Love Your Work

I first discovered the work of Seth Godin about 13 years ago. Since then he's helped me think about how to make work that's remarkable – The Purple Cow. He's shown me how to think about having a direct relationship with my customers – with Permission Marketing. He's shown me how to push through when things get tough – with The Dip.

Plus, countless other things. He's written so many books, Tribes, The Icarus Deception, All Marketers are Liars, just to name a few more. He writes a blog post every day. I still love going to Seth's blog because it looks like it came out of another time. It's on typepad. He doesn't even have a custom domain. Still, it's one of the few sites that I visit directly just to read what's there. While people are screaming about how you've gotta figure out a Snapchat strategy, Seth just sticks with good old-fashioned words, and he's so good at it.

Seth has been at the forefront of how technology changes how we communicate with one another. He started his first email newsletter in 1990. In fact, he invented the concept of getting emails from companies. Throughout his career, he's pointed out and described what this new paradigm makes possible. You have to Unleash the Ideavirus, you have to tell stories, you have to build your tribe.

But in more recent years, he's focused more on helping people overcome the emotional barriers of actually putting this advice into practice. This is what I was interested in figuring out coming into this interview. What caused that shift? How does Seth think about doing generous work? How do you gain the courage to do something that might not work?

I also wanted to dig back further into Seth's origin. I'm still struck by how far ahead of his time he was way back in the 80's and 90's, and how long it took for some of those concepts to gel and become true. It's a good lesson that if you want to do work that resonates with people, sometimes it takes a long time.

Here are the three links that Seth sent me about publishing:

• Advice for authors
• Advice for authors
• Why (some) Kickstarter Campaigns Fail

Join Love Your Work Premium

Would you like to hear raw, ad-free interviews like this one with Seth Godin, weeks in advance? Just join Love Your Work Premium. For a small amount per month, you'll get access to ad-free interviews weeks in advance. You'll also get access to fully-produced episodes a couple of days in advance. Just go to kadavy.net/premium to sign up.

Sponsors http://freshbooks.com/loveyourwork

http://www.casper.com/loveit

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/seth-godin-podcast-interview/

Some of you already know that I'm writing a new book. Getting Art Done will help you overcome Resistance and bring your work into the world.

I had much of my own Resistance to fight to get this book project underway. I spent three months working on a book proposal, then I failed to get a literary agent.

That was a tough blow, but what really flipped the switch for me was the conversation I had with Seth Godin. You'll be able to hear that entire conversation with Seth next week, so be sure you're subscribed.

Join Love Your Work Premium

If you'd like to hear the raw, unedited, ad-free interview with Seth Godin (coming June 8th), you can do that right now. Just join Love Your Work Premium. For a small amount per month, you'll get access to ad-free interviews weeks in advance. You'll also get access to fully-produced episodes a couple of days in advance. Just go to kadavy.net/premium to sign up.

Sponsorshttp://freshbooks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/no-nyt-best-seller-podcast/

Not too long after moving to Colombia, Danny Michelwicz got obsessed with cacao, the raw material that's used to make chocolate.

Since then, he's been learning about the craft of sourcing cacao and making chocolate, learning about his new country in the process, and working to have an impact on an underserved region.

I went into this interview thinking I'd talk with Danny more about how his business, Tilín Cacao, has been a source of adventure, but we actually ended up talking a lot about the chemistry of chocolate, and how it's made.

There's a lot of interesting thoughts in here about finding a neglected opportunity, pursuing it with a sense of artistry, and making something unique and hard to replicate.

Try Danny's Chocolate

Danny has a shipment going to the United States later this summer. You can preorder for a huge discount. Just go to tilincacao.com/loveyourwork. I don't have any financial relationship with Danny's company, but I do love the chocolate.

Join Love Your Work Premium

If you'd like to hear the raw, unedited, ad-free interview with Seth Godin (coming June 8th), you can do that right now. Just join Love Your Work Premium. For a small amount per month, you'll get access to ad-free interviews weeks in advance. You'll also get access to fully-produced episodes a couple of days in advance. Just go to kadavy.net/premium to sign up.

Sponsors http://kadavy.net/premium

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/danny-michlewicz-tilin/

Sometimes, to make a breakthrough, you have to partner up with "the man." Sometimes it's worth it. But, don't jump at every chance you get. I recently had an opportunity to join a podcast network. In fact, it was a very good podcast network.

But, I turned it down.

Since writing this article, I've watched this podcast network do very well. Meanwhile, I've struggled to grow this podcast. In fact, my downloads went DOWN for the first time since I started a year and a half ago.

Some of that is from Product Hunt shutting down their podcasts section, and it's hard to know what else has caused it.

As I'll say in this article, it's totally possible that I made the wrong decision. But, it still feels right to me.

This article originally appeared on kadavy.net.

Sponsorshttp://kadavy.net/premium

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/podcast-network-podcast/

May 5th, 1979. It was a jovial atmosphere. A new person was coming into the world. But as soon as the child was born, the room went quiet.

The doctors predicted the baby wouldn't make it through the next 24 hours. Now, over 35 years later, as that baby, now an adult, would joke in his TEDx talk – all of those doctors are dead. And Sean Stephenson @theseantourage is the only doctor that remains.

Sean Stephenson was born with brittle bone disorder. His growth was stunted, and he's suffered hundreds of bone fractures throughout his life.

But his condition has armed Sean with superpowers. He discovered that he has the power to rid the world of insecurity. In fact, it's become his life's mission – what he was born to do.

Sean Stephenson is a therapist, an author, and a motivational speaker. I first came across his work when a friend shared a video on Facebook. I was immediately struck by Sean's positivity, and I became an instant fan.

As someone who has struggled with insecurities – like everyone does, whether they accept it or not – Sean was immediately disarming to me. He's is uniquely qualified to help people break through the stories they tell themselves. Not just because of his life experiences, but also because of his training.

We'll get into how Sean discovered his superpower, and what he's learned about bringing growth into his life.

• Sean's Facebook Page
• Sean's ebook "How to Stay Positive When Life Gets
• Sean's free "Principles on How to Live an Empowered Life"

Sponsorshttp://kadavy.net/premium

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/sean-stephenson-interview/

Routines can reduce cognitive friction and boost your productivity. But do you really want to do the same thing every day?

You know I think productivity is all about mind management, not time management.

Routines are useful for managing your mind. On this episode, I'll tell you how having a weekly routine can help you boost productivity and be more creative, without boring yourself to death.

This article originally appeared on Medium.

If you are listening to this before 5pm PST on Friday May 5th, 2017, pay close attention. Stop whatever you're doing, and go to gettingartdone.com. I'm writing a new book. It's called Getting Art Done, and you can preview it for free if you act fast. If you ever have trouble bringing your work into the world. This is the book for you. It will give you actionable steps to break down fear and self doubt, and make your art real. Go to gettingartdone.com and sign up for email updates. That's gettingartdone.com. Do it now before the timer on the website runs out.

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

Ned Scott (@certainassets, Steemit: @ned is trying to reinvent the way content gets made. He wants you to get paid in the process. Ned is the co-founder of a cryptocurrency called STEEM, and he's CEO of a website that runs on STEEM, called Steemit.

Basically all of the actions that you would normally take on a site such as Reddit – writing posts, upvoting, or commenting, mines the STEEM – that's S-T-E-E-M – cryptocurrency. You can then cash in that cryptocurrency for the currency of your choice.

The attention economy and digital distraction You've heard me talk about the economics of digital distraction on the podcast before. Hooked author Nir Eyal and I talked about it on episode 21. Companies such as Facebook steal your attention, because the current models of supporting content creation incentivize them to do so.

For example, because the bulk of Facebook's revenue is from ads, they want you to spend as much time on your news feed as possible. This then incentivizes content creators to create the most attention-grabbing content possible.

They'll use tactics such as inciting rage – even if it means ruining an innocent person's life. We saw this tactic backfire when Gawker outed a closeted gay executive. Or, they'll just plain lie – which is something we're seeing with the current "fake news" crisis.

The incentives of the attention economy By the way, I discussed some of these incentives with Ryan Holiday on episode 31. Ryan wrote a great book on the subject with Trust Me, I'm Lying.

Will STEEM incentivize different behavior? Well, that remains to be seen. Many journalists are currently paid by the page view. I have journalist friends who have worked at a respectable newspaper, and their performance was measured by the page views on their stories.

Think about that for a second. They weren't allowed to own stocks because it would be considered a conflict of interest in case they had to write about one of those companies, but somehow being rewarded by the page view is not a conflict of interest?

So if journalists are no longer paid by the page view, but instead by their work being upvoted – the incentives will shift somehow. It's hard to say whether it would be good or bad, but they will shift.

Spending attention vs. spending STEEM My theory is that we spend our attention far differently from how we spend our money. We're wired not to see the fruit in the bush, but rather the tiger behind the fruit in the bush.

With STEEM we aren't spending our money, per-se, but there appears to be a different psychology to upvoting on Steemit. I'm sure those incentives bring along other quirks. From what I've seen, the most popular content – hence the content that has earned the most money – on Steemit is about STEEM. Content like this podcast, I guess.

Other than that, like I say, it remains to be seen. To wrap your head around it, I'd recommend signing up at Steemit.com, and looking around. By the way, my Steemit username is kadavy, so let's connect there.

Can you earn money on Steemit? I've been a STEEM user (@kadavy), or rather I've used the website Steemit (yes, it's a little confusing at first), for several months now. I've converted some of my STEEM to Bitcoin, just to run a test. So far, I've earned spendable money for using Steemit. And, as I record this, the total value of all of the STEEM that is out there is at over 50 million dollars.

Where does that money come from? How does STEEM work? Why might it work in the long run? and why might it not work? Ned and I will talk about all of that and more in this conversation.

Remember, none of this is investment advice, just an exploration of a potential new way to incentivize content creation.

Seth Godin interview coming soon! A very revealing Seth Godin inteview is coming soon. Make sure you're subscribed, so you don't miss the episode.

Sponsorshttp://freshbooks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/steem-podcast-ned-scott/

Warren Buffett (@WarrenBuffett) and I were neighbors. He lived in his famously modest house on Farnam. I lived in a $535-a-month 1-bedroom, in a basement with moldy carpet, several blocks down, on 49th. I used to live down the street from the famous mega billionaire, Warren Buffett. I never even saw him, but his presence taught me a lot. This article originally appeared on Medium.

Sponsors http://freshbooks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/warren-buffet-lessons-podcast/

Jorge and Tanja wanted to travel the world, dance and party. It turns out, they were able to do that and make more money than they ever imagined they would.

Jorge and Tanja wanted to make it as a professional Salsa dancing couple. They aspired to travel the Salsa circuit, to perform in competitions, and they figured they could make ends meet teaching classes in their home city. But the Salsa world was crowded. To make their debut as a dancing couple, they found they couldn't get a slot as Salsa performers. So, they put together a performance dancing Bachata. Bachata is a Dominican style of music first recorded in the 1960's. (Medicina De Amor is played at this point in the intro.) In recent years, Bachata has been remixed with current pop hits. Bachata is kind of Salsa's little cousin. (Latch Bachata Remix is played at this point in the intro.) Bachata wasn't as popular as Salsa, so Jorge and Tanja were able to make an appearance. The performance – danced to Xtreme's "Te Extraño" – ended up on YouTube. And it exploded. Their debut performance has amassed nearly 100 million views, and it's launched Jorge and Tanja – and Bachata dancing – into super stardom. Today, 9 years later, Jorge Burgos and Tanja Kensinger are known as Ataca y La Alemana (joint Instagram). They're Bachata royalty. They travel the world, run conferences, and their dance company, Island Touch, has dance teams all over the world. Sponsors http://freshbooks.com/loveyourwork

Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/ataca-la-alemana-interview/

I take focus seriously. The way I see it, being productive is not about time management. It's about mind management. If you're fully-focused on the task at hand, you can have way more creative output.

So, I experiment a lot with ways to deepen my focus. Some of the methods I've settled into are unconventional. I'm going to share them with you today.

This article originally appeared on Medium.

Sponsors http://freshbooks.com/loveyourwork

Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/10-unconventional-podcast/