Lesson 09: Feed Your Soul with a Creative Side Project

Lesson 09: How a creative director started a side project purely for HIS HAPPINESS, and transformed IT into more

With Kevin Butler

“Don’t overthink it and don’t wait for it to be perfect. Making stuff that makes you happy, doing it, getting it out, and moving on is the best way to be happy and creative at the same time. ”

— Kevin Butler

We talk a lot on Creativity School about making things simply because it makes us happy, even if we don’t have a bigger plan for it. Yet we often find ourselves feeling like our creativity needs to be more purposeful than that - if it doesn’t make us money, what’s the point?

In today’s episode, I’m talking to someone who has an extremely demanding day job, and started a creative side project for one reason: purely because it was fun. What happened next was beyond his imagination!

Kevin Butler is an award winning creative director that’s created memorable ad campaigns for clients like Apple, Playstation, Tinder, Airbnb, and Facebook. While he was working at his most demanding job ever (working 6 days a week, 12-14 hours a day), he started his illustration project, Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards. It started out as one personal drawing that quickly grew to 100 illustrations. Now, 10 years later, Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards has had sold out art shows and collaborated with brands like Herschel Supply Co., Igloo Coolers, Vans, and more!

Kevin talks about how Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards is what keeps him sharp and inspired, why money is never the motivation behind his project, and why it's important that he protects the integrity of his work by choosing the right brands to collaborate with.

He also shares how he juggles his side project with such a demanding day job, and why it’s SO IMPORTANT to be selfish in the work you create for yourself.

Mentioned in this episode:

• How Kevin creates effective communication that connects with people through his ad campaigns

• Why he says you need to be selfish in the work you create

• Why other people’s opinions shouldn’t matter

• The questions he asks himself when he chooses which creative side projects to work on

• How starting Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards was started purely for fun

• Why you should value your work and be discerning about what brands and companies to work with

• Why money is never his motivation for his Rad Car collaborations

• How giving your brain space to rest and breathe allows you to be more creative

• How he finds time for creativity with a demanding day job and while being a dad

• The Modern Trap of Turning Hobbies into Hustles

• Facebook “Friends” brand campaign

CONNECT WITH KEVIN:

Rad Cars | Instagram | Website

CONNECT WITH CREATIVITY SCHOOL:

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Lesson 08: The Power of Being Unapologetically You in Your Work

Lesson 08: How owning your story and identity is a super power and makes your creative expression unique

With Evita Castine

“It’s important to embrace who you are, embrace your experiences and know that because you experience it it has value.”

— Evita Castine

Today’s episode digs into the power of owning your story and being authentically and unapologetically yourself in your work. Because what you create is a reflection of who you are – whether it’s a film, a photo, a business or a cupcake!

Being so honest can be pretty scary for most people, myself included. I struggle with this a lot, especially on social media. But this conversation reveals how when you can embrace your identity and the things that make you different, the more relatable, resonant and creative your work will be. And I truly believe this applies to LIFE IN GENERAL. Just swap out the word “work” for “life.”

Evita Castine is an Emmy Award winning producer, director, actor, and photographer. Her films have been recognized by the Cannes Film Festival, One Lens Festival, Warner Brothers, and more. In today’s conversation, she shares her journey to becoming an award winning filmmaker, why she says putting emotional intelligence into your work makes it stronger, and how being different is your super power.

Evita also shares how she uses her iPhone (yes, you read that right - her iPhone!) to create work for major clients like Spotify, musicians like Cody Chestnutt, and Fox Studios.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Evita's journey to becoming a director and why she became inspired to begin telling her own stories

• How being different and an outsider shapes her work and makes it unique

• Why putting emotion into your work makes it stronger

• How judging things inhibits your creativity

• Why she says you don’t have to go to film school if you want to be a filmmaker

• How she developed her artistic voice and unique visual style in her work

• How she started creating work using her iPhone for major clients

• Her formula for the “straightest” path to living a fulfilling creative life and making your dreams into reality

• Why a teacher told her to go clown school

CONNECT WITH EVITA:

Website | Instagram

CONNECT WITH CREATIVITY SCHOOL:

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Lesson 07: Building Self Confidence and Resilience as a Creative

Lesson 07: How to build self confidence, resilience, and be yourself in your work

With Aimee Hoover

“Be yourself in life and in your work.”

— Aimee Hoover

Today’s episode is for everyone that was told you can’t make money doing what you love, especially as an artist.

(I have a feeling this is the majority of us!)

The myth of the starving artist is one of the biggest misconceptions there is about creativity. I was told my entire life that I could never make a living with my creative hobbies. But my guest today, Aimée Hoover, has made a successful career as an extraordinary fine artist for 20 years, painting contemporary portraits of animals. Her paintings are in collections all around the world, seen in galleries and exhibitions, and featured in countless magazine articles.

In this episode, Aimée tells us how she accidentally stumbled upon her niche painting portraits of pets 20 years ago, built her business as a side hustle, and how she’s been able to sustain a long lasting career creating exactly what she loves to make. She talks about the point in her career when pleasing clients left her lost and burned out, and how she shut down a successful, profitable business to find joy in her work again. Aimée also shares how to build self confidence and resilience in your work, especially in this day of social media when it’s so easy to feel like you’re not good enough. You’ll also find out why I call Aimée a social media and marketing genius!

Mentioned in this episode:

• How Aimée accidentally stumbled upon her niche painting pet portraits 20 years ago

• How she transitioned from a side hustle to full time business

• How she learned the business of being an artist (and it wasn’t from school!)

• How to overcome the “compare and despair” of Instagram and social media

• Why I call Aimée a social media and marketing genius

• How to build your confidence in your work as a creative person, even when you feel like you’re not good enough

• The point in her career when she felt completely lost, burned out and wanted to quit everything

• Why filling your creative well is so important when you have a creative career

• Aimée’s tips for how to get started as a creative entrepreneur

• The power in just being yourself and creating work that’s important to you

CONNECT WITH AIMÉE:

Website | Instagram

CONNECT WITH CREATIVITY SCHOOL:

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Lesson 06: Get Stuff Done Without Distractions and Bad Habits

Lesson 06: How to beat procrastination, become a master of your time, and reshape the way you work

With Jake Kahana

Do you have a creative project you really want to work on, but put it off because you just don’t have the time for it?

Then today’s episode is just for you!

My guest Jake Kahana says nobody taught us how to work, and he wants to change that.  

Jake is an artist and teacher helping people thrive in a world overrun with distractions by leading them in unlearning bad habits and replacing them with new, better ones.  He’s also the king of side projects and the co-founder of Caveday, a company dedicated to teaching people how to maximize their productivity. Fast Company even referred to Jake and his co-founders as “Procrastination Nannies.” But it’s not just about doing more work in less time– Jake says it’s about improving the quality of your life by improving the quality of your work.

This conversation completely changed the way I work. In fact, I edited this episode more efficiently than ever before, thanks to all the juicy, research backed techniques Jake shares with us.

In this episode, Jake shows us how to unlearn the bad habits we’re all used to, and how to recreate our own mini Caveday at home. As someone who is highly creative with multiple side projects, he also shares some great insights about how to be more creative.

Mentioned in this episode:

• How Jake co-founded Caveday

• How nobody has ever taught us how to work, and why we need to be taught how to work with structure and research based techniques

• How to structure your work so you can get into flow and do your best work

• The right kind of break to take so you can go back to work more energized (and it’s not checking emails and social media!)

• Why multitasking actually makes your work quality worse

• How to be in control of your own time

• The ONE THING you can take away from this interview to do better work (and it improves your IQ!)

• Jake’s advice on how to work at a demanding day job and still have time for your side projects

• Why every creative outlet doesn’t need to be a business idea

“Part of living a creative life is doing the thing and not knowing where it goes, but doing it because you need to just get it out. ”

— Jake Kahana

Resources:

• Attention residue: Why focusing on multiple tasks can kill your work performance

• Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies

• Elizabeth Gilbert on distinguishing between hobbies, jobs, careers, and a vocation

• Glennon Doyle - Don’t Carpe Diem

• Fast Company - Procrastination Nannies are Now a Thing

CONNECT WITH JAKE:

Website | Caveday | Instagram

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Lesson 05: How to Find Your Creative Passion When You’re Busy

Lesson 05: How a stay at home mom with young children discovered her passion for film making

With Sylvia Ray

Are you someone who feels like you don’t know what you like or what you’re good at? Do you feel like your life is so busy with work or parenthood, that you don’t even have the time to figure it out?

Trust me. We can relate.

Sylvia Ray says she didn’t know what she liked or was good at throughout most of her life. After becoming a mom of 2 young boys, she started feeling antsy but completely clueless about what she wanted to do.

Sylvia finally found the passion she had been looking for her entire life through filmmaking. Using what little time she had, she explored and looked for inspiration where she could, eventually teaching herself how to write, edit, produce and direct films. And in just 2 short years (without going to school!), her films have been screened coast to coast, her work has been featured on major websites like The Huffington Post, and more.

In this episode she shares about her journey from feeling stuck, to working through her fears of sharing her work, to become a rising filmmaker - all while being a busy mom of 2 young boys.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The steps Sylvia took to start exploring what she liked and was good at

• Her first steps to learning how to become a filmmaker without going to school

• What one of the best gifts about being a new creative is

• How to create your work while being a stay at home mom

• How to balance the struggle with parenting and working

• How moms without help and a support system can start to explore their creativity

• How Sylvia gets used to her work being rejected and why keeping perspective is so essential

• Her advice for those who have no idea what they want to do

• Her process for filmmaking and getting her work out there

• How her Korean/Mexican identity influences her storytelling and work

• What an executive at NBC told her that shifted her mindset

• How exploring your creativity can feel like therapy (in a good way!)

• The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron

• Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert

• William P Young on Super Soul Conversations

CONNECT WITH SYLVIA:

Instagram | Website

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Lesson 04: Creativity and Intuition

Lesson 04: Becoming More Creative USING YOUR INTUITION

With Esther Loopstra

This week’s episode is all about HOW TO BE MORE CREATIVE! How to tap into it, how to follow the creative process, and how to feed your creative spirit by listening to your intuition. This is just the first of many episodes devoted to becoming more creative, and I’m excited to bring you Esther’s take on it.

My guest today, Esther Loopstra, is a prolific artist and illustrator, specializing in food and travel, hand-lettering, and surface design. Her work has been used for print ads, editorials, books, stationery products, and textiles and her clients include Target, Frito Lay, Google, Jo Ann Fabrics, Eddie Bauer, and American Greetings.

Esther’s insatiable curiosity drew her to learn as much as she could about the creative process, eventually leading her to teach people how to discover their innate creativity. She believes everyone is creative and is passionate about helping others find and express the creativity that resides inside of them. In this episode, she shares all about her insights as a creativity expert and teacher.

Mentioned in this episode:

• How Esther became an illustrator, burned out, and eventually discovered her intuition

• How creativity has a whole range of pathways and is something innate in all of us

• Exercises to develop our intuition, trust it, and act on it

• How to quiet your inner critic

• Why we need to feed our creative spirit

• Overcoming the fear of what people are going to think and the fear of sharing our work

• Giving ourselves the freedom to make mistakes

• How to find your passion using your intuition

• Open mode and closed mode - the two modes we need for the creative process

• The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron

CONNECT WITH ESTHER:

Instagram | Website | Courses

An exclusive offer just for Creativity School Listeners! Get 20% off of e-courses with code: CREATIVITYSCHOOL19

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Lesson 03: Creativity + Fear

Lesson 03: How to overcome your greatest fear blocks

With Grace Chon

Lesson 3 is all about the 4 letter F-WORD: FEAR.

It's probably the first major block that's holding you back from starting what you want to start, building the thing you want to build, and leveling up to become the person you want to be.

But what if we reframed our fears, and looked at it as something that's a tool and not a hindrance?

In this episode, I talk about how to start taking the steps to punch fear right in the face, and move forward in actionable, bite-size baby steps toward your creative goals.

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah

🌟 Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

🌟 Listen to this episode on Spotify.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Take baby steps! How I built my side hustle pet photography business and quit my day job in 9 months.

• There is no better time than now to start something.

• Why is failure such a bad thing? (it’s not!) Reframe the way you think about failure.

• Look at your fear as a mirror that is revealing your greatest block.

• Organize your thoughts and get clarity with journaling, post it notes, and Google Keep.

• Find an accountability partner or group. Look on Meetup, Facebook, Instagram, or join our Creativity School Facebook community.

• The spiral staircase – Karen Armstrong

• Check out Marissa Peer on You Tube

• 4 journal prompts to work through your fear

• 2 visualization techniques to confront your fears head on

• Download the Lesson 3 Cheat Sheet here!

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Lesson 02: Quitting the traditional path to success

Lesson 02: How an unhappy lawyer with a Harvard degree became a badass calligrapher

With Shinah Chang

What do you do when you’ve worked hard all your life doing everything you were “supposed” to do, only to end up unfulfilled and lost?

Shinah Chang is the owner of Crooked Calligraphy, a modern calligraphy studio. She calls herself an unconventional calligrapher and her work stands out because she likes curse words and isn’t afraid to use them, in real life or in her work. Shina teaches classes, creates work for weddings and events, and for clients like Disney and Nordstrom.

But Shinah’s started her journey on a very traditional path to success. She had a tiger mom, got a perfect 1600 on her SATs, went to Harvard, and went on to become a very successful attorney making over 6 figures right out the gate. But she was stressed out and extremely unhappy, until she left everything behind to explore her passion for calligraphy and now it’s paying off.

Mentioned in this episode:

• How she felt lost and unfulfilled in her career as a lawyer, and ultimately how she found her way thanks to some really good questions a life coach asked her that changed everything

• How to discover what you love to do

• How to channel who you really are into your work by finding your authentic voice, even if it pisses people off

• How to begin to overcome the fear of failure and the fear of rejection, and move forward despite the fear

• Tatsuo Horiuchi, The Michelangelo of Microsoft Excel

CONNECT WITH SHINAH:

Instagram | Website

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Welcome to Creativity School!

Lesson 01- Introducing Creativity School

Class is now in session!

Everyone is creative, and your creativity can be nurtured into something that is fun, impactful and most of all, an expression of who you really are. You have something unique about you, and that uniqueness exists for a purpose! Get ready to explore how you can get started on the thing you’ve always wanted to start and get your best work out there!

Mentioned in this episode:

• What is creativity

• Why is creativity important

• Why we are all creative, and the things that can happen when we tap into our creativity and allow it to guide us

Thank you so much for listening!

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