Blue Ocean Strategy

Episode Transcript:

[00:00:00] Chuba & Chine: Hey, what does it look like to look outside of where everyone is looking. It's always going to be a lot more difficult.

[00:00:12] Isotta: This is Art Is… a podcast for artists where we visualize the future of the art world and the creative industries making this podcast has taught me more than I could have imagined and opened up my mind to the immensity of opportunities and possibility there are for artists and emerging creatives.

[00:00:29] Isotta: My mission all along has been to brainstorm the future of the art world. And I'm really excited and proud to say that. I think that that's what we're doing. We've investigated emerging technologies, alternative business models and new startups operating in the creative space. We've had conversations with young artists and industry experts

[00:00:46] Isotta: Sometimes very analytical and sometimes emotional and open-ended as I start to explore what's next for me as an artist and creative operating in this confusing and uncertain time, I realized that part of the process of getting to the right idea or just getting to the next step and making a decision or going for an opportunity is developing the right mindset. That means moving away from the scarcity mentality that has dominated our psyches since early days of school or university and being open-ended to the possibility of jumping into something different and not simply following what everyone around you seems to be doing.

[00:01:20] Isotta: Chine and and Chuba from season two, episode two, could not explain this mindset better so today I'll be sharing a few clips from my conversation with them.

[00:01:29] Isotta: If you feel like diving into the full episode, go back to season two, episode two, designing your art practice with intention

[00:01:38] Chuba & Chine: One of the things that we say is that whatever it is that you see or that you believe out of life is what life brings to you.

[00:01:46] Chuba & Chine: So if all you see is scarcity, you will find scarcity. I mean, it's also just a psychological I think part of being an economist is also, I'm a behavioral economist right in that is what you call, Confirmation bias. So when you see assessing thing, if you buy a pink car, you're going to see pink cars everywhere, all of a sudden.

[00:02:06] Chuba & Chine: And when you're running with a scarcity mindset, you're going to always find scarcity surrounds you all the time. of course the reality is still there, which is that there are limited number of where their residencies or opportunities or whatever.

[00:02:21] Well, I think what's helpful is thinking about how you create opportunities for yourself that don't exist. and that's a lot harder. but the one thing that happens right, is a lot of times. People only see the things that they think are available because that's what everyone else has seen.

[00:02:40] Chuba & Chine: And that's fi easy thing to see. So of course it's going to be scarred because everyone can see it and everyone's going to go for it. Right. But I think one of the things that we try to do is push ourselves to ask the question, how do we see more opportunities? How do we see more opportunities that we can create for ourselves?

[00:03:01] Chuba & Chine: And that's a lot more difficult. It is a lot more difficult, right? Because I mean, we had to do that as a business where we're over time, you'd be focused less On the standard, things that come with that, being a design studio, brand identities, websites, other, those sort of things, because everyone is competing there.

[00:03:22] Chuba & Chine: And then the question is, how do you create what business people call a blue ocean? Like how do you basically create a whole new pathway that opens up? A space of opportunity and the truth is if you don't think that that's possible, it's never going to be possible. It just, isn't going to be possible for us.

[00:03:42] Chuba & Chine: We have to tell ourselves it's possible for us to become a new type of company that focuses on more than just design the way with C design. And what that has done for us is that it's opened up whole new opportunities that we didn't think about. We'd never seen coming and we're not even scratched the surface of them because we're able to say it's going to be a lot harder for us to say, Hey, what does it look like to look outside of where everyone is looking.

[00:04:11] Chuba & Chine: It's always going to be a lot more difficult.

[00:04:18] Isotta: recently I had the amazing opportunity of speaking to a creative careers coach. She explained to me this concept of creating a filter for yourself, to put it simply, it means that first you identify your values and what truly matters to you professionally and personally, and the goals you set for yourself, then when opportunities or ideas present themselves or come to you, you put them through this filter of saying, is this in line with my plan goals, values.

[00:04:43] Isotta: It's an active process of you being in control and making clear decisions for your professional and person wellbeing, Chine and Chuba are the masters of this and really take it one step further. They designed a set of tools that they use in all of their decision-making called the framework of intention.

[00:05:00] Isotta: Here. They are explaining it,

[00:05:01] the framework of intention, it's broken down to three steps or so think of it as, as a cycle too, as well. and the first part of the framework is to, is to slow down.

[00:05:13] Chuba & Chine: I think that was one of the things that she's been in touch with nature, you know, brought it to us just that. The recognition of the fact that we had to slow down when you want to do anything before you, if you want to be intentional, if you want to have an idea for what to have a plan, you have to really slow down that.

[00:05:29] Chuba & Chine: So you think about what it is that you want to do, or is it that you want to get to think of it as a journey, you know, um, before you get on journey, you have to have a sense of where it is you're going, as opposed to just driving. so slowing down is a very key part of that. and slowing down, takes place in different ways.

[00:05:46] Chuba & Chine: one of the ways to slow down is true meditation. Meditation is a great way because when you slow down to meditate, you can be in the moment. And that is very key, because if you're in reality, you want to ensure that everything that is happening, you're aware of it. And that you are in sync with your surroundings.

[00:06:01] And just being able to meditate is a key step into being able to get yourself locked into reality as it is. Another way of slowing down is also journaling. Journaling is good because it allows you to reflect.

[00:06:17] Chuba & Chine: And that is very important. And then one of the things that we say is that your life is a movie. And if you slow down to reflect, you're going to be able to see sort of the important parts of your life. And you're also going to see, the patterns as well. And when you're able to see the patterns you are able to know what about those patterns, can you make better?

[00:06:34] Chuba & Chine: And what about those patterns can you adjust or change or really eliminate? So doing this allows you to really see your life in a timeline that allows you to make better decisions in your future. I think another part of slowing down, there's also exercising as well. Exercising is a good way to slow down when you're exercising.

[00:06:51] Chuba & Chine: You're really repeating that process over and over again. And that puts you in almost a meditative state that allows your mind to concentrate and focus and that concentration and focus just like with meditation is key towards being able to create an intention. framework is sort of think about it like buckets and whatever goes into that bucket. It's very contextual. why we list. These actions first is because we believe that it's important that whatever it is that you're doing starts from your mind is that within, because once you can do that, then it's easier for you to apply this framework even to the work that you do.

[00:07:25] Chuba & Chine: So for example, you talk about your sculptures that you create, right? And then you get to the part where it comes to sort of the presentation or like marketing, or I didn't know what other words he wants to use, and then you sort of thing. But I go, and I think this is where the framework comes in, when you slowing down yet starting. The projects by saying, am I looking at this from a holistic point of view, either. So as opposed to just to create some, because that's, and that's the thing we created as it can be. So like doing the work makes us happy. Like the work itself makes us happy.

[00:07:56] Chuba & Chine: It's just like creating makes us happy. But afterwards, right. The marketing the putting it out there, the packaging, whatever it is that we then need to do to move it forward, then it's just like, ah, I really want to do this. But the truth is you can't run a business that way. Like you have to do all the other not so fun aspects of it, but slowing down helps you really map it all out.

[00:08:22] Chuba & Chine: Exactly what it is that you want to see in the end. So in the end, right? It's not just that you want to create in the end it's that you want to create, and then the steps are included. So when you slow down, you know, what the steps are, and then it's helpful for you when you then moving on in terms of the project.

[00:08:42] the second step then helps you see what it is that you need. And the second step is for you to. Give gratitude. So that's what we call the second step. Give gratitude, because when you're in a state of gratitude, you see what surrounds you, you know, and many times it can get super easy to just focus on just the work and then you sort of tunnel vision yourself into it.

[00:09:01] and then you're not seeing those resources that you're surrounded with, you know? So whether it's, um, Thinking about, okay. I I'm, I'm not really good at setting, but do I know someone who can help with that? or who can I talk to or what resource can they listen to or learn or read because there's this information out there that can then help you become better at that aspects that you might find difficult, but it will only come when

[00:09:27] Chuba & Chine: So you slow down enough to know that you need it. Right. And then soon You're giving gratitude enough to know that, you know what I'm grateful for, what exists outfit gratitude helps you see? So once you're able to see, you're able to then therefore say, okay, I need this. Okay. You know what, thank you life for presenting this to me.

[00:09:48] Chuba & Chine: Now, I'm going to take this and use this to move. My project forward. Right? So that's where gratitude comes in. we can talk about it's also just from the mental aspects of it, of gratitude of giving gratitude, because. it's a super policy to have where you're able to say, how am I expressing gratitude on a consistent basis?

[00:10:10] Chuba & Chine: They're respective of what happens. And this is especially critical for creatives because a lot of times when things don't go well for creatives, or maybe we get like a bad. Review or something creative sort of like, just let it sink them. And it's a very important thing to not let situations that come, destabilize you as a creative, because once it damages your confidence that that's everything, you know, it's becomes a lot more difficult to think and be creative.

[00:10:38] but once you're in the states of gratitude, you're saying to yourself, irrespective of what comes I'm going to see the lessons. in it and now take the lessons out of it. Right. And the rest, whatever, you know, but what are the lessons that you can learn from it? So even if someone, someone leaves a harsh review of your work, right.

[00:10:56] Chuba & Chine: What can you take out of it? Like even just as a creative that's content for you? Like, how do you take that and spin it into something? How do you create a sculpture of, negative reviews? I don't know something cool. Like there's always something to be done as a creative you're you are a God in that world and you can create whatever.

[00:11:13] Chuba & Chine: Right. But yeah. It only happens when you stop running away from situations that might be unpleasant because that then stops you from experimenting. And that's very important part of that growth. So, yeah, that's the second step. And then I guess, Teaneck, and then talk about how the fed steps actually helps you, take whatever lessons that you've learnt and also the blessings that have also come because you'd be.

[00:11:35] Chuba & Chine: You've you've opened up yourself to learning and how you then take that and run with it. yeah, but that step is to take responsible ability. taking responsibility is key because it allows you to take those lessons and the blessings that life leaves you it's. Uh, in every moment and allows you to take them and convert them into something that allows you move forward in life or allows you to get what it is that you want out of life.

[00:12:03] we always have this, um, example, if I was to, give you a potato. Okay. As a gift, you know, basket of potatoes as a gift and you don't cook it, you just live in there, you don't do anything. It it's going to spoil, you know, and that's, that's the same way you think about life.

[00:12:22] Chuba & Chine: They're all this things that are available to us. They're the blessings. These, these are the resources that exist. We didn't ask and also outside us. But if you don't slow down enough to give gratitude for them and see them and then take responsibility for the using them or crafting them, nothing can exist.

[00:12:38] Chuba & Chine: You know, at the end of the day twice that you think of it as yourself as a sculpture, uh, I can give you a ton of clean out and be like, yeah, you go, yes, there's some clay to sculpt something, but if you don't sculpt clay, nothing happens, you know, nothing exists. So did that take your responsibility is really key, um, in terms of making and creating the future that it, that you want to see.

[00:13:01] Chuba & Chine: really requires you to say, Right now I have what it requires to make what I want to see. Now it's about me putting in the energy. whatever it is, whether it's a decision, whether it's an, whether it's a product, whether it's it's an art, whatever it is, as long as you're able to sort of slow down enough to see what it is and see what you have to create it.

[00:13:23] Chuba & Chine: And then you take that step. That next step of actually taking responsibility to do it's the moment you're able to do that is the moment you all they've been intentional.

Isotta: Thank you for listening to season two episode 11 of Art Is… a podcast for artists. It's summer here, where I am, and I've been able to take some time offline, reflecting and planning the next. So this episode I'd really like to thank you for listening. And if you feel like supporting the podcast, I would really appreciate it. If you left a five-star rating and review in apple podcasts, it really helps others find the show. you can also financially support the work I do through the donation. In the episode description while you're there, check out the artist, bookshop for a collection of the best creative and professional development resources.

[00:14:09] Isotta: Thanks so much for tuning into Art Is… a podcast for artists, see you soon.