January 12, 2025 • 23 mins
Making Fun A Habit Series
30 days to add fun to your creative practice. I will be going through Mike Brennan's Make Fun A Habit workbook and help you make fun a habit. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike on my other podcast Find A Podcast About and talking about his podcast Creative Chats. This workbook leads you through steps to rekindle the fun in your life and get you into a space where you are your most creative. This is a 30-day book and I will tackle each day as if it were a week and provide insights on how to use his ideas in your creative practice. Each chapter is broken up with a short story, questions to ponder, action items, and tips.
Assignment
Questions
- What can you do with what you have?
- How can You use your skills and knowledge to your advantage?
- Who can you ask for help?
- Where can you find more information?
- What are some creative solutions for the problem?
- What are some ways to save money?
- What are some ways to save time?
- How can you build relationships with people who can help you?
- How can you learn from others and share your knowledge?
Action Items
- Set a goal
- Identify your resources
- Brainstorm solutions
- Choose a solution
- Take action
- Reflect on your experience
Tips
- Be organized
- Be prepared
- Be open to new experiences
- Be willing to take risks
The conversation pivots around the concept of resourcefulness in creative practices as Timothy Brien shares insights from his own experiences and the Make Fun A Habit workbook by Mike Brennan. He challenges the notion that artists need expensive materials to create meaningful work, advocating instead for a mindset shift that embraces the idea of using whatever is at hand. Brien recounts his humble beginnings, using a scruffy old desktop and a notebook to produce poetry, illustrating that creativity often flourishes in the face of constraints. Throughout the episode, he poses pivotal questions that listeners can reflect upon, such as identifying available resources, seeking help from mentors, and brainstorming solutions to creative challenges. By encouraging an exploration of one's environment and skills, O'Brien not only inspires artists to take action but also fosters a sense of community and collaboration among creatives, which he believes is essential for growth and innovation in the arts.
Takeaways:
- Creative practice should be fun; if it's not enjoyable, reconsider why you engage in it.
- Use the resources you have around you, even if they seem limited or inadequate.
- Look for help from mentors or inspiring figures in your artistic community.
- When faced with limitations, find creative solutions instead of feeling restricted by them.
- Taking action is crucial; don't wait for the perfect moment to start creating.
- Set specific goals for your creative journey and track your progress regularly.
Links referenced in this episode:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Create art podcast commentaryusing what you got. Hello friend.
This is Timothy Keem O'Brien,your head instigator for Create Art
podcast where I use my over 30years of experience in the art and
education world to help youtame your inner critic and create
(00:28):
more than you consume. So atthe time of this recording, we have
just started into 2025. Herewe are in January and I'm continuing
on with the Make Fun A Habitseries and what that is. It's 30
days to add fun to yourcreative practice. I went through
(00:49):
Mike Brennan's Make Fun AHabit workbook and I it was so impactful
on me, I wanted to share itwith you. And I actually did have
the pleasure of interviewingMike on my other podcast, Find a
Podcast about and talkingabout his podcast Creative Chats.
So if you'd like to listen tothat, definitely check out the links
(01:10):
in the show notes for my otherpodcast and for Mike's podcast. So
if this is your first timelistening, the Make Fun I have it
series is just like what itsays. It's a way to bring that fun
back into your creativepractice. Because if your creative
(01:31):
practice isn't fun, thenwhat's the point of doing it? And
the Make Fun A Habit workbookis a 30 day book. And what I'm doing
is I'm taking each day andturning it into a podcast episode.
Today we're going to talkabout using what you have. Now, if
(01:53):
you haven't gotten theworkbook yet, I do have a link in
the show note for you. Butbasically what it is, he tackles
one idea and he gives youideas on how to use it in your creative
process. And each chapter isbroken up with a short story, questions
to ponder, action items, tipsand what have you. Let's jump into
(02:15):
use what you got. Now, I'm nota super wealthy person. I'm wealthy
in family, friends, the lovethat's around me. But monetarily,
yeah, I'm doing okay. But Idon't have unlimited resources. I
don't think any of us haveunlimited resources. Even the billionaires
(02:35):
that are out there, yeah, theyhave billions of dollars, but there's
a limit to what they canspend. So when you're thinking, hey,
I don't have anything aroundme, you actually do have a lot of
things around you if you justlook at it creatively. Even at my
worst, when I was living inChicago on a bean bag, I had things
(02:57):
around me that I could use. Ihad my computer there that I could
use. It was a desktop, it wasan Old desktop. And because my roommates
had dogs, it was covered indog fur and dog hair and was getting
on the fans. But I still hadthings that I could do with that
computer. And I had mynotebook on me. I had a lot of music
around me. I had pens. So Iwas writing a ton of poetry at that
(03:23):
time. So even if you don'tthink you have a whole lot, just
look around you. Do you have apen, a pencil, something to write
with, something to write on?Then you have something that you
can create art with. Heck, I'deven argue if you have a voice, you
have something you agree with.You can sing a song at any time or
create a song at any time. Soyou may not even need a pencil and
(03:48):
a piece of paper to write on.You just have your body that you
can use and turn into a pieceof artwork if you so desire or wish.
So let's go into the questionsthat Mike gives us. And the first
question is, what can you dowith what you have? So I've already
jumped into this. Do you havea piece of paper? Do you have something
(04:11):
to write with? Something towrite on? There you go. You can start
with that. If you don't havethat. If you're listening to this
on a smartphone, you probablyhave a note app in there, or there's
free note apps that you canuse to put your ideas down. But just
saying, I don't have anythingaround me. I can't make anything
(04:32):
artistic when we limitourselves to. I'm a painter, so I
have to have this type of oilpaint and this type of canvas, and
it's way too expensive. I haveto have this type of brush. Okay,
yeah, you can limit yourselfthat way, but what's the fun in that?
It's more creative to overcomechallenges, to overcome limitations,
(04:55):
than to be dictated by them.The next question is, how can you
use your skills and knowledgeto your advantage? I was very blessed.
I consider myself very blessedthat I was able to go to college
and get a lot of my academiclearning taken care of in the arts.
(05:16):
And so I have that knowledgeinside my head. Yes, I have the degree.
Yes, I have the student loanpayments for the next I don't know
how many years. But thatknowledge is in my head, and that
experimental nature and thatcreative nature is in my head. So
I can look at a blank canvasand put something on it, or I can
(05:40):
look at a blank page and startwriting and not editing while I'm
writing, but just putting itdown on the page and then later on
doing the edits, doing thecorrections, or finding a different
path to go down. But you havethese skills as well. You have ideas.
(06:01):
I don't care what vocation youhave, you have these ideas. And just
at the very least, let's getit down on a piece of paper. And
it doesn't need to make senseto anybody. You don't have to show
it to anybody. Just get itdown on a piece of paper. Get those
ideas out of your head and inthe world in whatever fashion you
(06:21):
need to do that. Next up iswho can you ask for help? You can
ask me for help if you like.You can email me timothyartpodcast.com
if you're needing some helpout there. But think about who's
influenced you. If there's aartist out there that you follow,
start trying it. Start withthem, ask them for help. If there's
(06:44):
a singer that you reallyenjoy, why not? The worst that can
happen is you get no answerwhere they say, leave me alone. The
best thing that can happen isthey become your new mentor. Go out
there and find that mentor foryourself. If it's me, fantastic.
You know how to get in touchwith me. But if you need, if you
have somebody else in mind,ask them, because you never know
(07:06):
what the answer is going tobe. It could be yes. Next question
is, where can you find moreinformation? Oh, my God, the Internet.
Have you heard about thisthing called Internet? Everyone's
uncle Google. You can searchonline for things. You can go onto
YouTube and find paintings,videos or writing videos, or music
(07:27):
videos or dance videos, orwhatever art, whatever discipline
that you're into, theinformation is out there. We have
never had so much informationeasily available to people out there
at a relatively low cost, lowbarrier of entry there. Go online
(07:48):
again, the person that you askhelp from, that's where you can find
more information. If theyreply back to you, find out where
they got their informationfrom. Next question up is what are
some creative solutions to theproblem? Okay, so let's say you don't
have the Bob Ross paintingkit. You don't have the money for
(08:12):
that. You can find, I don'tknow, take some notebook paper. Take
some, take some drawing paperand some acrylics and start going,
start painting on that. Let'ssay you don't have a number two pencil
and a steno notepad, whichwhen I first started writing, I had
(08:37):
to have a steno notepad and Ihad to have a certain type of pen
and I had to have the rightamount of rum and Cokes in my system
to be able to write. I don'tneed that anymore. My creative solutions
for the problem was typing onmy computer because steno notepad
can get wet when you'respilling a drink on it or when a
(09:00):
pen can run out of ink. So Ijust moved over to my laptop, my
desktop, and started writingthere. So those are creative solutions
to the problem of where do Istart? Okay, next question is what
are ways to save money? Andmoney is a very touchy topic for
a lot of people. I think waysto save money are finding out what
(09:25):
you absolutely need, what isthe bare essential, and then upgrading
from there. Not necessarilywhat's the cheapest, but what's going
to have the biggest return oninvestment for you. Again, it may
not be cheap, but it may saveyou money in the long term. And that's
(09:47):
something that you need todecide for yourself. You need to
do research for yourself.Conversely, what are ways to save
time? That's the nextquestion. Question number seven.
So I use a lot of assistancewhen I'm doing a podcast and my digital
audio workstation does a lotfor me. I use AI to help out with
(10:10):
things. I use canva, createepisode art. I use magics to create
the music that you hear at thebeginning and at the end. Anything
I can do to save time that cando multiple things which helps me
save money, is what I'mlooking to do. I don't need to redo
the music each and every timefor each and every episode. You may
(10:34):
want me to do that, but thattakes a lot of time that I don't
need to do. I don't think itadds that much. When you hear the
music coming into the episodeand if you've been here for any amount
of time, you know what you'regoing to get into. You know what's
coming next. Next up is howcan you build relationships with
people who can help you. Andthat's by putting yourself out there,
that's by asking questions.Maybe it's a Facebook group, maybe
(10:55):
it's on LinkedIn, maybe it'son TikTok or whatever social media
you're using. You can startthere with the relationships. You
can go to conferences on yourparticular artistic discipline. There's
makers groups out there,getting out into your community,
putting yourself out there.And I know a lot of us artists are
(11:17):
introverts, but do you want toget better? Do you want people to
buy your work? Do you wantyour name out there? You need to
go out there because nobody issearching for Tim Bryan till they've
Already heard Tim Bryant oruntil they've heard somebody in my
network talk about me, andthen they come and look for me. But
for somebody to talk about me,I need to know who they are, and
(11:40):
they need to know who I am. Sothat's the secret to that. Next up,
last question is how can youlearn from others and share your
knowledge Again, by askingquestions, by letting others know
in your field, in yourdiscipline, what you're struggling
with. That's for me. That'sthe way I learn. And I ask a lot
(12:01):
of questions of people. Imean, you hear me ask questions on
this podcast all the time.When I have guests on, I usually
like to ask about eight to 10questions. I learn from them, I gain
knowledge from them. I'm notan expert in what they do. They're
the expert. And I want to findout and get to the root of how they
(12:23):
do what they do and why theydo what they do. And I want to get
at the root of knowing whatyou do and how you do it. And if
I can help you do it better,fantastic. But maybe you have information
that I don't have and you canhelp me do something even better
than why I'm doing it rightnow. So that's how I learn from others,
(12:43):
and that's how I share myknowledge. All right, next up is
action items. First actionitem is to set a goal. We talk a
lot starting off the new yearwith resolutions and all that kind
of jazz. I'm not a huge fan ofthat, but set a goal for yourself.
I want to learn X by whateverdate it is. You want to learn how
(13:05):
to do oil painting and how tomix colors by June of 2025. Great.
Set a goal for yourself. Themore information you can put in that
goal, the better off you are.Next action item is identify your
resources. Do an inventory ofwhat you have in your house right
now or in your studio rightnow. Just inventory it. That could
(13:29):
be a creative thing just inand of itself, and it could be a
thing of frustration, and thatcould be your next art piece. But
look at what you have aroundyou, and don't forget to include
what you have between yourears as a resource. The third action
item is brainstorm solutions.So no matter. This is not where you
(13:54):
edit yourself, butbrainstorming really means to have
that brainstorm, to leteverything come out, no matter how
ridiculous it is, no matter ifit's a solution that doesn't apply
to the problem at hand. Justbrainstorm it out, put it out there,
because you can't do the nextstep without having the ideas out
(14:17):
there, without having theideas for the solutions. Once you're
done brainstorming, then youcan go up to the fourth step here
or the fourth action item,which would be to choose a solution.
Choose something that you canfeasibly do, something that you've
identified your resources, itgoes with your goal, and actually
(14:37):
choose it. Next step is totake action. So we've chosen our
goal, we've chosen oursolution, we got our resources, we
know what we want to do. Thendo it. Don't ruminate on it. Because
if you're going to takeforever to choose that solution or
go, I'll take action on itnext year. No, take action on it
now. You have your solution.You know what, you know what you
(15:00):
can use to achieve that goal.So go do it. And then the last action
item is reflecting on yourexperience. So you're going to, even
if the goal is completelyblown up and you didn't reach it
or anything like that, reflecton your experience. I've had it happen
where I'd like to do NationalNovel Writing Month and National
(15:22):
Poetry Writing Month, and I'vehad years where I had surgery right
at the beginning of November.So I wasn't able to do National Novel
Writing Month for a year. Igot it started, but I wasn't able
to complete it. That's okay.Yes, technically it is a failure,
but it was an experience thatbetter planning, especially for my
(15:46):
health, better planning willhelp me achieve my goals. Okay, here
are the tips and there's fourtips here. First one, be organized.
Remember when I was sayingtake stock or take identify your
resources. Do an inventory ofit. Definitely. That's how we start
off. We find out what we haveavailable to us and let's get it
(16:10):
organized. Let's get it readyto go. The next tip is to be prepared.
I was when I was starting my,you know, writing career, I'd always
have my stando notepad and afresh pen ready to go. So that way
I could be at the bar andwrite my stuff down as soon as it
hit me in the head. When I goto conferences, I have business cards
(16:34):
at the go. I even have a newthing, podcast Beacon, where somebody
can put their phone over mylittle wristwatch looking thing and
they can find my podcast. Butalways being prepared for great things
to happen, that's what youneed to do. The next tip. The third
tip is be open to newexperiences. Yeah, when I first started
(16:58):
podcasting in 2006, I neverthought I would be going to conferences
that just a, I didn't knowthat they existed, and B, conferences
weren't something that Ireally thought about, my thought
about doing. So open yourselfup to these new experiences, whether
it's listening to a podcast,watching a video, going to a conference,
(17:20):
going to a meetup. Allow thatto happen. You never know where that
inspiration is going to comefrom. You never know where that new
connection is going to comefrom. So be open for it. And the
last tip is be willing to takerisks. That's really important. You
got to be able to put it outthere for the public to see, for
(17:42):
your audience to see. And someof the stuff is going to be great,
some of it's not going to begreat, and some of your experiences
with other people is going tobe great, others, not so great. So
take those risks. Sometimesthey're going to pay off, not all
the time are they going to payoff. But be bold about it. Take that
(18:04):
risk. Because if you don'ttake the risk, you're never going
to know and you're alwaysgoing to live in a world of regret.
Okay, that's what I have foryou on this episode. I hope you go
grab the workbook from MikeBrennan that's Make Fun of Habit
Workbook. Again, links to itare in the show notes there for you,
(18:25):
so definitely check it out.And I just want to let you know a
couple of things that aregoing on with me. First and foremost,
I have a bunch of guests tostart off the new year with in 2025.
Now, how do I get these greatguests? I get them from Pod Match.
A link is in the show notesthere for you. And what that does,
it helps me get the bestguests for this show. So if you feel
(18:50):
that, hey, I want to be aguest, or you're a podcaster and
you need guests for your show,give podmatch a look. See there?
There is a small monthly feefor being on it, and the guests that
I do have on it, I do get abit of compensation for it, but it's
nothing to write home about.But it's a great service. The more
(19:13):
important thing is not howmuch I get paid from it, but the
quality I get of guests that Iget from it. So give Pod Match a
try and see if it works foryou. Now, I alluded to this earlier
in the episode, but as apodcaster, I like to share episodes.
I'd like to share my podcast,especially when I go to conferences
(19:34):
and whatnot. I use a servicecalled Pod Beacon. And what that
is. Again it looks like alittle wristband or wristwatch and
it has your logo on it. Andsomebody just waves their phone over
it. They don't even have totake a picture, like a QR code. They
just wave their phone over itand then boom, it goes to your website.
(19:55):
So give podbeacon a try. Ifyou use my link, that is my affiliate
link, I do get a little bit ofa compensation, but I know the guy
that runs it and it's a reallygreat service. So you may want to
go ahead and check that outfor yourself. Now, if you want to
get a hold of me, you canreach out to me. Timothyreateartpodcast.com
(20:16):
if you're on my website,createartpodcast.com There is a way
you can leave voicemails therefor me if you want to do that. If
that's the way you want toreach out to me. Here's the thing.
I'm trying to make a five starpodcast for you, something that you'll
want to share with yourfriends. I need to know what that's
(20:39):
going to be for you. Sodefinitely reach out to me on that.
I do have a survey. It's the2024 listener survey. Yes, I know
we're in 2025, whatever. But Ido have a link for that survey in
the show notes. If you'd be sokind to go ahead and do that survey
for me. It's not a whole lotof questions. I'd really appreciate
(21:01):
it because again, I want tomake this a five star podcast for
you. And I mentioned itearlier, I do have another podcast
called Find a Podcast About.You can find it at findapodcast about
dot X, Y Z. I know crazy. It'snot a comm, it's an xyz. What I do
there is I help you outsmartthe algorithm and find your next
(21:23):
binge worthy podcast. Andthat's where I met Michael Brennan
and I got a chance to talk tohim. So definitely links in the show
notes there. Check that outfor yourself. If you're looking for
a podcast on any topic, checkit out. I'll help you save a lot
of time there. And the lastthing I want to bring up here is
(21:43):
my business. It's called TKBPodcast Studio LLC. You can go to
my website,tkbpodcaststudio.com and that's where
I help my clients throughquiet professionalism, lead through
the noise and help them makethe best podcasts possible for whatever
(22:06):
topic they are interested indoing. I take you from Step one to
step fun. So definitely givethat a look. See for yourself. If
you're thinking about startingup a podcast, you can see my portfolio
there of all the otherpodcasts that I work on. Give it
a shot for yourself. Be happyto help you start your podcast in
(22:26):
the new year. All right.That's all I have for you here today.
I am so thankful that you'relistening to this podcast. Oh, and
I'd be remiss not to tell youabout the newsletter that I do have.
It's Timothy Brian B r I en.substack.com Again, links are in
the show notes. And what I'mdoing with my newsletter is with
(22:50):
every episode that I do, I amdoing something with Notebook. Lm
to do a recap of it. So checkthat out for yourself. It's a lot
of fun. And then I also giveother with other newsletters, I give
ideas on different projectsthat you can do for yourself. Give
it a look see and let me knowwhat you think. But now is the time
(23:11):
for you to go out there andenjoy the rest of your day. I'm gonna
go enjoy the rest of my day.Go out there, tame that inner critic,
create more than you consume,and go make some art for somebody
you love. Yourself. I'll talkto you next time.
Create art podcast commentaryusing what you got. Hello friend.
This is Timothy Keem O'Brien,your head instigator for Create Art
podcast where I use my over 30years of experience in the art and
education world to help youtame your inner critic and create
(00:28):
more than you consume. So atthe time of this recording, we have
just started into 2025. Herewe are in January and I'm continuing
on with the Make Fun A Habitseries and what that is. It's 30
days to add fun to yourcreative practice. I went through
(00:49):
Mike Brennan's Make Fun AHabit workbook and I it was so impactful
on me, I wanted to share itwith you. And I actually did have
the pleasure of interviewingMike on my other podcast, Find a
Podcast about and talkingabout his podcast Creative Chats.
So if you'd like to listen tothat, definitely check out the links
(01:10):
in the show notes for my otherpodcast and for Mike's podcast. So
if this is your first timelistening, the Make Fun I have it
series is just like what itsays. It's a way to bring that fun
back into your creativepractice. Because if your creative
(01:31):
practice isn't fun, thenwhat's the point of doing it? And
the Make Fun A Habit workbookis a 30 day book. And what I'm doing
is I'm taking each day andturning it into a podcast episode.
Today we're going to talkabout using what you have. Now, if
(01:53):
you haven't gotten theworkbook yet, I do have a link in
the show note for you. Butbasically what it is, he tackles
one idea and he gives youideas on how to use it in your creative
process. And each chapter isbroken up with a short story, questions
to ponder, action items, tipsand what have you. Let's jump into
(02:15):
use what you got. Now, I'm nota super wealthy person. I'm wealthy
in family, friends, the lovethat's around me. But monetarily,
yeah, I'm doing okay. But Idon't have unlimited resources. I
don't think any of us haveunlimited resources. Even the billionaires
(02:35):
that are out there, yeah, theyhave billions of dollars, but there's
a limit to what they canspend. So when you're thinking, hey,
I don't have anything aroundme, you actually do have a lot of
things around you if you justlook at it creatively. Even at my
worst, when I was living inChicago on a bean bag, I had things
(02:57):
around me that I could use. Ihad my computer there that I could
use. It was a desktop, it wasan Old desktop. And because my roommates
had dogs, it was covered indog fur and dog hair and was getting
on the fans. But I still hadthings that I could do with that
computer. And I had mynotebook on me. I had a lot of music
around me. I had pens. So Iwas writing a ton of poetry at that
(03:23):
time. So even if you don'tthink you have a whole lot, just
look around you. Do you have apen, a pencil, something to write
with, something to write on?Then you have something that you
can create art with. Heck, I'deven argue if you have a voice, you
have something you agree with.You can sing a song at any time or
create a song at any time. Soyou may not even need a pencil and
(03:48):
a piece of paper to write on.You just have your body that you
can use and turn into a pieceof artwork if you so desire or wish.
So let's go into the questionsthat Mike gives us. And the first
question is, what can you dowith what you have? So I've already
jumped into this. Do you havea piece of paper? Do you have something
(04:11):
to write with? Something towrite on? There you go. You can start
with that. If you don't havethat. If you're listening to this
on a smartphone, you probablyhave a note app in there, or there's
free note apps that you canuse to put your ideas down. But just
saying, I don't have anythingaround me. I can't make anything
(04:32):
artistic when we limitourselves to. I'm a painter, so I
have to have this type of oilpaint and this type of canvas, and
it's way too expensive. I haveto have this type of brush. Okay,
yeah, you can limit yourselfthat way, but what's the fun in that?
It's more creative to overcomechallenges, to overcome limitations,
(04:55):
than to be dictated by them.The next question is, how can you
use your skills and knowledgeto your advantage? I was very blessed.
I consider myself very blessedthat I was able to go to college
and get a lot of my academiclearning taken care of in the arts.
(05:16):
And so I have that knowledgeinside my head. Yes, I have the degree.
Yes, I have the student loanpayments for the next I don't know
how many years. But thatknowledge is in my head, and that
experimental nature and thatcreative nature is in my head. So
I can look at a blank canvasand put something on it, or I can
(05:40):
look at a blank page and startwriting and not editing while I'm
writing, but just putting itdown on the page and then later on
doing the edits, doing thecorrections, or finding a different
path to go down. But you havethese skills as well. You have ideas.
(06:01):
I don't care what vocation youhave, you have these ideas. And just
at the very least, let's getit down on a piece of paper. And
it doesn't need to make senseto anybody. You don't have to show
it to anybody. Just get itdown on a piece of paper. Get those
ideas out of your head and inthe world in whatever fashion you
(06:21):
need to do that. Next up iswho can you ask for help? You can
ask me for help if you like.You can email me timothyartpodcast.com
if you're needing some helpout there. But think about who's
influenced you. If there's aartist out there that you follow,
start trying it. Start withthem, ask them for help. If there's
(06:44):
a singer that you reallyenjoy, why not? The worst that can
happen is you get no answerwhere they say, leave me alone. The
best thing that can happen isthey become your new mentor. Go out
there and find that mentor foryourself. If it's me, fantastic.
You know how to get in touchwith me. But if you need, if you
have somebody else in mind,ask them, because you never know
(07:06):
what the answer is going tobe. It could be yes. Next question
is, where can you find moreinformation? Oh, my God, the Internet.
Have you heard about thisthing called Internet? Everyone's
uncle Google. You can searchonline for things. You can go onto
YouTube and find paintings,videos or writing videos, or music
(07:27):
videos or dance videos, orwhatever art, whatever discipline
that you're into, theinformation is out there. We have
never had so much informationeasily available to people out there
at a relatively low cost, lowbarrier of entry there. Go online
(07:48):
again, the person that you askhelp from, that's where you can find
more information. If theyreply back to you, find out where
they got their informationfrom. Next question up is what are
some creative solutions to theproblem? Okay, so let's say you don't
have the Bob Ross paintingkit. You don't have the money for
(08:12):
that. You can find, I don'tknow, take some notebook paper. Take
some, take some drawing paperand some acrylics and start going,
start painting on that. Let'ssay you don't have a number two pencil
and a steno notepad, whichwhen I first started writing, I had
(08:37):
to have a steno notepad and Ihad to have a certain type of pen
and I had to have the rightamount of rum and Cokes in my system
to be able to write. I don'tneed that anymore. My creative solutions
for the problem was typing onmy computer because steno notepad
can get wet when you'respilling a drink on it or when a
(09:00):
pen can run out of ink. So Ijust moved over to my laptop, my
desktop, and started writingthere. So those are creative solutions
to the problem of where do Istart? Okay, next question is what
are ways to save money? Andmoney is a very touchy topic for
a lot of people. I think waysto save money are finding out what
(09:25):
you absolutely need, what isthe bare essential, and then upgrading
from there. Not necessarilywhat's the cheapest, but what's going
to have the biggest return oninvestment for you. Again, it may
not be cheap, but it may saveyou money in the long term. And that's
(09:47):
something that you need todecide for yourself. You need to
do research for yourself.Conversely, what are ways to save
time? That's the nextquestion. Question number seven.
So I use a lot of assistancewhen I'm doing a podcast and my digital
audio workstation does a lotfor me. I use AI to help out with
(10:10):
things. I use canva, createepisode art. I use magics to create
the music that you hear at thebeginning and at the end. Anything
I can do to save time that cando multiple things which helps me
save money, is what I'mlooking to do. I don't need to redo
the music each and every timefor each and every episode. You may
(10:34):
want me to do that, but thattakes a lot of time that I don't
need to do. I don't think itadds that much. When you hear the
music coming into the episodeand if you've been here for any amount
of time, you know what you'regoing to get into. You know what's
coming next. Next up is howcan you build relationships with
people who can help you. Andthat's by putting yourself out there,
that's by asking questions.Maybe it's a Facebook group, maybe
(10:55):
it's on LinkedIn, maybe it'son TikTok or whatever social media
you're using. You can startthere with the relationships. You
can go to conferences on yourparticular artistic discipline. There's
makers groups out there,getting out into your community,
putting yourself out there.And I know a lot of us artists are
(11:17):
introverts, but do you want toget better? Do you want people to
buy your work? Do you wantyour name out there? You need to
go out there because nobody issearching for Tim Bryan till they've
Already heard Tim Bryant oruntil they've heard somebody in my
network talk about me, andthen they come and look for me. But
for somebody to talk about me,I need to know who they are, and
(11:40):
they need to know who I am. Sothat's the secret to that. Next up,
last question is how can youlearn from others and share your
knowledge Again, by askingquestions, by letting others know
in your field, in yourdiscipline, what you're struggling
with. That's for me. That'sthe way I learn. And I ask a lot
(12:01):
of questions of people. Imean, you hear me ask questions on
this podcast all the time.When I have guests on, I usually
like to ask about eight to 10questions. I learn from them, I gain
knowledge from them. I'm notan expert in what they do. They're
the expert. And I want to findout and get to the root of how they
(12:23):
do what they do and why theydo what they do. And I want to get
at the root of knowing whatyou do and how you do it. And if
I can help you do it better,fantastic. But maybe you have information
that I don't have and you canhelp me do something even better
than why I'm doing it rightnow. So that's how I learn from others,
(12:43):
and that's how I share myknowledge. All right, next up is
action items. First actionitem is to set a goal. We talk a
lot starting off the new yearwith resolutions and all that kind
of jazz. I'm not a huge fan ofthat, but set a goal for yourself.
I want to learn X by whateverdate it is. You want to learn how
(13:05):
to do oil painting and how tomix colors by June of 2025. Great.
Set a goal for yourself. Themore information you can put in that
goal, the better off you are.Next action item is identify your
resources. Do an inventory ofwhat you have in your house right
now or in your studio rightnow. Just inventory it. That could
(13:29):
be a creative thing just inand of itself, and it could be a
thing of frustration, and thatcould be your next art piece. But
look at what you have aroundyou, and don't forget to include
what you have between yourears as a resource. The third action
item is brainstorm solutions.So no matter. This is not where you
(13:54):
edit yourself, butbrainstorming really means to have
that brainstorm, to leteverything come out, no matter how
ridiculous it is, no matter ifit's a solution that doesn't apply
to the problem at hand. Justbrainstorm it out, put it out there,
because you can't do the nextstep without having the ideas out
(14:17):
there, without having theideas for the solutions. Once you're
done brainstorming, then youcan go up to the fourth step here
or the fourth action item,which would be to choose a solution.
Choose something that you canfeasibly do, something that you've
identified your resources, itgoes with your goal, and actually
(14:37):
choose it. Next step is totake action. So we've chosen our
goal, we've chosen oursolution, we got our resources, we
know what we want to do. Thendo it. Don't ruminate on it. Because
if you're going to takeforever to choose that solution or
go, I'll take action on itnext year. No, take action on it
now. You have your solution.You know what, you know what you
(15:00):
can use to achieve that goal.So go do it. And then the last action
item is reflecting on yourexperience. So you're going to, even
if the goal is completelyblown up and you didn't reach it
or anything like that, reflecton your experience. I've had it happen
where I'd like to do NationalNovel Writing Month and National
(15:22):
Poetry Writing Month, and I'vehad years where I had surgery right
at the beginning of November.So I wasn't able to do National Novel
Writing Month for a year. Igot it started, but I wasn't able
to complete it. That's okay.Yes, technically it is a failure,
but it was an experience thatbetter planning, especially for my
(15:46):
health, better planning willhelp me achieve my goals. Okay, here
are the tips and there's fourtips here. First one, be organized.
Remember when I was sayingtake stock or take identify your
resources. Do an inventory ofit. Definitely. That's how we start
off. We find out what we haveavailable to us and let's get it
(16:10):
organized. Let's get it readyto go. The next tip is to be prepared.
I was when I was starting my,you know, writing career, I'd always
have my stando notepad and afresh pen ready to go. So that way
I could be at the bar andwrite my stuff down as soon as it
hit me in the head. When I goto conferences, I have business cards
(16:34):
at the go. I even have a newthing, podcast Beacon, where somebody
can put their phone over mylittle wristwatch looking thing and
they can find my podcast. Butalways being prepared for great things
to happen, that's what youneed to do. The next tip. The third
tip is be open to newexperiences. Yeah, when I first started
(16:58):
podcasting in 2006, I neverthought I would be going to conferences
that just a, I didn't knowthat they existed, and B, conferences
weren't something that Ireally thought about, my thought
about doing. So open yourselfup to these new experiences, whether
it's listening to a podcast,watching a video, going to a conference,
(17:20):
going to a meetup. Allow thatto happen. You never know where that
inspiration is going to comefrom. You never know where that new
connection is going to comefrom. So be open for it. And the
last tip is be willing to takerisks. That's really important. You
got to be able to put it outthere for the public to see, for
(17:42):
your audience to see. And someof the stuff is going to be great,
some of it's not going to begreat, and some of your experiences
with other people is going tobe great, others, not so great. So
take those risks. Sometimesthey're going to pay off, not all
the time are they going to payoff. But be bold about it. Take that
(18:04):
risk. Because if you don'ttake the risk, you're never going
to know and you're alwaysgoing to live in a world of regret.
Okay, that's what I have foryou on this episode. I hope you go
grab the workbook from MikeBrennan that's Make Fun of Habit
Workbook. Again, links to itare in the show notes there for you,
(18:25):
so definitely check it out.And I just want to let you know a
couple of things that aregoing on with me. First and foremost,
I have a bunch of guests tostart off the new year with in 2025.
Now, how do I get these greatguests? I get them from Pod Match.
A link is in the show notesthere for you. And what that does,
it helps me get the bestguests for this show. So if you feel
(18:50):
that, hey, I want to be aguest, or you're a podcaster and
you need guests for your show,give podmatch a look. See there?
There is a small monthly feefor being on it, and the guests that
I do have on it, I do get abit of compensation for it, but it's
nothing to write home about.But it's a great service. The more
(19:13):
important thing is not howmuch I get paid from it, but the
quality I get of guests that Iget from it. So give Pod Match a
try and see if it works foryou. Now, I alluded to this earlier
in the episode, but as apodcaster, I like to share episodes.
I'd like to share my podcast,especially when I go to conferences
(19:34):
and whatnot. I use a servicecalled Pod Beacon. And what that
is. Again it looks like alittle wristband or wristwatch and
it has your logo on it. Andsomebody just waves their phone over
it. They don't even have totake a picture, like a QR code. They
just wave their phone over itand then boom, it goes to your website.
(19:55):
So give podbeacon a try. Ifyou use my link, that is my affiliate
link, I do get a little bit ofa compensation, but I know the guy
that runs it and it's a reallygreat service. So you may want to
go ahead and check that outfor yourself. Now, if you want to
get a hold of me, you canreach out to me. Timothyreateartpodcast.com
(20:16):
if you're on my website,createartpodcast.com There is a way
you can leave voicemails therefor me if you want to do that. If
that's the way you want toreach out to me. Here's the thing.
I'm trying to make a five starpodcast for you, something that you'll
want to share with yourfriends. I need to know what that's
(20:39):
going to be for you. Sodefinitely reach out to me on that.
I do have a survey. It's the2024 listener survey. Yes, I know
we're in 2025, whatever. But Ido have a link for that survey in
the show notes. If you'd be sokind to go ahead and do that survey
for me. It's not a whole lotof questions. I'd really appreciate
(21:01):
it because again, I want tomake this a five star podcast for
you. And I mentioned itearlier, I do have another podcast
called Find a Podcast About.You can find it at findapodcast about
dot X, Y Z. I know crazy. It'snot a comm, it's an xyz. What I do
there is I help you outsmartthe algorithm and find your next
(21:23):
binge worthy podcast. Andthat's where I met Michael Brennan
and I got a chance to talk tohim. So definitely links in the show
notes there. Check that outfor yourself. If you're looking for
a podcast on any topic, checkit out. I'll help you save a lot
of time there. And the lastthing I want to bring up here is
(21:43):
my business. It's called TKBPodcast Studio LLC. You can go to
my website,tkbpodcaststudio.com and that's where
I help my clients throughquiet professionalism, lead through
the noise and help them makethe best podcasts possible for whatever
(22:06):
topic they are interested indoing. I take you from Step one to
step fun. So definitely givethat a look. See for yourself. If
you're thinking about startingup a podcast, you can see my portfolio
there of all the otherpodcasts that I work on. Give it
a shot for yourself. Be happyto help you start your podcast in
(22:26):
the new year. All right.That's all I have for you here today.
I am so thankful that you'relistening to this podcast. Oh, and
I'd be remiss not to tell youabout the newsletter that I do have.
It's Timothy Brian B r I en.substack.com Again, links are in
the show notes. And what I'mdoing with my newsletter is with
(22:50):
every episode that I do, I amdoing something with Notebook. Lm
to do a recap of it. So checkthat out for yourself. It's a lot
of fun. And then I also giveother with other newsletters, I give
ideas on different projectsthat you can do for yourself. Give
it a look see and let me knowwhat you think. But now is the time
(23:11):
for you to go out there andenjoy the rest of your day. I'm gonna
go enjoy the rest of my day.Go out there, tame that inner critic,
create more than you consume,and go make some art for somebody
you love. Yourself. I'll talkto you next time.
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