A Phil Svitek Podcast - A Series From Your 360 Creative Coach

The decade is ending and in this edition of my vlog, I discuss how I've begun batching my work and the benefits of that. I highlight the big things I've learned this decade and how I'm trying to better navigate my talents vs my passions. If there’s anything you’d like me to discuss or answer for you in the future, let me know and I’ll be glad to do so.  Also, for my lessons and such, check ou...

Here I explain why I've decided to post more — and no, it's not to grow my social media following... Tune in and find out why. And if you like what you hear, please be sure to subscribe/follow any one of my platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or Podcast). For all those links, or to get everything in one simple place, visit http://philsvitek.com . Hope you enjoy what I'm doing!...

I’ve been gearing up to write more in the new year and because of that, I’ve been thinking of ways to make my stories more compelling. One of the things I thought of was to figure out what the climax of my story would be—the point at which there’s the most tension. Then, take that and start writing and never look back. Sure, there’s fiction (whether books or movies) that utilize the technique of s...

Stoicism, while an ancient philosophy, has many practical real world applications. The primary goal being to keep you calm during adversity—and trust me when I say you’ll face obstacles along your path to success, especially if your creative dream is big. This mini lesson introduces you to some of the stoic principles that can help you keep level headed no matter what. After listening, try it out...

There's a quote from counselor Craig D. Lounsbrough that goes: "Whatever stands in front of you was only allowed to be put there because inherent within you there lays the ability to climb it. Therefore, the real difficulty of an ascent such as this is not the nature of the mountain that stands in front of us, but the nature of the attitude that lays within us.” In this podcast, I dissect what tha...

Many people, including myself at times, feel behind in their careers. We feel like we’ve wasted time and energy doing jobs that didn’t serve us. Nothing could be further from the truth. The age old story is that you need to be a specialist—like Tiger Woods or Mozart—to find success. That’s actually not the case as ESPN Senior Writer David Epstein proves in his book Range: Why Generalist Triumph in...

Many creatives don’t pursue their creative ambitions because they don’t believe they have the right resources. The philosophy of essentialism, when practiced, can help to free the artistic soul by helping you realize that you might have everything you need. Rather than see your limitations as a negative, use them to your advantage. No one exemplified this better than filmmaker Robert Rodriguez whe...

Fern Ronay is a dear friend of a number of years and in this episode, I get to sit down with her and interview her about her book writing journey. We discuss her original career path of being a lawyer and how that shaped her. She talks about her creative desire and the practical ways she went about scratching that itch. Through her journey, we uncover the process of what it takes to become a publi...

An artist’s life can be extremely volatile, with many highs and lows — it takes more than just industry skills and knowledge to make it. To be successful, you need to have the right mental fortitude to reach your dreams. That’s why in 2018, I launched a podcast series where I share the lessons I learned from my own experiences as well as the ones I’ve been blessed enough to learn from other succes...

Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl experience’s mankind’s worse. And yet he found meaning from that experience and developed a school of psychology called logotherapy, which he chronicles in his book Man’s Search for Meaning . In this episode, I explain what logotherapy is and more importantly the ways in which it can enhance your art because when you really stop and consider the core of logotherapy...

There’s a myth that’s perpetuated among artists, which I’ve bought into myself earlier in life, that says in order to be a successful artist, you have to be miserable. Some people term it as you have to suffer for your art. By the mere fact I’ve called it a myth, should tell you that I don’t agree with this notion. But more importantly than that, how does one become successful and maintain happine...

Here’s a Sophie’s choice type of question for you - would you rather be gifted or would you rather be hard working? Consider carefully because what you choose will define you in ways you can’t even imagine. To find out the implications of your thinking, check this episode out where I highlight a principle called the locus of control. I only recently learned about it and it shed a lot of light on m...

Ken Napzok is a friend of mine who I’ve known for 6, almost 7 years. He’s been a producer for many digital juggernauts over the better part of the last decade, including Schmoes Know, Popcorn Talk, Screen Junkies, Collider, etc. In addition to having worked with those brands, Ken has also appeared in front of the camera many times, whether it be hosting his own The Ken Napzok Files podcast, talkin...

Strange as it may seem, I’ve always been fascinated by death. For one, I used to work at the first hospice in America for four years, starting when I was 15 years old. For another, because I’ve suffered major losses in my life and you can’t help but reflect upon it. We look at death as the final act, at least in the physical plain. And whenever we talk about someone’s life, we inevitably bring up...

Ever feel like right when you start to get a grip on things life decides to throw a curveball your way? And let’s be honest, it’s never just one curveball. There’s an old expression that when it rains it pours. Sure can feel like that where you experience hurdle after hurdle and no matter what you do. Bad events stick to you like glue. So what’s the solution? How do you prevent this from happening...

This lesson is geared to make you comfortable with uncomfortability. You might be asking yourself, why would I (Phil Svitek) ever want you to feel uncomfortable? Why can’t I just teach you ways to avoid pain and discomfort? Truth is, life doesn’t work like that and if you go about avoiding suffering, you’ll eventually be doomed because when inevitable circumstances strike, they may end up cripplin...

If something happens in your life that’s not your fault, who’s responsible? Think about it for a second because the answer may actually be life altering. If you think you are, then you’re correct. But how can that be and furthermore, what’s it really mean? Watch this lesson from me (Phil Svitek) and find out—you might just stop thinking of yourself as the victim in life and find a way to push thro...

Ever notice patterns in your life that you then interpret as truth? Here’s an example: let’s say that whenever you’re sick you drink celery juice and listen to classical music to help you sleep, neither of which you normally do. Afterwards, you get well. What happens then is your brain links those things together, because as Judson Brewer, who is an American psychiatrist and neuroscientist, points...

Have you ever hit the snooze button? I have and every morning I’ve hit the snooze button I felt like I started my day off with failure. I then asked many other people how they felt after hitting snooze on their alarms and the response has been the same. They were in a negative mental state for the better part of the day—tired, groggy, angry at themselves, feeling like they were already behind and...

Let me ask you a question — how do you derive at the real problem whenever you’re trying to fix something? Often times we think the issue we’re focused on will resolve that issue. But the truth is, most often, it won’t. In many instances what we’re treating is the symptom and not the root cause. Which also points to a huge issue in general, which is we put stock and value in the wrong things. So h...

Lina Noory joins me (Phil Svitek) on this episode and it is a real treat! Who is Lina Noory, for those of you who don’t know? She’s not only a dear friend who I used to host the AfterBuzz TV Reign after show with but she’s also an on camera personality with a focus on fashion and style. But to pigeon hole her as just a fashion expert is a huge disservice to her. She is one of the most intelligent...

Ever watch a movie or a TV show and think to yourself, “Man, I’ve seen this before” or “This is a ripoff of…” Now let me ask you this — if professionals can fall victim to cliches, then how can you avoid them in your creative work? Find out in this lesson with me (Phil Svitek)! First, I define what a cliche really is and then we tackle it from a technical standpoint as well as mental. I use four s...

Have you ever thought about going to therapy? Maybe you have but the stigma of it all prevented you. Or maybe you’ve wondered how it can help you. In this episode, I (Phil Svitek) explore how the notions perpetuated in society are false and only make people person who probably already feels shitty spiral further because it debilitates them and their self worth. Therapy can actually unlock you pers...

At one point or another, we all face a creative rut. It's the stage where we've been doing something and all of a sudden we don't know how to continue. You can call it writer's block. Or creative fatigue. Perhaps burnout. Maybe it can be even as severe as depression. A creative rut has levels of asperity. It can be mild or dire. Ideally, you’d be able to pull yourself out of a creative rut before...

Charlie Berens, creator of the Manitowoc Minute, joins me (Phil Svitek) for a wide ranging interview. Charlie shares his journey in the entertainment industry from his early days as a journalist for MTV and how it led him to be able to combine comedy with purpose. He also discusses the evolution of his material and connecting with his audience on a deeper level. Charlie and I also discuss how to k...