A short while ago I had the great pleasure of taking the stage at the Seattle Interactive Conference with my dear friend and creative superstar Cal McAllister (Founder, Wexley School for Girls + Paper Crane Factory) for a very pointed conversation on inspiration, unlocking your best creative work, and how the eff to stand out in today’s noisy, crowded market. Hint: it’s not what you think.

IMHO this conversation oozes with value specifically because both Cal and I are: a) lifelong professional creators who care deeply about making this easier for people who want to be more creative; b) we both took very non-traditional paths to find our respective successes - so that path YOU’RE on won’t seem all that strange; and c) are both are transparent AF about exactly how we’d approach it today if we were doing it all over again… Oh, and the audience / Q&A is always a favorite of mine at any public appearance because so often we’re all struggling with the same things. A sample of other topics we cover….

• Why “the middle” (aka where everybody ends up gravitating because they listen to “advice” and “best practices”) is the WORST place you can be to make your way in any creative industry.
• Why the best stuff happens on the fringe- and how you can tap into that fringe.
• Why "creative cockroach” is a term of endearment. Like the cockroach, simply outlasting the quitters — stamina and persistence -- is key to success. I don’t know anyone who has been successful over a sustained amount of time that didn’t have stamina.
• How to charge and get paid what you're worth. Free or full price, not some arbitrary amount that the client offers you
• and finally… audience Q & A that we alllll can relate to ;)

Enjoy!

Today's episode is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curated classes taught by the world’s top experts -- Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy Award winners, New York Times best selling authors and the best entrepreneurs of our times.