Converge: The Business of Creativity Podcast with Dane Sanders

A peek into the life of one extraordinary individual who is living the life of his dreams traveling the world by working remotely.

In this episode of Converge Dane Sanders is joined by creative entrepreneur Jake Jorgovan who up and moved to Mexico to live the life of his dreams.

Dane and Jake explore the idea of the American dream, working remotely, what that means and how to do it. Jake describes his formula for how to put yourself in a position to go anywhere in the world you desire and still make a living.

He boils it down to three things:

• Learn a skill
• Figure out how to get hired for that skill and work remotely
• Move somewhere awesome

If you have always dreamed of the freedom to travel or live somewhere else and still manage to make a living supporting yourself and your family, this episode might give you a new perspective on how to make that a reality.

Many thanks to Jake Jorgovan for being here. And thanks to all of you that have taken time to spread the word through Twitter, leave questions and comments on the site and rate us at places like iTunes.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Tim Ferris
Chris Guillebeau
Tropical MBA
Hobo CEO
Travel Hacking (affiliate link)

Music provided by Triple Scoop Music – sound as good as you look.

The post Ep. 013 Skill is the New Black with Jake Jorgovan appeared first on Fastermind.co.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are familiar words here in the United States. It seems fitting that this Converge episode about exploring happiness, is releasing only a few days before we celebrate Independence Day and the signing of our Declaration that secured us those rights.

What does the pursuit of happiness actually look like?

Well-known author and speaker, Gretchen Rubin, joins Dane to talk about happiness, habits and what it looks like to pursue those things. And not only just pursue them but do it in a way that reflects what s important to you. Not what someone else thinks should be important to you.

They explore ideas around embracing what you already love and letting go of the fantasy of what you think you should or wish you did love. Gretchen talks about habit formation and how to look at your past for cues on how best set yourself up for success in the future.

If you find yourself exhausted at the idea of infinite potential this episode may offer a freedom you have never considered before.

Follow @GretchenRubin on Twitter or Facebook. Check out her books The Happiness Project, Happier at Home and Better Than Before (coming soon).

Thanks to Triple Scoop Music for providing the music for today s show and thanks to our wonderful audio producer Anna Queza of AQreative.

The post Ep. 022 Happiness and Habits with Gretchen Rubin appeared first on Fastermind.co.

Mako’s paintings have been described as a rebellion against the speed of the internet and an antidote to time. In fact, the New York Times refers to his work as a form of “Slow Art”. Rather than using conventional paint, Mako uses various pulverized minerals, applied layer by layer to create huge finished works that can only truly be seen and appreciated when the viewer is able to slow down and observe the painting for longer periods of time. It can take over 10 minutes to begin to see the multi-dimensional qualities of one of Mako’s works. He takes inspiration from both traditional Japanese and contemporary American art.

Although Mako’s art is intrinsically full of beauty and joy, it explores the themes of trauma, brokenness and healing. He and Ty both have the experience of having lived in New York City during 9/11 and its aftermath, and also of building a ground zero teahouse that served as an exhibit gallery for local artist to share their expressions of grief and loss as the city healed from tragedy.

But how do we translate this into dollars? Where does capitalism fit in when we’re talking about art, meaning, personal expression and communication? This is where the conversation gets interesting! I’m so glad to be able to have Mako and Ty together in the same conversion, because they represent two different manifestations of this idea. Since Ty is in the business of helping people monetize their creativity, and as a creative person himself, he has lots of insight into this area. In fact, while Ty and his father seem to be opposites in many ways, it’s interesting to see how they actually think alike when we’re talking about values and what’s important in life.

I hope this episode inspires you to take another look at what it means to be creative, and maybe to even get a fresh perspective on the world with all its different angles and dimensions.

Links

You can explore the work of Makoto Fujimura here.

Learn more about Ty and his work here and here.

Timeline

[2:31] Mako introduces us to the concept of pulverized minerals in his form of slow art.

[3:49] The mulit-dimensional aspect of Mako’s paintings is best seen in person when you can view them from all angles and take time with them.

[6:25] Mako’s paintings are an homage to American expressionism as well as ancient Japanese artistic traditions.

[11:06] Mako describes the experience of straddling two different cultures simultaneously, and how living in New York City affected him and his work.

[14:36] Ty shares his experience of growing up in the city and now raising children there. He and Mako talk about their 9/11 teahouse collaborative art project.

[21:04] Mako’s work explores themes of trauma, brokenness, and life and death.

[23:35] Art as therapy and communication

[30:00] There is no need to push yourself to create during trauma. Sometimes it’s okay to do nothing. But you can wait and hope for transcendence and rebirth.

[33:50] Creativity is not trivial just because it doesn’t always translate into business. Your creativity is something that people need.

[40:23] How does creativity fit into the model of capitalism? Mako talks about the ‘gift economy’.

[44:03] Creating a transaction around a work of art shows the value of that work. Decentralizing art only hurts the middle man, not the artist or the consumer.

[47:00] Ty explains why he created Cantilever, and how it functions as an operating system for running a creative business.

[52:20] Technology as an artistic medium

[56:33] Ty and Mako discuss what they have learned from each other, and how the so-called ‘unproductive’ moments in life are what contribute to creativity.

[1:03:45] The assumption of scarcity vs. the assumption of abundance.

Today’s conversation with Tim Arnold explores the gray areas that organization leaders encounter when faced with questions that don’t have black and white answers. We seem to be conditioned from an early age to see life in terms of either/or, right and wrong, good and evil, especially when it comes to problem solving. And there’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, it’s an incredibly useful tool for leaders to have. But what about the gray areas? What if polarizing the issue only makes it worse? How do we navigate questions of fairness, values, and creating win-win outcomes?

Dane and Tim discuss how to balance some of these values that often feel paradoxical. Should we lean towards greater responsibility, or more freedom? The answer can be both. Tim shares his own experience with learning to balance the need for stability within a company with his own inner drive to be constantly changing things. With a both/and mindset, he is able to successfully maintain both these seemingly conflicting values.

Tim has over two decades experience running a for profit business and a homeless shelter, and he has learned a lot about how to manage the complexity of tensions that arise within organizations. Currently he works as a speaker and author, helping others learn the tools for leadership success. His latest book is Lead With AND: The Secret to Resilience and Results in a Polarized World.

You can learn more about Tim by visiting Lead With AND

[2:17] Tim tells us his background and what led him to write his book.

[5:42] How it can be a benefit to shift from either/or to both/and thinking when it comes to solving complex problems.

[8:34] Tim gives a real-world example of an organization finding the balance between freedom and responsibility in order to successfully live out its values.

[12:53] Does this kind of thinking come more naturally to certain personality types or people of a certain age or maturity level?

[15:51] Young children see in terms of black and white, good and bad. The ability to navigate the gray areas is something we learn to grow into.

[17:45] Most leader personality types tend to do the either/or thing by nature, so they need to learn both/and thinking as a second language.

[20:24] Tim introduces his assessment tool that helps people successfully identify tensions and gives insight as to how to manage them, available at leadwithand.com

[21:59] Ignoring both/and thinking is like insisting to only inhale without ever exhaling. You’ll suffocate.

Author, Allison Vesterfelt joins Dane Sanders to talk about her story of selling almost all she owned to set out to fulfill her dreams.

Some of the topics covered:

• Taking the leap to follow your dreams.
• Overcoming fear.
• Navigation criticism.
• Becoming your true and best self.

Allison Vesterfelt

Allison quit her job, sold most of her belongings, loaded her car and set off to follow her dream of visiting all 50 states and writing a book about it. Along the way she met her husband and has landed in Nashville. She is the author of Packing Light and works with other writers to help them find their voice.

Episode Sponsor:

Fastermind Coaching. Affordable coaching for the independent entrepreneur.

Links Mentioned on the Show

Packing Light – Allison’s Book
allisonvesterfelt.com – Where you can find her most recent project, Author Launch.
@allyvest
Healing Through the Dark Emotions by Miriam Greenspan

Thanks to Triple Scoop Music for providing the music for today s show and thanks to our wonderful audio producer Anna Queza of AQreative.

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