Our interview series features interesting people with something to say that the world needs hearing. Let me know what you thinkāweāll continue to experiment and evolve along the way. š
Introducing Chase
Iām so excited to introduce you to my longtime friend Chase Jarvis!
Chase is well-known for many things, so you might already be aware of himābut just in case not, thereās a lengthy bio below. What Iād like to say before the interview is that Chase is one of the most interesting, creative, and generous people I know.
Over the years, Iāve seen him push boundaries and inspire countless people to pursue their work with intention and ambition.
This week, his brand-new book is out: Never Play It Safe. Naturally, I love the title. š
Here are a few highlights from Chaseās extensive bio:
Chase Jarvis is an award-winning artist, a serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, and one of the most influential photographers of the past decade. He has created campaigns for Apple, Nike, Red Bull and dozens of other Fortune 100 brands.
Chase has had fine art shows in the USA, Europe, and the Middle East, was a contributor to the Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times story Snowfall, and earned an Emmy nomination for directing and producing the music documentary Portrait of a City.
He also created Best Camera ā which won āApp of the Yearā honors on the Apple App Store and was the first app to use photos as the basis for a social network.
A pioneer in at the intersection of creativity and learning, Chase wrote the book Creative Calling, an instant best seller which has since been translated into a dozen languages, and was the Founder/CEO of CreativeLive, where more than 50 million students have learned photography, video, design, music and business from the worldās top expertsāa company that was acquired in 2021 by Fiverr (FVRR: NYSE).
Heās been a keynote speaker on six continents, an advisor to many of the worldās most successful brands, and a guest at the Obama White House, the United Nations, the Library of Congress, 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, and the DIFC in Dubai.
Chase lives with his wife, Kate, and their dog Bodhi in Seattle, and serves as a volunteer director for several non-profit boards.
Naturally, weāre more interested in the person behind the impressive bio. And since this is š» A Year of Mental Health, Iām interested in how people think about wellbeing in general.
So letās have some questions and answers with Chase! (Thereās also a short audio recording from himāscroll down for that.)
Qs & As with Chase Jarvis
What does mental health and wellbeing mean to you?
A few years ago I spent some time with the brilliant writer Elizabeth Gilbert and said something to me that Iāll never forget: āTaking care of my mental health is my full time job,ā she said, āand my writingĀ is a hobby.ā That hit hard. Iāve taken it to heartāand put that philosophy into actionāever since. In particular, given that our experience of the world corresponds tightly on what and how we focus or direct our attention, the work we put in to manage this is important.Ā
As someone who has struggled with this at times, I have over the past 8 yearsĀ developed, iterated, and dialed in a list of 10 daily behaviors that I track andāwhen I am able to complete them allāthey provide a foundation that helps me KNOW Iāll be okay.Ā This isnāt to say Iāll always thrive or never have off days, but itās the baseline of both my mental and physical health.Ā This set of behaviors gives me the confidence to trust that Iām in charge of directing my attentionāfocusing on what truly mattersāand gives me the strength to navigate whatever I might be experiencing.
What is your primary or most important message?
My most important message is reminding people that all the best stuff in life is on the other side of your comfort zone.Ā Safety is an illusion. And when I say safety, I donāt mean seat belts and sunscreen. I donāt mean calculated risks or protecting your downside. And I donāt mean personal and emotional safety, both of which are essential to our freedom and well-being.
The safetyāor rather the āplaying it safeāāIām talking about is the kind that keeps most people living lives to a fraction of their potential. Itās listening to the voice in your head that says, āWho do you think you are to want something more?ā Itās sometimes delicatelyāand other times blatantlyāhiding from yourself, or perhaps even outāright ignoring who you truly are and thereby limiting your own greatness. It is what keeps so many of us stuck and betraying ourselvesāhowever large or small we might measure itāover and over again.
Ultimately, playing it safe is about fear. And fear is only optimized for survivalānot creativity, happiness, joy, health, connection, harmony, fulfillment, or any of the gifts you have to give or receive in this life. Because, truly, all the best stuff in life lies just beyond our fears.Ā You can do hard things.Ā And, while at first blush, the idea of being ok with discomfortāeven seeking itāwithout the right tools and proper training can be scary, itās only until you realizeāactually rememberāthat the tools you need all naturally reside within you.
THIS is the topic of my newest book Never Play It Safe: a practical guide to freedom, creativity, and a life you love. Itās about reactivating those tools within you; carving that path back to trusting yourself and building the resilience that you need to live life on your terms.
Whatās something contrarian or highly unusual that you passionately believe?
Our intuition is the most powerful tool in our human experience that we know the least about.Ā In the realm of decision-making, conventional wisdom once held up the conscious, rational mind as the pinnacle of reliability and efficacy. We believed it to be thorough and deliberate, the bastion of sound judgment. However, the latest insights from psychology tell us otherwise: revealing that the conscious mind, though deliberate, is often slow and prone to fumbling. Itās as if weāre navigating on foot through an elaborate labyrinth with just a headlampāwe canāt get around very fast, and weāre only able to illuminate a small fraction of the complete path at any one time.
What we now know is that intuition is a far more powerful, even -if-enigmatic process operating beneath the surface of our conscious awarenessā¦ and that learning to strengthen and trust it, can create amazing leverage for us in life.Ā
In my own life, the lives of my friends and those Iāve studied, intuition has always played a key role in helping to make 1,000 tinyāand other times massiveādecisions.Ā Learning to train and trust your intuition, therefore,Ā ought to be an urgent task.
Chaseās Audio Recording šļø
I usually ask our interviewees to make a short audio recording in addition to the written questions. This isnāt a long podcast interview, itās just five minutes longāso you donāt want to skip it. Hereās the one from Chase! ā¬ļø
Okay, back to some more Qs and recommendations!
Whatās difficult for you right now? What are you struggling with?Ā
By far the most difficult thing in my life right now is that my mom is very sick. Sheās been in the hospital for weeks from the downstream effects of diseases that cause cognitive impairmentāand the outcome for her is still unclear.Ā Iām simultaneously inspired by her resilience and heartbroken and overwhelmed to be reminded of how fragile life really is.
What is a simple thing (or 2-3 simple things) we can do to be better?
1. Invest.Ā Invest in yourself.Ā Build trust. Build habits. Be patient. The best time to start investing was 20 years ago.Ā The second best time is today ;).
2. Grace. Extend a lot of grace to yourself and others.Ā Nailing this whole human being stuff is tough.Ā 1% better everyday, compounds quickly.
Lastly, what are a few things youād like to recommend to our community? Ā
Iām most often drawn to non-fiction books but my wife Kate and I are currently reading aloud to each other an amazing fiction work by Dave Eggers called The Eyes & The Impossible.Ā Technically itās a childrenās book (won the Newbery Medal) but donāt let that dissuade you. Itās a beautiful, playful story, layered with meaning and so many simple lessons. Sure to bring joy to anyone.
If you can see LCD Soundsystem perform live, you should do it.Ā
Big Thanks to Chase!
Be sure to pick up his new book Never Play it Safe (Iām reading it right now!). You can also follow him on Instagram, where he posts daily.
I hope you enjoyed the interview! More of them are in the works, so be sure youāre subscribedāand stay tuned. š
Exactly!
I had a little lesson on the topic of āplaying it safe is about fearā today.
I was dreading going to the dentist to get a cavity filled. I hate the novocaine shot! Because I chose an alternative dentist, an outcome of that choice was, the dentist said to me, āIf you would prefer not to have the novocaine, and you think you can get through the filling without it, let me know.ā I didnāt even know that was an option! I jumped at the chance!
Yes, I was afraid of the pain. But I would rather risk some pain, than get a shot I know I hate! She said we could stop and I could get the shot any time, so what did I have to lose?
No shot. She started drilling. I wonāt lie ā yes, there was a high-pitched needle of pain that sometimes rang right up into the top of my skull. It passed pretty quickly though. When it arose, I did two things.
First, I tried to be curious about it. I asked myself, āWhat is the quality of this sensation?ā Although I wasnāt completely successful in being 100% curious as opposed to simply thinking, āThis is a needle of sharp pain,ā particularly when they were blowing some kind of air on what felt like the nerve of my tooth, I was able to maintain a mental stance of somewhat inquiring about the pain instead of being reactive to the pain and that helped.
Second, and more helpfully, when I felt a needle of pain arising, I brought my consciousness down to my hands. I tried to relax and focus on them, and feel them being warm, not tense. This really, really helped! By keeping my arms, wrists, fingers and hands gentle, I was able to get my consciousness down away from the pain and into my palms. I created a distance between where the sharpness was happening in my mouth, and where the relaxation was arising in my hands. Because Iāve been practicing bringing my consciousness down into the lower areas of my body, this wasnāt too difficult. By the time the sharpness abated, it was like I had crossed a little patch of pain, and gotten to the other side by remaining firmly rooted in my fingers.
And in this way, I got through the entire appointment with no novocaine!
Novocaine would have been a way for me to play it safe and avoid all those little patches of pain. But I wanted to take the risk and see if I could handle it, and I did.
It feels good to have taken the risk and to show myself that Iām able to do this hard thing.
Iām not advocating this for everyone. But I do think if you have a strong meditation practice, one of the side benefits is the possibility of not having to use novocaine at the dentist!
So for us meditators out there ā whatever form of meditation we practice (I use Internal Family Systems) ā life can be ever so slightly more of a playground where itās possible to test ourselves against the things weāre afraid of. With strong inner practices, there is less to fear in the external world.