In The Box Podcast

Episode 1: Creatives, Working Smart, The Power Of Nothing And More – Podcast

IN THE BOX PODCAST

We’re finally here! Michael and I have recorded a handful of episodes over the last month, and we’re ready to launch!

In The Box Podcast is where we take ideas to the edge of reality, we question motives, we search for answers under unturned rocks, and we think about things differently.

The way we roll with the podcast is we have 6 themes and one question for each, which Michael and I split between the two of us. You’ll learn in the second or third podcast that Michael and I don’t know too much about each other. We had a class together in college, which at the end of we would chat, usually resulting with a deep conversation and concluding with some form of enlightenment. Okay, maybe enlightenment is too strong of a word. Basically we have awesome conversations that we think you’ll enjoy. You can let us know if you do by rating our podcast in iTunes.

Episode 1: Creatives, Working Smart, And The Power Of Nothing

Gatekeepers – Gatekeepers in the industry, are they necessary?

Working Hard – What is the definition of hard work?

Comedy – Does comedy have to come from a place of pain?

Placebos – Placebos outside of medical field useful?

Craft Beer – Is Wisconsin still the beer state?

Social Media – Do businesses hide from the important work by focusing on social media?

 

Stay Positive & Listen On! Subscribe! Rate! Wooo!

The End Of Add-Ons

It’s difficult to add something to a swiss army knife. It’s difficult to add something to a WordPress theme that seems to already have it all. It’s difficult to add something onto a fishing lure that already reflects light, has popping color, and makes noise.

I’ve written about stealing like an artist and combining the work of other geniuses. I’ve shared how to take “the next best thing” and add onto it. However, what I recently noticed is that it is getting ever more difficult to add something onto what is already remarkable. Note: this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to start from scratch.

You may find there is no room to add-on to a swiss army knife, but you can take what you don’t think is regularly useful out and insert something new. For me, I’ve never used the scissors in a swiss army knife. If I need to cut something, I just use one of the multiple blades.

There is only one question I need to ask after I take out the scissors – what do I replace it with? What do you wish a swiss army knife had? The goal is to add an entirely new dimension without changing the size. For the fishing lure, you can take off the noisemaker and add feathers or googly eyes.

Making something unique isn’t just adding onto something; it’s what you remove and what you replace it with.

No one is going to buy a swiss knife that doesn’t fit in their pocket, but someone will choose your swiss knife over another if you have something different.

 

Stay Positive & Destruction Is Fun, Anyway

Garth E. Beyer

Repeating Levels

They say life is a game, so why not continue with the analogy?

Life is a game that many people just repeat levels. They do the same work (their best) at different locations. Becoming a professional has been entwined with producing the same amount of value across the board.

Ruckus makers, the artists, those who make the most out of life, though, don’t repeat levels. They just so happen to complete each level in a different way. No, maybe it’s not their “best” work. No, maybe they took too big of a risk. And, yes, maybe – just maybe – they failed.

Beauty of it though, is you just pick yourself up and try a different way.

There’s no “replay” button, but there is always a “restart.”

 

Stay Positive & Most Artists, Though, Never Have The Need To Press It

Garth E. Beyer

Breaking The Long Tail Into Phases

Phase 1: It’s a common misconception that books, movies, music, etc., just make it to the top 10, to the best sellers, to the “most popular” categories – one day you don’t see them there, the next day you do. It’s magic. Phase one of the Long Tail is making whatever you make, big: big audience, big profit, and big exposure. 50 Shades is a prime example, it is average price and a bestseller.

For the mass, one day it just showed up and they had to have it.

Phase 2: This is when a slight price reduction takes place. Most commonly found in the form of a sale, a discount, a sweepstake or giveaway. Phase two of the Long Tail is making it (perhaps 50 Shades of Gray) slightly more available. The goal is to reach an even larger audience that without the price reduction would have never been reached.

Phase 3: While phase two slightly expands the range of those who would purchase the product; phase three involves an even larger price drop. By now the production costs have been paid, the creator has profited, and the goal is to reach as many people as possible while still making profit – small profit, but profit nevertheless.

Phase 4: By now, one can cut production completely and put the product online for instant download in multiple formats. The last phase is to offer the work for free, to reach everyone (at least with internet access). The goal is to catch even more eyes on the work you have shipped while you are producing new work that starts back at phase one.

This is the progressive and profiting idea of the Long Tail that most people see.

The problem with cutting the Long Tail into phases, though, is the sociological impacts that are created as a result. At each phase, you make those who participated in the phase before it more uncomfortable. “Why do they get it cheaper.” “I should have waited until the price went down.” “Next time I’m just going to hold off until it’s free.” While this has significant effects, there is one in particular that needs to be noted.

This effect directs more of those who participate in the first phase, to dig deep for the interesting, the odd, and the most creative items that are at the end of the tail. After all, everything ends up there anyway, right? In the consumer’s mind, inaction creates price reduction. In the producers mind, inaction prevents them from ever getting a hold of the work. With the Long Tail, the consumers right.

Looking back at all of this, it seems that the Long Tail actually has a negative effect. At least, if you follow it from phase one, it does.

But, what if I told you that the Long Tail was meant to work in reverse, from phase four, from the end of it. That before 50 Shades found itself in phase one; the author had produced shorter creative work, gathering a tribe of followers.

The beauty of the Long Tail is that people are able to go up the tail in short phases. All with the start of a niche product and a small, but close tribe. For most, the box office movies, the best sellers, the “top 10,” were overnight successes. When really, they worked longer and harder than one can imagine to get there.

 

Stay Positive & A lot Comes From A Little

Garth E. Beyer

Reminders

We all need them and while some parents and maybe a friend or two will always be there to remind you, it’s not only that we need to be reminded more, it’s that we need to be reminded in different ways, by different people, who have different insights, and experiences.

Being reminded to turn the lights off, to keep your head up, that it get’s more difficult before it gets easier, all gets very old and less helpful when it’s monotonously and verbally repeated.

Reminding those you care about that you care about them loses its meaning when it’s the same ol’ same ol’.

Knowing this now gives you the ability to connect on a completely different level with family, friends, and strangers. Being creative isn’t only to be done with your art, it’s also meant to be incorporated in your interactions, your connections, and most importantly, you’re reminders.

 

Stay Positive & Remember, There’s A Lot We Forget

Garth E. Beyer

Getting Promoted For Being An Artist

You don’t have to avoid factory jobs to live your passion. I started out a cog as a data entry clerk and within 4 months I was told to apply for a bigger better position.

I got promoted. Not because I followed orders and rules, not because I was obedient and disciplined but because I did more than was asked, because I got creative with it, did it quicker, was adaptive and because I manifested a passion that previously wasn’t there. I was a linchpin and that is my job security.

Notice, it isn’t just about creating something significant outside the cubical, it’s about creating the urge, the time and the passion to make art anywhere you are. In or out of a cubicle.

 

Stay Positive & Get The Most Out Of Your Box

Garth E. Beyer