Always Sunday

Hey there! It has been quite the year around here! I know it’s been a while since the last episode, so we’re going to take it easy today. Keeping up with a daily show was also starting to get increasingly difficult with a toddler at home and another on the way. We were expecting our second baby in about 8 weeks when I silently decided to put the podcast on hold. Now, fast forward a short 6 months and our lives look entirely different. Our daughter is starting pre-school this week, my parents are helping take care of our 4-month-old son, my wife just returned to work from maternity leave, and I have a new job as a product designer with a fully distributed SASS company. The show will return with weekly episodes including new interviews with successful creative entrepreneurs and a call-in Q&A show. Call ‪(949) 954-3297‬ and leave me a message and I’ll answer it on a future episode. I’m also going to bring on a few partners like Audible, Convertkit, Skillshare, and Adobe, to help support the growth of the

How do you create room in your day to day to focus on what's most important? For me, that has always meant controlling who has access and can make requests for my time. That's generally easy to manage by configuring notifications on my phone, being consistent about the types of events I accept in my calendar and enabling "Do not Disturb" on my phone to protect time that is strictly reserved for family. All things that help optimize my day and allow room to create. But still, none of this changes my behavior necessarily. I can always choose what I want to do with that time without being intentional like checking email or social media to see if there are any updates. After four days away from work with all of my messages and time in check, it became clear that the things I have in place work well for me, but there is still more I can do to help focus on the things that matter most. Perhaps it's time to consider a social media detox of my own.

It took a lot for me to publish the first episode of the podcast. And although it gets easier over time, that tension I feel right before I hit publish remains. At times I think that I’m over it, especially when I get into a rhythm, but it always returns as soon as I slow down. I think everyone in the creative field feels the same thing. Some are just better at managing it– or ignoring it.

Merriam-Webster describes a Masterpiece as: a work done with extraordinary skill especially : a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement a piece of work presented to a medieval guild as evidence of qualification for the rank of master Guilds played essential roles in towns as they attempted to maintain standards. They were prevalent during the Middle Ages, a period that began with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD and lasted about 1,000 years until about 1450 AD. The Guild supported its members if they became sick. But first, you worked your way to earn these benefits. Before qualifying to join a guild, you began as an apprentice and studied under someone who had previously been through the process and successfully achieved the level of a master craftsman. Once completing your study, you become a journeyman. You may have even heard this term used to refer to someone with a life-long history within a field, someone who is competent, and skilled, but still, find themselves on a path to reaching the hig

I had an opportunity over the long holiday weekend to reflect on the podcast's progress since launch, and these are the three things I learned after reviewing stats and listener feedback. Show up consistently. I've received so many messages from people letting me know that they are listening and then share a part of their story with me. Either because a specific topic resonated with them or to say that they found inspiration through the show. Be intentional about what you create. The episodes where I had a purpose vs. those that have been general updates about my day have done a lot better regarding reach, total downloads and most importantly, community engagement. Find the win along the way. These daily short episodes are a little rough when it comes to quality. But hopefully, they're also coming across an honest and authentic. I'm not spending the the the time to perfectly manicure an image here. I'm doing a weekly episode on Mondays, that's supposed to be featured content, and that episode can be as

Slack unveiled their new logo yesterday, and the internet had a lot to say. In this episode, I share my personal view on redesigns and briefly touch on how we can learn from watching companies go through a rebranding process by studying them and understanding why they might have made the decisions that they did. In a blog post titled "Say hello, new logo," Slack writes "Firstly, it’s not change for the sake of change. That said, change is inevitable, and something to be embraced, etc. etc., but that’s not a good enough reason to change a logo. A good reason to change a logo is that it’s not doing the job you want it to do—and because a simpler, more distinctive evolution of it could do that job better. " John Gruber at Daring Fireball also shared a response, “Slack gets a bland new identity from PentagramSlack unveiled their new logo yesterday, and the internet had a lot to say. In this episode, I share my personal view on redesigns and briefly touch on how we can learn from watching compa

We're in the middle of heavy rain this week and I'm making progress on the new website.

I originally started using my personal website to help feature the podcast episodes, but I believe it may be time to set up proper website for it.

Dear Brain, It’s been too long since we’ve sat down to talk. There were a lot of things in my life that needed my attention, but that’s no excuse. I know that you must have felt like I was pushing you aside. I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’m sorry about that. We had a good run together. You’ve always been there when I need you, but it seems like we've fallen off the path lately. I recognize now that I’ve taken you for granted. I wasn’t treating you well and pushed you to your limits–constantly asking for more. That's hard for me to admit. I kept you up late when I know that what you needed most was rest. I didn’t allow you to express yourself when times got tough. And I held you to immeasurable standards. That would be difficult on anyone. I set you up with goals and ideas and left you to fend for yourself when they got muddied with opinions. Perhaps making you feel like you weren’t enough. But I felt like you were comparing me to others, making me feel like I didn’t measure up either. You made me believe that

Last nights "Disigner Meetups" at Disneyland was a lot of fun. Hanging out with friends and catching up on what everyone is doing gave me time to reflect on everything that’s happened the past two weeks since the launch of the podcast and I’ve just really been enjoying this process.

Today is going to be an easy day for me. I have a couple of meetings with the team during the day and then a meetup at Disneyland in the evening. Oh, and swag!

Yesterday was another big day traffic day for the podcast so I thought I would give you all some insights into the topics and shows I'm working on and how I record my episodes. At the time of recording this episode, I have 20+ shows in some stage of planning.

Looking back I can see the most growth when I've worked on projects for myself — projects where I was invested in them and built around goals and internal pressures rather than external. Only then have I have honestly been able to push myself beyond my limits and grow within my field.

‪Today I talk about trying to make the right decisions. When you get deep into a project there are times when you need to push and grind it out, and there are times when you have to slow down and take a step back. That's what I did this weekend. ‬

Today I want to talk about this shorter format and why I decided to include it this season. It's only the 3rd episode, but I hope you're enjoying the new season so far.

Happy New Year! Here's a short update on me, what my year was like, and what I'm looking forward to this year.

It was a slow weekday morning. I sat quietly at my desk with a cup of coffee in front of me while I watched my inbox download my email just like I did every morning- 15, 25, 50, 100… 172 emails. And while I should have started prioritizing them, instead, I sat there. My mind wandered down a path I hadn’t explored before. I asked myself, is what I’m doing worth it? Am I fulling my purpose? What is my purpose? Those are big questions and I had no idea how to begin answering them. I couldn’t focus, so I grabbed my headphones and played a YouTube video– something I did often just to have some background noise. In-depth interviews with musicians, actors or authors were always a good choice. Something that allowed me to go in and out of paying attention and actually getting work done. Before long I came across a speech. It wasn’t the best recording. It sounded like something that was recorded in a lecture hall directly to tape. I wasn’t actually listening, but something in it caught my attention. The speaker was ta

This week, I chat with Jason Frostholm. He's a designer, freelancer, and host of the Creative South Podcast. In this episode, we talk about how he started his podcast and the opportunities we have to learn from our guests. He also shares some big news about where the podcast is going next so be sure to listen to the end. his freelance workshop and advice on how to manage projects and work with clients. We also go in-depth on how freelancing can affect relationships and how to balance projects when life happens. I’d like to thank you for listening and following along this season. It means the world to me. This will also be the last interview of the year and the finale for Season 2. I’ll be back after the new year with more guests and new show formats. About Jason Frostholm frostiki.com Dribbble Instagram

This week, I chat with designer Peter Deltondo. He's the lead designer at GoFundMe, a freelancer, and part of the Creative South Conference team. In this episode, we talk about his freelance workshop and advice on how to manage projects and work with clients. We also go in-depth on how freelancing can affect relationships and how to balance projects when life happens. About Peter Deltondo peterdeltondo.com Dribbble Instagram

This week, I chat with photographer and videographer Kendall Hanna. She describes herself as a Canon slingin' photographer and human tumbleweed, traveling all over country producing shoots for her clients at Kendall Hanna Photography. In this episode, we talk about the importance of knowing yourself and how to tell your story, and how this can lead to finding clients that are the right fit for your freelance business. We also talk about finding strength by building community and surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals. She's done this through a personal project called The White Buffalo Project. About Kendall Hanna kendallhanna.com White Buffalo Project Instagram