In today’s episode, we’re talking about paranoia, competition, and needing therapy for your design work. So without further ado, let’s get into the show!

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Show Notes for This Episode:

[1:00] Tom welcomes Lisa, Ian and Dustin back to the show.
[2:15] Tom shares he has been feeling paranoid lately.
[3:00] Dustin talks about how he’s dealt with paranoia for much of his life.
[4:00] Dustin asks Tom to share where his insecurities lie.
[5:30] Ian understands Tom’s fears and insecurities.
[6:00] We’ve all seen large brands steal artist’s work and it’s scary.
[7:00] Banding together as a community makes us all stronger.
[8:00] Tom shares how Peggy Dean from the Pigeon Letters overcame paranoia.
[9:00] Becoming best friends with your competition.
[10:00] When Lisa reaches out she is always delightfully welcomed with open arms.
[11:00] The positives and negatives in friending your competition.
[12:00] Dustin and Tom drop a truth bomb, “You can’t value money over people.”
[13:00] Once your reputation is damaged it’s hard to recover from that.
[14:00] Know who you can trust.
[15:00] Tom opens up about having his ideas stolen by a trusted employee.
[16:00] Dustin and Tom share how they have each other’s backs.
[17:10] Tom has dropped work because of his friendship with Dustin.
[18:40] Tom asks Ian how competition varies from a lettering perspective.
[19:00] Ian talks lettering styles and competition.
[20:00] Ian would never hire this type of person if he were an Art Director.
[21:00] Whether you work for yourself or Target you are a Brand Ambassador.
[22:35] Ian dishes on how one person’s actions broke a brand for him.
[23:30] There is more than work that goes into a brand.
[24:00] Seeing competition through a very different lens.
[25:30] Ian asks Dustin “When is it ok to enter the market of Retro Design?”
[26:00] Dustin feels uncomfortable with retro sellers that are doing great work.
[27:00] Dustin gets honest about legitimate competitors.
[28:00] Lisa and Dustin talk Abundance Mentality and Scarcity Mindset
[29:00] Competition breeds innovation.
[30:00] Social Media has created an exhausting innovation hamster wheel.
[31:00] Trends require an abundance of competitors.
[32:00] Dustin unwinds the complexities of running a business.
[33:00] Lisa gives Dustin a pep talk.
[34:40] Feeling frozen and paralyzed by competition.
[35:00] The emotional roller coaster one feels when work is stolen.
[36:00] When you’ve been robbed of your work, creativity can disappear.
[37:40] Theft drives Lisa to create more complicated and detailed work.
[38:10] The miserable life of a Copycat Creative
[39:10] Acting negatively never works out positively.
[40:30] Open conversations rather than quiet whispers behind one another’s backs.
[41:00] Ian’s thoughts on success as a double-edged sword.
[43:00] And that’s a wrap!

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