Writing Your Own Path & the Benefits of Following Creative Energy with Jay Clouse

Jay was on a path that many would, and do, aspire to. But then he discovered entrepreneurship. Risks and all, he knew it was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. For the last ten years, he’s been professionally exploring what it means to be a creator. He joins Gravity to continue that discussion.

We explore what it was that drew Jay away from what he was doing and towards the world of startups and business building. He saw a real spark of magic among his peers and getting to the root of that makes for fascinating conversation. 

That’s when he co-founded Tixers, a ticketing company that sought to simplify the process of reselling or exchanging event and gig tickets. They were acquired in 2015, and Jay moved straight into another startup – CrossChx, now worth over $4 billion.

It was working with a creative coach in 2017 that opened his eyes to his desire to create things. That’s when Jay left his job to become a full-time digital creator. It was then that he also started an online accelerator for other founders and creatives, just like him. 

The focus of our discussion is on how Jay has always been completely unafraid to change his direction and path in order to pursue magic and go after what excites him. Not only did he change his path once to join the world of startups, but he later completely changed industries, jumping from one to another and, in the process, having to learn a new business landscape from scratch.

Now, Jay’s main focuses are his podcast, Creative Elements (which has nearly 1 million downloads), and his newsletter. Jay has spent his career carving out the freedom to spend his time and creative energy on the projects of his choosing. His goal is now building a life of creative independence and that’s admirable. 

What Brett asks:

• [01:05] Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me about your childhood.
• [03:35] What interests did you have as a kid?
• [05:37] What pulled you towards sports?
• [10:26] How much of your life is geared around finding pleasure?
• [11:58] What happened when you went to college?
• [13:59] What did you see in the entrepreneurs you were around that made you interested in what they were doing?
• [19:56] What happened after you decided that you wanted to be a founder?
• [22:32] Tell me about your first startup.
• [27:44] Why did you choose your work instead of just trying to improve the situation you were in?
• [30:19] How scary of a leap was changing your path?
• [34:26] How were you able to teach yourself everything you needed to know to join a new industry?
• [40:14] Can an unknown compete with established influencers?
• [48:24] What else would you like to share with us?

Lessons for intentional living:

• Jay has put a lot of energy into breaking down what he calls “invisible hierarchies.” These are things we should watch for and do our best to ignore or override as well. In Jay’s case, the simple act of founding a company was driven, in part, so that he could put “founder” in his email signature and suddenly demand the attention of fellow business owners. But there are countless ways you could go about shaking up the invisible hierarchies out there.
• Jay’s willingness to change his path in order to pursue what’s important to him is a reminder that we should never become so attached to our comfort zones that it gets in the way of us following our passions and our true callings, creative or otherwise.

Resources:

• Jay’s website
• The Creative Elements podcast
• Jay on Twitter