The Chase Jarvis Live Show

QUESTION:  What if you only made work that YOU loved, and you were certain that you would be paid top dollar if you did...Would you do it?  Of course! Most sane creators / entrepreneurs would jump at the opportunity - and such is the topic of Srinivas Rao’s new book: An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity For Its Own Sake.  The problem is, so many of us are watering down our work making it for someone else. In fact, the path to our best work is digging deeper into who you’re creating for and what happens when you create art for yourself. In this episode we also cover… "If you’re going to take the time to learn to use a tool, take the time to make something with that tool…"  This is a fascinating POV I’d never heard before, but it keeps us creators in the building mode vs the procrastinating mode.  How to take your art+career+future into your own hands…  Srini’s view is that we must put our focus and effort into the things that you can control. You can’t control follower count, you can’t control Facebook’s

When it comes to career trajectories, Jack Conte is my brotha from anotha mothA !!  Our paths could not be more similar.... He started his career as a musician, was a YouTuber making videos, and turned tech entrepreneur by co-founding Patreon, an incredible tool for artists to get paid directly by their fans (just like Beethoven used to…) You are going to love this conversation. Jack’s career — be it in music, videos, or business, has been forged by embracing that there’s a *different* way to do it all. Today more than ever before, there are a million ways to win at anything your heart desires.  The road less traveled isn’t a well lit path... you are bound to fall on your face a few times, BUT those who do find success will largely have done it THEIR OWN WAY.  In Jack’s words, “If you’re questioning whether to keep going or if it’s time to give up, keep going…”  and in turn, give this episode a listen to the end- you’ll be glad you did. In this episode: Imposter syndrome exists in even the most successful pe

If you don’t know Brandon, you definitely know his work. Brandon is the creator of Humans of New York which has accumulated over 20 million followers worldwide and turned into two NYT-bestselling books (Humans of New York and Humans of New York: Stories). It has also spawned an entire genre of similar blogs. Hundreds of aspiring documentarians have followed in HONY’s footsteps, telling the stories of countries, cities, and communities across the world. During a PhotoWeek session we had at CreativeLive, Brandon shared his story from getting fired at a job he hated to selling everything to move to New York to try to be a photographer. Brandon shares what he has learned along the journey of interviewing thousands of people and how they have shaped his storytelling. If you love this episode, you might also want to check out the video version of this talk to see some of the photos he shares during his talk. You can do that by logging onto creativelive.com and searching “Brandon Stanton”. In today's episode: There

Don’t make what “everyone” will like or do what “everyone” else is doing. Instead, make/do/follow/lead/create things you love. In this episode, As a social being, it’s natural for you to want everyone to like you and your work. Reject that natural feeling. There’s a 3 step process for finding success as a creative. 1: Create what you love. 2: Relentlessly share the work that you create. 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2. If your work is priced appropriately, you don’t need 10,000 people to love your work. You can make a living from 10, or 20, or 100 paying customers. Focus on getting people to fall in love with your work, one person at a time. Enjoy! Today's episode is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curated classes taught by the world’s top experts -- Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy Award winners, New York Times

Danielle Krysa is the author of Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk, Creative Block, and Collage, all published by Chronicle Books. She is also the creator of the contemporary art blog The Jealous Curator. Danielle gave a talk at the CreativeLive studios on the Inner Critic, and shares a particular story that I think many of us can relate to. We all deal with the voice in our life that tells us what what we’re creating is not good, will never amount to anything, or how we’ll never make any money from it. This talk is a huge inspiration for anyone who’s suffered a creative block and battled critics (internal or external). I know you will love Danielle’s vulnerability and break through your creative battles with the tactics she has garnered from her personal struggle and prolific creators, alike. She references her keynote a bit through this talk, so if you want a bit more context be sure to watch the full episode in full living color on CreativeLive https://cr8.lv/2vsQg8d In this episode, Your inner critic is a l

You know Gregory Heisler, or at the very least, you've seen his work. Gregory is a prolific photographer best known for his 70 cover portraits for TIME Magazine and has graced the pages of Life, Esquire, Fortune, GQ, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and The New York Times Magazine.  We recently had the pleasure of hosting Gregory in our CreativeLive studios to present his talk on embracing one’s own uniqueness. Now, I attend a lot of keynotes, speeches, and presentations. Not often do I stand in the audience yelling “PREACH!” like I was during Gregory’s presentation. His thoughts on prioritizing the expression of your own voice, vision and style over technique is spot on and follows the career path of so many professional and prolific creators in my circle. Listen in, take heed, and let me know what you think. If you'd like to see the video version of this talk, you can watch it for FREE here: https://cr8.lv/2v39iS2 A few topics from this episode, * Making what you can’t help but make is how you find your own unique

This week on the show we’ve got serial entrepreneur, marketer extraordinaire and SEO genius Rand Fishkin. Among other things, the guy is an online content legend, having built the legendary MOZ, one of the first online resources / communities helping creators optimize for SEO (yes search engine optimization...aka if you make content, it's helping your people find you on the internet) and now he’s got a new company you’ve gotta know about, and a new BOOK, called Lost & Founder - aimed at helping all of us creators and entrepreneurs find our way.  SUCH A USEFUL BOOK.  But even more than the “what” Rand does…it’s the HOW he does it that I find completely extraordinary.  Everything, it seems, has been non-traditional.  From college dropout to serial entrepreneur.  Join us on this conversational journey as we dispel startup culture tropes, ‘best practices' and fight back against “traditional” wisdom. A few topics from this episode: * There are three key components to building successful and enjoyable content:

Today’s episode is a little subdued. Stripped down. Straight talk. Just you and me. We’re going deep into one of the biggest secrets I’ve learned about photography (or really ANY craft). If you’re looking to stand out, innovate, or generally get new and fresh ideas, this episode is for you. In this episode: * Take your art to the next level by adding something outside of its inherent form. An example would be if you’re a photographer, try adding text like stories or poetry that helps connect with your image. * Use Edward de Bono’s design technique to harness creativity on demand by taking elements from a completely disparate subject and injecting it into your art. * If you don’t want to be treated like a commodity, don’t act like one. Enjoy! Today's episode is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curate

Meet Jordy, a 23 year old soccer player and student, who’s trying to find his way and figure out what to shoot for after college and how to get there. He’s optimistic, excited, and at a crossroads in his life. He’s just like I was at his age, and is probably just like you are now or have been in the past. In this raw, gritty, intimate, and windy 28 minute conversation we talk about what it takes to create success through chasing your dreams. We talk about the importance of checking in with yourself to make sure you’re still chasing what’s important to you. And we talk about the importance of taking action. Audio purists beware: This is recorded outside on Jordy's iPhone. There’s wind noise and it takes over at times, but ultimately we decided to release this because I’m interested in providing access to more personal, raw, deep authentic conversations like this.  In this episode:  * Having a variety of interests is great, but if you’re trying to build an audience, you need to narrow your focus of what you’re

Summer is in full swing (or winter snow season for my southern friends) and you’re busy, I get it. That’s why this week I’m hooking you up with a powerhouse of short and sweet creative guidance from my man, Austin Kleon up on the podcast today. If you're not familiar with Austin's work, definitely check out some of his best-selling books like Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work! Austin is a full spectrum mentor when it comes to harnessing creativity and this week we are chatting about the next important step in your creative process: sharing that work.  In this episode: * Sharing your work keeps you honest to yourself and to your audience. There is outer accountability baked in to the process of sharing your work which forces you to continue creating more work. * Sharing your work and sharing your process is the most authentic promotion of what you’re making. You are putting in the time to create the art.. Finish the job by hitting “publish”. * Community is a natural byproduct of sharing your work. If you

I have always believed in the notion that there’s a creator in all of us, and that includes those in engineering, coding, and literally every other discipline. Today I’m bringing you another exciting guest from the technology field, Ryan Carson. Not only is Ryan “in technology”, but Ryan is the Founder and CEO of Treehouse, whose mission is to help people get great jobs by teaching them how to code. Ryan and I talk about how he got started, and like many of us it has been a path of exploration, failure, and self-discovery. His grassroots efforts started with small actions in community building which grew to a worldwide network all while working as a developer. He shares how he’s used skills learned and earned along the way and has some great mindset shifts and tactical advice for your creative career - all the way from how to find your WHY to getting your first sale. In this episode, * Nothing is big right away. If you want to start a movement or create a successful product, start by solving a problem you car

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to sit down with a group of CreativeLive students attending a special week of programming in our Seattle studios. This conversation was never intended to be published, but after listening to this intimate conversation with some fellow creators, I had to share it. One of the things I really love about having students in the studio is 1:1 interaction and that non-tangible exchange that happens when a group of people gets together. I mean let's face it, the internet can be a mixed bag. It’s sometimes hard to ask important questions. It’s been hugely beneficial for me to seek out and find safe communities where I can learn, explore, and ask questions that I might otherwise be afraid to ask, and this is something I recommend all of you find, too. In this conversation we explore: * To find your niche and truly differentiate yourself, you need to make art that no one else can make. Show the world how you see the world. * If you want to make money with your art but don’t enjoy t

Nigel Barker is an internationally renowned photographer, model, entrepreneur, TV star and author. You’ve seen him as a judge and photographer for 18 seasons on America’s Next Top Model, starring alongside Naomi Campbell on The Face, and as the host of Top Photographer. His entrepreneurial pursuits include having his own furniture line with Art Van Furniture, being the Artistic Director of the menswear brand Flag & Anthem, and co-founding the NYC gym, The Dog Pound. Oh yeah, and he’s published two books- The Beauty Equation and the New York Times best seller, Models of Influence. The dude stays busy. In our conversation, Nigel shares a few great stories of how he used the resources he had access to to get his career off the ground, how he thinks about the progression of his career, and how he stays passionate about every day of work. You’re going to love it. In this episode, * Nigel didn’t get a degree in photography; he looked outside of photography and outside of fashion for inspiration and career guida

We’re now heading into almost 100 episodes of the podcast, that’s a crazy amount to learn from. So I figured there wasn't a better time to share a short convo I had with my good bud Tim Ferriss on his method for rapidly learning any skill. Tim’s got mad skills in breaking down big subjects and making them digestible which he does for us here, in all of his best selling books- 4 Hour Workweek, 4 Hour Body, 4 Hour Chef, Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors- as well as on his podcast The Tim Ferriss Show. Hosting this podcast is one of my greatest joys. Of course I love to interact with the amazing guests we have on the show, but what gives me real joy is hearing how it has impacted you, the listener. So give this episode a listen and let me know how you’re putting it into practice. In this episode: * Tim has mastered the art of learning with four steps, acronymized as DSSS. Deconstructing the goal, Selecting where to focus your efforts to get the best results, Sequencing what order to approach tasks, and setti

Elle is an artist and author and just a genuinely amazing human. You’ve seen her design work on Medium, Uber, and many other recognizable brands as she came out the legendary design firm, IDEO. She was part of the 30 Days of Genius series on this podcast where we took a deep dive into finding our calling with the help of her breakthrough book, The Crossroads of Should And Must. I’ve personally found the idea of Should vs Must as a powerful tool that helps explore the tension between the expectations that parents, friends, and culture put on us versus who we are and what we know to be true. In this conversation, we get into a project I really love, the 100 day project and how powerful daily action can unlock the biggest ah ha moments. We are also joined by Susie Herrick, co-author of their new book Your Story Is Your Power; Free Your Feminine Voice, which really helps pull the curtain back of the importance of personal connection, relationships, and how powerful our own personal story is in everything we do. W

This week, I feel lucky enough to bring you not one, not two, but three masters of inspiration into the hot seat. Join me in this LIVE conversation from the WeWork Creator Awards where I was joined on stage by serial entrepreneur and investor Kevin Rose, interior designer Kelly Wearstler, and star of Netflix’s ‘Queer Eye’ & fashion designer Tan France. All three of our panelists are built a life doing the things that they love, but like all of us, there were a lot of twists and turns. In this episode, they share stories of inspiration, overcoming challenges, as well as some super solid business advice.  In this episode: Next time the fear of failure strikes you, remember this. Only 1 out of every 12 investments in venture capital are successful. Give yourself the grace to fail 92% of the time. You’ve got to surround yourself with the best people you can. Whether you’re mastering your craft, building a team, or looking for your first clients, you’d be a fool to discredit those closest to you. Passion is w

Today on the podcast we’re answering one of the most popular questions I receive: “how do I find my passion”. Yeah, not an easy one. Super tough! And if you’ve struggled with this or are struggling right now, this episode will help you find your way. In fact, my good friend Chris Guillebeau has spent years researching this exact topic and shares a formula that can help you unlock some missing pieces from his book called Born For This. This super short episode packs such a huge punch, I’m so pumped to share it with you! In this episode: Most people find their dream jobs and make dream careers by going down multiple paths and making lots of mistakes along the way. Don’t be afraid of taking a nonlinear path. You have two roles in life. Role #1: Find out what you love to do. Role #2: do that thing. You can find all the ways that you can make a career doing what you love at the intersection of joy, money, and flow. If you’re thinking about giving up on what you’re working on, you must listen to Chris’ bonus tip a

Today on the podcast, the tables are turned. I'm in the hot seat on my pal Lewis Howes' podcast, The School of Greatness.  I’m sure you are familiar with Lewis - he’s an entrepreneur, high performance business coach, keynote speaker, and author of the best selling book School of Greatness.  In this episode, we discuss: The people who wrote the rules were no smarter than you. We talk about confidence to go against the grain, breaking rules and writing your own script. I share a few of my favorite techniques for getting over creative blocks. How to visualize and set intentions as part of your daily routine. Building things with the end in mind will get you clearer on your goals and help you achieve them faster. Enjoy! Today's episode is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curated classes taught by the

Sally Kohn is the author of the fantastic book, The Opposite of Hate. which explores how we can bridge our differences and speak respectfully with those we passionately disagree with. She has has been published in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and delivered multiple TED Talks on emotional correctness, clickbait, and correcting the culture of hate. In this episode we go deep into what it means to fight hate. Sally shares how to use our creativity and vulnerability to bridge tough topics. Whether you’re tired of internet trolls or losing friends to political differences, Sally Kohn’s insights helps us find common ground. A few of my favorite takeaways: * The act of being vulnerable is a major component of what makes artists powerful. As a creative, you have the opportunity to shift your audience’s views by showing your own vulnerability. * It’s natural to bond with others around what we dislike and even hate. But hating things together is still backwards movement. How do we move each other forward an

There are two things that I love sharing more than anything else. Margaritas and answers to your creative questions. I couldn’t figure out how to get margaritas into your ears this week, but we’ve got some fantastic questions from The Daily Creative (my YouTube show where I answer YOUR questions about the challenges you’re facing on your journey to become an aspiring or professional creative) and some of my favorite answers from the show. In this episode: * Ian wants to know how to transition from a traditional career to a “more risky” creative one. * Fritz is looking at how to stop trading his time for money and start scaling his photography business. I share four of my favorite methods for diversifying your creative income. * I talk to Brendan about how to kick social media jealousy to the curb with a few attitude shifts. These tips won’t just make you feel better, they’ll likely help you land more clients. * Eric asks one of my favorite questions; how to raise your rates. We talk about the mindset around b