Franklin Taggart's Virtual Coffee Break and Unconventional Life School

Relationships are hard.

One of my supervisors used to say that when I did crisis intervention work. I believe it. The same theme has frequently emerged in recent conversations with friends and clients. We've noticed similarities as the relationship patterns from personal and family life play out in career and business situations. And why wouldn't they?

The challenges I face in marketing, selling, and delivering in my business have the same root as the challenges I have as a spouse, dad, son, and brother.  That root is me. But I'm no longer labeling it as a problem. I just have gotten okay with not being great at relationships.

I'm old enough to have read a lot of books, taken a lot of classes, attended plenty of weekend seminars, encountered encounter groups, and tried every way I know how to be better at it. But at almost 62 years old, I've decided that my odds for improvement seem to grow slimmer with each passing year. And it's become most important to just acknowledge all the ways I suck at relationships. And those realizations and acknowledgments apply to my career and businesses as well. 

If you've been interested in listening to podcasts but have found the medium and apps to be difficult and confusing, this episode is for you. The good news is that you probably already use an app where you can find and enjoy podcasts, and it's most likely the same app you're using to watch or listen to this show.

When Podcast Movement announced that their annual conference was going to be held in Denver this year, I got excited. I've wanted to attend this conference ever since it started, but the timing and finances never seemed to line up. This year, thanks to the generosity of Buzzsprout and the close proximity of the venue, I was able to attend. Here are some of my highlights.

Podcasting is Still Growing

And it appears to be growing even more rapidly with YouTube's new commitment to podcast support and promotion. It's not just YouTube. Spotify introduced video podcasts into its features last year, and new networks were represented at every level at the conference. The overall trend is that podcasting continues to expand in every direction.

People Are Hungry for Podcast Curation

As more podcasts are becoming available, people are looking for reliable sources of curation for the podcasts they listen to. Networks are one of the prominent sources people are turning to for this kind of service. This need for curation is also putting some pressure on podcast hosting platforms to improve the quality of their search functionality and discovery features. I was blown away by the number of new networks I saw at the conference and the variety of niches and audiences they represented.

Video is Exploding

As I mentioned, YouTube and Spotify have created opportunities for podcast producers to include video in their show offerings. I know the video option has been available and popular with podcasters for years, but the increased support is causing some important shifts in the podcasting industry. YouTube has risen into the second slot from the top as the most popular place to watch or listen to podcasts. Spotify has also gained more podcast audiences as it increases access to its video-based podcast services. Several speakers and panels were dedicated to integrating video into the podcasting mix.

Monetization Options Are Increasing(In Some Ways)

Making money from podcasting is taking on some new shapes and appearances. The standard list of options like sponsorships, paid subscriptions, advertising, and product promotion is still on top, but there are new possible income streams coming forward for podcasters, especially those who are growing large and engaged audiences. Larger broadcast and production companies like Paramount, Disney, and iHeart Media are signing successful podcasts to their networks and offering unheard-of sponsorship deals as they diversify their markets.

New fan funding services similar to Patreon are also starting to spring up. Patreon has been a popular way for podcast producers to gain direct support from fans, but there are some fast-moving competitors whose presence at the conference was notable. YouTube and Spotify weren't alone in offering hosts direct support portals for fans to pay for support and premium access.

The only disappointing monetization news is the continued shunning of shows with long track records but smaller audiences. Many advertisers are raising their minimum audience requirements to a point that excludes all but the most popular podcasts. I'm hopeful that this will change, but I think it will take an organized strategic effort on the part of certain agencies to create a package that will work for all involved. I heard a few Braindate discussions on this topic that I'll be excited to watch as they unfold.

If you're just starting podcasting, I recommend checking out Buzzsprout. They are a small company with a big heart and do everything they can to nurture and support podcasters. They have packages starting at free, so you have nothing holding you back.

Do You Want to Start a Podcast?

Is your tank empty? Do you need some time for solitude, recharge, and to reconsider how you've been living, loving, and working? Is willpower not enough to do everything that you've committed to doing?

That's the jumping-off point for this visit with coach Laura Livingston on the Your Own Best Company podcast. This conversation follows up on our last, which was on the topic of listening to your body.

In this episode, we cover:

** Health and business sustainability.

** The difference between willpower and empowerment.

** Making space for emotional experience.

** and inspired action.

If the job you love were to suddenly end, would you rather try to find another similar job, or would you try to build a business that brought together your best gifts with people you care about serving? Camille Miller was faced with this kind of decision, and she opted for the latter.

Not knowing exactly what she was going to do, she started experimenting with different ideas and found her direction, leading to the role of coach, then community builder, and now she's adding soulful adventurer. In this episode, we learn:

** How a high-level membership program is born.

** How personal growth often leads to a shedding of old relationships.

** Deliberate creation isn't just sitting around thinking about what you want.

** How Camille creates strategy with no end game.

** The surprising arrival of a new home close to the beach when she wasn't really looking.

As an executive, is it often easiest just to take on more responsibility and then work the extra hours that others don't see just to get things done? And is "fine" your stock answer when people ask you how you're doing? Lauren Lefkowitz knows the feeling, and she is here to offer another set of options.

When an encounter with a rogue Roomba led to a freak accident, Lauren was forced to stop working long enough to take a good look at her compulsion to take on more responsibility than she had the energy for and make some conscious choices. Learning how to sit on her hands and let other people take on responsibility gave her a new level of freedom in her work. It wasn't a seamless lesson, but she ultimately found positive and doable ways to free herself from the tyranny of saying yes.

As a rare executive coach who has real-life executive experience, Lauren now helps other executives and leaders escape the "Fine" trap and discover new ways to take care of themselves in the midst of being responsible for their businesses and organizations. She shares her wisdom in this episode of Your Own Best Company with Franklin Taggart.

If you need some creative inspiration for how to reach your customers with valuable and memorable marketing tools, Monique Eckes is back on the Your Own Best Company podcast with some of her latest and greatest ideas. She's also bringing an update on some of the past year's successes and lessons.

Monique is the founder and owner of Silver Paw Studio and has become a well-known pet photographer throughout the Northern Colorado region. She is also an active video maker on YouTube, contributing her endless creative ideas on three channels and across all the other socials.

In this episode:

** Success with her book, NoCo for Doggos, leads to this year's book project that is a celebration of a breed many misunderstand and wrongly categorize - pit bulls.

** Moving to a new studio and the inspiration to offer her workplace as what sociologists call a Third Place - a point of face-to-face connection that isn't home or work.

** The necessity of putting a good idea on hold.

** Staying visible with video.

** Using ChatGPT to create valuable freebies and lead magnets.

A Frequently Asked Question for 2023 from people I talk to is - Is it too late to start a creative freelance career? With all the talk about AI, ChatGPT, Midjourney, and whatever the AI flavor of the day is, these friends are rightfully wondering if they've waited too long to get into the game. I don't think it's too late at all. In fact, people getting started now may have an advantage over people who've been at it a while.

Enter Sheena McInnes. Sheena is a copywriter who just got into the business in the latter part of 2022. Her first career path was literally in the wilderness as a conservationist and scientist. Ten years into the unpredictable weather patterns, large mosquitos, and non-human trail company (read large wild animals), Sheena found a coach and started looking for the next phase of her work life. She discovered freelance copywriting.

Departing from the usual format of teasing valuable goodness from seasoned veteran creators and entrepreneurs, in this episode, we'll hear from someone who is at the beginning of her path. Sheena is learning the ropes of a rapidly changing field, and she's experimenting with everything from finding gigs on LinkedIn, writing for agencies, and trying on the digital nomad lifestyle.

We will be talking about how she discovered copywriting and how it appealed to her. We'll talk about cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset and finding mentors. And we'll talk more about how AI is changing the landscape and how people who learn to integrate it now into their creative work may well be at an advantage over those who don't.

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Humans are wired to connect through telling stories. It's been our primary way of communing with each other for thousands of years. Storytelling is so built into the design that we often don't recognize when it's happening or when we're doing it.

Lori Robertson, the SpeakHer Coach, joins Your Own Best Company today to talk about the power of story as a way to encourage, uplift, inspire, and transform. In her work with professional women, organizational leaders, and emerging influencers, Lori teaches how to bring a crystal clear message to people in unforgettable and valuable ways.

In this interview, Lori shares her story of being put in front of large crowds early in her speaking experience, how she rose to leadership in an organization that sponsored over 30 large-audience live events every year, and how she now works with her clients to own their message and share their gift-laden stories on stages of all sizes.

Depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns are common experiences for many solopreneurs, freelancers, and self-employed. Kim Pratt from the Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County is the guest on this episode of Your Own Best Company.

Kim shares early warning signs, symptoms, and support resources if you are concerned about your mental health. Her go-to suggestion is to program the number 988 into your phone. This national crisis hotline offers support and services 24/7/365 in the US and is free to call.

She also shares insight into how to find the right kind of help and offers both local and national resources for help. In the meantime, stay connected to your family, friends, and peers, and be honest with yourself and with them if you're having a difficult time.

Being her own boss seemed like the best option after being fired from a job working for someone else - her sister. 28 career pivots later, Michelle Nedelec has gathered a toolbelt full of business experiences that she draws from as she helps other business owners and executives navigate their marketing challenges. She's also a sought-after speaker, the host of five podcasts at last count, and a wickedly wise business strategist.

In this episode of Your Own Best Company, Michelle opens up about:

** Being led by curiosity.

** Finding opportunities in surprising places.

** Insanity as a marketing strategy.

** The important distinction between employee and owner.

** How to become a certified forklift operator wearing six-inch stilettos.

Michelle's Social Media

Persuasive communication is a cornerstone skill for every business owner, and many have never learned effective ways to consistently present influential messages. They may have a compelling offer but haven't established a strong enough connection to support it. Or the reader may be skeptical of claims after trying solutions that haven't worked, but the message doesn't acknowledge their experience.

Billy Broas has gathered messaging wisdom from some of the greatest marketing communicators in the world and consolidated that knowledge into an extraordinarily useful framework called The Five Lightbulbs. In this episode of Your Own Best Company, Billy walks us through the framework influenced by copywriting masters like Eugene Schwartz, John Carlton, Gary, Bond, and Kevin Halbert, and David Garfinkel.

Using The Five Lightbulbs framework will enable you to tailor your message for your customer's specific circumstances, and it will give you all the components of a complete persuasive message.

If you want to increase online visibility for your business, the universal advice is that you need to post videos. Everywhere, all the time, videos. Algorithms love videos, Kids love videos. Grandmas love videos. Videos, videos, videos!

I was a slow starter when it came to posting videos for my music and my businesses. I've had a YouTube channel for a long time and it sat for years while I worked up the nerve and figured out how to use my camera. A few years ago, I heard about a class called 31 Flavors of video. In that class, I learned about 31 different kinds of online video I could make, I joined a Facebook group where I got daily feedback. And I gained some amazing tools and resources that helped me make good decisions about equipment, production, scripting, and more.

In this episode, I'll introduce you to Lou Bortone, the creator of the 31 Flavors of Video, as well as programs like Fast Forward video mastermind, and the new podcast, Take the Connoli: The Godfather Podcast. Lou will take us on a trip from growing up in his dad's TV workplace in Boston to his industry experiences in Los Angeles, his eventual return to the Northeast, and his reluctant entry into entrepreneurship.

Lou considers himself a curator of content creation and production tools and resources. His emails, videos, and now podcasts are rich with helpful information, inspiration, and encouragement for video creators at all levels of experience.

Freelance writer Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer started her Heiditown blog over 15 years ago to share her experiences, interests, and point of view. It grew from a personal blog into a valued resource for tourists in Colorado looking for a more personal experience than all those on the beaten path.

Heidi expanded her services in the direction of destination marketing and festival promotion, building her reputation as she and her husband and various pets traveled from small town to small town, one road trip at a time.

The Heditown brand continues to expand as Heidi now offers consulting services to small towns leaders, helping them to find and articulate their uniqueness and finding aspects that deserve celebration and build local pride and optimism.

I love what Brooke Monaghan has to say about entrepreneurship:

"...this is what I always have to break down for people. Listen to anyone who has anything to say about entrepreneurship, and what they're going to tell you is, if you can figure out a way that people in your community are not being served, innovate some solution for them. That is the foundation for creating a business. So when I talk to people who are part of a community, and really care about some weird little niche thing, and they see all of the problems - here are all the ways that we are not being served - here are all the ways that we are being overlooked. Here are all the ways that we're being left behind. And they have some idea about how they can make that better. That is literally the thing that everyone like me who really wanted to be in business needed, but didn't feel like they had a thing. That's the thing that we have all been searching for. Please, please do something with it. Because that's it, that's the foundation for a sustainable business, you create a better way."

Brooke is an inspired coach who leads people through the process of being rule followers to becoming game changers - people who challenge the status quo and make entirely new realities possible.

Here are some of the things we talk about:

** Owning what you do.

** Commitment vs. hustle.

** The appeal of being seen as you are.

** Being OK with the struggle.

Brooke's podcast, Transcend Your Dichotomy, is an abundant resource of information and inspiration for anyone who is ready to turn a great idea into a great reality. She wanted to make something that showed people what it was like to be in the experience of creating a business instead of reporting about a business after it had become successful. And she found that much of her conversation was on the topic of mindset.

As 2023 started, I invited Audrey Holst of Fortitude and Flow and Erica Holthausen from Catchline Communications to come back for a conversation on the topic of why we do the work we do and all the smaller questions attached to that. The chats we three enjoy are some of my favorites, and this one raised the bar even higher. We had much to talk about, including:

** What becomes possible when basics are taken care of?

** Redefining the rich life.

** What the gym can teach us about business.

** Stepping back from the production/consumption loop.

** Variable-Speed working

The first online networking mixer I ever attended in 2021 had over 100 attendees. The hosts had to pay for the extra space and had inadvertently disabled the breakout room assignments when they did. As the event ground to a halt, the host apologized and then asked, "Is Robbie Samuels here?" From one of the many screens and rows of faces came the reply, "Yes, I'm here." With a couple of his brief suggestions, the problem was solved and the rest of the meeting went off without a hitch. 

I've wanted to write and publish a book since I was a kid. I'm old now, so that's a long time to have a dream. I've started books many times in my life, but the determination and persistence to finish them have eluded me.

I've had a lot of questions and concerns about AI. I know - I'm not alone. I've heard so many rumors, speculations, panic, and misinformation about all of it these past few months. Will it take jobs? Yes, it will. When? I don't know for sure. Some sooner, some later. Will our social structures and economy be able to weather the changes? Most likely not, at least from what we know now. But we'll know more later. That's how life works.

Anyhow. I collected all my questions, thinking I'd write yet another book. Then I got discouraged at the amount of research I'd need to do to answer the questions adequately and decided to shelve the idea until three Sundays ago. I had the thought that I should put my questions into ChatGPT and see what happens. An hour and fifteen minutes later, I had a manuscript.

#Solopreneurs and #freelancers business success depend on their staying healthy. And we don't tend to plan for undesirable circumstances. We almost always plan according to ideal situations. And then the #calamities of life arrive. Then what?

Laura Livingston is back to talk about her experience of business being interrupted by some unexpected physical challenges. Franklin has a few stories of his own in this area. 

Here are some of the twists and turns in this conversation:

** Building and leveraging a team.

** Prioritizing self-care.

** Honoring the body and all your passions.

** Contingencies, priorities, and commitments.

** Making pivotal decisions and intentions.

Founded in FoCo is a three-day event for businesses of all sizes, from solopreneurs to large companies to non-profit organizations. It's a collaborative community effort that offers peer-to-peer education, inspiring speakers, networking, and more. This year's event is coming up at the Front Range Community College Harmony Campus in Fort Collins on March 1-3, 2023. If you're a business owner located within 100 miles or so of Larimer County, you're welcome to attend this free event.

These kinds of events are familiar territory for today's guest on Your Own Best Company. Nick Armstrong of WTF Marketing is the lead organizer of Founded in FoCo, and he's no stranger to locally focused collaborative events. As one of the founders of Fort Collins Comic Con, Nick has a history of initiating exciting and engaging community events that all serve a higher purpose of bringing people together, having fun, and supporting the causes and organizations that matter.

In this episode, Nick gives us the inside story on:

** The rebranding of Fort Collins Startup Week to Founded in FoCo.

** Some of the features and excitement for this year's event, happening Mar.1-3 in Fort Collins.

** Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.

** How Fort Collins ended up with a Comic Con of its own.

** How coming in second in a local election led to the formation of a hot sauce company.

** How he has benefitted personally and professionally from his commitments to his community.

When did you learn important career-building skills like networking, finding mentors, interviewing, and finding great work opportunities? Most people didn't learn these skills in college or high school. We learned them when we had to - when we were searching for our first jobs or starting our first businesses.

For many people ages 50 and up, we're adapting to a part of our life in which our normal roles are going through significant changes. Some of us are shifting into caretaking for aging parents while shifting away from the caretaking role we've had with our kids. The norms we've been used to, sometimes for decades, are undergoing great changes.

Some of my friends and clients in this age group talk about the difficulty they have in regaining their own sense of priority and desire apart from those they've adopted as spouses, parents, co-parents, and partners. Some are challenged by setting aside the things they want to do in order to take on more responsibility for family members. 

My own newfound time freedom since my son got his driver's license has been surprisingly daunting because I'm no longer spending 15-20 hours a week driving him places. And the default reaction of doing more work hasn't actually happened. I have a friend who talks about her difficulty sustaining her own interests because her family is still in the transition between kids at home and the empty nest. She starts a project and then the holidays come, or graduation happens, or prom is coming, or ??? 

Thanks for the supportive notes and calls after my video the other day talking about seasonal depression. I was telling a friend that one of the things that is hard when I'm feeling that way is that other people see it as a problem to solve or something broken to fix. That usually just makes it feel worse. Those of you who were able to just let me have the time I needed and my own process to work it out are appreciated beyond words.

I've mentioned these people before: 

Sydney Banks - The blue-collar Scotsman who spontaneously awakened and realized the relationship between thought and emotional experience.

Lester Levenson - The skeptical physicist who dove into relentless self-inquiry after his second heart attack at age 42, discovering a way to release emotional resistance and experience incredible freedom.

Esther Hicks - A spiritual seeker and experimenter who became an open channel for another realm as she learned to meditate.

I've learned something from each of them about how my thoughts and emotions interplay. More in the video about that.

When I'm in the lowest points of depression, it's not helpful to tell me that it's all just thinking and that everything will be fine if I think more positively. That can trigger homicidal ideations. Please don't ever do that. I've experienced it enough to know it will subside if I just leave it alone. Living with unease is probably the hardest part, but it's necessary.

I also know my propensity to imagine incredible catastrophes when in that state of mind. So thinking positively is not remotely possible at that stage. The thing that brings me out most easily is a feeling of connection with other people. At first, I find that through immersion in stories. And when I'm ready, making a connection with a trusted friend also makes a huge difference.

I can tell when it starts to lift when I feel myself returning to a place where I can feel desires again. And then it becomes easier to imagine myself doing the things I want to do, and I feel uplifted by that. 

When his research led to finding a link between multi-passionate people and neurodiversity, Perry Knoppert ultimately created a movement. The Octopus Movement is, in Perry's words, a gathering of curious misfits. Now numbering over 2500 members from 60 countries, The Octopus Movement is a celebration of people who don't fit neatly into well-defined social structures and who share the common characteristic of nonlinear thinking.

In this episode of Your Own Best Company, Perry tells his story of losing everything as his first step to making anything possible. Our topics of conversation include:

** Finding a link between having multiple passions and neurodiversity.

** Making a place for nonlinear thinking in linear organizations.

** The common loneliness experienced by neurodivergent people.

** The challenges of nonlinear thinkers in employment and relationships.

2022 has been a good year for me. My commitments were kept and my goals exceeded. I'm changing things a little in 2023.

Jody has risen to the highest levels of her company ladder, but she's frustrated that she's been getting passed over for promotion to the C-Suite. She's done the work, brought innovative ideas to the table, and has seniority over all but the CEO and COO of the company. It doesn't make sense that she is not being considered for advancement.

This is a perfect situation in which to call Fran Gallaher. Fran is an intuitive guide who helps individuals and organizations supplement their data, logic, and rationale with information that may be discouraged or ignored due to being outside the realm of normal business convention.

Fran teaches people how to access and understand their own inner senses as they navigate their way through making their best decisions for themselves and their organizations. She also offers professional intuitive services as a coach and consultant.

In this episode, we explore topics like:

** Identifying and using your inner senses.

** Being willing to trust your intuition.

** Creating feedback loops to improve capability.

** Allowing yourself to have doubts.

** Incorporating intuition into your normal set of leadership skills.

I made a video the other day asking the question, "What if you can't find your why?" I've had some strong reactions to that idea. There were a couple of people who treated it as a condition on par with a disease, quickly prescribing things to do to solve the problem.

Why are we so adamant that life has to have a purpose? Where did we get the idea that it needs to mean something, and that we're less than if we don't land on that purpose that gives our life meaning?

I wonder if my food will taste just as good if I don't have a bigger purpose than just living? I wonder if music will move me more if I know I'm here for a reason? I wonder if I can be okay without winning one of the coveted prizes?

This year I released a handful of new courses and have had over 300 people join my Teachable school. After some recent pricing and service changes announced by Teachable, I've made the difficult decision to leave their service and host my courses on another platform. I'm working on the last-minute details of that switch and will be sending out announcements to all my subscribers as soon as I have a place for you to access your courses.

This trend of slashing services and increasing prices has been popular in the SaaS world this year. I've had four of my primary Saas subscriptions do a similar thing, and I'll be leaving all of them as soon as my current subscription period is over.

As a business owner, I know that business models are evolving things, and they change as the market demands. But when you change your business model, don't piss off your existing customers. My business model is also changing, but I've made it a point to get feedback from the clients I've worked with most closely. I don't want them to be surprised, shocked, or turned away by my decisions. My bottom line is that the relationships are the business. I won't sacrifice those for a financial goal that only looks good on paper.

Goodwill matters.

Continuing the theme of spirituality and faith. - I want to reiterate the proposition that entrepreneurship is as viable a path for spiritual development as meditation, yoga, and religion. 

On this Christmas day, 2022, I remember a holiday season from many years ago when my faith had started to self-destruct. All the things I had believed in were called to question, and I was left without anything to stand on.

At the time, there was a huge uproar in the community where I lived about displaying religious and spiritual symbols on city property, particularly a menorah for Hanukah and a manger for Christmas. I remember laughing myself to tears over this issue, realizing that I would have been marching in protest only a year or two before that. But at the time, I had no feeling about the issue at all.

During those years of deconstruction, I still had a yearning. I yearned to know love and to know somehow that I and we aren't alone here. I expressed this desire in a song I wrote called Let It Be Born Tonight. I mentioned this song the other day in my video about hope.

Sharing a handful of childhood Christmas Eve memories, and featuring one of them in greater detail.

If you've never watched Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, my sisters and I are looking at you wondering how that could have happened. Go watch it and always remember that if you meet somebody who don't like soul food, they still got a soul.

A few years before her 18-year corporate HR career ended, Laura Livingston started allowing herself extended time off to travel. As her travels unfolded, she became aware of a growing need and vision for her life to undergo a radical change, but she wasn't exactly sure what that change needed to be.

While still working full-time, she started to explore other interests and experiences to see if any of them would show themselves to be her next direction. When her career came to an end due to a layoff, she leapt into an ongoing process of self-discovery through serving others as a yoga instructor, then hypnotherapist, then gradually working into her current role as a mindset and transition coach.

In this interview, we talk about the following:

** Leaving a job you love.

** Giving yourself time to explore.

** Growing comfortable with a new role and title.

** Feeling guilty about not feeling satisfied.

** and Navigating life changes through strategic pivoting.

I've had a few conversations recently centered on the difficulty of identifying one's purpose. And I'm reaching a point in my work where the next expression of my purpose isn't clear. I've had some well-meaning friends suggest the book Start With Why, by Simon Sinek. I've read this book a couple of times and I've found Sinek's insights helpful, but they aren't a universal answer to people who are struggling to identify what their why is.

There are times in life when considering the future is difficult because we're putting something from our past to rest. The emotions that go along with that process of grieving and letting go are from the same pool as those we need to envision and embody a new future.

Often, if a client or a friend is having a hard time finding a future vision or a sense of purpose in life, it's because their emotions aren't available for the task. If you are in this position, I assure you there is nothing wrong with you. You're going through a common human experience that won't go on forever.

I'm reading two books on the topic of creativity, Creative Quest, by Questlove, and The Rise of the Creative Class, by Richard Florida. Creative Quest is a fairly recent release and it's a personal exploration of his creative process as a musician, a creator, a DJ, and other roles the Roots drummer plays. The Rise of the Creative Class has an updated second edition that was released within the past few years. It's more about the segment of our economy and labor market that is made up of creative people.

Both books have opinions on definitions of creativity, and like all books on the subject, there is more to the mystery of the thing than words can capture or articulate. It brought to mind the difference between learning about creativity and actually having creative experiences. I have some friends who have taken university-level classes on creativity, and their own creative output didn't seem to benefit from the education.

I haven't found the book on creativity yet that has actually enhanced my experience of creativity, or made it more enjoyable or effective. And every time I've tried to improve my creative process, I've ended up falling back on my old familiar ways of doing things that never stopped working. Picking up the implements and trying stuff until I recognize something worth playing with remains the most reliable way to get into a creative flow.

I also question the idea of creativity on demand because, more times than not, my process hasn't resulted in something I want to finish. I mentioned the Iris Dement song, Let the Mystery Be in another video about God and faith the other day, but I think the same thing goes here. When it comes to creativity, "no one knows for certain... I just choose to let the mystery be."

All that said, I am enjoying both books for what they are - insights into personal creativity and its contribution to our culture, economy, and way of life. Want to check them out? Help a guy out by using these affiliate links. Thanks!

We have a strange set of cultural norms around how creative people are supposed to become successful. The common tropes of the starving artist, suffering for your art, and paying your dues need to be made a thing of the past IMHO.

In the folk music world that I've been a part of, I've seen people show up year after year, volunteering for menial jobs at festivals, playing free gigs and open mics, agreeing to play for "exposure", and finding a hundred other ways to chip away at their soul in exchange for opportunities that never arrive. And that is considered normal and acceptable.

I believe in a different model. I stand by the idea that our creativity is meant to be a valuable service to other people, making a positive difference in the quality of their lives. And that it's worth paying for.

The majority of creative people I work with have been struggling with these messages and their fallout for their entire careers. I know many musicians who have been paying dues since the 1980s and have not received any sustainable opportunities in return. 

Some people may argue that they're not "good enough" to merit that kind of pay. If they're good enough to ask for their talents, their talents are worth paying for. The one things I can teach creative people that will start to turn this trend around is to be much more visionary and intentional about the work they do, who it's for, and how much they require to provide it. This is the beginning of re-educating a public that has gotten used to exploiting creative talent, often for their own gain.

I believe that the days of paying dues, suffering for art, and the starving artist can be over if we're willing to stop settling for a norm that doesn't serve us.

I was talking with a client yesterday about her feeling about not knowing what is next for her and her art business. She's had a few very successful years but has started to experience a slowing down and a level of dissatisfaction with the work she's doing now that suggests she's ready for a new level of development both as a creator and an entrepreneur.

It's tempting at times like this to try to restructure what you're already doing, but I had another direction in mind. I asked her to tell me her core values. As she talked, it became clear to both of us that her values weren't clear to her and that the words she used to talk about her values were more used to impress other people than to represent who she really is.

When we took the time to identify and articulate her values more clearly, she started to see that her dissatisfaction was coming from doing work that wasn't in alignment with her values. This gave us a much more solid starting place to work on envisioning her next direction.

Finding your core values may be easier than you think. We don't need a weekend retreat to get it done. Most of them will be so obvious that you'll say 'Duh' when you see them. But making them as clear and concise as possible will have a multitude of benefits as you go about your planning and strategizing.

I was reminded today of one of my favorite podcast interviews. Bronwyn Jane is an intuitive and medium who shares life insights and messages with people that come to her through her intuitive senses. 

In this segment, we talk about the difficulty some people experience when accepting payment for using their gifts. Bronwyn shares her experience of learning to acknowledge the value of what she does and finding a rate that helped her clients perceive her work with the highest value.

From a struggling single mom to escaping a 13-year narcissistic abusive relationship, Sabrina’s tenacity and optimistic spirit have inspired fans worldwide and helped endless amounts of people break through and discover their own untapped talents and immense potential. Now, creator and CEO of Human Better 365, a human transformation company, creator of the Her Version Podcast, and founder of the Sober Society Community. Speaker, entrepreneur, and author.

Today on Your Own Best Company, Sabrina shares her compelling and sometimes terrifying personal story ending on a note of hope and triumph. 

Listen to her talk about:

** Her journey from fear to courage and confidence.

** Ignoring red flags and the experience of self-blame.

** The tension between leaving and staying.

** Becoming financially independent.

** Piecing together an escape plan.

** Evolving a coaching business.

And more...

A few weeks ago I interviewed Michael Roderick, an impresario and media maker who I've grown to admire and appreciate. He sends out almost daily emails featuring his thinking on certain topics, and one of his recent messages really struck me. The title was Why a Lot of "Hits" Miss.

While we creators like to think we're making something everyone in the world will need and appreciate, the decision is not ours to make. Micheal correctly points out that the market is the decider about what will gain widespread attention, acceptance, and acclaim. 

His encouragement is for the creators to engage in the hard work of iteration instead of toiling to determine what the market wants and then create for that. Sadly, that formula rarely produces anything except what has already been popular.

My encouragement is to pay more attention to your own resonance as a creator. Make the things that make you tingle, and then share them. I think the only aspect of the hitmaking process the creator has is how many people they share it with. Share it with thousands and it has a better shot. But they'll let you know.