Love Your Work

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105. Are You an Old Master, or a Young Genius? David W. Galenson. Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

David W. Galenson is an economics professor at The University of Chicago. He's also a visiting professor at other schools, such as MIT. David is an unusual economist in that he studies the economics of art.

Have you ever noticed how some young geniuses have rapid success? Have you wondered when your work will finally get noticed?

It turns out, there are two totally different approaches to making your art, and the approach that you take can drastically affect when you'll find success.

I recently picked up David's book, Old Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity, and I found it so fascinating, I had to have him on the show.

David's theory is that there are two totally different approaches to making one's art: You might be a conceptual innovator, in that you take a concept and run with it. Or, you might be an experimental innovator – you might be tweaking for a lifetime, trying to figure something out.

You may have heard about Galenson's work on Malcolm Gladwell's podcast, Revisionist History. There's an episode that uses Galenson's theory to explain why Leonard Cohen's song, Hallelujah took so long to become popular.

In this talk, you'll learn:

What makes someone a conceptual innovator? What about an experimental innovator?
Who are some well known innovators in each category? You'll hear about Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Bob Dylan, Picasso, Alfred Hitchcock, and many more.
Can you change your innovation style? Or are you just better off embracing your style?

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors:

http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork http://readwise.io/heart http://brandfolder.com/loveyourwork

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/david-galenson/

104. Preview My New Book: The Heart to Start Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

Today, I'm very happy to announce that I have a new book out. Have you ever heard the advice "just get started?" Have you ever been left wondering "yeah, but how?"

This was me when I was first starting on my own. I knew that the best way to make progress toward my dreams was to just get started. But that seemed easier said than done. It seemed each time I tried to start, I'd run into a fear, or a self-doubt, or I'd find a way to procrastinate.

My new book is called "The Heart to Start: Win the Inner War & Let Your Art Shine". It's available right now on Amazon at kadavy.net/heart. Please, please go get this book. It's the result of a lifetime of learning, and many months of work. It's short and to the point, and I really think it will help you reach your potential.

Thank you to all of the early readers of the book. Many people provided feedback and edits, and I could not have made the book what it is without you.

After you check out the book, I'd deeply appreciate an Amazon review. Especially those of you who have already read it. I've probably already asked you for a review, but I want to remind you – please, please write a review on Amazon.

When you have a book on Amazon, reviews are everything. You've gotta have reviews, because they help boost the book in Amazon's discovery engine. So when someone is looking at a related book, they see The Heart to Start. So please buy the book, and please leave an honest review. Again, you can find it at kadavy.net/heart.

And I'll have a sample chapter for you on today's show.

Mockup credit

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors

http://brandfolder.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/heart-to-start-mockup/

103. Turn Rejection into Opportunity. Libryia Jones of Wanderist. Dec 07, 2017

Show notes

Libryia Jones (@wanderwomanic) has made it easier for people to have the experience of living in different places. Last year, she organized a trip for her and and more than thirty others to spend a year on the road. They lived in places like Prague, Cape Town, and my personal favorite, Medellin.

If you've been listening to this show for awhile, you know that I'm a big advocate of travel. More accurately I'm a big advocate of mini-lives – living on a different place for a month or more at a time. It's a great way to grow and it just makes life interesting.

But travel isn't always easy. You have to find a place to live and work, and it can be more fun if you have others to share the experience with.

Libryia's company, Wanderist is organizing another trip. In fact, there are two opportunities to come through Medellin, so hopefully some listeners will check it out.

In this conversation, we'll talk about:

How did Libryia turn rejection into opportunity? She wasn't able to travel in other programs, so she made her own program.
How does Libryia travel, even as a single mother? She has a refreshing point-of-view about seeing parenthood as a source of inspiration, rather than as a limitation.
When you travel, you want to be safe. How does Libryia think about traveling to places that others might see as dangerous?

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors

http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork http://readwise.io/loveyourwork http://brandfolder.com/loveyourwork

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/libryia-jones/

102. Use the Seven Mental States to Optimize Your Creative Output Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

The past several years, I've been really fascinated with optimizing creative output. It all started when I wrote my first book, Design for Hackers. I had been creative on command working as a professional designer, but when it came time to write a book, it was harder than ever.

Since then, I've noticed that if I arrange my life and work according to mental states, I can be sure that I do my most important creative work during my peak creative time. I can then arrange the rest of my life and work to serve that peak creative output.

Join Love Your Work Elite

Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments?

I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/seven-mental-states-podcast/

101. Pat Flynn: Teach While You Learn Nov 23, 2017

Show notes

One of the key things that I did early on in my career as an independent creator was set up passive revenue streams.

If it wasn't for this passive revenue, I never would have been able to free up the time to explore, so I never would have come up with my first book, Design for Hackers, and I probably never would have found the time to make this show.

I looked at the passive revenue as a way to explore other things. I didn't make it a part of my personal brand, so to speak. In fact, one of my passive revenue streams was an online dating blog that I wrote under a pseudonym.

Our guest today, Pat Flynn (@patflynn), has a different approach. He's all about the passive revenue. He's been setting up passive revenue streams since 2008. He started with a training e-book for an architecture exam, and he's got a security guard training website, courses for marketing a food truck business, podcast playing software for podcast websites, so many more things, including his latest book, Will it Fly, a Wall Street Journal best-seller, which shares what he's learned about knowing whether a new business endeavor is worth following.

Pat has been sharing his income reports every month since he started. These days he's earning close to a quarter of a million dollars a month, with all of the businesses I mentioned, and more, including his extremely popular podcast, Smart Passive Income.

In this conversation, we'll talk about:

How did Pat start making money by sharing what he was learning? You can learn a lot about why you don't have to be a so-called expert to help people.
Pat went from the well-established profession of architecture, to making money online. What leaps did he have to make to transition from a profession that was so important to his identity?
How does Pat think about transparency? What gave him the idea to start sharing his income reports online?

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors:

http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/pat-flynn-podcast-interview/

100. Find Your Calling. (SPECIAL 100th episode!! Featuring James Altucher, Dan Ariely, Jason Fried, Seth Godin, & more) Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

For this very special 100th episode of Love Your Work: How do you find your calling? I've been trying to get to the bottom of this over the past two years, and I think it boils down to a three-step formula that I'll present in this special episode.

Discover

To find your calling, you need to discover what it is you want to pursue. Usually, it seems, you don't just wake up one day and know what it is you want to do. It can come from different sources.

Don't let your dreams hold you back. Let them evolve. (Listen to Peter Bragiel's episode)
Don't let the expectations of others drown out your inner voice. (Listen to Jason Fried's episode)
Turn your weaknesses into a superpower. (Listen to Maneesh Sethi's episode)

Decide

If you're going to find your calling, you need to decide to pursue it. The chance of success needs to be more compelling than the alternatives.

Bounce back from rock-bottom. (Listen to Elise Bauer's episode)
Put the risk in perspective. (Listen to Laura Roeder's episode)
Make measured changes. (Listen to Jeff Goins's episode)

Once you've discovered your calling, and you've decided you're going to pursue it, you have to actually do it. But how do you break through all of the fear and distractions to make it happen.

Make the most of your best mental energy. (Listen to Dan Ariely's episode)
Scale back your goals. (Listen to Seth Godin's episode)
Have a clear picture of success. (Listen to Tucker Max's episode)
Just do it. That's how you get things done. (Listen to Jame Altucher's episode)

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/find-your-calling/

99. Michelangelo's Creative Process. Ross King, author of The Pope's Ceiling Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

Ross King is author of the book The Pope's Ceiling. It tells the story of just how Michelangelo managed to paint 12,000 square feet of ceiling with little or no experience as a painter.

I think there's a dangerous belief in creative work. And that is the belief that certain artists are simply gifted, and that that alone explains their greatness.

It's easy to look up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and conclude that Michelangelo lived up to his reputation as the "divine one." That he wasn't human. That he was actually a god of sorts. Today, we'll talk about the process that Michelangelo actually took to complete this seemingly impossible masterpiece.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

How did Michelangelo curate his reputation as a "divine" painter. He really wanted people to believe that, and he shaped that perception.
Michelangelo started painting the ceiling with little or no painting experience. He knew he would have failures along the way. How did he turn his failures into success in the project?
Even though Michelangelo didn't have experience as a painter, he had built up a bag of tricks to draw from. Learn how he used his other experiences to make his first attempt at painting a success.

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, bonus masterclasses, office hours with me, and a discount on the Love Your Work T-shirt. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors

http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork

http://storyblocks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/michelangelo-creative-process/

98. Find Your Creative City Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

About two years ago, I was on a retreat in Mexico with some friends. We were each exploring what we wanted to do in our lives and careers. It took all week for me to admit it to myself: I wanted to double down on being a creator. I wanted to have conversations on this podcast, read books, and write books.

I wanted to make my creative output the top priority in my life. So, I moved off to Colombia to set up everything so that I could be fully-focused.

I had spent a lot of time in Medellín before, during a few "mini lives" I had done here. I always found that I got more work done here, and that it was better work, too.

So, as I was doubling down on being a creator, Medellín was the clear choice.

In this article, I'll share with you how I picked the city where I could have the best creative output. Whether you feel like moving to another country or not, it will give you things to think about in optimizing your own creative output.

Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors

http://storyblocks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/creative-city-podcast/

97. A Tale of Two Bootstrappers. Rob Hunter of Focused Apps & David Kadavy Oct 26, 2017

Show notes

Rob Hunter (@vegashacker) and I met ten years ago in a cafe. Well, I met him on Craigslist, really, but then we met in person in a cafe. We had both left our jobs at the same time. We were both determined to make it on our own.

So, we spent several months wandering from cafe to cafe in San Francisco. We'd put in twelve hour days, not making a dime, and it was one of the most exciting times in my life.

Today, I have this podcast, a best-selling book, another book on the way, and I can live wherever I want. Today, Rob is one half of Focused Apps. Their hit iOS games include Hit Tennis, and Emoji Me, which has 40 million downloads. Rob is also location independent.

We both left our jobs at the same time. We both wanted to make it. But as you'll see in this episode, we had two very different mindsets, different approaches, and different paths.

Listen to this episode to learn:

When you start on your own, you better have some kind of vision of where you're going. What did we expect to achieve from the beginning?
Starting on your own is a risk. How did each of us think about risk, and what our options were? How did that shape our approaches?
When did we finally feel like we "made it?" How did we finally get there?

About HALF of this conversation hit the cutting-room floor, so if you're an LYW Elite member, watch out for the uncut episode with bonus material. I focused this episode around our different approaches and paths, but in the bonus material Rob shares his lessons learned from making many, many, apps that didn't work, as well as a couple that did.

LAST CHANCE to get the Love Your Work T-Shirt 30% off when you Join Love Your Work Elite Through October 31st, get a coupon for 30% off the new Love Your Work T-Shirt when you join Love Your Work Elite. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors

http://videoblocks.com/loveyourwork

http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/two-boostrappers/

96. Mini-life case study: One couple, 6 months in Medellín Oct 19, 2017

Show notes

I've talked a little on this show – especially in the early days – about the idea of "mini-lives". Basically, you go live your normal life in another city for a month, or two months.

Or, in the case of our guests today, about six months. Mike and Megan left their jobs in Washington DC, and before they decided to go anywhere else, they wanted to live a mini life.

And, they came to Medellín. I sat down with them in a cafe to hear their story. You're going to hear:

Their philosophy behind living a mini-life. What did they want to get from the experience?
How did they make the decision that the financial investment was worth it for them?
What have they learned from the experience? How has it really tested them?

If you've been considering planning a mini-life, check out the bonus content for this episode on LYW Elite. About twenty minutes of this conversation ended up on the cutting-room floor. I shared some tips I've learned over the years for planning a successful mini-life.

Get the Love Your Work T-Shirt 30% off when you Join Love Your Work Elite

From now through October 31st, get a coupon for 30% off the new Love Your Work T-Shirt when you join Love Your Work Elite. Sign up at lywelite.com.

Feedback? Questions? Comments?

I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.

Sponsors

http://videoblocks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/mini-life-medellin/

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