{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6049ce165e66895efa7f67fd/6049ce1f440b3614ff5a4f9b?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Setting and hitting creative goals: your annual plan","description":"<p>Here are my notes from the Patreon workshop: “How to set and hit your creative goals.” I also took an audio grab because it was so inspiring, so that's here too. A personal highlight is at 37:45 when Jack read one of my chats, \"faceplants haha\" in response to his story of starting Patreon which involved – you guessed it, faceplants.</p><p>I really appreciated the way Jack was so open with specific visions and goals within his band, Pomplamoose, and gave real anecdotes about the creative process. It was an awesome, uplifting workshop, and the chat was the liveliest I've ever witnessed. Thanks to the Patreon team for this.</p><p>Searching \"how to set and hit your creative goals\" gets tons of potentially helpful results in Google. These are just 7 steps that Patreon co-founder and Pomplamoose musician, Jack Conte laid out in the workshop, along with questions you can ask yourself if you're building an annual plan of any sort, particularly the creative sort.</p><p><strong>Why build a plan?</strong></p><ul> <li>It’ll help you focus, figure out what you want, and live your dream</li></ul><p><strong>What should the plan consist of?</strong></p><ul> <li>Vision statement</li> <li>Key results</li> <li>Focus areas</li></ul><p><img data-media-id=\"94780763\"></p><p><img data-media-id=\"94780784\"></p><p><img data-media-id=\"94780804\"></p><p><strong>Step #1: Get introspective for a moment</strong></p><ul> <li>What do you want?</li> <li>Why?</li> <li>What are your top strengths?</li> <li>What attracts people to your work?</li> <li>What are their comments like?</li> <li>What do you want to be doing 5 years from now?    <ul> <li>Put on rosy spectacles and dream away</li> <li>This exercise should make you feel good not stressed thinking about it</li> </ul> </li></ul><p><strong>Step #2: Look back to move forward</strong></p><ul> <li>Some people call this a retrospective or a “happy crappy”    <ul> <li>What worked?</li> <li>What didn’t work?</li> <li>What improvements will you make?</li> </ul> </li> <li>Turn “what didn’t work” into concrete problem statements    <ul> <li>I need/I want an agent/manager/assistant… is not a problem statement</li> <li>I had trouble with marketing channels… is a problem statement</li> <li>I spent too much time on social media… is a problem statement</li> </ul> </li></ul><p><strong>Step #3: Visualize your perfect year and write about it in past tense</strong></p><ul> <li>What did you accomplish?</li> <li>How did it feel?</li> <li>Who did you collaborate with?</li> <li>How many people did you reach?</li> <li>How much money did you make?</li> <li>How much were you able to pay out to your team?</li> <li>Where were you?</li> <li>What did you prioritize or de-prioritize?</li> <li>What platforms did you use or not use?</li></ul><p><strong>Step #4: Organize your responses by category</strong></p><ul> <li>Within your problem statements and your vision statement, what categories keep recurring?    <ul> <li>Production quality, content release, relationships, growth, income, team</li> <li>Three of my buckets were collaboration, strategy, and education.</li> <li>I also organized by type of art/work so that I could narrow down key focus areas like violin, writing, and grad school.</li> </ul> </li></ul><p><strong>Step #5: Write a vision statement</strong></p><ul> <li>Take 90 minutes to 2 hours to go deep and write in the future tense (“I will…”)</li> <li>By the end of this, your brain should be “hyper freakin’ engaged!” – Jack Conte</li> <li>Make each point specific, ambitious, and achievable</li> <li>Make it clear as a photo (or collage)    <ul> <li>One of my friends actually made a vision board, collecting physical cut-outs from magazines and printouts: all outdoorsy, adventurous, and eco.</li> </ul> </li></ul><p><img height=\"480\" src=\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/5mp3jwoSBOJSKBgSM__uIttaIzpKCtDYEU25_JS3xCdLvVZvPYzRaUVbVjqHpdNxuj1Dg1aoj8J0e1ymAUmGfzgkf_0FtEWcmLGft4uPQVNEMMQQsoCmPoTqT5QeX7yHtTx4AA_M\" width=\"600\"></p><ul> <li>Credits to: Meaghan.t</li> <li>It’s pretty much what her Instagram looks like too, so vision boards work!</li></ul><p><strong>Step #6: Define your key results</strong></p><ul> <li>Make them binary: you achieved it or you didn’t</li> <li>Quantitative or qualitative (you feel great about your work at least 80% of the time)</li> <li>Looking at the list should make you feel excited to achieve each result</li></ul><p><strong>Step #7: Choose your areas of focus</strong></p><ul> <li>2-3 areas that will direct your day to day goals and work</li> <li>Their scope should be broad enough so you can work on these areas for a year (or however long you’re planning for)</li></ul><p><strong>Miscellaneous tips from Q&amp;A</strong></p><p>If something gets in the way or goals change, adjust your plan and keep going</p><p>To stay positive: Keep your eye on the horizon. Remember the troughs are local, and keep climbing that mountain. Also it’s ok to feel down; acknowledge whatever the emotion may be rather than repressing it.</p><p>Share some of your vision with family, friends or fans to help it become a reality (they can keep you accountable, or fuel your excitement, or point you toward helpful resources and connections).</p><p>Know your why:</p><ul> <li>Jack’s why for co-founding Patreon is to help creators get paid, so creativity can be a viable, sustainable livelihood.</li> <li>My reason for creating, doing climate work, supporting other artists, and pursuing graduate studies is to have a climate-positive and humanitarian influence.</li> <li>What's your why? Comment and inspire :)</li></ul><p><strong>Speaking of supporting other artists!</strong></p><p>I met a ton of fellow creators during this workshop, and decided to support two more of them here on Patreon: composer <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMwt-LzZ0jY\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Huelsbeck</a> and Dutch-American photographer of NYC <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/richardkoek/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Richard Koek</a>, along with everything-artist <a href=\"https://www.patreon.com/amandapalmer/posts\">Amanda Palmer</a>, whom I've been supporting since September and been a fan of since I discovered her book <em>The Art of Asking</em> in 2019.</p><p>Keep on creating; keep on dreaming. Thank you for your support.</p><p>Have a wonderful day!</p><p>Aldís</p>","author_name":"Podcast"}