want creativity because it sounds good or we want creativity because it's something we lost. I don't care what it is. I just want you to be really specific that way. If I know what you're here seeking, Aiken better deliver that result over the course of the next six weeks and together again. I believe that all the answers you know, the last 25 years of my life are embedded in the book. But I'm gonna help you float up that the answers to your biggest questions so that we can actually address what it is you're seeking now, many of you, ah, tuned into my conversation yesterday with Angela Duckworth's who wrote the book Grit. She's a psychologist and who she's done a ton of research around the qualities that people who create successful themselves have and the number one thread that she found her. All that wasn't about background or social economic status or whether their parents were creative or not, or their parents were entrepreneurs or where they were said nice things or poor things. As a kid, it was about one quality called grit, and that's a combination of passion and perseverance. Now the perseverance part, it turns out, is huge. But what? My take away from Angela's karma conversation with Angela was this that the more specific you can be about what it is you're seeking, the more likely you are going to be able to unlock it. So that is why I wanted it to open the conversation today with you being really clear. And I should bring a notebook and paper. And, you know, maybe you're on the bus or commuting. Or, you know, maybe your hold up and you don't have access to a notebook. Um, that's fine, but I want you to note in whatever way you can. Ideally in a journal, it doesn't have to be perfect. Write down 10 things you might be seeking. Peace of buying. Ah, better sleep. Um, next chapter in my career, you want to get your first novel done? I just want you to be very aware of this because the best outcomes in life are created. Now, that is a thing also, that so many people you know, we even have in common parlance in English is oh did he or she or they find success. Success isn't found. Success is created, so I'm asking you to be specific. And again, I'm seeing the chat room Lina light up right here. And, um, I appreciate Laura Lawrence says she struggled, making photography financially successful. She let go of it because of that has stopped shooting. Jodi loves to write and promise yourself that at that she would write a book. 20 years later, she's written a lot of words, but not a book. Um, these are classic examples of us putting off our dreams and letting culture go back to my opening story with Miss Kelly in my second grade, letting culture tell us why creativity is or isn't valuable or that our goals are or aren't reasonable or unreasonable. You know, Alicia says, I'm working a digital agency but still growing creativity inside herself so she can be the best version of herself. To me, this is a really important moment for us to understand why we're here. So in order to tackle Topic one, whenever you wrote down and, you know, feel free to keep taking notes there and this isn't you don't just have the, uh, two minutes to write down everything and to lock it in over the course of the next week before we go into the first part of the book. Um, feel free to, um, adapt and change and tweak over the next week what it is that you're actually seeking. Um, because it's with time and with a lot of energy that you come to truly understand this stuff, so don't feel too much pressure to get it all down right now and move on. But let's say you've got something, some, some idea, and I want you to get more specific over time. But if you've got some idea that you wrote down and you know but there scribbled it on the notebook of your mind, I think that's a really key point that you have to understand three things. If you believe that you can deliver on what it is that you're seeking, one that we're all creative, every single person who's tuning in here. I know for a fact having surveyed thousands of people and the Creative Life Program and stood up in front of you know already, audiences is largest 10,000 and stadiums and asked people to put their hand up, who identify as creators, and it's shockingly low. So, of course, since you're here, most of you bought the book O. R subscribe to creative life. So I think you probably identify as creators. But it's my hope that there are a bunch of people who maybe don't and they're here. They're tucked away in a closet in their house with headphones on, watching right now to be a part of the community. I call these people creative, curious, and you're welcome here to you don't have to have this big identity or a cape that says I'm a super creator. Wherever you are on the spectrum, that's where you are. But the number one thing that you have to believe in order to make that thing that you're seeking that we just talked about come true is that you have to identify as a creator, you have to say that I create my future, that I have agency over my life. So you know, the lightweight proof that we are all creative can be seen in so many ways. All you know, I say regularly and you've probably heard me say this just walk into any first grade classroom and say, Who wants to come up with thundering? Draw me a picture. How many hands go up? Every hand goes up. So just that little empirical example that we've all experienced. Do you watch a child play with toys or you walk in? It's obvious how creative we are, and yet we often sort of ignore that. So if you can, however, acknowledge that your creative that's the first step in being able to identify and connect with what it is you're seeking, the second is that you have to believe that creativity is a muscle. It is a muscle, and like any other muscle, you have to use it in order to gain strength. My Andrew said it best. Creativity is an infinite resource. The more you use, the more you have. So if you believe one that everyone's creative and I think that's self evident. If you believe thing to that, creativity is a muscle, like anything else, any other habit in the world. Any other process that you go through, the more you do it, the better you get. I don't think this is a stretch, and then thing three is that you? It's It's through doing small creative acts, being aware of your creative faculties and identifying as a creator again knowing that you are creative. It's in creating in small, daily ways through a project, through a meal through just knowing that right now, for example, co creating this experience, you could ask a question. I could answer it, and it could completely change the trajectory of our program. Today we're co creating this. So if you if you understand and believe that you can create in small, daily ways that you have agency over that, that this is the mechanism for changing your life, for creating the next chapter, the next product, the next project ultimately we want to all be in control of our lives. We want to write our own script, and we know that if we wait around for other for ah script to be written for us, people will gladly, right. And that's what you see with your career counselors and your parents and your friends who are all eager to give you advice on what you should do with this one precious life. But you are in charge of creating it and it's on Lee through creating in small ways that you understand that you can create your life with the capital. L. It's just creativity at a different scale. So quick recap one you have to identify your creative to creativity is a muscle. Three. It's by creating a creative habit by creating in small ways regularly every day. Ideally, it's in doing that that you realize that you can architect the arc of your life. Now, in order to facilitate that, um, I'm gonna pause right now and see if there are any questions about this. Um, I want to go into what we're going to talk about over the next five weeks after today this framework that I developed if you're familiar with the book, the idea framework. But before we do, I wanna see if there are some questions and say Thank you so much for participating. There's ah, I think more than of you tuned in registered for the class. And I know we're broadcasting on a couple of other platforms like Facebook and YouTube lives. So, um, give us a shout out here. I'm looking at some comments. I'm Alvis 100 once more creativity in his horror of their life. Um, Mervin says he's seeking to make a living while doing what he loves in a country that makes it hard. Ah, to do it full time as a creative. I understand we're gonna fix and find and put a path together for you to achieve those things. Mervyn, just so you know, um all right, so let's see, any other questions I'm gonna click over to my Ah, so fun to be doing this all against super Small team A creative live broadcasting this. I want to give a shout out to Knauss on Adam and the team for pulling this together. I think we got Joe and a handful of others operating the broadcast booth, um, checking into chat here. Jane used to be more creative than you are now. How does one narrow down the focus when you have so many ideas, we're going to get to that Goeltom says, Yo, Mel, Had he continued the joy in your creativity without making it into a job? I think this is fascinating, and I'm gonna get to a little piece of that in a second, which is a way to um, understand what part? What kind of a creator you are. Um, it's really helpful. It's in this first section of the book. Um, McQueen. What's up, man? Nice to see you. Um, Ferguson's seeking creative courage. Oh, another chap, or sometimes a few females named Chase. So he she or they named Chase. What's the thing that you do every day that's pushed me to another level? All right, these are all questions that we will get to specifically at the end of the broadcast, But it's good to know what you're thinking about. Um, Caitlin? Yep. Everything seems to be working from the team's perspective. I just had them check in. Um, but you can go to creativelive dot com slash tv or the Facebook page. For some reason, your your feet is interrupted. Um okay, so ah, let me shift gears here and introduced the framework. Now, this is a framework that I developed over the course of identifying all my biggest successes and my biggest failures. And ah, it's also something I understood after having people like Sir Richard Branson burn a brown Arianna Huffington Arlen Hamilton um, Tim Ferriss, Gary v um, Angela Duckworth's for example, um, on the creative I platform on my personal podcast, deconstructing their successes and failures as well. I I was able to understand that there is a process that is that that we all run and it's It became clear through my research that the times that we've created the success that we saw it, a certain set of, um, of conditions were in play. And by contrast, when we whiffed or dropped the ball or missed the mark, that some element of this process, the idea process that I wrote about in creative calling was absent. And so that is a way that helps me than this through research. Understand that this is it is a creative process for any project that you have, whether it's a presentation at work or in the case of the student whose tuned in today he was wanting to write a book. Um, this is the process that you need to go through, and it's called Idea I D. E. A. It's an acronym, and it stands for these four things first, imagine what it is you want, and when I say imagine I do not mean what your parents told you what your career counselor told you what your spouse or your partner told you was possible. I want you to imagine that if you could, you know, snap your fingers and having appear before you out of thin air. That's the kind of imagination that I would love to have you have. You enable an unlocked through this process. First step is Imagine what you want again, whether it's a project at work, whether it's that novel or imagine what you want for your life. The second step, the D An idea is great. We know what we want. Now we're going to design a system for doing that. And what is it? You know what is what I mean by designing a system. Usually it's just a system of behaviors that line up with the goals that we have. This was really clear in the research really clear in my own experience, if I don't have a clear goal and I don't have a plan to get there, it's very, very hard for one to arrive where they want to be. So we're going to design a system where we're gonna design a framework for you to achieve the thing that you imagined under the eye. So imagine D is for design E. We're gonna execute against that plan. And this is the tough part that most people get stuck around, um, executing his vision because they get tired, they get distracted, or they've got a mortgage. And there's all kinds of excuses and reasons that we we share for not, um, completing this vision. But I just have to remind you, we have one precious life. One go. And how important should it be for you to maximize and fulfill that in a way that that lifts you up and brings you joy? You seen people, and you have felt what it feels like that is available to you. But you have to execute I d e for execute in the last one is amplified A. Now, if you're familiar with the book right now, you may be saying Yeah, and this is, um this is old hat Chase. Read the book, maybe read it twice. Listen to it on the audio. Um, and I appreciate the set up, but when we're gonna get to the meat, I'm here to tell you that this is the meat. How many free throws is Michael Jordan shot right? That the meat, That's the fundamentals. And I'm betting that right now you have there's a gap between where you are and where you wanna be. And that's the reason you tuned in and you've read the book. You said, Yeah, great. I got the system chase, but are you implementing it? All right, I would say that you are. You're just not aware of it. And one of the reasons I know your kind of implementing it, it's because you're here. And when I say here, this means you're part of this community today. What we're doing together, right this minute is being a part of a community. And that is key to that last stage that a in amplify amplify is This is a signifier for community. We did amplify our ideas, amplify the way we see the world map that way, map that vision out onto the world and get feedback from the world. Get, um, connect with others that they can help us in this journey to create whatever it is that we imagine back in the first step. So again, I d e a. Now, if you are just If you're saying OK, I get this, but I'm stuck. I'm baking. I'm banking that you're stuck in one of two ways. I'm banking that you're stuck because you are in one of two camps. A. You are in the camp of imagining something and then okay, I'm gonna make a plan and you buy a bunch of supplies and then comes time for the executing. And then you go back to another dream. A different dream, slightly different. That means you need to buy a different camera or you need to buy some more supplies. You need to design a different set of goals and then as soon as it gets time to do it, you're OK. So you're just stuck in this I d I d I D. What does that feel like? That is, you know, idee ating. And designing a plan without executing is not going to get you anywhere right? This is what part of us makes what is a large part that makes many of us feel stuck. Let's go to the other side of the coin, which is someone might be executing like crazy. But if you haven't said where you want to go. If you haven't imagined what's possible with this one precious life or with this project, and you haven't designed to plan and you're just visiting your your busy, but you're not getting anywhere. You're not alone. I mean, the what I like to think about it is being busy isn't a virtue. It's a sign of a lack of direction, right? It's not clear priorities. A hamster on wheel is busy. But if you haven't done the 1st 2 steps like idee ating and then they're imagining and then designing Ah, plan and you're executing. You're just doing stuff to make you feel good because you can chalk it up is like, Oh, I'm taking pictures. Great. But, you know, if you want to be a pro like someone in the comments who was just talking about, I want to make a living. Have you taken the next several steps in that process, like getting a business license, like trying to understand who your customer is trying to get your images in front of those customers right? That's all that is, like so key to becoming a photographer that most people ignore, and they'll just be busy So if you're in this concept of executing either just randomly or maybe you work at a company, you're executing other people's ideas. You're helping them manifest their vision rather than you manifest yours. That's another really, really eat. And even you might even be amplifying, right. You might be doing the a step, but what is needed and where most people fall short, is this whole system the fact of just walking through these four steps. That's why they're called steps in the book because you need to do Step one, then step to, then step three and then step. For now, of course, you're going to retrace your steps back, Teoh areas when you get stuck or you need more clarity. And that's natural, right? Not everything is a linear, um, up into the right graph that we would like, But I just I want you to understand how critical the idea framework is. This is where I mean, as a creator, you're not. When you identify as a creator, you no longer just this court bombing and the tide your you have agency over your life, you recognize it and, you know, recognizing our problems or where we're stuck. That's half of the problem. You know, many of you are aware of meditation or mindfulness what that is that's the act of watching thoughts go by and acknowledging them and then letting them go on by. That's the same thing that I want you to do with Econ. Allah Jing, you're stuck. Let's not. It's not over index on it and go down the rabbit hole of house stock or broken or tired or screwed up or bad you are. And let's just acknowledge that we're stuck and then get back to the to the creating part, that creating the solution, which is why I think you're here. This is again. You're sort of basis for personal power. I like to think of it is, uh, having two jobs in this world right job. One is to find out what you're supposed to be doing with this one precious life, and then to do that thing and the biggest lie, the huge lie that so many of us, except is that this process of going after what we want is too risky is maybe selfish or unwise, and I have always understood that not always I have come to understand, rather the value of creativity. If you look around you like Okay, I see. How about the people who I respected and where, whether it's my neighbor or someone on the Internet or Chase Jarvis or Richard Branson or Arlen Hamilton that was designed, they followed this process and the reason that you respect, appreciate, admire, look up to them. Probably some subset it as our values, but also what they've done, what this one precious left, not what they thought. Not when they've sat on the couch and thought about how great their life or the life that they can provide for others would be because they've done something right. And you have to understand that those people meant whether or not they managed through the trauma, the hardships that the the tough part that you find yourself in right now or not doesn't matter. What matters is this idea that you matter, and that what it is that you want to do with this one precious life that should be paramount. And right now you're saying, I've got kids. I've got a mortgage, these air, these air totally common. I completely understand them when I'm here to tell you today is that you do not have to sacrifice those things in order to create the living and the life that you want for yourself. That is, admit that those things are separate or divergent, but you do have to develop some skills, some some communication skills, some awareness again, just awareness of where you're on the process, that the situation that you're in is not serving you and that you can change it. Remember, you need to believe that your situation is changeable. Now it's It's also never clear to me what people who say they are. You shouldn't be a fill in the blank, whether it's a novelist or a photographer or an entrepreneur, or whatever it is that you want to be a mom, that what you're supposed to be instead of those things, like somehow being a, um, a doctor or a lawyer. Or these are things that are commonly programmed, at least in the U. S. As sort of success, it's never clear what you're supposed to do besides the thing that you want to do when people say, Oh, no, no, you wouldn't dare do that because they give you a long list of this toxic mitt that the starving artist that's completely gotten in our culture and super toxic. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna clean that up. Um, so also being able to call out where your stock or why or where in that process you might be falling down. It's also important to identify how you see yourself. Do you see yourself, um, pages that I think that IHS uh, just to get a second here. It's page 15 in the book. I do not know, unfortunately what it is and kindle, Um, but there's just four bullet pray, but bullets are ambitious, pro stuck, creator developing, hobbyist or creative. Curious. The ambitious pro is someone who identifies as a serious creator, even if your work isn't the primary source of income. Ah, stuck Creator is you want to make work, but you're not getting anywhere. You're open a creative waiting, but you're unsure how to light the fire. Developing hobbyist is your content with sticking with that day job that pays for creative passions. But you want to get better. You want to increase your skills, and the creative curious is you do not think of yourself as a creative, but party wants to explore this idea. Now. One of the reasons I like this is another thing you could be taking notes on in your notebook as you're following along is I think it's important in the same breath as I mentioned earlier about being aware of something is part of the solution just being real with with how you see yourself is an important part of the process. Um, what are your special gifts? I think this is a really neat thing. You know, part of the challenge with creative calling is I'm trying to solve for two things in the book, and the two things that I'm trying to solve for are both how to live your dreams and then how to identify what those dreams are. And I've found in so many other books about creativity or about a life well lived. You get either one or the other. And so you know, essentially, this is sort of two books in one, Um, and I think understanding. There's so many people I saw in the comments yesterday when I was with Angela Duckworth's that so many people are like, I don't know how to identify the thing that I'm supposed to be doing, but I don't like what I'm doing right now. Um, one of the ways that I like to attack that problem, for those of you who have it is what do you good at? What do you enjoy? And he should be making a list again. You don't have to do all of this making and all the scribbling in your notebook right now. It may be helpful or maybe distracting, but invite you to go back to it as soon as you can, Which is what are you good at? And if you are not sure what you good at, ask some friends. Hey, I'm finding myself stuck right now, and I want to do things that I'm good at, and I'm not quite sure. What do you think I'm good at? These are great questions to invoke for for, um, for partners and friends and spouses and and and peers people you work with workmates, um, and this overlapping Venn diagram of what's what you're really good at and what you care about. This is sort of the passion part of Angela Duckworth's work. That tends to be a good place to start. What do you curious about? If you look back in your history, what let you up? At what time did you feel great? Because that's the cool thing about life is that we've all found glimpses of what it feels like to be living in authenticity, to be doing what we're supposed to be doing with the people that we want. And if you look back and look at those, even if it was just a season in your life for a summer or one particular job that you feels this fondness towards that is a great place to start to explore. And for those of you who don't know what your thing is, I encourage you to taste and sample a lot of things. And you can sample from sitting on the couch, right? You can't sample in your mind. You have to actually go do the thing. And the cool thing about creativity in this process is that while even if you turn your back on something in three months, three weeks, six weeks, whatever, no effort is ever wasted. That was valuable. You learn something you learned a skill you learned something about yourself that you can always use going forward. So skip the idea or refused the idea that it's time has been wasted. If you remember my story, it all from the book or anything you found online. I pursued the things that everybody else wanted for me. Um, from that second grade moment through graduating from college. And I was, you know, even into graduate school. Honestly, I was $100,000 in that 100 grand, and I had felt that Oh, my gosh. Now when I have suddenly awoke to this the trauma of doing everything that everybody else wanted rather than the thing that I want. And I was 100 grand in debt and I felt 10 or 12 or 15 years off, but I'd let those years on fire. To this day, I still realized that that was part of my process and something I had to go through. So if you are a person who is stuck or your creative curious, for example, and you don't know, don't sweat it. But you have to start experimenting. And for those of you who know what you want to dio, you know how you see yourself. Maybe it's an ambitious pro or you're stuck understanding that you're stuck and then accepting that there's creativity within you. And these were the things the following things on the list, the things that were going to do over the course of the next six weeks, that you want to change that is going to be key. And so is honesty. Right now, if you're worried that someone's gonna read your notes and your partner your spouse, you might have a really secure job as, uh, um, I don't know, in banking or in an office job that is not going to go away in this time. And the last thing you want to do is take a risk. I understand that. But this is part of when I say we've lost our ability to imagine the first step that we're gonna cover next week is you have to be able to be real with yourself. And that's why just jotting notes vigorously asking others and really doing an internal search is so, so valuable. All right, so we're 40 minutes into the conversation here. I wanted to press pause for just a second and look back into the comments and answer a few questions before we go to the where I'm gonna answer, like, 30 or 40 in a row. Um, I just want to check in and see how you all are doing. Um, Caitlin, he had been worried about people finding your notes and that you what you really want to be You're not alone. Don't worry about it, Chris. I'm excited that you're looking forward to it. Um, so many great comments. Um, Nicole. Isabella. Alicia Drew. Nice to see you in here. Drew, um, got a question. Came in from my G live Gen one again. So the question, But what if you like doing so much stuff, You can see yourself doing multiple things. How do you narrow it down? Okay, this is one question I'm going to talk about right now before we go back and finish out the program and get into the official Q and A because I think what um what Jen one again on I G is asking is very important that we feel that when we choose something, we turn our back on so many other things and you want to keep all doors open infinity right now, when I just say that there's an obvious problem and everyone here knows it. And that's part of the paradox, right? Is that the understanding that when you walk through a door, you've turned your back on so many others? Here's what I'd say to that. Every person that you respect, admire, look up to appreciate. Four. Being great at something, even if that something is being a great parent or being a great supporter or being a great entrepreneur, artist, photographer, designer, whatever it is, the reason that you respect them is because they have gone deep on that thing is a primary focus of their effort and attention. One of the reasons I love, um, mindfulness so much. And if many of you know that my wife, Kate, is a mind from this teacher, mindfulness just has to do with where you pay attention. What are you thinking? What's the mindset that you're operating and and where does your attention go? Because if you cannot control your attention, you are almost by definition, a cork in the tide attention, whether it's to your kid or your professional, your family or some derivation of all those things is the most important thing. It's the most precious thing that we have. Ultimately, it's a lot like time, right? You can't get it back. If you spent 10 hours thinking about that one comment that you read on your YouTube video, then that attention was on something that was doing you harm versus where you want to go on what you want to do with this one creative, precious life that you got. And in order to beat that and order to move forward, you have to start committing to those things. And here's the refreshing part is what you would you experience when you commit to Something is a feeling of Instead of pushing rocks uphill, the world starts to happen for you rather than to you. And I know it sounds counterintuitive, but this anxiety that you're having right now trying to hold all these balls up in the air at the same time I want to be a musician and a singer and a documentary filmmaker. Great. What is your primary area of focus? And maybe that's again that Venn diagram. You've asked your friends and peers what it is that you're great at but that you have to love it. This is a common theme over and over and over in the top performers in the world that they get the most juice. And one of the reasons that they are world class is because they have a disproportionate energy for the thing. So let's counterintuitive again is when you commit to something, you start to see the merits of commitment, and the way I talk about in the book much later on is in the form of mastery. Once you've mastered something, what you've developed, in addition to that mastery, is the awareness of what it feels like to be a master in the domain. You look, you can look at the ingredients and realized that you can lift and stamps so many of those ingredients that you created through pursuing something with vigor and focus. Then you can easily explore other things. Look at someone like Tim Ferriss, you know, he's ah was a world class, I think salsa or tango champion. Obviously, he wrote the book on the four hour body on fitness and wellness and understanding our ability to control and how our body functions and what it looks like and how well it works. Um, you've seen him be a five time number one New York Times best selling author. You've seen him make a TV show you His podcast is one of the top 10 in the world, these air different skills that he's lifting and stamping mastery onto. So if you're if you're hamstrung by wanting to do so many things, this is the hard part. You have to pick something, and it's in choosing that one thing. You don't only have to ever do that, but it's in choosing something that you know what is the most absurd thing. What is the thing that you know? Even it might sound crazy to say it out loud, but this is truly the thing that you want to be known for, that you want to know yourself as you're gonna have your identity connected to In choosing that thing, you will find this power. This poll, the world starts working for you rather than, um against you. The tractor beam starts pulling you toward the thing. And I can't tell you what this feelings like. I do know that you felt it at some point where everything the moon was in line with Venus, as they say. Um, okay, awesome. Now, I think I want to just appreciate Jen for asking that question. Where the reasons I took that of the hundreds that I see here coming in because it's a powerful and common one. Um, all right, I'm gonna extract for a second, fly back up to 30, feet and talk a little bit about what we've covered so far is the way you're working, working. I want you to identify in your journal in your notes. What is it that you're seeking? And it could be a list of 10 things, but I want you to start to refine those things over time and focus on them, and we're going to set some specific goals. I want you to remember that we're all born creative, that creativity is a muscle. And it's through creating a creative habit, a daily habit in small ways, cooking dinner, going home a certain new way every time you commute all these different little creative access through doing those that you recognize and understand that you can create your life are are, um we covered what we're going to cover in the next five weeks. The idea framework. Each session that we're gonna get together and cover is gonna be one of those things that we're gonna work. What does it mean to imagine something? This is a book, a skill that we've lost. Same with D E and A. We recognize that your job is to find out what year your gifts are and then bring them to bear. That's on page 17. And we have acknowledged where we were. Where were stock? We've agreed that we can look out and understand who we are, where on the spectrum we fit and what it is that we need to do to get unstuck. And so I want to, um I want to do two things now. One I want I want to bridge the gap to our next um next discussion by reading a piece of the book is just a short It's like two paragraphs. Um, it's on page 38 so you can go there. Um and then I'm going to share some reminders and then take Q and A. And you know, we're 50 minutes in. I promise to keep this 30 to 60 minutes so the program will end for sure by 60 minutes. But I'll probably answer some questions a little bit longer than that, cause I know there's so many of you and I can see them coming up. And I I think that's where a ton of value is in showing up is a community members, so we're gonna get to that in just a second. But for now, I'm gonna read from page 38 which is, you will know is in the next section that we're gonna talk about. And it is this. See, it's time to start the gears turning and roll the possibilities around in your mind. Anything is possible. Anything. Blacksmithing, ceramics, composing, music, dancing, fiber, crafts, filmmaking, flower arranging, gardening, glassblowing, jewelry making, joke, writing, leather craft coding, painting, paper, crafts, photography, playing an instrument, singing or starting a business. It's making a habit of these things that matters most. So the question isn't where am I gonna end up? The question is, where am I going to start? And that's what we're gonna cover next week. Now, before we go to next week and before we go to questions, I'm gonna take a second to say that if you do not have the book again, no problem not required, Hopefully again. That's one of the reasons I'm doing The readings, um, is so that you don't have to buy the book. That said, the book is Today's the last 24 hours. I got the publisher to extend it to a second week that ends today. The book is $2 in 99 cents in the US at the Amazon store at Amazon, Apple BNN and all that. That this is that's for the e book kindle or whatnot. Um, $2 at 99 cents, and by extension, the hardback is $14.49. That's be low 50% of the price. And the 2 99 thing. That's like, what, 90% off or something? So that was something that I shared earlier this week and Souness Covert hit Um, I worked with my agent who's amazing. I want to say thank you, Steve, um, to work with with the publisher and the retailers to make this possible because I know money's tight for so many people. So again it's absolutely free. This classes, but having the book and being able to refer to it often again. This is sort of mentorship at scale right here. Which is the reason I wrote the book. Um, so it's available for $2.98? The last Today's the last day that's gonna happen. So I've got confirmation that it's gonna end, I think mid time. Midnight, Eastern, maybe men. Ah, help Hope. Um All right. So that's the thing Would be great if you read the material in section one and step one under imagination. It's three chapters. It's maybe 75 pages like that between now and the next time. Not required, but valuable. I'm actually re reading the book in the same way that you are. So, um, we're in this together. Um ah. Third thing that I won't eat it, Teoh. Remember, before we go into questions where I'll be taking your questions for the next minutes or so, maybe not that long. 20 minutes. Um, is that, um some of you are aware that if if you bought the book, I sent you my phone number so we could have a text relationship. And I know many of you think I'm crazy. And, um, it is true that my inbox looks like a pile hangers. Its just crazy. So men have you in their in my text. Um, but it's worth it to me. I love having individual conversations, and I can also do group texts. So I'm gonna give you my phone number right now and invite you to tax. Now it's a It's a app that we've set up such that if you text me it, I think there's a you have to text this number a message, and then you might get an auto reply to remember what the actual sign up is. But then it's just exactly I'll show you what looks like right here. There you go. Oh, um, from and just looks exactly like the texting happened. You'll see. Although there's lots of people in here, um, seeing some messages. Come in right this minute. Somebody's got a birthday today. Um, who's got that birthday? I don't want to go into that. Anyway, I'm gonna invite you to text me. Are you ready to 06 more time. 206309 5177 That is a support group for doing what you want to be doing in this class. Okay, so I'd invite you to text me. You may get an automated text that says you're into it, but then it's it's actually me. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. So knowing that there are a lot of folks in there, be patient. But I see everything, and I will respond in the best way that I can. So, um, another piece of housekeeping before we shipped into questions is on. And I'm really happy for those of you stuck around is part of the broadcast where I could share my phone number. Um, so a lot of this is this weekly Saturday gathering 30 to 60 minutes. But it's also I'm going to doing some cool challenges as a part of this process, and I'm gonna be doing that on my insta. So I want you to, um, turn notifications on on instagram, or if you're not following me there, I'm just at chase. Jarvis, I'm guessing most of you are following me there of the couple 1000 people that are enrolled here, Um, but turn notifications on because I'm gonna do challenges. I think Tuesdays and Fridays. Um, and it's gonna be valuable to this process. And then we're gonna talk about this stuff on Saturday. A swell as go over the reading. Um, lastly, invite friends. It's not too late to join this. Um, it's my hope that you can step in at any point in this process and there'll be enough recap and this support group here combined with the book, of course, they'll need to do the reading for past chapters things we've already covered. But, um, if you find value in this, there's no shame. There's actually ah, great opportunity for human connection for kindness for, um, just for vulnerability in inviting your friends. And I'm doing this class and and I just again it's free. We had creativelive. It's better life building this and thinking about it. Um, and so I want as many people to experience Is it possible? And then, um 011 ask. This is an ask that, um, it don't want it to understand. No, I don't want you to understand that it's self serving. I think, in the same way that getting as many people to understand this material as possible. I mean, I wrote this because this is the process that I went through for unlocking my potential in my life. And just so happens that when I deconstructed the lives of my friends who were the most successful in so many disciplines, they had the same experience. That's why I wrote the book, Um, but so as not to be self serving and to frame it as such, my hope is that you can write a review on Amazon if you've read the book. Um, I'm learning from my publisher and agent that that's a really important place we've got. I know a few 100 um, five star reviews, but I would love to have it. The end of this process, um, 500 to 1000 would be amazing. Let's let's target 1000. So if you've read the book and haven't left a review, I would mean the world to me and I read every single one of them. And, um, that's how we can help spread this word. Apparently, that really helps the algorithm for search and whatnot. When people type in creativity, I want to thank you all for making the book number one this week in a couple different categories that thinking, creativity and in culture and workplace. Uhm, that's because of you. And that's exactly what I mean when, when I'm asking for your contribution and support. Um, OK, so here we are at the Q and a part of the program, and it's my goal. Um, I promise to be. We go 30 to 60 minutes, we're at 58 minutes. So if you want to bounce now, it's fine. I'm not gonna hold that against you. But I do find that the questions that people ask are really, really insightful and that there's really key buckets of questions that if someone again in New Jersey asks that that you in, um, in South Africa may have the same question. So hope. Apparently my camera exposure just went off. Is that is that happening? Getting a note from someone I will try. And, um, where's my Skype feet? Oh, look at that's getting bright because it's getting brighter out here. It was a gnarly thunderstorm. How's that? Oh, yeah. Wolf. There we go. Coming back into there we go. Actual skin. Um, sorry about that. We had a crazy was almost jet black sky, big thunder showers before we started to yourself. That's why it was blown out. Um so questions now Isabella is writing in from Instagram. Do we have to choose again? I'm I love drawing and painting and making deck oupa jai And do I really have to narrow down to be crystal clear? You do not have to narrow down If you are unsure what it is you want to do, you should be in experimentation phase. You should be trying tasting in lots of different things of life. If you're unsure of what it is that you want to dio sampling and tasting and experimenting, that is in fact the only way you understand what light you up. But if you want to be world class at something, you want to make your living in life doing that thing you need to commit and it doesn't mean turn everything out. Like as an example. I am a photographer. I am an entrepreneur where all many things I think many of you know me as a photographer. Many of you know me as an entrepreneur because of building best camera app and creative live where you know tens of millions of things that tens of millions of people use asked me if I do other things. I'm in the middle of remodeling a little beach cabin that we have with my own bare hands, and I feel so good. That's what I'm doing between the hours of seven and midnight and six AM and eight AM So that's not to say I can't do that, because I'm focused on being an entrepreneur in building Creativelive into the best thing it could be in and honing my skills as a creator. But I double down triple down have spent tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of hours around photography and entrepreneurship. So that is part of what really unlocks my ability to do lots of things and again, is revisiting Isabella's question because it's a lot like Jen one against question if, like commitment, if you are unsure, you should be tasting lots of things. If you want to be world class, you have to commit. You have to commit attention. You have to commit time. You have to commit effort. Okay, um, on Facebook, Ray mon jelly says, Where does talent fit into the equation? Um talent is an interesting, um, point. And certainly we have aptitude for various different things. Whether we learned that very river young, whether genetically or otherwise, we had a predisposition. Um, I want to harken. I've mentioned it a couple times. It's really fresh in my mind. Um, the the work of Angela Doc Worth. She has studied from a psychology perspective, the role of talent, and she first became aware of this in a za math teacher. I think she was teaching seventh grade or something like that. A middle school math teacher, maybe high school sophomore. And early on there's people that she identified that had high aptitude for math. And then there are people that she was worried about, and she was quite sure that the people who had a high after you were gonna do the best at the end of the school year and the people who didn't have high up to the word of the worst and nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it's true that people who some people who did have high aptitude were great, and some people who didn't not have aptitude in her assessment, um certainly did not do well, but she was most surprised by how wrong she waas and the role that effort played and focus played relative to natural gifts. So, um, that and that is that's science. And if you're curious again, what I'm referencing the book is grit from Angela Duckworth's. You can read a lot about her online to lots of great videos, and you should definitely watch on Creative Life TV. My conversation with her yesterday, super insightful on the topic. So talent plays a role. But I have met so many people and just think of what a cliche it is that he, she or they had so much talent but didn't really end up making him. That is like the common story, right? What we really need to focus on and celebrate is someone deciding what it is they want to do with this one precious life and going after it because the people that you are celebrating right now in your mind and your heart in your world they worked, their ass is off, and it was available to them to do so. Now it's fair to acknowledge that we are in a, um, place of privilege, all of us have relative privilege, even just the fact that we're tuned into this broadcast and there are, you know, a 1,000,000,000 people without access to the Internet. There's a 1,000,000,000 people who don't have access to clean drinking water, and we should dedicate time and resource is into fixing, say, both those problems and there's 1000 others. But right now you're here, you're tune into this thing, and I'm guessing that if you are able to watch this broadcast that you have much more control over your outcomes and who you want to be, what you want to become, then you think, and sure there's probably a gap between where you are and where you want to be, and that might be 10,000 hours away. And so, for so many people, that's frustrating. I want to give you a different lens on it, and it's that you might be 10,000 hours away. But you're only one decision, and that is the decision to try. That's the decision to try, and it does not have very much to do with talent. It has way more to do this. Science is super clear that its effort application of effort and perseverance over time, Right? Application of a ton of effort in one weekend and not becoming the musician that lady Gaga is is lunacy, right? It's crazy making to think that you're gonna you know, that your piano skills are gonna be as good as hers or your singing skills or songwriting skills or whatever, in a weekend when she's been doing it for 25 years. And we often compare ourselves to those people the wrong thing. Application of effort over time. All right. Good question there, Ray. Thank you for tuning in. Um oh, my mother in law, Linda, just try and in and said, Hey, there's a lot of pages and blank spaces in the book which are great to journalists, so you don't have to actually go by a journal. Um, my brother in Law Island is right. Um, there's a lot of space in the book for making notes. Um, so no need to buy your special journal. I'm gonna go toe. Let's go to YouTube for just a second. Uh oh. Thank you, Chris, for buying the book. Appreciate it. Brandon. Aloha, From Cleveland, Ohio. Just we watch your creative live for the book and ready to start the book. Sick and tired of what? Working at a construction job, ready to become an artist. Love that. I want to remind to remind you that we are all artists, right, and the canvas is our life. That is the definition of creativity that we need to engage with, not creativity. Small C with popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners and glitter, although any form of art is fantastic. And just remember though the three key principles you're a creator. Creativity is a muscle, and it's through creating in small ways that you realize that you can create the life you want. Terry Pruit wants to know when designing your system. How do you do that if you have a tendency to need external accountability? How wait You two need X to Ohio? And then she asks, How do you find the internal accountability? Well, I'm here to say that this is the reason we're doing this thing, and this is the reason that it's six weeks. If you show up every week for six weeks, I guarantee you're gonna be further along than if you hadn't so make the commitment right now to show up every Saturday for six weeks and think about that as making a promise to yourself and then keeping that promise. That's one of the reasons I make my bed every day. That's one of the reasons that and do not think about whether I want to get in the cold water. You guys know I'm a cold plunger. Um, I don't think about it every day. I just do it. I just get in the cold plunge in my house or here at the beach, the cold, icy, freezing cold water. Or if I'm on the road, I take a cold shower. I don't think about it. I just made the commitment. I know it's healthy thing for me. I know how it makes me feel, and I just do it. This is about making a habit and have it. Even the habit of internal accountability can, um, can be developed Also. There are thousands of people in this broadcast, and these people are like you. So reach out to some of these people, go to Facebook and YouTube and message some of these people and see if you can create an accountability framework, accountability, buddy, with someone else who's in there. So, you know, throw your name down here if you want. Oh, you know, be a part of this community where you can, um you're willing to create partners just on your own. I'm not going to facilitate this stuff. So, um, again, don't worry about, um, what it looks like on the outside or that this might mean you're weak or this is you know, we're all in this together. This is why we're doing this thing is a community of creators. So, Terry, look for somebody in this broadcast Teoh who's willing to Teoh be your accountability, but the external accountability is nothing wrong with that. And if you can't find someone in this broadcast, there are a few search accountability, buddy app. There are all kinds of platforms where you say what you're going to do, and then you've got an accountability buddy. Um, as a part of the app will just check in on you, So, um, that's a great question, Terry. Thank you so much for asking. Um, okay, questions. We're moving a little too fast here. Um, brain's attention. Josh asks when I start focusing on my work, I feel like it's better to block out social media and avoid comparing to others. Seemed to my I feel like I'm ignoring my community. Ah ha. This is something we're gonna get to in in in the book, specifically around making time and space for productivity. Now, this is a concept isn't a productivity concept, but the act of being productive is very valuable towards pursuing your creative calling. Um, what I find and I got no support this with science from Angela Duckworth's that 100% focus or is close to 100% focus in whatever you know, whatever time chunk you can allocate is the is a common thread between the world's highest performers. It's wicked focus on whatever it is that you can do. So, um, I like to time box things, and I think social media is something that we've all, um struggled with as a way like, especially when someone says I'm a photographer. Therefore need to spend five hours a day on instagram. Not true you to spend minutes a day on Mr Graham, and you need to start by posting something not by scrolling create before you consume, and then you're free. Once you've created something and shared it with the world, that's let that be your license for taking in the work of others as inspiration. See what you know your peers were doing that's valuable. But time, box it and do not let this idea of building community. I'm getting the way of, you know, you defining what it is that you want working on the skills that are necessary to get you there. Ah, this is a huge mistake. So, um, I'm very, um I would say loud on the topic of building community. What I find, though, is that people miss attribute building community for procrastination. So I do think it's a huge role in We'll talk about it, you know, in Week five, part four of the book amplify about how we build community. So stay tuned. But just for now, I want you to know that you should Time box that and it should be, um should not get in the way of all the other things that making the doing the progress towards these goals that you have is way more important at this time. Then if it's an either or now, of course, this? What you're doing right now is building community tuning in and asking a question. So I applaud and support you. I just want to make sure that you're not substituting working on your craft for instagram, which is what most people do. Um, all right. Um, okay, this is interesting. Amman Batra says I think I've repressed my creativity so much that nothing seems exciting anymore. I'm still looking for what will spark joy. Totally understandable. Here's the first thing I like to dio. I like to look in my past. I'd like to recommend that others look in their past and what used to bring them joy. And was it a person? A group of people? Was it a mentality? Um, what was the environment like? And when you think about those things, you know, maybe it's nostalgia. Or maybe it's a longing for actually doing nothing. Now a lot of people ask me that with photography, I'll use my own hard hitting riel life. Example. Um, I have achieved every goal that I had in photography and so many more. And so, as I look back on the just absolute fondness of my photography and do a still identifies a photographer? Absolutely. I take photographs every single day my phone has. Right now. Let's look at this for a second. My photos. How many? 49,707. 49, in that little that little gap in my reading it was because it was updated from yesterday. So I took approximate 100 photographs yesterday. So I still identify as a photographer I look back and I'm like, but it doesn't bring me the same joy that it did When I think about what we're doing right now that thousands of people are going to be unlocked and be able to achieve their dreams because of ah, program that you're strolling, that people that creativelive are putting on right now in order to help you, that totally fires me up. That doesn't mean I'm not good at photography. I've been world class for decades. That doesn't mean that I don't have an interest in working on this again. The remodel that I'm doing right now with my bare hands in their off hours, passionate about that, I want to Then look back like when that I get all this joint what sparked me. What? Let me up. And if I don't know where to start, that's a great place. Also, if you missed earlier in the broadcast asking other people what you're great at and they will tell you, um, you know, not just external validation, but just that other person that, you know and trust might have some good ideas. So, um, this is gonna be a huge topic for next week for imagination imagining what's possible and not by not as defined by your parents, your friends, your spouse appears your partners, your career, counselor. As defined by you. This idea that you are driving is supercritical. Um, let's see. Um, on Facebook. Um, who is this? This is a niece. Um, I don't know how to choose what I should be doing. I'm an art director. My passion is photography. I don't make enough money with photography, so I'm always going back to art direction to pay my bills. How can I end the cycle? Okay. Many of you who are subscribe to my YouTube channel have seen this episode of the baby creative. I've taken a couple of questions there, and ah, I'm gonna probably use a few too many words to describe this, Um, but I'll try and do it in this view as possible. And it is. This idea of how to transition from one thing to another in career is very valuable. There's a mentality that says, Burn the boats, you burn the boats, you have to figure it out. Don't make another dollar as an art director and you're gonna figure out how to become a photographer. Um, at some point, I do advocate that leap because there's a desire to hang on at the end. However, I'm not a person that wants to start there because of, um, so much of social conditioning on a bunch of other stuff. I don't I don't feel like we have time to cover right now, But what I encourage people to do is you have to draw a line in the sand with respect to how you position yourself, and starting to position yourself as a photographer is really important. And if I go to your website and I want you to have a photography website, this is your website, and you don't want you to say you can hire me for an art director as a photographer, as a designer, or is a plumber or as a hair hairstylist, are you see, like when I look at a website of someone who does everything. It's sort of like showing up at a restaurant that serves tacos and pizza and, um, stir fry noodles. You're like, I'm not quite sure that's where I want to get my food from and the same way. I don't think that clients like to hire that, so I want you to take. And if a job comes in as an art direction, absolutely make as much money as you can and constrain the amount of time that you spend doing that and that you spend marketing that and position that and spend as much time calling yourself a photographer, building your website, your portfolio, your client list as you can. That's not to say that you won't make money. If someone asks you to our director job, just try and constrain the amount of time and effort. That is the number one thing that will get you better and more well known and get your business off the ground time and commitment to the new thing. So again I'm not saying if someone calls, it is I'm gonna give you 10 grand to do this art direction job. You don't say, you know, buzz off. Dude, I'm not doing that anymore. You say OK, because I know that's money I can put in the bank. I can do that in its small amount of time with a little effort, because I'm world class that that thing. But I really want to spend as much time as I can. Marketing, promoting, honing my skills, dialing in my craft on landing clients in the New World and think about how you landed clients as an art director. There's probably some lift herbal and Stampa ble ways that you can can generate clients in the photography world as well. I want you to apply those. And, um, if you search my name in that topic in YouTube, you'll get ah, about a 10 or 20 minute video that I made with Ah, a part of my I'm daily creative Siri's that you get more on it, but my niece I hope that helps. Um, in so many people, I'm gonna were gonna go for just another. Let's say 10 minutes. Here um, you get you get your work through recruiters, she says. That's fine. Great. Don't tell them that you're not an art director any more, but spend as much time as you can taking pictures. When the art direction jobs come in, do them. But spend every other waking moment focused on the thing that you want to dio. You're welcome. My niece, she's shouting out of Thank you. Ah, um, is interesting. Jamie says I'm an addict in long term recovery. Um, you love understanding, focusing on mental health, addiction, trauma, the pathology, the biology behind it. How can you use your creative skills to build a tribe in this area? Well, I do not know Jamie what your area of expertise is. If it is in the area of trauma and you want to help others, I think it's a fantastic way to you need to You need to develop a craft around talking about it, educating it, whether that's the written word, um or others. Um, I will use an example of a friend of mine, Mary Angela Obey O um she lost her brother to suicide. And so one of the things that she did this start started. A I talk about this in the book, Um, and you can see it on Instagram. She started an instagram handle and on our project, called faces of fortitude, where she started through photographing people who were the survivors were in a relationship or close to others who had committed suicide. She captured their visually and their stories and shared on Instagram. So she's increasingly dialogue the awareness of suicide and doing so in an area where she's an expert as a photographer. And just so you know, if you ask her if she was here standing next to me, she would say I was not an expert in photography. Prior to starting this, she used the Creative Life Studios on the weekends. And because she was, she worked a creative life a long time before she moved on to do this, um, to this project. And that was a way into the area that she wanted to work on right? And she didn't. It was a little bit combination of photography and writing, and it was in an area of passion. I talked about this a lot in creative calling in the amplify section in building communities If you haven't read the book again, it's $2.99 right now on Amazon. If you're in the US um, we talked about the different types of communities, and you can be a joint, or you can be along for the ride for someone else for a while before you actually start building your own framework. But it's in through participating in these things that you'll actually start to uncover what it is that you want to do to experimenting and participating. And so I invite you to, um, again go to the fourth section of the book. Be sure to be a part of this six weeks Siri's that were in here. Check out faces of fortitude and look at ways that you might, um, be able to intertwine the passion that you have for mental health and recovering from addiction around your creative expression. Whether it's a business and our project, there's so many ways to, um, to slice and dice your passion. I want you to come along for the ride, read section for the book, for sure. Um, and check out these resource is that I've just shared, um, awesome CMI and some notes from a team here. Um, Grady, um started a subreddit for anyone who wants to connect in around this forum. Uh, thanks, Grady Lawler really appreciate you for anyone who's a creditor. Um, speaking of getting unstuck and community, I created a fresh subreddit community for all of us to connect to get unstuck and keep keep each other accountable as creatives. Let's make this happen. Family go here to creative calling here. Just ah, let's see if actually want, you know? So you want a pace that in the comments and as many different places you can that that subreddit thanks, Grady, for starting that really, really awesome. I appreciate you. That's just another example, right? This is why you showed up Today is not just to hear for me, it's to realize a that you're not alone. Be that there's so many other people that you can be your You are, um, support. And when we are all in this together again, rising tide floats all the boats, Um and I I want to draw special attention to the fact that it is a tough time right now, right? And many of us, myself included, need connection. Now more than ever. That's certainly one of the reasons that I wanted. I wanted to do something to have an effect on the struggles that people are happening admits the pandemic. Now, my belief is this this works in a pandemic or out of a pandemic. But it was something that I decided that that me and the creative Life Team could do in order to add value. Um, So, um, check out that subreddit. Thanks, Grady. Um, just love seeing on your notes from Facebook and YouTube and the creativelive dot com slash tv page um, Josh and Amman and Grady and Rob. And no, John and Terry and J. Goethe and Camera View and BB. So it's going so fast, I almost can't read it. But, um, e l Brunk art says I'm a photographer. This is my first challenge to say it. Always learning to approve many of you know, this story with some of you don't. I made up business cards for myself long before it ever made a dollar as a photographer, and it said Chase Jarvis photographer on it, and I made that card mostly to help myself swallow the idea of calling myself a photographer. I printed it. I put it on paper. I carried around for months before I showed it to anybody. And so I want to say it. Congratulations on E L T E l Brown card for calling yourself a photographer. That's a first challenge that you've overcome. I'd love seeing it. Um, so my said she didn't see the subreddit info. Maybe someone on the team here. Not so if you could post that in. Or maybe Kate Shukan post that in, um, the Facebook. That's where some of these folks like Soma, for example, um, some pokes or posting on Twitter. Thank you very much. Um um all right, another comment here. I'm going to go for five more minutes. We're gonna wrap up at 11. 30. So TB Ostrowski says covered 19 and isolation has proven to grow. If you've proven growth with your creator pass, it's educational inspiring. A fully recommended thank you. I thought you're gonna have a question rather than a comment. Help. That didn't seem to self serving. But for what it's worth, we are doing a tonic creativelive and the creator past. I think it's right now $149. Maybe it's not to but I think it's 100 49. Um, for access to 2000 classes, you all think serious business. So, um, and if you don't have that much, you can afford to dollars in 99 cents. The e book is on sale there and again. Ah, that's primarily us. For those of you were international. Um, it was just hard to work with international retailers on adjusting the price. Publisher only has so much impact those air their own subsidiaries, so it was a little bit harder. Let's see a couple more questions here in the four minutes we have left. Trend wants to know what if you're an introvert and not comfortable talking about yourself. Um, the future favors introverts. Don't worry about it. Um, that's not to say that you don't have to develop a skill of communicating about your work because the number of people who believe that the work's just stand for itself is far too many. And the reality is you can ask anyone who's created successful themselves that they had to learn how to talk about their work. This idea of just putting it out there and letting it do its thing is just fiction. And you can ask, you know, extroverted creators, introverted creators many of the world's top who fall in both camps, and they all agree that you have to actually invoke community. That's what chapter or section four of this is gonna be five weeks from now four weeks from now? Rather, um, but I want you to rest assured that it's a skill that you can develop, and only when you develop its through practicing. That's one of the reasons I love sharing the work so much, not just creating it. But if you could have create a habit of sharing, of creating and sharing, that's one of the ways that you learn how the market sees your work. Learn how community sees your work place for feedback and constructive conversation. And it's the act of talking about your work, both as receiving feedback and about sharing what your vision is that you develop it so community is key. Um, practice is the answer that most people don't like to hear starts with sharing, and this community is going to be really good for you. Um oh, it's still $2. 99 cents. Canadian TB or Strauss Key says That's cool. Um, Grady Lawlor says the creative passes insanely worth it. Um, thank you. Um, I'm a great Istad, Carter. I may have pronounce that wrong. Sorry. Um, in order to make a living, I need to sell three paintings a month. How do I start really believing that this is possible. I love this one. Um, if you don't believe in you, who will? Now I understand that we've all got all kinds of baggage. We've got trauma. We've got the stories that we tell ourselves. That's one of the reasons that I think this book, it's community. This class and creativelive are totally helpful for reprogramming your brain. You have some default neural networks going on that you're telling yourself a story. And you even admitted it. Like how toe? How do I start really believing it's true. And I just respond. If you don't believe in you, who will? Okay, this is a mindset. It's an opportunity to cultivate your mind set. Um, I I cover a lot of mindset in the book. We're gonna cover a lot of the money and set conversations in this course, Um, it does have to do with rewiring it with, with, um, creating positive messages for yourself with vision boards and stories, re telling ourselves stories that have hurt us in the past into making them into new stories that support the vision that we have for this one precious life community is also super key. If you're around toxic people, people who don't share that vision that you have for yourself you to find some new friends. It's that simple. And if you can't talk to someone about how you see yourself or how you want to see yourself, then there's nothing wrong with some therapy. There's nothing wrong with practicing and in everything. Every time you The first time you started to walk, you fell down. The first time you played the piano, it sucked the first time first draft. You wrote of your poem in your book of your essay sucked. So don't expect this to go to be easy, but I have to tell you it's worth the journey. It's the most important thing. Mindset is so foundational toe everything that we do. Whether you're again, um, creator and entrepreneur, you don't identify you do. If you are here, toe architect, this one precious life, then, um, it starts with mindset and come along on this journey with us. We're here for you and with you. Um, Max wants to know why does the future favor introverts? I think there's a lot of I like underdogs, and I think, um, underdogs. And in this case, um, we've had an extroverted culture for so long, um that introverts are often overlooked in Southern. There's a little bit of an opportunity. Teoh catch people flatfooted. Um, And when I say the future favors the introverts, I think that's, um, you know, it used to be about glad handing, and it's all who you know. And now gatekeepers are largely removed. And so in a world where historically gatekeepers favored extroverts because it was a largely physical and gate kept world, you know, they were gallerist deciding who hung on the gallery walls and and editors deciding who got in the magazines and the papers. And since those are largely gone now or since the barriers air lowered, it opens up a new playing field. And and so that's why I think the future has an opportunity for the introverts that is unlike any before it. So, um all right, y'all, um Jamie and Marcello and a niece and Linda and chase, not me. Chase Different chase. Um, TB and Robin. Max and Jamie. Tony, um, I want to say thank you so much for joining. Um, it's gonna conclude today's broadcast again. I'm going to revisit the things that I asked this really quickly prepare for next week's read by reading. Um, the first step of the three steps under the idea framework. Everything under imaginations at Chapter 12 and three. Um, to I'm inviting you to text me become a member of the community that Aiken text with in order to do that text two of six three or 95177 That's it. I think you may get an automated message back, but then it's just gonna be you and I texting would invite you to use that as a support group for what it is that we're doing here together. Um, turn on notifications for instead cause we'll be doing some channels. There are challenges that's easy. Hit the three dots. Turn on notifications for my stories and my posts. Um, invite some friends. And lastly, if you're willing to take two minutes, if any of this or anything I've done for you is valuable and you're willing to go to Amazon and write a review, it would be most gracious because it's one of the ways that we're learning that the algorithm will surface creative calling and help it stay in the number one slot. As you all made it, Number one in a couple different categories this week, which warms my heart. So if you've got any value, this is free. Maybe that's ah ah thing that I could ask of you. All right, then, signing off. So excited about this group, this platform, this community. Um, if you have any questions, hit me up via text and signing off for now. I'll see you next Saturday. 10 a.m. To discuss the I imagination. Can't wait to see you again soon signing off