career Archives - Chase Jarvis Photography

Aug 16

The Art of Good Enough: How to Overcome the Perfectionism Trap

For some, the idea of being a perfectionist is desirable. "I'm so disciplined that it's a problem," says the person who wants you to respect their hard-working attitude. But for Thomas Curran, a man that has taught psychology at the London School of Economics for years, it's a trap. We recently sat down to discuss his book of a similar title, the arguments it makes about how perfectionism can hold us back, and what we... read more ›

281 reads

Aug 14

How to Build a Community for Your Creative Work

When I think of the power of community, I'm reminded of the electrifying experience of watching a megaband like Metallica perform live. While the spotlight shines on James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo, it's easy to forget the army of skilled individuals working tirelessly behind the scenes. From lighting artists to sound engineers, it's a collective effort that brings the magic to life. Similarly, as creators, we often find ourselves in the... read more ›

261 reads

Jun 07

Winning at Work and Home: How to Build a Family-First Business with Steve Chou

Becoming a family-first entrepreneur is all about balance. When Steve Chou, a highly renowned entrepreneur and educator in the e-commerce space, creator of multiple 7-figure businesses, and founder of BumblebeeLinens.com asked me if I heard the four burner theory before, I was intrigued. Steve Chou, has a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He contributes to leading industry publications and has created multiple 7 figure businesses. Over the course of a... read more ›

396 reads

Jun 05

You’re The Answer: How to Take Control of Your Own Learning

No one is coming to save you. Experts are valuable when you’re learning new skills, but neither experts nor institutions are going to nurture you, guide you, or make your creative dream a reality. You’re on your own path. It’s all up to you. This isn’t a bad thing, either. Your creativity gives you the capacity to design the life you want. The world of education has already changed. You no longer need an MFA... read more ›

307 reads

May 31

Escape the Rat Race: Why We’re Struggling with Work Life Balance

Simone Stolzoff is an independent journalist and designer from San Francisco. He has worn many professional hats over the years, and now uses his insight to advise leaders—from the Surgeon General of the United States to the Chief Talent Officer at Google—on human-centric workplace culture. Simone's new book, 'The Good Enough Job', was just released. He sits down with me for this episode to discuss it and the topic of workaholism at large. The Religion... read more ›

445 reads

May 01

How to Break into Professional Photography (Or Any Creative Career)

I’m a self-taught photographer. I progressed in fits and starts and plenty of dead ends. Yet no one was telling me what to learn. I was following my curiosity- just trying to take photos I wanted. Successes helped me solidify new techniques, and failures gave me opportunities to figure out what I did wrong. But here’s the thing. If you want to be the noun, you need to do the verb. I wanted to be... read more ›

544 reads

Apr 17

4 Essential Steps for Finding Collaborators and Building a Winning Team

The idea of a solo creator who goes off to a cabin in the woods for a month and returns with a finished masterpiece? Purely a mirage. We desperately need to connect with others: those with both similar and radically different influences and interests, those who love what we do, those who will give us honest feedback. We become more fully ourselves when we are in a community of other creators. Working alone can be... read more ›

365 reads

Apr 05

The Dark Night of the Soul: A Journey to Self-Discovery with Amanda Crew

For Amanda Crew, art imitates life. While she is largely known for her role as Monica Hall on the HBO series Silicon Valley, she recently sat down with me to talk about the duality between her personal life and experience playing a woman who feels torn between the life she’s created and the life she really wants. It’s a thriller, Amanda tells me, but the underlying turmoil her character faces is something she can relate... read more ›

500 reads

Mar 27

A Little Known Secret About Creativity

A little-known secret that shouldn’t be one: collaboration is the secret to creativity. It's not just about working with other people, it's about working with the *right* people. I look for collaborators outside my area of expertise, people who bring new kinds of expertise to the table. A designer, a developer, a retoucher—everyone contributes to the vision in a different way. This is how I stretch myself as an artist. The benefits of collaboration go... read more ›

526 reads

Jan 23

Why Creative Cross-Training is Actually Better than Productivity Hacks

Let’s get something clear: all the “productivity” gibberish we read in our social feeds day in and day out is largely a waste of time. Productivity has become a self-help institution that deals with the symptoms rather than the cause of our problems. Instead of finding ways to cram more five-minute meetings into a day or accelerate the hamster wheel of emails flowing into your in-box, start thinking about how you can cultivate the state... read more ›

408 reads