19: Jonathan Fields – How to Push Through Feelings of Uncertainty

“I love to create an experiential container that transforms and elevates.”

Today we’ve got my inspiring friend, Jonathan Fields on the show. Jonathan is the author of Uncertainty. In it, he talks about turning fear and doubt into fuel for brilliance. I feel like fear and doubt are things that I experience all the time in this career. Learning to shift from fear when experiencing uncertainty to thriving is hugely important.

I first met Jonathan a couple years ago when he interviewed me for his series, Good Life Project. Good Life Project is a weekly web-show and podcast where he interviews successful people living with purpose, abundance and spiritual vibrance. His interview style is profound and he is a master of creating space for vulnerability. What I really love about Jonathan is that he understands the artist’s journey, the whirlwind of feelings and the struggles that come with it.

In this episode, we discuss the challenges and richness related to being a creative in business. We talk about the gap between your taste and what you are actually creating. We talk about how to push through plateaus in your creative journey, how to deal with the uncertainty of the daily life of a creative entrepreneur and much more.

We get deep and have a good jam session, so lets get into it!

“Take consistent daily action to learn as much as you can about wheres the intersection between what lights you up and what the world wants.”

Some things we learn in this podcast:

• About the contribution that Jonathan provides to the world
• About the purpose and inspiration for Good Life Project
• The mindset for building a business that does 10x your expectations
• Finding the balance between planning and being open to the unexpected
• About Jonathan Fields’s writing process
• Contrasting the marketability of one’s craft/taste vs. one’s skill
• Dissecting the question, is taste innate or can it be taught?
• The concept of design thinking
• Mindset and idea thinking and the dance between the two
• The funny story behind how Jonathan Fields discovered he was a writer
• The impact of photography school or professional training for your craft
• We explore the concept of push and pull motivation when striving for greatness in one’s craft
• Making the jump from lawyer to personal trainer | personal trainer to yoga entrepreneur | yoga studio owner to writer
• Learn about the Thrash and how to exist in it with dignity
• About the daily rituals of people doing amazing work
• How Jonathan deals with uncertainty
• The force multipliers to get yourself into a place where you’re ok with uncertainty
• Differentiation consuming media vs. experiencing media

Resources Mentioned in this Show:

• Pick up a copy of Jonathan’s books, Uncertainty & Career Renegade
• Jonathan Field’s 10 Commandments of Epic Business
• Watch Ira Glass’s discussion on taste which Jonathan mentioned
• Listen to Lenny by Stevie Ray Vaughn
• Learn more about the design firm, IDEO
• Check out the book Jonathan Mentions: Daily Rituals

Connect with Jonathan: Instagram | Twitter | Website | Good Life Project