Love Your Work

Bad news.

A long and detailed update about the status of my Colombian visa.

Ariel Garten (@ariel_garten) envisions a world where we can control computers with our minds. She's on the cutting edge of computer and brain interfaces with her creation, the Muse headband.

Ariel sent me a headband a few months ago, and I've been using it to refine my meditation sessions. The headband gives me neurofeedback to help me identify a relaxed-focus mental state.

So while I'm meditating, I get audio feedback that's an expression of my brain's activity. That audio feedback helps me adjust my meditation technique.

The point of muse is to train your brain into focusing on one thing so you can build that skill and carry it over into other forms of meditation, as well as to have the mental awareness throughout the day to manage your attention and focus.

I've experimented with EEG headsets before. I first bought one about seven years ago. The Muse absolutely blows away that experience. In addition to being useful for meditation, it is also a clinical-grade headset – used by neuroscientists everywhere – that measures all brainwaves as well as certain movements.

In this conversation, we'll talk about:

• What mental cues can keep you in a meditative state? We'll talk about how mental cues differ from one form of meditation to another, and how those cues relate to what Muse measures.
• How do you develop a product with a new technology, when the application is unclear? Hear Ariel's story about how Muse started as a playful experiment, and evolved into a useful product.
• How do you follow disparate interests to an original idea. Ariel has a background in psychotherapy, fashion design, neuroscience (of course) – as well as having many other interests. How has that curiosity helped her arrive at an original idea, and how did she see past the naysayers who wanted her to focus on one thing?

Muse is not a sponsor, but they have set up a special deal for our listeners. If you use the code LOVEYOURWORK at choosemuse.com, you'll get 15% off the Muse headset, or the new Muse 2. Plus, a portion of your purchase will support the show. Again, that's LOVEYOURWORK at choosemuse.com.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://babbel.com

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/ariel-garten-podcast/

Productivity is about mind management, not time management. I've been thinking about how this applies to managing your tasks on a day-to-day basis.

I've come to realize that as long as you have the proper due dates attached to your tasks, it doesn't matter what project those todos are for. What matters is your ability to do those tasks in an energy-efficient way.

In this week's episode, I share with you how I keep creative work coming with ease all day long.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/mental-state-not-todos/

Srini Rao (@unmistakableCEO) is host of the Unmistakable Creative podcast, and author of the new book, Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake. In Audience of One, Srini gives you the tools and encouragement you need to stop focusing on external validation, and to reconnect with your creative spark.

In a world where you can publish your creative work to more people than ever, it's easy to lose sight of why we create. If you're dead set on your work reaching a lot of people, ironically, you'll lose touch with that special something that makes your work resonate with others in the first place.

In this conversation, we'll talk about:

• How do you follow up a success to reconnect with "Creativity for Its Own Sake?" We'll hear about how Srini's self-published book hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list, and we'll hear about how he has struggled to reconnect with the true source of creative work that resonates with others.
• How do you ask a question that gets right to a great story. Srini asks great questions on his podcast, The Unmistakable Creative – in fact, I was on there recently, and he got stories out of me that I had never told before. So I loved digging into his questioning style. His thoughts on this could be as useful for a first date as they are for a podcast interview.
• What has Srini learned from hosting more than 700 podcast interviews? He'll break down the best tips and ways of thinking that he's gleaned from creators, bank robbers, drug dealers, performance psychologists, and more.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://gusto.com/loveyourwork http://everyplate.com http://earthclassmail.com

There's something I've noticed that very successful communicators do. It's a very simple tactic, but it can go a long way in making everything you say or write more engaging, more memorable, and more effective.

I'll tell you about it – this thing that successful communicators do – this week.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://gusto.com/loveyourwork http://babbel.com

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/prompt-talking-podcast/

You hear it all of the time. Maybe you even say it yourself: It's "crazy" at work. There are unrealistic deadlines, demanding bosses, and wall-to-wall meetings.

Jason Fried (@jasonfried) believes it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, he'll tell you why in his new book, called It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work.

Jason needs no introduction for many of you, but for everyone else: Jason is the CEO of Basecamp, which is simple yet powerful project management software. Basecamp the software has a long history of staying simple even when it doesn't make intuitive sense. Basecamp the company, with Jason at the helm, has a long history of espousing sensible work practices, even when they don't make intuitive sense.

We'll talk about:

• What's the difference between deadlines, and "dreadlines?" How can this simple distinction help you stay in control of your projects?
• How does Jason and his company struggle with it being "crazy" at work, and what do they do about it? Hear about their fascinating "uphill/downhill" tactic for deciding when to quit a project that just won't end.
• Hear specific ways to handle clients that make it "crazy" at work. Jason will tell you exactly what to say, and guide you through a real-life scenario using the stoic technique of "negative visualization."

Jason was the very first guest on Love Your Work, three years ago. I'm thrilled to have him back.

Image credit: Michael Berger

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://gusto.com/loveyourwork http://earthclassmail.com http://babbel.com

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/jason-fried-podcast-2/

When you're marketing your business, it's easy to gravitate toward sure bets. Things you can do and be assured of a positive outcome. But these sure bets can cause you to miss out on asymmetric opportunities: Things that take a small amount of investment, with a small chance of a very big upside.

We talked about asymmetric opportunities in last week's conversation with Tynan. This week, I'll tell you how to find asymmetric opportunities for growing your business. These are also known as "Black Swans." We'll get to why.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://gusto.com/loveyourwork http://babbel.com

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/black-swan-marketing-podcast/

Sometimes an idea pops into your head, and you think to yourself, "nah, that's insane!" Then you move on with living your regular life.

We all have these ideas. Sometimes we don't even notice them. In The Heart to Start, I called the source of these crazy ideas "The Voice."

The thing is, sometimes these crazy ideas are what you call "asymmetrical": It doesn't take much to try them out, but the potential payoffs are huge.

Our guest today has to be the king of crazy ideas. Tynan (@tynan) is his name. That's it, he just has one name – like Madonna. Tynan.

Just a few of the crazy ideas that Tynan has followed through on: He owns a private island (it's not as expensive as you think); he lived in San Francisco, rent-free in an RV, for several years; and he owns both a minivan and a Bentley.

Tynan is also a serial self-publisher, and watching his self-publishing story was a source of inspiration for me as I made the leap from traditional to self publishing.

I first met Tynan several years ago. He joined mutual friends of ours for dinner during my mini-life in Austin. When I met Tynan, I thought to myself "if and when I have a podcast, this is definitely the type of person I want to have as a guest."

Here's some of what you'll learn:

• What thought processes can you employ to seek out interesting opportunities in your life?
• How can you prevent yourself from making an emotional decision about your crazy ideas, and instead see the true cost/benefit?
• If you have a crazy idea, but you have hesitation about following it, what are some ways you can break through that hesitation, and any other mental blocks you see?

Tynan's new book is Forever Nomad, and his site Cruisesheet is full of the best cruise deals.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://gusto.com/loveyourwork http://earthclassmail.com

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/tynan-podcast/

What does it really take to "make it" as a creative entrepreneur? I often have people asking me for ideas on strategies for how to smoothly transition from their day jobs to making their art for a living.

Is it possible? What do you have to do?

I always feel like I have an answer that they don't want to hear. But here it is anyway, in this week's episode.

Patreon supporters are now covering ALL production costs for Love Your Work! Join our wonderful Patreon backers at patreon.com/kadavy.

I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools

Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me [email protected].

Sponsors

http://gusto.com/loveyourwork

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/walk-through-fire/