Gifted Underachievers

Gifted Underachievers

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

  1. 18h ago

    Space Overhaul for Creative Optimization

    Our environments interact with us every minute of every day. Working in a cluttered, dusty, and disorganized space WILL reduce both your clarity and your creative output. What’s one to do? How do you reorganize your space to optimize your hours at work? What visual and sensory elements will harness and support your energy? The Gifted Underachievers discuss this with a view to Pat’s overhaul of her “cloffice” (closet-office—a common solution for work-at-home creatives in urban centers with high housing costs). Listen in as we discuss “life architecture,” images, colours, and resources from creativity architect Donald Rattner and from our very own Gifted Achiever guest, writer and creative consultant Carrie McConkey. Questions for Listeners: * Describe your creative space in basic truths. * How do you feel when you’re in it? * Any plans to spruce it up and make it more functional? * If yes, what will you do? 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: Gifted Achiever Carrie McConkey (website): Creativity architect Donald Rattner: My Creative Space (website, book, other resources) 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, 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

  2. 18h ago

    PSA: It's Tick Season, Folks!

    You knew ticks could give you Lyme disease...but did you know they could actually damage some of your more dangly bits of organs? Have you heard of the phenomenon called “ghost tick injury?” James has experienced it first-hand, and it’s not pretty. PSA #2: As is often the case with your Gifted Underachievers, the useful information is in the “Further Exploration” section of the show notes. Questions for Listeners: * Ever caught a tick attached to your skin? * What did you do? 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: How to avoid ticks in long grass etc. https://youtube.com/shorts/DqJyxzolF5M?si=QOvLdvAHkR94KcF3 The US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on Tickborne diseases: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/about/index.html 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, 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

  3. Jul 9

    Immersive Creative Careers: Social or Antisocial?

    All creatives have immersive careers. We live in our own minds for long periods of time. We need to go to our office/home/studio wherever and just be on our own, away from people to think. That is creative work even though a brush isn’t on a canvas, words aren’t being produced, the stage is empty. Explaining this need to people wondering why we are leaving a party…or not showing up…always (often?) feels like we are complaining. Should we only hang out with other creative people? No. Being out in the world with other people fills the creative well. We need it. How do we find balance? How do we tell people what we need in a way that does not feel like complaining? Question for Listeners: * Are you a Spivak? * Do you thrive on socializing? * Or do you wish the world would stay behind the yellow tape you’ve put up? 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! For Further Exploration: 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

  4. Jul 9

    Do You Suffer from Time Zone Insensitivity?

    Many creative folks work remotely and have video meetings with people from all over the world. Your Gifted Underachievers are two such people—James has many meetings with clients, publishers, and agents, and Pat has students and clients in far-flung places such as Singapore, New Zealand, Central Europe, and the U.K. We’ve both noticed that people located in Eastern Time (North America) can sometimes struggle to respect time zone differences. In this public service announcement, we suggest that awareness and courtesy around scheduling meetings could be a good career move. This free tool is a great way to check time zones before you schedule: worldtimebuddy.com. Question for Listeners: What’s the most difficult time zone scheduling you’ve done? 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! For Further Exploration: Pat’s go-to time zone calculator for meetings with multiple participants in different locations is World Time Buddy – time zone converter and world clock: worldtimebuddy.com. 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

  5. Jul 2

    Case Study: Pitching for High-Value Projects

    When James pitches for a ghostwriting gig, he needs to quickly present himself as a capable professional to clients for projects often worth $80k or more. Pat faces much the same situation when she meets with prospective clients: they have to believe that she offers professional services that will get them closer to their writing and publishing goals. While they represent two different roles in the publishing world, each shares the same challenge: relate to a potential client in a way that authentically represents them as the experienced professionals they are. This is not easy. But for both, it comes down to one simple rule: be generous. Be generous in your time, knowledge, experience, and with the truth. It isn’t a hard pitch, it’s a soft pitch. Questions for Listeners: * What three pitching strategies do you use? * What is the basis of how you communicate with potential clients? 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 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

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