The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show

Hey friends, Chase here
This episode is short and direct — and it centers on an idea that quietly changes everything once you see it:
You don't get paid first for the work you want to do next. You build it first.
Most people wait for permission. They wait for a client, an investor, or an opportunity to show up before they start creating. But in my experience, it works the other way around. The next chapter of your career is built in parallel with the one you're already in.
I've always balanced paid work with deeply personal exploration. The commercial projects put food on the table. The personal work is where curiosity lives. And it turns out, that curiosity-driven work is where every meaningful breakthrough in my career has come from.
Here's the core idea:
Build the next chapter before you're paid.
Your portfolio becomes your future. The work you make on your own time — without guarantees — becomes proof of what you're capable of next. Clients don't hire potential. Investors don't fund intentions. They respond to momentum, prototypes, and evidence.
Whether you're trying to pivot creatively, grow your business, or step into a new role, the path forward is the same: start making the work now. Use what you already do to fund exploration. Let your community become your laboratory. Create first. Refine along the way.
This isn't about reckless leaps or quitting your job tomorrow. It's about building in parallel — putting money in the bank while you develop the skills, projects, and ideas that point toward where you actually want to go.
In today's episode I cover:
Why your personal work drives your biggest professional breakthroughs
How prototypes open doors faster than pitches
Why your portfolio is the roadmap to your next chapter
If you've been waiting for someone else to greenlight your growth, this episode is an invitation to start now — to explore what you're curious about and build something real before expecting the world to catch up.
Until next time, create first — and remember: your next chapter starts with what you make today.

Hey friends, Chase here
This episode is short and direct — and it centers on an idea that runs counter to how most of us try to solve creative problems. When we feel stuck, uncertain, or restless, our instinct is usually to think harder. To analyze. To wait for clarity.
But here's the truth I've learned the hard way: you can't think your way forward.
Clarity doesn't come from sitting on the couch running mental simulations. It comes from action. From making. From trying things in the real world and paying attention to what happens next.
Early in my career, I hit a real creative rut. I questioned whether photography was truly my thing, or whether some other medium might be a better fit. And I could have stayed stuck in that loop for months — thinking, debating, second-guessing. Instead, I ran experiments. I tried painting. I learned from it. And just as importantly, I learned what wasn't my path.
Here's the core idea: action beats intellect.
Thinking has its place, but it's a terrible primary strategy for getting unstuck. You don't reason your way into momentum — you move your way into it. Volume creates insight. Making creates feedback. And feedback is what quiets doubt.
This episode is about why experimentation isn't a distraction from commitment — it's how commitment is formed. It's about turning down the noise in your head by turning up the work.
In today's episode I cover:
Why you can't think your way out of a creative rut
How action creates clarity faster than analysis
Why making more work often leads to better work
If you've been waiting to feel "ready" before you move, this episode is a reminder that readiness follows action — not the other way around.
Until next time, default to action — and remember: you can't think your way forward.

Hey friends, Chase here
This episode is short and practical — and it centers on a simple idea that tends to hit a little deeper once you really sit with it: you are not your goals. You are not your intentions. You are what you do repeatedly.
Around this time of year — or anytime you feel the urge for a reset — it's easy to assume the problem is motivation. That you just need to want it more. In my experience, that's almost never true. Most people aren't stuck because they lack drive. They're stuck because their daily habits aren't aligned with what they actually want.
Goals matter. Vision matters. But goals don't run your life — habits do. How you move your body. How you eat. How you focus. How you rest. How you show up for your work and your relationships. Those small, repeatable behaviors quietly shape everything.
Here's the core idea:
You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your habits.
This episode is framed as a mid-January check-in, but it's not really about the calendar. It's about pausing long enough to look honestly at the patterns running your days — and deciding whether those patterns are helping you become who you want to be.
I share a simple three-part framework I've refined over the last decade: reviewing what worked and what didn't, setting a clear "more / less" compass for the next chapter, and translating that clarity into a short list of daily habits. Nothing fancy. Nothing rigid. Just a system that makes it very hard to drift off course.
The power here isn't intensity — it's consistency. When your habits are right, progress becomes almost inevitable, even when life gets hard.
In today's episode I cover:
Why habits matter more than goals
How to review what's actually working in your life
How to build daily habits that support focus, energy, and creativity
If you've been feeling behind or frustrated that good intentions haven't turned into real change, this episode is a reminder: you're not broken. You just need better systems — and you can start building them today.
Until next time, remember: you are your habits. Choose them wisely.

Hey friends, Chase here
This episode is short and direct — and it centers on an idea that quietly changes everything once you really see it: most people aren't stuck because they're lazy or unmotivated. They're stuck because they confuse urgency with importance.
We've been trained to react. To answer what's loud, immediate, and demanding. Emails. Notifications. Small fires that feel productive simply because they need attention right now. But being busy isn't the same thing as making progress — and activity is not the same as effectiveness.
What I've learned over time is that the best work of your life rarely feels urgent in the moment. It's the work you could put off. The work that doesn't break anything if you ignore it today — but quietly shapes everything if you commit to it consistently.
Here's the core idea:
Real progress lives in the important, not the urgent.
When you prioritize what actually matters — even if it doesn't scream for your attention — chaos starts to fall away. You still work hard. You still show up. But you stop letting urgency dictate your life and start choosing your direction instead.
This episode is about stepping off the hamster wheel, building systems that protect your time and energy, and learning how to focus on the work that moves your life forward — not just fills your days.
In today's episode I cover:
Why being busy is often a distraction from what matters most
How to think about urgent vs. important work
Where your biggest creative and life gains actually come from
If you've been working hard but feeling like you're spinning your wheels, this episode is an invitation to slow down just enough to aim better — and to make space for the work that truly counts.
Until next time, choose what's important — not just what's urgent.

Hey friends, Chase here
This episode is short and direct — and it centers on an idea that's easy to overlook: rest isn't something you earn after the work is done. It's a skill you have to learn while you're doing the work.
Most of us don't struggle because we lack motivation. We struggle because we don't know how to manage our energy over time. We push past the point where the work is actually getting better and mistake exhaustion for progress.
What I've learned is that rest isn't about quitting or losing momentum. It's about staying in the game long enough to do meaningful work without burning yourself out.
Here's the core idea:
Rest isn't a break from discipline — it's part of it.
Learning when to pause, step back, or reset isn't a sign of weakness. It's awareness. And like any skill, it gets better with practice.
This episode is about recognizing those signals earlier, respecting them, and building a pace you can actually sustain.
In today's episode I cover:
Why rest is a skill, not a reward
How to avoid burning out without losing momentum
What sustainable effort really looks like
If you've been feeling run down or stuck in cycles of overwork, this episode is an invitation to rethink how you pace yourself — not to do less, but to work in a way you can keep doing.
Until next time, protect your energy — and remember that rest is a skill.