Your Art vs. Your Ego

A simple reframe I learned this week that's making me rethink how and what I outsource  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creative Companion]( Presented by [Found]( Hello my friend! This week I settled back into the saddle with five new interviews for Creative Elements. Five! So I spent a lot of time researching my guests by watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, reading articles... And one of those guests is Thomas Frank, YouTuber and Notion extraordinaire. [Thomas Frank] ​ ​ Thomas has 2.5 million subscribers on [his main channel]() and almost 70K subscribers on [his new channel](=) focused exclusively on Notion. To prepare for my interview with Thomas, I listened to his recent conversation with Lewis Howes on the School of Greatness podcast. [Thomas Frank with Lewis Howes](=)​ ​ This was a fascinating conversation actually, mostly for the last 15 minutes. In the last 15 minutes, they dig into some of Thomas's business finances and where he's investing (potentially under-investing) in growth. He talks a little bit more in the episode about hiring and how he wished he would've hired sooner (that may have been me reading between the lines). But Thomas said that he has trouble letting going of things and delegating in his business (very relatable for me). But he had this fantastic reframe that was passed onto him: What is your art and what is your ego? When you're thinking about all of the work on your plate, there are certainly things you are doing that you could outsource for someone else to do. And that may FEEL hard because you've always done it. And it feels like there's no way someone else would do it as well as you do, right? In some cases, that may be true. As a creator, there are certain aspects of your business that content the most potent part of your creativity – that stuff is what makes YOUR work YOUR work. That's your art. You can't let go of your art. But more often than not, you may find yourself holding onto things that aren't your art. Things that don't need YOU to be doing them to be good enough. In fact, a lot of times you can hire someone who is BETTER at those things than you are! And that is your ego getting in the way. That's the overinflated, arrogant-but-scared part of you that thinks you can't possibly count on someone else to do it. But the more you let your ego take time away from your art...the slower you grow. It's just math – the more time you allocate to the few parts of your business that uniquely need you, the faster you build a resilient, differentiated business. If you're taking away from your art because you refuse to hire an editor or a bookkeeper, you're slowing down your own progress. This came for me at a time when I needed to hear it – and in reflecting on the number of people I'm working with now, I'm actually proud of myself! Right now I'm working with: - An audio engineer - A video editor - A transcriptionist - An animator - An illustrator - A Notion consultant - A quiz architect ...and I still feel like I need more hands! Thankfully, it's also getting easier to hire because as I spend more time on MY art (interviewing, writing, and building community) the better my business performs. The better my business performs, the more resources I have to invest in hiring things away from my ego. It's kind of a chicken-and-egg problem, I know. We are afraid to hire until we have the money to hire. But we can't focus on the parts of our business that make money because we're trapped doing things to keep the business running day-to-day. Whether you grind through it or trust yourself to outsource before it feels comfortable, I'm really coming to believe that delegating is a skill I should've learned much sooner. What is YOUR ego keeping hold of and taking away from your art? ​ Share This Essay: [Share via facebook]() [Share via twitter](=) [Share via whatsapp]() Your personal share link: [ ​ ​ ​ [Sponsor Image]( PRESENTED BY FOUND All-in-one business banking No one starts a creative business because they love paperwork. Thankfully, Found is here to simplify self-employment. With no-fee business banking and smart, simple tools, Found makes banking, bookkeeping, taxes, and invoicing easier than ever. Your Found debit Mastercard seamlessly tracks and categorizes your expenses, helping you save on taxes. You can run reports, send invoices, save receipts, and pay taxes—all from the app, and all for free. And Found’s automatic tax withholding means you’ll never be caught unprepared at tax time. No monthly fees, no minimums—just smart banking that saves time. Create an account in minutes and find out why thousands of people rely on Found. Love what you do. Let Found do the rest. [Learn more about Found]( ​ ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Check these out 🎥 [Frank Abignale (Talks at Google)](=) – Frank Abignale is the man the movie Catch Me If You Can is based on. He's a cyber security expert and in this talk he shares his tips for keeping your identity and money safe (hint: he's a fan of credit cards). (63 minutes) --------------------------------------------------------------- 💌 [Six Figure Emails](=) – Free premium email template pack, including six mini-persuasion masterclasses breaking down the sales psychology behind each. --------------------------------------------------------------- 👓 [‘Jiggle Jiggle’: How documentarian Louis Theroux took over TikTok with a novelty rap song]( – A fun little piece from the LA times talking about the backstory of this song you're probably singing in your head right now. ​ LISTEN ON CREATIVE ELEMENTS #21: Matt D'Avella [Experimentation] Freelancing, filmmaking, podcasting, and finding success on YouTube. [Creative Elements Cover Art](=) This episode originally aired on August 18, 2020. Matt D'Avella is a filmmaker, YouTuber & podcaster that explores what it means to live a good life. Matt directed Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things, which was acquired by Netflix in 2016. His YouTube channel has nearly 3 million subscribers, and his videos have been viewed more than 175 million times. In this episode, we talk about his experience creating the Minimalism documentary, managing his creative energy, crafting a good story, and how Experimentation has helped him find success on YouTube. [Play episode](=) [Apple Podcasts]( [Spotify]( [Stitcher]() [Castbox]( New to the show? Start with a [curated playlist](). ​ ​ LAST WORD 👋 Thanks for reading! I've really, really enjoyed being back to work this week – especially catching up with folks inside the Creative Companion Club. We're about to start our next 4-week Shared Focus Sprint focused on creating a digital product you can soft-pitch to every new email subscriber. If we do our job right, this should lead to an immediate uptick in sales on autopilot. I can't wait to do this sprint for my OWN business, and I think you'll be glad if you join us too. Join the community and get access to this sprint, all of my past workshops, a monthly behind-the-scenes look into my business, and our weekly live events. 👉 [Join the Creative Companion Club]()​ Cheers, Jay --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a 1:1 call with me]( Thanks for subscribing! 📬 Reply to this email or [contact me]( anytime. [Edit your profile]( or [unsubscribe here](. This email was sent with [ConvertKit]() and designed using [Palladio](=). Want to say thank you? ❤️ ☕️ [Buy Me A Coffee]() or send a note to P.O. 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