The Creative Life — with Jim Kroft

Welcome to "The Jim Kroft Podcast," where we embark on a captivating journey exploring the intriguing intersection between entrepreneurship and creativity.

In this week's episode, I'm thrilled to welcome "ell cartoons." Lauren's exceptional cartoons have garnered a following of 600K on YouTube, achieved through her independent artistry and determination to stay true to herself.

In an interview filled with riotous laughter and profound honesty, Lauren takes us along her creative odyssey, sharing the soaring heights and challenging pitfalls of YouTube, while offering invaluable insights into what it means to be an artist in the digital age.

It is a story which includes vertiginous success, mental health battles and the courage to bounce back from adversity. In it, we explore:
  • how to build your audience
  • learning to trust yourself
  • sanity and fame
  • overcoming writer's block
  • staying true to yourself
  • following what sets your soul on fire
It’s with huge pleasure and excitement that I introduce to you ell cartoons, with all her fire, zaniness and go-getter attitude. 
Are you ready? Then let's dive in!

- Jim

ELL CARTOONS:
https://www.youtube.com/ @eLLcartoons  
INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/ell_cartoons/

JIM KROFT LINKS
INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/jimkroft/
SUBSTACK
https://jimkroft.substack.com/
TWITTER
https://twitter.com/jimkroft
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What is The Creative Life — with Jim Kroft?

🎙️ The Creative Life — with Jim Kroft

This podcast is for creatives who’ve chosen the long road.

Each week, I take one aspect of the creative life — a breakthrough, a challenge, or a tool that’s helping me — and share what I’m learning from the inside.

I started the show because I couldn’t find what I needed: a companion for the real challenges of making art while building a life around it.

The podcast swings between the psychological traps we face and the practical tools that keep me going. It moves between mindset and method — but always comes back to how we keep showing up.

I’m Jim, your host. I’ve lived a long life in the arts — full of meteoric highs and humbling lows.
Here are a few stops from the journey:

🎸 Released 7 records — from major labels to van tours
🎥 Filmed 6 feature docs, screened at 200+ festivals
🧠 Built a creative business in Berlin since 2013
✍️ Top 1% on Substack for weekly consistency
📈 Raised nearly €100K for refugee & Ukraine war efforts
🎧 The Creative Life has hit the Apple Podcast charts

Thanks for being here,
Jim

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