The Best You - A Coaching Podcast: Personal Growth Through Real Conversations · Gary Gillan

The Art of Perseverance with Steve Peace

·47 min·3 clips

It's more stubbornness than perseverance. You know what I mean?

Gary opens with a familiar warmth, introducing Steve Peace as a friend, entrepreneur, and his own personal tattoo artist. Steve owns Immaculate Concept Tattoo in Calgary and has been in business since 1996, which gives the conversation a long horizon from the start. Since 2004, he has also run the Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival, an annual expo where international artists show their talents, share ideas, and connect with one another. Gary notes that there is also a version that runs in Edmonton and Alberta too. Steve also created Tattoo Day, an app meant to help artists across the globe connect and be part of a thriving artistic community. More recently, he has moved into online health courses for artists so that health practices can stay at the highest possible standard. Gary and Steve talk with the ease of people who have shared a lot of history, and that gives the discussion a relaxed, honest tone. Gary keeps coming back to the idea that Steve has never seemed motivated by money first. Steve agrees. He says the point has always been to make something better and create an experience that matters. They talk about the way so many parts of life improve over time in small, steady increments. Gary uses that idea to frame the broader lesson of the conversation. Steve leans into it by describing constant, never-ending improvement as a real way of working. He brings up the idea that one percent better each day adds up over a year. That becomes a backbone for the rest of the exchange. The two of them also talk about tattooing itself as a craft that can always be refined. A good tattoo is not the end of the story. It is a baseline for what might be done even better next time. The conversation moves into the practical side of running events and building systems that serve artists. Steve is comfortable with the idea that a strong industry grows by design, not by accident. Gary reflects that Steve has always been someone who sees what the industry needs and then helps build it. Even the details around trophies and contest awards become part of that story of gradual improvement. The festival prizes evolved from glass trophies to plaques and then to skateboards, which fits the same instinct to keep things fresh and meaningful. Gary and Steve also circle back to the opening of the shop and the timing of big decisions. They acknowledge that some choices happen before everything is perfect, but still at the right moment for what the business needs. The talk stays steady rather than flashy. It favors lived experience over polished advice. By the end, the episode settles on a simple but strong idea: perseverance is not just staying put, but continuing to raise the standard while you stay.

As heard by us

A practical business conversation about perseverance, craft, and steady improvement.

Steve Peace's story reads as a straightforward case for perseverance in business: Immaculate Concept Tattoo in Calgary has run since 1996, the Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival has been part of the mix since 2004, and Tattoo Day fits the same steady line of work.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a grounded story about sticking with creative work long enough to see it mature, this is for you.

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