Category: podcast

How to Define and Achieve Your Creative Goals

In today’s podcast episode, I share specific strategies to define goals for your creative work, and practices to actually achieve them. If you feel like you have hit a plateau with your craft or are in a rut, these are the steps I would recommend you take to create momentum.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

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“Don’t lose faith and quit on yourself.” My Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Thomas Greanias

Today I’m excited to share my interview with New York Times bestselling author Thomas Greanias. What jumped out at me the most was his advice to writers, and how they have a power that they often don’t fully understand. Unlike screenwriters and filmmakers in Hollywood, writers have greenlight authority on their own ideas, and also have final cut. He encourages you to use that power. 

His advice and stories are amazing — some highlights:

  • The writing advice that writer and filmmaker John Hughes gave him — literally on the set as they filmed The Breakfast Club.
  • How one of his screenplays had James Cameron seriously considering producing it, until he got distracted by another movie called Titanic.
  • How characters from his novel were brought into an augmented reality game that has 50 million active players.
  • What he learned about the value of connecting one-on-one with bookstores, and how he travelled around his home state ensuring he met with booksellers.
  • He has a detailed view of what works in publishing, and how to navigate your career as a writer.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

You can find Thomas at:
thomasgreanias.com
His books on Amazon

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The simple daily habit that pulled me out of a 25 year creative rut.

For 25 years, I failed at learning how to play the guitar. One year ago I set a goal for myself: finally learn how to properly play the guitar by practicing every single day for a year. Today I want to share what that process has taught me about what it takes to establish a creative habit, reach your goals, and share your work. The insights below be applied to any creative craft, including writing. In the podcast, I mention my Creative Shift Mastermind, which you can find here.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

Thanks!
-Dan

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“If you are not making things, you are not impacting people.” My Interview with Jennie Nash

Today I talk with author and book coach Jennie Nash. She shares some inspiring stories, and super practical insights about what it takes to write, publish, and ensure your work truly has an impact on readers. She runs Author Accelerator where her team of coaches provide accountability, feedback and support to writers. Oh, and Jennie is kind of a genius.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

Some of what we cover in our chat:

  • I’m a huge believe in the power of having collaborators. In this chat, Jennie and I share a behind the scenes look at how we forged a longstanding (years and years) creative collaboration with each other, and how it started with a Tweet.
  • We talk about how many writers get lost in “information” about how to improve their craft, and why she believes that accountability, feedback, and support provide the real ways that writers can move towards their creative goals.
  • Why she feels that writing groups can actually be damaging for writers.
  • She explains what a book coach does and how you take good writing to greatness. In general, she digs into the difference between working with an expert vs just having the information alone and trying to do something by yourself.
  • She shares an incredibly inspiring story of how chose to become a writer.
  • How she got her first book deal.
  • Again and again in the interview, Jennie shares stories of how she reached out to create writing opportunities for herself. The types of opportunities that are possible for all of us, but too often, we shy away from.
  • The ways that she created marketing campaigns around her books are astounding. She shared a story of how she was able to create a huge campaign with Ford Motor Company around her memoir (which had nothing to do with cars), and then a collaboration with Benjamin Moore Paint around her novel. Her ideas are so outside the box, and she explains exactly how she crafted them.
  • Her perspective on why she encourages people to take creative risk and ensure that making things is central to your life.
  • She explains how she viewed her role in marketing her books — how it was her job to make her agent, publisher, editor, and publicist look good.

You can find Jennie at:

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Why I stopped teaching online courses

Three years ago I stopped teaching online courses. Today I want to talk about why that is, and what I think does work for writers and artists who want to truly move ahead with their craft and their career. In the episode I mention my Creative Shift Mastermind group.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

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