This is How We Create

What should you do about burnout? In this episode, I pull back the curtain on nearly 200 episodes to reveal the psychological shifts and structural changes that rescued me from burnout. These shifts transformed how I approach delegation and audience building.   Listen to this milestone episode to discover the practical, battle-tested blueprints you need to stop merely surviving your creative caree...

Atlanta interior design powerhouse Justin Q. Williams built a celebrated empire by launching his business at just eighteen, but the glittering television features and custom furniture lines mask years of grueling midnight grinds, raw psychological battles with clients, and a devastating early rejection that completely altered his trajectory. I strip away the glossy highlight reel of creative entre...

Every creative hits the wall where a dream client utters the four words: "we have no budget."    In this special community Q&A episode, I pull back the curtain on the subtle business traps that quietly drain your bank account and compromise your artistic integrity.    You will discover the psychological pricing trick that forces clients to pick your ideal rate, the hidden meanings behind sudden ti...

Screenwriter and coach Aleia Kristene survived grueling hustle, but she walked away questioning whether the narrative of the suffering artist is actually a badge of honor or just unexamined trauma. In our conversation, she reveals how she transformed twenty years of family tragedy into a limited series. She also shares the exact pacing mistakes that instantly tank amateur scripts.    If you feel s...

For six years, I built this podcast while secretly measuring my worth against exhausting, invisible standards I could not even name. To break out of this vicious cycle, I turned to four paradigm-shifting books that dismantled my view of success and identity. These texts exposed the hidden systems dictating my creative choices and revealed a radical mindset shift that shrunk my negative self-talk....

Filmmaker Cauleen Smith and photographer Danielle A. Scruggs join me to unpack how classical media subconsciously trains audiences to accept biases. In this episode, we discuss the radical frameworks required to dismantle these frameworks.   Listen to this conversation to discover how to identify the hidden forces limiting your own vision, walk away from spaces that drain your genius, and master a...

In this week's episode, we talk about the importance of rituals and why they are the key to you performing at your best. Learn how to design your own five-minute transition and how to turn chaotic energy into a focused flow.    Chapters 00:00 - The Musical Bridges of Childhood  03:32 - Waking the Creative Mind  05:03 - The Quirky Habits of Famous Artists  06:21 - The Reality of Productivity Routin...

What if the thing standing between you and your best work isn't talent but the pressure you keep putting on yourself to produce?    Painter Tiffani Glenn has built a body of work around a radical idea: Black women deserve to be seen in their full confidence and color. In this episode, Tiffani shares how mentorship opened the door to her first gallery show, why self-love is the foundation of everyt...

If you're constantly told that time is a predator and a scarce resource to conquer, you may need a perspective shift.     The Sea Glass Principle may just alleviate the pressure that leaves you trapped in a cycle of measuring your life against an impossible moving target. Tune in to hear how this principle and a new book may just change the way you look at your work and your worth.  Chapters 00:00...

Most creators would have folded under the pressure of the "beige box" industry, yet Sierra doubled down on a signature style that fuses modern curvature with the vibrant, ancestral pulse of Black culture. This episode uncovers the friction of being a risk-taker in a world that fears color and how she transitioned from the technical rigors of building construction to painting emotional landscapes w...

If you've wanted to start a newsletter, let's get into it! We break down the technical barriers of platforms like Substack and Kit, while stripping away the myth that you need to be perfect to start. Stop letting your wisdom gather dust and discover how trusting your own voice creates the body of work you were always meant to lead.   Chapters 00:00 Opening the private vault of creative insights  0...

What does it actually feel like to build the career you always wanted — and then realize the hard part isn't over? Photographer Mei Tao has spent decades behind the lens for Apple, J.Crew, and major publications. But in this conversation, she gets honest about what commercial success doesn't tell you: that the work stays hard, that achievement keeps moving the goalpost, and that the most meaningfu...

There's a particular kind of dread that comes with sending someone to your website — you hit send on your portfolio link and immediately think: wait, is that still up? Did I ever update that bio? In this episode, we get into why your website might be the one thing standing between you and the clients you actually want, and the specific work of making it do what it's supposed to do: make the right...

If you have ever stared at a blank page and wondered whether you are actually a writer or just someone who wishes they were one, circle 'round. Dr. Eve L. Ewing (sociologist, poet, and Marvel Comics writer) offers an honest look at what a serious creative practice actually requires. Learn how she builds a community that sharpens her work, and hear exactly how she develops a new project from the fi...

Have you ever felt that once the masterpiece is finished, the rest of the journey should belong to someone else? Many of us wait in the shadows of the "found artist" myth, hoping the right gallery or agent will simply stumble upon our genius. But what happens when the knocking never starts?  Today, we dive into the systems that turn cold outreach into warm relationship-building and explore why you...

In this episode, I sit down with Lex Marie, an artist whose work confronts the uncomfortable truth that Black children in America are often denied the luxury of innocence. She transforms the everyday remnants of her son's childhood into confrontation disguised as portraiture, and the materials she chooses will stop you in your tracks. We talk about building a career on your own terms, staying mult...

Have you ever had a to-do list as long as your arm but couldn't bring yourself to do the tasks on that list? What about your dreams to accomplish this or that? How many of them have you ignored? Whether you call it procrastination, a lack of discipline, or simple laziness, the truth behind our creative paralysis often hides in plain sight. In this episode, we explore the high cost of big dreams an...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a creative empire from the ground up? In this episode, I sit down with the remarkable Tiffany Brooks, an interior designer whose journey is as inspiring as her stunning creations. From a bet that launched her career to designing for icons such as LeBron James, Tiffany's story is a powerful lesson in trusting your creative instincts.    Join us as we ex...

Have you ever walked into a room where you belonged, yet felt like a total intruder? Even when surrounded by friends or longtime colleagues, that whisper of inadequacy—the one that claims you are "running a game" on everyone—often grows loudest just as you are about to shine. In this solo episode, I pull back the curtain on a recent, that forced me to confront my own "elaborate dance of diminishme...

Karl Ferguson Jr. never planned to be a photographer. He picked up a camera because he was following his interest in the burgeoning Hip Hop Scene. Years later, his portraits of Black culture have appeared in Vibe, Billboard, and The Hollywood Reporter. In this conversation, Karl talks about what it really takes to build a creative life on your own terms, why he spent two decades at Verizon while q...

Have you ever wondered why a client chooses your lens over a thousand others? In this solo session, I dive into a transformative conversation that shifted my entire understanding of why I am hired as a photographer. We explore the "economy of vision" and how your unique cultural position creates a value that no standard rate card can capture. If you are ready to stop defending your fees and start...

What if art could serve as both a mirror to injustice and a sanctuary for the soul? What happens when the world tries to fit your identity into a narrow predetermined box? I sit down with multi-disciplinary artist Phoebe Boswell to explore the "porous space" between heritage and headline. From the lush landscapes of Kenya to the structured life rooms of London, Phoebe shares how she navigated a "r...

What does the advice, "Just be yourself," mean when you are still figuring out who you are as an artist? In this episode photographer, Martine Severin, shares her "prickly" journey to discovering her creative voice and why the path from imitation to authenticity is rarely a straight line. We discuss the "gap" between our taste and our abilities, the pressure artists of color face to be original ye...

Have you ever felt like your inability to master a technical skill was a sign you should quit? In this episode, I sit down with the brilliant painter Shaina McCoy, who transformed a moment of classroom frustration into a profound artistic breakthrough. Shaina opens up about the courage it took to bypass traditional art school to protect her voice, the surprising way she colors her memories, and wh...

Welcome back, friend. We are stepping into Season Six with a fresh energy that I have been dying to share with you. Over the last nine months, my team and I have been working quietly behind the scenes, from the vibrant streets of Medellín to the design studio, to reimagine how this show looks, sounds, and feels. In this episode, I am pulling back the curtain on the major changes we have made, from...