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, and communicate with the people who will welcome our work into their lives.

This segment puts out an invitation for more guests from varied creative milieus to contact us about coming on the show. We have listeners in 65+ countries and are available on Apple, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.

Question for Listeners

Can you see yourself in the GU Clubhouse? If yes, get in touch—leave a comment below or send us an email to [email protected].

Know any Gifted Achievers who’d like to get on the podcast? Share this post!

If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. Always free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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

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 and James discuss a few ways to test your craft capabilities—none of them perfect on their own, but with the potential to form an aggregated snapshot of what works and what needs work in your creative output.

Questions for Listeners

(Hop on over to the segment web page to leave a comment.)

* What do you think is a good test of your creative capabilities?

* Have you done the test?

* If yes, what did you discover—strengths, weaknesses, something else?

* And what did you do with that discovery?

For Further Exploration:

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If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. Always free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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

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 misgivings, anxieties, and avoidance as he works on his first solo novel—Hemingway’s Chair—and what it reveals about the internal struggles so many creatives encounter.

Questions for Listeners:

(Hop on over to the segment web page to leave a comment.)

* Do you sometimes worry that your work lacks focus and insight?

* How do you break out of that rut?

For Further Exploration:

Michael Palin on Wyeth

Michael Palin: “Two Legs are an Extravagance”

Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.

If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! Always free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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

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 public so feel free to share it.

If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! Always free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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 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 comment.)

* What are your creative hobgoblins?

* Do rules sometimes get in the way of true creative flow?

* How do you feed your creative mind?

For Further Exploration:

A System for Creative Work

Are You Creating for Yourself? Others?

Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.

If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! Always free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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

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 sound.

How can you tell if there’s an audience for it? That’s question one.

And if you determine that there IS an audience, how do you let them know your work exists? That’s question two.

Join us in the search for answers.

Questions for Listeners:

(Hop on over to the segment web page to leave a comment.)

* Do you know who your audience is, or might be?

* How do you convey the meaning of your work in a way that makes them want to connect with you?

* What have YOU done (so far) to get your work out in front of them?

* What worked? What didn’t work?

* What will you do next?

For Further Exploration:

A BRILLIANT talk by Neak: "Art is personal. But connection only happens when people see themselves reflected in it.”

The autonomous creative:

Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.

If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! Always free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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

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 amount in the last few decades, we agree that it’s important to ask these questions of ourselves and our creative communities. Now matters.

Questions for Listeners

Hop on over to our segment web page and leave a comment!

* Do you use your creative work to drive social/cultural change?

* If yes, drop a link in the comments to let us know what your creative work is and what you believe its effect has been, locally or in a larger context.

* Do you believe art matters in the same way as 50 or even 20 years ago?

* How can we better stewards of culture? What do you think that means?

* Do you believe that any one creator or creative work can influence how its consumers think or behave?

* If yes, can you give an example?

Segment Links:

How to Make Art for Social Change

Sharon Louden – Driving Social Change

Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.

If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time.

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