Last time, I had more that I wanted to talk about in my season recap, so here’s a few things I missed touching on, but are none-the-less important.
This season’s interviews were packed with insights, and today I want to focus on three big themes that kept showing up: execute relentlessly, advocate aggressively, and stop over-preparing. If you missed Part A, go back and listen to that one too—these two halves complete each other.
1. Execute Relentlessly (and Kill the Toxic Romanticism)
One of the most persistent myths in creative culture is the “struggling artist” rite of passage. We treat it like a badge of honor. But as I said in the podcast:
“If you’re romanticizing the struggling artist, then that means you are leaning on somebody else to support you, while hopefully your art takes off.”
That’s not noble. It’s dependency disguised as destiny.
The artists I interviewed this year kept circling back to the same idea: you don’t have to starve to make art. You can build parallel income streams that keep you afloat while you develop your craft. Writers can ghostwrite. Filmmakers can work on other people’s sets. Musicians can teach or produce.
And if you don’t want to work in your industry? Fine. Get a job that pays well, save aggressively, invest wisely, and buy yourself the freedom to create. Think of it as “retiring into your real career.”
Micro-Focus: Filling the Cracks of Your Day
One of my favorite strategies is micro-focus—using the tiny pockets of time you normally waste. I recorded this very episode while driving home from a side job. You can dictate chapters, brainstorm scenes, or outline ideas during commutes, breaks, or downtime.
As I said in the transcript:
“Develop a micro focus. Fill all those gaps of your day with your art, no matter how small they are.”
It adds up faster than you think.
Finish Something
A lot of creatives drown in half-finished projects. I used to be one of them. Starting is easy; finishing is a discipline. Completion teaches you more than perfection ever will.
2. Be Your Own Advocate (Aggressively)
The second major theme this season was marketing. We live in a world overflowing with noise. If you whisper, you will disappear. If you remember my guest, Bria Rose, you might remember her saying something to the effect that:
“If I don’t talk about my book or about myself, who will?”
Your family might cheer you on, but their network is tiny. You need to be clear, concise, and loud enough for strangers to hear you.
Know Your Message
If someone asks, “What’s your book about?” you should not freeze. You wrote it. You should know. Many authors stumble here, and it kills momentum.
Build Your Email List
Multiple guests hammered this point: email still has the highest open rate of any platform. Social media is rented land. Your list is yours. A newsletter isn’t glamorous, but it’s effective.
Validate Fast, Fail Fast
Some creative work is deeply personal, which is fine. But personal doesn’t always mean marketable. Test your ideas. Release small things. See what resonates. If it doesn’t, adjust.
As I said in the episode:
“Sometimes we write things that are important to us, but they have no audience.”
If that’s the case, create those projects in your spare time. Don’t expect them to pay your bills.
3. Stop Over-Preparing and Start Doing
I spent ten years preparing to become a full-time writer and filmmaker. That part was intentional. But once I finally made the leap, I fell into a new trap: preparing to be successful instead of producing work.
Last year I had both feet operated on, which left me stuck in bed for months. Even after recovering, I found myself obsessing over audience-building instead of creating.
Multiple guests reminded me of the same truth: If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to be a filmmaker, film. If you want to be a podcaster, record.
James Rollins said it best: stop focusing on marketing and start focusing on your creative work.
Creativity Thrives Under Limitations
You don’t need perfect conditions or the best gear. A studio is expensive. You need momentum.
Restrictions force innovation. I’ve built thousands of houses and worked in many others as a finish carpenter, and the limitations inherit in every house always sparked creative ways of getting the job done and making it fit the client’s vision. The same applies to art.
Grab a cheap camera and mic. There’s plenty of free tools out there, even AI. Leverage your friends an family. Use your commute. Just start.
My guest Sheila Slick stated: “Progress over perfection.”
If you wait for perfect, you’ll wait forever.
Looking Ahead
The next year of Like Minded Arts is shaping up to be even more experimental. I’m planning panels with local writers, more interviews, and some storytelling-lab episodes where we improvise stories live, no editing—and later turn them into radio dramas.
I’m also releasing several books soon, including my dictation guide for writers who want to create in the cracks of their day.
If you want to support the work, the best way is simple: buy a book and leave a review. I make about a dollar per book, but the reviews matters far more than the royalty.
And if you want to follow along, visit my podcast, the LightMinded Arts Podcast, to hear the latest about what I’ve got going on and how you can use it to help you.
Here’s to the next year. Let’s make something worth finishing.
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