Have you ever started a project and felt inspired and motivated, only to find yourself lost in the middle of your creative endeavor? You know the place I'm talking about: the messy nebulous phase of creativity in between vision and reality. It's where ideas get watered down and "shoulds" start to creep in. But here's the thing: The messy middle is where all of our best ideas are hiding — if we can just permit... read more ›
203 reads
Mar
13
Nov
11
The world is creative, innovative, and curious. It’s constantly inviting us to develop new ideas, improve on existing ones, and tap into endless possibilities. It’s also challenging as a creator to maintain an innovative mindset. We have so many pressures coming at us these days. If you’ve ever wondered how great innovators delve into their endless resource of ideas, it helps to learn from the source. Award-winning designer and author Hussain Almossawi has a... read more ›
210 reads
Oct
26
I recently sat down with Joey Cofone, Co-Founder, and CEO of Baronfig. Joey is an award-winning graphic designer based in New York. Joey's work appeals to curious minds. He’s released his new book The Laws of Creativity where he helps us uncover the thinking and science behind the creative process and gets us thinking in a whole new way. How To Turn Skill Into Mastery How does skill turn to mastery? When we understand... read more ›
322 reads
Sep
27
"It's easier to poke holes in an idea than think of ways to fill them. And it's easier to focus on the 100 reasons you shouldn't do something rather than the one reason you should." - Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach for All This quote resonated with me so much I figured it deserved its own episode. Good ideas are a dime a dozen. So what separates the ideas that stay on the shelf from... read more ›
456 reads
Sep
20
There's a common mis understanding about the phrase, "If you build it, they will come." A classic quote from Field of Dreams, but an often-deceiving belief we have as creators. Trust in the universe and belief in yourself are paramount, but do you really want to leave it up to chance? Today's episode includes three tactics for strategically getting your work seen. If you haven't already, check out CJ RAW episode, The Other 50 Pct.... read more ›
291 reads
Jul
28
If you've ever looked up film and digital camera lessons on YouTube, there's a high chance you've bumped into Kai Wong's top-of-the-game photography videos or even come across one of his videos featuring yours truly + a lego camera. Previously known for creating innovative content with a humorous bent for one of YouTube's most subscribed photography channels, DigitalRev, Kai quit his seven-year-long association with the Media House in 2016. After stepping down as the company's... read more ›
1.1K reads
Jul
01
Roxane Gay is an award-winning pop culture powerhouse whose writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling... read more ›
456 reads
Aug
14
Today’s episode is going to rock your world … pun fully intended because today’s guest is an actual rock star. You may remember a band called Presidents of the United States of America. They took the world by storm in 1995 with their self titled album, Presidents of the United States of America playing songs like Lump and Peaches. Yes, that’s right. My guest today is frontman Chris Ballew. Chris and I have been friends... read more ›
1.2K reads
Mar
04
One of the most common misconceptions I come across is the belief that once you’ve somehow “made it," I / one / you don’t hit ruts, bumps, run into blocks, or otherwise get paralyzed by the creative work that needs doing. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I get thrown for a loop all the time. I’ve found myself off my game at numerous times in my career, getting lost for a... read more ›
26K reads
Mar
25
I'm a huge believer in making art for art's sake. Taking photos that no one is going to pay you for. Shooting films that aren't commissioned or funded. Writing words that the world may never read. I've said before that doing and making always trumps talking about it, but there's also a difference between the doing and making that pays the bills and the doing and making that brings joy, that hones craft, lights creative... read more ›
2.7K reads