The Right Questions with James Victore

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Some doors open because you knock. Others open because you knock, wait a year, and keep making brave work while you do. Today we share the true story of how a cold, unglamorous submission—dropped at a museum coat room—turned into a call from a curator, ten piece...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Holiday platitudes fall flat when the world feels divided and your own history makes joy hard to hold.   We open the blinds anyway. This conversation moves from candor to craft: how to reject toxic positivity without surrendering to cynicism, and how to build a...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Forget waiting for happy hour to feel alive. We dig into a simple, radical practice that restores joy to your work and your life: celebrate everything. Not just the wins. The messes, the near-misses, the chores, and the doodles that make you grin for a second be...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching A year on the mic reveals a simple truth: audiences don’t want polish for its own sake, they want a real voice with a real opinion.   I look back at twelve months of The Right Questions and unpack the habits, mindsets, and small decisions that made weekly publis...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What if that knot in your stomach isn’t a warning sign, but the call to adventure you’ve been waiting for? We unpack the hero’s journey as a living, repeatable map for creative people who feel out of place, “too weird,” or stuck in roles that shrink their voice....

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching A simple truth with sharp edges: comfort can make a person small. The opening provokes, then builds a case for recovering the muscles that tech convenience quietly atrophies—solitude, memory, intuition, and the courage to risk being wrong. This exploration digs...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What happens when the people who made you braver step into the same room? We trace a creative life through friendships that challenged our taste, sharpened our voice, and taught us how to make work that lasts. From early days on the AIGA board to classrooms at S...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What if the fastest way to honest work is to chase the wrongest idea first?  That’s the creative compass Pablo Delcan uses to cut through noise, meet brutal deadlines, and still make images that feel unmistakably human. We talk about growing up in a house where...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Confidence isn’t a costume you earn after you “arrive.”   It’s an energy you can put on when your work needs you to show up clear, steady, and useful. We explore why even asking a question takes guts, how borrowed beliefs become identity, and what changes when y...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching A wish to be “big” turns into a masterclass on being true. We pull ten punchy, practical lessons from Tom Hanks’ classic—using story to unpack why loving the process beats obsessing over the future, how the right comrades act like medicine, and what happens when...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching A headless bronze taught us more about AI than any whitepaper.   We start with Rodin’s Walking Man—one foot rooted in the past, the other driving forward—and unpack why those fingerprints in the base still stop us cold: they’re proof that a person risked somethi...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Forget the pressure to reinvent yourself every January. We take a scalpel to the “new year, new you” mantra and uncover a more honest path: ask the right questions, trust the answers you already know, and let the five-year-old inside—the curious, playful, weirdl...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Ever noticed how we're all conditioned to fear failure?   From spilled milk to creative blocks, our aversion to messing up shapes our lives in profound ways. Like this? Join us on Substack and subscribe to get the podcast and all my other work delivered str...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching The relationship between creatives and clients can be a delicate dance of expectations, boundaries, and mutual respect. Like this? Join us on Substack and subscribe to get the podcast and all my other work delivered straight to your inbox. Follow me on Instagram...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What happens when you stand with one foot on the dock and one foot on a boat?   You get wet. This perfectly captures the dilemma of creative professionals who want both creative freedom and absolute security—you can't have both without risking something. Li...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What does it mean to be truly human?   It's about connecting with our innate ability to create beauty and magic—something we're all born with but many have forgotten along the way. Like this? Join us on Substack and subscribe to get the podcast and all...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Ever been told your creative work isn't important enough to make a real difference?  This raw, inspiring episode challenges the dismissive notion that only certain professions can "change the world." Like this? Join us on Substack and subscribe to...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Ever wonder what truly separates creative people from creative professionals?   Contrary to what you might expect, it's not extraordinary talent or revolutionary ideas—it's embracing two surprisingly mundane practices: scheduling and organization. Like...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What happens when we embrace uncertainty as fuel for creativity? In this conversation with bestselling author Austin Kleon (Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, Keep Going), we explore how creative breakthrough often comes precisely when we're most uncomfo...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Why do we freeze when faced with a blank page? That terrifying moment when doodling transforms into "creating a piece" often brings unexpected anxiety. In this episode, I tackle a profound question from Carlos about the fear that emerges when moving fr...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching How do we absorb wisdom from our heroes without becoming mere echoes of their voices?   This question—courtesy of listener Ray—cuts to the heart of creative growth and personal development. Like this? Join us on Substack and subscribe to get the podcast and all...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Ever wonder why companies talk about creativity but rarely let it flourish? I'll tell you exactly why, and it starts with fear. Like this? Join us on Substack and subscribe to get the podcast and all my other work delivered straight to your inbox. Follow me...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching Ever feel like there's a constant battle between your creative dreams and the negative voice in your head?   You're not alone. The struggle between what James Victoria calls "the power of positive thinking" and "the power of horseshit&qu...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What if the very traits society labels as problematic could become your greatest strengths? Charlie Engel knows this transformation firsthand. A former addict turned ultra-marathoner who's conquered the Gobi Desert, Amazon jungle, Death Valley, and Sahara,...

If you are a stuck or frustrated creative and want to get paid to do what you love, let's talk. https://yourworkisagift.com/coaching What if the secret to sustaining a lifetime of creative brilliance isn't working harder, but stepping away completely?   Stefan Sagmeister, the visionary designer behind album covers for Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, and Jay-Z, reveals how his revolutionary...