Follow Your Curiosity: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Creativity.

Inspired by a day of viral attention on TikTok, here's a reminder that you matter. Yes, YOU. That means your creative dreams matter, too. If that sounds crazy or alien to you, this episode is definitely for you! I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fycuriosity.com , or contact me on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter !

Kimberly Stuart started writing when she became a stay-at-home mom, and hasn’t stopped since. As you’ll hear, her path changed dramatically thanks to a gift from her mother, who was a professional musician. She’s the author of eight novels, and has branched into writing coaching as well. Kim and I talk about the importance of validation and encouragement, remembering that you are not your work, th...

Do you feel like you have to be "ready" before you start something new? Are you even sure what "ready" would mean? I'm here this week to talk about why "ready" is mostly an illusion, and why you should start now instead of waiting for that illusion to magically become real. I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fycuriosity .com , or contact m...

If you've been listening for a while, you know I believe there's hardly anything that's NOT creative, and I love to talk to people from so-called "non-creative" professions to find out how those perceptions are wrong. Accounting is not something most people associate with creativity—except in the familiar, negative sense—but I knew it had to be, so I contacted Lynda Schwartz. Lynda not only is an...

If you're struggling to come up with ideas, this episode is for you! You might be surprised at the power of just paying attention. That may sound too easy, but if you really do it (and it's SO simple), you'll find unexpectedly interesting things all around you. I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fycuriosity.com , or contact me on Facebook...

Tosca Lee originally wanted to be a ballerina, but ended up switching to writing with some help from her dad while she was in college. Since then, she’s become a bestselling author of a wide variety of books, including The Line Between and its sequel, A Single Light. Tosca talked with me about her early writing experience, how the Kindle has changed things for authors, and the eerie feeling of wri...

Welcome back for Creative Pep Talk #3! This week, we're delving into the deep, dark world of perfectionism. This is an overview of the evils of perfectionism, because to truly explore it would take more than 8 minutes, but I hope it'll get you thinking about how you fall into this trap, and what you might want to do differently to keep yourself out of perfectionism's clutches so you can enjoy your...

My guest today knows what it’s like to believe you’re not creative. Lisa Townsend spent her first 27 years believing she wasn’t before having a creative awakening that led her to try EVERYTHING. We talk about  what that looked like for her, and what she learned about fear, knowledge—what we have, what we don’t, and what we just think we have—and courage. These days, through her business, Change Yo...

If you think permission slips are just for elementary school kids going on field trips, think again. Permission is absolutely vital to a healthy creative process. Listen for permission to give yourself permission! I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fycuriosity.com , or contact me on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter !

My guest this week is opera singer Dale Travis, who has performed with companies all over the world in a career he never imagined as a child. Dale always loved to sing, but went to school for football. When an injury thwarted that plan, he auditioned for the choir, setting him on an unexpected path. We talk about his surprising leap to opera, how he lets the text and music teach him how to perform...

Welcome to the first in a series of creative pep talks—topics to help you get and stay unstuck in your creative process (aka your life). In this inaugural pep talk, I share my plan for these mini-episodes and tackle the age-old question of just who is creative—and why a lot of people believe they're not. These episodes will come out every other week, alternating with my regular interview episodes...

The idea of "talking to God" may bring up images of saints or prophets—or a disconnect from reality. John Roedel fits in none of those categories. He's an improv comedian and poet who started writing conversations between himself and God as silly one-offs during a crisis of faith, only to find them becoming deeper and more insightful over time. One of his pieces from a few years ago went viral in...

Actor Richard Oliver has performed in film, TV, stage, commercial, audio, and even video games. He also directs for his own theatre and teaches acting. Richard has been named best actor by the New York City Indie Film Awards, and was a finalist for best actor from the Lockdown Festival. While we connected online thanks to the Minister of Chance, a Doctor Who spinoff audio series, we talk about eve...

Author Nancy Springer has written more than 50 books, in genres ranging from mythic fantasy to magical realism to mystery. Her most popular novels by far are the Enola Holmes mysteries, featuring Sherlock's younger sister, the first of which is now a movie on Netflix. Nancy has often said that writing saved her life, and our conversation gets into the nitty gritty of just what that means, as well...

This week, I’m bringing you a current teacher who’s a former colleague of mine: Lisa Houston, who started the drama program at the Pennington School and now serves as its middle school dean of students. Among other things, Lisa tells us how she rebuilt the drama program from the ground up, how it’s expanded over the years, what it’s like to take a group of high school students overseas to perform...

If you've listened for a while, you know I have a VERY broad definition of "creativity," and the show is called "Follow Your Curiosity" for a reason. Kyle Fletcher is a different sort of guest—he specializes in educating others about spirits and cocktails—with a journey that's all about the curiosity. Kyle has allowed his enthusiasm for, and interest in, the beverage world to lead him down a path...

Paige Kaufman is an early childhood educator who went from teaching kindergarten to running a wellness center—all because she listened to the "nudge" telling her her it was time to do something different. A lot of us people would ignore that feeling, but Paige followed her curiosity into this new venture without knowing anything about starting a business. We talk about that journey, from the socie...

My guest today is Tracy Matthews, Chief Visionary Officer of Flourish and Thrive Academy and host of the Thrive by Design podcast. Tracy is a jewelry designer and entrepreneur who loves marketing. Even more than that, she loves helping other creative folks (and as we discuss, by “creative” we mean EVERYONE) get a handle on the business side of their work. If you’ve ever wondered how to make the le...

What's your vision, or dream, for your life? Can you see it clearly? If not, you might want to consider making a vision board, and this week's guest, Angela Fareri, is here to tell us not only how and why creating a clear image for your life works, but how to make a vision board for yourself. Angela and I also talk about how vision boards and journaling can work together (we compare a process call...

Anne Marie Bennett has had a varied career—she’s been an elementary school teacher, has worked in a theater, and a SoulCollage(R) trainer and facilitator. She’s written several nonfiction books about her journeys with cancer and about the SoulCollage(R) process, but this year, she’s published her first novel. She joins me to talk about her creative history as well as SoulCollage(R), the shift to w...

Over the last two episodes, we’ve heard from Todd Evans and Rachel Marianno, a brother and sister who grew up in an unusually artistic home and both became artists themselves. This week, their younger brother Orrin Evans joins me to round out the family and talk about his experience as the much younger child was similar and different, and how it influenced his career as a renowned jazz pianist and...

When your father is a playwright and your mother is a lyric soprano, you're unavoidably exposed to a creative outlook on life. This week is the second in a series of three episodes where we'll be hearing from three siblings from an incredibly artistic family, all of whom are artists themselves. This week, I talk to Rachel Marianno, the middle sibling, a teacher, school administrator, and poet in P...

When your father is a playwright and your mother is a lyric soprano, you're unavoidably exposed to a creative outlook on life. This week begins a series of three episodes where we'll be hearing from three siblings from an incredibly artistic family, all of whom are artists themselves. We start with Todd Evans, the eldest sibling, a poet who has started several open mics in the Trenton, NJ, area, a...

This week—this month!—I have the honor and pleasure of talking with actor Paul McGann. He started his career in the West End, moving to TV with the BBC’s Monocled Mutineer, and to film with the cult classic Withnail and I. His credits also include Horatio Hornblower, Luther, and the Dickens adaptation Our Mutual Friend, and he’s narrated numerous documentaries. All that said, he’s probably best kn...

This week—this month!—I have the honor and pleasure of talking with actor Paul McGann. He started his career in the West End, moving to TV with the BBC’s Monocled Mutineer, and to film with the cult classic Withnail and I. His credits also include Horatio Hornblower, Luther, and the Dickens adaptation Our Mutual Friend, and he’s narrated numerous documentaries. All that said, he’s probably best kn...