Feast and famine, the Tortoise and the Hare, sustainability and burnout. When it comes to running our creative businesses, the rise and fall of our energy, bank accounts, and dreams is a challenge to control. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share some thoughts about searching for sustainability, the importance of setting goals that you consistently seek to achieve, and why escaping the tyranny of today is critical to long-term success.

I’m not really a fan of taking risks, but lately I have felt the effects of operating in my comfort zone: stagnation, boredom, and procrastination. Nothing inspires the need to take chances more than looking at the work of others. Sure, it can trigger imposter syndrome, but it can also let you know when it’s time to branch out and try new things. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share a few ways that I am thinking differently about risk.

I’m feeling it today, friends. I’m tired. The work is piling up, my weekdays are filled as much I can fill them, and I’m taking it a day at a time. What do you do when you have so much going on to make sure you aren’t missing anything? How do you stay motivated while keeping an eye on your burnout meter? In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share a few ways I stay organized and motivated in busy times.

As creative professionals and entrepreneurs, it can be easy to get into unhealthy habits of doing everything ourselves. With modern systems and software, we can do it all. I know this to be true for myself because I have spent 12 years in this world of self. But lately, I have been slowly realizing that it’s time to build my team. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share how you can move from an individual mindset to a team mentality.

I was struck by a phrase Marshall McLuhan said, “The future of the future is the present.” As I consider what is being said, I think that the future is built through your actions today, not getting stuck in the quicksand of the past or daydreaming the day away. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share four ways that you can build your future today from knowing where you are to knowing where you are going.

“Fail fast and often,” they say. “But what if you don’t want to?” That’s how I usually respond to this mantra of the failure-obsessed entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs. That said, eventually we all face failure and the accompanying lessons that educate and grow us into stronger people. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share a few ways to learn from failure when you are in it and when you are beyond it.

I kept getting drawn to the title on my bookshelf, it was calling out to me: The Freaks Shall Inherit The Earth by Chris Brogan. While there are so many topics in the book that are worth exploring, I was captivated by this notion of the fear of not knowing. How many decisions have I made out of this fear? Could it be the source of my procrastination and communication styles? All this and more in this episode of Getting Work To Work.

I was sitting with a customer the other day when he got a call from a review company. “They call me every day,” he said. We started talking about the value of reviews vs. relationships and I said, “Sounds like a good podcast topic.” In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to talk about reviews, relationships, and where we should focus our time, energy, and money in order to build trust with our customers.

The other day I tweeted that if I were to describe my creative journey through the past decade, it would be doubt, despair, and delight. That got me thinking about the insecurity and lack of confidence that has crept into my life. How would I go about rebuilding my confidence? In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share how to do that through remembrance and action.

Beth Harrington is an independent producer, director and writer with a passion for American history and music. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, we talk about what it means to be independent, technology and nostalgia, the economics of filmmaking, how stories affect her as the storyteller, and taking risks and being courageous in later stages of her career.