Episode 053 - Jeff Leisawitz

In today's episode, I welcome Jeff Leisawitz! He is a life coach for creatives, author, and an award-winning musician/music producer and filmmaker. His episode is full of advice for aspiring artists as he shares his journey from summer camp and learning to play the drums, to now helping other creatives live their dreams. (Fun fact: the cover image of this week's episode is of Jeff himself!) 

 

Get in touch with Jeff Leisawitz: www.jeffleisawitz.com

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Episode 53 - Jeff Leisawitz

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:06] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:12]Roman:  All I can do is put my part in to the world.

[00:00:15] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:23] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experiences as so beautiful. 

[00:00:31] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host Lindsey and I am so excited to have as my guest today, Jeff Leisawitz. He is a life coach for creative types. And did I get it right again?

[00:00:46] Jeff Leisawitz: Totally got it right!

[00:00:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes! Day made. But I'm so excited to chat with you today, Jeff. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:00:55] Jeff Leisawitz: Of course happy to be here. Thank you.

[00:00:57] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And I'd love if you wouldn't mind sharing just a little bit about your background,  how you've just sort of developed obviously into this really cool life coaching career and just more about you.

[00:01:11] Jeff Leisawitz: Sure. Well, I have always been the creative type. When I was a little kid, I was what you might call the weird friendless kid. I don't know if you, or, you know, any of your listeners there can relate to that, but it seems to be going around. So, you know, I was kind of always locked in, maybe not locked in my imagination, but you know, had a magical world, basically. And when I was about maybe seven or eight, I went to summer camp and it was a sleepover camp. And this was like the late seventies. And there was an extra cabin where a counselor brought up his drum kit and every night after dinner, he would play the drums. And I would sit outside, you know, maybe 30 or 40 feet under a tree, fireflies are coming out, you know, and just listening to this.

[00:02:01] And this was, you know, this was when classic rock was really starting. You know, this was Springsteen and Genesis and you know, Bowie, and The Stones and all that great stuff. So anyway, one day he invited me into this little cabin to listen to him play the drums, and it completely blew my mind. So I, you know, a few years later declared to my parents that I was going to be a rock star. When you're in high school, it's like, what do you want to be when you grow up? Oh, rockstar, you know, of course.

[00:02:28] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course.

[00:02:29] Jeff Leisawitz: So, yeah, of course. So you know, I've done tons of music and writing and filming, you know, filmmaker, I wrote a book, all this kind of stuff, as well as being around these things. I was a music journalist for many years, but I've always been into helping people and optimizing the human experience, you know, like how can we have a better life? How can we not only achieve more, but just have a richer experience of life. So I practiced, I trained and practice something called NLP, stands for neuro-linguistic repatterning. I practiced that for many years, and then I got into coaching for creatives. So, you know, I work with artists and illustrators and songwriters and screenwriters and authors and really just all kinds of people. And it's, it's fantastic to help people find their truth, help them be more authentically creative, and for the ones who choose to be more successful you know, business-wise with this stuff. So that's like the super brief bio right there.

[00:03:39] Lindsey Dinneen: I love it. Perfect. Well, and yes, I think super brief bio is a good description because there were so many times I wanted to be like, wait, you did what? So this is cool. So, okay. So you mentioned being a filmmaker, can you share more about that experience? That's a pretty unique undertaking.

[00:03:57] Jeff Leisawitz: Sure. Well, I've always been a writer. I've always loved movies. So I wrote, I, you know, I took all these classes. I was mentored by the top professor at UCLA, which is a very big deal and you know, writing all these screenplays running around Hollywood. And what you basically try to do is get a producer to buy your screenplay, and then they put the money behind it and they get the crew and the stars and all that and make the movie. Well, I did that for years and I would get all these bites on my stuff, but not a sale, no sales. So I was like, you know what, "Screw this." I, I tend to default to the punk rock attitude. Okay. I have to step back for a second. So one of the tenants of punk rock is D I Y. Do it yourself. And that has always served me well, as it served you, what really any, every creative person. So, you know, with this DIY attitude, I was like, "Well, if you guys don't want to, you know, buy my script and do it, well, I'll write a short film and do it myself."

[00:05:04] So I wrote the short film, it's called "Mystic Coffee," and I figured, "Well, I've got a thousand dollars. That ought to cover it. I mean, that's a lot of money, right?" Well, at the end of the day, this 12 minute film was $11,000 to create like, "Ooh, wow." You know, however it turned out great. It was a great experience, all this and that. So then what you do in general is put the word out to film festivals. And if you win film festivals, that's kind of like a big feather in your cap, and you're more likely to get hired or sell your screenplays and stuff like that. So I put it out to all these film festivals and I didn't get anywhere. I, I just didn't win anything. I'm just like, "Geez, wow. Maybe I'm not as good at this as I thought." And then I got this call from like straight out of the blue, and it was this woman who worked for a streaming video service like Netflix, it's called gaia.com, and she's like, "A friend of mine at a film festival showed me your movie.  We want to license this for international distribution and pay you for it." I'm like, "Oh my God!" I basically skipped the film festival. Essentially, I leap-frogged over it to the goal. It was sort of like the next goal. So that thing has been streamed at least tens of thousands of times all over the world and, you know, getting royalties on that. So how cool is that? Right? You just do it, you just do your thing.

[00:06:35] Lindsey Dinneen: That's amazing! Congratulations. How exciting. Oh my gosh. I love stories like that.

[00:06:41]Jeff Leisawitz: Yes. And you never know, you sorta never know when, when and where the success will be, because like I said, you know, after submitting it to all these film festivals, I was like, "Wow, maybe this thing stinks, but clearly it did not because you know, a real company picks it up and, you know, licensed it."

[00:07:02] Lindsey Dinneen: That's, that's a huge deal. And I think you're absolutely right. You kind of touched on it just briefly, but I've always had this personal philosophy of "do all the things," which is a little extreme, but in the sense of like, you know, when an opportunity comes knocking, you never know where it will lead. And so if it's, if it's in line with who you are and what you're trying to do, just go for it. Just try it because again, you just don't know, and magic can happen that way. And you know, one introduction can lead to the next can lead to the next, which is just feels miraculous. It's like the whole concept of overnight success, which is not a thing, but you know, eventually pieces fall in place.

[00:07:45] Jeff Leisawitz: They do. And that's actually a chapter in my book, which I call "Yes And." "Say Yes And," which means, you know, invite those possibilities towards you. And then the end is let's add value. You know, what can we do to take this opportunity or this new relationship or whatever and up, up level it, make it better, make it cooler, make it more interesting. Make it more creative.

[00:08:09]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, sounds like our philosophies are very in line, so there you go. There you go. Okay. That's really awesome. Congrats on that. And definitely I'm super excited to check it out. I'll, you know, I'm highly going to  encourage anyone listening to this to obviously go check it out as well, too. So that's, that's fantastic. And then you wrote a book. That's a pretty big deal. How was that process? Was that like, obviously you've already had writing experience of course, but was it a different kind of different animal or how did that whole thing work out?

[00:08:45] Jeff Leisawitz: Well, I you know, I live in Seattle, so it is often a thing for me to go to the, one of the many, many independent coffee shops in our town and guzzle coffee on the weekend and do some writing, and I'll write poems or just free-write or, you know, just like really anything, screenplays, whatever. And one day I just kind of read this essay or something and I was done and I was like, "Geez, this would kind of be, it's kind of like a good start for a book." So I really didn't think about it. I just wrote the book. And from there, it's kind of taken off, lots of positive feedback and it's out there helping people all over the world. So, yeah, I didn't try to do it. I just kind of did it.

[00:09:34] Lindsey Dinneen: Sure. And what is the book about? Is it sort of life philosophies and, and, well, I'm just curious.

[00:09:42] Jeff Leisawitz: The book is called "Not Effing Around: the No BS Guide for Getting your Creative Dreams off the Ground." So it is, you know, sort of manual or manifesto or something to help people, you know, do the things that they love. I've spent decades essentially banging my head against the wall to get to the, you know, to the successes that I've had. In the meantime, I've had way more failures, and this book is really about helping people avoid as much of the pain and move closer to their dreams without that. So, you know, it's kind of like a short guide. It's like the, it's basically the book that I wish I read when I was 20.

[00:10:28] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Nice. Well, thank you for writing that for everyone else so they can have that kind of guide.

[00:10:36] Jeff Leisawitz: Yeah, absolutely. And I, I'm happy to give a free, free eBooks to people on my website so they can just check that out.

[00:10:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, okay. Yes, definitely.

[00:10:47] Jeff Leisawitz: You can buy it on Amazon too if you want. You can get it free as an e-book if you like.

[00:10:52] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Brilliant. All right. And now you're also doing life coaching and it's specifically for creators or people with a creative bent. Is that correct?

[00:11:04] Jeff Leisawitz: That is correct. It is, you know, like I said, artists and musicians and screenwriters and people like that, but it's also, I also work with a lot of what I call heart-centered solopreneurs, right? These are people who want to do some kind of business or side hustle, but  it's more than just the money, right? They, they want to create a world and create some income, but it's not just about selling some widgets, that kind of thing.

[00:11:33]Lindsey Dinneen: For sure. And so you're encouraging... well... I'm extrapolating... Is part of what you're doing to help, especially creative types, understand the essential business fundamentals, if they want to be successful. Like as kind of helping them have an entrepreneurial mindset or what all do you do to help?

[00:11:57] Jeff Leisawitz: Yes, that is exactly right. There are, as you know, zillions of creatives out there who would love to be making money from their art or whatever it is that they do. However many people just-- almost because they have such a creative mind-- they sort of lack the basic elements of what, how business works, how, you know, internet and social media marketing, finding a demographic, like all these kinds of things. So I fortunately, you know, I've got the creative side of me, but I also am the son of a, you know, my mom had her own business in the eighties as you know at home business as a woman. It was kind of amazing. So I, I got a lot of this, you know, this entrepreneurial spirit. And her parents owned a shop in Pennsylvania, you know, way back in the fifties and forties and stuff like that. So I've kind of got both sides of that set. Of course I've studied both sides of this extensively, so yeah, I can help people get their creativity monetized, essentially.

[00:13:09]Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Yes, we, we need more of that. And from people who also understand the creative mindset, I would say, because it is a little bit, you know, different coming into the business world, if you have more of a creative bent. So it's, it's great that that's what, who you cater to specifically and help them, you know, actually make a living that will support their dreams and goals. So, yeah, that's fantastic.

[00:13:38] Jeff Leisawitz: Right, because it can be done. Plenty of people do it, many more people do not do it. And that is, you know, there's a level of talent obviously that you need to have or develop and then it's business. Just like any other business.

[00:13:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, for sure. Okay. So I know that you are also a musician and a photographer, I believe as well. Do you want to share a little bit about those opportunities that you've had?

[00:14:05]Jeff Leisawitz: Sure. I mean, I've been making music since I was, you know, like I told you that story there as a little kid, and then at about maybe 14, I got my first guitar and I would just write songs in the basement, hundreds of songs and you know, moved to Los Angeles to look for opportunities in the music biz, eventually moved up to Seattle and that's where I got into computer recording very early. Way, way before, you know, everybody does this now, but back in '98 or '99, it was very difficult and very expensive, but I got into it, and I started pushing my music towards film and TV and had quite a bit of success with that. Thousands of placements, background, you know, music on film and TV, which all generates royalties and stuff like that. I made an album which was electronic versions of U2 songs. I've been a U2 fan my whole life. So I got a bunch of female singers and did that, and that thing's had over a million plays on the streaming services. So that's cool. And I also won a big award, Best Independent Electronic Artist in the World in 2000. So that...

[00:15:24] Lindsey Dinneen: Woah! That's a huge deal. Congratulations.

[00:15:27] Jeff Leisawitz: It's a huge deal. I don't know if I buy it, but you know, it was pretty good.

[00:15:31]Lindsey Dinneen: Right.

[00:15:33] Jeff Leisawitz: Yeah. So I've worked with tons of musicians and now I actually teach songwriting and recording at a college up here near Seattle. So I've been in music really, you know, since I've been a kid.

[00:15:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Oh my goodness. How cool! You have gotten some of the most interesting, coolest opportunities, and obviously you've worked so hard for them. It's not like they just got handed to you or anything like that, but that is super cool.

[00:15:58]Jeff Leisawitz:  And that is for sure. You know, and, and seriously talking about opportunities. You know, most opportunities in this world are the ones that we make, right? I mean, out of, out of the hundred or a thousand things or something that has advanced my career or whatever, I am sure that 95% of them I have created in some way. It almost never happens that somebody bangs on my door and says, "You know, here's, here's the thing. And here's money. Go."

[00:16:31]Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, I do. Yes. I am in complete agreement with you on that of make your own opportunities is really important. Open your own doors.  Yes, absolutely. So I'm curious...  I know that, you know, art has been a part of your life for almost all of it, if not the whole thing. Are there any moments that kind of stand out as experiences either with maybe somebody reacting to your art or you reacting to someone else's art that was just kind of like a moment to remember this because it stands out?

[00:17:06]Jeff Leisawitz: Sure. Well, I mean the first one was definitely, you know, at the summer camp. Fast forward like probably 10 or 12 years or something, I played an open mic night at a local bar when I was in college, and my parents came out to see this and we're playing and, oh man, we, we were really freaking good that night. And I look out, you know, from the stage or from the bar, and I see my mom dancing on a table and I'm like, I'm like, "Oh my God, like, I'm done. You know, like I've completed my mission on earth kind of thing." So that was, you know, that was pretty cool. That was a big moment.

[00:17:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, for sure. Oh my goodness. Yes, you have, you have made it when... Oh, that's fantastic. Cool.  I'm sure that there are lots of us listening who would want to definitely get in contact with you. Is there a way for us to do that?  I know you mentioned your movie, but what other ways can we sort of get in touch with you and support your work?

[00:18:20] Jeff Leisawitz: Yeah, your best bet is to just find my website, jeffleisawitz.com. And from there, I've got a ton of blog posts, links, all kinds of stuff. Like I said, you can download my book, if you like. And also I do complimentary 15 minute coaching sessions with people. So if you think it might be something good for you and you just want to check it out and see how I can help you, I would love to meet you. So you just go in there and find the coaching page. And click click and we'll see you on Zoom before you know it.

[00:18:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Well, so now I'm curious, obviously you've had such a tremendous background and, and have worked in so many different art forms. And I would say I'm sure coaching is also an art form and a science, but I'm just curious: what advice would you have for somebody who is interested in trying to support themselves and be an artist full-time but maybe is hesitant to take that leap. So maybe somebody kind of starting out, what, what would you say to encourage somebody in that situation?

[00:19:27]Jeff Leisawitz: Well, one thing is commit, right? And that doesn't mean commit every minute of your life, you know, but it means commit to what is comfortable for you. If you've got a full-time job and you need that, you know, as most people do, commit to doing one hour in the evening, three nights a week to work on your art, and three hours on the weekend, or, you know, whatever, you know, it feels right to you, but commit to it and then do it. And you'll start to see amazing progress. Another piece is learn the business. If you're trying to make this into a business and not just a fun thing to do, you need to understand how your industry works. And the more you understand that, the more chance you have of making money really.

[00:20:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

[00:20:17] Jeff Leisawitz: There's always a lot to learn.

[00:20:18] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, so true. I don't think we ever stop learning. Or, I hope not anyway. Awesome. Well, I, I love to ask my guests the same three questions if you're okay with me doing that with you too.

[00:20:32] Jeff Leisawitz: Yeah, let's do it.

[00:20:34]Lindsey Dinneen:  All right. Awesome. So, first of all, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:20:41]Jeff Leisawitz: Art is anything that a human creates with the intention of expression.

[00:20:49]Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Perfect. Concise. And I like it. All right. And then what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:21:00]Jeff Leisawitz: To authentically create. I mean, that's it. So you create with the truth of their experience, whatever that is. It's not about building skills, although that's great if you do, right? I mean, you look at it again and in music, punk rock, you know, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols and, you know, bands like that, vape sucked as musicians, but you could feel it, right? They were putting their heart and truth into the music and that's why it resonated so much.

[00:21:34] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Perfect. And then finally, and I'll define my terms a little bit in this question, but do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive? And inclusive referring to an artist who puts their work out into the world and provide some context behind that whether it's the inspiration behind it, or program notes or title or something just to kind of help understand where the artist was coming from. Versus exclusive referring to an artist who puts the work out there and doesn't provide context, so he or she leaves it solely up to the viewer to interpret it the way they will.

[00:22:13]Jeff Leisawitz: It's up to the artist. You know, I can't, I wouldn't comment on that. It's like, whatever you, whatever you feel is right for what you're doing is right.

[00:22:22] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, sure. But as a participant, what do you personally prefer? Or do you like a little bit of both?

[00:22:30]Jeff Leisawitz:  Well, I mean, as far as visual art goes, in my opinion, if the art doesn't affect you by looking at it, if it's visual art, it has not done its job, right? It's trying to connect through that medium. So yeah, in that sense, I would go with that. And I would say if you have some kind of notes or artist's statement or whatever on the side, fantastic. It backs it up and it enriches it and can deepen the experience. So once again, both.

[00:23:05] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Cool. Well, all right, so I'm just interested to know, are there certain things that you're working towards now or are you going to be, I mean, in theory, are you going to be writing more or producing more music or what's kind of future Jeff's plans.

[00:23:26] Jeff Leisawitz: Right. Well, Lord knows, but  I recently just finished-- believe it or not-- a, a screenplay about summer camp. So I am currently running around, but phone calling and emailing producers and things like that. So I'm working on screenplays, but I'm also working on music. I'm doing a bunch of guided meditations. And as soon as the freaking COVID is over, I'm going to bust out my camera and take about 10 million pictures.

[00:23:52] Lindsey Dinneen: That sounds perfect. That sounds so good. I cannot wait. Yeah. And travel and all those good things that we're missing, but, well, that sounds fantastic. Congrats on the new screenplay and everything. I'll, I'm sure we'll look forward to getting to see that produced too. And yeah, so I would definitely encourage any of our listeners who are interested in checking out Jeff's work, obviously a very accomplished artist and life coach. And if you are in the position of feeling like the next level for you is getting some personalized coaching, I can just tell from even just a brief conversation, that Jeff is definitely your guy. So I would highly recommend even just starting with that 15 minute call and kind of seeing where that takes you. Because obviously Jeff has a lot of wisdom to share, so yeah.

[00:24:49]Jeff Leisawitz: Thank you. And yeah, I love talking to people, so bring it on.

[00:24:52] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Well, Jeff, thank you so very much for being here today. Thank you so much for sharing your stories. And I loved everything from the summer camp. I love that that's what your next endeavor is about. I think that's fantastic. And I just really appreciate all the wisdom, little nuggets you shared along the way. And, so, thank you. Thank you for contributing art to the world. Thank you for what you're doing for creatives and really helping and making a difference. So I, I value that and, and thank you for that.

[00:25:24] Jeff Leisawitz: Thank you. And thanks for having me on your show.

[00:25:26] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. And thank you also to everyone who's listened to this episode, and if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I would love if you would share this with a friend or two and we will catch you next time.

[00:25:41] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.