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The Accidental Creative
Podcast Favorites: The Answer To How Is Yes (with Peter Block, from 2008)
Podcast Favorites: The Answer To How Is Yes (with Peter Block, from 2008)

Podcast Favorites: The Answer To How Is Yes (with Peter Block, from 2008)

Over the course of this summer I'm going to share a few legacy episodes of The Accidental Creative podcast. These are some of my favorite conversastions of the past 12 years. Today's episode features a 2008 sit-down conversation I had with Peter Block. 

Peter Block is a man who wears many hats. He is an internationally coveted speaker, a consultant to the biggest corporations in the world, and a best-selling author. Lately he’s also been making a name for himself as a citizen by facilitating conversations within communities. In this interview, Peter discusses uncovering and acting on what matters.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: In Defense of the Steve Harvey Memo (and Boundaries)
Podcast: In Defense of the Steve Harvey Memo (and Boundaries)

Podcast: In Defense of the Steve Harvey Memo (and Boundaries)

About a month ago, a memo from comedian and TV host Steve Harvey made the rounds and earned him a lot of criticism. It was directed at his team, and instructed them not to approach him in public spaces, not to interrupt him when he's in the makeup chair, and not to barge into his dressing room to ask him something. People decried the memo saying it was an indication of Harvey's inflated ego, but I disagree. Yes, he could have handled it differently (and he admitted so himself), but in principle, what he did was healthy. He set clear boundaries to protect his ability to do his job.

On today's episode, I discuss three areas where you also need to set healthy boundaries if you want to be effective as a creative pro. 

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: 3 Ways Leaders Unknowingly Limit Creativity
Podcast: 3 Ways Leaders Unknowingly Limit Creativity

Podcast: 3 Ways Leaders Unknowingly Limit Creativity

There are many things a good leader does to help their team gain focus, stay motivated, and produce great work. However, there are also some very common mistakes that many leaders make that they don’t even know are killing their team’s ability to engage with their work. This is especially true when doing creative work, because it requires tremendous trust and an ability to take risks that could be costly to correct later.

The better you are at setting good rails for your team, the more they will feel freedom to bring their best ideas and work to the table.

Today I discuss a few ways that leaders unknowingly squelch their team’s creativity, and to do about it.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Turn Everyday Hunches Into Brilliant Work (with Bernadette Jiwa)
Podcast: Turn Everyday Hunches Into Brilliant Work (with Bernadette Jiwa)

Podcast: Turn Everyday Hunches Into Brilliant Work (with Bernadette Jiwa)

Where do great ideas come from? For many creative pros great ideas are simply sourced in everyday experience. However, in order to turn those seemingly commonplace observations into brilliant work, you need to know what you're looking for. Today's guest Bernadette Jiwa has just released a book called Hunch that's all about how to leverage your curiosity and empathy to mine your environment for idea gold.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Real Artists Don’t Starve (with Jeff Goins)
Podcast: Real Artists Don’t Starve (with Jeff Goins)

Podcast: Real Artists Don’t Starve (with Jeff Goins)

We've all heard the myth of the starving artist. Everyone knows that artists have to suffer for their art, live in squalid conditions, and experience great pain in order to produce brilliant work. Except, according to today's guest, that's not really the case. Jeff Goins has just written a new book called Real Artists Don't Starve, and on today's show he shares some of the differences between starving artists and thriving artists, and how you can make enough money from your art to sustain it.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: 5 Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way (And Do Your Work)
Podcast: 5 Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way (And Do Your Work)

Podcast: 5 Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way (And Do Your Work)

No matter how experienced you are or how much great work you’ve produced in your career, there inevitably comes a time when you’ll find yourself “stuck”. This usually has less to do with a lack of ability to do the work and more to do with some kind of psychological or habitual barrier that is preventing you from diving into the heart of the work in front of you. I’ve encountered many of these in my day, both personally and with those I’ve worked with. Here are a few questions to help identify productivity-zapping roadblocks.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The Story You Believe (with Tom Asacker)
Podcast: The Story You Believe (with Tom Asacker)

Podcast: The Story You Believe (with Tom Asacker)

The story that you believe can either free you or imprison you. On today's episode, Tom Asacker shares what he's learned about how these narratives can prevent you from doing your best work, collaborating with others, and leading at your full potential. Tom has worked with some of the largest companies in the world, helping them unlock how belief drives action, and helping them overcome barriers that are impeding their growth. His latest book is called I Am Keats.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: When It’s Never Good Enough
Podcast: When It’s Never Good Enough

Podcast: When It’s Never Good Enough

Ever feel like you can't possibly please a boss or client? Or, are you ratcheting up the expectations for yourself (or your team) in a way that makes it impossible for you to be satisfied with an outcome? You might be experiencing something called expectation escalation. However, it's not always the boss or client that's to blame. We often do this to ourselves. On today's episode, I share how to mind your baseline.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Uncertainty, Systems, and Action (with Seth Godin)
Podcast: Uncertainty, Systems, and Action (with Seth Godin)

Podcast: Uncertainty, Systems, and Action (with Seth Godin)

It's such a joy to have Seth Godin back on the podcast. In this conversation, Seth shares insights about the nature of doing creative work in the face of uncertainty, and how to succeed with the smallest possible market instead of aiming for big.

He also shared a bit about his altMBA program, an intensive, 4-week online workshop for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: How To Be Everything (with Emilie Wapnick)
Podcast: How To Be Everything (with Emilie Wapnick)

Podcast: How To Be Everything (with Emilie Wapnick)

Ever feel like you have too many interests and curiosities to choose just one? For some people, this attribute makes them feel a little out of place in a world of specialists. However, today's guest says there's nothing wrong with you, and that in fact, you might just be a multipotentialite. Emilie Wapnick will tell you what that means with insights from her new book How To Be Everything.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The Two Places That Creative Pros Get Stuck (And What To Do About It)
Podcast: The Two Places That Creative Pros Get Stuck (And What To Do About It)

Podcast: The Two Places That Creative Pros Get Stuck (And What To Do About It)

Your career is going really well, and you're knocking it out of the park with your projects. Then suddenly, one day you realize that your work just isn't quite giving you the same spark or gratification that it once did. Everyone around you is happy with what you're producing, but deep inside you know that you're kind of phoning it in. Why does this happen to even the best and brightest people in the workplace? On today's episode I share the two places where creative pros get stuck, and what you can do about it.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The Value Of Strategic Slacking (Or, Why You Should Be Lazy Sometimes)
Podcast: The Value Of Strategic Slacking (Or, Why You Should Be Lazy Sometimes)

Podcast: The Value Of Strategic Slacking (Or, Why You Should Be Lazy Sometimes)

Yes, hustle is important. However, it's possible to hustle so much that you become decreasingly effective. In today's episode, I share the value of strategic slacking and how to use the "breakout principle" to have breakthroughs and generate better ideas for your work and life.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The 3 Letter Word That’s Robbing You Of Great Work
Podcast: The 3 Letter Word That’s Robbing You Of Great Work

Podcast: The 3 Letter Word That’s Robbing You Of Great Work

One three letter word might be killing your creative output. Worse, it's the reason your team doesn't want to collaborate with you, and it's the thing that's preventing you from doing the best work of your life. On today's episode, I share what this three letter word is and some ways you can spot it before it derails you.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Your Instincts Are Killing Your Creativity (with Adam Hansen)
Podcast: Your Instincts Are Killing Your Creativity (with Adam Hansen)

Podcast: Your Instincts Are Killing Your Creativity (with Adam Hansen)

Your human instincts are fine-tuned for survival, not innovation. This is handy when you're escaping a lion in the wild, but not so great when you need to come up with an amazing new idea for that client project you're working on. On today's episode, Adam Hansen shares a few insights for how to overcome those baked-in instincts with tips from his book Outsmart Your Instincts.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The Dance Of The Possible (with Scott Berkun)
Podcast: The Dance Of The Possible (with Scott Berkun)

Podcast: The Dance Of The Possible (with Scott Berkun)

Where do great ideas come from? More importantly, how do you put them out into the world where they can actually impact people and change the world? Today's guest, Scott Berkun, has spent many years studying these topics, and he's just released a (great) new book called The Dance Of The Possible. On today's episode, we discuss the nature of creativity, how to get unstuck, and how to embrace the dance that is the creative process.