How To Embrace Change With Evan La Ruffa (358)

Life Skills That Matter | Create Work That Works For You

We're welcoming back Evan La Ruffa, he shares how to embrace change in times of great chaos like we are living through.

He was on our show a few years ago back in episode 114. From time to time we like to bring guests back so you can see how they and their business have evolved.

He's a creative entrepreneur and founder of IPaintMyMind.org, a nonprofit focused on arts education, making art more accessible and promoting local artists in Chicago. His mission is to get art and give back.

Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:

1. How the pandemic created new opportunities for his nonprofit.
2. Be willing to test anything you are unsure about.
3. Why he doesn't want to commit to just one service.
4. Why gets his team to think of projects like campaigns instead.
5. How he prioritizes his limited resources.
6. Mindsets for how to embrace change.

Life Skills That Matter In This Episode

• Build community.
• Self-directed learning.
• Tell your story.

How Evan Works and Thinks

• Wake up time: Usually, around 6:30 am
• Core work activities + habits: Focusing on high touch, relationship aspects of the business.
• Ideal work environment: In 2020, at the bar dividing his kitchen and living room, but in general a combination of music, coffee, good audio setup, and as much natural light as possible.
• Regains focus by: Doing something creative or silly.

Inspirational Quotes

“Everything that we do is all around this ‘get art, give back’ kind of model.”

“What’s rising to the top in our culture right now is actually caring about the work that you do and enjoying how you spend your time.”

“I just love learning so much that as soon as I don’t understand something, I go try to figure it out.”

“When in doubt, ask how you can help.”

“There’s just this ‘chain yourself to the desk’ mentality and we really need to, every single one of us, rebel against that.”

Coaching Advice

Thinking about starting your business? Evan shared these recommendations for why you should slow down more:

1) Making a ton of money isn’t that enjoyable if you’re working so much that you’re miserable.

2) As you’re starting out, think about how you want this business to exist in your life.

3) Take the time and space to think about what you want your life to look like in general.

Resources + Bonus Materials

When by Daniel Pink

Run Like Clockwork

LSTM 30-Day Accelerator

Related Episodes

Own Your Fate By Owning Your Story With Yasmine Dabbous (311)

Building A Nonprofit To Promote Artists With Evan La Ruffa (114)

Connect With Evan

Website

IPaintMyMind

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

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The post How To Embrace Change With Evan La Ruffa (358) appeared first on Life Skills That Matter.