The Creating Pros Podcast

This one was supposed to drop last week, but technical issues!
Every year as we head into the holidays, most of us begin reflecting on the past year, and come up with resolutions for the upcoming year, only to usually push them aside by the end of January. 
In this process this year, I've seen and heard (and might have uttered myself) some flavor between I didn't get anything done, or I did a lot, but....
 
As we look into the new year, how can we change and get the tools to be more successful in 2024?
 

John Ryan is a mental health expert and advocate and half the team of happytohealthyou.com where they blend humor and comedy with mental health. As a comedian, John performs in clubs and cruise ships, has written and performed for the BBC, Irish Times, Liberty Radio, and more.
 
Join us as we talk about his early days in mental health work, often for people at end of life, transitioning into comedy, writing for the Teletubbies, and we dive into a number of the mental health programs they’ve developed, the power of humor, suicide prevention, a career in comedy, and the post-apocalyptic children’s book series he’s working on!

In college, after being diagnosed with Dyslexia, Ariel Burgess (ArtistArielBurgess.com) painted the Wheel of Time playing cards and has since branched out towards film, story-boarding and concept art. She was an Official artist for The Wheel of Time from 2012 to 2019 and has been published internationally. Her first publication was in “Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics”. Ariel has won a Geeky award for “best licensed Toy/product for the Wheel of Time playing cards”, was published in “The Wheel of Time Companion” which was nominated for a World Fantasy award, and Won a Gold Award for Digital Expression in 2019 from International Film Festival DC Web Fest. Ariel has also Won People’s Choice and Best in show at several conventions over the years. The was Guest Artist of Honor at Balticon 57 in 2023.
We talk about her career as an artist, her time working on “The Wheel of Time,” the impact of Generative AI on art and artists, and her creative process. She has a new fantasy calendar out for 2024!

For most creatives and freelancers, "strategy" is throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks. Are you trying to figure out why ads aren't working? Social media engagement sucks?One big factor is not treating your creative process and output like the commercial enterprise it is. Most people confuse taking classes in ad tactics as a strategy. It's not. Find out what is it, and why it's important for you!

Randee Dawn reports on entertainment and lifestyle stories during the day for publications including Today.com, NBCNews.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times and Emmy Magazine, and is a speculative fiction writer by night. We talk about her career, what the media side of life is like, covering celebrities and entertainment, and how it influences her fiction!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating in the States.
 
This week, I'm building on the last few. I want to touch on Gratitude. Real thankfulness. What is it, and how can it help us? How can we find it, and build it in ourselves?
It's gratitude, not platitudes.

Humility may not be a term often used about me, but this week we build on last week's exploration of Imposter Syndrome. What is humility? Where did the term come from, and what does it mean today in the world of social media? How can we be creative, run businesses, and yet have humility?
Why is humility a tool in the Imposter Syndrome toolbox? What does it mean for our mental health?

Everyone faces imposter syndrome at some point, some more than others. This week we dive into what it is, how it manifests, and techniques to manage it.

Melisa Todd joins me to talk this week about her move to becoming a full time author and publisher, what it's like to complete a series now that she is completing her second series, her popular "Twisted Luck" urban fantasy series and how it's different from wrapping up her Sci-Fi series "The Kaylid Chronicles," the grief process you experience as an author when you complete a character's journey, and her upcoming talk at '20 Books to 50K' on grief and the creator's journey. This one gets deep and personal.

This episode brings us up on a year since the relaunch of CP! This week, I touch on the three things I think are the biggest learnings for me, and some of the most meaningful conversations of the last year!