Create Your Art

Darren Cooper

I'm Darren Cooper, and I believe something that might sound crazy...every one of us is an artist. Not the kind with a paintbrush. The kind that looks at their life, their message, and decides it's worth giving to the world. Every episode, I sit down with ordinary people doing extraordinary things with their one life (coaches, leaders, entrepreneurs, pastors), those who had something worth creating, and finally stopped waiting for permission. My hope is simple. That somewhere in their story you hear your own. And that you walk away convinced that your voice matters and your art deserves to e

  1. 4d ago

    The One Small Action That Changes Everything

    Most people never fail at the plan. They fail at the start. In this conversation, Super Bowl official and sales coach Bryan Neale breaks down the idea he has taught from stages for years: the first domino. It is the smallest possible action that turns a stuck idea into a moving one, and it is almost never the thing you think it is. From registering for a marathon to buying a podcast kit to his own decades long climb to the NFL, Bryan shows why waiting to feel ready is just a polite way of never beginning. ➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit 🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ The failure is rarely in the process. It is in the failure to start. ⚡️ The first domino is the first action, and it is usually the smallest one. ⚡️ Planning the whole path scares people out of ever beginning. ⚡️ You will never feel ready, so readiness cannot be the requirement. ⚡️ Small, steady movement beats one massive push every time. ⏰ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Little action beats massive action 00:52 - Climbing out of bankruptcy one small step at a time 01:10 - The first domino principle explained 01:40 - Why register is the real first domino for a marathon 02:34 - The seventy five dollar first domino for starting a podcast 03:52 - What the road to the NFL taught Bryan about starting 06:02 - The flying lessons demo and why you will never be ready 💼 CONNECT WITH US: Website: https://1898creative.com Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper 🎙️ CONNECT WITH BRYAN NEALE: Website: https://www.bryanneale.com Blind Zebra: https://blind-zebra.com The Advanced Selling Podcast If this episode helped you, please: 💬 Share your biggest takeaway in the comments 🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on creating your art 📲 Share with a fellow creator who needs to hear this HASHTAGS: #createyourart #firstdomino #bryanneale #podcasting #getunstuck #entrepreneurship #creativeentrepreneur

  2. Aug 4

    The Failure Isn't in the Process, It's in Not Starting | Create Your Art Ep. 025

    Most people think the reason they haven't started the business, the podcast, or the book is that they aren't ready yet. Bryan Neale, founder of Blind Zebra and a Super Bowl NFL referee, went bankrupt before he built any of it, and he is convinced readiness was never the requirement. In this conversation, Bryan and Darren dig into the reframe that pulled Bryan out of shame, why the first domino is never the one you expect, and how a lifelong visionary discovered that discipline is what creates freedom. If you have been almost starting something for years, this one is for you. ➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit 🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ The failure is almost never in the process. It is the failure to start. ⚡️ Going broke is a math problem, not a verdict on who you are. ⚡️ You climb out of a hole one step at a time. The trampoline never works. ⚡️ The first domino is smaller than you think (a registration page, a seventy-five dollar LLC, a phone call). ⚡️ You will never feel ready, so that cannot be the requirement. ⚡️ Discipline creates freedom, even for a visionary. ⏰ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Cold open 00:41 Welcome to Create Your Art 02:06 Standing at the center of a Super Bowl 02:30 Why the pressure is in the buildup, not the game 04:40 Reps, the ten thousand hour rule, and an empty stadium at 6am 09:00 Before Blind Zebra, there was bankruptcy 15:42 You are not a bad person, you just cannot add 20:00 The first domino is never what you think 25:52 A word from 1898 Creative 27:50 The birth of Blind Zebra 33:10 Building an operating system, and discipline creates freedom 45:27 Detach and play the next play, and the 24 hour rule 50:52 What he would tell you, and the war of art 53:36 Why you have to use video, and closing CONNECT WITH Bryan Neale: Bryan Neale and Blind Zebra: https://blind-zebra.com Bryan's podcast: The Advanced Selling Podcast ABOUT CREATE YOUR ART: This podcast exists to help mission-driven entrepreneurs and service providers find their voice and create the impact they're meant to make in the world. Hosted by Darren Cooper, founder of 1898 Creative. If this episode helped you, please:⬇️ Drop your "art" in the comments — what's the thing you're here to create?✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations with industry artists📲 Share with a fellow creator who needs to hear this Ready to start your podcast? Book a call at https://1898creative.com HASHTAGS: #createyourart #firstdomino #BlindZebra #podcastforcreators #juststart #entrepreneurship #foundstory #salesleadership #courage #contentcreation

  3. Jul 28

    Why I Stopped Asking Permission to Be an Artist

    Most of us are waiting for someone with authority to tell us our work counts. PJ Towle waited too, until a college professor stood him up in front of a color theory class and made him defend why his work was even art. In this segment, PJ tells Darren about growing up the artist kid in a black and white house, the moment that rejection nearly killed the thing he loved, and how it turned into the freedom to create on his own terms. It is a story about who actually gets the final say on whether you are an artist. Spoiler, it is not the person grading you. ➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ Nobody outside of you gets the final say on whether your work is art ⚡️ Rejection can be a fork in the road, not a verdict ⚡️ Creative energy does not disappear when one door closes, it redirects ⚡️ The people who need your work are rarely the ones grading it TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — The artist kid in a black and white house 01:50 — Trombone, bass, and learning to create in front of people 02:50 — A call to ministry at sixteen 03:20 — Declaring an art major as the hedge 04:30 — When the department turned on him 05:30 — Made to stand up and defend why it was art 07:15 — The freeing moment hidden in the rejection 08:30 — Creativity redirected into music 09:30 — Graduating early and what came next CONNECT WITH US: Website: https://1898creative.com Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper CONNECT WITH PJ TOWLE: Website: https://www.fortythreecreative.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pjtowle If this episode helped you, please: 👍🏻 Give it a thumbs up ⬇️ Drop your "art" in the comments — what's the thing you're here to create? ✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations with industry artists 📲 Share with a fellow creator who needs to hear this HASHTAGS: #createyourart #findyourvoice #artistmindset #creativeentrepreneur #personalbranding #podcast

  4. Jul 21

    Why I Stopped Trying to Be a One Man Band with PJ Towle | Create Your Art Ep. 024

    Most creatives believe the lie that they have to build it all themselves. PJ Towle spent close to twenty years pouring his creativity into the church, lost his love of art to a college professor who told him what did and did not count, and walked away from a secure job with two kids at home and no plan beyond a single prayer. What he found on the other side was not a bigger hustle. It was a band. In this conversation, PJ and Darren get into why creative collaboration is the most overlooked commodity in business right now, how to trade a scarcity mindset for an abundance one, and what actually carries you through fear. ➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ Being told what your art should be can shut a door in you for years, and reopening it is a choice ⚡️ Leaving was not quitting a job, it was stepping into the next adventure ⚡️ You help people amplify their story, you are the producer, not the artist ⚡️ Creative collaboration is the biggest missing commodity in creative businesses right now ⚡️ The antidote to fear is movement, and not being alone TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Cold open 00:46 — Welcome and introducing PJ 02:50 — Twenty years of creative work inside the church 06:18 — Declaring an art major and the professor who killed it 09:33 — Walking away from art and pouring it into music 14:47 — Taking the worship job and building creative teams 17:32 — Art has a purpose beyond being creative 25:03 — The start of forty:three (and the PM Design origin story) 29:45 — Renaming to forty:three creative and a new song from Psalm 40 31:— 40 Leaving the church and a full client book in a weekend 33:13 — Scared out of my mind, the crossroads 35:31 — The dinner with the in-laws 36:28 — A word from 1898 Creative 37:24 — Leaving a job or choosing an adventure 42:00 — The amplify epiphany 44:52 — Why I stopped trying to be a one man band 49:43 — Collaboration as a core value 54:03 — Scarcity versus abundance for creatives 01:02:38 — Advice for the person wrestling with the leap 01:06:33 — Movement and not being alone CONNECT WITH US: Website: https://1898creative.com Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper CONNECT WITH PJ TOWLE: Website: https://www.fortythreecreative.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pjtowle If this episode helped you, please: 👍🏻 Give it a thumbs up ⬇️ Drop your "art" in the comments — what's the thing you're here to create? ✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations with industry artists 📲 Share with a fellow creator who needs to hear this HASHTAGS: #createyourart #creativecollaboration #podcast #1898creative #creativeentrepreneur

  5. Jul 14

    Why Charging for Work You Love Feels So Terrifying

    Most experts assume the hardest part of building a platform is the skill. It is not. It is the moment you decide to charge for the work closest to your heart. Christine Hakkola built a multi six figure coaching company, sold it, and built again, and she still says charging for the first time was shocking, terrifying, and overwhelming. In this conversation she breaks down the idea of the responsible risk, the small, survivable step that carries you from invisible to found, and why your passion is the very thing that makes putting a price on your work feel dangerous. ➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ The fear of being seen does not vanish when you succeed, it just gets easier to recognize as a liar ⚡️ Charging for the work closest to your heart is uniquely vulnerable because failing feels like failing at the thing you love most ⚡️ A responsible risk is small enough to survive being wrong and real enough that being right counts ⚡️ Big businesses are built from a series of responsible risks, not one giant leap ⚡️ Hearing your struggle named by a peer can be more powerful than hearing it from an expert TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — The fear that never goes away 01:00 — Why peers change everything 01:49 — Starting to charge for the first time 02:43 — Shocking, terrifying, overwhelming 03:12 — The 250 dollar Facebook post 04:38 — The light bulb moment, and the fear that followed 05:35 — Why charging for what you love is so vulnerable 07:28 — Taking a responsible risk 08:54 — Building and selling a business, one risk at a time 09:23 — Hitting the first domino CONNECT WITH US: Website: https://1898creative.com Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE HAKKOLAH: Website: hakkolahorizons.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-hakkola If this episode helped you, please: 👍🏻 Give it a thumbs up ⬇️ Drop your "art" in the comments — what's the thing you're here to create? ✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations with industry artists 📲 Share with a fellow creator who needs to hear this HASHTAGS: #createyourart #responsiblerisk #coachingbusiness #imposter #findable #thoughtleadership #expertvisibility

  6. Jul 7

    The Lie That Keeps Skilled Experts Invisible with Christine Hakkola | Create Your Art Ep. 023

    Most skilled experts believe the same quiet lie: that one more credential, one more certification, one more course will finally make them feel ready to charge, to be visible, to put themselves out there. In this episode, Darren sits down with Christine Hakkola, who built a six-figure therapy practice and then a coaching company that served more than 6,000 practitioners, to take that lie apart. You will hear the Facebook post that terrified her, the $250 offer that filled in 24 hours, why she threw out the phrase "charge what you're worth," and the reframe that protects service providers from burnout. ➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ Confidence is built by having the courage to act, not by collecting credentials first ⚡️ The credential loop is a mask for the fear of being visible ⚡️ Stop asking "what am I worth" and start asking "what price makes this sustainable" ⚡️ Reverse-engineer your price from the life you need to fund, then design the offer around it ⚡️ The strategy that will grow your business probably already exists inside it: identify, systematize, amplify ⚡️ Most successful businesses feel boring to run, and boring is what builds profit TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Cold open 00:42 — Welcome and Christine's story 02:49 — Who Hakkola Horizons serves and why 04:39 — The mindset blocks that keep founders small 06:24 — Falling into business without realizing it 11:11 — The curse of knowledge and the credential trap 14:45 — Confidence comes from courage, not credentials 20:28 — The Facebook post that terrified her 23:25 — Why charging for what you love is so vulnerable 25:08 — Responsible risk and the power of baby steps 28:54 — Why "charge what you're worth" is the wrong question 35:55 — The three stages where founders burn out 40:23 — The strategy already inside your business 45:12 — Encouragement for anyone on the brink 48:33 — Where to find Christine CONNECT WITH US: 👉🏻 Website: https://1898creative.com 👉🏻 Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE HAKKOLAH: Website: hakkolahorizons.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-hakkola If this episode helped you, please: ⬇️ Drop your "art" in the comments — what's the thing you're here to create? ✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations with industry artists 📲 Share with a fellow creator who needs to hear this HASHTAGS: #createyourart #businesscoaching #impostersyndrome #servicebusiness #pricingstrategy #womenfounders #entrepreneurship

  7. Jun 30

    Why the Strongest People Run Toward the Storm

    This week was heavy, and Dustin Pead met it with one of the most grounded pictures of courage I have heard in a long time. We get into the difference between the fear that runs your life and the fear you actually respect, why you should plant something even when you do not know what will grow, and the image that stuck with me most, the buffalo that runs straight into the storm because the fastest way out is through. If you are in a hard season and tempted to shrink back, this one is for you. FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ There is a fear that breaks you and a fear you respect. Learn to dance with the second one. ⚡️ When you are in a new field and do not know what to plant, plant anyway. You learn from what grows. ⚡️ Quitting is the only guaranteed outcome. Going through the storm is the only path that leaves room for a different one. ⚡️ The pull you feel to create is not an accident. It is how you were wired. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — The fear that runs you vs the fear you respect 1:25 — Work hard and trust God 2:00 — When you do not know what to plant, plant anyway 3:23 — The only way through the valley is to keep walking 5:17 — Why the buffalo runs at the storm 6:45 — The guaranteed outcome of quitting 7:38 — You were wired to create, so go down swinging CONNECT WITH US: 👉🏻 Website: https://1898creative.com 👉🏻 Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper 👉🏻 Dustin's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustinpead If this story moved you, please: 👍 Give it a thumbs up 💬 Share your biggest takeaway in the comments 🔔 Subscribe so new episodes land automatically 📲 Send it to one person who needs to hear it HASHTAGS: #createyourart #1898creative #networking #careerpivot #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship

  8. Jun 23

    Why Your Contacts List Is Worth More Than You Think

    Twenty years of creative ministry ended for Dustin Pead on a single Friday. By Monday, the reality of a wife, kids, and a mortgage was staring him down. In this segment, Dustin walks Darren through how he rebuilt his livelihood from nothing, using the one asset he already had and had never thought to count: his contacts list. It is a story about the difference between simple and easy, the network you build without trying, and what it actually takes to start asking. FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ The move that saves you is rarely a new tactic. It is usually the relationships you already have. Your network is an asset you build slowly, long before the day you need it. ⚡️ Reaching out is simple but not easy, because it means admitting you need something. ⚡️ Working your contacts list on purpose, a few times a year, compounds over time. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Twenty years ended on a Friday 0:30 — The two questions that started everything 1:00 — The phone call that opened the first door 1:48 — Simple, but not easy 2:37 — Where the instinct to connect came from 4:01 — The friend who coached him free for a year 5:00 — Building a creatives meetup from a contacts list 5:58 — How to work the list with intention 7:26 — The scariest part, fear of losing the house 8:25 — The day job search and the nonprofit bridge 9:17 — The friend who covered the mortgage CONNECT WITH US: 👉🏻 Website: https://1898creative.com 👉🏻 Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper 👉🏻 Dustin's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustinpead If this story moved you, please: 👍 Give it a thumbs up 💬 Share your biggest takeaway in the comments 🔔 Subscribe so new episodes land automatically 📲 Send it to one person who needs to hear it HASHTAGS: #createyourart #1898creative #networking #careerpivot #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship

About

I'm Darren Cooper, and I believe something that might sound crazy...every one of us is an artist. Not the kind with a paintbrush. The kind that looks at their life, their message, and decides it's worth giving to the world. Every episode, I sit down with ordinary people doing extraordinary things with their one life (coaches, leaders, entrepreneurs, pastors), those who had something worth creating, and finally stopped waiting for permission. My hope is simple. That somewhere in their story you hear your own. And that you walk away convinced that your voice matters and your art deserves to e