The Accidental Creative

People love to encourage you to chase your dreams. They mostly mean well. What they don’t tell you is that you are probably going to fail a lot. And, the problem with pursuing a dream is that it’s hard to know when to quit. On this episode, we discuss the difficulties of giving up a dream, and how to move on when it's no longer a part of who you are. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

Why does story have such a powerful hold on us? How do the stories we believe influence the way we behave each day? Perhaps more importantly, how do we leverage the power of story to get our work into the world in a more meaningful way? These are the questions I discuss with Harris III. He's a performing magician, and also the driving force behind STORY, an organization that helps people tell better stories and change the world. This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. To get two months of access to over 20,000 classes for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative.

Why does story have such a powerful hold on us? How do the stories we believe influence the way we behave each day? Perhaps more importantly, how do we leverage the power of story to get our work into the world in a more meaningful way? These are the questions I discuss with Harris III. He's a performing magician, and also the driving force behind STORY, an organization that helps people tell better stories and change the world. This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. To get two months of access to over 20,000 classes for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative.

Many people go crashing into the weekend like a running back diving into the end zone. They have completely spent themselves during the work week, so the weekends are their time to completely disconnect, and engage in mindless activities like watching TV, playing video games, or working out. However, weekends are not only a great time to rest, but also to recreate (as in “re-create” yourself, and to regain your focus and enthusiasm for your life and work.) By instilling a few simple checkpoints, or rituals, in your weekend, you can spark your creative juices and ensure that you’re clear-headed and focused heading into your next week. On this episode, we share three valuable rituals to help you use your weekends to re-charge your creative process. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

Many people go crashing into the weekend like a running back diving into the end zone. They have completely spent themselves during the work week, so the weekends are their time to completely disconnect, and engage in mindless activities like watching TV, playing video games, or working out. However, weekends are not only a great time to rest, but also to recreate (as in “re-create” yourself, and to regain your focus and enthusiasm for your life and work.) By instilling a few simple checkpoints, or rituals, in your weekend, you can spark your creative juices and ensure that you’re clear-headed and focused heading into your next week. On this episode, we share three valuable rituals to help you use your weekends to re-charge your creative process. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

Even though we are deeply connected by technology, it's hard to argue that we are in some sense "alone, together." This is especially true in many workplaces, where expectatations are rising, and familiarity is high but empathy and deep connection can be scarce. On this episode, Dan Schawbel shares insights into how to create deeper connection in an age of isolation with principles from his book Back To Human. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

Even though we are deeply connected by technology, it's hard to argue that we are in some sense "alone, together." This is especially true in many workplaces, where expectatations are rising, and familiarity is high but empathy and deep connection can be scarce. On this episode, Dan Schawbel shares insights into how to create deeper connection in an age of isolation with principles from his book Back To Human. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

In 2015, a strange new competitor appeared to challenge cloud accounting software company Freshbooks' dominance in their space. The new company, called Billspring, had a fresh look and feel, and seemed poised to pose a serious threat to Freshbooks. However, all was not quite as it seemed. On this episode, CEO and Founder Mike McDerment shares the story of how an unlikely competitor completely re-invented the face of the company. This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. To get two months of access to over 20,000 classes for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative.

In 2015, a strange new competitor appeared to challenge cloud accounting software company Freshbooks' dominance in their space. The new company, called Billspring, had a fresh look and feel, and seemed poised to pose a serious threat to Freshbooks. However, all was not quite as it seemed. On this episode, CEO and Founder Mike McDerment shares the story of how an unlikely competitor completely re-invented the face of the company. This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. To get two months of access to over 20,000 classes for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative.

Have you ever had an idea for a new business or product that you just couldn't seem to get out of your head? Maybe it was because it was something you needed, but couldn't find. That's how Wade Foster and his colleagues founded Zapier, a work automation tool. On this episode, Wade shares the story of the founding of his company, how he knew it was time to make the leap from side hustle to full-time, and how his entire company has managed to work remotely while maintaining its strong culture.

Have you ever had an idea for a new business or product that you just couldn't seem to get out of your head? Maybe it was because it was something you needed, but couldn't find. That's how Wade Foster and his colleagues founded Zapier, a work automation tool. On this episode, Wade shares the story of the founding of his company, how he knew it was time to make the leap from side hustle to full-time, and how his entire company has managed to work remotely while maintaining its strong culture.

A few months ago, I had the chance to speak at the STORY Conference in Nashville, TN. It's a gathering of 1,200 creative pros across multiple disciplines designed to talk about the power of story in our work and lives. My talk centered on the unique pressures of creating for a living, and a few opposing forces that are especially difficult to identify and surmount. I also shared the importance of identifying Productive Passion as a method for working through those forces and putting your best work into the world. This episode features my entire talk from the STORY Conference. Enjoy! If you'd prefer, here's the video version. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

A few months ago, I had the chance to speak at the STORY Conference in Nashville, TN. It's a gathering of 1,200 creative pros across multiple disciplines designed to talk about the power of story in our work and lives. My talk centered on the unique pressures of creating for a living, and a few opposing forces that are especially difficult to identify and surmount. I also shared the importance of identifying Productive Passion as a method for working through those forces and putting your best work into the world. This episode features my entire talk from the STORY Conference. Enjoy! If you'd prefer, here's the video version. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

I grew up in the country. (THE country, as in surrounded by lots of land and few buildings.) One of the things that occasionally happened when taking a car or truck “off-road” is that it would get stuck in the mud. For newbies who get stuck in the mud, the thing that seems like the most obvious solution is actually one of the worst: spinning your wheels and trying to gain traction. To get out of the mud, you actually need a coordinated effort of bi-directional movement. What this means is that if you keep spinning your wheels in one direction you will eventually just dig yourself deeper and deeper into the hole. However, if you “rock” the car back and forth by going from drive to reverse to drive to reverse you will have a much better chance of gaining traction and getting out of the mud. I’ve used the same principle to help creative teams get out of the virtual “mud” that ensnares them. Many teams, when stuck, will just keep cranking away, spinning their wheels and looking for a solution. This typically means staring harder at the problem, working longer hours or trying to squeeze more business out of existing clients. It’s far easier to “rock” the problem rather than spinning your wheels in the same direction. Because we often obsess on what something is or should be, it’s often incredibly effective to additionally ask what it isn’t or shouldn’t be: - For brand identity, who aren’t we? - For a new product, who aren’t we trying to reach? - For a feature set, what will this definitely not do? - For a mission/purpose statement, what are we trying not to do? - For a design, what is this not wanting to be? - In writing, where will this definitely not go? The beautiful thing about this method is that it gives you permission to think both negatively and positively about the problem and therefore to ensure that you’re covering all possible angles and solutions. Rocking back and forth on a problem can also jog previously overlooked connections and solutions as you shift from is to is not thinking.

I grew up in the country. (THE country, as in surrounded by lots of land and few buildings.) One of the things that occasionally happened when taking a car or truck “off-road” is that it would get stuck in the mud. For newbies who get stuck in the mud, the thing that seems like the most obvious solution is actually one of the worst: spinning your wheels and trying to gain traction. To get out of the mud, you actually need a coordinated effort of bi-directional movement. What this means is that if you keep spinning your wheels in one direction you will eventually just dig yourself deeper and deeper into the hole. However, if you “rock” the car back and forth by going from drive to reverse to drive to reverse you will have a much better chance of gaining traction and getting out of the mud. I’ve used the same principle to help creative teams get out of the virtual “mud” that ensnares them. Many teams, when stuck, will just keep cranking away, spinning their wheels and looking for a solution. This typically means staring harder at the problem, working longer hours or trying to squeeze more business out of existing clients. It’s far easier to “rock” the problem rather than spinning your wheels in the same direction. Because we often obsess on what something is or should be, it’s often incredibly effective to additionally ask what it isn’t or shouldn’t be: - For brand identity, who aren’t we? - For a new product, who aren’t we trying to reach? - For a feature set, what will this definitely not do? - For a mission/purpose statement, what are we trying not to do? - For a design, what is this not wanting to be? - In writing, where will this definitely not go? The beautiful thing about this method is that it gives you permission to think both negatively and positively about the problem and therefore to ensure that you’re covering all possible angles and solutions. Rocking back and forth on a problem can also jog previously overlooked connections and solutions as you shift from is to is not thinking.