BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT Lessons From Future You Getting out of the "world behind your eyeballs" can help you unlock ideas and pathways that were previously invisible. What if the smartest leader in the room is the one who knows how to step outside their own story? In this week's episode of Daily Creative, I was joined by L. David Marquet, author and former nuclear submarine commander, to dissect the overlooked superpower of "distancing." Marquet calls the dynamic of being stuck in your...
12 days ago • 3 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT Cover Bands Don't Change The World Why imitation is so tempting, and how to overcome the urge to chase after what's "popular" and do work that resonates. There's a phrase I've often used when talking to creative pros and leaders. It was even a chapter title in my book The Accidental Creative: “Cover bands don’t change the world.” It always gets a knowing laugh, sometimes a nod, and occasionally a visible jolt—like I’ve just poked someone squarely in their ambition....
19 days ago • 3 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT Why Your Superpowers Become Supernovas Brilliant creative pros are most likely to over-index on what got them where they are, and fail to develop the skills that will get them where they want to go. Have you ever watched someone with all the talent in the world unknowingly derail their team, their influence, or their career? I have. And here’s the kicker: they weren’t sabotaged by their weaknesses.They were sabotaged by their strengths. This week on Daily Creative,...
26 days ago • 2 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT A Series of Small Hunches Why chasing "likes" or a big objective might actually prevent you from achieving your goals. There’s a moment in this week’s podcast episode that stopped me cold. We were talking about the invention of the Like button—yes, that tiny gesture we now make billions of times a day without thinking—and Martin Reeves, author of Like: The Button That Changed the World, said this: “None of the people who contributed to its invention thought they...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT You Are Not A Machine (and Neither Is Your Team) The best work results from rhythmic effort, occasional sprints, and dare I say it... FUN. A few years ago, I walked past a whiteboard where someone had scribbled, “We are not machines.” It was half-erased—probably someone’s shoulder brushed past it—but I’ve never forgotten those words. Lately, they’ve been echoing louder. We live in a world that rewards output, speed, and optimization. That’s especially true if...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT 5 Things You're Not Managing (That Are Managing You) You’re talented, driven, and full of ideas. Why do you still feel stuck, overwhelmed, or like your best work is always just out of reach? In a recent conference talk in Scottsdale, Arizona, I shared five areas where creative pros must build discipline if they want to do meaningful work. In the latest episode of Daily Creative, I shared a live talk from Scottsdale, Arizona, drawing from my book The Accidental...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT The Inner Game of Creative Leadership Whether you lead a team, your peers, or your clients, managing your inner game is essential if you want to end up where you intended. (Otherwise, you might find yourself far from where you set out to go.) Do you feel tired? I've been talking to a lot of leaders lately who just... almost inexplicably... feel exhausted. It's not like the workload is any more. It's just dealing with uncertainty, pressure, and emotional heaviness....
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT Banana Ball How Jesse Cole went from being a "bored out of his mind" baseball coach to creating one of the most epic shows in sports, with a little inspiration from Walt Disney. What if you could transform routine work into something... unforgettable? Most creative pros know the grind—the endless emails, the methodical process, the struggle to inspire not just clients, but even ourselves. But what if you scrapped the rulebook, let go of “professional,” and decided...
2 months ago • 3 min read
BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT How To Think In Systems In the face of uncertainty, understanding how systems work can unlock pathways you couldn't previously see. In this week's podcast episode, Robert Siegel and Seth Godin offer advice for standing firm in times of change. The world is moving faster than ever, with tectonic shifts in technology, culture, and business happening seemingly overnight. Old rules no longer apply, leaving creative pros to carve new paths amid the chaos. In this week's...
3 months ago • 3 min read