Malcolm Gladwell: The Art of Self-Reinvention

11/17/21 • 63 min

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Longevity and mastery over any creative profession require relentless passion, conscious steps to continually reinvent your swing, and a seriousness of purpose, which results from profound self-reflection and introspection.

World-renowned journalist and writer Malcolm Gladwell joins me to dig deep into building an everlasting career as a creative and what it takes to pursue it.

Malcolm is the author of five New York Times bestsellers — The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants and the Founder of Pushkin Industries, which explore all forms of audio art. He also hosts the Revisionist History podcast, which re-examines events, ideas, people, and objects from our past—and explains how they create our present.

In his upcoming intimate audio biography titled Miracle and Wonder, Malcolm collaborates with the legendary songwriter Paul Simon to explore lessons from the artist's life and career. Recorded over a series of 30 hours of conversation with Simon and the Broken Record podcast co-host Bruce Headlam, the audiobook reflects Simon's inimitably gifted artistic bent and what it took for him to tap into it.

Here are some things you’ll discover in this episode:

How to build the confidence to construct your intellectual life the way you want to
How to overcome the “professed” to make way for the “practical.”
Why creativity and craft knows no physical or geographical boundaries
Why you need to be constantly evolving to build an evergreen career
Why relentless perfectionism is key to creating intentional content
Why you need to archive your experiences and lessons from the past to be inimitable at your craft
The timeless worth of self-reflection: how to develop the willingness to be reflective about your life experiences
Why you need to connect with your work on a more-than-objective level

Enjoy!

Have a question? Text me 1-206-309-5177 Tweet me @chasejarvis

--- Today's episode is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curated classes taught by the world’s top experts -- Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy Award winners, New York Times best selling authors and the best entrepreneurs of our times.

World-renowned journalist and writer Malcolm Gladwell joins me to dig deep into building an everlasting career as a creative and what it takes to pursue it.

Here are some things you’ll discover in this episode:

How to build the confidence to construct your intellectual life the way you want to
How to overcome the “professed” to make way for the “practical.”
Why creativity and craft knows no physical or geographical boundaries
Why you need to be constantly evolving to build an evergreen career
Why relentless perfectionism is key to creating intentional content
Why you need to archive your experiences and lessons from the past to be inimitable at your craft
The timeless worth of self-reflection: how to develop the willingness to be reflective about your life experiences
Why you need to connect with your work on a more-than-objective level

Enjoy!

Have a question? Text me 1-206-309-5177 Tweet me @chasejarvis

Previous Episode

Dealing with Impostor Syndrome

Operating at the edge of your ability means at times you will inevitably feel like an impostor. It's a universal experience that complete beginners to seasoned experts share. To take it one step further, I would argue that impostor syndrome is a critical ingredient to the formula of mastery; self-awareness and an accurate understanding of one's skills foster growth, while too much self-doubt can be restraining and counter-productive.

In today's episode I field two audience questions on the Daily Creative YouTube show. In the first question we get into dealing with impostor syndrome. I share some tactics and mindset tricks that will help cope with this. Second, we talk about leveraging unique opportunities into professional growth. What should you do once you have a foot in the door? Especially in a competitive space like the music industry, it's important to think strategically and creatively about how to parlay the opportunity into the next steps in your career.

If you have questions or comments, the best way to get a hold of me is by text: (206)-309-5177. I'm looking forward to taking more of these in the future.

If this episode provided value or helped you unlock something that's been holding you back, shout me out on the socials. Until then, have a great day and keep creating.

Have a question? Shoot me a text at 1-206-309-5177.

Enjoy!

Next Episode

How to Use Stress to Your Advantage

You may well be aware that the classic idea of stress — or at least the popular opinion of it — is that it's restraining. However, stress can also have a positive impact- this is eustress. In today’s micro show we’re going to explore how to use stress to your advantage.

Eustress is what puts you on the spot to tackle necessary situations you would otherwise choose to keep away from. It helps you overcome inhibition, face fear, and leverage opportunities. So if you're someone who is willing to make a move only when you feel "perfectly" ready, a little bit of internal chaos could push you to finally start doing what you want to in life.

Stress is more valuable with with consistent self-reflection. Pause, reflect, and take some time to analyze what you learned through pushing your limits- what are those raw ingredients that created your unique life experiences?

According to Dr. Robert Sapolsky, the optimal amount of stress is stimulation. And for you to get to that point requires an honest evaluation of your present. A little bit more pain might really aid in your overall growth.

In today's episode, I get into how you can add 25% more discomfort into your life to gradually develop the 'stress' muscle.

Quick points to note:

You could choose to intentionally add a little bit of stress into your life to avoid being caught off-guard in situations. This way, you're preparing in slow steps and also steering clear of distress.
Cultivate relationships in two different vectors -- with people ahead of you and behind you in the journey.
Cold exposure (or cold baths) are a good way of training yourself to be comfortable around the uncomfortable. It also strengthens your internal systems.
Build up your capacity for stress in small steps.

Enjoy!