On today's episode, I show you how to run your life from the back of an index card. (Yes, really.) You'll learn how to hone in on your mission for the day, how to bring your best to the people around you, and how to create unique and powerful value for your clients and organization by spending five minutes in preparation each morning.
There are two parts of the creative process that live in constant tension with one another: the spark, which is the exciting idea, and the grind, which is the process of bringing that idea into the world. Today's guest, Erik Wahl, is the author of a new book called The Spark and The Grind, and we have a wide-ranging conversation about creativity, grit, success vs. failure, expectations, and more.
When you create art for a living, it can sometimes be difficult to talk to others about what you do. That's especially true when others don't have a grid for your core area of passion. In this episode, I have a fun and wide-ranging conversation with Mike Quackenbush, who is the founder of Chikara Wrestling, about how he developed his love for the art of professional wrestling, and how he shares that love and passion for his craft with others.
So many creative pros spend their entire life exchanging their time and skills for money, but never gain an ownership stake in the work they do. However, some have discovered how to build a portfolio of assets that appreciates over time and gives them more freedom to pursue the work they love.
On today's show, Patrick McGinnis discusses the concept of a 10% Entrepreneur, and how to begin making small side bets that could lead to financial and creative freedom.
There are three common assassins that can easily slip into your life and work and begin to rob you of your motivation, your focus, and your creative drive. You may not even notice them until you're already on the path to burnout. In this episode, I share the three assassins and how to spot them before they take you out of the game.
You're running from meeting to meeting. You have four new major priorities due this week. On top of that, traffic is getting worse and you haven't had a vacation in what seems like a decade. Today's guest Rohan Gunatillake is here to help you find a bit of peace and presence in the midst of your sometimes chaotic work life. His latest book is called Modern Mindfulness, and it is a toolkit for helping you develop mindfulness in a world where attention is scarce.
Ever tried to get your manager to go along with a great idea, but faced resistance on every front? You're not alone. In fact, today's guest Jennifer Mueller argues that most of us are actually resistant to creative change, regardless of what we say. However, she also says that there are some things we can do about our bias against creativity, and they can also help us be more effective in leading change within our workplace. In this episode, she shares insights from her new book Creative Change.
How do exceptionally creative people structure their lives differently from others? Are there commonalities in how they think about problems? Do they see their work in a different way? These are some of the questions that we dive into today with researcher and author Scott Barry Kaufman, as we explore insights from his book Wired To Create.
On today’s episode I’m going to share four books I think you should read in 2017. These are not new books, and a few of them are actually many years old. However, they are books that I either recently read, or go back to over and over, and that I’ve not heavily recommended before.
Leading a team of creative people, especially in times of change and uncertainty, means constantly striking a balance between strategy and creativity. In today's episode, Freshbooks' Creative Director Jeremy Bailey shares insights about how he helps his team stay connected to client needs, how he helps them share their specialized skills throughout the organization, and how the team stays aligned during times of transition.
Julien Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Breather, a company that allows anyone to book beautiful, private, professional spaces whenever they need them. However, it's an idea that almost didn't happen. In this interview, Julien shares why he felt the need to launch something, why it's important to be an "operator", and why you need to focus on building something a few people will love rather than something a lot of people will like.
It’s the start of a new year, and of course that means that many people are beginning to think about where they’d like their life and work to go over the coming months. It’s easy to use this season to set big goals and make big plans, but I often find that even my best plans are thrown by unexpected opportunities and obstacles. Yes, it’s important to have objectives and a strategy for executing them, but I want to challenge you to consider a roundabout way of getting to them. Instead of simply writing a list of goals, begin with a set of questions that might help you think about the upcoming year in a new way.
What you put in your head often determines the quality of your ideas. However, many creative pros are less than purposeful about the kinds of stimuli they allow into their mind, and are not intentionally seeking new ideas by playing with ideas and trying to conenct dots. In this episode, I share three steps to putting together a study plan, and using it to help you generate great ideas for your business and clients.
How do the world's greatest brands set themselves apart from the competition, and elicit irrational love from their customers? That's the question that today's guest JP Kuehlwein has been studying for years as he's worked with numerous prestige brands, co-authored Rethinking Prestige Branding, and interviewed great brand leaders via his podcast Ueberbrands. In this episode, he helps all of us consider how we can position our work and stand apart in our competitive space.
Whether you lead a team or you aspire to, there are certain skills that you need to learn in order to succeed. However, some of those skills are not so intuitive. Today, I share three specific, though not-so-intuitive skills that everyone should develop whether they lead a team or simply have to collaborate with others.
What is it that separates unique, brilliant businesses from their competitors? Today's guest Bill Taylor is the co-fouder of Fast Company magazine, and the author of a brand new book called Simply Brilliant. He tells us how to stop striving to be the best, and to start striving to be the only in our industry.
If you're like many creative pros, email is the bane of your existence. You have to deal with it, because it's the tool of choice for communicating with clients and co-workers, but it's also easy to get sucked into the swamp and spend a lot of your days just swatting the ping pong ball back over the net. Today's guest, Jocelyn Glei, has just written a book on how to get your email under control. She's here to help you kill email anxiety, avoid distractions, and get real work done with insights from Unsubscribe.
If you ever feel overwhelmed with the work and opportunities in your life, you're not alone. The vast majority of people I interact with express that there is simply not enough time and energy to get everything done. However, people are also hesitant to say no to projects and opportunities because they're afraid they'll miss out on something great. The truth is, they're probably missing out on something great because they won't say "no". On today's episode, I discuss four areas where you need to regularly prune so that something better can grow.
What does it mean to live a good life? How do you build your life and your work in such a way that it reflects the best of who you are? On today's episode, Jonathan Fields shares insights about all of this from his new book How To Live A Good Life.
If you want others to listen to your idea, buy your work, or follow you, you have to learn how to connect with them on an emotional level. The best way to do that is through the power of story. Today's guest, Paul Smith, is an expert in using the power of story and today he shares insights from his new book Sell With A Story.