The Accidental Creative

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. Books mentioned in this episode: Where Good Ideas Come From The Intellectual Life Tools Of Titans Creative Change For more book recommendations, visit my bookshelf at toddhenry.com/bookshelf. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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 , 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. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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 . He tells us how to stop striving to be the best, and to start striving to be the only in our industry. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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 . ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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. [tweet "Sometimes a really good thing has to die so that something better can be born."] This episode is based on ideas in chapter five of my book . ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

What does it mean to live a good life? How do you build your life and 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 . ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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 . ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

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 that will help you leverage your relationships to stay creatively inspired.

Have you ever felt anxious about your job, but you don’t know why? Everything is going well, or at least according to plan, and there is nothing obvious that should be causing anxiety. Yet, when bedtime rolls around, you struggle to get to sleep, and you have a perpetual sense that you’re falling behind. Falling behind? Behind what? On today's episode, I share three ways in which you might be unknowingly keeping "score", and how they can affect your engagement, your collaboration, and your overall drive at work. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Maybe you think it's time for a job change. Maybe you're happy with where you are, but you want to make sure you stay sharp and are prepared for the next opportunity when it arises. Whatever your situation, today's interview with Jenny Blake, author of , will help you gain clarity around what to do every day to be ready for your next move. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.  

Jane Chen is the co-founder of Embrace Innovations, a company that's created an innovative product called the Embrace Warmer. It helps mothers of pre-mature babies living in developing countries keep their baby warm at the fraction of the cost of a typical incubator, and it's a complete game changer. They've also recently created Little Lotus Baby, which is a 1:1 model company where each baby wrap purchased provides an Embrace Warmer for a mother in need. Here is Jane's TED talk about the Embrace Warmer: ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Do you have a framework for making decisions in your life and work? A personal (or team) manifesto can guide your work and help you do work that is personally meaningful and uniquely valuable. It’s not supposed to be an in-depth playbook, but is more of a set of guiding principles by which you make decisions and invest yourself in your work. In this episode, I share my own manifesto, and offer some thoughts about how to write your own. A full transcript of this episode is available here. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

In this episode I introduce a brand new podcast called The Louder Than Words Bookcast. It will run for nine weeks, and will illustrate key points from my latest book  about how to uncover your productive passion, sharpen your vision, and master your days. Subscribe to the bookcast in iTunes or here. === Today’s episode is sponsored by SaneBox – the automatic way to re-claim your inbox and get your email under control. To claim your free two week trial plus $25 of credit – with no credit card needed – visit SaneBox.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.  

Consider a piece of work that truly stands out from the noise, whether it's a song, a book, or a business. What makes it so remarkable? Today's guest Srini Rao has interviewed hundreds of remarkable people, and he has compiled what he learned into a new book called . He shares how you can avoid the cluttered middle, and chart a course for unique impact with your work. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.