The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show

Every creative journey starts the same way.
Excitement. Possibility. Momentum.
And then — somewhere between the spark and the breakthrough — it gets hard.
The novelty fades. The results slow down. Doubt gets louder. And that's when most of us go looking for certainty. Better gear. Better tactics. The "right" answers.
But what if the discomfort isn't a sign you're off track?
What if it's proof you've finally reached the part that actually matters?
In this episode, I break down why the messy middle — that stretch between starting and mastering — is where your identity gets forged. Why we hide in measurable answers when we're uncomfortable. And how to reconnect with the love that made you begin in the first place.
Because the middle isn't a detour.
It's the proving ground.
In this episode:
Why creators obsess over tools when the work gets uncomfortable

The psychological comfort of "right answers"

What the messy middle really is

How to develop internal clarity instead of chasing certainty

Why remembering your origin story can reset everything

If you're in a season where the work feels heavy, this is your reminder: discomfort doesn't mean you're failing. It often means you're growing.
Until next time, stay close to the craft — and remember, the part you're tempted to escape might be the part that's shaping you most.

Hey friends, Chase here
This episode is short and direct — and it centers on a truth most of us spend years trying to outgrow: playing it safe has a cost. Not just a financial cost. Not just an "I didn't take the leap" cost. I'm talking about the hidden cost — the slow trade of your originality for approval, your curiosity for compliance, your honest voice for whatever feels least risky.
A lot of us were trained early to optimize for fitting in. To sit still. To follow directions. To avoid disrupting the room. And to be clear: the people who guided us usually meant well. But the system most of us came through wasn't designed to help you uncover what you're here to make — it was designed to produce consistency. Efficiency. Predictable outcomes.
Over time, that training can dull the very thing that makes your work matter: your vitality. Your weirdness. Your edge. The parts of you that feel a little too honest, too quirky, too intense, too much.
Here's the core idea:
The price of playing it safe is your creative aliveness.
Because safety doesn't just keep you from failing — it keeps you from telling the truth. It keeps you from risking rejection. It keeps you from letting the messy, human parts of you show up in your work. And ironically, those are the parts that make your work unmistakably yours.
This episode is about noticing what you avoid — not to judge yourself, but to learn from it. What are you most reluctant to share? What do you hide because it feels weird or embarrassing or "not polished enough"? Those uncomfortable pockets of truth are often where your most compelling work is waiting.
In today's episode I cover:
Why "playing it safe" quietly drains originality and momentum
How early conditioning teaches us to trade creativity for approval
How to use what you avoid as fuel for your most honest work
If you've been feeling stuck, uninspired, or like your work isn't quite you, this episode is an invitation to look in the direction you usually look away from — not to blow up your life, but to reclaim the parts of yourself you've been filtering out.
Until next time, be brave enough to be seen — and don't forget: the safest path often costs the most.

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.