Inspiration | Chase Jarvis

Oct 24

10 Things Every Creative Person (That’s YOU) Must Learn

Here is a list of 10 things I've learned the hard way that every photographer, designer, creative--hell, every creative person--should know. 1. Experts aren’t the answer. The blogs, the teachers, the mentors, the seminars aren’t the answer. They’re not there to tell you exactly what you need to know. If they’re good, then they are there to give you some ideas, some guidelines, or some rules to learn and subsequently break. This isn’t about the... read more ›

Feb 06

Writing Makes Photographers More Creative — 5 Easy Tips

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Getting personal and a little scientific here... Once our basic three needs are met (and often even when they're not), there exists within the human species a hard-wired desire to pursue happiness. For me, happiness has always been inextricably linked with creativity, the two enjoying a direct relationship. The happier I am, the more creative I am. Or more metaphysically speaking, the happier I am, the more open I am to inspiration and creativity. As... read more ›

Aug 25

Brené Brown: The Quest For True Belonging

Brené now holds the record for the most cjLIVE appearances, this being her third time on the show. She is a vulnerability and empathy expert and has one of the most watched TED Talks of all time on the subject and is the author of four New York Times best selling books, one of which, Daring Greatly, is my playbook for staying creative and true to myself. Her new book, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest... read more ›

Aug 03

My Morning Routine: 6 Things I Do (Almost) Every Day That Make for A Happy + Productive Day

FIRST: I believe deeply that our actions cultivate our mindset and - in turn - our mindset determines our life / success / outcome. Experience tells me this. Whether from my background in art or sports or...hell...anything. As a result, I've long been paying attention to the habits (read: actions) that I do on a regular basis...which ones benefit me and which ones do not. In line with this, I've come to understand that a... read more ›

Apr 19

I’d Be More Creative If…

Even at our most creative moments, we could go further if it were not for that little voice inside our head. And that little voice puts up roadblocks. Sometimes those roadblocks are real, but more often those roadblocks are completely constructed from nothing but irrational fear or the most basic of actions. Perhaps knowing that other people share many of the same silly roadblocks--and even knowing what some of them are--will help us all move... read more ›

Mar 29

What You Can’t See Matters

A talented photographer I know recently shared with me a blow-by-blow account of how tough he was with a client who was over-noodling his vision for an advertising shoot. “In the middle of the shoot I told them where to put it,” he said, proudly. “I’m an artist and they hired me for my vision, so that’s what I was giving them. Period.” Period? He was bragging. I didn’t get it. Seemed like he’d been... read more ›

Mar 22

Escaping Your Portfolio

As a professional creative--or even an aspiring amateur--it's standard protocol to have a portfolio. Whether it's posted online or neatly bound in a black leather book bearing your name, or both, the portfolio is meant to be a cohesive sample of your work. But why is the thing so damned precious? Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of having a portfolio. I understand it's a core convention of creative professions and that it... read more ›

Mar 02

3 Bulletproof Tips for Getting Your Work Noticed by Your Creative Heroes

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, then you most likely know my M.O. by now: put your work out there early and often. Steve Martin famously said, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” But the other side of that is to have so much work out there that people can't swing a stick without hitting something you've made/written/built/produced/directed/etc. I talked about this with fellow sharing advocate, #cjLIVE alum, and all-around... read more ›

Feb 22

How I Learn ANY SKILL + How You Can Too

People ask me all the time if there's one thing that's changed my life the most, what is it? No question it's the ability to learn quickly...new skills whether they be for life, hobby, or career... Life long learning is quite literally what has created anything I would consider a classic "success" in my life. SO... In today's episode of #cjRAW I break down my own learning process into 3 clear, easily repeatable steps. And then I go... read more ›

Jan 11

12 Secrets for Unlocking Your Most Creative Work

A lot of my breakthrough creative thoughts come to me when least expected. I've talked about "finding creativity" and "creative inspiration" all over the place... on podcasts like this and this (twice for example) or given a keynote on it here at SWSW. That said, I've also learned from an entire life in the trenches as an artist what DOESN'T contribute to them (abusing myself, bad head space, partying too much), but more importantly, what... read more ›