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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Permission To Screw Up (with Kristen Hadeed)
Podcast: Permission To Screw Up (with Kristen Hadeed)

Podcast: Permission To Screw Up (with Kristen Hadeed)

When you hear the story of the founding of a business, you often get the sanitized version. You only hear the high points. However, it's often in failure that the biggest lessons are learned. Today's guest Kristen Hadeed founded Student Maid several years ago, but the early days weren't always so smooth. She's just published a book called Permission To Screw Up in which she chronicles some of the lessons learned as an entrepreneur and a boss, and on today's show she shares some of the hightlights.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Find The Fire (with Scott Mautz)
Podcast: Find The Fire (with Scott Mautz)

Podcast: Find The Fire (with Scott Mautz)

You're a pro. You do the work even when you don't feel like it. Still, you can't discount the value of inspiration. Without it, your work might begin to ring hollow. How do you protect the fire so that you can stay engaged and motivated to do your best work? That's the question Scott Mautz is here to answer with tips from his new book Find The Fire. 

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Entrepreneurial You (with Dorie Clark)
Podcast: Entrepreneurial You (with Dorie Clark)

Podcast: Entrepreneurial You (with Dorie Clark)

It's one thing to build an income around a product or an idea, but it's something entirely different to build a business. On today's episode, Dorie Clark shares insights from her new book Entrepreneurial You. She's going to help us think through how to develop multiple sources of revenue to grow trust, influence, and income. 

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Andrea Summer on Wanderlust
Podcast: Andrea Summer on Wanderlust

Podcast: Andrea Summer on Wanderlust

Andrea Summer has been working on an album project called Wanderlust for a few years, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. She’s had to work on the project a little at a time as the resources were available, she lost her voice due to a fluke illness, and she struggled with wanting to give up multiple times. In our conversation, we discuss the origins of the project, the source of her dedication to making it happen, the highs and lows she’s encountered along the way, and what other artists can learn from her journey.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Balancing Your Creative Project and Your Day Job (with Adam Walker Phillips)
Podcast: Balancing Your Creative Project and Your Day Job (with Adam Walker Phillips)

Podcast: Balancing Your Creative Project and Your Day Job (with Adam Walker Phillips)

We set up a false choice between pursuing creative work that you love, and maintaining a day job. In fact, some of the great artists, writers, thinkers, and scientists throughout history did their best work while simultaneously working a "day job". Today's guest, Adam Walker Phillips, has just released a mystery novel called The Silent Second. On this episode, we discuss the book, and how he managed to write and publish it while still having time for his family and his very successful career.

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The Accidental Creative
Raise Your Inner Game (with David Levin)
Raise Your Inner Game (with David Levin)

Raise Your Inner Game (with David Levin)

There are two "games" that we play as creative pros: the outer, and the inner. The inner game is about how you deal with stress, the limiting narratives that prevent you from doing your best work, and the inevitable conflicts you experience in the course of your day. Today's guest David Levin will share insights into how to improve your game with insights from his new book Raise Your Inner Game. 

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Finding Your Creative Community (with Dane Sanders)
Podcast: Finding Your Creative Community (with Dane Sanders)

Podcast: Finding Your Creative Community (with Dane Sanders)

Who are your people? I'm talking about the people who help you stay inspired, engaged, and focused, and who celebrate your successes with you and help you get through your setbacks? We all need these people in our life, especially when doing creative work largely in isolation. On today's show, Dane Sanders and I chat about the importance of creative community and how to find it.

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The Accidental Creative
The Power of Onlyness (with Nilofer Merchant)
The Power of Onlyness (with Nilofer Merchant)

The Power of Onlyness (with Nilofer Merchant)

You have an idea inside of you that could change the very world around you. And, many people allow those ideas to die on the vine because they lack the courage to take the first step, or the community around them to support their efforts. Today's guest, Nilofer Merchant, has just released a book called The Power of Onlyness: Make Your Ideas Mighty Enough To Dent The World, and she shares stories of people who have taken their idea from hunch to impact and changed the world in the process.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Being a Strategic Storyteller (with Alexander Jutkowitz)
Podcast: Being a Strategic Storyteller (with Alexander Jutkowitz)

Podcast: Being a Strategic Storyteller (with Alexander Jutkowitz)

How often are you conscious of the story you're telling through your work? You can't afford to create just for yourself. You need to be mindful of how the work you're creating will be received by the educated consumer on the other end. In today's episode, Alexander Jutkowitz shares how to use wisdom, wonder, and delight to weave stories that will connect with your audience with insights from his new book The Strategic Storyteller.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Aligning Your Expectations With Reality
Podcast: Aligning Your Expectations With Reality

Podcast: Aligning Your Expectations With Reality

One of the greatest sources of tension on creative teams is when unspoken expectations are violated. This can lead to misalignment with your clients, with your peers, and even with your own efforts. On today's episode, we'll look at three kinds of unspoken expectations and three ways to prevent them from taking root and disrupting your work. 

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The Art Of Selective Attention
Podcast: The Art Of Selective Attention

Podcast: The Art Of Selective Attention

Every day we are flooded with information. Some of that information might be helpful in serving our clients or organization, but because there is so much of it we are often unable to step back and look for patterns we can apply. On today's episode, I share some thoughts about the art of selective attention and how to transform information into understanding so that we can create more value for the people we serve.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Making Work That Lasts (with Ryan Holiday)
Podcast: Making Work That Lasts (with Ryan Holiday)

Podcast: Making Work That Lasts (with Ryan Holiday)

Have you ever considered whether the work you're doing today will still be around in five years? How about ten or twenty years? Many people don't think strategically about how to create work that will resonate deeply for a long time to come. Today's guest Ryan Holiday has just released a book called Perennial Seller that examines work that lasts and how it is created and marketed. In the interview, we discuss not just how to make work that stands the test of time, but how to structure your life so that you have the margin you need to create proactively and not just reactively. 

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Avoiding The Comparison Trap (with Carrie Wilkerson)
Podcast: Avoiding The Comparison Trap (with Carrie Wilkerson)

Podcast: Avoiding The Comparison Trap (with Carrie Wilkerson)

When you work as a freelancer, or are doing creative work largely on your own, it can be difficult to find a rhythm that allows you to simultaneously bring your best work into the world, and also keep yourself on-track and healthy. On today's show, Carrie Wilkerson shares her thoughts on avoiding the lure of comparison, running your day like a pro, and keeping yourself on course financially and personally.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Finding A Place Of Your Own
Podcast: Finding A Place Of Your Own

Podcast: Finding A Place Of Your Own

My question for you this week is very simple: where is your sacred space? Do you have a place in your life where you go in order to retreat from the world, to think, to write, to create, to read? Do you have a dedicated space where you can simply play with ideas, free from the pressure of the world and without concern for what anyone else might think? It's important to have such a space, and on this week's episode I share how you can make one happen.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Dealing With Difficult Co-workers (with Dr. Jody Foster)
Podcast: Dealing With Difficult Co-workers (with Dr. Jody Foster)

Podcast: Dealing With Difficult Co-workers (with Dr. Jody Foster)

Difficult people can make work miserable. You can control your own work and collaboration, but when there is someone throwing wrenches into the machinery just for fun, it can seriously derail your work and drive you crazy. On today's episode, Dr. Jody Foster is here to talk about her new book The Schmuck In My Office, and help us deal with a few different types of difficult people.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Be More Focused With A Weekly Checkpoint
Podcast: Be More Focused With A Weekly Checkpoint

Podcast: Be More Focused With A Weekly Checkpoint

Many creative pros charge into their week like a bull and collapse over the finish line on Friday. Then, they may take a few days off and the cycle begins again. However, there is little consideration given to their rhythms, and how sustainable their work habits are. On today's episode, I share the importance of building a Weekly Checkpoint into your life so that you're regularly considering not just what you're doing, but also how you're doing it.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Three Daily Habits That Will Change Your Life
Podcast: Three Daily Habits That Will Change Your Life

Podcast: Three Daily Habits That Will Change Your Life

It’s not the big things that take out most leaders and creative pros, it’s the little ones. Over time, they forget to do the small things that position them to bring their best effort to the table every day. Everything might look fine to those around them, but the decay has already begun and they are on a path of slow decline.

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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The Power of Little Ideas (with David Robertson)
Podcast: The Power of Little Ideas (with David Robertson)

Podcast: The Power of Little Ideas (with David Robertson)

When you think about innovation, what comes to mind? Blue-sky ideas? Complete disruption? Something no one has ever seen before? Yes, those are important. However, today's guest David Robertson believes that in our pursuit of disruption we often overlook a very valuable source of new value: little ideas. On today's show, he shares how companies and teams are leveraging little ideas to delight their customers and win fierce loyalty with insights from his book The Power Of Little Ideas.

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