Sarah Jackson is the founder of Casa de Paz, a hospitality home for families affected by immigrant detention. She is also the founder ofVolleyball Latino, a year-round indoor volleyball league that raises money for Casa de Paz. In this episode, Sarah talks about why she started Casa de Paz and Volleyball Latino, the importance of taking small steps, and why you need to take action if you want to achieve your goals.
Here are three things you can learn from Sarah:
Sarah was working at a church when she received an email that would change her life. The email was an invitation to the pastors of her church to visit Mexico and learn about immigration. The pastors couldn’t attend, so she volunteered to go to represent the church.
Before going, Sarah had never thought of immigration or its affect on people. She just thought it would nice to take a free trip to Mexico. Little did she know, the trip would radically affect her life.
While there, she learned that there are families who want to be together but can’t be. Since her family was so important to her, she wanted to help other families be together.
From that moment on, Sarah has spent most of her energy trying to figure out how to help the families of immigrant detainees. This led to the formation of Casa de Paz and Volleyball Latino.
There are days we all feel overwhelmed. We have so many tasks on our to-do list. That giant project looms over us. Instead of panicking and worrying about everything you need to accomplish, focus on the next thing on your list.
Sarah gives the example of cleaning her house. Even though she knows exactly what she needs to do, it can be overwhelming thinking of all the things that need to be done. Instead of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, she makes a list of everything that needs to get done.
“Even though I know in my head what needs to be done to clean the house, I still write it down.” This allows her to measure her progress. She can see that what she’s doing is making a difference. “It makes me feel better and it keeps me motivated.”
Whenever you feel like your task list is becoming overwhelming, just focus on the one thing you should work on next. This allows you to break down giant tasks into much more manageable ones, and you are also able to see the progress you are making.
We all have lofty goals, but how often do we act on them? We badly want to change the world, but we rarely ever take that chance.
We are afraid to fail. We let the enormity of the task overwhelm us. One piece of advice Sarah got was to just do something, even if it is something small. Just get started, and the path ahead will reveal itself before you.
When she first started, Sarah was intimidated and embarrassed about her idea of creating a hospitality home. Her thoughts were clouded by all the what ifs. Her fears overwhelmed her, but then she decided to just do it. She started with something small. It created momentum. “One thing led to another and now it’s it’s own apartment.”
Sarah believes you shouldn’t let your pride, your fear, or the embarrassment of being a failure “prevent you from starting something you know that you need to do.” It might not end up being the right thing for you, but you will never know until you try.
Find people who will support and respect your crazy ideas. Find someone who has done something similar and ask them for advice. You need to understand what your part is and just go after it.
Dustin Main is one of the photographers behind Lightmoves Creative and the creator of Date an Adventurer. He is also an entrepreneur, adventure photographer, and documentary film maker. In this episode, Dustin talks about being present, using storytelling in his photography, and the power of vulnerability and being open.
Here are three things you can learn from Dustin:
Every decision we make can alter the course of our lives. We just need to be aware of them.
Some days we will follow the same old path. We fall into the routine of daily life, and don’t recognize what’s going on around us.
Dustin gives the example of our daily commutes. It’s easy to drive down the same street and not see the people who walk down it. If we just stop for a moment, we can “realize how awesome things are.”
If Dustin wasn’t open to letting life show him the way, he would never have seen a camel race. Being open to the present moment opens opportunities around you. The first step is being aware that they are there.
One of the defining characteristics of a great artist is their ability to tell a story. It’s what sets us apart. Anyone can take a photo and call it art. Great photographers use their art to tell a story.
Dustin believes TV and podcasts are a great example of this idea in action. What sets apart a good TV show from a bad TV show and a good podcast from a bad podcast is the ability to tell a good story.
Stories are one of the defining elements of humanity. Our ancestors used stories to pass down lessons to the next generation. The only way to make these lessons stick was to tell an engaging story.
Dustin uses stories to connect with people through his photography. He feels it makes the “image come alive.” He uses it to relate to his audience so they can understand what it felt like to be there in the moment.
We are all afraid. We are afraid of what people think of us. We are afraid that people won’t understand us. We are afraid that we don’t have everything figured out.
It is those vulnerabilities and fears that make us human. Everyone feels them. Most people just hide them away.
Putting yourself out there is scary. Dustin felt this first hand when he created Date an Adventurer. He didn’t know what people would think, how they would react.
The results, however, were unimaginable. Within a week of creating a dating profile website for himself, his site had over 600 Facebook shares, 10,000 page hits, and more than 100 emails from women who were interested in him.
By putting himself out there, Dustin received overwhelming positive results. His openness and honesty attracted the type of people he wanted to meet and talk to. If there’s a big lesson to learn it’s “when you put yourself out there, people rally around you.”
Max Makewell is a New York City based artist and muralist, but it wasn’t always this way. He grew up in a family of artists and started his career as an artist, but then transitioned into the startup world. It was only after spending a few years there that he came back to being an artist full-time. In this episode, Max talks about owning your identity, making your way through obstacles, and building relationships as the core of marketing your art.
Here are three things you can learn from Max:
Although he didn’t realize it at the time, Max grew up as an artist. His grandfather and mother were both artists. He grew up thinking everyone had artistic upbringings, but only realized what being an artist meant later in life.
He studied it for many years thinking he had to be an artist. It’s all he knew.
Then, he changed his course and worked for a startup for a few years. It was only then that he realized he wasn’t just an artist. He wasn’t a search engine marketer. He was someone who is creative when he produces something.
It was at this point that he made a conscious decision to go back into the arts. It wasn’t because his parents told him to. It wasn’t because society told him to. It’s because he made the realization for himself.
We don’t need others to tell us who we should be or what we should do. You can determine your identity for yourself. Don’t let others label you as something you’re not.
No matter who you are or what you do, you will face obstacles in life. We face obstacles every day. There’s no use in trying to run from them. Instead we need to think about how to approach these problems.
Max thinks we should be like water. Water is malleable. It’s able to “assume different shapes” in order to make it past these obstacles. If we can adapt and endure through these challenges, we will make it through to the other side.
He believes that the best way to approach our biggest challenges is to think about the here and now. Figure out what your next move is. Just keep growing and moving in the right direction.
Instead of running from obstacles, figure out how to make your way around them. We all face obstacles in life, it’s what you do with them that really matters.
One of the most important things to remember about marketing your art is, it’s about relationships. It’s a relationship between you and your audience. It’s a relationship between you and the person who is deeply affected by it.
It is much better to create a relationship with people who like your art then it is to just try a bunch of different tactics to sell it. People don’t like being sold to. Art is no exception. People want to feel connection with each other and the world. Art is the perfect way to do that.
Max thinks you need to have a great relationship with your audience. When you are in a great relationship, you “don’t look for what you can get” from the other person. They don’t look at what they can get from you. In a great relationship “you’re both in a great place, so you want to share with one another.”
When you have a great relationship with people who love your art, you mutually benefit from it. It’s not a give and take relationship. It’s a give give relationship.
Charlie Gilkey is is the creator of Productive Flourishing and the host of the Creative Giants podcast. He describes himself as the result of mashing up an entrepreneur, Army officer, and philosopher. In this episode, Charlie talks about mindsets, business, and the power of art.
Here are three things you can learn from Charlie:
Many artists have painted themselves into a corner by calling themselves an artist. They are afraid of the fraud police that tell them they’re not good enough to be an artist. There’s a story they tell themselves about what it mean to be an artist.
While it can be empowering to call yourself an artist. That label also carries a lot of weight. If you feel the heaviness of the artist title, Charlie suggest dropping it. He advocates “focus on the craft” rather than “evaluation of the craft.
The challenge of the artist label is, “It’s an invitation for people to evaluate your work.” It can be hard to been seen this way, even though that is one of the reasons we create art.
“We want to be seen, but we’re scared to be seen.” Often times the thought of being an artist can be unhelpful. When you feel that weight, like Atlas holding the world on his shoulders, drop the label and just create.
As artists, we have this vision of what our work will look like when it’s complete. We spend hours on end trying to achieve that vision. Often times, it can prevent us from actually releasing our work.
It is in these moments that you must move on. Charlie thinks that what you’ve created is “more beautiful than that perfect image that you have in your head.” That piece of art can change and inspire lives, but it can’t do that if they never see it.
Perfection is unattainable. If we waited for perfection every time we create a piece of art, we would have nothing to show for it. Don’t use the excuse of unfinished work for not selling or showing your paintings to others.
There’s a sacredness in allowing someone to buy a piece that you’ve poured your soul into. Be willing to let go of your art, even it doesn’t meet your standards of perfection.
Artists often have trouble determining the right price for their work. According to Charlie, they are making it much harder than it needs to be.
Far too often, we become too attached to our art. We think the amount we sell our work for determines our worth, but that simply is not true. Art is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Charlie suggests looking at the art market and using it to choose your price. Go to an art fair, and see the range of prices people are willing to pay, then just pick a number. Don’t try to analyze it to death. These prices work because others are already willing to pay them.
Art is hard to quantify because it’s so subjective. People buy your art based on the way it makes them feel. If you can get your art in front of people who want to buy it, they will pay you what you are worth. Just make sure you find people who are willing to pay you in kind.
Josh Rivedal is the founder and director of the I'mPossible Project. He is also the author of two books and the star of his own one-man show. In this episode, Josh talks about overcoming his near suicide, the importance of marketing for artists, and the lessons we can learn from failure.
Here are three things you can learn from Josh:
One thing Josh has learned from all his trials and tribulations is the power of story. Josh's career jump started through the help of his one-man show. It helped spark the idea for his second book and the formation of his I'mPossible non-profit organization.
Stories are one of the most powerful things we have as humans. We are wired to tell stories. They are what allow us to connect with other people. Josh used the power of his own story to bring awareness to suicide prevention and social justice projects. They have become the foundation of his career.
Josh believes artists are against the idea of marketing because they are not good at it, but you can't be good at something you don't attempt. Instead of pushing against the idea of business and marketing, embrace them just like you embrace you art.
Art businesses, just like other businesses, are here to provide a solution to a problem. Art isn't a luxury when it's good. It's a necessity. So embrace marketing and treat your art like a business. This will help you create and sell more of your work.
We need to get over failure. We have been taught to avoid failure at all costs, but it has hampered our ability to grow. When we try to avoid failure, we stop experimenting. We don't try new things because we are afraid they won't work.
Instead of avoiding failure, embrace it. That doesn't mean we should try to fail. It just means we need to be willing to fail. The point is to learn from your failures.
Josh believes you have to be willing to fail to succeed. Failure is just part of the process. Thomas Edison attempted making the light bulb 10,000 times before finding the right solution. No one is above failure. Once you realize this, you will be able to use it as a spring board for success.