Conscious Creators Show — Make A Life Through Your Art Without Selling Your Soul | Listen to Podcasts On Demand Free | TuneIn (2024)

“If you have someone who’s 50+ who’s been doing this longer than the person saying the [pipeline] excuse, but they still are not in a leadership role, then you have to understand that it’s not the pipeline, it’s the pipe. It’s the problem itself, it’s the institution itself.” – Arlan HamiltonWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Arlan Hamilton built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised more than $10 million and invested in more than 130 startup companies led by underestimated founders. In 2018 Arlan co-founded Backstage Studio which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London. Arlan was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine in October 2018 as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her new book "It's About Damn Time" was released on Penguin Random House's business imprint Currency in May 2020.On today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with Backstage Capital founder and author of It’s About Damn Time, Arlan Hamilton. Arlan shares her investing philosophy, lessons she’s learned from mentors, and more. She and Sachit discuss barriers to underrepresented—or, as Arlan prefers to say, underestimated—founders finding funding, as well as her background in the music industry. Plus, find out how Arlan defines what she’s looking for as an investor and hear an anecdote from SXSW.Episode Highlights:Quarantine during this pandemic has taken a certain amount of discipline.Backstage Capital had to change their vernacular to no longer say “underrepresented” but instead say “underestimated.”Arlan believes that anyone who says the lack of diversity in venture capital is simply a “pipeline problem” is lying to themselves or lying to you.There are many roles you can take in elevating underestimated groups; if you aren’t a founder, you can be an employee.Once at SXSW, Arlan was asked to be on a panel of judges for a diversity demo, and was the only Black woman represented.Arlan makes a distinction between privilege and entitlement; privilege is not bad, but entitlement is, because it is an active choice to behave in an entitled way.One of the highest priorities for Backstage Capital was making an inclusive and welcoming application process for their accelerator.Applicants have told Arlan there was dignity in the application process, from being made to understand the odds from the start and even getting communications when they are not selected.Her process has been to put up no barriers to the application process, unlike a cookie-cutter investor who puts up false barriers for who you need to know to get your company seen in the first place.Arlan has been curious her entire life and has always loved to ask questions and learn from people different from her and in different industries from her.Arlan’s background in being a tour manager in music has prepared her for her current job because she’s become a master at juggling dozens of different personalities, work styles, needs, and emotions at once.Arlan isn’t sure what her talent is aside from recognizing talent, and perhaps in connecting people.As an example, Arlan recently personally donated to a group at Howard University of queer students studying dentistry. The group not only appealed to her intersectional identity, but was so specific and knew exactly what it was and what they sought to accomplish.She understands that someone took a chance on her when...

Duration:00:49:42

“It doesn’t really matter how big your audience is if you don’t really have anything to say. Having something to say is way more important than having a giant audience.” –Rolf PottsWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Rolf Potts is the author of four books, including the bestseller "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel."On today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with travel author Rolf Potts. The conversation takes a bit of a different form from previous episodes, discussing their individual views on creative work and podcasting. Rolf shares his philosophy about pursuing the most soulful way of working, the inherent authenticity of TikTok, and more. They also talk about how they prepare for podcast interviews, the current media landscape as compared to Old Hollywood, and the differences between radio and podcasting.Episode Highlights:Once you’ve gotten successful at something, you want to branch out and expand, not just continue to do the exact same thing.The distinction between the business side and the creative side have become far less siloed with things like podcasting.At what point do social media algorithms start to change your art itself?There’s a difference between having 5 years of experience and having 1 year of experience that you’ve repeated 5 times.When preparing for an interview, Sachit asks guests what they’re usually asked about so he can talk about something else, and asks them what they’re rarely asked about but wish they were.The entire idea of Rolf’s podcast is to talk to experts about something other than their expertise.Rolf’s sees his podcast as being personality-driven rather than topic-driven.You have to learn to think about your business expertise in a creative way.Rolf’s book Vagabonding is a somewhat philosophical book because he built his own travel philosophy out of desire to travel rather than travel experience that was handed to him in his upbringing.Rolf has always been driven to find the most soulful way of doing things and to treat everything he does as an education.There’s a difference between success that’s just an endless pursuit like Pac-Man and success that actually enhances your life and that you allow yourself to appreciate and enjoy.Our lizard brains love brief excitements and dopamine hits that come from clickbait culture, but that is not in any way connected to soulfulness.Authenticity and being true to your vision is what makes you successful.TikTok is a platform that has encouraged authenticity down to its algorithm making discoverability and the probability of going viral more equal across the board instead of favoring accounts with existing large followings.In Old Hollywood, consolidation was on the side of the production studios, and now in social media the consolidation is on the side of distribution with Google and Amazon Web Services.Social networks are reality prisons.People often now believe that admitting that you were wrong about one thing means you are always wrong about everything, but in reality, scientists modify their conclusions based on changing data all the time.Podcasting is distinct from radio because in the past, not anyone could have a radio show, but now production is available to anyone.The response to COVID-19 goes against all American sensibilities. Because we can’t see the virus, we can’t see the “attack,” people behave as if there’s nothing to react to.Podcasting represents human conversation in a way that other social networks don’t.3 Key Takeaways:Expanding beyond your niche is a way to improve your work in your initial specialty.Pursue soulfulness rather than success.Production tools are now accessible to everyone, so figure out what you want...

Duration:01:10:37

“I don’t think that we’re born individualists or we’re born a member of a community, but I think all these spaces are real. They all exist for all of us.” –Yancey StricklerWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Yancey Strickler is a writer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder and former CEO of Kickstarter, author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World (Viking), and the creator of Bentoism. Yancey has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People. He’s spoken at the Museum of Modern Art, Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, Web Summit, MIT, and events around the globe. He co-founded the artist resource The Creative Independent and the record label eMusic Selects. Yancey grew up in Clover Hollow, Virginia, and began his career as a music critic in New York City.On today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with Kickstarter co-founder and author Yancey Strickler. They discuss how Yancey’s background as a music critic and creator influenced his work on Kickstarter, how he and his co-founders infused Kickstarter with very intentional values, why he loves sci-fi, and more. Yancey also shares information about his decision making framework, Bentoism, and how he found and developed the idea.Episode Highlights:Yancey grew up on a farm in rural Virginia with no neighbors for miles around.Up until now, if you want to raise VC, you have to be in NYC or San Francisco just for the necessary relationship building. He moved to New York on a whim, with 2 days’ notice, and got a job writing the news blurbs for radio stations.Yancey eventually became a music critic for The Village Voice and eventually Pitchfork.During this time, a friend approached him with the idea for crowdfunding and the idea for Kickstarter began.He and his co-founder struggled for several years as non-technical people trying to build a tech company.Yancey didn’t quit his job at a record label until Kickstarter had been live for several months, because he found it difficult to take the risk to abandon his job stability having come from a family with little money.It’s hard to know where you want to go as an organization, but it’s even harder to consistently make choices that push you closer to where you want to go.Yancey found himself thinking about his future and where he wants to go, and realized he could divide it into Now Me, Future Me, Now Us, and Future Us. Now, Yancey asks himself a few questions in each of these quadrants in order to guide his decision-making.Yancey does a weekly Bento check-in and uses it to schedule his week in a balanced, intentional way.During lockdown, he has used Bento check-ins to shift his mindset from a self-focus to a group focus, thinking about the new responsibility of homeschooling his 4 year old as an additive experience instead of something that takes him away from his work.We all have passive awareness and active awareness, and the Bento framework helps you cultivate more active awareness.The collectivism of the East is likely why lockdown and COVID-19 response has been more effective in those countries, and their long-termism will similarly likely lead to more effective response to climate change. Yancey started The Creative Independent, which is an online magazine that features a different creative professional daily.Yancey found a study that applied the idea of the Golden Ratio to business growth, which posited that the ideal size for a company is 50 people, and beyond that, you have to hire people to facilitate the administration of the company and the work slows down.After 10 years working full-time on Kickstarter as co-founder and then CEO, overseeing a...

Duration:01:16:33

“A lot of human fulfillment comes from belonging and purpose and connection, and things that can’t be quantified or bought with money.” –Vlad MagdalinWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Vlad Magdalin is the founder and CEO of Webflow, a company that is working on empowering designers and entrepreneurs to design, build, and launch websites and applications without having to learn how to code. In a past life, he studied to become a 3D animator with dreams of working at Pixar, but happened to fall in love with the power of programming for the web midway through art school. Most days, you can find him on Twitter yelling into the cloud about how NoCode is going to change the world.At home, he’s outnumbered by two unstoppable daughters and an amazing wife, who constantly remind him that there's so much more to life than growing the business bottom line.In today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, Vlad Magdalin, co-founder and CEO of Webflow, speaks with host Sachit Gupta about his experience slowly building Webflow over more than a decade. Listen to find out what was driving Vlad to stay dedicated to his idea while overcoming obstacle after obstacle. Learn how Vlad’s experience as an immigrant has impacted his worldview, how he has evolved through the long journey of launching Webflow, and more.Episode Highlights:3 Key Takeaways:Tweetable Quotes:“Seeing something that can be better and realizing that it’s possible, just having that unlock in your mind, just makes it so obvious that it should be a thing.” –Vlad Magdalin“Knowing how I’m doing this work and charting a path in my head for how I would create a more visual, a more natural abstraction for that same work, it just made me believe that it had to become real.” –Vlad Magdalin“There was an assumption that empowering more people to create software visually will work programmers out of a job. That’s not true at all. It’s the same assumption that was made when spreadsheets were becoming a thing.” –Vlad Magdalin“I was starting to see that every milestone feels less and less certain.” –Vlad Magdalin“To attract the best people, to make sure that they do their best work, you have to give them autonomy, you have to give them a chance to master their crafts, and there has to be a shared sense of purpose about why that work is important.” –Vlad Magdalin“A lot of human fulfillment comes from belonging and purpose and connection, and things that can’t be quantified or bought with money.” –Vlad MagdalinResources Mentioned:WebflowVlad Magdalin TwitterBret Victor’s WorrydreamVlad on the Twenty Minute VC with Harry Stebbings Actions:Apple Podcastsfavorite podcast appInstagramCreators.Show

Duration:01:13:36

“You’re placing an ad on my platform in my voice, and I know my audience the best.” –Jane KoWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Jane Ko is the blogger behind A Taste of Koko, Austin's top food and travel blog featuring the hottest restaurants and weekend getaways. A Taste of Koko has been featured in O Magazine, InStyle Magazine, OWN TV Network, and The New York Times.A Taste of Koko launched Shop Koko, her very own line of foodie tees that help support local non-profits in Austin and her first book, Koko's Guide To Austin."On today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with food and travel blogger and social media influencer Jane Ko. They discuss the Austin food scene, how influencers are being impacted by the pandemic, and the insider perspective on brand deals. They also talk about how Jane’s childhood in a tiny Texas town impacted her career, self-publishing a book, and more.Episode Highlights:Jane introduces herself as a blogger rather than influencer because she started her blog before that term existed.The “free stuff” you get as an influencer isn’t actually free because it requires hours of work to leverage for content.Jane works 80-100 hours per week, from restaurant tastings to brand deals.It took Jane about 3 years before she started getting paid through brand deals, but it may take someone less time now because the market has changed.The main thing Jane has learned about brand deals is how much money brands have to spend.Her biggest frustration is brands not listening when Jane brings her own ideas and expertise to the table.Jane has an agent, but she still does her own first round vetting of clients who reach out directly to her.Jane was supposed to work with GoDaddy, which has hosted her website for 10 years, on featuring Austin businesses during SXSW, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.Instead, Jane presented an idea to GoDaddy around the domain hireacreative.co, which she had been paying for but not using and saw this as an opportunity to finally launch it to support the freelancers like her who had just lost all their income.Measuring KPIs for influencer marketing is almost impossible; the only metric you can track is impressions.Everything Jane does for local businesses is done for free and is only for the sake of supporting her community.Jane grew up in a small town in Texas and never believed she was going to amount to anything.Jane works hard to make the process as easy as possible for brands because that makes it easier for her.She always communicates her idea for the content fully so she doesn’t end up in the position of having to redo anything.Travel blogging is the most time consuming work; it isn’t a vacation.Jane spends time sourcing outfits for posts while traveling, planning an itinerary of locations and shots and posts.Jane self-published her first book last year in 5 weeks, but she had been doing research and planning for years.Jane was surprised at how easy it is to do brand deals and how hard it is to sell a product.Her goal for her book was to sell just one copy but she sold over 3,000 copies in 5 months.Jane believes her book had good product-market fit.It’s a common misconception that authors make money on book deals; almost no books make profit.Because Jane self-published, she’s able to brand books for companies who want to buy in bulk and give them as gifts.The first quarter of the year is always the slowest for influencers.Jane launched hireacreative.co and Hundred for Hospitality to support local businesses and freelancers in Austin in response to COVID-19.Hundred for Hospitality provides 100 meals a day for free for any service industry person who has been laid off by a restaurant in Austin due to...

Duration:01:07:29

“The ignorance of an entrepreneur is a beautiful thing.” –Phillip StuttsWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Phillip Stutts is fighting a rare, incurable disease. Diagnosed in 2012 with the esophageal disease, Achalasia, he spent five years ignoring it. Frankly, he put his head in the sand, taking medications that did more harm than good, and waiting for the inevitable. Then he woke up and said no more. His mission today is to find a cure and pursue a life of constant growth and giving. And he’s making progress.Phillip is also the best-selling author of Fire Them Now: The 7 Lies Digital Marketers Sell, and one of the masterminds behind the curtain of political marketing. With more than 20 years of political and marketing experience, Stutts has worked with multiple Fortune 200 companies, has over two decades of experience working on campaigns with billions of dollars in political ad spend, and contributed to 1,273 election victories, including hundreds of U.S. House campaigns, dozens of U.S. Senate campaigns, and even three U.S. Presidential victories.He is the founder and executive chairman of Go BIG Media (a political media firm) and the founder and CEO of Win BIG Media (a corporate marketing agency). Together, these companies have won more than 42 national awards for marketing and creative content.In addition to being represented by Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerSpeakers and a keynote speaker for one of the country’s largest privately held speakers bureaus, Keppler Speakers, Phillip has made more than 260 national media appearances including CBS, ESPN, FOX NEWS, FOX BUSINESS, MSNBC, and CNN. He has also appeared on some of the world’s most popular podcasts including Gary Vaynerchuk’s The DailyVee, The James Altucher Show, The Adam Carolla Show, The Dr. Drew Podcast, Jay Abraham’s The Ultimate Entrepreneur, Big Questions with Cal Fussman, and The Dr. Gundry Podcast.He has been lauded as a “marketing genius” by FOX BUSINESS, “the political guru” by ESPN, and “The Michael Jordan of Political Marketing…” by Mike Dillard.On today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with marketer Phillip Stutts. They discuss how he came to realize he was living an unconscious life, the steps he took to be more present, and the ways it has improved his quality of life since. Learn about how Phillip’s rare disease, Achalasia, has impacted him, and the psychedelic therapies he has used to come to terms with difficult things in his life. Also discover how you can use the current pandemic to your business’ advantage.Episode Highlights:Over the past few years, Phillip has undergone psychedelic, plant-based therapies to learn about himself.During a 5 hour MDMA therapy session, Phillip realized he was displaying narcissistic behaviors that he had developed over the last 35 years of his life and began the process of unlearning it.He felt incapable of experiencing deep feelings and wasn’t sure he had ever experienced love, and eventually realized he had been using alcohol to mask his feelings.His businesses weren’t growing as quickly as he wanted and knew they were capable of, and realized his companies had no culture; he was merely telling people to do things and manipulating his friends and family.Phillip had a habit of not acknowledging his feelings and instead channeling them into bad behavior towards other people, like yelling at customer service workers.He has been mentored by Keith Cunningham, and he couldn’t recommend him more highly.Phillip stays grounded and celebrates how far he and his companies have come by looking back at where they were a year ago instead of looking at how far they want to go.His attitude before was assuming that everyone around him was trying to...

Duration:01:05:26

“The clearest example of transformation is growth and growth happens every day. Every day we’re moving directionally correct with incremental progress. We’re moving in a particular direction. And that feels like a good day.“ -Jerry ColonnaWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Jerry Colonna is an author and the CEO, and co-founder, of Reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm whose coaches and facilitators are committed to the notion that better humans make better leaders. For nearly 20 years, he has used the knowledge gained as an investor, an executive, and a board member for more than 100 organizations to help entrepreneurs and others to lead with humanity, resilience, and equanimity. Previous to his career as a coach he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase. He joined JPMP from Flatiron Partners, which he launched 1996 with partner, Fred Wilson. Flatiron became one of the most successful, early-stage investment programs in the New York City area. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.During this episode of Conscious Creators, host Sachit Gupta speaks with Jerry Colonna, author, and the CEO and co-founder of Reboot.io. Jerry discusses how people are reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic and how they can navigate the new and heightened feelings that may arise. Additionally, Jerry shares his thoughts on sorting through your emotions, how to separate your self-worth from extrinsic events and motivations, and what personal inward reflection and transformation can look like.Episode Highlights:Jerry is the author ofReboot, which is one of Sachit’s favorite books that he has read/listened to multiple times.How are you feeling and thinking about the Covid-19 pandemic?Jerry thinks we, as humans, tend to be distant from a conscious understanding of what is actually happening on a global basis.Jerry talks about the impulse to ignore and the denial that can accompany difficult situations, like we are in now.How can people navigate when those feelings come up? How can people deal with their heightened emotions?Jerry believes that people need to get to a place where they recognize that, even though we are in the middle of a pandemic, they are okay.Take a step back to see if you are really safe.Once you start discovering stories of your childhood, what do you do with them?You start to put it into categories and sort it out, then put it back in such a way that you know what it is.Jerry gives the example of a child who believes they need to achieve good grades. They end up in a place of safety, but their intrinsic sense of self has never been tested or strengthened, and the sense of self-worth is tied to extrinsic events.Once someone gets an awareness of that, how do they bring about transformation or change?Tools, such as meditation, can be very helpful. We need to be able to release ourselves from those notions on a regular basis.As people start to experience transformation and change, how do you help them navigate their relationships?Jerry does not like the idea that people identify themselves by their relationships, and believe people should look inward to see how relationships influence their sense of self.What does the transformation to increased sense of self look like?It’s a process and it’s a movement, every day there is incremental progress.Can you expand on “striving for lemon drops” from your book?Jerry explains that lemon drops is a metaphor for visiting the safety of his grandparents’ home.The business we experience is similar to striving for lemon drops, because it is the striving for some type of safety.What do you say if someone’s response is to create even more business?Jerry shares his own experience with increasing his...

Duration:00:45:12

“Everything in art, everything that we have achieved in the world, comes from our basic desire to tell a story.” – Farbod ArdebiliWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Farbod Ardebili was born and raised in Iran/Tehran, where he wrote and directed numerous stage-plays and started an Underground "illegal" Metal Band, which was the first to release a Persian language Metal album on the worldwide platforms of the time.In 2013, he wrote and directed his first short Film "Ellipsis," and thanks to its international success, he became able to move to the United States.In the last five years, he's been busy making, moving and forming friendships, and his recent Films and new projects have been supported, recognized, and awarded by organizations such as Sundance Film Institute, Festival Du Nouveau Cinema, Oaxaca FilmFest, and more.On today’s episode of the Conscious Creator podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with filmmaker Farbod Ardebili. They discuss his background and the limits on creative work in Farbod’s native Iran, what brought him to the US and the unexpected culture shock he experienced, his filmmaking, and more. Find out why it was important to Farbod to have a female protagonist in the movie he filmed back home, why he believes art matters, and what it means to be a conscious creator.Episode Highlights:Growing up in Tehran, Iran where he wasn’t allowed to create the art he wanted to make taught him that sometimes limitations lead to the most creativity.The image that western media portrays of Iran only represents a very small percentage of Iranians and isn’t anything like that.For Farbod, he actually had reverse culture shock coming to the US, realizing that people here aren’t as open minded and welcoming as we seem in movies.It isn’t the financial means that Farbod sees as the biggest difference between Iran and the US, because he grew up wealthy and actually downgraded by coming to the US, but it’s the freedom.He grew up making films and being creative in other ways, including winning a painting contest when he was a child.Farbod started a band, initially playing softer rock so that they would have an easier time getting government approval, but eventually throwing caution to the wind and playing heavy metal like they wanted.After a while, they started to have issues and had to put the band on hold.To continue making music, Farbod couldn’t focus on the risk he was taking.He got his Bachelor’s degree in Theatre, then transitioned into film.There are a lot of differences in practical terms between music and film, but at their core they have a lot of similarities too; both media have tempo, rhythm, theme, and arcs.Farbod’s process from when he has an idea for a film to actually making it starts with an image and then you need the courage and will to follow it and make it happen.He couldn’t get government permission to make movies because they found out about his metal band, so he decided to make a movie without permission in the middle of the desert where nobody would bother coming after him.He came to the US as a film student about 5 years ago.Farbod wanted to make a movie about his experience but if he wasn’t able to make it as authentic as possible, in Iran, with Persian actors, it wasn’t worth doing and he couldn’t go back to Iran to risk jail.To make it work, Farbod directed the movie from the US while his friends filmed it separately in Iran.The film is about a woman singing in a metal band, which is a big deal because in Iran, women are not allowed ot sing solo in public in any genre.He chose to have a female protagonist because he wanted to highlight the ways that women have it worse than men in Iran.Sachit sees Farbod’s work as giving voice to the voiceless.Farbod doesn’t...

Duration:01:02:56

“A lot of the awful things happening out there aren’t our fault, and we can be compassionate with ourselves around that, and still make decisions and learn from our mistakes.” –Mike BrownWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.Mike Brown is an entrepreneur, investor and guerrilla philosopher. Prior to founding, operating and exiting an 8-figure oil and gas company, Mike flew F/A-18 Super Hornets for the Navy and brings the fighter pilot spirit to entrepreneurship. When he isn’t dreaming up his next business or telling Navy stories, you can usually find him riding mountain bikes in the foothills of Golden, CO.Julian Gluck grew up in LaGrange, Georgia and became a bomber pilot after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy. He was selected as the 2018 Air Force Times Airman of the Year for his community and combat service. Julian is active in international non-profit leadership, public speaking, and was recently honored on the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 for Law & Policy. He is on Instagram at @JulianRGluck and LinkedIn.On today’s episode of the Conscious Creators podcast, host Sachit Gupta speaks with his friends Mike Brown and Julian Gluck about the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Learn about strategies and lessons they learned in the Navy and Air Force to help you manage the current situation, from dealing with grief and trauma to taking action in moments of crisis.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — find Mike on Facebook and Julian on Instagram!Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonusesEpisode Highlights:Mike became involved with an organization called Haymakers for Hope that does amateur boxing fight nights to raise money to fight cancer.Julian was raised to value giving back to his community and be involved with philanthropy.As an investor, Mike believes that humans are essentially bad at evaluating risk because they tend to have an opinion and then look for data to back up their opinion, rather than looking at objective data sets and using that data to form their opinion.There are no downsides to enacting procedures to save lives when the alternative is the pandemic situation we’re now in due to lack of preparedness.Being able to social distance is a privilege.We can’t predict how we’re doing overall as a country because we don’t have enough data, but anecdotal evidence suggests we are at risk of ending up exactly where Italy was with hospitals having to choose who receives care.Decision-making models can be useful to guide you, but you should try to avoid being a slave to them.A useful framework is the OODA Loop: observe, orient, decide, and act.Once you come up with a plan, don’t become attached to the plan.Even after we get past this health crisis, there will be a continuing economic crisis.As a pilot, you follow an emergency protocol to maintain aircraft control, analyze the situation, take proper action, and land as soon as conditions permit. This involves the mantra of Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate.Panicking will always make the situation worse, especially when you have the luxury of time to evaluate data, make an informed decision, and execute the plan.Meditation is a cornerstone of how Mike has constructed his life.It’s a misconception that meditation is about the absence of thought; instead, you can reliably predict that you will have thoughts while meditating, but you learn to observe and honor your thoughts and emotions without being trapped by them and reacting impulsively...

Duration:01:18:50

Welcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, Zach, founder of Live A Great Story, talks about how he got started with Live a Great Story and what’s next for the brand. Learn how Zach found the motivation to keep going through obstacles, what he’s doing to connect to his customers, and how to navigate the unknown.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — click here tosend a Tweetdirectly to SJ and Sachit or findZach on Instagram. Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:Zach shares the story of the moment Reese Witherspoon reposted Live A Great Story while he was at his grandfather’s funeral, inspiring him to keep going.Zach’s guiding principles are to think about whether his relatives who have passed away would be proud of what he’s doing and whether his future children and grandchildren would be proud of him.For Zach, the pursuit of being an entrepreneur is about the continuing journey of overcoming adversity.Sachit asks Zach when he wanted to quit the most, but Zach doesn’t remember a specific moment anymore. He just remembers the overall challenges.Right now, Zach is facing serious struggles with cash flow for the company but he knows he’s going to overcome the challenge and not quit.Zach believes in finding what fuels you to keep going. For him, it’s sweating a little bit each day from running or other exercise.Even Elon Musk’s company came close to running out of money.Sachit asks Zach about his evolution as a founder, and Zach says he sees himself partly as a creative and partly as an entrepreneur.Zach found the inspiration for his brand after backpacking through Europe for 7 months, and put up some spray painted messages around Austin without knowing what it would become.Zach describes how he balances envisioning what his company could be with allowing it to evolve organically, and says as you and your business change, it’s important to regularly check in with yourself about your values and impact.Recently, Zach realized that the values of Live a Great Story and their messaging have been disconnected for a while, so he’s reconnecting with his core audience and top customers to realign.Doing a deep dive into his customers allowed Zach to see that there are common feelings and experiences throughout his broad customer base, who at first glance seem entirely different from one another.Zach shares a story about learning to ask for help.He suggests that you come up with the ten people you would reach out to for help and advice.Zach talks about how and why he started the Live a Great Story conference. It was designed to encourage genuine connection with other people.His advice for conferences is to keep it simple, because it always requires far more planning than you expect.Seeing people with Live a Great Story tattoos is surreal to Zach. He feels like he’s just a small part of a wave.Zach has seen people post stickers or the brand in some crazy and impressive places, including a coffee shop in a small town in Nicaragua.To see people adapt his idea and make it their own is one of the most thrilling parts of this for Zach.The next challenge for Live a Great Story is to find ways to go deeper with the community and bring these people together to make an even bigger impact.To get in touch with Zach, send him a video DM on Instagram. Anyone who does this and says they heard it on this podcast with Sachit will get a free sticker!3 Key Takeaways:Entrepreneurship is more about the...

Duration:01:02:24

Here are the show notes from Javier, make sure to check out his podcast - Passion in Progress!One episode I'd recommend is with Zach Horvath of Live a Great Story, someone who's going to be on here soon too!Here are the show notes:03:34 - Catalyst to entrepreneur journey after corporate job04:07 - A year of cold e-mailing people04:27 - Getting his first marketing client05:18 - Sachit gets in an accident out of country with no insurance, intro into negotiating with his medical expenses08:29 - Working with Andrew Warner Founder of Mixergy08:57 - work for free so people can see your skill set10:04 - Working with Tim Ferriss11:32 - Recommends reading "Recession Proof Graduate" because of the e-mail script12:24 - Working with Tim ferriss14:25 - working with Seth Godin15:30 - Does working for free ever a bad idea?17:10 - "It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and it takes 5 minutes to ruin it” - Warren Buffett17:43 - How do you get better at selling if all you want to do is create18:55 - Breaking down my streams of revenue22:14 - Marketing to people with an audience do you want to have a few clients and charge them a lot or have a lot of clients and charge them less?26:52 - Describing how a podcast syndication service works28:01 - How do you get sponsorships for you podcast?28:18 - How Sachit does sponsorships pricing for bigger podcasts like Mixergy30:23 - How to price sponsorships for small podcast33:57 - How to find a good sponsor for your specific show35:46 - Book Recommendation "Social Proof the Psychology of Persuasion"36:55 - How do you say no to people37:55 - How to focus on the actual thing that is going to drive money39:12 - How has the transition been from behind the scenes to being in front of the camera40:38 - How have your first couple podcasts been?41:35 - Interview process and not using bullet points on a guest43:48 - How reading books and listening to other podcasts helps you in being a better podcaster45:11 - Curiosity is important46:06 - Emailing Mark Cuban47:30 - Is Responding to every E-mail important?48:09 - Focus on meeting the people who help famous people, that will lead you to working with the famous person49:22 - Marketing boils down to really understanding who you are talking to50:07 - Call people in your audience and actually talk to them51:27 - Talking in person vs dm53:06 - How cultivating relationships has paid off53:28 - How to get into conferences that you can't afford

Duration:00:58:25

“I came to realize that as the influencer, you’re your own best marketer, you’re your own best advocate, you know your audience best, you know your content best, and people want to hear from you anyway.” – Tessa AriasWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.In today’s episode, Tessa Arias, founder of Handle the Heat, shares her experience going from a hobby-blogger to published author and social influencer. What I love about Tessa’s background is she’s grown a platform online mostly organically, reaching audience numbers that a lot of my friends who spend a ton on paid ads aren’t even able to reach.We also get super tactical into her experience working with sponsors and partnerships and how Tessa now acts as an advisor for companies wanting to work with influencers. We close with her experience going back into the world of publishing and why she’s self-publishing her next cookbook.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — click here tosend a Tweetdirectly to Tessa and Sachit or findTessa on Instagram. Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:Tessa began as a hobby blogger with no expectations of making money, until she was offered a book deal in 2012.Even though she was making money from her website, she didn’t feel like it was a real business, so she started attending Masterminds to learn more.Tessa found she needed the emotional support of having a team of like-minded people around her.Someone can have a six or seven-figure business, but hate their business and not feel fulfilled by their life.Find groups and resources where you’re actually getting advice and tools that you can implement.Surround yourself with people who understand and respect that you are the one who knows your business and yourself the best.Bringing someone else into your business forces you to operate at a higher level.You don’t need to post on major job sites; look within your own community first. For example, Tessa hired through Instagram at first.When hiring, Tessa suggests you ask them to tell a story about a time they overcame a challenge, and ask them their opinion about something trivial to see that they can make a commitment and not be a yes-person.Tessa realized she was approaching burnout when she stopped feeling excited about her work.Growing your business depends on being flexible and adapting to the changing online landscape.Tessa challenged herself to post something every quarter that is more controversial or more personal and that scares her.If you buy a course online, make sure you have an accountability buddy to do it.Her past experiences with sponsored posts were formulaic and based on how other food bloggers did it, but she learned from Sachit and others how to build larger partnerships and create relationships from sponsorships.Through her success with building partnership relationships, Tessa has become a case study and an advisor for how brands should work with influencers.Tessa learned to ask open-ended questions of her sponsors to understand how their organizations work so she learns what would work best for both of them.No one opens Instagram excited to see sponsored content, so you should prioritize sponsorships that work with content you already post organically and that you care about and whose products you use.Question your assumptions that something has to be done a certain way.Sell your own content to your audience and remind them of the work that goes into it.The most important...

Duration:01:13:37

Welcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, we have Ron Klabunde, the Founder & CEO of Generosity Feeds.It's hard to think of a worse experience than losing a job. Even if you're young, and the stakes aren't as high, it's still terrifying to feel like you've lost control of your life.You can drive yourself crazy thinking about all the "what ifs". What if you can't find another job? And on top of all that, what if you came to the realization that it was your own arrogance that put you in that position in the first place? What would you do?But his story doesn't start there. At one particularly low point, Ron found himself at rock bottom with nowhere to go. But instead of giving up, he used his experiences to become a force for change in the world.But deciding to change doesn't mean all the problems disappear. Despite his drive and desire to do good, founding a non-profit wasn't easy. And Ron describes growing Generosity Feeds as an emotional roller coaster, and something that took everything he had to give.In today's episode, Ron talks about that emotional journey, how he got through the darkest moments, and the one thing that lead him to start Generosity Feeds in the first place.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — send an email directly to Ron and Sachit atron@replenishfoundation.organdsachit@platformsmedia.com Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:Why you should hire employees better than yourself.How to help your team play to their strengths.How non-profit and for-profit companies can work together toward mutual benefit.Why generosity is the new gold standard.The hard, yet rewarding, effort it takes to do work that matters and have an impact.Tweetable Quotes:"What I discovered is that my pain was able to help other people heal from their own stories and I could become far more real with people." @GenerosityFeedsResources Mentioned:Generosity FeedsReplenish FoundationMOD Pizza The 7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleBaby Bathwater Institute My Billion Dollar MistakeSalesforceEmail RonRon on LinkedInActions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — send an email directly to Ron and Sachit atron@replenishfoundation.organdsachit@platformsmedia.com Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.

Duration:01:19:06

Show Notes from the Stay Grounded Podcast:"It’s the pursuit and the process of doing something — not the outcome — that actually matters."This episode turned out a little different than our usual format! I’ve spoken with Sachit Gupta countless times. So in this episode, I was keen to see what would happen if we dived down the rabbit hole with zero expectations.And the result was pure gold!Sachit is the deep-thinking, creative genius behind Platforms Media – a company that helps amplify podcasters, authors, and other creatives by creating win-win partnerships with brands. Through this platform, Sachit has worked on marketing campaigns with top podcasters including Tim Ferriss of the Tim Ferriss Show, Andrew Warner of Mixergy, and Seth Godin, as well as social media influencers and international sports stars. In addition to his work with top creatives, Sachit is also the host of the Conscious Creators Show – where he helps his listeners make a life through their art without selling their souls.Creativity runs through his blood and I was excited to learn more about his take on this crucial topic. But we didn’t stop there… As the deep-dive continued, Sachit and I explored a delicious mix of topics that stretched from fear, courage, curiosity, to how to live a fulfilling life.If you’re curious to be a fly-on-the-wall as two creatives discuss creativity, life, and more, this is your chance! Check it out now."Creation is something where you can take anger, rage or negative feelings and turn it into something positive without harming other people."This is one of those episodes where our conversation will get you thinking and contemplating about your own creativity and life. So if you’re ready to be challenged and engage in deep thought with myself and today’s guest, dive in now.In this episode, you’ll discover:Be sure to watch out for the listener challenges too and let us know how they impact your life!

Duration:00:56:58

Welcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.In today’s episode, Dan Clark, CEO of Brain.fm talks about how a near-death experience led him to re-evaluate his life, how he found Brain.fm and his journey from contacting customer support to becoming CEO. We also talk about his early childhood experiences, being picked on and learning martial arts, and how that relates his ‘why’ behind Brain.fm.If you enjoy this episode, feel free to reach out to Sachit and Dan at sachit@platformsmedia.com + dan@brain.fm.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — click here tosend a Tweetdirectly to Dan and Sachit or findDan on Instagram. Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:Dan had a near-death experience that led him to reevaluate his life.He discovered Brain.fm and had a healthy skepticism about it.Dan didn’t finish college because he found that his body clock didn’t work with the schedule, and he had the same experience when he tried going into advertising.He found Brain.fm so incredibly valuable to him, so he contacted customer support persistently until he was put in touch with the Founder. They weren’t able to hire him for what he was charging, but he decided to work for them for free to prove his value.Dan believes he got that discipline and persistence from training in martial arts.Dan is always trying to optimize communication.Ask yourself why you want something and why you’re doing something so you can align all of your goals to that why.One of the biggest challenges we have in today’s society is plugging into deep focus and then disengaging from it on a set schedule. Some people aren’t made for that.Using Brain.fm has helped people with everything from general focus and productivity to PTSD, ADHD, and autism.The idea of music being capable of changing lives and mental states is not new.Brain.fm is different from the pop science theory of binaural beats, which does not have as much scientific backing as the audio research done for Brain.fm.Dan got grant funding to research alternative treatments for ADHD and therefore validate the science behind Brain.fm.Right now, Brain.fm is used for focus, relaxation, sleep, and meditation. Their next step is to improve what they already have before they expand what they do.They are working on integrating wearable technology to measure an individual’s baseline and change the music selection based on your needs.Developing workout music requires changing the fundamental ideas behind the music because unlike focus music, for which the goal is you ignoring the music, workout music requires focus on the music itself to distract you from your workout.Sachit asks Dan what their process is for developing new products. Dan says they have a resident neuroscientist on staff.You can use Brain.fm as part of the Pomodoro method.Dan struggled with focus as a kid, dealing with bullying and other distractions.For productivity, Dan emphasizes forming good habits rather than relying on tools.Every morning, Dan gets an iced coffee and writes.For Dan, work sprints are the most effective way to structure his day.Multitasking does not work or increase productivity, so Dan limits the number of times he context switches each day.Understand that everyone is different; people with the same goal will have different reasons for doing it.Dan thinks of his company like a ship—when he helps people, he expects them to help him back. Even if he’s the captain of the ship, he can’t run it alone.Common...

Duration:01:19:31

SJ Murray — Storytelling, Screenwriting Kung-fu and the Difference Between Community Building and NetworkingWelcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, we have SJ Murray, an Emmy-nominated screenwriter, teacher, and storyteller. We discuss what it means for her to be a storytelling, how to unlock your innate creativity, different storytelling models, the importance of community-building, and what it means to take the ego out of creating.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — click here tosend a Tweetdirectly to SJ and Sachit or findSJ on Instagram. Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:What does it mean to be a storyteller?For SJ, she wants to tell stories that are both challenging and leave the world better than it was. She believes in ethical storytelling.In terms of brain chemistry, there doesn’t appear to be any difference in how our brains react to a story whether we are the storyteller or the viewer.SJ has loved studying what makes stories work and then bringing it full circle to apply it to her own writing.What is “screenwriting kung-fu”?Learning structural rules can set your creativity free rather than constrain it.Some examples of storytelling structure are found in Aristotle’s three-act structure and Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.Distinguish between helpful notes and helpful council from people with a strong track record and unfounded criticisms.We have been sold the myth that the messiness of humanity is the source of all our problems, but what if we operated from the assumption that we’re all imperfect and that’s normal?SJ believes everyone should reflect on what brings them joy and fulfillment.Loneliness can have negative effects on your health as severe as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.SJ distinguishes between networking and community by emphasizing that networking is inherently transactional.Community is making a commitment to get to know people over time.If we rush to create, what we create won’t endure.Embrace creativity because it’s what you do, not for the external validation.Screenwriting has constraints in a way novels do not.How has SJ’s experience in sports and dance informed her creative process?Training means you go through the motions until inspiration strikes.All stories are predictable if you understand story structure, but they shouldn’t feel predictable. A great story will make you feel smart for predicting what happens or surprises you by deviating from it.Animation is special because it isn’t bound by the constraints of being human.Even worlds that aren’t our own require rules of engagement so the audience understands how it works.A core principle of SJ’s community-building is that she’s not at the center of it; the people who come are the value, not her.A leader does a lot of the invisible work for the sake of the work, not the recognition, like the conductor of an orchestra whose back is to the audience.The distinction between creativity and business is harmful and useless; creatives should hone their business acumen and business professionals should hone their creativity.SJ had an experience with a teacher when she was very young who mocked her art in front of her class, and it meant she didn’t write creatively again for 20 years.Encouragement at a young age and the countering of adverse experiences at a young age are crucial for developing creatively.If you hear that whisper urging you to create, it’s never too late to listen...

Duration:01:10:25

Welcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, we are joined by Sahil Lavingia, Designer and CEO of Gumroad who’s also a painter and writer. We discuss creativity, design, and what he thinks makes people really happy. Learn what Sahil is creating now, how he structures his time in a way that allows him to pursue several large projects, his reflections on his failure to build a billion dollar company and why his success in business is not the only thing that defines his self-worth.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — click here tosend a Tweetdirectly to Sahil and Sachit or find Sahil on Instagram. Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:What does it mean to be a creator?In Sahil’s eyes, a creator is someone who values the creative process and making stuff as an essential part of their identity.Almost everyone in his mind is a creator, it's just how strongly people identify with that as one of their core purposes in life.Sahil shares the creative projects he is working on now.He just started learning Blender for 3D rendering. He’s also painting and learning form language.He has spent a lot of time analyzing his own style.Sahil is a minimalist. He enjoys a simple interface that is text-heavy.He also enjoys technology and software that feels more real with shadows and tactile elements.He remembers thinking about fonts in the early days of his life.Sachit and Sahil reflect on the design of businesses, contrasting Panda Express and Chipotle.We use implicit signals to know where to go in buildings and how to navigate through them.Inevitably, even if you aren't a designer you engage in design.The more you design, the more instinct you develop around designing. You develop unconscious competence.With painting there's a lot of directly applicable, actionable lessons he can apply to design.He's still trying to figure out what it means to have a single focal point.There's an informational hierarchy in web design.The importance of clarity is important to him as a designer and as a CEO.Sahil describes how he sets up his week to address different problems.When Sahil moved to the Bay Area ten years ago, he wanted to be an integral part of the tech and startup community.They discuss Sahil's admiration for the way Bill Gates lived the American dream.He loved the idea of being in control of his life, time, and location.Sahil discusses his view on money and wealth.He feels more motivated by influence and fame than by money.When he was raising investor money for Gumroad, he felt validated.So many people think there's something on the other side of a door they can't open. Sahil is not convinced that the things we do for money will make us happy.It's easy to get detached from the reason you started in the first place.Sahil is good at shipping fast. Even with painting, he started sharing early.They discuss sharing metrics in general and how competitors also approach sharing metrics.At one point, Sahil moved to Provo, Utah, because he wanted to take a science fiction course with Brandon Sanderson. There, he earned he wanted things that were different from everyone around him.Gumroad is just one of the many things that define him.They talk about billion-dollar businesses vs. lifestyle businesses.There's something around picking a community that you like and building a business for that community.They're building out a roadmap right now on the Gumroad side. Education is the core theme.On a personal...

Duration:01:16:59

Welcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, we learn from James Altucher, an entrepreneur, author, venture capitalist and podcaster, who pursues creativity every day. Hear how James has prioritized building skills through an exciting career that spans multiple careers, from investing to chess and from startups to standup. We also explore common themes he’s discovered in his pursuit of learning from 500+ top performers on his show.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guestsend a TweetJames on InstagramTikTokHead on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:James outlined his vital daily practice in a viral blog post. When he doesn’t do this practice consistently, his life feels off.He needs a daily practice to be at his best.Sometimes when you're an entrepreneur so many things can go wrong. It can be very difficult and stressful.There was a time when James felt blocked and on the precipice of depression. He realized he wasn't doing his daily practice and even just starting it again helped him.Are you taking care of yourself in tiny ways? Are you just attempting to do 1% more for your physical health, emotional health, creative health, and spiritual health?James describes an experience where someone was stealing from him and he decided to take extreme ownership.Are you improving your relationships and distancing yourself from toxic relationships?Are you eating well, sleeping well, and exercising?James likes to get good at the things he’s passionate about.By interviewing peak performers and reading about them he seeks to understand how to skip a line.Are there smart things you can do to achieve better performance faster?There’s a physical and emotional component to getting better at something.When you skip a line in any field, you're going to have people who don't like you.In order to achieve any kind of peak performance, you have to find your own unique voice in that area of life.If you just improve a little bit each day, your improvement gets compounded.James shares the story of how Richard Branson started Virgin Air.The ability to “ready, fire, aim” is a key characteristic of high achievers.Peak performers have a dedication to learning.In general, peak performers are very kind people that you want to be around.James shares an experience that demonstratesKen Langone’sintensity.Many peak performers are very intense and they know exactly where to drill down to get the most information possible and as quickly as possible to understand the situation.Peak performers bring intensity and curiosity to everything.Brian Grazer produces movies because he's insanely curious. He schedules one curiosity conversation every week.Peak performers don’t accept no as an answer. Tyra Banks knewANTMwould succeed but was turned down again and again.James has confidence when he is excited about something.He's only able to persuade people when he's excited about something.In his late 40s, he decided he wanted to try standup comedy once. He tried it and loved it.Smoking crack bias = thinking the activities you have invested in have value no matter what.Always ask what you aren’t looking at.A lot of the skills people think they need to learn are not actual skills.Entrepreneurship is not a skill. It's an umbrella of skills.James found standup comedy to be a very complicated skill to acquire.They discuss the cumulative effects of becoming good at one skill and how that does and does not transfer to other areas.Standup comedy helped public speaking but public speaking did...

Duration:01:14:26

Welcome to the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, we have Cathryn Lavery, the founder of BestSelf Co. She shares how she started a successful business around becoming your Best Self. Learn how Cathryn transitioned from work in architecture to product design and entrepreneurship and hear about some of her best strategies for managing your time effectively.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode — click here to send a Tweet directly to Cathryn and Sachit or find Cathryn on Instagram.Creators.Show to get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:Cathryn has always had entrepreneurial impulses. She sold cupcakes on the school playground and drop-shippedDawson’s CreekDVDs to the UK in her teens.She is always trying to use her resources as much as possible and stretch a dollar as far as possible.Cathryn shares the story of how she got her first job in New York City and handled numerous setbacks in the hiring and onboarding process.She started doing freelance and design projects on the side to manage the uncertainty around her start date.When you’re managing people, instead of just telling them what to do, show them what success looks like.It can be very stressful for employees to always feel like they are messing up.She tried to learn how to deal with uncertainty.A year into making things and shipping them herself on the side, she was making more than she was at her day job.She took the measured risk to leave her day job by giving herself time to see if her business was going to work.She feels more productive when she has limited time.Initially, Cathryn was doing all the work by herself. Eventually, she learned how to hire a team and to create systems.As soon as she can optimize anything in her life, she will do it.Having systems has helped Cathryn be more creative.Her week is planned in a way that she knows when to be creative.Wednesday is a focus day for everyone without meetings or Slack.Sometimes your week can fill up with random meetings. You need constraints to give you some structure.Cathryn describes her hiring flow which was designed to capture people who follow instructions and will fit in well with the culture of her team.Cathryn describes why hiring her designer was an exception to her usual hiring process and why hiring a designer requires different criteria.Finding someone that likes to do what you want them to do for work in their free time is really good.Employees should prove their value.Cathryn has managed to maintain friendly relationships with people she had to let go of.Her philosophy on firing is that a company is like a rowboat. If not everyone is rowing, it doesn’t work.At the end of the day, everyone else's jobs are in jeopardy if the business doesn't succeed.In 2015 she launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Best Self journal.For three years Cathryn was spending a ton of time on self-development and learning about entrepreneurship. She created a PDF that she wanted to turn into a journal but it was going to be too expensive to make so she turned to Kickstarter.She realized she was a product person once she had already created software and then had it ready to sell and didn't want to sell it.She also had an Amazon drop shipping company that taught her how to sell on Amazon.Cathryn’s public goal for the Kickstarter was 15k but her personal goal was 200k. They hit their funding goal in 28 hours and raised $323k in 34 days.Cathryn created the product around lessons she had learned about...

Duration:01:03:57

Welcome to the first episode of the Conscious Creators Show; where through intimate and insightful interviews with authors, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and other podcasters, you'll learn tools and tactics to 10x your creativity and strategies to grow and monetize your audience.On today’s episode, we have Phil Towle, a renowned performance coach who has worked with famous musicians and athletes such as Metallica, Dick Vermeil (Superbowl Winning Coach of St. Louis Rams), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) and many more.Phil shares how he finds fulfillment in helping others become the frontman of their own dreams. Learn how Phil moved past egoic motivations to find his true calling and how we can make serving others a priority that will help us connect with our highest selves.Actions:Subscribe to the show onApple Podcastsor on yourfavorite podcast appand let us know what you think by leaving a rating and a review.Thank our guest and let them know what you thought of today’s episode —email Sachitand he’ll share it with Phil.Head on over toCreators.Showto get new episodes, exclusive guides like our guide on “How to Connect With Busy Influencers”, partner deals and additional bonuses.Episode Highlights:This episode begins with lyrics from one of Phil's songs, titled “Hitchin’ a Ride”.“Hitchin’ a Ride” meant he knew he wanted to get to a place beyond where he currently was. It functioned as a compass.Phil had a long, rich career in psychotherapy and was on the verge of making transitions into using psychology to help people achieve their highest potential at the time he wrote the lyrics to “Hitchin’ a Ride”.Everything that he did, in earthly terms successful or failure, has been part of getting to where he is now.Phil knew he was meant to accomplish something special but didn't know what it was yet. He learned that where he was then was not about being a frontman, but about helping other people become the frontman of their dreams.When his ego was pushing him to self-centeredness, he didn't feel comfortable.The best part of humanity is in serving the greater good.Trial and error will help us see when discomfort is healthy and when it is not.Phil defines a crisis as a self-inspired intervention or interruption in a direction you’re heading that needs to be re-evaluated.A crisis can be a gift because it can help you refocus.People generally come to Phil because they're stuck or there's something they feel uncomfortable about.Even people at the top of their game face discomfort, they just choose to take action.The best part of emulating someone else is seeing that they've found a way to achieve at a high level in their profession.Trying to be who you are not or sacrificing your dreams creates mental illness.When we allow fear to decide our dreams for us, we can feel depressed.Every famous person that we know carries unresolved fears.Many times they will ride the wave of external validation at the expense of their own personality.Please pay attention to your own personality and the things that may get in the way of your own ambition. Consider doing some of the inner work now.External validation can never replace self-worth.When you're getting external validation it can be hard to look inward.When the pain of avoiding our personality hurts enough then we start paying attention.There are some individuals that can teach us that there's a sensible way to go about success.Tragic figures teach us in their own way to pay attention.You can ask what needs to change. Transformation is within our grasp if we can be a little more patient and a little more self-reflective.Fame has become an outcome rather than a tool.We don’t understand fame until we get there.Fame in itself as an end-game is an illusion. There's a lot that gets sacrificed.There are many people who have taken their responsibility as someone who is famous to start projects that serve humanity.There is an intrinsic part of every one of you that understands that...

Duration:01:01:59