Shows
HypermemoirSlowing down to explore deeper creativityA couple of months ago, I moved from California to Croatia. The change in scene offered me a chance to reevaluate creativity and how a slower approach to letting creative work unfold often produces better results.I share what I learned about the creative process and slow productivity in an episode that will be useful for you even if you don't choose to move halfway around the world.TakeawaysMoving to a new environment can provide a creative reboot and a shift in perspective.Slowing down and exploring can lead to deeper creativity and...2024-09-0114 min
Weird FinanceHow to Use the Law to Empower Your Creative BusinessStay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter. In this episode of Weird Finance, host Paco speaks with attorney Chris Valdheims about the essential role of legal matters in empowering creative businesses. They discuss creative industry legal battles, the importance of addressing legal issues proactively, and the increasing accessibility of legal services. Chris shares advice for business owners on trademarks, setting up an LLC or corporation, and having solid customer contracts. They also delve into personal experiences with financial management, the significance of saving and investing early, and the emerging trend of...2024-06-2548 minHypermemoirFoster careIn this episode, I discuss my foster care experience in the early 1980s when I lived with an Italian-American family in Somerville, Massachusetts.Aside from the searing terror and existential dread I felt as a six-year-old separated from his family, I had a great time with my foster family.Even if you have never experienced foster care or anything like that, this story touches on some universal experiences that will prove valuable.TakeawaysThe therapeutic value of sharing personal storiesThe impact of childhood experiences on adult lifeThe internal struggles faced in foster...2024-06-0216 minHypermemoirDetaching from outcomesGreat creative results come when we detach from the outcomes.It's tempting to force our creative work to achieve some end, and while there are moments when that might make sense, the best creative work comes when we release those ends and let our creativity go where it may.This episode discusses creating without holding too tightly to a prescribed outcome and how that can lead to greater impact and joy in the creative process.TakeawaysDetaching from outcomes allows for a more authentic and meaningful creative process.External validation and a...2024-05-2517 min
The Newfangled LawyerEpisode 36: Creative Lawyering with Chris ValdheimsAbout Chris:
Chris Valdheims is an entrepreneur, writer, podcaster, and lawyer dedicated to helping creative people turn things into reality. While he does a lot of this through his innovative law firm, Counsel for Creators, he also shares insight into the creative process on his podcast. Chris has long been an innovator in the legal field, and is well known for pioneering one of the first viable subscription/based law firms.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisvaldheims
https://counselforcreators.com2024-05-2043 min
Own Your Truth PodcastTransforming Challenges Into Creative FuelChris Valdheims is an entrepreneur, writer, podcaster, and lawyer who is dedicated to helping creatives bring their visions to life. As a client of Chris’s innovative law firm, Counsel for Creators, I didn’t just learn about how to protect my intellectual property or navigate contracts, I learned how to stop worrying about the legal unknown and make informed decisions about the future of my business. What’s really unique about Chris’s approach is that he doesn’t just understand creatives, he is a creative who is passionate about helping people who come from challe...2024-04-2545 minHypermemoirWhat I learned after a year of HypermemoirI share lessons learned after doing Hypermemoir for nearly a year. I hope this episode helps those struggling to get a creative project out into the world or who have taken steps but wonder what the point of all of it is.In the episode, I share how releasing over 30 podcast episodes has helped my creativity and created opportunities for deeper connections with others despite supposed imperfections.TakeawaysConsistency is key in any creative project. Show up consistently and put your work out into the world.Deep connections with a smaller audience c...2024-04-1431 min
Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee StoriesChris: Unraveling the Mystery of Family HistoryChris Valdheims is a domestic adoptee born in the late 1970s and adopted in the early 1980s after spending years of his early childhood in foster care. Growing up, he knew very little about his birth family other than his mother and father had met while she worked as a librarian at MIT. He also knew his father was Black, and his mother had immigrated to the United States from Latvia. He spent years searching for answers about his family of origin, and in 2009, he stumbled upon a complex story that involved his grandfather, a then-unknown geometric artist named...2024-04-0953 min
Financial Freedom Podcast with Dr. Christopher H. Loo, MD-PhD#781 - Creative Justice: Navigating the Legal Labyrinth with Chris Valdheims (Counsel for Creatives)In this enlightening episode, we sit down with Chris Valdheims, the trailblazing lawyer and founder of Counsel for Creators, who has dedicated his career to simplifying the legal maze for creative minds. Chris shares his expert insights on how understanding the law can be a game-changer for business owners, transforming potential legal hurdles into stepping stones for success. We delve into common misconceptions about legal services and discover the unique approach Chris takes to connect with and support the creative community. From discussing the foundational legal steps for new businesses to exploring the symbiotic relationship between creativity and legal...2024-04-0617 minHypermemoirLoneliness, grounding, creativity.Can loneliness provide fuel for your creativity?It can, and that’s what I discuss in this podcast episode. I share with you how I learned to convert my persistent loneliness into fuel for creative growth and expression.Along the way, we touch on learning to be grounded, how play supports that practice, and how it all ties into the idea of leaning into loneliness instead of resisting it so that we can be more creative.TakeawaysLoneliness is a universal emotion that many people experience to varying degrees.Instead of running fr...2024-04-0221 minHypermemoirGive art (another) chanceIn this episode, I discuss my feelings about uncovering some old art in a storage unit that I was clearing out. Uncovering this art became an emotional bombshell because, for a long time, I felt it represented artistic failure.In this episode, I talk about how I shifted that perspective and realized that old art is never abandoned but can take on a life of its own much later. I hope that what I learned helps you realize that the artwork and creativity you have locked away in a drawer or storage unit might have a...2024-03-1717 minHypermemoirSpace to playChris Valdheims shares his experience of getting back into DJing and how it reminded him of play's importance. He defines play as doing something without any goal - purely for enjoyment. Chris emphasizes the significance of play in developing one's creative voice and storytelling abilities. He discusses the challenges of losing sight of play and its impact on creativity. Chris also explores the role of play in calming the nervous system and communicating with the younger self. He encourages listeners to prioritize play and tap into pure creativity for a more fulfilling and...2024-02-2515 minHypermemoirYou're a sellout!We discuss the relationship between art, commerce, and self-promotion. We explore the importance of building and leveraging a platform for commercial viability, emphasizing the need for artists to prioritize art while managing the business side. We talk about the creative expression and enjoyment that can come from building a platform.TakeawaysBuilding a platform is crucial for artists to achieve commercial viability.Artists should embrace the role of a business owner and prioritize their art.Feedback and promotion are integral to the creative process.Artists should advocate for fair compensation and take...2024-02-1827 minHypermemoirBig things firstWe discuss the importance of prioritizing big goals and long-term creative projects over short-term tasks that seem to eat up the day. Chris shares his personal experience of how prioritizing his creative work has led to significant changes in his life. He encourages listeners to make time for their creative goals and not wait for someday.Chris also highlights the importance of consistency, overcoming fear and judgment, and staying connected to the vision.TakeawaysPrioritize your big goals and long-term creative projects.Make time for your creative work, and don't...2024-01-2818 min
The Low Energy Leads Show: For Creative Entrepreneurs Scaling UpHow they turned a law firm into a subscription business with Chris ValdheimsThinking about making your service a subscription?
Subscriptions are an exciting business model, but it’s still pretty new for service providers. Designers, copywriters—even lawyers are rethinking the idea of a retainer and creating memberships and communities instead.
This episode is an interview with Chris Valdheims, co-founder of Counsel for Creators, not your typical law firm. Counsel for Creators focuses entirely on creative businesses.
They’ve created a legal subscription service that makes their work super accessible to even creatives just starting out. They pair that with packaged services like trademarks and busine...2024-01-2435 minHypermemoirThe weird arc of historyChris contrasts his currently comfortable existence with the contents of his grandfather's journals from the refugee camp after World War II. He explores the weirdness of history and the differences between generations. Chris discusses the importance of understanding history to gain perspective on the future. He shares his connection to his family's refugee history and the theme of displacement and lack. Chris emphasizes the power of storytelling and the need to honor and learn from our ancestors.TakeawaysHistory can provide perspective on our own lives and the future.Understanding our family's...2024-01-2118 minHypermemoirWriting about your lifeWriting about your life has incredible power. In this episode, Chris Valdheims shares his experiences of writing a memoir. He describes the process of collecting material, shaping it, and receiving feedback.Writing about your life means taking ownership of one's story and finding meaning in what feels like confusing and disconnecting events.Finally, we talk about how writing about your life helps anyone to find common ground, especially with people who don't share our life experiences.TakeawaysWriting about one's life can be valuable for personal growth and self-knowledge.Memoir writing involves...2024-01-1429 minHypermemoirPushing against the voidWe explore the concept of the void, a place where information and insight are missing or lost. I share my personal experience of encountering the void while researching his family history and discuss how to move from a situation of not knowing to making sense of things. This episode offers strategies for coping with the loss of information, such as accepting it as a reality of the human experience and remembering and cherishing what we can. The episode also explores the use of imagination to fill in gaps and emphasizes the importance of te...2024-01-0718 minHypermemoirCreative iterationIn this episode, Chris Valdheims discusses the process of creative iteration and how it applies to his podcast. He shares his experience of starting the podcast and writing a book and how he had to adjust along the way. Chris emphasizes the importance of feedback and how it can help refine and improve creative projects. He also talks about the need for patience and the evolution of his podcast's concept. Chris explores the concept of hypermemoir and how it is an ongoing iterative process. TakeawaysCreative projects often undergo a...2023-12-1717 minHypermemoirWho is Zanis Waldheims?In this episode, Chris Valdheims shares the story of his grandfather, Zanis Waldheims, a geometric abstract artist he only learned about in 2009. Chris explains how he discovered his grandfather's artwork and its impact on his life. He also discusses his search for family history and his connection with Yves, a friend of his grandfather who preserved his legacy. Chris delves into his grandfather's philosophy and the recognition his artwork has received in recent years. TakeawaysDiscovering family history can be a transformative experience and provide valuable insights into one's identity.Preserving and...2023-12-1121 minHypermemoirThe essential creatorThe essential role of a human is to create; that’s how I look at it, at least. While you might disagree with that statement, it’s hard to deny that creating something new offers a sense of fulfillment that few other things can.Everyone should step into the creator role, but internal and external constraints often conspire against that.In this episode, I discuss finding yourself as a creator despite the countervailing forces that life throws at us.---Join the mailing list or follow me on Instagram to receive more...2023-11-1823 minHypermemoirRebuilding my family treeI had a weird hang-up about family trees.In this episode, I discuss how, as an adult, I rebuilt my family tree. This came after growing up confused as I wondered whether my adoptive family’s family tree was mine or whether I could still use my birth family’s.Rebuilding my family tree meant reconnecting with my ancestors and developing a sense of place again.---Join the mailing list or follow me on Instagram to receive more insights and resources related to this podcast: https://hypermemoir.beehiiv.com/subs...2023-11-1115 min