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Libryia Jones (@wanderwomanic) has made it easier for people to have the experience of living in different places. Last year, she organized a trip for her and and more than thirty others to spend a year on the road. They lived in places like Prague, Cape Town, and my personal favorite, Medellin. If you've been listening to this show for awhile, you know that I'm a big advocate of travel. More accurately I'm a big advocate of mini-lives – living on a different place for a month or more at a time. It's a great way to grow and it just makes life interesting. But travel isn't always easy. You have to find a place to live and work, and it can be more fun if you have others to share the experience with. Libryia's company, Wanderist is organizing another trip. In fact, there are two opportunities to come through Medellin, so hopefully some listeners will check it out. In this conversation, we'll talk about: How did Libryia turn rejection into opportunity? She wasn't able to travel in other programs, so she made her

The past several years, I've been really fascinated with optimizing creative output. It all started when I wrote my first book, Design for Hackers. I had been creative on command working as a professional designer, but when it came time to write a book, it was harder than ever. Since then, I've noticed that if I arrange my life and work according to mental states, I can be sure that I do my most important creative work during my peak creative time. I can then arrange the rest of my life and work to serve that peak creative output. Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/seven-mental-states-podcast/

One of the key things that I did early on in my career as an independent creator was set up passive revenue streams. If it wasn't for this passive revenue, I never would have been able to free up the time to explore, so I never would have come up with my first book, Design for Hackers, and I probably never would have found the time to make this show. I looked at the passive revenue as a way to explore other things. I didn't make it a part of my personal brand, so to speak. In fact, one of my passive revenue streams was an online dating blog that I wrote under a pseudonym. Our guest today, Pat Flynn (@patflynn), has a different approach. He's all about the passive revenue. He's been setting up passive revenue streams since 2008. He started with a training e-book for an architecture exam, and he's got a security guard training website, courses for marketing a food truck business, podcast playing software for podcast websites, so many more things, including his latest book, Will it Fly, a Wall Street Journal be

For this very special 100th episode of Love Your Work: How do you find your calling? I've been trying to get to the bottom of this over the past two years, and I think it boils down to a three-step formula that I'll present in this special episode. Discover To find your calling, you need to discover what it is you want to pursue. Usually, it seems, you don't just wake up one day and know what it is you want to do. It can come from different sources. Don't let your dreams hold you back. Let them evolve. (Listen to Peter Bragiel's episode) Don't let the expectations of others drown out your inner voice. (Listen to Jason Fried's episode) Turn your weaknesses into a superpower. (Listen to Maneesh Sethi's episode) Decide If you're going to find your calling, you need to decide to pursue it. The chance of success needs to be more compelling than the alternatives. Bounce back from rock-bottom. (Listen to Elise Bauer's episode) Put the risk in perspective. (Listen to Laura Roeder's episode) Make measured changes

Ross King is author of the book The Pope's Ceiling. It tells the story of just how Michelangelo managed to paint 12,000 square feet of ceiling with little or no experience as a painter. I think there's a dangerous belief in creative work. And that is the belief that certain artists are simply gifted, and that that alone explains their greatness. It's easy to look up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and conclude that Michelangelo lived up to his reputation as the "divine one." That he wasn't human. That he was actually a god of sorts. Today, we'll talk about the process that Michelangelo actually took to complete this seemingly impossible masterpiece. In this conversation, you'll learn: How did Michelangelo curate his reputation as a "divine" painter. He really wanted people to believe that, and he shaped that perception. Michelangelo started painting the ceiling with little or no painting experience. He knew he would have failures along the way. How did he turn his failures into success in the project?

About two years ago, I was on a retreat in Mexico with some friends. We were each exploring what we wanted to do in our lives and careers. It took all week for me to admit it to myself: I wanted to double down on being a creator. I wanted to have conversations on this podcast, read books, and write books. I wanted to make my creative output the top priority in my life. So, I moved off to Colombia to set up everything so that I could be fully-focused. I had spent a lot of time in Medellín before, during a few "mini lives" I had done here. I always found that I got more work done here, and that it was better work, too. So, as I was doubling down on being a creator, Medellín was the clear choice. In this article, I'll share with you how I picked the city where I could have the best creative output. Whether you feel like moving to another country or not, it will give you things to think about in optimizing your own creative output. Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well

Rob Hunter (@vegashacker) and I met ten years ago in a cafe. Well, I met him on Craigslist, really, but then we met in person in a cafe. We had both left our jobs at the same time. We were both determined to make it on our own. So, we spent several months wandering from cafe to cafe in San Francisco. We'd put in twelve hour days, not making a dime, and it was one of the most exciting times in my life. Today, I have this podcast, a best-selling book, another book on the way, and I can live wherever I want. Today, Rob is one half of Focused Apps. Their hit iOS games include Hit Tennis, and Emoji Me, which has 40 million downloads. Rob is also location independent. We both left our jobs at the same time. We both wanted to make it. But as you'll see in this episode, we had two very different mindsets, different approaches, and different paths. Listen to this episode to learn: When you start on your own, you better have some kind of vision of where you're going. What did we expect to achieve from the beginning?

I've talked a little on this show – especially in the early days – about the idea of "mini-lives". Basically, you go live your normal life in another city for a month, or two months. Or, in the case of our guests today, about six months. Mike and Megan left their jobs in Washington DC, and before they decided to go anywhere else, they wanted to live a mini life. And, they came to Medellín. I sat down with them in a cafe to hear their story. You're going to hear: Their philosophy behind living a mini-life. What did they want to get from the experience? How did they make the decision that the financial investment was worth it for them? What have they learned from the experience? How has it really tested them? If you've been considering planning a mini-life, check out the bonus content for this episode on LYW Elite. About twenty minutes of this conversation ended up on the cutting-room floor. I shared some tips I've learned over the years for planning a successful mini-life. Get the Love Your Work T-Shirt 30%

Ian Leslie (@mrianleslie) is author of Curious: The Desire to Know, and Why Your Future Depends On It. If you've ever had a lot of free time, you know how scary it can be. The very first day that I was on my own, more than ten years ago, I woke up to just vastness. I had a whole day ahead of me that I needed to fill up with something. I figured I'd have the best shot of making it if I just followed my curiosity. I figured if I started with curiosity, I could keep myself from getting off track and wasting time. I also figured I would end up somewhere special, and most importantly, I'd be doing something I loved. So I followed my curiosity and I ended up combining my interests in design, in programming, and in entrepreneurship. That became my first book, Design for Hackers. Following your curiosity can be really powerful, but how do you deal with having disparate curiosities? How do you make sure you're being productively curious? Ian wrote the book on being productively curious. In Curious, Ian Leslie explains

I recently passed my tenth year as a self-employed independent creator. I don't recommend it. I say that, and some people don't believe me. When I wrote this post that I'm sharing on today's show, some people thought it was some kind of a click-bait strategy. I think it's because this post kind of takes a turn. It starts off sounding a little grim, but it ends up sounding hopeful. The thing is, I never expected so many people to read this post. As of right now, it has over 46,000 views on Medium. When I sat down to write this a couple of months ago, as my tenth anniversary was approaching, I did so with genuine questions in my mind. I wanted to know if I had made a horrible mistake. I wanted to find out if I had been fooling myself. It was really a journal entry for myself. I didn't submit it to any publications, where it was sure to be read. But, sharing some of my most uncomfortable thoughts is my job as a writer. So, I just put it on my main feed on Medium. At least it was out there, but I wasn't thrustin

Jon Bokenkamp (@jonbokenkamp) wanted to be a screenwriter. So, he decided it was his job. He sat at his desk from nine to five every day, writing frantically, and each night he went to another job. One that paid him. He waited tables. After three years, he sold his first screenplay. Then he sold some others here and there. Then the phone stopped ringing. After one failed script, he was contractually obligated to write one more. That script became The Blacklist (Netflix). It's a thriller on NBC starring James Spader. They're starting their fifth season this week. Spader plays Reddington, a veteran, private-jet-setting criminal who acts as an informant to the FBI, and who has a puzzling interest in agent Elizabeth Keen, played by Megan Boone. In this conversation, we're going to learn: What was the mindset that Jon put himself in to make it through the three-year project of writing his first screenplay? How does Jon ward off his distractibility, and channel it into his writing method? I think it's a great less

I'm working on a new book. It's called Getting Art Done, and it's going to help you boost your creative productivity and make your masterpiece. Today I'm going to read a sample chapter from the first draft of Getting Art Done. It's about the voice inside your head, and how it can lead to your most explosive ideas. To learn more and preview Getting Art Done, visit gettingartdone.com. Join Love Your Work Elite Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at lywelite.com. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/the-voice-podcast/

James Pearse Connelly (@jpconnelly, Instagram: @jpconnelly) is an Emmy-Award-winning television set designer. He's designed sets for shows like Bill Nye Saves the World, Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, The Voice, and Top Chef. I wanted to have James on the show to learn how he does creativity on a large scale, with literally moving parts, and an unforgiving production schedule. I figured that to do what James does, which is express the feel of a show through architecture and materials and fabrics and furniture, and to deliver on-time, James must really know his creative process. And you can tell from this conversation, he really does. Even if you aren't a designer, chances are you work on creative projects all of the time that have lots of unknowns in the beginning. The work James does just puts a magnifying glass on what it takes to make creative work come with less pain, no matter what medium you're working in. In this show, you'll learn: How do you create a design that supports an idea and serv

I've been working on a new book called Getting Art Done. Today, I'm going to share with you a chapter from the first draft of the book. This chapter about the importance of shipping your work. It's easy to fantasize about what a great creator you will be one day, while never really finishing your work in the present day. If you make it a point to ship work, won't the quality suffer? I share what I've learned by examining the paths of great creators, and what I learned by making a point of shipping myself. Join Love Your Work Elite I'll be holding an office hours hangout for LYW Elite members, September 19th, 8pm. Sign up at lywelite.com. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/success-ship-podcast/

L. David Marquet (@ldavidmarquet) had spent a year preparing to captain a submarine in the U.S. Navy. But at the last minute, he was assigned to a different submarine. Not only was it a different ship than the one he had prepared for, it was also the worst ship in its fleet. It was so bad, only three men had reenlisted. Since David didn't know the ship, and since the situation was so bad, he had to try something different. Instead of using the leader/follower model, he started using a new leader/leader model. Instead of David giving orders, and instead of his men asking permission, he started empowering each sailor to think for himself. You may have heard Jason Fried on episode 1 recommend David's book Turn the Ship Around. In it, David Marquet tells the story of how his leader/leader model turned the USS Santa Fe from worst to first. The year after David took command of the ship, 36 men reenlisted, instead of just 3. In the decade following, 10 of those men would go on to become submarine captains themselve

Love Your Work listener Gustav Dybeck is a design student from Sweden. He has an opportunity to do an internship for about 9 months, and he wants to make the most of it before he starts his career. You may have heard a clip a couple of episodes back on Gustav's favorite moment on Love Your Work. He was in Medellin awhile back, and since I originally pursued a career in design, Gustav was interested in hearing what I thought he should do for his internship. So, we talked about it in a cafe. A quick warning, there's a lot of background noise in this. It's was an off-the-cuff idea to record our conversation, so this episode is a bit of an experiment. We'll talk about: Experiences abroad: do they really make you more innovative? Working for prestigious firms: is it really worth it? If you don't pursue a prestigious firm, what should you pursue? What one experience did I personally have early in my career that completely changed my perspective about what I wanted to accomplish in design? Join Love Your Work Elit

Daniel J. Wilson was working on a screenplay when I met him during a mini life in Buenos Aires several years ago. I'd soon learn that he was also an accomplished artist, with his work covered in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The London Times, and displayed all over the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Daniel has also worked in film, his IMDB page includes editing credits for a number of documentaries and TV series, co-producer credits for PBS's Frontline series, credits as an actor. He's also a competitive cycler, a former NYC Yellow Cab driver, and he's currently a PhD candidate in neuroscience. If that weren't enough, Daniel's got a new app. It's called Minutiae. It's a bit of an "anti-social" network. When Instagram encourages you to scroll through lots of photos and make your life look amazing, this app is dedicated to capturing the mundane, everyday details of life. I hear lots of people lament their varied interests. They're usually afraid to follow their curios

It's easier than ever for creators to get their work noticed. But, it's harder than ever to actually get that work done. Think about it this way: You're writing a novel. You use Twitter and Facebook and write on your blog, and your work gets noticed. But, you have to put all of those distractions aside, and get to writing. If you don't, your novel will never become real. In this week's episode, I'll show you how to pick the right creative tool for the right creative thinking. Do your best work, without letting distractions knock you off-track. This article originally appeared on Medium Join Love Your Work Elite Some levels of Love Your Work Elite now include a Masterclass video recording with Noah Kagan. I interview Noah about the formula he used to add tens of thousands of leads to his email list. Sign up at lywelite.com.     Sponsors http://pb.com/loveyourwork http://pistollake.com/loveyourwork Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/choose-your-weapon-podcast/  

Almost 15 years ago, Getting Things Done started taking the internet by storm. Techies started buying binder clips and index cards in bulk. Today, "next actions" and "contexts" are commonplace in teams around the world. Just about everyone knows GTD stands for Getting Things Done. When I was trying to deal with wearing multiple hats as a designer in an architecture firm, I absorbed some GTD through osmosis to get on top of my daily tasks. A few years later, when I finally listened to the audiobook for GTD, I could feel my brain being rearchitected. I captured everything that was on my mind, and developed a habit of doing a "weekly review." Suddenly, my creative energy was unleashed. And so was my energy for thinking about the bigger picture, like what I wanted out of my life and my career. Millions of people have been impacted by GTD in this way. It's all thanks to our guest today. After more than 20 years as a productivity consultant, David Allen (@gtdguy) finally put his knowledge into book form with Getti

You've heard that multitasking is a myth. I'm here to tell you that the idea that multitasking is a myth, is somewhat of a myth in itself. When it comes to creative work, you can actually work on two projects at once. The trick is, you don't even know you're working on that second project. This article originally appeared on Medium. Join Love Your Work Elite Some levels of Love Your Work Elite now include a Masterclass video recording with Noah Kagan. I interview Noah about the formula he used to add tens of thousands of leads to his email list. Sign up at kadavy.net/elite     Sponsors http://pb.com/loveyourwork Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/multitask-creative-work-podcast/