Using Constraints to Fuel Your Best Work Ever with Scott Belsky, Chase Jarvis

There's a common misconception that artists have a monopoly on creativity… But the very act of making waves—no matter the career—is a creative one. The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show is an exploration of creativity, self-discovery, entrepreneurship, hard-earned lessons, and so much more. Chase sits down with the world's top creators, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders and unpacks actionable, valuable insights to help you live your dreams in career, hobby, and life.

About this episode:

This episode is overflowing with nuggets but one common thread I’d like to highlight is self-awareness. You’ll hear this come up again and again – Scott is so smart that he actually outsmarts himself by recognizing his imperfections and weak spots and setting up systems that correct them, surrounding himself with people who fill those gaps, and so forth. Although rarely discussed – it’s a fairly subtle concept that’s often drowned out by more straightforward ones – self-awareness is a massively important attribute and I love how Scott talks about it.

• He has an amazing term called “the messy middle,” which essentially refers to all the stuff between the start of a company and the flashy exit or spectacular failure – basically, the stuff that actually MATTERS yet is vastly under-represented in the headlines and discussions about business
• He is also militant about the critical importance of, well, doing shit – of focusing on execution over plans or ideas. You’ve heard me talk about this many times but I am going to keep bringing it up because it’s a massive blind spot for so many creators
• We also riff on the value of focus and prioritizing, another common weak point for creators and entrepreneurs who are full of ideas but often have trouble sticking with one to the point that they’re able to really see it through to completion – he’s got a very cool way of visually mapping out all your projects and using that as a lens that will instantly show you where your focus is, isn’t, or should be

About Scott:

Scott is one of those guests where I couldn’t possibly do justice to their resume – so apologies in advance to Scott, but here’s the short version: He’s currently the Executive Chairman of the professional referral platform Prefer, was the founder of Behance, the creative portfolio platform that I’m sure many of you use, VP at Adobe, and author of the bestselling book “Making Ideas Happen.” I’m leaving out a ton – such as his time at Goldman Sachs, Benchmark, and as an early investor in Pinterest, Uber, and Periscope among others – but you get the idea – incredibly accomplished entrepreneur and passionate advocate for creativity.