Being True to Your Gift with Joe Young

Today's guest is Joe Young. For decades Joe has been making the
world a better, happier place.


Joe is a cartoonist, filmmaker, producer, and educator. He is the
president of Joe Young Studios, a multimedia agency which
provides arts programming for organizations.


He's also the Founder & Executive Director of a youth arts
non-profit.


His projects include Hartford, CT's first major film project,
Diamond Ruff and the one-time Guinness World Record for the
world's longest comic strip.


I met Joe nearly 10 years ago by chance of having just moved to
Connecticut and networking at an open mic night.


We've watched each other's careers evolve from afar, but haven't
been in touch in many, many years.


That is, until the 2020 pandemic.


Joe was gearing up for a massive $1 million fundraising event for
his new documentary film project when the crisis struck. Forced
to cancel the event Joe was faced with a choice: Give up the
project he's been working so hard to achieve, or find a new way
forward.


I reached out in that moment to invite him on the podcast to chat
about his life, career, and new documentary project.


This conversation was so much more than I bargained for.


Joe explains why your gift is different from you passion (and
what to do with either), thoughts on monetizing art, the
evolution of cartooning from analog to digital, his new
documentary project and what's going to happen now, how to
connect with an audience in a non-live format like comic strips
and films, how to handle negative feedback, the role of luck in
success, advice for young professionals in an impossibly
unpredictable world, and of course, Joe shares his story of a
chance encounter with lasting impact.


Plus, Joe flips the script near the end and asks me about getting
my TEDx talk, so you'll hear that story in its entirety for the
first time.


This episode is a true celebration of art, beauty, and joy.


Remember to check the show notes for related links and stay until
the end for my biggest takeaways from this episode.


And now I give you, Mr. Joe Young.


Watch instead of listen here.
 RELATED LINKS

Joe's website: https://joeyoung.org

Diamond Ruff movie:
https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Ruff-Felicia-Pearson/dp/B07GBP1C65

New documentary project:
https://joeyoung.org/documentary-project/

Backstage at the Strips by Mort Walker:
https://amzn.to/2y1A9ma