Gifted Underachievers

Gifted Underachievers
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A podcast for midlevel creatives with delusional ambitions giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  1. 4d ago

    How to Escape Someone Else’s Dysfunction Trap!

    As creatives we often rely on others for a great many things. As people with creative adjacent careers, we also rely on others for a great many things. Ergo and therefore, it is all too easy to fall into and be trapped by the dysfunction of others. And while we get good at preventing or short-circuiting dysfunctional processes, there is always a new one. Furthermore, if we depend on that other person (or organization) it can be VERY difficult to simply walk away. We also experience the business concept of the sunk cost fallacy because we don’t want to lose an opportunity or walk away from many hours of work. What to do? Well, the Gifted Underachievers have thoughts. Good ones. Questions for Listeners: * How can you avoid dysfunction in others? * How can do you get out of a dysfunction trap? * Do you miss red flags? For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  2. 4d ago

    Contest Update: Narrative Sends James a Nice Note

    It could be worse. Or so thinks James after receiving a relatively thoughtful letter from narrative to let him know he was not a finalist in their short fiction contest. He is an optimist from a family of optimists. However, he and Pat dive in with some solid insights as to whether or not the contest pathway is perhaps a better approach to getting our work out than the dark hole/deep wishing well of blind submissions. Listener Questions: * What is your contest update? Any wins, close calls. * Let us know and we’ll feature you for a listener profile. For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  3. 4d ago

    Listener Profile: Beyond Craft by Joe Ponepinto

    Joe Ponepinto’s current project is a fascinating Substack publication called Beyond Craft. Learn how and why Joe created this world, the challenges, the audience, and the point. Bonus: a special offer to GU Listeners! Check Joe out at: Beyond Craft If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  4. Sep 3

    The Fabulous Amber Petty!

    In this special episode of Gifted Underachievers, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Gifted Achiever Amber Petty to the GU Clubhouse. Amber is a writer/Weird Marketing Maven living in Los Angeles. She’s helped hundreds of students get bylines in places like Huffington Post, Business Insider, the Guardian, New York Times, and more. Plus, she’s grown a 6-figure business and 11,000-person newsletter by helping misfits make more money. In her current programs Marketing for Misfits (eminently affordable!) and the Creative Control Club (free!), Amber is helping hundreds of creatives figure out how to grow their audience and market their work. We’re especially delighted by the Compliments Challenge, a truly painless (in fact, rewarding) way to expand your network and create opportunities. Join us as we discover: * How creative people can overcomplicate marketing by coming from a place of “I’m not good at this, and I hate it.” * Why we “bland ourselves out” in our marketing and on social media, and how to stop * What marketing really is at its core, and why creatives have all the skills we need to do it well * The importance of allowing our identities and ourselves to evolve * How to raise our own excitement about marketing, and why that matters * The value of lighting up your creative brain first, THEN turning on your marketing brain * How when we get even OK at marketing, we can build a solid audience that will appreciate ALL our creative work * How having more control over our own marketing (rather than waiting for opportunities to be showcased by someone else) can result in life-changing income Questions for Listeners: * How do you feel about marketing? * Are you finding a previous identity hampers your ability to share your work? * What would actually feel good to you when sharing your creative work? For Further Exploration: Marketing for Misfits: https://www.skool.com/marketing-for-misfits-8832/about Compliments Challenge: https://amber-petty.newzenler.com/courses/compliments0926/ Creative Control Club: https://amber-petty.newzenler.com/f/creativecontrol/ Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! If you know a creative who needs solid, clear advice on marketing their work, Share This Post! If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  5. Aug 27

    Gifted Achiever Richard Kelly Kemick

    An Underachieving Note: We’ve underachieved again. Summer is waning and\or peaking depending on whether you are going back to school or not. And we are, well, crazy busy with the details of life while fulfilling important family duties. And so, we bring you an incredible interview with the guy whose notebook is described as “off putting with serial killer vibes.” We love him. You love him. Here he is… In this episode, Pat and James have a wide-ranging discussion with Gifted Achiever and author Richard Kelly Kemick. His most recent book—Hello, Horse—is a wonderfully unique collection of short stories that features a coterie of ghosts, nuns on ice, and an above average number of dogs while exploring the mirage of authenticity and the impact of decisions we make—for better or worse. In a word, Richard is brilliant and funny (yes, I know, that was two words). As but a taste of the topics Pat and James explored with him: * Pen or pencil? * His writing and publishing process, which includes his fair share of rejections (something we all have experienced). * The pleasure of working with a fabulous old-school editor. * Moving up the rejection ladder. * Can an arts community become too dependent on grants? And can funding abundance disconnect the artist from their audience? * Our favorite authors and books. * Why the writer/creator must work harder than the reader/viewer/audience. * When applying for a grant, have an idea not an emotion. * Rejection is just another step forward. * Richard’s top five grant pitch tips. * How being creative forces you out of yourself. * There is no better life than the creative life. Segment Questions: * What do you believe the difference is between an idea and an emotion? * What is your favorite book/movie/song/artwork? * What are your five pitch tips? Segment Links: Richard’s Website: https://richardkemick.com Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kelly_Kemick Hello, Horse on Amazon: https://a.co/d/7yy9yPm [Gifted Underachiever tip: Download a sample on Kindle, then after you discover Richard’s brilliance, purchase a copy at your local independent bookstore] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  6. Aug 19

    Are AI Hallucinations Taking Down Creatives?

    There are lots of accusations of AI use in the arts—especially writing—based on both human detection and AI detection apps. So many creatives are worried that they could get accused of using AI when they are not. And those that publish or promote creative work are afraid that the creators they work with might be using AI. The problem is, that neither or human senses nor the AI detection software being used is accurate. False positives and false negatives happen…a lot. This is something we should all keep in mind when we hear the next high-profile accusation of AI use. There’s just too much room for errors that could permanently taint a creative person’s reputation. Questions for Listeners * Have you been falsely accused of AI use? If so, let us know. We’d love to hear from you! * Is AI a feral baby? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration The most recent case: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/31/crime-novel-deal-collapses-questions-ai-jerry-falade-call-me-ill-hide-the-body Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  7. Aug 19

    Diversifying Your Market Across Borders

    If you sell your creative work or provide creative-adjacent services online, you’ve already made decisions about your market—ranging from the language and images you use for your website to the currency you accept payment in. As a Canadian, Pat’s begun to realize that the country many of her clients and students are based in (the USA) has become politically and economically unstable. This instability has affected every aspect of the book trade, including the ability of individual authors to keep writing when they have to work more to due to the increased cost of living, the burden of creating new work in a regime that’s hostile to the arts, the increasingly risk-averse climate in traditional publishing, and the effect of rising fuel prices on book distribution. She hoped this was a phase that might end with the current president’s term. But realistically, it could last for a decade or more as the country to the south rebuilds and regroups. And that’s only if the systemic changes happening now are reversed. There’s not much we can do about economic instability in another country, but we can diversify our offerings into more stable markets. In this segment, we discuss why and how to do this. Questions for Listeners: * Do you have a particular geographic market for most of your work? * If yes, where is it? * If you were to diversify, what would you do first? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

  8. Aug 19

    Who Are We Without Our Captives? (Silly)

    In this disturbing short segment, the Gifted Underachievers discuss the basement of their Clubhouse, now free of any captured creative folk. Who should we nab next? NOTE: No captives have been held in the GU Clubhouse. We’re just being silly. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

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About

A podcast for midlevel creatives with delusional ambitions giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Gifted Underachievers
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    301
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Gifted Underachievers
  • Show Website
    Gifted Underachievers