Author: Dan Blank

This is the phrase I hear often from people who are trying to make progress with their creative work: “I feel stuck.”

Sure, they have a strong vision, but they are also swamped with daily responsibilities. They can’t seem to find a clear path forward.

As we head into spring, something you may already be asking yourself is, “Am I making progress?” Do you feel a sense of momentum in your creative work?

I’m going to ask you to make a choice right now:

• Option 1: Below, I’m going to tell you about a small group coaching program I am opening up a handful of slots for: my private mastermind group. Here, we work together to create progress with your work. It is genuinely one of the most special things I have ever offered.
• Option 2: If that doesn’t interest you, stop reading. Close this window, and get back to work. I don’t want to get in your way. (Heads up: I’m working on a massive post next week that I think you will LOVE.)

Okay, if you are still with me, let’s dig in…

What Creates Momentum?

My mastermind group is basically a small group coaching program, with lots of collaboration and personal feedback. Recently, I have talked about collaboration being the secret to success. You will be part of a group of 15 people (plus me!), who become your team to help you brainstorm, get focused, create a plan, and stay accountable.

Working on creative projects is often a lonely endeavor filled with overwhelm and doubt. The mastermind setting removes both of those things, creating clarity and support.

I don’t open the doors to this group very often, and I want to make note of this up front: nearly half the slots are already filled, meaning if you are interested, please take action soon. Slots go on a first come, first served basis.

What the Mastermind Gives You

The mastermind is for writers, crafters, designers, artists, entrepreneurs, and others whose work is not just about earning money, but about creating something special that will enrich the lives of others.

The focus of the mastermind is two-fold:

1. To act as a feedback and support group to help you gain clarity in your goals, and focus in working towards them every single day. We assist you in establishing the right habits, and are there to keep you accountable.
2. In this mastermind session, I am also adding the theme of “audience engagement.” I will provide insights, worksheets, and prompts to help you focus on ways to identify, grow, and engage your audience.

This program has had profound results for previous participants. After teaching years of courses, I am now focusing more on the mastermind because the effects are simply off the charts.

Members of past mastermind sessions have found incredible clarity on what they should be doing; they have made leaps in their careers; they have become healthier; they have felt better about doing the work that they love.

How the Mastermind Works

The mastermind happens virtually — wherever you are.

You are given access to our private Slack group, which is basically a 24/7 instant messaging system for small teams. This is where you can brainstorm ideas, share insights, cry for help, and feel a sense of collaboration in what can be an otherwise lonely process.

I am in there every day providing feedback.

I post a private video each day discussing topics from the group. These videos provide an inside look into how to truly make progress. I will not talk in theory, but in terms of practical steps, sharing with you how I am doing this myself. Each video is in direct reaction to what the group is talking about, nothing is prerecorded. I am in the trenches with you, finding clarity and momentum.

Take Action

If the mastermind sounds like it may be fore you, full details are here. It costs $250 per month to join, and it’s a 3-month commitment.

If the mastermind is not right for you for any reason, I completely understand. As I mentioned above, I’m working on a big post for next week, and between now and then, I hope you are able to pursue the work that matters most to you.

Thanks!
-Dan

This spring, I am looking for one paid intern to join WeGrowMedia! This is a “virtual” internship, meaning you can do 100% of the work from home, or wherever you are. Do you work best from the beach at 10pm? That’s fine by me.

What Will You Be Doing?

The internship will focus on specific tasks and projects. I’m hoping to find someone who has some mix of the following:

• Graphic design skills. The ability to create the branded look and feel for WeGrowMedia content and services.
• A writer proficient in online messaging such as sales copy, product descriptions, etc.
• Branding and marketing skills.

When

Part-time intern from April 1 – June 30, 2016
5-10 hours per week
Two notes:

• The start date is slightly flexible.
• There is potential to become a permanent part of the WeGrowMedia team (on a part time basis) beyond June.

Where

You can do this internship from wherever you are! That’s right, 100% virtual. Likewise, you can largely work your own hours. We will meet once per week via Skype, and then use other systems (email and Slack) to communicate and track projects.

Compensation

This is a paid internship, at an hourly rate working 5-10 hours per week. We will discuss and finalize number of weekly hours before the start date.

I will structure the internship so that you have tangible outcomes to add to your resume. This internship will give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be an entrepreneur, develop products & services, and try to have a meaningful impact on the lives of those you serve.

Candidate Qualifications

Okay, these are some of the skills I am looking for in an intern. Do you need to have them ALL? Nope.

• A designer. You know how to use Photoshop and other design programs, you obsess over fonts. I could give you a boring looking checklist intended to be part of a course, and you can turn it into a beautifully designed worksheet.
• A writer focused on marketing and sales copy. You tend to pick apart the psychological triggers that go into marketing, and consider how crafting great copy aligns to engaging a reader.
• Branding and marketing skills. You find it fun to dream up new ways that we can create services and products to teach others.
• Thoughtful and caring communication skills. To me, success is entirely about relationships — with me, with my clients, with creative professionals. And relationships require positive helpful communication.
• Enthusiasm (Because this should be fun, right?)

Please DON’T Apply If…

If this is “just work” for you, please don’t apply. Take a look around this website if you want to get a sense of what I do, and why I do it. Basically, I spend my days working with writers and creative professionals, which means I work with people who do magic: they create worlds, they solve problems, they are the music-makers. They are infinitely inspiring to me. If these folks don’t inspire you, please don’t apply.

How to Apply

Deadline to apply: March 21, 2016

To apply, please email me at dan@wegrowmedia.com with the subject line: “WeGrowMedia Internship”

Please include the following:

• A resume or link to your updated LinkedIn profile.
• A couple lines on where you are, who you are, and why this internship interests you. I’ll be clear here: I care more about WHO you are (your personality, your voice) than a long list of boring keywords that you often find on the cover letter for a job application.
• Any links that you WANT to share to your social media profiles, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, blog, website, etc. (Obviously, don’t feel obligated on this one if you feel they are for personal use.)

What Our Last Intern Says…

Here are five reasons why our previous intern, Leah Shoemaker, thinks you should apply for this internship right now:

1. Experience with a capital E: You know how job postings often promote experience when they really mean, “you’re going to make fabulous coffee and sit quietly in some meetings”. This is NOT going to be you during this internship. Over the course of my work with WeGrowMedia I helped launch several courses, designed worksheets, built sales pages, and created a platform for an online summit. There was never a moment that I didn’t feel like I was expanding my knowledge, and the only coffee I made was for my sweet, sweet self.
2. Collaboration is key: From the first moment I jumped into WeGrowMedia work, I felt like part of the team. My ideas were listened to and considered despite being “The Intern”. I was a part of conversations dissecting what worked, what didn’t work, and what we should do next. Even though we weren’t meeting face-to-face, we communicated better than most in-person offices.
3. Choose your own adventure: There was never a conversation with Dan where he didn’t at some point include the words, “if you have any ideas, let me know”. If I had an idea that was different than what Dan had requested, he welcomed my different point of view. I was able to bring my own special skills to the table and they were welcomed openly.
4. Virtual reality: Let me paint you a picture of one of my work sessions: I was sitting on the front steps as the sun was setting over the beautiful Rocky Mountains. I had glass of rich red wine beside me and I was learning how to use a new webpage builder in order to create a sales page for a new course launch that I was so excited to be a part of. Swoon. Okay – so I can’t promise you the Rockies, but a virtual work environment means that you design your own office however you like.
5. You can say “lol” and mean it: Behind the scenes at WeGrowMedia is a hoot. This job is fun and the witty banter is top notch.

More Information…

I have hired interns last couple years, and shared a behind the scenes look at that process in four posts:

• Why hiring a team has changed everything about how I work
• Things I’m Learning While Hiring an Intern (or Three)
• Getting Help: What I Learned in Hiring & Working With Interns
• 3 Key Ways That Hiring Employees is Helping My Business Grow

You can read my full bio here to get a sense of whether or not we would be a good fit.

Thanks!
-Dan

How do you effectively promote your work — your book, your art, your your business? I have been working with New York Times bestselling author Miranda Beverly-Whittemore to give you a behind the scenes look at what this process looks like. So far, we have published five pieces on the topic, including:

• How pitching articles helps promote your book
• Ways that the people you already know can help promote your book
• The value of an email newsletter in markitng your work
• How publishers build buzz by sending out secret early copies of your book
• Five things I wish I’d known five months before i published my novel

Our goal was to be as transparent as possible in the process, sharing real-world examples, not pithy platitudes or examples that only worked years ago. All of this is what Miranda is doing in real-time to grow her career and ensure her book is a success.

Yesterday Miranda and I walked the High Line in New York City and discussed the launch process for her upcoming novel, June, which will be released on May 31. (Here is a video of our walk.)

Something I obsess about is the reality of what creative success looks like vs. merely the perception. Miranda is unbelievably generous and honest in sharing her process. I talk about the value of collaboration a lot, and she is a wonderful example of a collaborator.

Thanks!

-Dan

So many people I speak to are trying to make their mark. And feel they are falling short.

They are hoping to move to the next level. But feel trapped where they are.

They are crafting something deeply meaningful, dreaming of it reaching the right audience. But instead feel overwhelmed by a long list of responsibilities.

They are driven and smart, but their dreams are buried amidst conflicting advice on what they “need” to do: social media marketing, blogging, podcasts, promotions, webinars, courses, giveaways, and so much more.

So today, I want to talk about one of the key ingredients to success with your creative work: collaboration.

That’s right, old-fashioned collaboration. Not an app, not a new program from Amazon, not a new button from Facebook. Because those things won’t move the needle for your life.

They are simply buttons to push. (Don’t be a button pusher.)

To me, collaboration is the secret ingredient of success that no one talks about. Today I want to explain the reason why, and how you can leverage this yourself.

Collaboration, Not Blueprints

How does Pixar keep producing innovative and successful movies? If you read the book Creativity, Inc. by Pixar founder Ed Catmull, you find their success is all about collaboration — how their people work together.

Too often, we think that success is about blueprints. That, if you could just sneak into the Pixar offices, and look at their plans, their blueprints and their tools, that you could mimic their success.

That won’t work.

Pixar is not about identifying the right buttons to push, in the right order. It is not about identifying which is the right app to use. Pixar, instead, is all about honing human-centered interactions with their teams.

For great art to reach the world, teamwork is required. Too often, we go it alone because we think we can be the lone wolf who succeeds.

Yet, every story of success is a story of collaboration. Find your collaborators. Invest in your team rather than blueprints.

Collaboration is a Skill You Develop

Google is well known for approaching every aspect of their business with analytical rigor. Yet, inside Google, teamwork is of enormous importance. What did they find when they studied how to build great teams? This:

“If a company wants to outstrip its competitors, it needs to influence not only how people work but also how they work together.”

An interesting note here is how much value they place on “psychological safety,” which is defined as:

“A shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Psychological safety is ‘a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up,’ Edmondson wrote in a study published in 1999. It describes a team climate characterized by interpersonal trust and mutual respect in which people are comfortable being themselves.”

What does this mean? To be effective, you need to develop the skills of collaboration. To be a great partner.

There is no magic bullet that successful people are using that you aren’t, and no one-size-fits-all approach that you can simply mimic.

Just copying the tools and tactics of others doesn’t work. Collaboration does.

Invest in People, Not Stuff

I was cleaning out my parents’ old house recently. Deep in the basement, at the bottom of a pile of boxes, I found the real estate sales training tapes that my mom bought in the mid-1980s.

I remembered when she bought these, and at the time they were extraordinarily expensive — around $300. It featured some “celebrity” real estate sales guy, and he packaged his seminar into a series of a dozen cassette tapes. For $300 (around $600 today adjusted for today), she received content, and only content.

Sure, this content was sold as a secret blueprint that took this celebrity salesperson years of work to hone. But I’m reminded of where this content ended up. At the bottom of a box, in the back of the basement.

The truth is that your journey nearly always begins alone, but it requires collaborators. That requires social risk. Investment in others. And that can be scary.

But it is also a human-centered ingredient of success that is often buried under the furor of the latest trends.

Very often, I am reminded that the basics matter. And there is nothing more basic than the importance of investing in yourself and your connection to others.

Collaboration Amplifies Your Efforts

Making things is inherently about connecting with other people. An idea. A story. A process.

How many dieting books do you have on your shelf, unused? The content is top-notch, and as Seth Godin says, books are a “screaming bargain.” He’s right.

They can work for you. They are filled with wonderful ideas. But sometimes, to truly get out of a rut or to move to the next level, you need something more.

This is why Weight Watchers works. Because it requires collaboration.

This is why personal trainers work. Because they require collaboration.

This is why group classes at the gym work. Because they require collaboration.

This is why seeing a nutritionist or physical therapist works. Because it requires collaboration.

Much like your physical health, your creative health is no different. Let’s say that I can give you the key to the library of creative success. A room filled with every insight imaginable on how to hone your craft and reach an audience. No doubt this would be a valuable thing.

But, in that moment where you are standing in that doorway in front of thousands of books which promise “the secret” to success, what is the one thing you would wish for?

A librarian.

A collaborator who helps you dig into the knowledge in a meaningful way. Those thousands of books could represent the best knowledge of human history. Yet, having a single other person with you to help you dig into them amplifies your efforts infinitely.

Collaboration is Energizing

Again and again I see how quickly momentum builds in collaborative settings.

It’s like an “on” switch. That sense that you are a part of something meaningful; that others have your back; that your vision is truly possible because others are already taking part in it.

Invest in yourself by engaging with others. Ideating. Collaborating. Helping. Sharing.

Collaboration is not only the heart of how you create, but also the ability for your work to reach an audience. When you have a team of collaborators, the work becomes part of a social process. These are co-creators who feel invested in the work. They become partners in ensuring it reaches other people.

They become a gateway by which your work is shared in the world.

If you are not sure where to begin with collaborators, here are a few ways to get started:

• Start with one person who is as passionate about their creative work as you are. No, they do not need to already be “successful.” They can be local so that you meet in person, or anywhere in the world, and you can meet via Skype, phone, or another tool.
• Meet regularly. Every week, at least. Sure, the meetings can have an agenda, but they don’t need to.
• Focus on small milestones, not huge goals. What you want here is a sense of progress every month.
• Consider how you can amplify the work of your collaborator. Because that energy will be reflected back to you.

Thanks!
-Dan

In my guest post over at WriterUnboxed.com, I talk about the value of creating every single day. I frame the conversation with the example of having started a daily vlog, and what creating a video a day has added to my life:

If you are wondering why I am talking about recording videos if you are a writer, I would say that is part of the point. So much of my life is spent writing. It is nice to have a creative outlet that taps into a different well. Expending creative energy in visual storytelling inherently makes me a better storyteller in my writing.

Read the full post here.

Thanks!
-Dan