Gifted Underachievers

Gifted Underachievers

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

  1. MAY 16

    How to Use Speaking Gigs

    In this segment, Gifted Underachiever Dobes is just in from the opera house, where she did a high-profile speaking engagement and had them rolling in the aisles. Kidding! But Dobes has, in fact, spoken in front of an audience, occasionally for money. James has also spoken in front of an audience—for example, his legendary talk on creativity for the organization called Creative Mornings. We talk about how to enjoy your speaking engagements and how you can use them to bolster your other marketing tools. Questions for Listeners: * Have you given talks on your creative or creative-adjacent work? * Ever had one go sideways in the most terrible way? * If yes, DO TELL! Treat us to 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: James Buchanan on Creative Mornings: Harvest Better Ideas https://creativemornings.com/talks/james-buchanan GD Green on The Moth 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 see 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

    17 min
  2. MAY 14

    Minor Leagues for the Arts World

    What “career” pathways exist for creative writers, visual artists, and actors? Is there anything analogous to the training grounds of the minor leagues in sports? We examine some options and come to the inevitable question for many people: how do I get into the minor leagues, period? What are the obstacles for your average creative worker, and how can we overcome those obstacles? The answers we found? Drive, ambition, talent, support, resources, access to larger centers, and belief in yourself. Questions for Listeners: * What’s the minor league for YOUR art? For Further Exploration: Pathways to Arts, Media, and Entertainment Careers Webinars on creative pathways in the arts (scroll down for the videos) Working in the Arts: Ditch the Elevator Pitch with Betty Xie 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

    26 min
  3. MAY 14

    Macroeconomics for Creatives

    The median income for all employed artists in all domains according to the NEA in 2023 was $70,170. Meanwhile, the value that all of that creativity delivers to the economy in the US (sorry Canada and Europe…more data to come) is $1.2 trillion. Does that feel like a disparity? It does to the Gifted Underachievers. Is it going to get worse now that Trump cut nearly all arts funding? You betcha. What can we take away from this? Organize! Organize! Organize! PS: You will find out how bad at math the Gifted Underachievers are. Links to the report below. Questions for Listeners: * Would you like to see more deep dives into financial and other data for creatives? * If so, what do you think would have the most impact for you? For Further Exploration: The Report: THE U.S. ARTS ECONOMY IN 2023 Sharon Louden (THE Organizer of Organizers!!!) Income Streams Update Virtuous Feedback Financing Loop 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

    20 min
  4. MAY 7

    Growth Plans for Creatives

    James and Pat ask questions, discuss options, and debate financial and productivity growth plans for creatives. The debate: Pat must convince James that it’s possible to have a growth plan for purely creative work. The plans: Pat and James run through their respective growth plans for BOTH their creative-adjacent and purely creative work. For both: How to find more capacity to do more and better work, then help it find its audience and grow income. Hint: James says ‘raise my rates’ then discusses increasing the perceived and real value of his work as a ghostwriter. Questions for Listeners: * Can purely creative work have a financial growth plan? * What ideas from this segment resonated with you? 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: Isaac Hirotsu Woofter Being Strategic with Limited Burners Creatives & Money: Ways to View Debt If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No spam, no cost, 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

    37 min
  5. MAY 7

    When to Ditch or Delay a Creative Project

    The gifted underachievers have lots of ideas. We’re not saying they’re good ideas, but sometimes you don’t know how a creative project’s going to work out until you do it. If you get partway into the project and discover you no longer care, is it time to ditch it? Or are there other things you can do? How about when you have two equally interesting ideas at the same time—which one do you work on first? Have a listen and find out. Questions for Listeners: * Have you ever ditched a creative project partway through? * If yes, why? * If you’ve put an idea on hold while you work on something else, how did that work out? 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: Berms and swales 101: Sunk Cost Fallacy: Not Knowing When It’s Time to Stop 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 spam, no cost, 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

    12 min

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