The Accidental Creative

When you think of the restaurant The Cheesecake Factory, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Probably the menu, right? Or how about Doubletree Hotels? The chocolate chip cookie? These are examples of what Jay Baer calls "Talk Triggers", and they are essential in creating effective word of mouth marketing about your product or service. Whether you are a solopreneur, a freelancer, or run a large company or department, understanding how word of mouth marketing is critical if you want to spread your ideas. On this episode, Jay talks with Todd Henry about his new book Talk Triggers, and how to build mechanisms into your product and service to make them spread like wildfire. Additional Resources:  * Here's Jay's previous appearance on the podcast about how to embrace criticism and "hug your haters". * You can get all of the supplemental materials (discussion guide, etc.) for Jay's book here. * Looking to center in on your own talk triggers? Maybe you should begin by identifying your productive passion. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.    

Today we're beginning a new podcast series called The Big Idea, in which we'll cover the core concepts from each of Todd Henry's first four books. This episode is devoted to the first book, The Accidental Creative. Key ideas from this episode: * The goal for create on demand professionals should be to be prolific, brilliant, and healthy in life and in work. * If you don't get the healthy piece right, you will eventually lose the prolific and brilliant piece as well. * You need to be mindful of the assassins - dissonance, fear, expectation escalation - and build practices to help you avoid them. * There are five key areas of creative rhythm - Focus, Relationships, Energy, Stimuli, Hours - that will help you sustain brilliant work over time. * You should build checkpoints into your life to help you re-evaluate and adapt your rhythms as necessary from season to season. Additional resources: * You can listen to DJ Z-Trip's re-mix of Adaptive Rhythms for an overview of the concept. * How dissonace steals your creative edge. * How expectation escalation keeps you in your comfort zone. * Get your copy of The Accidental Creative. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Today we're beginning a new podcast series called The Big Idea, in which we'll cover the core concepts from each of Todd Henry's first four books. This episode is devoted to the first book, The Accidental Creative. Key ideas from this episode: * The goal for create on demand professionals should be to be prolific, brilliant, and healthy in life and in work. * If you don't get the healthy piece right, you will eventually lose the prolific and brilliant piece as well. * You need to be mindful of the assassins - dissonance, fear, expectation escalation - and build practices to help you avoid them. * There are five key areas of creative rhythm - Focus, Relationships, Energy, Stimuli, Hours - that will help you sustain brilliant work over time. * You should build checkpoints into your life to help you re-evaluate and adapt your rhythms as necessary from season to season. Additional resources: * You can listen to DJ Z-Trip's re-mix of Adaptive Rhythms for an overview of the concept. * How dissonace steals your creative edge. * How expectation escalation keeps you in your comfort zone. * Get your copy of The Accidental Creative. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

There is no shortage of advice about how to handle the start of a project, or how to push through and finish one, but what about that grey area in-between? What about the challenges and problems we encounter in the space between? On this episode, Scott Belsky is back to share wisdom from his fantastic new book The Messy Middle that will help you navigate the most challenging pitfalls of any creative endeavor. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

There is no shortage of advice about how to handle the start of a project, or how to push through and finish one, but what about that grey area in-between? What about the challenges and problems we encounter in the space between? On this episode, Scott Belsky is back to share wisdom from his fantastic new book The Messy Middle that will help you navigate the most challenging pitfalls of any creative endeavor. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Scott Harrison is the founder of Charity:Water, and organization dedicated to bringing fresh drinking water to areas of the world in need. On this episode, he shares how he transitioned from in-demand night club promoter to on-mission advocate for those in need, and offers lessons for how each of us can pay attention to the clues in our lives to discern how to create deep impact. Scott's new book is called Thirst. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Scott Harrison is the founder of Charity:Water, and organization dedicated to bringing fresh drinking water to areas of the world in need. On this episode, he shares how he transitioned from in-demand night club promoter to on-mission advocate for those in need, and offers lessons for how each of us can pay attention to the clues in our lives to discern how to create deep impact. Scott's new book is called Thirst. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Sara was stuck. She was on deadline for a project that required her to suggest a marketing strategy for a product that her company believed could improve its position in the marketplace, and potentially revolutionize its category. It was a great opportunity for Sara to show her stuff, but there was one problem: she was drawing a blank. No matter what she tried, it seemed that her words were void of the kind of precision and uniqueness her manager had demanded of her. Uncertain of what to do, Sara began rifling through her small notebook. A few months back, she’d begun a practice of daily study. She would spend thirty minutes each morning reading or experiencing some kind of media, and thirty minutes of processing it and considering how it might apply to her work. She kept a record of these study times, including articles and books read, videos she watched, and any personal reflections she’d made at the time. It wasn’t line-by-line notes or facts and figures, but instead was more about her impression of the materials. Suddenly, Sara had an insight. While reviewing her notes on a New Yorker article, she remembered a conversation with a peer about technology and education. She realized that the conversation had a direct impact on her current project, and after a few more hours of work, she had the breakthrough she so badly needed. This story is similar to dozens I’ve heard from organizations I’ve worked with, or from individuals who have taken the advice from the Stimuli chapter of The Accidental Creative to heart. Cultivating a deep well of stimuli from which to cull insights and apply them to your work is one of the most effective methods I’ve encountered for setting yourself up to thrive in the create on demand world. But a study plan takes effort, and measured discipline to implement effectively. You need to ensure that you are spending your time wisely, and that you are thinking about application, not just absorption. Information is useless without application. Set a regular time Like with anything you want to be a regular practice, establishing a dedicated time to study will greatly increase your chances of long-term success. Many people (including myself) find that early morning is the ideal time, because it allows you the freedom to explore and think without the pressures of the day weighing you down. Other people prefer evening, right before bed. Still others prefer to take a long lunch at their desk or in a park. Regardless of your preferred time, make it consistent and non-negotiable. Dedicate half to absorption, half to application The goal of study time isn’t to simply absorb information, it’s to figure out how it might apply to your life and work. As such, you need to spend about half of your time thinking about what you’ve just read or experienced and considering how it might apply to the problems you’re working on. Write your thoughts and observations in a notebook, even if they seem irrelevant or silly. Little prompts and ideas that pop into your head might indicate that there’s something happening behind the scenes that you’re not yet consciously aware of. You may, like Sara, only connect the dots later. Begin your time by reviewing the previous day’s notes Before you dive into your study time, take just a few moments to review the previous day’s notes for any potentially valuable and useful insights and to re-ground you in the material. This will provide a continuity to your study time from day to day and lessen the amount of “ramp up” time needed to get back in the flow. Talk to your peers Make it a practice to share at least once per day something that you observed or thought about in your study time. First, sharing something increases the likelihood that it will become a part of your longer-term memory, and second you never know how a seemingly insignificant insight c...

Sara was stuck. She was on deadline for a project that required her to suggest a marketing strategy for a product that her company believed could improve its position in the marketplace, and potentially revolutionize its category. It was a great opportunity for Sara to show her stuff, but there was one problem: she was drawing a blank. No matter what she tried, it seemed that her words were void of the kind of precision and uniqueness her manager had demanded of her. Uncertain of what to do, Sara began rifling through her small notebook. A few months back, she’d begun a practice of daily study. She would spend thirty minutes each morning reading or experiencing some kind of media, and thirty minutes of processing it and considering how it might apply to her work. She kept a record of these study times, including articles and books read, videos she watched, and any personal reflections she’d made at the time. It wasn’t line-by-line notes or facts and figures, but instead was more about her impression of the materials. Suddenly, Sara had an insight. While reviewing her notes on a New Yorker article, she remembered a conversation with a peer about technology and education. She realized that the conversation had a direct impact on her current project, and after a few more hours of work, she had the breakthrough she so badly needed. This story is similar to dozens I’ve heard from organizations I’ve worked with, or from individuals who have taken the advice from the Stimuli chapter of The Accidental Creative to heart. Cultivating a deep well of stimuli from which to cull insights and apply them to your work is one of the most effective methods I’ve encountered for setting yourself up to thrive in the create on demand world. But a study plan takes effort, and measured discipline to implement effectively. You need to ensure that you are spending your time wisely, and that you are thinking about application, not just absorption. Information is useless without application. Set a regular time Like with anything you want to be a regular practice, establishing a dedicated time to study will greatly increase your chances of long-term success. Many people (including myself) find that early morning is the ideal time, because it allows you the freedom to explore and think without the pressures of the day weighing you down. Other people prefer evening, right before bed. Still others prefer to take a long lunch at their desk or in a park. Regardless of your preferred time, make it consistent and non-negotiable. Dedicate half to absorption, half to application The goal of study time isn’t to simply absorb information, it’s to figure out how it might apply to your life and work. As such, you need to spend about half of your time thinking about what you’ve just read or experienced and considering how it might apply to the problems you’re working on. Write your thoughts and observations in a notebook, even if they seem irrelevant or silly. Little prompts and ideas that pop into your head might indicate that there’s something happening behind the scenes that you’re not yet consciously aware of. You may, like Sara, only connect the dots later. Begin your time by reviewing the previous day’s notes Before you dive into your study time, take just a few moments to review the previous day’s notes for any potentially valuable and useful insights and to re-ground you in the material. This will provide a continuity to your study time from day to day and lessen the amount of “ramp up” time needed to get back in the flow. Talk to your peers Make it a practice to share at least once per day something that you observed or thought about in your study time. First, sharing something increases the likelihood that it will become a part of your longer-term memory, and second you never know how a seemingly insignificant insight c...

What gets you out of bed in the morning? What keeps you going even when you face difficulty and overwhelming odds? For many people, the answer is something other than the tasks or the job. Rather, it's something deeper and more closely knit to their sense of purpose. On this episode, we discuss a few questions you can ask to help you identify your "productive passion". === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? What keeps you going even when you face difficulty and overwhelming odds? For many people, the answer is something other than the tasks or the job. Rather, it's something deeper and more closely knit to their sense of purpose. On this episode, we discuss a few questions you can ask to help you identify your "productive passion". === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

There are many stages we go through in our career, from novice to being the senior and most experienced person on the team. How we think about our role as we transition through these stages plays a large part in the quality of the body of work that we build. On today's episode, Chip Conley, a strategic advisor at Airbnb, shares insights into the making of a modern elder from his new book Wisdom At Work. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

There are many stages we go through in our career, from novice to being the senior and most experienced person on the team. How we think about our role as we transition through these stages plays a large part in the quality of the body of work that we build. On today's episode, Chip Conley, a strategic advisor at Airbnb, shares insights into the making of a modern elder from his new book Wisdom At Work. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Creating under pressure is challenging. This is especially true when you're creating inside of an organization, and you have all of the unspoken expectations, dysfunctions, and conflicts to deal with just in order to get around to your work. On this episode, we share two primary things that all creative people need in order to thrive, how to diagnose whether you're getting them, and what to do about it if you're not. The insights in this episode are from the book Herding Tigers. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Creating under pressure is challenging. This is especially true when you're creating inside of an organization, and you have all of the unspoken expectations, dysfunctions, and conflicts to deal with just in order to get around to your work. On this episode, we share two primary things that all creative people need in order to thrive, how to diagnose whether you're getting them, and what to do about it if you're not. The insights in this episode are from the book Herding Tigers. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.