Is the thing you think you're trying to do with your work really what you're doing? What if the entire system is set up to get you to do something else, but you don't even realize it? On today's episode, I explain why pop radio is so bad, how artists end up as willing accomplices in mediocrity, and how your team might be doing the same thing (and not even know it).
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.
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.
We're all influenced by the greats of our craft. Every writer has a hero, as does every designer, leader, and musician. However, we often fail to think deeply about why those particular heroes are so influential on our own work. In today's episode, I share a few ways you can probe the depths of your influences to hone your own craft.
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.
When you're stuck on a project and need an idea, what do you do? Do you stare at it, beating your head against the desk and straining for insight? There's a better way. Today's guest, Nick Tasler, shares a phenomenon called The Kafka Effect and how it can help us generate creative ideas and make valuable new connections.
Does your current job have you dreaming of greener pastures, and longing to make a leap to a new one? Wait! Before you do, I have an exercise for you. You should write a resignation letter, but not send it.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Creative work can be isolating. No matter how much you collaborate with others, the bulk of your most important work must still be accomplished alone. However, your relationships are one of the key sources of inspiration, focus, and creative spark. In this episode, I share two tactics from my book The Accidental Creative that will help you leverage your relationships to stay creatively inspired.
I often see people compromise their work and choices because they've made poor financial decisions that come back to haunt them later. Kim Palmer, Money Editor for US News, is here today to help us make better financial decisions that will give us freedom in our creative pursuits.
If you follow the news, you know that robots and algorithms will be taking over our jobs within a few years, right? Actually, not so much, argues Geoff Colvin, author of the great new book Humans Are Underrated. There are things humans are uniquely qualified to do, and will always do better than machines.
It's so easy to allow expectations to rise to the point of inevitable disappointment. Make sure you are minding your baseline so that you don't squeeze all of the potential for discovery, surprise, and joy from your life and work.
Have you ever looked around at the work of others and felt like yours isn’t measuring up? Has this ever caused your passion for your work to wane? Don’t allow the slow ratcheting-up of expectations to paralyze you. Use the work of your peers and heroes as fuel, and don’t allow it to trip you up or cause you to drift off-course.
When you are younger, it’s possible to be successful because you are smarter, more talented, or more of a hustler than your peers. However, as you grow older, you begin to see patterns that you might have overlooked before simply because you didn’t have as much data. Knowledge can be bought, but wisdom is always earned.