Love Your Work

You've heard about the importance of working with people who come from different perspectives. But will that automatically lead to great work? It's not so simple. Our guest today, Shane Snow, was curious about why diverse teams are supposedly so powerful, when they're in fact hard to pull off. That's why he wrote this new book, Dream Teams. In this book, Shane really breaks down what makes a truly great team. How can you have just the right amount of conflict to have better ideas and go farther as a team, without the relationships turning sour. Even though I work by myself, I really enjoyed this book. It's full of great stories of dream teams throughout history, and it really made me think about how to seek out differing perspectives in improving the work I do. In this conversation, Shane and I talk about: Do we always have better ideas working with a team? What are the key components of making something great as a group? We also talk a lot about writing. How did Shane turn his curiosity for one subject, into a marketable idea about Dream Teams? We also trade tips about how we do research for the books we write. Hear exactly Shane and my different approaches to doing research and collecting ideas to write about.     Sponsors http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork http://weebly.com/loveyourwork http://earthclassmail.com Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/shane-snow-interview/

I have a new book! STEEM is revolutionizing the way creators get paid. I've cashed out over $4,000 from writing on the STEEM blockchain. The most amazing thing is – nobody had to pay me a dime. You heard me interview STEEM co-creator Ned Scott on episode 71. I explained how to make money on STEEM on episode 110. This short read is an updated and slightly expanded version of that free episode. Grab the new book – on Kindle, Paperback, or Audible – at kadavy.net/steembook

If you've heard about stoic philosophy, you've heard about Seneca. Stoicism is in many ways about being indifferent to pleasure or pain. One thing that's pleasurable is getting free things. Free things like Facebook. After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the mainstream is really waking up to the true cost of "free." If something is supposedly "free," you're paying for it in some other way, whether that's with your data, or just the opportunity costs of your attention. As you'll see, even Seneca knew that almost 2,000 years ago. I've of course talked many times on this podcast about the broken economics of media. With Nir Eyal on episode 21, also on episode 22 when I talked about The Behavioral Revolution, and many many other times. I wrote this article two years ago, but with everything going on in the collective conscious, I thought it would be a good time to dig it out and share it on the podcast. It might help you reframe the idea of "free" in your mind, and make smart choices that make you the person you want to be. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Donate on Patreon Supporters are currently covering more than half of production costs for Love Your Work. Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at kadavy.net/donate. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/seneca-facebook-podcast/

Tim Kasher's (@timkasher) work is deeply embedded in my creative DNA. When I was a young 20-something sitting in a cubicle in Omaha, Nebraska, Tim's work and his success was there to inspire me to find my own creative voice. Tim is one of the pioneers of indie music. He's the frontman of Cursive. Of all of the Cursive songs out there, you're most likely to have heard "The Recluse." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JcFgL2qO9Y The Recluse is on Cursive's most successful album. The Ugly Organ recently passed its 15-year anniversary, and has sold an amazing 170,000 copies. Before Cursive, Tim was in a band with Conor Oberst, of the band Bright Eyes, called Commander Venus. After leaving Commander Venus to focus on Cursive, Tim also started a folk band, The Good Life. Omaha in the mid 90's and early 2000's was an indie-rock fan's paradise. Artists like Kasher and Oberst cross-pollinated. They started producing their own cassettes, and eventually formed the label Saddle Creek Records, featuring bands like Bright Eyes and The Faint. The success of Saddle Creek records was a sign of the times. The Internet was allowing great music to spread. They could use lower-cost production and distribution, and communication for spreading their music and booking shows, and a cluster of kids from Nebraska could build a fanbase around the world. I personally always found the story of Saddle Creek records and Tim Kasher inspiring. When the world was telling me to live one way, it seemed like the band members of the various Saddle Creek bands were always underfoot in any bar I stepped into. They were there to remind me you could do things your way, no matter where you're from. I guess that message was still with me when I left Silicon Valley, and as I moved to Colombia to double down on writing and making this podcast. The message that you can "make it" anywhere. You can get by on the power of your ideas. I also love that Tim isn't afraid to follow what interests him. He was brave to split genres between Cursive and The Good Life, and now he's branching off into other crafts. He recently wrote, directed, and produced his first feature film, No Resolution. Following the theme of dysfunctional relationships you'll often hear in Tim's lyrics, No Resolution is about a rift between an engaged couple on a particular New Year's Eve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f6Uzn6LgOI Since Tim is multi-talented, he couldn't stop at writing and making an entire film, he even made a soundtrack to go along with it. I'm thrilled to have Tim Kasher on the show. This is a great conversation for anyone looking to find their creative voice, and the courage to follow their unique path. Learn: How does Tim think about genre? Fitting the confines of a genre can water your creative work down, but it can also help it find an audience. How did Tim avoid the "sophomore slump?" He had to push himself to find his creative truth. How does Tim follow his many interests? You can worry that you're spreading yourself thin, but Tim wanted to pave the way for other artists to do what's interesting to them. Clips you'll hear during the interview are The Martyr, and Art Is Hard. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Donate on Patreon Supporters are currently covering more than half of production costs for Love Your Work. Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at kadavy.net/donate. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Sponsors http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork http://weebly.com/loveyourwork Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/tim-kasher-podcast-interview/

I was forced to leave Colombia, but now I'm back. Thanks everyone for the help over the past week. I'll explain shortly what happened, and what my situation is now. If you're interested in an even more in-depth, though somewhat redundant overview, delivered after a good night's sleep, watch this Facebook live. If you've been considering supporting the show, now is still a good time. This snafu has disrupted much of the past month, and will require more travel and expense to keep things going as normal. You can donate at http://kadavy.net/donate. I'm also accepting the following cryptocurrencies: bitcoin:3FKfyxtQ8wUww4XxGF9EZ6ukKzbPqCe3aQ ethereum:0xE3CF82Feb6B83b18E37b472017e2a660d33B6fe0 monero:43AV7YumpkB4eAPgv3uMpW63svuqaM1C8ZdEoPvZe76wU8gxZYsdiqSEB4TJUTkD3s7rmHzoxdEubBY7qNzyEAFf3HC4Knp

Human productivity has its limits. You can only type so fast. You can only fill out a spreadsheet so fast. But creativity is infinite. It takes no time to have an idea, but not all ideas are created equal. Traditional productivity and creative productivity seem to be at odds with each other. This week's essay explores why productivity is limited, and creativity is infinite. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Donate on Patreon Supporters are currently covering more than half of production costs for Love Your Work. Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at kadavy.net/donate. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/creativity-infinite-podcast/

A short note for you listeners. I got kicked out of Colombia. I hope to keep bringing you a high-quality show. Thank you so much for your support. If you want to help keep the show coming, please support on Patreon at kadavy.net/donate

Is the educational system a waste of time and money? Most people can agree that schools are inefficient, boring, and expensive. I personally love learning, but I always hated school. Yet, if you're like me, you're probably initially resistant to the idea that we should spend less on the educational system. Our guest today, Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan), wants to make the case for spending less time, less money, and less human energy on trying to educate people. He's author of the new book, The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money. Bryan says that people aren't making more money after earning a college degree because they learned more. It's just the piece of paper itself that employers care about. If we didn't push so many people to earn college degrees – and to rack up debt in the process – degrees wouldn't be a base-level requirement for survival in today's job market. Intriguing isn't it? In this conversation, you'll find out: What's the difference between the "signaling" and the "human capital" models of looking at education? Why is this the key to seeing education as a waste of time and money? If we cut education, won't inequality get worse? Bryan tells us why he thinks cutting education spending would actually bring more opportunity to the underprivileged. What is the "social desirability bias?" Bryan tells us why this bias leads us blindly into wasting time and money on so-called education. It's a thought-provoking conversation. You're bound to hear something you don't agree with, and you'll be forced to think about it. Hopefully you enjoy that as much as I do. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Donate on Patreon Supporters are currently covering more than half of production costs for Love Your Work. Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at kadavy.net/donate. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.   Sponsors http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork http://weebly.com/loveyourwork Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/bryan-caplan-interview/

As humanity progresses, we're always finding new resources to optimize. Time is one resource we optimize. But the idea of time management has become so ubiquitous, it's hard to imagine what it's like to not manage our time. By understanding that time management as we know it hasn't been around forever, we can be prepared for the next resource to be optimized. I talk more about that in this week's essay. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Donate on Patreon Supporters are currently covering more than half of production costs for Love Your Work. Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at kadavy.net/donate. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.       Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/time-management-invention-podcast/

Drew Ackerman (@dearestscooter) has a podcast so boring, it will put you to sleep. That's why it's so successful. Almost five years ago, decided to make a podcast. Drew suffered from insomnia, so he wanted to make a podcast that would help people fall asleep. Drew wrote stories and droned on, and gradually began to earn new listeners. Today, he's produced over 650 episodes. He's kept up a pace of about three episodes a week. Drew's show, called Sleep With Me, has millions of listeners. He's one of Patreon's top creators with almost 4,000 patrons. Sleep With Me has been featured in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. While Sleep With Me is an incredibly successful podcast, you'll see in this conversation that the success is no fluke. Drew has worked incredibly hard. Find out: How did Drew motivate himself to finally get started, even after procrastinating for years. How did Drew use Motivational Judo to trick himself into making one episode after another? What self-talk did Drew use to keep himself going and finally quit his day job, even after making the podcast for three years, without pay? This conversation is like a perfect blueprint of my latest book, The Heart to Start. If you've read the book, you'll see lots of familiar concepts playing out in Drew's story. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Donate on Patreon Supporters are currently covering more than half of production costs for Love Your Work. Support the show, get early access to episodes, as well as bonus masterclasses and office hours with me. Sign up at kadavy.net/donate. Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Sponsors http://skillshare.com/loveyourwork http://weebly.com/loveyourwork http://theprepared.com Show Notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/drew-ackerman-interview/