Gifted Underachievers

This wee segment shares our consternation about election marketing by text and the need for fundraising in our so-called modern democracies. Questions for Listeners: * Do you vote? * Where you live, do politicians ask for money to get themselves elected? * If not, why not? We don’t need donations! But if you buy us a coffee, you could win a book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’ll be on the list! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The concept of discipline is a frequent topic of conversation among creatives. And as often, people bring a lot of baggage and prescriptions around how disciplined creatives should be. But what if we had a more generous and open concept of discipline? Maybe we all enter and exist within our creative lives with a range of practices that equate to our idiosyncratic view of being a disciplined creative? Waiting for the goddess to speak to us could be one end while the person grinding it out every single day could be the other. All are good. . .if they work. Right? And maybe it’s even simpler: discipline will look different every time you do it. Questions for Listeners: * Do you ever feel like you are undisciplined, and yet the work gets done? * Have others made you feel that you lack discipline? For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

In creative and creative-adjacent work, we always seem to have more projects and deadlines than we have time for. The Gifted Underachievers talk about how this situation develops and name a few scenarios: * Deadlines take priority, which means that other work gets pushed aside til the deadline’s met * That work then becomes the new priority—the need to catch up makes for more long hours * Life can also intervene with last-minute changes or challenges. It’s a reality for many creative workers that client projects and personal projects compete for our time and energy. Can we ever really catch up? If not, how can we reduce overwhelm, celebrate our accomplishments, and enjoy our brief lives? We have answers. Questions for Listeners: * When’s the last time you were caught up? * What did you do to make that happen? * How long did you stay caught up? For Further Exploration: Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson on working on multiple projects at the same time: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Today, we’re profiling a terrific podcast by Carly Jackson and cohost Christy Lynn, the Book Club Podcast. If you like smart, in-depth analysis of stories, ranging across time periods and including classics as well as genre best-sellers, this is the podcast for you. Each season has a theme, and the current one is all about Romantasy (A Court of Thorn and Roses, Spinning Silver, and more). Previous seasonal themes include Millenial Nostalgia, (The Princess Bride, The Giver, Jurassic Park...) Solarpunk, (Walkaway, The Dispossessed...), and Haunted Houses (The Shining, The Turn of the Screw, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and more.) (Have a listen to the fabulous discussion of Shirley Jackson’s classic novel The Haunting of Hill House in this episode from Season One!) The Book Club Podcast is available on the major podcast players and Substack. New episodes are released monthly. Check out their website at https://www.bookclubpod.com. Creator and host Carly Jackson is a developmental editor for science fiction and fantasy, and you can find her at Desert Sky Editing. Cohost Christy Lynn is a writer and editor with over 10,000 hours of reading discussions accomplished (which she heard makes her an expert). You can find her at https://substack.com/@christylynn10. Questions for Listeners: * Want to be featured as a listener profile? * Send us a brief pitch to: giftedunderachievers5@gmail.com For Further Exploration: If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

In an attention-based economy, how do creatives honorably and effectively build an audience, platform, and artistic presence without resorting to sensationalism or grandstanding? Too many believe that the only path is making outlandish claims (you will get a gallery show if you do this…), market conflict (you will never get a gallery show if you…), or some other form of clickbait. The world is saturated with this strategic approach to winning people’s attention. Obviously, it works. But is it necessary? Can we build a presence and audience and platform by focusing with intensity on content and creative work that offers meaning? Betsy Lerner offers a great example. She gained a large audience by reading her cringey teenage diary entries on Tik Tok. Fun. Curious. Unique. And creative. Questions for Listeners * Have you leaned toward clickbait? (“I have in the past,” James admits.) * Did it work? (“Nope,” James says.) For Further Exploration Betsy Lerner: A new start after 60: I read out my old diaries online – and my youthful secrets went viral Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Gifted Underachiever James Buchanan has just come through an extended period of overwork and is also dealing with a major life event, the death of a parent. Over the past few months, he’s reached a point of low inspiration on his own creative projects. He’s not only finding it hard to do the work, but also realizing that when he does start working on it, his brain’s in overdrive on life stuff. We’ve all been there. In this segment, we discuss what to do: Keep pushing through, or put everything down and take a break? Questions for Listeners * Have you ever had a period of low inspiration on your creative work? * What’s your strategy to bounce back? For Further Exploration Are you in a period of “woodshedding”? Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Did you know that you can advertise your creative work online? You alone, by yourself, without spending big bucks or lots of time? In this short segment, full-time writer James Buchanan shares three fundamentals for placing successful online ads. Questions for Listeners * Do you have any further tips about advertising online? * If you’ve never done it, what have the barriers been? (didn’t know about it, didn’t know how, heard it was difficult, etc.) For Further Exploration Crash Course Media Literacy: Online Ads Pinterest Tools for Creators: https://create.pinterest.com/en-ca/product-features/ How to do online ads: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/online-advertising Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you engage in creative-adjacent work or perform, submit, or sell creative services or pieces of any kind, you likely need a contract. As Pat says, contracts remove confusion, manage expectations, and help prevent scope creep. They are necessary, but what should you write into yours? How flexible should a contract be? How can you use a contract to close a deal? What should you look for—the howlers—in another person’s contract? How does a contract lay out your responsibilities and the client’s expectations? And much, much more. *Important note: neither Pat nor James is a lawyer. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. NONE OF WHAT JAMES OR PAT SAY IS LEGALLY BINDING. But they are more than willing to share what they do and why. Questions for Listeners: * What do you consider the must-have clauses in your contracts? For Further Exploration: If you’re in the USA: 23 of the Best Contracts for Creatives https://onestoplegal.co/contracts-for-creatives/?srsltid=AU7gw4Xd4ZEv9DYl8CsAXY_DTpbdemRiJXePpW8Z-t7IyHldj_PZPmx1 Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU clubhouse. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

In a recent segment, Prepping for Crunch Time, we discussed ways to prepare for a period of intensive work, whether you’re an understudy called up to play the lead, a visual artist with an impending gallery show, or a writer on a deadline. Now we have a case study on Pat’s most recent “crunch time,” a 72-hour writing competition that brings contestants to their knees every year. Despite thorough and logical preparations at the logistics end, Pat found herself scrambling ineptly and producing sub-standard work. We discuss the lessons learned. The ultimate insight? If you need to be in a flow state to get your work done, you’d best do some “flow hygiene” as crunch time approaches. Questions for Listeners: * Do you have a “crunch time” coming up? * What do you do to get into flow? For Further Exploration: Creative Hygiene: How to enter the flow state in 2 minutes: How to enter a flow state in 11 minutes: Creative Flow: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

As part of her pension project, Pat has been teaching courses online at the Editorial Arts Academy [https://editorialartsacademy.com/2020/12/22/tour-of-developmental-editing-for-fiction/] for quite a while. In one course, she demystifies the art of developmental editing by working with students on the basics and not so basics of this type of editorial service. Great stuff! And she has filled up the next cohort for this class. This segment explores Pat’s marketing efforts and what she believes worked best. Questions for Listeners: * Do you create and deliver online courses? * If yes, what marketing channels do you use? For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

James floats out a scenario for consideration: * You’re a midlevel creative * You get your “big break”--an opportunity that could transform your career * They want compromises you’re not comfortable making What do you do? Pat figures creatives can cross that bridge when they get to it and base their actions on the specifics of the situation: what the compromise is, who’s asking for it, and what’s at stake. Questions for Listeners * Do you think this scenario can be usefully analyzed? * If yes, what’s your red zone when opportunity knocks? For Further Exploration 17 Stars Who Were Broke When They Got Their Big Breaks Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Pat is an expert all-nighter puller. In fact, James says that when it comes to understanding how to prepare for an intensive period of work, there’s none better than Pat. That’s why he asked for her tips on how she gets ready for the international three-day writing contest as well as other demanding periods of work. Question for Listeners: * How do you re-find your creative thread? For Further Exploration Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Today, we’re profiling a wonderful project by Chris Bujold. Robot Dreams and Suburban Nightmares is “a cinematic coming-of age memoir told through the films that defined a generation, a life, and a childhood.” Released just this week from Library Tales Publishing, the book is already zooming up the charts! And we are absolutely delighted to discuss Chris’s work and the meaning of movies in our own lives. Here’s where to buy Robot Dreams and Suburban Nightmares: * Online on Amazon or Barnes and Noble * Through the publisher’s website, librarytalespublishing.com. * Order it through your local independent bookstore. Check out Chris’s Substack, House of Buj Follow him on Instagram: Chris Bujold Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

August can be crazy. Crazy busy. Crazy fun. Crazy social. Crazy vacation time. And all that crazy can throw us out of our creative flow. Pat and James are absolutely struggling to recapture the motivation and flow state they’d had with their creative work back in June, when summer was merely a babe in the woods. To get back into creative work with momentum, Pat suggests focusing on space, time, and tools. Question for Listeners: How do you re-find your creative thread after an interruption? For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you’ve been around writers, agents, and publishers for a while, you will be aware that ass-kissing, pandering, and sycophancy (call it what you will) are a feature of this harsh industry, where only a couple of hundred top agents can actually get good publishing deals, where a safe bet for publishers is a book that follows current trends, and where the exponential increase in people aspiring to publication creates a Hunger Games scenario in many writers’ minds. Why not kiss ass? What do you have to lose? Your credibility, for one. And the time you could have spent better building relationships in a more sustainable and fruitful way. Your Gifted Underachievers discuss these other ways to create relationships with industry professionals. Although few of them require large amounts of money, they all take time and effort. Questions for Listeners: * Have you ever kissed ass hoping it would get your material read / seen / viewed? * How did that work out for you? * What else have you done to build industry relationships that’s yielded tangible results? For Further Exploration: Learn how to Sell Your Book Without Begging or Bragging: https://getaliteraryagent.com/sell-yourself-book-literary-agents/ Get the lowdown on Ben Shattuck, James’s new BFF (not): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Shattuck The creative who LIKES pitching—Amber Petty: Meet the writer who connected Pat with her agent: https://www.sharonharrigan.net/ Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

It’s easy to get mired down in the BS that comes with working in a creative field, whether it’s publishing, the TV and film industry, visual arts, crafts, comedy, or whatever realm you operate in. Despite all that, we’re lucky to have an abiding interest that can see us through to the end of our lives. Creative work feeds our curiosities and provides meaning to both us creator and our audience. What could be better than that? Questions for Listeners: * How do you honour your creative work? * Or if you don’t yet, how can you start? For Further Exploration: John O’Donohue: https://www.johnodonohue.com/ Anam Cara (source of the Work Blessing): https://www.johnodonohue.com/store Pam Bustin: https://pambustin.com/ Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

As creatives we often rely on others for a great many things. As people with creative adjacent careers, we also rely on others for a great many things. Ergo and therefore, it is all too easy to fall into and be trapped by the dysfunction of others. And while we get good at preventing or short-circuiting dysfunctional processes, there is always a new one. Furthermore, if we depend on that other person (or organization) it can be VERY difficult to simply walk away. We also experience the business concept of the sunk cost fallacy because we don’t want to lose an opportunity or walk away from many hours of work. What to do? Well, the Gifted Underachievers have thoughts. Good ones. Questions for Listeners: * How can you avoid dysfunction in others? * How can do you get out of a dysfunction trap? * Do you miss red flags? For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

It could be worse. Or so thinks James after receiving a relatively thoughtful letter from narrative to let him know he was not a finalist in their short fiction contest. He is an optimist from a family of optimists. However, he and Pat dive in with some solid insights as to whether or not the contest pathway is perhaps a better approach to getting our work out than the dark hole/deep wishing well of blind submissions. Listener Questions: * What is your contest update? Any wins, close calls. * Let us know and we’ll feature you for a listener profile. For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Joe Ponepinto’s current project is a fascinating Substack publication called Beyond Craft. Learn how and why Joe created this world, the challenges, the audience, and the point. Bonus: a special offer to GU Listeners! Check Joe out at: Beyond Craft If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

In this special episode of Gifted Underachievers, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Gifted Achiever Amber Petty to the GU Clubhouse. Amber is a writer/Weird Marketing Maven living in Los Angeles. She’s helped hundreds of students get bylines in places like Huffington Post, Business Insider, the Guardian, New York Times, and more. Plus, she’s grown a 6-figure business and 11,000-person newsletter by helping misfits make more money. In her current programs Marketing for Misfits (eminently affordable!) and the Creative Control Club (free!), Amber is helping hundreds of creatives figure out how to grow their audience and market their work. We’re especially delighted by the Compliments Challenge, a truly painless (in fact, rewarding) way to expand your network and create opportunities. Join us as we discover: * How creative people can overcomplicate marketing by coming from a place of “I’m not good at this, and I hate it.” * Why we “bland ourselves out” in our marketing and on social media, and how to stop * What marketing really is at its core, and why creatives have all the skills we need to do it well * The importance of allowing our identities and ourselves to evolve * How to raise our own excitement about marketing, and why that matters * The value of lighting up your creative brain first, THEN turning on your marketing brain * How when we get even OK at marketing, we can build a solid audience that will appreciate ALL our creative work * How having more control over our own marketing (rather than waiting for opportunities to be showcased by someone else) can result in life-changing income Questions for Listeners: * How do you feel about marketing? * Are you finding a previous identity hampers your ability to share your work? * What would actually feel good to you when sharing your creative work? For Further Exploration: Marketing for Misfits: https://www.skool.com/marketing-for-misfits-8832/about Compliments Challenge: https://amber-petty.newzenler.com/courses/compliments0926/ Creative Control Club: https://amber-petty.newzenler.com/f/creativecontrol/ Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! If you know a creative who needs solid, clear advice on marketing their work, Share This Post! If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

An Underachieving Note: We’ve underachieved again. Summer is waning and\or peaking depending on whether you are going back to school or not. And we are, well, crazy busy with the details of life while fulfilling important family duties. And so, we bring you an incredible interview with the guy whose notebook is described as “off putting with serial killer vibes.” We love him. You love him. Here he is… In this episode, Pat and James have a wide-ranging discussion with Gifted Achiever and author Richard Kelly Kemick. His most recent book—Hello, Horse—is a wonderfully unique collection of short stories that features a coterie of ghosts, nuns on ice, and an above average number of dogs while exploring the mirage of authenticity and the impact of decisions we make—for better or worse. In a word, Richard is brilliant and funny (yes, I know, that was two words). As but a taste of the topics Pat and James explored with him: * Pen or pencil? * His writing and publishing process, which includes his fair share of rejections (something we all have experienced). * The pleasure of working with a fabulous old-school editor. * Moving up the rejection ladder. * Can an arts community become too dependent on grants? And can funding abundance disconnect the artist from their audience? * Our favorite authors and books. * Why the writer/creator must work harder than the reader/viewer/audience. * When applying for a grant, have an idea not an emotion. * Rejection is just another step forward. * Richard’s top five grant pitch tips. * How being creative forces you out of yourself. * There is no better life than the creative life. Segment Questions: * What do you believe the difference is between an idea and an emotion? * What is your favorite book/movie/song/artwork? * What are your five pitch tips? Segment Links: Richard’s Website: https://richardkemick.com Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kelly_Kemick Hello, Horse on Amazon: https://a.co/d/7yy9yPm [Gifted Underachiever tip: Download a sample on Kindle, then after you discover Richard’s brilliance, purchase a copy at your local independent bookstore] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

There are lots of accusations of AI use in the arts—especially writing—based on both human detection and AI detection apps. So many creatives are worried that they could get accused of using AI when they are not. And those that publish or promote creative work are afraid that the creators they work with might be using AI. The problem is, that neither or human senses nor the AI detection software being used is accurate. False positives and false negatives happen…a lot. This is something we should all keep in mind when we hear the next high-profile accusation of AI use. There’s just too much room for errors that could permanently taint a creative person’s reputation. Questions for Listeners * Have you been falsely accused of AI use? If so, let us know. We’d love to hear from you! * Is AI a feral baby? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration The most recent case: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/31/crime-novel-deal-collapses-questions-ai-jerry-falade-call-me-ill-hide-the-body Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you sell your creative work or provide creative-adjacent services online, you’ve already made decisions about your market—ranging from the language and images you use for your website to the currency you accept payment in. As a Canadian, Pat’s begun to realize that the country many of her clients and students are based in (the USA) has become politically and economically unstable. This instability has affected every aspect of the book trade, including the ability of individual authors to keep writing when they have to work more to due to the increased cost of living, the burden of creating new work in a regime that’s hostile to the arts, the increasingly risk-averse climate in traditional publishing, and the effect of rising fuel prices on book distribution. She hoped this was a phase that might end with the current president’s term. But realistically, it could last for a decade or more as the country to the south rebuilds and regroups. And that’s only if the systemic changes happening now are reversed. There’s not much we can do about economic instability in another country, but we can diversify our offerings into more stable markets. In this segment, we discuss why and how to do this. Questions for Listeners: * Do you have a particular geographic market for most of your work? * If yes, where is it? * If you were to diversify, what would you do first? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

In this disturbing short segment, the Gifted Underachievers discuss the basement of their Clubhouse, now free of any captured creative folk. Who should we nab next? NOTE: No captives have been held in the GU Clubhouse. We’re just being silly. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

What meaning do you get from your life as a creative? · Who are you now? · What have you done? · Are you heading where you want to go? The Gifted Underachievers discuss a challenging thought experiment to help you gain perspective on these questions. From there, you can tweak, choose, manage, and direct your current and future creative projects for maximum meaning and value to your body of work. Questions for Listeners: * Where would your personal retrospective be held? * Who would come to it? * What would it show? * What clues to meaning are in your work? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! A Creative Retrospective, Unfortunately Featuring Me (by Genna McWhinnie): Art & Fear: Source of the quote from McWhinnie’s video (above), “The clues are in the work.” A Creative Retrospective: Your Life’s Work: The Artist’s Retrospective: https://artbizsuccess.com/virtual-retrospective/ Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Pat’s aggressively white office has way too much paper and other artifacts of her creative work. James does the exact same thing. In fact, he will find himself surrounded by piles of paper, old mail, out-of-date eyeglasses, folders for long dead projects, and more in his office when he decides time for a purge. We all do this. It’s too easy to set something aside thinking we’ll come back to it only to let it become one more atom of a massive pile of crap we don’t need or use. And too often, these items become hard to let go of. Do we allow stuff to hold us prisoner? What should we keep? What should we let go of? Question for Listeners: * Are you a hoarder or wise keeper of your legacy? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a member, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Gifted Underachievers are really proud of their listeners and feel that it’s time they share the spotlight with them. If you’d like to get some more attention for your work, specific project, or anything you do as a creative, send us an email at giftedunderachievers5@gmail.com. We’ll be in touch. Question for Listeners: * Why not be a GU listener profile? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a member, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Dobes (Pat Dobie) is one of the most organized gifted underachievers in history. She has a huge whiteboard and a well-stocked supply of dry erase markers. What does she use them for? Well, Pat holds CEO meetings for her creative-adjacent work at least twice a year. The purpose? To recenter, prioritize, and find new capacity in her creative adjacent work. How does she do that? She is great at data capture. In particular, tracking time spent and money earned on her projects to identify which ones do well, and which ones need to be reconsidered. And in the end? Pat sets herself up for greater success for the next six months by prioritizing high-value work and projects over those with a lower return. Questions for Listeners: * How do you track the costs and benefits of your work? * What do you do with that data? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a member, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Gifted Underachievers discuss the pros and cons of referring or outsourcing some of their creative-adjacent work to other professionals, especially aspects of the work that are ancillary to our core professional services. In other words, will you do better to stick to your core competency and pass clients to others to shepherd them through the stuff you don’t want to do? Or is it better to offer the ancillary services yourself? James is thinking that he’d like to start handing off more of the post-writing work (pitching, proposals) to trusted colleagues. This sparks questions such as: * How do you add people to your network of vetted suppliers or colleagues? * What will their role be? * How will the relationship work? We also look at how you can see and evaluate a potential supplier or colleague’s work: * How do you approach them with this type of referral? * Do they have the skills and experience to handle it? * Can you send clients to them with trust that the outcome will be positive? The goal is to create or expand your network of people that are good to work with, know what they’re doing, and will do what they say they’re going to do. Questions for Listeners: * Do you refer clients to other service providers in your field? * How does it usually go? * Got any horror stories? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: The Art of Collaboration https://pwcenter.org/article/the-art-of-collaboration-how-do-you-find-the-right-people/ How to Join Forces with a Creative Collaborator https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-join-forces-with-a-creative-collaborator/ Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

“A day without cheese is a day without sunshine,” says Dobes. James claims, “It’s the enzymes.” Here in the Gifted Underachievers Clubhouse, we agree that the food group known as cheese goes in many things: tuna melts, fried egg sandwiches, salads... And if you’re a REAL cheesehound, you’ll like it hard, soft, or blue. It’s not just the enzymes, it’s not just the feel-good fats—the bald fact is that cheese makes us happy. And a happy creative is a productive creative. Questions for Listeners: * Ever felt better after you eat cheese? * Exactly. Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: The Truth about Cheese: Can Cheese Make You Happy? Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Sure, big breaks are great, but careers and talent are built over time, one project after another. In this segment, the Gifted Underachievers conclude that the proper mindset (or at least, a healthy and realistic mindset) is to consider your career as a steady push toward a tipping point. Plan your work and future by achieving a series of tipping point acts that lead to where you want to go. Question for Listeners: What does your tipping point look like? Have you passed it, or are you still heading toward it? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Our environments interact with us every minute of every day. Working in a cluttered, dusty, and disorganized space WILL reduce both your clarity and your creative output. What’s one to do? How do you reorganize your space to optimize your hours at work? What visual and sensory elements will harness and support your energy? The Gifted Underachievers discuss this with a view to Pat’s overhaul of her “cloffice” (closet-office—a common solution for work-at-home creatives in urban centers with high housing costs). Listen in as we discuss “life architecture,” images, colours, and resources from creativity architect Donald Rattner and from our very own Gifted Achiever guest, writer and creative consultant Carrie McConkey. Questions for Listeners: * Describe your creative space in basic truths. * How do you feel when you’re in it? * Any plans to spruce it up and make it more functional? * If yes, what will you do? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Gifted Achiever Carrie McConkey (website): Creativity architect Donald Rattner: My Creative Space (website, book, other resources) Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

You knew ticks could give you Lyme disease...but did you know they could actually damage some of your more dangly bits of organs? Have you heard of the phenomenon called “ghost tick injury?” James has experienced it first-hand, and it’s not pretty. PSA #2: As is often the case with your Gifted Underachievers, the useful information is in the “Further Exploration” section of the show notes. Questions for Listeners: * Ever caught a tick attached to your skin? * What did you do? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: How to avoid ticks in long grass etc. https://youtube.com/shorts/DqJyxzolF5M?si=QOvLdvAHkR94KcF3 The US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on Tickborne diseases: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/about/index.html Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

All creatives have immersive careers. We live in our own minds for long periods of time. We need to go to our office/home/studio wherever and just be on our own, away from people to think. That is creative work even though a brush isn’t on a canvas, words aren’t being produced, the stage is empty. Explaining this need to people wondering why we are leaving a party…or not showing up…always (often?) feels like we are complaining. Should we only hang out with other creative people? No. Being out in the world with other people fills the creative well. We need it. How do we find balance? How do we tell people what we need in a way that does not feel like complaining? Question for Listeners: * Are you a Spivak? * Do you thrive on socializing? * Or do you wish the world would stay behind the yellow tape you’ve put up? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Many creative folks work remotely and have video meetings with people from all over the world. Your Gifted Underachievers are two such people—James has many meetings with clients, publishers, and agents, and Pat has students and clients in far-flung places such as Singapore, New Zealand, Central Europe, and the U.K. We’ve both noticed that people located in Eastern Time (North America) can sometimes struggle to respect time zone differences. In this public service announcement, we suggest that awareness and courtesy around scheduling meetings could be a good career move. This free tool is a great way to check time zones before you schedule: worldtimebuddy.com. Question for Listeners: What’s the most difficult time zone scheduling you’ve done? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Pat’s go-to time zone calculator for meetings with multiple participants in different locations is World Time Buddy – time zone converter and world clock: worldtimebuddy.com. If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Nietzsche said “Love your fate because your trials are necessary.” This isn’t nihilism—quite the contrary. There can be great meaning in welcoming your challenges rather than seeing them as “bad luck” or “unfair.” In this brief segment, the Gifted Underachievers talk about how loving their fates has increased their own sense of agency and control. Question for Listeners: Do you love your fate? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: The Daily Stoic on Amor Fati: https://dailystoic.com/amor-fati-love-of-fate/ The School of Life discusses Nietzsche’s views on Amor Fati: If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

When James pitches for a ghostwriting gig, he needs to quickly present himself as a capable professional to clients for projects often worth $80k or more. Pat faces much the same situation when she meets with prospective clients: they have to believe that she offers professional services that will get them closer to their writing and publishing goals. While they represent two different roles in the publishing world, each shares the same challenge: relate to a potential client in a way that authentically represents them as the experienced professionals they are. This is not easy. But for both, it comes down to one simple rule: be generous. Be generous in your time, knowledge, experience, and with the truth. It isn’t a hard pitch, it’s a soft pitch. Questions for Listeners: * What three pitching strategies do you use? * What is the basis of how you communicate with potential clients? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Academy is relentless in their push to sue the Gifted Underachievers for $1B. They have won removal of the case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. But worse than that: They want the GU Clubhouse. The team are up against the wall; they’re being rolled by a well-funded and motivated adversary. In an act of desperation, they launch the GU Extraction Team. Questions for Listeners: How silly is too silly? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you haven’t already subscribed, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

After a period of offering two main services, James has focused on ghostwriting without distraction, with the goal of becoming one of the top 20 ghostwriters in the country. Pat has more than one sphere of operation, and she freely tosses around terms like “beachhead” and “flagship” to describe how she successfully manages these separate spheres. Note—In case you’re wondering, the characteristics of a good business beachhead include: * A small, well-defined target customer base with a shared, urgent problem * Buyers who communicate with one another * A strong, distinct value proposition that fits your strengths (source: https://executive.mit.edu/launching-a-successful-start-up-3-the-beachhead-market-MC7FUMDZ6IU5AIPP4WGIPN2PZJI4.html) If you are running a creative-adjacent business in any artistic domain, this episode is for you. Questions for Listeners: * Do you have a ‘beachhead’ service? * What is it, and how did you focus in on it? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: MIT on The Beachhead Market: https://executive.mit.edu/launching-a-successful-start-up-3-the-beachhead-market-MC7FUMDZ6IU5AIPP4WGIPN2PZJI4.html Excellent book by Charlie Gilkey: The Small Business Life Cycle: The No-Fluff Guide to Navigating the Five Stages of Small Business Growth Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Gifted Underachievers talk about how to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a creative worker’s art. Are there guard rails that will help you deliver a needed truth in a way that feels supportive while getting taken seriously by the artist? What are the tenets of constructive critiquing? We share our experiences in workshop environments and MFA programs and share real-world examples of how to critique productively and how to receive and respond to critiques that land. Questions for Listeners: 1. Have you ever had a critique that killed your soul, even if temporarily? 2. What’s the best critique you ever got? 3. Do you have principles for giving or receiving critiques? For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you were to write a tagline for your internal narrative as a creative, what would it be? Pat and James talk about how they view their internal creative narrative. Unsurprisingly, Pat is the underdog fighting forward. James is the outsider doing his best to find a way inside. While these may be true self-assessments, what do they mean? How can we use our internal narratives to help our creative minds? Or are these narrative taglines more about staying motivated by always having something to push against. Question for Listeners: * What’s your narrative as a creative? For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Gifted Achievers have stepped in it now. The GU newsroom is reporting that the Academy is suing the Gifted Underachievers for $1B. This comes just weeks after Pat and James (mostly Pat) fired the GU legal team. The lawsuit is shutting down the GU Below the Line Crew Bee Oscars. More to come in future updates. Question for Listeners: * How much sillier can this get? [Answer: a lot] For Further Exploration: Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination! Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The vast majority of schools are structured to recognize, validate and reward people who thrive with a certain way of learning. As most gifted underachievers have discovered, being good at school does not mean you will ace life and career. Conversely, not being good at school doesn’t mean you will fail. Many of us get more from experiences outside that structure. Although we might not do well initially, we can thrive when given the space to do our best work. Question for Listeners: Does our definition of Gifted Underachievers describe or resonate with you? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you’re like us, you’re doing more than your own creative work to keep the lights on at home. Here in the Gifted Underachiever Clubhouse, we provide services to other creative folk who seek professional help in making their work the best it can be. Experience has taught us that a few skills come in very handy in building sustainable creative-adjacent careers across artistic disciplines. What are they? Have a listen and find out. Questions for Listeners: * Do you provide any services to other creative folk? * If yes, what are some of the core skills you’ve found useful? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: A cogent case for three key skills: organization & time management, client acquisition, and perseverence Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

It’s our 100th Episode, and to celebrate this momentous achievement we are letting go of someone very dear to our hearts: novelist John Irving. Join us live as we release John back into the wild at an undisclosed location in the dead of night. And set your alerts for news of his reappearance in his very own adopted home town of Toronto, Canada! Question for Listeners: Do you think John will make it home? Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide! For Further Exploration: Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No cost, no spam, unsubscribe anytime. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com