Creative Warriors

Are you living a life of constant busyness? Feeling like you rarely get to shut completely down? Take some time to find out why this is happening and more importantly get some solutions on how to change it up! Tony Crabbe is the author of the book Busy: How To Thrive In A World of Too Much. At heart, Tony is a translator, taking quality research and brilliant thinking from psychology and other fields and applying them meaningfully to everyday career and business challenges. Tony is a Business Psychologist, who splits his time between writing and consulting with companies including Microsoft, Disney, News Corporation and HSBC. As a psychologist he focuses on how people think, feel and behave in business.

Building a business based on bold, inspired action is not something that just happens. It's a process that takes support, acceptance of rejection and a willingness to embrace your inner resilience. It's not about being 100% ready; it's about stepping out on the limb and trusting yourself. Tiffany Han is a business and branding coach who helps highly-creative people raise their hands and say yes to those businesses they’ve always wanted to have and to those ideas that feel a bit crazy. She helps creative entrepreneurs build businesses through the magic of saying no to find their big yes! Tiffany is the founder of 100 Rejection Letters program and a regular contributor to Paper & Stitch and Design for Mankind. She speaks and teaches about the power of branding and also hosts a weekly podcast called Raise Your Hand Say Yes about the creative adventures of extraordinary people.  

Many entrepreneurs, particularly creative warriors, seem to somehow “find” themselves in business one day. As if it wasn’t planned as much as it was a transition that just happened. Whether you’ve been in business a long time, brand new or not in business yet, being in business consciously and with a clear intent is critical to your long-term success. J V Crum III helps entrepreneurs grow six and seven figure conscious businesses that combine making high profits with making a positive impact. He is a speaker, coach, Huffington Post Columnist, and best-selling author of “Conscious Millionaire: Grow Your Business by Making a Difference.” JV hosts the top-ranking Conscious Millionaire Podcast and is the founder of ConsciousMillionaire.com, a global coaching and wealth product business.

Have you ever felt like the only way your can change things is by being outside your comfort zone? That, unless you are in a constant state of being on the edge, life will simply stay exactly the same way? This is not true for everyone, especially for the introverts among us. Beth Buelow, ACC, serves as a guide to introvert entrepreneurs who want to amplify their strengths and build sustainable, energetically aligned businesses. She is a professional coach, author, speaker, and podcast host. She’s contributed articles to The Wall Street Journal, Success Magazine, Inc, Entrepreneur, and Psychology Today. Beth is the author of “Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert” and the upcoming “The Introvert Entrepreneur: Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms,” to be released in November 2015.

It's a frequent occurrence to seek out seasoned mature people for advice, training and inspiration. It's pretty rare to find a 17-year-old who since 11 has created online resources to help elevate people's lives. Proving that anything is possible if you apply the knowledge you acquire. Marc Guberti is a teenager entrepreneur, digital marketer, and author of 13 books(and counting). He is the co-founder of Teenager Entrepreneur, a movement that educates and empowers teens(and adults) worldwide with the knowledge they need in digital marketing to successfully grow their businesses. Marc currently has over 270,000 followers across his social media platforms. With a goal to surpass 1 million social media followers before receiving his high school diploma. He is an intriguing, insightful and certainly, a curious young man!

It's fairly safe to say that most if not all of us are aware of the benefits of having more. That more is better and less is bad. Well, that's not necessarily true. Essentialism is the pursuit of less, but better. In essence it’s about Living life by design instead of default. Greg McKeown is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.  Essentialism challenges core assumptions about achievement to get to the essence of what really drives success. His writing has appeared in Fast Company, Fortune, HuffPost, Politico, and Inc. Magazine. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn’s Influencers group: averaging a million views a month. Greg is the CEO of THIS Inc, a company assisting people and businesses to spend 80 percent of their time on the vital few rather than the trivial many. His clients include Adobe, Apple, Google, Facebook, Pixar, Salesforce, Symantec, Twitter, VMware and Yahoo!

There comes a point in every entrepreneur's life when you realize that your message can not be delivered one person at a time if you want to have an impact. And before you know it you're Googling your fingers off trying to figure out how to increase your exposure, write a press release or just navigate the complex world of PR.  Media maven and passionate entrepreneurship advocate Geeta Nadkarni has 20+ years of experience producing print, TV, radio and new media for outlets including the CBC, CNN, Global TV and Reader’s Digest. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and Entrepreneur magazine and was voted “Best TV Personality” by the readers of the Montreal Mirror.  Geeta is a master of communicating from the inside out. Her online program, Baby Got Booked is helping students get the exposure needed to bring their message to the world.

At one point or another, everyone has felt that some limitation has kept them from meeting their ambition. It is human nature to see the problem and the limitation first. And it's not always easy to find a solution that will make a real difference. If you've been looking for the upside in the downside, buckle up. We are exploring how to turn limitations into advantages.  Mark Barden is a partner in the highly-regarded consulting firm eatbigfish, who coined the term Challenger Brand in their influential book Eating The Big Fish. He is co-author of the book, A Beautiful Constraint: How to Transform Your Limitations Into Advantages, and Why It’s Everyone’s Business.  In his colorful career, Mark has sold Guinness door-to-door, run with Nike, and started his advertising agency no clients, landing Yahoo as a client a few days later! He’s won a Platinum Award for direct response marketing, taken a dot.com public, and once warmed up a crowd for Ellen De Generes. Mark is insightful, engaging and real crowd pleaser.

We have all felt societal pressure, to pick a "niche" and focus on the one thing we should do. Many of us have fought hard to live up to that expectation, at times feeling downright bad that we would fail if we did not conform. Well, that is simply not true. You can have a diversified business that supports all of your interests and keeps you excited. Emilie Wapnick was unable to settle on one path herself, she studied music, art, film production and law, graduating from the Law Faculty at McGill University. She looked at her varied interests and realized that they were, in fact, her greatest strengths.  Kicking any guilt to the curb, Emilie Founded Puttylike, where she is the Creative Director helping multipotentialites integrate ALL of their interests into a life they most want. Her TEDx talk immediately resonated with us so much here at Creative Warriors that we immediately invited her to be a guest.  

Business doesn't have to be all that complicated. Sometimes a reminder to just keep it simple and get down to business is the best advice you can get. In other words, clarity and action will get you where you want to go! After numerous failed attempts to build a business, Tim Fargo went bankrupt in 1991. By 1996, he again started another business. He led that business to the Inc. 500 list twice, and ultimately sold in 2003 for $20M.  Tim is the author of Alphabet Success: Keeping it Simple - My Secrets to Success. He is currently bootstrapping tweetjukebox.com, an automated content management system for Twitter that has grown to over 10,000 active users in less than five months. 

One of the biggest core issues people face is linking their vision to actions that will make their goals a reality. It's not about competition, the weather or a life event. It's about connecting the dots and being relentless. It’s about plain and simple hard work. Jeffrey Hayzlett’s latest book, Think Big. Act Bigger: The Rewards of Being Relentless, launched yesterday and is already a runaway success. Plus, he’s offering an opportunity to win a VIP trip to NYC! Click here to enter- http://launch.thinkbigtour.com/ Challenging conventional wisdom, self-imposed limitations, and obstacles, Jeffrey Hayzlett shares insights, and business backstories from his time as CMO of Kodak, his celebrity apprentice gig and his primetime TV and radio host endeavors.  Jeffrey is a primetime television host of C-Suite TV and business radio host on CBS on-demand radio network Play.It. He is a well-traveled speaker, best-selling author, and Chairman of C-Suite Network. He is frequently cited in Forbes, SUCCESS, Mashable, Marketin

Building a brand is all encompassing. It includes your product or service and also includes your brand image, why you do what you do, knowing who you serve and so much more. You will never look at branding and positioning the same way after you listen to the episode.  Marketing is a spectator sport, and Jim Joseph is one of the industry's most engaging and informative branding experts. Entrepreneur of the Year, Agency of the Year, Consumer Launch Campaign of the Year, Most Creative Agency, Best Place to Work, Social Media Icon, Hall of Fame ­ these are some of the accolades that Jim has amassed.   Jim is the Chief Integrated Marketing Officer and President of the Americas for Cohn & Wolfe; he is also an award-winning author of The Experience Effect and Out and About Dad.   

It is possible to be more productive, less stressed and happier at work. Sadly, 83% of Americans are stressed at work, 55% are unsatisfied with their career and 47% struggle to stay happy.  Andrew Tarvin is a Humor Engineer. Most people learn how to do their job sufficiently. Few people ever learn how to do it in a way that they enjoy. Andrew travels the globe teaching people how to use humor to re-engage with their work. He has delivered talks in 45 states, 12 countries, and 3 continents..   Andrew has worked with thousands of people from 100+ organizations, including P&G, GE, and Microsoft, on topics ranging from mastering communication to humor in the workplace. He is a best-selling author that has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TEDx, and FastCompany. 

If you’re looking for help understanding how to price your product or service and raise your prices, then this episode is for you. Banish the confusion, stop second guessing yourself and get down to business. Sean D’Souza was a guest a few months ago talking about what causes people to buy or hesitate and to date, it’s our #1 episode. Sean delivers his information conceptually and with specific actions steps you can take for your business.   Sean runs a zany marketing site, Psychotactics where he deconstructs headlines in his spare time. He’s a cartoonist, loves dancing, works 9 months a year, and is the author of The Brain Audit and Dartboard Pricing. Sean lives in New Zealand with his wife and 64 million sheep. He also has a binge-worthy, music-filled podcast, The Three Month Vacation.

Life is not linear. It's excitingly squiggly! If we embrace this thought, we will certainly have more joy, create a bigger impact and work with and not against the inevitable changes that we all face. Mitch Joel has been called a marketing and communications visionary, interactive expert and community leader. He's an author, blogger, podcaster, and passionate speaker who connects people worldwide by sharing his insights on digital marketing to transform business.   When Google wants someone to explain the latest developments in marketing, they bring in Mitch. He speaks frequently to diverse groups like Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Nestle, Procter and Gamble, Unilever and has shared the stage with former President Bill Clinton, Sir Richard Branson, Malcolm Gladwell, Anthony Robbins, Tom Peters and Dr. Phil. 

One of the best places to find fresh ideas could very well be completely outside of your current industry and commonly used resources. Cross-industry innovation is a way to create what is next and separate yourself from what is.  Ramon Vullings is an inspirational speaker, a cross-industry innovation expert, author and ideaDJ. He believes that there are positive alternatives to the way we interact and how we shape our businesses for the better.  Ramon is the author of Creativity in Business and Not Invented Here, a way to jump-start your innovation efforts by going beyond the borders of your industry. 

Being unique is career insurance. There is no better way to stand out from your competition than to take your big idea, make it unique and put it out into the world. If you are passionate about helping others, Dorie Clark has exceptional advice on how to take control of your professional life and make a big impact. At age 14, Dorie entered college for the Exceptionally Gifted and by 18 graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College. Two years later she received a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.  Recognized as a “branding expert” by the Associated Press, Inc., and Fortune, Dorie is a marketing strategy consultant for clients including Google, Microsoft, Yale University, Fidelity, and the World Bank. She is an Adjunct Professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the author of Reinventing You and Stand Out.    Her work reminds all of us that you can be anything you want if you put your mind to it and apply consistent action.

If you’re in business, YOU are your brand, and you are marketing yourself and your talent. Whether you want to build an empire, relaunch, transform or kick off a new venture every successful creative brand must have a solid business foundation. Lela Barker is the founder of Bella Lucce, an award-winning international beauty brand that is in 1200 spas, in 27 countries and also the mind behind Lucky Break Consulting. Lela is wildly passionate about helping creative entrepreneurs bring their products to market.    Lela shares her incredible insights and the entrepreneurial journey she has taken from rock bottom, on food stamps to the creation of a million dollar plus business. 

Our always-on, web-driven world has new rules for competing and business growth. Advanced planning is out – agile is IN! Businesses who are real-time responsive will be far more successful than those who fear change and stick to a preconceived plan.  No one knows more about using the new Real-Time tools and strategies to spread ideas, influence minds and build business than David Meerman Scott.  David is an internationally acclaimed sales and marketing strategist that has spoken on all seven continents and in 40 countries. He is the author of ten books and 3 international best sellers. We discussed concepts from his two books, Marketing Lessons from The Grateful Dead and New Rules of Marketing and PR. 

Have you ever wondered why success and acclaim don't necessarily go to the most talented or skilled, but more often to those who are most visible? Today we are deconstructing what it means to be an introvert and how to leverage the positive aspects of being introverted. Lynette Crane is a Minneapolis-based acclaimed national speaker, author, and executive coach with more than 30 years of experience in speaking and training on introversion and shyness. She is the author of “The Confident Introvert.” Through her personal experience and ongoing work in the field of introversion and shyness, Lynette has become a key voice in helping people connect and communicate across their differences.