Create the Work of Your Life

C. Jordan Blaquera
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Visual Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Master-Certified Life & Artist Coach. Co-founder of the Create Anyway Collective // Helping creatives & women bring your big, creative dream to life. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 6 months: www.CreateAnyway.Today/

  1. Jul 8

    35. Don't Sacrifice the Artist for the Art

    What if you're already practicing how success is going to feel? Many artists believe they'll finally feel enough when they finish the series, get accepted into the gallery, or start making sales. But what if the journey (not the destination) is shaping your future experience? In this episode, C. Jordan Blaquera explores why achievement doesn't automatically produce peace and why the relationship you build with yourself while creating matters more than any external success. Drawing lessons from athletes like Rafael Nadal, Chris Evert, Jerry West, and Wyndham Clark, Jordan shares why your creative process is teaching you how to live—and why the greatest masterpiece you'll ever create isn't the artwork on the wall, but the life of the artist who made it. Timestamps 00:00 – Why we believe success will finally make us happy 03:30 – What elite athletes reveal about achievement and wellbeing 11:15 – Why achievement doesn't automatically produce peace 15:10 – The trap of tying your worth to your artwork 21:40 – Your creative process is teaching you how to live 26:45 – Why the destination cannot erase the journey 31:30 – Care more about the creator than the creation 37:10 – Your art is not asking you to suffer 44:20 – Preparing for adversity instead of fearing it 50:45 – The greatest masterpiece you'll ever createResources MentionedCreate Anyway Collective (CAC)July 12 Training: Creating a cohesive Series of Your Real Work, Ready to Show, Share & SellRafa documentaryChris Evert & Martina Navratilova documentaryLogo: Jerry West documentaryWyndham Clark and sports psychologist Dr. Julie Elion Listen, rate, and subscribe to Create the Work of Your Life wherever you enjoy podcasts. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

  2. Jul 1

    34. The Knowledge Trap: When Learning Replaces Creating

    What if everything you're learning is actually keeping you from creating? Many artists, entrepreneurs, and creators mistake learning for progress. They read the books, take the classes, watch the tutorials, and collect ideas, yet never fully apply what they've learned. In this episode, Jordan shares his own experience of falling into the "knowledge trap," where consuming information felt productive while his real dream quietly stalled. He explores why knowing something isn't the same as living it, how overconsumption becomes sophisticated avoidance, and why applying what you already know may be the missing bridge between where you are and the creative life you actually want. Chapter Markers 00:00 — Why "I Know That" Isn't Enough 02:15 — Jordan's Own Knowledge Trap 08:30 — Why Learning Feels Like Progress 15:40 — The Consumption Loop 22:10 — Knowledge vs. Integration 29:15 — Overconsuming and Under-Creating 36:45 — Applying What You Already Know 44:00 — Five Takeaways 49:30 — Your Creative Challenge Main Topics Why accumulating knowledge creates the feeling of progress without producing real progress.The hidden gap between knowing something intellectually and living it.The "consumption loop" and how endless books, podcasts, classes, and tutorials can become sophisticated avoidance.Why "I know that" is often the biggest obstacle to meaningful change.How artists confuse preparation with application.The difference between knowledge that lives in the mind and integration that lives in your actions.Why overconsuming often leads to under-creating.The superiority trap of identifying as someone who knows instead of someone who does.Practical examples of applying creative principles instead of endlessly studying them.Why your existing knowledge may already be enough to begin creating your real work.Resources Mentioned Create Anyway Collective (CAC)Free Training: Elevate Your Art (July 12) Click to save your seat Listen, rate, and subscribe to Create the Work of Your Life so you never miss an episode. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

  3. Jun 24

    33. When being visible as an artist feels unsafe

    Master Artist Coach, Jordan Blaquera draws out a critical distinction every creator needs to understand: the difference between feeling discomfort and feeling unsafe. Pushing through discomfort builds capacity. Pushing through a genuine sense of unsafety can backfire — intensifying the very fear you're trying to overcome. Jordan walks through what happens in your nervous system when visibility, exposure, or criticism starts to feel like danger — and what to do instead of forcing your way through it. You'll hear Jordan's own story of living in a high-threat environment and how that shaped a fear of visibility later in life — plus a reflection on Martin Luther King Jr.'s belief in his work as something bigger than fear. The goal isn't to eliminate fear. It's to start managing it. Attend our free trainingon July 12: Create a Cohesive Series of Your Real Work -- Ready to Show, Share & Sell. Save your seat here. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

  4. Jun 10

    32: Am I Ready? The Wrong Question Artists Keep Asking

    Readiness is often control in disguise, and the pursuit of certainty prevents artists from doing their most meaningful work. You'll learn why successful creators don't eliminate uncertainty before they begin, how even masters like Meryl Streep experience doubt, and why willingness is a more powerful creative skill than confidence.If you've been postponing a creative goal, waiting for the perfect moment, or telling yourself you'll start when you feel ready, this episode will challenge that belief and offer a different path forward.The question isn't, "Am I ready?"The question is, "Am I willing?" Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

    32: Am I Ready? The Wrong Question Artists Keep Asking

  5. Jun 3

    31: No One Is Coming to Enforce Your Real Work

    You keep every deadline someone else sets for you. So why do yours keep falling apart? In this episode, Jordan Blaquera names what's really happening when artists move, soften, or abandon the deadlines they make for themselves — and it has nothing to do with discipline. It's a self-trust problem. And every broken commitment is quietly costing you more than you think. Jordan shares the behind-the-scenes story of how this podcast got relaunched — including a peer challenge, a recording session deep into the night before a flight, and the moment she realized: I didn't want the dessert. I wanted the result. You'll leave with a clear understanding of why internal deadlines feel optional, what that's doing to your creative work, and one simple way to start rebuilding trust with yourself — even if you've been breaking your own word for years. Your work is too meaningful to be optional. This episode is about what it takes to treat it that way. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

  6. May 27

    30: Escape Deadline Dependency as an Artist

    What if the deadline isn’t the reason you create? What if you are? In this episode of Create the Work of Your Life, C. Jordan Blaquera challenges one of the most common beliefs artists carry: “I can’t create without a deadline.” Jordan unpacks why deadlines only work when you choose to cooperate with them — and how relying on external pressure can disconnect you from your deepest, most authentic work. This episode explores deadline dependency, creative autonomy, internal authority, and what it really takes to create the work of your life without waiting for permission, pressure, or structure from outside yourself. Timestamps 00:00 — Why “I can’t create without a deadline” is a dangerous belief03:12 — The truth about who actually gives deadlines power07:48 — Externally motivated work vs. your real work12:34 — How retirement, caregiving, and structure create deadline dependency17:15 — Why autonomous artists create their own containers20:42 — Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and internal creative authority25:06 — Why your authentic work will never be summoned by external deadlines29:18 — The shift from waiting for structure to creating structure33:11 — “The deadline isn’t the reason the work is getting done. You are.”36:05 — Final reflection: What would you make if you stopped waiting for something outside you to make you create?Resources Mentioned in This Episode Create Anyway CollectiveAbout Create AnywayListen, rate, and subscribe to Create the Work of Your Life. If this episode resonated with you, share it with another artist who’s waiting for the “right time” to begin. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

  7. May 15

    29: The Artistic Regret You Can Still Do Something About

    What if the regret you fear at the end of your life is already quietly accumulating right now? Explore the hidden pattern of “structured deferral” — the habit of continually postponing your creative work for a future that never actually arrives. Through personal stories about caregiving, loss, fear, and finally stepping into coaching and the Create Anyway Collective, Jordan unpacks why artists so often tell themselves “I’ll do it later,” and why later keeps repeating the same patterns as now. This episode is a direct invitation to stop waiting for the “right time” and begin creating the work of your life today. Listen, rate, and subscribe to Create the Work of Your Life. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

  8. May 6

    28: The Cost of Putting Your Art Last

    You've probably said it to yourself: "I don't want to be selfish." And then you answered the text. Did the laundry. Took the call. Said yes when you meant no. And your art waited — again. In this episode, Jordan names the word that stops a lot of artists cold — selfish — and reframes what's actually happening when you put your work last. This isn't about blame. It's about the cost. When your art is constantly at the bottom of the list, your work doesn't develop. Your artistic voice — that singular, irreplaceable thing that can only come through you — stays out of reach. You stay scattered. And quietly, over time, you stop believing your work matters at all. Jordan breaks down:Why women in particular are conditioned to feel that time for their art is indulgentWhat's really happening when you're "endlessly available" — and who it's actually hurtingThe difference between selfishness and appropriate self-directionWhy art specifically requires time, repetition, and protected space — and what becomes possible when you give it thatThe one question to replace "Is this selfish?" withThis episode is for the artist who is tired of waiting until everything else is done — because everything else will always be there. Your work won't create itself. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 5 months: About Jordan Blaquera

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5
out of 5
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About

Master-Certified Life & Artist Coach. Co-founder of the Create Anyway Collective // Helping creatives & women bring your big, creative dream to life. Learn more about working with Jordan Blaquera or the Create Anyway Collective (CAC) where visual artists create a new cohesive series in 6 months: www.CreateAnyway.Today/

Information

  • Creator
    C. Jordan Blaquera
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © C. Jordan Blaquera
  • Show Website
    Create the Work of Your Life

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