The Right Questions with James Victore
The Right Questions is designed to help you get paid to do what you love and stay sane in the process.
The Right Questions with James Victore
Episode 40: Three Hard Hitting Questions
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1What does it really take to run a successful business doing what you love? This question lies at the heart of every creative entrepreneur's journey.
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All right, let's do this thing Cue the fake music. Here we go, here we go. I'm James Victoria and this is the Right Questions the podcast that's dedicated weekly to helping you get paid, check it out, get paid to do what you love and, hopefully, stay sane in the process. Now there's the big question. That's a good thing. We should do an episode completely on staying sane.
Speaker 1:Today's question comes from one of our listeners, one of our members. Um, as they all do, unless I just make shit up and I just have a bee in my bonnet and I want to talk about it. Today's question comes from Josiah, and it's actually three questions in one, so I thought I'd address all three, even though even though listen, remember this any one question that you have could be a book. There's probably so much information on any one idea that somebody could make a dang book out of. So this one this one should be called spilling all the beans, because, basically, josiah asks a very loaded question up front where he says about running a successful business doing what I love. Hmm, what would that encompass? Like everything, so it's going to be called spilling all the beans. I think that's an excellent name, because I'm basically giving away all this great information, dropping pearls for you. Dropping pearls, so check it out.
Speaker 1:And I'm going to start this way. I'm going to start with Hafiz, and if you don't know Hafiz, he was a Persian poet that lived maybe 900 years ago, right, a contemporary. He lived around about the same time as Rumi. He lived around about the same time as Rumi, another Persian poet. If you don't know Hafiz, look him up. H-a-f-i-z. The one book that you really ought to own is called the Subject Tonight is Love. It's edited by a gentleman named Daniel Ladinsky. The Subject Tonight is Love. And if you don't know Rumi, check out his book that you have to have. It's an essential for your library and it is called the Essential Rumi.
Speaker 1:Okay, so this Hafiz poem I want to read to you because it makes sense for the right questions. It makes sense for what we're trying to do here, because what we're trying to do is make your life easier. What we're trying to do is ask more of you. What we're trying to do is ask you to do the damn hard work. I read this fantastic quote the other day from shoot. I don't know it was a basketball player, I forget who it was, but he said everything you want is on the other side of hard, who it was. But he said everything you want is on the other side of hard. I thought God damn, telling it true. So what we want is for you to get better, to get smarter, to make money so you can help other people. Okay, and the poem from Hafiz is called At this Party, check it out.
Speaker 1:I don't want to be the only one here telling all the secrets, filling up all the bowls at this party, taking all the laughs. I would like you to start putting things on the table that can feed the soul the way I do. That way we can invite a hell of a lot more friends. Listen, you guys.
Speaker 1:Poetry is important, not just to me, not just to me because I say so, it's important to all of us. If, if we can see it right, it gives us insights, to us, to other people, to who we are, to where we come from. Much like any religion or philosophy, or great art or great music, it helps us see us. To me, it just reminds me, like going into a great museum and seeing a Caravaggio, or seeing a Franz Kline or reading you know, reading EE Cummings or Gertrude Stein or Rumi or Emerson, they all just remind me. James, relax, You're trying too hard. Lighten up, and this shines on both my work and my life, right?
Speaker 1:So, oddly enough, this should be one of the right questions episodes. How do you seek inspiration? How do you stay above water, afloat and in the right direction? You know what is in your sails. What is in your sails? That's a damn good question. That's the right question. What keeps you moving? What keeps you forward? How do we run a business? How do we get paid? How do we wake up smiling, hungry, horny, ready to work? We're going to do an episode on that. I swear Inspiration.
Speaker 1:But now we're going to get back to our question from Josiah, and Josiah's question comes in three parts. He says, you know he wanted information on running a successful business doing what I love. So we're going to break it down for you, josiah. I'm going to break it down, check it out, check it out. We're going to go to question number one first. What do we got there on the board, lucy? Oh, we got question number one. Question number one figuring out what I have to say. Okay, running a successful business doing what I love. Question number one figuring out what I have to say Excellent, excellent question. The right question I'm going to give it to you right now is what's your purpose? And that's like saying, that's just like saying what's your opinion. You know figuring out what you have to say. What's your opinion? You know, figuring out what you have to say. What's your opinion? You know, um, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna give you I'm gonna give you so many outs here. You guys got better, fucking have a pencil and take notes.
Speaker 1:Um, I had an assistant, chris, for a number of years back in the studio in Brooklyn, super guy. But when he first started with me, I had to break him of this habit Right. Every time a juicy job would come into the studio, like you know, a large, well-paying project or a magazine cover or something, he'd say, oh, that's awesome, what do they want? And I'd be like, oh, oh, that's awesome, what do they want? And I'd be like, bitch, stop asking that question. That's a bad habit. What do they want? How the fuck do I know what they want? I got no idea. I got no idea what, what I want. How do I know? How do I? You know, how am I going to wrap my head around what my client wants? I know what my client wants. My client wants me. My client wants my opinion. That's why they came to me, and if they don't check this out, they're not my client and they will leave, because I ain't for everybody, just the sexy people, right.
Speaker 1:So figuring out what you have to say is asking yourself what's your purpose or what is your opinion.
Speaker 1:I don't know how do you feel about things. You know it's like it's like, it's like the people. Often the question is hey, james, how do I find my voice? That's the same question. Your voice, well, your voice is your opinion. What do you got to say? You know, it's like we have to go looking for our voice. James, I don't know where my voice is. Well, you probably left it in your other pants. Go home and check. Or maybe you know that little spot between your car seat and the center console. Yeah, dig around there. There's probably a voice in there, right? But your opinion, your voice, it's actually something that you were born with and then developed it. Check this out.
Speaker 1:This is important. You developed it either consciously and said I want to be this person, or you developed it unconsciously over the years, or better, yet, it was developed. For you unconsciously, it means it was given to you. James, stop running, don't Be careful, right? That's developing your opinion. Now you're afraid of everything. Oh, I just want you to be a good boy. Now that's developing your opinion, because now you're a people pleaser, right? I don't mean just by telling somebody they're going to be a good boy, they're going to be a people pleaser, but it's on that track. So we have to make sure we are consciously I don't give a damn if you're 22 or 30 or 40 or 60. We have to keep consciously developing our voice, developing our opinion, crafting our purpose right.
Speaker 1:And I think all good artists or creators or givers, good people who are concerned with other good people, any giver, are the ones who can check this word out, big, important word who can allow, who can allow themselves to express who they are and what they believe in. And I wrote down this word easily. Yeah, I know I wrote the whole thing down. I know I could have done it just like off the top of my head, but there'd be a lot more hemming and hawing, as I usually do. But so I think that the good artists and creators allow themselves to express who they are and what they believe in and here's the word easily. I say easily.
Speaker 1:It doesn't come. Nothing comes easily, right, everything you want is beyond hard. You know. It's like saying well, you know, just, yeah, just just just go in a studio. You know, just be yourself. Why don't you create something from you? Know your feelings, just go. You know I'll meet you at lunch. Right, it's not that easy. It's never that easy, you know.
Speaker 1:The question is what do I have to say? And the right question from that one is who are you? Did you figure that one out yet? Have you figured that one out yet? Who are you and what do you stand for? Have you gone through that list? Have you literally written that down in a while? Well, I graduated college and I got a degree and then I kind of fucking stopped thinking about it. You know who are you and what do you stand for. Write that down. This is important. This is important. This helps create our purpose Figuring out what we have to say.
Speaker 1:Who are you, what do you stand for? Create that list, write that down, what do you do? You start asking yourself who are you, what do you stand for and what do you do. What do you do? What do you mean James? What do you do? Well, here's what I do, here's what James Victoria does. What does James Victoria do? And if I start thinking about it, I'm like, well, I want to be an artist.
Speaker 1:I am an artist, but I paint in words, literally. I construct using the alphabet. I make words that are interesting or funny, or puns. You know what's a good pun? You know what is it? Pobuddy's Nerfect right, a pun that's been around for years, but I just kind of draw it in a new way. Or the things that made you weird as a kid make you great today. I draw that in a certain way and make it desirable, make it more meaningful, make it beautiful.
Speaker 1:So what do I do? I paint in words. What else do I do? I use my voice. What do I do? I paint in words. What else do I do? I use my voice and my opinion. Like right now, you're getting my radio voice. I got a voice for radio. They say you used to say, yeah, you got a face for radio. So I'm using my voice and my opinion. I have an opinion. It might be ballsy, it might be audacious, that's good. That's good. It stands out from those who don't. You know, I know so many designers who don't have an opinion, and probably don't have an opinion because one they weren't allowed to at some point in their life. Again, there's that word allowed and also another reason they don't allow it is because they figured out how to make money without it. They figured out how to make money being, you know, milquetoast and not having an opinion, which is fine. So what do I do? I paint in words. I use my voice and opinion, so I can also be a writer and I try to help others Like I don't use my words and my voice to piss people off or or to be contrarian unless it has, unless there's a reason, right? So what do you do? What do you do? And you know what? It doesn't matter. It can be simple, it can be complicated. Try this use your words right, figure out who you are and what you stand for and what you do, and the assignment goes like this Now, once you figure that out, make that list.
Speaker 1:Now, give me 20 ways to get paid for that. You know I paint in words. Okay, james, you like drawing words that have meaning. Some of them might be yours, some of them might be Ralph Waldo, emerson's or or roomies. That's okay. Just don't do any of that Walt Whitman stuff. Don't get Walt Whitman on me, james. There's no reason. I don't know why I picked Walt Whitman to start hating on. Now you're using your words now. Great, you figured out what you do. Now give me 20 ways to get paid for that. Right now you're thinking, oh man, I wish James Victoria could be my mentor, my guru. Hell, I wish he was my coach. Well, you can make that happen.
Speaker 1:Go to yourworkisagiftcom. There's a questionnaire that will probably help you out, but it'll also give you access to a free call. So let's talk. Let's free you from overwhelm and creative frustration. Let's build your business and help you get paid to do what you love. Again, go to yourworkisagiftcom. Let's talk, you know, and then, and then, when you have those 20 ways to get paid for that thing, now from that that list, pick three or two or one that you actually want to do for the next year that you actually love to do, and figure out how to get paid for that Right. So, in the, in the, in the, in the area of, you know who you are and what you do, how to get paid for it, getting paid to do what you love.
Speaker 1:Right, in the business sphere, we have this classic fill in the blank. I don't know if you've heard this one yet, but it goes like this I do this fill in the blank for these people. Fill in the blank. I don't know if you've heard this one yet, but it goes like this I do this fill in the blank for these people. Fill in who they are so that they can fill in the action. Right, I do this for these people so they can. Right, I create, I create art and stories for troubled juveniles so that they can lead more. They can have heroes and lead more perfect, beautiful lives. For example, I do this for these people so that they can. You know, I create art and design for huge clients so that they can find more meaning in the marketplace. I don't know, you know you figure this out. I do this for these people so that they can.
Speaker 1:Right, so that is a long question. Long answer for question number one figuring out what they have to say, what you have to say. Question two figuring out how to commercialize my gifts. The right question is is I'm assuming you are making, I'm assuming you have a gift, I'm assuming you do that, you're doing the thing that you love and now you want to sell. Right Now you say commercialize your gifts. Nothing wrong with that. It's awesome to get paid to do what you love.
Speaker 1:Whether your gift has commercial merit, here's the thing. That's not up to you. That's not up to you, that is up to your audience. So one of the things we have to start doing, or actually one of the things we have to stop doing, is stop judging, judging and comparing. I look around and I'm like, oh my God, his work is so cool. Oh my God, they have gallery shows, right. And you start poo-pooing on yourself immediately because you start your work is not as good, your work is not commercial, your work is not. Stop judging.
Speaker 1:Here's a word on judging you and I are terrible judges of ourselves. I'm a terrible judge. I'm a terrible judge if I'm funny. I'm a terrible judge if I'm sexy. I'm a terrible judge if my work is any good. So I don't, I don't judge, I just move forward, I just go. I just go. James Vittori, you're a sexy motherfucker. Let's go Right. James Vittori, that little scribble you made, that's pretty awesome, let's go. All right, I don't judge, I'm a terrible judge. You know, ugg boots would have never existed. If I was king of the forest, wearing a computer on your watch would have never existed. I think it was the dumbest things in the world. But, as you see, I'm a terrible judge. Who am I, who are you? So do not judge your work, do not judge other people's work.
Speaker 1:There's a majority of design and product out there in the world that I and you, quite frankly, you think is junk, but it sells. So everything is commercial. So the right question is how to sell? How to sell? Are you in business? Because they say if you ain't in business, if you ain't selling, right, you got to be selling something. How do you do that? And again, all of this stuff is mindset. How do you wrap your head around selling?
Speaker 1:Let's say, if you imagine yourself, josiah and everybody else, if you were a boutique shop which you are, by the way what would you do? Think of it like that, think of it like that. If you're a boutique shop, what would you do? How would you set it up? How would you do? Think of it like that, think of it like that. If you're a boutique shop, what would you do? How would you set it up? How would you get the word out. Who would you talk to? How would you talk to them? And the reason I bring it up like that outside of yourself, because that's really important, because it's really difficult for us to see ourselves or answer our own questions. How do I sell? Hmm, let me think about that ourselves. Or answer our own questions. How do I sell? Hmm, let me think about that. 40 days later. Hmm, let me think about that One year later. Hmm, let me think about that. Right?
Speaker 1:So there's a parable here. I like parables, I like stories. There's a, a master, a sensei, who goes for a walk along the river every day, and his student knows this, and his student is trying to find a way to kind of trip him up, right? So the student on one day runs up next to his sensei, his master, and he says Master, may I ask you a question? And the master says please? And the student says what is the hardest thing in the world? And the master, without thinking, says to know thyself. And the student is like oh damn, good answer. And takes off and goes back to his little hovel or his library or his reading room or whatever, and he studies and studies, and studies and he's trying to figure out how to trip him up and how to get the master to make a mistake.
Speaker 1:And he runs back the early next morning morning and catches up with the master and he says master, may I ask you a question? And the master says yes. And he says what's the? What's the easiest thing in life? And the master, without thinking, says to advise others. So it's easy for me to tell you what to do, super easy for me to tell you what to do. It's really difficult for me to see through my own bullshit, really difficult for me to see it as clearly. So I think you should start looking at you and you, your work as a boutique shop of someone else and advise them. You know what to do. You know what to do. We all have our own answers. And that's the other thing, our own answers.
Speaker 1:We can look around and read books because there's a lot of information out there, but at one point it has to be your information and has to come your way. Okay, so that's figuring out how to commercialize your gift. And again, that's an entire book, right, with 43 chapters. Each chapter is 120 pages. I'm just giving you the shortcut, baby. And question number three this one is awesome, this one is the doozy, I love this one. Question number three this one is awesome, this one is the doozy, I love this one. Question number three reaching more people. So Josiah wants information on running a successful business doing what he loves, and he asks one, figuring out what to say, two, figuring out how to commercialize his gifts. And three, reaching more people.
Speaker 1:So let's say you built a better mousetrap, right? That's what people always use as the example. Well, if you build a better mousetrap, the world will come running to your door Wrong, wrong. If I built a better mousetrap in my basement, it stays in my fucking basement until I tell everybody right, you know how would you advise.
Speaker 1:Let's go back to the other question. How would you advise this person if they built a better mousetrap? How would you advise them? What would you tell them to do? And part of it goes like this and this part you're not going to like because it involves discipline. That's the other thing. Discipline, baby. Discipline is freedom. Most creatives don't like that word discipline, but discipline is freedom and your discipline will create your destiny, right? I think there's a book of that title by Ryan Holiday. So how would you advise somebody who built a better mousetrap. What does he have to do? What does she have to do? I don't want to be sexist here.
Speaker 1:First, here's how it goes Tell everybody, and then tell everybody again. And then tell everybody yet again. And now tell everybody in a different way. And then tell everybody in a different way again. Right, go to both grocery stores in your town and in the morning and in the evening put flyers on the windows. Right, better mousetrap, find it here. And then somebody says, hey, you can't do that with flyers. You go, okay, thank you, bye, ignore them and go back the next fucking day and do it again, right, because you have a purpose. No one, you can't let nobody stop. When you got a purpose, man, you got to keep on going. The purpose again is that reason to get up in the morning, hungry, horny, ready to go, that's right. So, reaching more people. It kind of goes back to how to sell a little bit. Right, here's how to sell.
Speaker 1:Be bold, be audacious. You know, if you start looking like everybody and wanting to be like everybody and you want to be safe, then you're going to be safe, but you're going to be sorry, right, you're not going to be the king, you're not going to be what you want. I'm not saying everybody should be a freaking billionaire I don't believe in that crap but I'm talking about getting paid to do what you love and the way you do that is. You love it so much that you are bold and you are audacious and you follow your true voice yourself. Again, it comes back to our voice. Be honest and vulnerable. Listen, tell the story. Tell the story. If your product is, is, is a set of ceramic bowls that are easier to understand what a cup is and and what two cups is. So for people who have weight control problems or portion problems, tell the story. Tell the story that you the struggle that you have with your weight right. Tell your story. Be honest, be vulnerable.
Speaker 1:We all want to know about the creator and how it's done and why it's done. We all want to know about the creator and how it's done and why it's done. Remember I make X for these people so that they can you know what people want to buy. People want to buy you. People want to buy you. And listen, even if you feel that your story is not unique, don't worry about it. Keep going. My best-selling book get it on Amazon. Get that fucking book. If you haven't read Effect Perfection, you got to read it. It's the freaking Bible for creatives.
Speaker 1:My book, effect Perfection, was not unique. There were a few ideas that were brought up in there that were new, at least to me. You know the weird kid and warrior, not warrior, I mean. These were things that I looked everywhere to see. If anybody else had said this shit right, I wouldn't make sure I wasn't plagiarizing or stealing ideas. But there's a lot of shared philosophy that comes from the Bible, or Emerson right or stoicism.
Speaker 1:So even if your story is not unique, tell it. Tell it in your way. That's what fact perfection is. Is me telling it in my way. I'm funny, I'm bold, I swear sometimes.
Speaker 1:So, and in that question of reaching more people, I'm going to leave you with this. This is important. This is important. This is important and this is a block for a lot of people, and it goes under the title of audience. You have an audience. I don't care if you're not selling yet, josiah or anybody else, I don't care if you're not selling, if you haven't tried it yet. You have an audience. You have to have to have to understand that there is an audience for you out there. They just haven't heard of you. They don't know it and you don't know it, but you got to believe it. There is an audience for you out there and you got to go find them. So be bold and say it again and again Okay, listen, you guys are fucking awesome, you guys can do anything.
Speaker 1:I just gave you pearls, baby. You go, go do those things. Go figure out who you are, write it down right. Go find your audience. Listen, I love you and we'll be back next week with what's this called the right questions? Listen, I can't have the right questions if I don't get questions. Josiah, thank you so much for chiming in. Everybody else. Send in your questions, baby, I want to hear from you. I want to hear from you because I'm tired of telling all the secrets and putting all the things on the table. I want you to bring things to feed the soul the way I do, right? I don't care if you bring leg of lamb or Cheetos, just bring something so we can invite a hell of a lot more friends. I love you. I'll talk to you next time.