Do More Cool Shit

What an incredible year it has been. So many wonderful conversations with truly talented and hard working folks. I can't wait to bring you more in 2025 and to help more where and when I can. If you had a chance to listen to any of the episodes this year, thank you. You also know that all of the guests I had on were truly amazing and inspiring. You can find all of them listed below: Ep. 40 - A...

You want to get some cool shit done you are going to have a more than a few things in your tool belt and one of those things is a great attitude. Having a great attitude is exactly why I was so excited to host Devyn and Derek for this conversation and to share it with you. It won't take you long to listen to this episode before you catch their energy and you understand why they have become as...

Cognitive fusion can seriously fuck us up. It can come in the form of anxiety, negative self talk, unregulated emotions, so much more and/or all of this together. So what is it and what can we do about it? Well cognitive fusion, simply put, is when we cannot separate our thoughts from who we are as a person. Cognitive fusion is the entanglement of our brain and our thoughts with who we are as indi...

In this episode I have an amazing conversation with Carrie Smith who is an absolute ball of energy and positivity. You are sure to leave listening this episode ready to run a marathon. We cover everything from starting small, building as you go, being patient, saying yes to all kinds of opportunities, to filling your cup with all the good things, all the way to being a life long learner and so muc...

How much time do you spend wading in your problem pool? Answer, too much. For many people this is the case but those that have learned and are actively working on this skill - solution based thinking can be so incredibly freeing. In this episode I challenge you to start working on your skill to become a solution based thinker. One great tool is to start using a solution journal. Go wild, think of...

How do you know when you have found THE "right" thing for you? Well in Matt's case he just did. No sleeping, no other thoughts, only one path forward with nothing to get in your way. This episode is packed with all kinds of amazing motivation and inspiration for you to get out there and do the thing you want to do at any age. Let's get it straight Matt's story took some ti...

Play is an essential way in which to get some of your best work done. Go out for a walk, throw a frisbee, go to a theatre show instead of doing the dishes one night, you will thank yourself. You will feel that energy.  The idea of playing at something new is even more interesting, the idea that we are challenging ourselves and learning is crucial. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, talks about the flow stat...

Doubt can be a huge block for many creatives. Vince introduces us to the idea of a doubt door, how to identify when the door is present and what to do about kicking it open. Vince has been quickly building a great balance between play and work and is finding that MANY people are finding his approach to be a HUGE breath of fresh air. Vince is an animator and social worker creating a world of fun an...

Expectations absolutely CAN suck, mainly because they can keep you in that stage or dreaming and idolizing the future for a very long time. Over time if we stay in that state long enough we can become dissatisfied with the now and the reality. We can become unhappy. Hell we can even become depressed. So how do we stop this? Well, we need to truly understand that expectations can suck. There are 3...

Rachel Schneider is an incredibly talented artist who has built up a wonderful community, brings hilarity, passion, and wonderful teaching to life through her practice. I found Rachel a few years ago on twitch.tv/babe_rosss and it is always incredible experience being in there. I was so excited to have this conversation and to bring this conversation to you. We covered so many topics in this episo...

I am very passionate about pricing your work correctly because that is what will sustain you in the long run. If you're not making enough money as a creative then you will have to find another form of income to live from and then the world loses another great person putting cool shit in the world. We can't have that, I won't stand for it. So thank you for believing in yourself and l...

First, the coolest shit Gareth has ever done is NOT build a website but it was fun to see where those early lessons took him. How about building a great supportive business, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities, supporting a number of causes and so much more.  If you've ever wondered how to make money as a creative this is the episode for you. Gareth Davies has built a truly u...

If you want to achieve things in life, even the small things you have to have a plan, a goal, some kind of road map to help you determine how to get there. And holy,, are we ever bad at drawing these road maps. We give ourselves all kinds of detours and make excuses about why our horse and buggy won't get us to where we want to go. "I want to be healthier" "I want to be a full...

Remember when your mind was free to wander and to dream and had almost no grown up limitations or influences. What a magical time that was. What a TRUE time that was. We lose some of that innocence along the way and we forget about some of our earlier, crazier dreams...that's a shame. Well I know one young woman who kept true to her childhood dreams. Sure she meandered, but who hasn't. L...

This is honestly one of the hardest episodes I have ever attempted to put together. Authenticity is an incredibly difficult topic to cover and an even harder thing to achieve in life. Are you authentic with yourself? Are you authentic with others? Are you authentic in all situations and aspects in your life? Probably not, and I have to say first, that is OKAY. Acknowledge that and sit with that. S...

So many journey's in life can be long without us even knowing it. What happens when we end up at a destination that we truly love and that truly aligns with us? Well in this case, a lot of onesies, a gong, a kazoo, the threat of art happening and a lot of people having a good time and feeling better about their day. This is only a small glimpse into what happens when you find your authentic s...

How is it that we can all think of the very best of intentions but somehow only about 50% of the time take the appropriate actions? When and where does this gap come into play? That's exactly what this episode is all about, is helping to close that gap so that even more of your best well planned intentions become achieved action. My challenge this week is for you to make a list of 10 things t...

What in the heck does skateboarding have to do with life or with creativity? Well when you listen to Andrew Szeto speak, it turns out a lot. Skateboarding can fuel a passion to try new things, to be ok with failure, to find your crew, to find a mentor, to open and close all kinds of doors, it can do a lot of things to help with how we see the world.  On this episode I had the absolutely pleasure t...

Optimism is NOT positivity. Had to get that out the way right away because I hear people groaning already, so stuff that thought. Optimistic thinking is really hard to do but it is so necessary in your life. Optimism is the undying belief that the future is bright. Times and life can have a million obstacles and be very rocky but you can come out in the end whole. Optimism is one of the greatest p...

If you couldn't turn back and you could only move forward, mistakes and learning and successes and all, what would you do? What if there was no other option? Well for Dom Laporte that is kind of how it has been his whole life. He started his art  practice with 33 ducks being poured out of his brain and onto a bunch of sheets of paper to now creating massive murals and running Drift Mural Co....

There are a million ways to help you stay open to more opportunities these are just 6 of the things that I know have helped me on my journey. These are also 6 of the tips that I have seen repeat themselves in many of the conversations I have had to date with people who are out there doing really cool shit. 1. Trust your intuition/gut 2. Put yourself in the right spaces 3. You only need 51% 4. Stay...

Liz Clayton Fuller (ipaintbirbs) is literally a force of nature in so many ways and I'm so incredibly excited to bring the conversation that I had with her to you folks. Liz is a natural science illustrator, a streamer, and educator, an artist, a great human and so many more things. In this episode Liz and I chat about her journey combining her love of nature and birds with her love of art an...

The big truth about simplicity, do it! That is all there is to know. MAKE YOUR LIFE AND YOUR DECISIONS S I M P L E! On this episode we explore the complexity bias , which is the idea that we tend to believe more complex solutions are better than simpler ones. I believe this is one of the major reasons that creatives stall and procrastinate. This idea that our output should be more complex, more pu...

In this episode I have an absolutely amazing conversation with artist and overall creative Zach Dayler. The thing that makes this episode so special is that Zach maintains a full time job but is beginning his journey with making money from his art. We talk about what is holding him back and how he might move forward. Zach's energy and enthusiasm is always welcomed in my world and I hope it is...

One of the best ways to do more cool shit is to get better at trying a whole bunch of stuff. We can find ourselves stuff in a creative kind of prison as our life becomes a bit more routine and filled with habits. While habits and routines and rituals can be great, they can also slow us down and prevent us from trying new things.  So how do we get out of these ruts? How do we stay fresh? In this ep...