The Portfolio Life with Jeff Goins

By Jeff Goins

What's The Portfolio Life with Jeff Goins about?

Jeff Goins shares thoughts & ideas that will help you to pursue work that matters, make a difference with your art & discover your true voice!

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The Portfolio Life with Jeff Goins episodes:

03.15.2022
The Portfolio Life Finale
Some things must end so other things may begin. In this final episode of The Portfolio Life, Jeff discusses what a portfolio life is and shares the lessons he’s learned over the course of producing the podcast. Lessons learned: ...
02.04.2021
Peak Performance Every Day: Interview with Eric Partaker
On The Portfolio Life this week, I’m chatting with Peak Performance Expert, Eric Partaker. Eric helps entrepreneurs become better leaders using behavioral science and techniques from the worlds of elite sports and the military, where peak performance is key. Eric...
01.28.2021
The Artist’s Life: Interview with Elida Field
On The Portfolio Life this week, I’m talking to Elida Field, a professional artist whose work has been featured in the White House and on magazine covers. She’s currently working on her first book, Nobody Dies in Art Class. To...
11.12.2020
Am I Still Me?
The act of finding the deeper part of you that never fades may be the most important task of your life. It is certainly the best place from which to create.
10.14.2020
Before You Build Your First Product, Do This
We're at the end of the 5-day Paid to Create challenge and so far, we’ve identified why we create, the importance of making money off our art, how to know what to sell, and to whom. Now, it’s time to...
10.12.2020
Sell Them What They Want, Give Them What They Need
Before you figure out what you want to sell, you need to first figure out what people are willing to pay for. Your job is to create something unique, something that at first meets a felt need of a person...
10.12.2020
More Than Passion: Getting Clear on a Business Idea
To start a business, you need more than passion. Getting paid to create really is about getting clear on what people want. Before we get into the super practical work of actually accepting money from other people, we need to...
10.12.2020
3 Kinds of Creators: Which One Are You?
There are, I think, roughly three kinds of creators in this world, each with their own path. Today, I want to share with you two things. First is the three kinds of creators, and the second is the path to...
10.05.2020
Get Paid to Create
Why do we create? To share a thought: an idea, a story, a paradigm. To help another person, perhaps, simply by saying something others are unwilling to say. This week, I'm hosting a free, 5-day challenge to get you to...
08.27.2020
What Words Can Do
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what words can do. They can cut a person down or lift them up. They can overwhelm another with beauty or devastate their soul. I am always searching for the words that want...
08.10.2020
One Unexpected Outcome of Announcing My Divorce on the Internet
This past week, I shared the news of my marriage ending. This has been the hardest decision of my life, something I was nervous to talk about publicly, but how people responded more than surprised me.
08.03.2020
How to Stop Being Distracted and Do What Matters: Interview with Nir Eyal
Distraction is no friend to a writer. But we all have had our dance with her before, haven't we? She is everywhere, all around us, from the devices we use to the websites we visit, to how we consume our...
07.02.2020
Taking Care of Your Creative Life in the Midst of a Pandemic
These days, I seem to be going through a personal renaissance, re-thinking who I am, what I do, and my contribution to the world. I keep running into other writers, artists, and creative professionals who seem to be struggling with...
05.18.2020
When I Became Me: Understanding the Life of an Artist as Story
Before you can create anything, you must first create yourself. The process of changing your life—of pursuing a vocation, finding a true love, even making a career transition—always begins with an understanding of who you are. But it doesn’t stop...
05.13.2020
The 3 Stages of an Artist’s Work: Transaction, Compromise, Gift
What if the point of becoming a professional artist or writer was not what you thought it was? What if success wasn’t the ultimate goal? What if each phase of your journey, even the frustrating ones, was a necessary stage...
05.04.2020
Don't Pivot
The world is in crisis, and many people are telling you to do something new. But what if you didn’t have to do that? What if, instead of pivoting into new and exciting opportunities, we who make things considered this...
04.27.2020
Everything Is a Performance: Michael Port on the Roles We Play
How do you respond to something like a pandemic? A crisis when the whole world goes upside down. What role is being required of you when you feel like the thing that you offer the world isn't even needed? In...
04.13.2020
Think You’re Doing This Quarantine Thing Terribly? I’ve Got You Beat (But There’s Still Hope)
Hello there from quarantine. You might be feeling some shame for being unproductive or lazy or depressed during this time of crisis and social distancing. Please allow me to make you feel better. I am doing this worse than you,...
03.24.2020
Now is the Time to Give Your Greatest Gift
Is it an act of bravery to merely survive a crisis? Maybe. But if you have the potential to be remarkable, why wouldn’t you be? Now is the time to give your greatest gift to the world.
03.17.2020
This Is About More Than Toilet Paper
“What did you do with this crisis?” This may be what our children ask us about this time. And as you'll see, a crisis is an opportunity to create something new. Links from this episode: If you are a...
03.02.2020
No, We Actually Don’t Need You to Write a Book (The Better Book Manifesto)
We don’t need more books in the world; we need better books. We don’t need another mystery novel or cancer survival story or career advice tome. We don’t need another seven steps or four laws or twelve rules for anything,...
02.17.2020
I Wrote a Book on Public Speaking and Then Became a Successful Speaker
This week, my first ghostwriting project, The Successful Speaker, comes out. This was a collaboration with Grant Baldwin, the leading expert on what it takes to build a successful speaking business. It was a lot of fun, but what I...
02.10.2020
You Don’t Need More to Start: 3 Timeless Truths to Succeed
I tend to think of life as a journey these days far more than a destination. If I could summarize what I believe about almost everything in life, it would be this: Clarity comes with action. This is harder than...
02.03.2020
Why We All Need to Act More Like Artists
"Why do we need art?" In a world that seems to more and more focused on "work works," is there still a place for beauty? Do artists matter anymore? I think they do.
01.27.2020
What Creativity Can Do That Nothing Else Can
There are three messages creativity can communicate, and these messages are what connect us as human beings. Which is to say, without the arts—without the ability to creatively express who we are and what we care about—we lose a bit...
01.21.2020
222: We Are All Hyphens Now: Chase Jarvis on the Creative Calling
We are all hyphens. That's what Chase Jarvis, founder of CreativeLive, amazing photographer, and best-selling author of Creative Calling, told me in our recent conversation: we are all hyphens, and I couldn't agree more. In this episode, I have a...
01.13.2020
The Cure for a Boring Career: Build a Portfolio Life
Whether you’re bored, out of work, or simply wanting a more fulfilling career, I believe that by embracing a portfolio life, you will finally have the peace and contentment you seek in your work.
12.31.2019
Instead of Setting Goals, Tell a New Story
When it comes to achieving goals, many of us may be thinking about them the wrong way. You and I have been told that you can have everything you want in life if you work hard enough and persevere long...
12.23.2019
What Those Winter Blues Can Teach You About True Happiness
All good stories involve dying. The often-literal death of a mentor requires the hero to grow and move on in his journey. But there is also the shedding of a character’s old identity in exchange for a new way of...
11.11.2019
Your Questions Answered: Writing, Marketing and More
A few weeks ago, I did an episode of The Portfolio Life called "Don’t Build an Empire, Find a Few Friends Who Care." It was about how the secret of marketing and getting your ideas to spread is really just...
11.04.2019
The Secret to Innovative Work: Be Different, Not Better
Often, we think the way to stand out from the pack is to be better. And sometimes that is the answer: to become an improved version of who you were yesterday, to do what the “other guy” is doing with a few...
10.21.2019
221: Interview with Matt Kepnes
I've often wondered what would it be like to be a nomad and travel the world. I did this for a brief time in my early 20s and then stopped, and recently I've been falling back in love with travel....
10.10.2019
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Yourself
"Just be yourself" is probably the worst advice we could ever receive or give a person. Few of us actually know who we really are. And yet, if we can acquire this art of self-awareness, everything changes. Ralph Waldo Emerson...
09.27.2019
How to End Things Well
Recently while speaking on stage, I heard myself say something I didn’t plan on sharing. I didn’t rehearse it. I didn’t have it in my notes. It just came out. The line was: “Sometimes, the good has to end before...
09.18.2019
Don’t Build an Empire, Find a Few Friends Who Care
The best marketing you can do for your work is not to build an empire, but to find a few friends who care. We all want to reach the masses and see our work get into the mainstream. We want...
06.27.2019
How to Make Email Work for You
Whether you want to write books, make art, or share your music with the world, having an email list of fans is a must. Email is the most effective way to communicate with your people. Social networks come and go....
06.26.2019
5 Ways to Build a Powerful Email Newsletter List
It’s one thing to understand the importance of email marketing and quite another to actually build an email list that allows you to reach a large audience. One of the best things I ever did as a blogger was to...
06.24.2019
How to Write Better Email
Over the years, I’ve seen all kinds of marketing fads come and go. MySpace FriendFeed Xanga1 Google Plus Blogging Podcasting Some of these have come and gone and come back again. And some have stayed gone. But do...
06.21.2019
Why You Need an Email List Now
You need an email list. It's just that simple. If you want to write a book that sells thousands of copies or more, you need people paying attention to your work. If you want your message to spread, you need...
06.19.2019
220: How to Travel the World and Write About It: Lex Latkovski
Is it possible to live life on your own terms? Can you do what you want when it defies the expectations of others? Is the way you’re living right now a story that others would want to tell? And how...
06.13.2019
219: Your Best Creative Tool (Is You) with Paul Jarvis
As you may know, I’ve been traveling quite a bit this year. It’s been fun to meet many of you at the various events I’ve spoken at or attended. One question I keep hearing is: “What’s your favorite writing tool?”...
06.06.2019
Why You Failed at That Last Goal You Set
You didn’t fail. The goal was to learn something, so if you learned, you succeeded. It’s only when the unexpected happens and we don’t learn from it that we really fail. The reason why you may not have achieved what...
05.31.2019
Why Anyone Buys Anything: How to Close the Sale on a Product Launch
Why does anyone buy anything? Because the cost of not having it is greater than the cost of acquiring it. This is true for almost everything but especially for sales and marketing. If you want to thrive as a creative...
05.31.2019
Your Guide to Launching Your First Product Quickly and Well
When is it time to launch your latest product? The answer is before you think it’s ready. This is where you make your product public. Is it a book? A course? A new coaching program? Now is the time for...
05.30.2019
Everything You Need to Know to Build Your First Digital Product
Digital products have changed my life. Courses. Ebooks. Coaching programs. Masterminds. Membership sites. All of it. Making things and sharing them on the Internet has revolutionized the way I live, learn, and earn a living. And if you aren’t taking...
05.29.2019
How to Create Something from Nothing
How do you create something from nothing? You don’t. You always start with something. Creation comes from chaos. And so will your next book, course, or big project. Full shownotes: https://goinswriter.com/scratch/
05.28.2019
Your Minimum Viable Product
One of the challenges of being a creative professional is that you aren’t always sure what people will buy. It often feels like a game of Roulette, in which you have to create a lot of work, hoping someone will...
05.24.2019
Product Launch Failure: How to Avoid It by Testing Before Your Build
So many people set out to create a product—whether it’s a book, a coaching service, or an online course—and assume they know what people want. Don’t do that. Instead of assuming, just ask. Full shownotes: https://goinswriter.com/test-it/
05.24.2019
How to Make Something & Sell It in 7 Days: Your First Digital Product
People don’t typically buy what they need. They buy what they want. Which is why I love the saying: “Sell them what they want, give them what they need.” But how, exactly, do we do that? Full shownotes: https://goinswriter.com/first-product/
05.20.2019
4 Signs You Might Be a Starving Artist (and What to Do About It)
It's time you started thriving, and that really begins with you changing your mind. But maybe you don't realize that you're a starving artist. Maybe it didn't occur to you that the way you think about yourself and your work...

What's The Portfolio Life with Jeff Goins about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Portfolio Life with Jeff Goins episodes:

The Portfolio Life Finale

Peak Performance Every Day: Interview with Eric Partaker

The Artist’s Life: Interview with Elida Field

Am I Still Me?

Before You Build Your First Product, Do This

Sell Them What They Want, Give Them What They Need

More Than Passion: Getting Clear on a Business Idea

3 Kinds of Creators: Which One Are You?

Get Paid to Create

What Words Can Do

One Unexpected Outcome of Announcing My Divorce on the Internet

How to Stop Being Distracted and Do What Matters: Interview with Nir Eyal

Taking Care of Your Creative Life in the Midst of a Pandemic

When I Became Me: Understanding the Life of an Artist as Story

The 3 Stages of an Artist’s Work: Transaction, Compromise, Gift

Don't Pivot

Everything Is a Performance: Michael Port on the Roles We Play

Think You’re Doing This Quarantine Thing Terribly? I’ve Got You Beat (But There’s Still Hope)

Now is the Time to Give Your Greatest Gift

This Is About More Than Toilet Paper

No, We Actually Don’t Need You to Write a Book (The Better Book Manifesto)

I Wrote a Book on Public Speaking and Then Became a Successful Speaker

You Don’t Need More to Start: 3 Timeless Truths to Succeed

Why We All Need to Act More Like Artists

What Creativity Can Do That Nothing Else Can

222: We Are All Hyphens Now: Chase Jarvis on the Creative Calling

The Cure for a Boring Career: Build a Portfolio Life

Instead of Setting Goals, Tell a New Story

What Those Winter Blues Can Teach You About True Happiness

Your Questions Answered: Writing, Marketing and More

The Secret to Innovative Work: Be Different, Not Better

221: Interview with Matt Kepnes

The Unbearable Lightness of Being Yourself

How to End Things Well

Don’t Build an Empire, Find a Few Friends Who Care

How to Make Email Work for You

5 Ways to Build a Powerful Email Newsletter List

How to Write Better Email

Why You Need an Email List Now

220: How to Travel the World and Write About It: Lex Latkovski

219: Your Best Creative Tool (Is You) with Paul Jarvis

Why You Failed at That Last Goal You Set

Why Anyone Buys Anything: How to Close the Sale on a Product Launch

Your Guide to Launching Your First Product Quickly and Well

Everything You Need to Know to Build Your First Digital Product

How to Create Something from Nothing

Your Minimum Viable Product

Product Launch Failure: How to Avoid It by Testing Before Your Build

How to Make Something & Sell It in 7 Days: Your First Digital Product

4 Signs You Might Be a Starving Artist (and What to Do About It)