Paying the Price to Get Paid

How many times have you saw someone’s work and thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I could get paid to do something like that.”

Did it cross your mind how could anyone know to hire you if you’re not exploring the type of work you want to be known for and better yet, get paid to do?

This is your queue for starting a side project in 2017.

Side projects as Lauren Hom likes to call them are your secret weapon for getting paid for the type of work you want to create.

Let’s hit on it a little more on how side projects will help you attract the kind of work you want to get paid for by telling you a bit about good friend Ben Hagarty, aka BenRealVSWorld.

The Long Road to Getting Paid By Your Dream Job

My friend Ben Hagarty has been creating music and playing with cameras since late junior high. This obsession has elevated him to a level 53 Wizard at producing amazing video content around music.

Basically, I’m just saying he is a pro but getting to where he’s at now all started with side projects.

His passion for making music, especially hip-hop, resulted in some side projects with one being his group called Skool’d. This project led to them opening up for some of the biggest names in the industry like J.Cole, Big KRIT, and Timeflies just to name a few.

His passion for video led to him always creating the content for the music they made. He made music video singles, weekly YouTube videos, promo and hype videos which allowed him to flex his video skills along the way. He learned early that consistency was key for building a reputation.

Ben’s also big on quality. You could always find him studying other music videos, vlogs and countless tutorials on how he could improve upon what others were doing.

Not everyone he worked with in his music projects shared the same vision as him so he created the side project identity of BenRealVsWorld that could house all of his personal projects.

He started building relationships and networking with others in the industry trying to get his foot in the door to pursue his solo writing and rap career.

Creating videos and his love for music opened the doors of opportunity. He got a gig shooting a SXSW festival and then got a chance to fly out to LA to shoot some behind the scenes footage for a Chris Brown project.

From there he realized he needed to be in the middle of the action and took the risk of flying to LA to start his music career.

To makes some money and build relationships, he fell into doing more work for Chris Brown which began building a name for himself for his video editing and content creation.

This led to an opportunity to work with EA Sports for a Madden release which he got to work with Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Von Miller and the rapper Lil’ Dicky.

Ben was hustling his ass off in LA making all of his Iowa family and friends proud. His hard work continued to pay off because the relationship he built from his SXSW gig landed him his biggest dream job / client yet.

He was contacted by the TDE group to be Schoolboy Q’s main photographer and videographer on his worldwide Blank Face Tour.

TDE is Top Dawg Entertainment which houses the talent of Q, Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock just to name a few.

As the tour just wrapped up, it’s safe to say Ben killed it by catching praise from the likes of Macklemore and Tyler the Creator for his high-quality work. His vlog edits for Q dominated the huge hip-hop sites like WorldStarHipHop.com and he even did a Reddit AMA takeover recently.

If a dude from a small town in Iowa can start a side project and get paid off the work he loves to do, why isn’t it possible for you?

Paying the Price to Get Paid

I believe in one rule for building a successful side project: You have to pay the price to get paid.

For Ben, it started with finding something he was passionate about and was good at.

From there, it took research, deliberate practice, perseverance and the ability to believe in yourself even when things didn’t always break your way.

Pursuing a side project isn’t all fun and games, you have to pay to play. However, when you slowly build momentum and see a few wins, you start realizing that you’re onto something.

Everything starts small and it grows by taking it one day at a time.

I repeat you grow by taking it one day at a time.

Turning your side project into a paid dream job isn’t a sprint—it is a marathon and it’s all about pacing yourself.

Ben has been working on his craft well over 10 years. Nothing happened overnight.

There were countless times he had to pull all-nighters to shoot, edit and meet deadlines. There were countless times of sleeping on floors, not making a lot of money and getting stressed out for him to finally get that first of many dream clients.

These things don’t happen overnight as big rewards and wins need to be earned.

People like Ben and all the other people you look up to in the creative industry understand that you get back what you put in.

Attract the Work You Want to Get Paid For

So what side project do you want to start?

Do you want to be a successful hand lettering or visual artist with big clients?

Do you want to run your own jewelry or clothing line?

All of this starts with beginning a side project. Landing the dream job or the dream client happens by starting and sticking with it.

Side projects are your opportunity to master a new skill or medium on your own terms with no one handing down an agenda to follow.

Side projects allow you to attract the type of work you want to get paid to do.

Side projects start with you.

You have a fresh slate here in 2017 to get started, what’s holding you back?

Next week’s episode we wrap up the series with the 3 ingredients for getting your side project exposure and attention. You don’t want to miss it!

Key Takeaways

Show Notes

Lauren Hom - Side Projects: Your New Secret Weapon

Ben's Website

Ben's Instagram - BenRealVsWorld

Ben's Twitter - BenRealVsWorld

Ben's Facebook - BenRealVsWorld

EA Sports Madden '17 Cuts

Schoolboy Q's Blank Face Tour - Groovy Tony [Pt. 1 of 6]

This 3 part series of starting a side project is inspired by Lauren Hom's initiative of starting a side project in 2017. She has found massive success in her young career all from creating the type of work she wants to get to paid for with side projects. Her Side Projects: Your New Secret Weapon blog series along with a free mini email course are a great place for you to check out if you need some additional inspiration after this podcast series.

Would you believe me if I told you I have a friend who bought a Russian spacesuit on eBay and began photographing himself as just an everyday astronaut in public?

What if I told you this silly project is now becoming his full-time business pursuit?

The person I’m referring to is my local friend Tim Dodd and he is the creator of the Everyday Astronaut account on Instagram.

This was just a little experiment that exploded with creative potential.

I’ll get back to Tim later, but the point I’m trying to make is that you never know what side projects can turn into.

For example, Uber was a side project. The Tim Ferris Podcast was a side project. Perspective-Collective is an ongoing side project.

You get the picture.

This is the beginning of a 3 part series which covers the benefits to pursuing a side project in 2017:

Let’s get started.

Indication of Future Creative Potential

I recently read a Medium article by Busy Building Things and it summed up perfectly how a side project should be perceived.

It states, “Side projects are much more than simply hobbies, they are indicators of what you are capable of building.”

My hobby used to be drawing which led me to creating the side project of Perspective-Collective in April of 2014. It started off with me just needing a name to house all the art I was cooking up.

The thought of calling this 'brand' Scotty Russell Graphics was sounding pretty douchey and I reluctantly went with Perspective-Collective (I wasn't a fan of this name at the time but I rolled with it).

What I didn’t realize is this new side project was providing me the platform to create whatever the hell I wanted. I had no idea it would grow like this.

Over 2.5 years, this side project has led me to:

During this span, I’ve been able to catch a glimpse of what I’m capable of building. I fully believe that I can turn this into my full-time dream job someday if I continue to push it.

It’s funny because it all starts with an idea but can rapidly change when you decide to act on it.

That little idea you’ve had swimming in your head could change your life.

Create Something Dope In Your Own Lane

My friend Chuck Means told me a phrase that he heard the other day that went along the lines of “Creating Something Dope In Your Own Lane.”

I’m a big advocate for pursuing your own creative path by doing work that resonates with you. If you’re creating work that you're enthusiastic about, then you are making dope work by your own standards.

No one else’s definition of “dope work” applies here.

Over time, if you consistently share this dope work, you’ll give others the opportunity to think it’s dope as well.

It’s easy to feel you have to follow the footsteps of other creatives. However, I encourage you to be inspired but stay in your lane because your creative DNA and story are unique.

Going back to Tim… I mean Everyday Astronaut. He matched his greatest strength / skillset (photography and space knowledge) with his greatest passion (outer space and dreams to become an astronaut) and started a little project that he thought was dope.

Note: I wrote a blog post series about finding your greatest strength, greatest passion and your sweet spot awhile back.

Clearly, he’s in his own lane because this is an insanely clever and refreshing idea.

He started by taking spectacular photos of himself in his space suit doing normal things non-astronaut individuals would be doing like washing the car.

He hit it hard for about two years and next thing you know he's been featured by:

I’d say he's gotten some solid indications that this side project has some great creative potential.

It’s now to the point where he is taking the risk of setting aside his successful wedding photography career so he can pursue this full-time. His goal is to begin speaking and teaching his knowledge of photography and space while maintaining his quirky character he created.

If this can happen for Tim, why can’t it happen for you?

What’s Your Side Project Idea?

What is something that you’re interested in pursuing?

As Gary Vee puts it, “What is it you wish you could do every day and get paid for?”

Stop seeing your side project as only a hobby when it could blossom into something much bigger.

If you want it bad enough, anything is possible.

2017 is here and you have a fresh opportunity to make it happen.

Next week’s Part 2 episode will hit on how side projects allow you to attract the kind of work you want to get paid for.

Key Takeaways

It’s Hard to Appreciate the Good Without the Bad

Are you one of those people who is claiming 2016 to be one of the worst years yet?

This seems to be the overwhelming perspective judging by the media.

Yes, 2016 had some low points:

I could keep going and I’m sure you have a few things on your mind that sucked ass too.

However, what are some of the good things happened, specifically in your life?

If you reflect long enough I guarantee you could find some high points to balance out the rollercoaster year we’ve experienced.

I mentioned it in the previous episode 20 but it’s hard to appreciate the good without the bad.

Seeing the horrible things going on in the world like the suffering people of Aleppo should make you stop and appreciate every little thing that you take for granted.

How amazing is it to have a roof over your head?

How great is it to sleep without having bombs going off all around you?

How freaking lucky are you to have access to food and clean water?

See my point?

So ya, 2016 wasn’t the greatest but you have a choice of which lens you choose to see the world through.

Going into 2017, my message is to encourage you to find the light within the darkness. Appreciate when things are going right in your life as you can’t appreciate the good without the bad.

Negative Attracts Negative

I believe in the Law of Attraction and have watched it work many good and bad things in my life.

It boils down to the concept of “Like Attracts Like.”

When you focus on the negative, you’re going to attract more negativity in your life. Your mindset and the thoughts you vibrate into the world manifest more of what you’re thinking of.

Think about it; you wake up one morning and it feels like nothing is going right:

After all this you think to yourself, “What’s next?” or “How could this get anything worse?” and the next thing you know your day is spiraling out of control.

Did you ever think that maybe you’re _doing this to yoursel_f with your mindset?

Seriously, this used to be me. I held a grudge against the world for the majority of my life and I self-sabotaged myself for a long time.

Imagine the kind of day you could have if you took a hit on the chin and chose to keep moving forward?

What would happen if you chose to see through an optimistic lens and appreciated the good whether it be small or large?

Positive Mindset & Gratitude

On the opposite end of the spectrum of “Like Attracts Like” you have positivity and gratitude.

Life is always going to throw you haymakers but why be in the mindset of constantly looking over your shoulder and waiting for the blow?

When you can find light in the dark times, you begin to appreciate the little things that go right.

It doesn’t always have to be something major like hitting the lottery for things to go right. Something as simple as someone complimenting you or opening the door for you can change someone’s day completely.

This can spark a whole chain reaction of positivity for someone if they choose to be in that mindset.

Positivity and gratitude allow you to find the light within the darkness.

Your 2017 Creative Encouragement

As I stated in the intro, there are times where finding the silver lining may not feel possible right away. I’m not telling you to be a positivity robot.

Be a human but also realize you choose how you see the world—everything is perception.

If the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up is spill your coffee, shake it off and be thankful you can afford to have it.

When you see negativity shining in your Facebook feed, don’t give into it and go to YouTube and watch some cat videos.

Appreciate the good and enjoy the creative process of your life.

Make 2017 your bitch and choose to find the light in the darkness.

Key Takeaways

Law of Attraction

Music: Blookah

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My Nightly Ritual to Stop Reacting and Eat More Frogs

Taking a shot in the dark and guessing you’re someone who likes to get shit done.

I know for me, I get my jollies when I’m getting things crossed off my to-do list.

First things first, I’m definitely not claiming to be a productivity guru—I’m just a dude who’s trying to be more productive than busy.

I strictly want to share with you what’s been working for me as a creative … and of course what isn’t working.

What wasn’t working for me was winging it each day.

Whenever I go with the flow with no plan:

Eventually, I stumbled across one little change that I began implementing before I went to bed at night: I started planning out the one main thing that needs to get done the next day to push me towards my goal(s).

This one main task is going to be called your frog. I’ll explain why in a second.

If you’re one to wing it each day and can relate to how I used to feel than seriously consider this underrated productivity tip.

Don't Eat Tadpoles Before Your Frog

Brian Tracy, the author of Eat That Frog, talks about keeping the most important task top of mind. That most important task is your frog and you must eat your frog first before you move to less important tadpole tasks.

When you’re winging it each day, you’re eating your tadpoles and possibly something completely unrelated first.

I hope this metaphor is making sense and I sincerely hope you’re visualizing eating frogs and tadpoles at the moment. :)

For me, I’m a one man army and wear a lot of hats in my business. There’s so much to do that I can’t go around guessing anymore as each day is a valuable opportunity to get to where I want to be quicker.

This applies to you too,

When you’re guessing each day, you’re reacting. If you’re reacting, you’re not fully focused on the main task.

Once I started planning out my frog the night before, I gained a ton of clarity and most importantly, I saw progress.

What is Your Frog?

My frogs tend to vary.

What makes my business go is writing, podcasting and drawing either for the podcast or for freelance.

When writing is the frog, I mind map my topic the night before so I can let my mind marinate on everything overnight. When I wake up, I know exactly what I need to do and there is no guessing… of course, this comes after coffee.

Without planning your frog the night before, you’re waking up and reacting. You can’t take action when you have to think about what you should be doing.

By planning your frog the night before:

It’s all about creating a nightly habit so you can kick ass in your following day’s routine.

My Nightly Ritual

At 9pm every night, I have a reminder from my homegirl Siri set to notify me to ’plan out my next day.’

I go in my office or lay in my bed and write in my Passion Planner my 1, sometimes up to 3 frogs that need be eaten in order to move forward to the main goal (making Perspective-Collective a full-time business).

I go to bed shortly after and truly believe my mind is subconsciously planning for me so I can just wake up and do my thing.

If I showed up and got the main frog eaten, it was a successful day.

If there is more time in my schedule after eating the first frog, I know exactly the next frog that I need to devour.

Ready to Stop Reacting?

If you’re tired of winging it and going to bed each night feeling unaccomplished, try this one tip out.

What do you have to lose?

Each night, plan one thing that needs to be done the next day.

That’s it.

I’m not telling you to have to live by a strictly scheduled routine like I do each day. Hell, knocking out that one thing each day will not only help you get more done, but it’ll also give you more guiltless freedom in a day to do what you want.

Stop living a life of reacting every day.

Plan your frog the night before and I’m confident it’ll be your most underrated get shit done tactic in your daily routine.

Key Takeaways

Self-doubt used to be my best friend.

Hell, it still is as I continue to become more vulnerable and push my creative career forward.

Seriously, I feel like an imposter every day.

Why should someone take me seriously and why should someone care?

The imposter in me feeds me these objections:

It's really hard to not let this type of thinking bring me down. Yet at the same time, I realize that none of these things matter if I keep doing what I know and enjoy the most.

This episode is dedicated to showing you that you are not the only one facing an inner struggle each day.

I want to convince you that you are an imposter and that’s okay—it means you’re going in the right direction.

My Current Struggle

I’ll be honest; I’ve been in a brand identity crisis since about last year once I got heavy into blogging. Just when I think I have things figured out I begin doubting it all the next day.

One of my biggest struggles is how to position myself to the creative community and how to offer my services.

On one hand, I’m an artist / freelancer and my work is what got me any attention in the first place.

On the other hand, I feel I can serve a bigger purpose than just creating art—that’s where the blogging, speaking and podcasting manifested from.

With art, I’m extremely confident in my abilities compared to the boy years back who was terrified to share his work with anyone.

Confidence continues to build especially since taking up freelance again. I’m getting great clients who pay great because they know they are working with a specialist.

I'm a specialist because only I can do what I do best—it took a long time to realize this. Although people can and do rip my style and work, no one else can replicate the message and context I inject into it.

This applies to you too!

I’m good with this part of my brand. When I’m creating, I’m in the moment and feel the most alive. It’s truly the only time I’m not dwelling on the past or laser focused on what’s next in the future.

However, the doubt creeps in with the ‘influencer’ side of my brand for lack of better terms. By influencer, I’m essentially saying I am using different channels like writing and speaking instead of just art to encourage creatives.

I don’t understand why but I’ve been convinced I had to separate these two identities within my business.

I ask myself:

I realize I’m extremely over thinking things but this is a real pain point for me.

Practically every piece of creative motivational content I’ve produced since pursuing this path has made me cringe when I hit publish.

There is this element of feeling fake for many reasons:

These are just a few reasons.

I know I am more than art, but I don’t know how to communicate this.

I’ve been called a coach, influencer, consultant and mentor several occasions so I thought this is the route I needed to go.

I should probably use my audiences' language right?

I tried giving myself the title of “Creative Coach” or “Creative Mentor” and I died a little bit inside every time I called myself it publicly.

It just doesn’t feel right.

Sadly, since I have been speaking more at conferences, I’m terrified of my idols thinking I’m a corny piece of shit.

I don’t want to care what they think but damn, I really do care.

The imposter within me tears me apart day-by-day as I feel I’m proclaiming I’m something I’m not.

It screams, “Scotty, you’re a 28-year-old artist who has a day job. Why the hell should anyone take you serious with a title like Creative Mentor?”

Only recently have I been able to cope with this serious but not serious dilemma. It’s been through a quote I recently heard and being vocal about my problems with people like you.

Why It’s Okay to Be an Imposter

This past October I got the opportunity to hear Nathan Barry speak—let me tell you he has a fantastic presence on stage. His message of focusing on what works and dedicating yourself to it really stuck. However, there was a point he made that cut deep into my core.

[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="1c1c1c" class="" size="32"]“If you feel like an imposter, you’re going in the right direction.”[/perfectpullquote]

[ctt template="2" link="DAVG0" via="no"]“If you feel like an imposter, you’re going in the right direction.” - @nathanbarry[/ctt]

I needed to hear this.

I needed to hear that even the juggernauts of the creative industry feel like imposters.

This is a normal feeling.

I repeat, this is a normal feeling.

I’m 28 years old and I’m not supposed to have everything figured out. Adversity and self-doubt are pre-requisites when pursuing your creative career.

This isn’t supposed to be easy, but it’s about showing up each day and figuring out what works and what doesn’t—and currently, me forcing myself to step into influencer role and titling myself as a ‘creative mentor’ just isn’t panning out.

[ctt template="2" link="DAVG0" via="no"]Adversity and self-doubt are pre-requisites when pursuing your creative career.[/ctt]

Be Comfortable With Your Identity

The day I picked up a pencil (or a crayon), I immediately became an artist.

When I’m buried in my grave, I will be an artist.

Right now in my life, I am an artist who does hand lettering and illustrations. I’m also just a fellow creative who is in your corner cheering you on to do great things with your work with my podcast.

If you want to call me a mentor or a coach, that’s cool. I’m not going to label myself that.

I can’t continue to force something that doesn’t feel right.

This will all happen in time.

I can’t force myself overnight to become the future version of myself I envision n 5–10 years. It doesn’t work that way.

As I share my struggles, I’d love to hear from you:

Shoot me an email at [email protected] as I will read and respond.

I want you to realize you’re not alone and even the people you look up to deal with this.

Stop forcing something that doesn’t feel right. It’s important to follow your intuition and trust your gut.

If something feels off and it has for awhile, reevaluate things and find people who you can talk to.

It’s been huge for me to get this off my chest and I’m finding massive amounts of relief in sharing this with you.

So in conclusion, my name is Scotty Russell, and I’m an artist who does illustrations and hand lettering.

I’m also an imposter and that’s okay.

Key Takeaways:

Alex Blumberg - This American Life

Nathan Barry - Authority

.

Notify the Universe and Show the Work You Want to Get

I can remember way back during the bowl cut and JNCO days as a kid and how lit Friday nights were. I’d lounge on the couch watching TGIF and have a whole frozen pizza to myself.

Ya, those were the good days. It sparked my obsession with pizza because I grew up picky with a small desire to try other foods.

Don’t get me wrong, a frozen pizza is still a delight, but I’ve graduated to delivery and I’m not talking Digiorno.

I’ve been doing little pizza doodles forever yet I never really started sharing them till the past few years. I’m learning to embrace this little quirk of mine because:

While the context behind this seems random, I assure you there is a point to this all.

I recently came across this sweet Dominoes Pizza box design. The craft and attention to detail blew my mind. You would’ve thought this $10 Large 3 Topping Take Out only pizza would’ve cost like $40!

It’s crazy the subjective value art can bring to something and I want the opportunity to do this.

Seeing this pizza box inspired me to create this type of subjective value for a brand.

This is where I’m getting to my point.

How would anyone know to hire me for a custom pizza box design if I don’t show this in my artwork?

I’m a huge advocate for showing the work you want to attract and be known for. I put my money where my mouth is and went on Amazon and purchased 50 pizza boxes to get to work (I’d like to thank Terence Tang of Tinlun Studio for the idea).

This episode is me shouting to the universe what kind of work I want to attract. It may not happen immediately, but if I continue to show how much fun I have in creating clever pizza art, I have no doubt over time it will be seen by the right person who will give me that chance.

Who knows, maybe I’ll even get paid in free pizza for life?

Without further ado, here are 11 life lessons learned from loving pizza.

Fair warning, these can get pretty cheesy. Pun intended.

1. You can’t make everyone happy, you are not pizza

Stop focusing on seeking everyone’s validation. It’s impossible to please everyone and have everyone like your work.

Put out work you’re enthusiastic about and the right people will resonate.

2. Pizza always has my back Life is full of highs and lows. During the lows, it’s important that you have people around you who have your back.

Surround yourself with people of high character and who aren’t assholes. It doesn’t have to be pizza.

3. Don’t step on my pizza Everything holds something of value to someone. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you can’t accept them and what they like.

And for the love of everything good in life, don’t disrespect someone and step on their pizza.

4. Slice life It’s hard to believe that life isn’t all about pizza, but I’m a strong believer in having something you’re passionate and driven about in life.

What purpose are you fulfilling?

Where can you bring value to yours and someone else's life?

5. Pizza on my mind all the time I don’t know about you but when I have a good idea or riding a lot of momentum in life, I have a hard time turning my mind off.

When you have that one thing you can’t stop thinking about, I feel it’s your intuition giving you an internal pull in the direction you’re supposed to go.

Trust your gut, even if you ate too much pizza.

6. I will draw for pizza

I desperately want you to understand that it’s possible to generate an income doing what you enjoy the most.

For me, this is drawing and I never in a million years would’ve thought it was possible to make a living off it.

It’s possible and you are capable and I’m determined to show you.

7. Little slice of heaven Plain and simple—enjoy the little things in life.

Whether you found a dollar bill on the ground or have a delightful frozen Jacks pizza all to yourself—showing gratitude for the little things in life makes life a lot more enjoyable.

8. Pizza is life Life is all about you, yet it’s not all about you.

First off, I believe you can only help others if you take care of yourself first.

Secondly, I believe we exist to serve others and make a difference.

Cultivate your talents and put them towards a significant need in the world. The more 'good' you do for others the more 'good' comes to you.

It’s called Karma.

9. Pizza lovers unite After experiencing being in the middle of a flood back in September, I was blown away to see how the community rallied and bonded together.

We weren’t born to build barriers and divide due to religion, political views or race. Underlying all of that crap is timeless principles and the ability to love one another.

We are all team human in the end.

10. You wanna pizza me? I grew up biting my tongue when I felt I had something important to speak out about. It spawned from my desire to please everyone and to avoid confrontation.

The person I am striving to become realizes at times you have to speak out and fight for what you believe in—no matter if it creates uncomfortable situations.

At least at the end of the day, you can sleep knowing that you spoke what was on your mind.

11. I hate when people steal my pizza I’ve stolen things in the past and I feel like a dick for doing it.

I’ve lost respect for myself even if it was over petty things like taking someone else’s Bud Light out of their cooler during a tailgate party.

These things still haunt me and I’ve spent years trying to redeem myself for it.

Everything in life must be earned and it’s a crude act taking something that isn’t yours that you didn’t invest precious time in your life to deserve.

Show the Work You Want to Get

What is it that you urge to do but think it’s impossible?

If you’re a skater and want to make art for a big time skating brand, you should be blowing up your social feed with amazing skate deck art and tagging / using every hashtag with every brand.

The universe can’t deliver you the job of your dreams if you’re not actively showing it that you’re wanting it.

Your dream isn’t going to be delivered to your front door like a hot, piping pizza. You have to put in the work and show the work you want to get.

Who knows what will come out of this episode or all these pizza drawings? At least I’m being intentional and having a blast doing something I love and that I feel I’m good at.

Showing the work you want combined with the following 11 life lessons is sure to get you to a point where you will be fulfilled by doing great work for great people…….and filled with a full stomach.

It will never happen by wishing and not doing.

Key Takeaways

This episode of the Perspective Podcast is about overcoming the divide that the latest Presidential Election has caused. The election of Trump has seemingly compelled people to lash out and treat people like shit due to their differences.

On the other hand, the losing party has lashed out and acted childish as well. It's truly one side against the other and has made the US a breeding ground for teaching and raising the youth up in hate.

I believe it's our human duty to get over our differences and look past the barriers of culture, race, religion, opinions, etc. We have to start playing our roles of putting something positive back into the world to show people there is hope for the human race.

I don't care if we don't see eye to eye or if I agreement with everything you stand for, but at the end of the day you and I are human and I can accept you.

Be kind and don't be a dick. We have enough of them already.

Have you heard of Inktober? It’s an awesome drawing challenge created by the talented Jake Parker that requires consistency and commitment.

Throughout the month of October, artists across the globe are challenged to create a daily drawing.

That’s 31 drawings if you aren’t sure how many days are in October. :)

After being heavily involved in the business side of Perspective-Collective for the past two months, I was eager for a drawing challenge. I’m actually surprised I’ve never jumped at a commitment like this before because I’m infamous for piling projects on my plate.

The challenge has recently ended and it solidified that I’m a freakin’ pro at committing to being consistent……..at things that aren’t always best to focus on at a given moment in time.

You see, consistency and commitment are great. There are huge benefits to developing these disciplines which I will cover in a bit. On the other hand, there are also consequences when you’re not focused on the right thing at the right time.

I want to show you both ends of the spectrum in hopes you will focus on consistency and commitment in the right areas of your creative career.

The Benefits of Consistency and Commitment

I credit much of any success I’ve had with Perspective-Collective to consistency and commitment.

Both have provided me:

I’ve learned that focusing on the right thing at the right time leads to greater rewards and growth. This was the case with a consistent commitment to drawing, blogging, and now podcasting.

The results, routine and discipline you develop far outweigh the initial pain points of getting started.

There’s no question I put the right focus in these areas, but there are other areas I focus on that hold me back from the overall vision.

That’s where you run into problems.

The Inktober Mistake

Back to Inktober—while it was fun, looking back on it now I see it wasn’t the best decision.

Here’s why….

My goal is to make Perspective-Collective a self-sufficient, full-time gig within the next 5 years so myself and my wife can work from home. The problem is that I’ve accrued a shit ton of student loan debt from attending a private college.

Let’s be real, I have over $65,000 of student loan debt I’m being suffocated by—not to mention a mortgage and a car loan.

When you look past the follower count and the life I portray through social media, you can see this life I'm living isn't so glamorous.

I would trade many of you in a heartbeat in order to have the financial freedom and the daily stress off my back.

I’m not making enough at the day job to pay off debt and save at the same time, but I'm determined and will achieve this goal. However, the only way I’m able to this is by pursuing projects that will allow me to knock out this debt quicker.

This means I’ve had to start freelancing again—which has actually been fun and I've worked with some awesome clients. I've also begun building digitally based products like my recent Weekly Content Checklist.While posters, t-shirts and patches are nice to haves, there is too much overhead and time that goes into them that I don't have.

On top of my current freelance and products, I’ve been managing my weekly blog, newsletter, podcast and a featured custom image to go with them all. While these may not be making me money, they are pivotal to where I see my business going.

This isn’t a boast saying I can manage a commitment like Inktober with my current project load—this is me publicly telling you that I’m a fucking lunatic.

Cramming more activities to my already over-scheduled life did more damage than I expected.

Honestly, the only positives were the fact that I had fun developing a new style in my daily experiments. I guess this new refreshing perspective is a plus too.

When Consistency and Commitment Hold You Back

When I commit to something I’m all in. There’s no turning back as I pride myself in following through in everything I say I'll do.

This pride can produce negative consequences as I mentioned before.

When you’re head is down grinding away in the wrong direction, you’re not looking up towards your vision.

[ctt link="9hd0D" template="2"]When you’re head is down grinding away in the wrong direction, you’re not looking up towards your vision.[/ctt]

You lose sight of the trophy and miss the mark on what's in front of you.

For me, I was so wrapped up in my commitment to Inktober that I wasn’t all-in with the one thing that mattered most—drawing my way out of debt to reach my dream.

Inktober didn’t help me speed up the process of paying off debt—it took my focus away from the things that would get me there.

By consistently committing to things that don’t align to the vision, you're splitting focus and spreading yourself too thin.

This reflection has made me recall the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. Instead of multiple priorities, focus on the highest priority that will get you to where you want to be in life.

This is what matters most.

What Are You Focusing On?

Maybe you think I'm being too hard on myself and that I'm a fun hater.

Believe me, if you know me you know I like to have a good time. However, I’m in a season of my life where I know what I want and I’m determined to figure out how to get there.

This means I need to crack down harder on shiny object syndrome—which is being distracted by the latest and most fun thing around.

I can't promise that I won’t slip up from time to time, but not on a 31-day binge commitment like Inktober.

This isn’t about being perfect, this is about proving to myself how serious I am about my goals.

My intentions aren’t to get pity from you. I want this self-inflicted stressful month of October to serve as a reminder for you to be wiser than me.

Stop feeling like you have to be above average at everything. You don’t and it’s okay to say no to adding something to your plate.

Be the person who thrives in one or two things that will get you to your creative goals quicker. Not the person making minimal progress in a million directions.

Focus on the essential and then become a consistent and committed freak of nature.

Key Takeaways

In this episode of the Perspective Podcast, Scotty discusses his current top 3 podcasts that will help you elevate your creative brand.

Audio is one of the best formats for learning something new every day on the go. You can consume them while your working, showering, doing yard work or even just relaxing. If you don't have time for books then podcasts are for you.

The 3 top podcast Scotty recommends are:

This podcast is for creatives who are pursuing a career in freelance while making great art for a living. However, it's more than that in my opinion and I believe it focuses on creative personal / professional development.

his quirky sense of humor and laid-back approach really elevates his honest advice on building your creative career. He has this magical way of blending metaphors and storytelling to paint a vivid picture that inspires action.

His “not taking himself so seriously” approach really helps me articulate my own thoughts and to not be so serious myself all the time.

We live in a digital age and getting the inside scoop of what’s working, what isn’t and what’s coming in the future is a sure fire way to keep you ahead of the creative curve.

He’s got some killer books / audiobooks too that I suggest checking out.

Knowing your message with help you:

Each week, Donald Miller interviews some of the top influencers across the world. You get an inside look into how these people became successful as they share practical tips you can apply immediately.

If you want a list of all my recommended podcasts and audio books, check out my resources page: Perspective-CollectiveResources.com