The Intersection of Money & Art with A.J. Leon of Misfit [S01E25]

Process with Marcella Chamorro: Creativity | Mindset | Mental Health

This is episode #025 of Process. Thanks for tuning in!

Let's get to it...

In this episode

Listen on iTunes or below:

My guest today is A.J. Leon, founder of Misfit, which he describes as the "coolest company on this beautiful planet." About eight years ago, A.J. left his prestigious job in finance in New York City to explore his love for travel, Shakespeare, and changing the world. Shortly thereafter, he founded Misfit, which started off as a boutique digital agency but now is also a conference, an incubator, a publishing house, a foundation, and more.

I mention A.J. on so many past episodes of this podcast because his influence on the creatives I surround myself with is just palpable. I'm so pumped to share this interview with you because A.J.'s creative defiance is contagious—consider yourself warned!

During our conversation, we cover:

• How he juggles all the projects he's involved in with Misfit
• Finding the intersection of money and passion
• Why he chooses to lose money on certain projects—his subsidy business model
• Pricing his conference to attract the right kind of person
• Going from starving to traveling / changing the world
• Turning the mirror on the town of Fargo
• Why he wakes up before the sun rises, and the morning routine that drives his day
• Working with his wife

My favorite moment is when A.J. shares this:

"My blog is called The Pursuit of Everything, so I'm not willing to leave anything on the table. If I want to do something, I'll figure out how to do it ... if something is very important to me."

And I love this other quote so much, as well:

"You're going to have days where you feel everything has been taken from you, but do not relinquish the last inch."

Show notes

Here's everything we mention during the show:

- Connect with A.J: on his blog / on Twitter / on Instagram

- Misfit, which is an agency / incubator / conference / foundation / publishing house + more

- Photos of Misfit Con 2013

- Greg from Fargo who is Fargo's best ambassador

- Galo Naranjo talks about the benefits of movement on episode #022

- James Clear talks about the importance of habits on episode #12

Thanks for listening! And a huge thanks to A.J. for joining me on this episode #025 of Process.

If you enjoyed this episode and Process, I'd be so grateful if you could take a moment to hop on over to iTunes to leave an honest review! Just click the button below:

Review + Subscribe on iTunes →

Until next week!

xo,
Marcella