Why work-life balance is a waste of time and other words of wisdom from graphic designer and brand strategist Gage Mitchell

08/08/22 • 35 min

Gage Mitchell, graphic designer and brand strategist, discusses why a good brand is like a movie, why work-life balance is a waste of time, and how "I can't" is really "I'm scared" in disguise, among many other things.
Gage’s bio: Design has the power to bring about massive change. That power comes with a responsibility. Whether designing an object, a business, a community, or anything in between, Gage believes that both the process and the solution must aim to bring about a better world – for all. His work, thought leadership, and commitment to this ethos have garnered countless awards, features, interviews, and speaking engagements. Gage's passion lies at the intersection of design, business, sustainability, and food.

A few current projects:

Modern Species: helping better-for-the-world brands launch, evolve, and grow through strategic branding, packaging, and web design.
Evolve CPG: a podcast and community for purpose-driven leaders of CPG brands who not only believe in a better, but actively pursue it.
Path to Impact: guiding design, business, and community leaders through an inclusive process of designing for measurable, sustainable impact.
Kindship Group: a collaborative full-service marking agency elevating purpose-driven brands and helping them grow for good.

Notable quotes from the episode:
"I've been a big advocate for life design. Design your life to be more fulfilling."
"My theory is that the most time-saving thing you can do is to marry your passions with your work, so that every hour you spend working benefits your life, and every hour you spend making your life rich and fulfilling benefits your work."
"When you have to say no to a project that's not ideal, you create space for a more ideal project to show up."

A few current projects:

Modern Species: helping better-for-the-world brands launch, evolve, and grow through strategic branding, packaging, and web design.
Evolve CPG: a podcast and community for purpose-driven leaders of CPG brands who not only believe in a better, but actively pursue it.
Path to Impact: guiding design, business, and community leaders through an inclusive process of designing for measurable, sustainable impact.
Kindship Group: a collaborative full-service marking agency elevating purpose-driven brands and helping them grow for good.

Previous Episode

Freedom! The joy of working as a digital nomad, with writer, speaker, and strategist Lauren Razavi

Digital nomad and future-of-work strategist Lauren Razavi talks about how she lives and travels, how she crafted a life that works just right for her, and what a "country on the Internet" would look like.
Lauren’s bio: Lauren Razavi is a writer, speaker and strategist working at the intersection of technology, business, policy, and human behaviour. She is author of the book Global Natives and writes the Counterflows newsletter about borderless living. Lauren was an early adopter of remote work and has lived as a digital nomad since 2013. Currently, she is executive director of Plumia, the mission to build an internet country for digital nomads, at the Y Combinator alumni company SafetyWing.
Choice quotes from the podcast:
"For me, it's never an ambition to make a separation between my work and the rest of my life. But instead, to make sure that those two things are very much in balance, in harmony, and I'm able to feel really fulfilled, whatever I'm doing."
"The rise of freelancing and self employment is really interesting, if you consider it in part as a response to traditional companies lack of flexibility around remote work."
"It's all about priorities. What do you want to spend your mental energy and time optimizing for?"

Next Episode

Do freelancers need to be with other people? with Melanie Marconi, founder and CEO of VIDA coworking space

Melanie Marconi, founder and CEO of VIDA coworking space in Portland, Oregon, discusses why she went all-in coworking, why women need particular types of support, and why she feels it's important for freelancers to be with other people.
Find VIDA at www.vidacoworking.com
Melanie's bio: A longtime entrepreneur, philanthropist, and passionate advocate for change, Melanie Marconi is committed to helping women achieve their most ambitious personal and professional goals.

Melanie launched her first company, BDI Development Group, at the age of 23. This mission-driven company is a boutique consulting firm that provides fundraising, event planning, and strategy services to nonprofit organizations across the country. Since taking on the leadership role at BDI Events in 2004, Melanie has achieved annual business growth of 10% to 30% while setting and achieving long-term strategic goals, developing nationwide partnerships, and managing day-to-day company operations. Three years ago, she and her partners launched a spinoff business, Where Will They Stay?, to help clients find and secure custom hotel room blocks for their guests.

In 2017 Melanie was seeking a space for her growing team and realized that there was nothing available to support the day-to-day needs of working women like her and her colleagues. In early 2018, after receiving much social validation of her concept and vision, she committed to building and launching VIDA.

Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and Communication, with an emphasis in Public Relations, from the University of Oregon. She is also active in the nonprofit community, having served as a volunteer, donor, and board member for several different nonprofit organizations around the country. She has also presented on productivity and work/life integration to a range of different audiences at workshops, conferences, and through podcasts and webinars.

Since becoming a single mom six years ago to her daughter, Ellie, Melanie has been searching for innovative ways to get the most out of each day. VIDA stemmed from her desire to have all of life’s daily needs in one beautiful space, surrounded by other inspiring women entrepreneurs.
Notable quotes from the episode:
"There's like this energy and productivity vibe that is created when a bunch of people are doing their thing in the same space, even if it's completely different things."