creative life
How to build an ethical creative business that honors your core values
In this article, you’ll get an activity that will show you how to use your core values to build an ethical creative business that can help make the world a better place. Yes, seriously. Obviously, in this big crazy world, there is a lot that’s out of your control. We all make compromises, a lot…
Read MoreResetting for the New Year: the power of a self-compassionate annual review
I’m about to ask you to do something hard, but before I do, I want to tell you a little story. Last month, I wrapped up the autumn class I teach each year called “Illustration Projects.” The title is vague, I know, but that’s intentional, because the content of the class changes each year. It’s…
Read MoreHow being brave just ONCE brought forth a world of opportunities, and kickstarted a dream creative career
If you have big dreams of starting a creative career… If you can imagine making something awesome and ambitious… …then you can also imagine screwing it all up, being found out as a loser and a fraud, being banned from all future creative career options and endeavors, and being sent to the corner to think…
Read More“Am I a failure if I’m not making enough money with my creative work?”
Mastering your art form is how you become a great artist. It is not how you become a professional.
Read MoreYour new superpower: NOT trying to do everything
When you pay yourself first, not only with money, but with time, you can choose to focus on your highest values without having your entire life dialed in.
Read MoreHow to silence your inner critic: Embrace it.
Does your inner critic launch an attack on you every time you get close to finishing, or sharing, your creative work? “Ugh, seriously? You are such an idiot. Who would ever want to read such garbage! Now, sit down and shut up, before someone notices you.” Sound familiar? That’s the loop that plays on endless…
Read MoreHow to make it as an artist: Stop following the rules
Yeah, that’s me on stage with podcasting stars Roman Mars and Glynn Washington, with my comics projected 20 feet tall onscreen. It was 2015. It was a pinnacle of my artist career. Yet I had no idea how to truly make it as an artist. That’s the problem with looking at the outside of someone’s…
Read MoreRaise your bar for risk: do something scary and don’t die
I’ve got a vulnerability hangover. I recently finished a launch campaign for my new course on building an audience and marketing specifically tailored for creatives who (think they) loathe marketing. You might not know what I mean by a “launch campaign” (I sure didn’t, the first time I found myself running one, back in early…
Read MoreHow to stop trying to do it all — 5 steps to choose the best project (and chuck the rest)
The Autonomous Creative Collective is the community of current students and alumni of the Creative Focus Workshop. Cartoonist, teacher, and graphic recorder Lisa Frühbeis went through a shakeup of how she works and thinks that hit Level 7+ on the Richter scale. The result? Lisa faced down her fears and scarcity thinking to say no…
Read MoreAuthentic Visibility: Growing your audience without selling your soul
The secret to becoming known for the work that you care about most without selling your soul or wasting all your time on humiliating “self-promotion”? Authentic Visibility. Let’s do a little thought experiment. Let’s say you’re working on something big. A nonfiction book about women warriors throughout history. A graphic novel about surviving brain cancer…and…
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