Gifted Underachievers

In August, 2024, the Gifted Underachievers began a one-year Grant Experiment. The goal was to find out if we could get grants to help offset the cost of some of our most important work—creating new stuff. We had spreadsheets, we had lists, we had references, we had projects. We had hopes, we had dreams, and naturally, we had delusions. In this segment, we give a summary of our successes and failur...

All types of organizations around the world are wrestling with AI: how to use it, how not to use it, and how to establish balanced policies to govern its use and prevent abuse. The intrepid Gifted Underachievers wade into this relatively new world to discuss their own use of AI, their self-imposed limits, and the personal AI policies they live and work by. Questions for Listeners: Hop on over to t...

In this short segment, the Gifted Underachievers discuss their own hands and come up with a title for James’s memoir. Questions for Listeners: (Hop on over to the segment web page to leave a comment.) * How many fingers do YOU have on each hand? * Do you believe James’s claim of a two-pad spread? For Further Exploration: The Family with Six Fingers: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! T...

Large and even huge media platforms (New York Times and mass audience podcasts) do not necessarily translate into increased sales for creatives. Yes, they are great, but we must be aware that there is a real difference between a ‘big breakthrough’ approach versus a ‘building toward a tipping point’ approach. The former is rare while the latter is within our reach by taking a long view to building...

Pat has reached a higher plane of existence: she is unbothered by the more than 6,000 unread emails clogging her inbox. How? Why? Well, as with most things, Pat has a system. Opening with a song—a duet a la Deux Fleurs —the Gifted Underachievers hash out how email can eat at our capacity while discussing the solutions they employ to keep it from mostly (I mean, Pat has 6,000 unread emails) getting...

Here in the Gifted Underachievers Clubhouse, our discussions of the creative life sometimes extend beyond topics like capacity, money, and audience to bigger questions, like “What’s a Caesar?” Pat initiates James to the mysteries of this bracing drink, then things (as usual) go downhill... Questions for Listeners: * Have you tried a Caesar? * Did you like it? Canadian foodie Glen with Friends debu...

Pat’s lolling on the GU lounge chair, ignoring emails. Why? BECAUSE IT’S AUGUST, she’s got a case of ennui, and fascism is in the air. Meanwhile, James has removed his kimono and privacy piece, and Pat can hardly bear to look. Questions for Listeners (Hop on over to our Substack page to leave a comment.) * What’s your August been like? * Is Z a code letter for Zero in your world? * Would you like...

Of late, here in the GU Clubhouse we’ve noticed a pattern with two components: 1. People buying creative services for ‘vanity’ projects (NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT). 2. Creatives achieving VERY high-volume production to compete for this demand while maintaining that they do not subcontract—it's all their work. This pattern raises the question: How do these high-volume creatives do that? In this segme...

While still important, traditional media and even social media are no longer the guarantee of success for translating eyeballs into sales. Having a big platform or getting covered by big media does not mean your art will sell. This opens up opportunities for those of us with more modest platforms and/or marketing budgets to demonstrate to gatekeepers that we do have an audience. Questions for List...

Over the last year, we have been lucky enough to welcome several Gifted Achievers into the GU clubhouse—guests from many creative disciplines willing to talk about how they ideate, create, and share their work. In interviews of about an hour, we focus on questions of capacity (how to build a sustainable creative life), money (how to get paid for our work), and audience (how to identify, connect, a...

For most creative fields, learning the craft takes years of consistent practice and study. Maybe you’ve put in the time and effort, but how do you know if your current work is at a professional standard? Whether you’re a writer, artist, comedian, actor, dancer, or other creative worker, is there a chance that you are overestimating (or underestimating!) your capabilities? In the GU Clubhouse, Pat...

Since the late 1960s, Michael Palin has kept a journal cataloguing his experiences, thoughts, encounters, anxieties, and projects. James has found these journals addictive for a multitude of reasons, primarily for the insights they give into a successful creative life, and his emotions as they relate to his creative work. In this segment, Pat and James explore one quote that exposes Palin’s misgiv...

Embarrassment, a bit of trouble…has anything really changed with Gifted Underachiever James Buchanan since he was in second grade? Questions for Listeners: (Hop on over to our segment web page to leave a comment.) * Got any embarrassing childhood moments? * Care to share? For Further Exploration: Doctor Mike Most Embarrassing Moments Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is publ...

Pat and James explore whether consistency in creative work is overrated. Does some inconsistency give time for more and deeper reflection? Should we consider creative work like farming, where productive work includes more than just sowing seeds? The dynamic underachieving duo also coin the term: auto iteration asphyxiation. Questions for Listeners: (Hop on over to the segment web page to leave a c...

Here in the Gifted Underachievers Clubhouse we’re thinking about creative workers and how they make money. To earn money from your work, you need an audience, a buyer, a someone who thinks it's worth spending their money on. Not just your mom! So you’ve hit the point where your work is professionally adept...you’re no longer a novice, the stuff you’re creating is both original and technically soun...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Pat and James explore the question of whether art can still drive cultural or social change in ways that improve people’s lives. The answer seems to be yes, but what James calls “the old tricks” don’t work anymore. Artists who want to influence other people have to find a new way forward. In the end, although the Gifted Underachievers realize that how people get their art has changed a tremendous...

Writing can be a cruel mistress (and as Pat learns from former journalist James, journalism is the cruelest field of all). Both Gifted Underachievers have pulled themselves back from the brink of despair, poverty, and the “Q” word (QUITTING) at least once as they pursue their creative and financial goals. In this segment, we talk about what led to our creative nadir(s) and what it took to get back...

Do we need trigger warnings for people who want to see a show, read a book, listen to a song, enter a gallery, or encounter art in a public space, but are worried about its effect on them? “Art, generally speaking, is supposed to be triggering.” Thus speaks James Buchanan, writer and cohost of Gifted Underachievers. In this short piece, we share our respective positions on trigger warnings for cre...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you had unlimited funds, how would you approach your current creative project(s)? What if you had “midlevel” funds? No funds? This is the question posed to Pat by a very helpful grant administrator in a debrief call. Your gifted underachievers discuss the value of feedback, how creatives can improve their grant applications, how to make your project memorable and easy to discuss among grant jur...

We’re in the Clubhouse, minding our business, talking about goals for the fiscal year—which is hilarious in itself, as there is no fiscal aspect to the Gifted Underachievers kingdom. James gets a good idea, then Pat gets one, then we’re off to the races. Before you know it, we’re presenting an award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Questions for Listeners: (Hop on over to our segm...

In this segment, your Gifted Underachievers talk about discovering themselves as writers, fumbling around, experimenting, and trying different things, then the a-ha time when each of us realized…we had found our own unique creative style. Question for Listeners: Hop on over to the segment web page to leave a reply! * Do you know when you went from being so-so at your art to having a style or voice...