Gifted Underachievers

When James pitches for a ghostwriting gig, he needs to quickly present himself as a capable professional to clients for projects often worth $80k or more. Pat faces much the same situation when she meets with prospective clients: they have to believe that she offers professional services that will get them closer to their writing and publishing goals.
While they represent two different roles in the publishing world, each shares the same challenge: relate to a potential client in a way that authentically represents them as the experienced professionals they are. This is not easy.
But for both, it comes down to one simple rule: be generous.
Be generous in your time, knowledge, experience, and with the truth.
It isn’t a hard pitch, it’s a soft pitch.
Questions for Listeners:
* What three pitching strategies do you use?
* What is the basis of how you communicate with potential clients?
Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book
Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide!
For Further Exploration:
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Academy is relentless in their push to sue the Gifted Underachievers for $1B. They have won removal of the case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. But worse than that: They want the GU Clubhouse.
The team are up against the wall; they’re being rolled by a well-funded and motivated adversary.
In an act of desperation, they launch the GU Extraction Team.
Questions for Listeners:
How silly is too silly?
Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book
Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide!
For Further Exploration:
Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.

If you haven’t already subscribed, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe any time.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

After a period of offering two main services, James has focused on ghostwriting without distraction, with the goal of becoming one of the top 20 ghostwriters in the country.
Pat has more than one sphere of operation, and she freely tosses around terms like “beachhead” and “flagship” to describe how she successfully manages these separate spheres.
Note—In case you’re wondering, the characteristics of a good business beachhead include:
* A small, well-defined target customer base with a shared, urgent problem
* Buyers who communicate with one another
* A strong, distinct value proposition that fits your strengths
(source: https://executive.mit.edu/launching-a-successful-start-up-3-the-beachhead-market-MC7FUMDZ6IU5AIPP4WGIPN2PZJI4.html)
If you are running a creative-adjacent business in any artistic domain, this episode is for you.
Questions for Listeners:
* Do you have a ‘beachhead’ service?
* What is it, and how did you focus in on it?

Buy us a Coffee and Win a Book
Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide!
For Further Exploration:
MIT on The Beachhead Market:
https://executive.mit.edu/launching-a-successful-start-up-3-the-beachhead-market-MC7FUMDZ6IU5AIPP4WGIPN2PZJI4.html
Excellent book by Charlie Gilkey:
The Small Business Life Cycle: The No-Fluff Guide to Navigating the Five Stages of Small Business Growth
Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.

If you’re not already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse. No cost, no spam, unsubscribe any time.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

The Gifted Underachievers talk about how to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a creative worker’s art. Are there guard rails that will help you deliver a needed truth in a way that feels supportive while getting taken seriously by the artist?
What are the tenets of constructive critiquing? We share our experiences in workshop environments and MFA programs and share real-world examples of how to critique productively and how to receive and respond to critiques that land.
Questions for Listeners:
1. Have you ever had a critique that killed your soul, even if temporarily?
2. What’s the best critique you ever got?
3. Do you have principles for giving or receiving critiques?
For Further Exploration:

Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination!
Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide!
If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

If you were to write a tagline for your internal narrative as a creative, what would it be? Pat and James talk about how they view their internal creative narrative. Unsurprisingly, Pat is the underdog fighting forward. James is the outsider doing his best to find a way inside.
While these may be true self-assessments, what do they mean? How can we use our internal narratives to help our creative minds? Or are these narrative taglines more about staying motivated by always having something to push against.
Question for Listeners:
* What’s your narrative as a creative?
For Further Exploration:

Buy us a Coffee and Win a Guide to World Domination!
Here in the GU Clubhouse, we’ve gleaned and gathered incredible wisdom from our creative guests, whom we fondly call the Gifted Achievers. We’re putting this wisdom into a series of handy guides so listeners can study how to make a good living doing what you love. Click the coffee cup below and you’re on the list! The first 20 coffee angels will get a free guide!
If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com