Follow Your Curiosity: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Creativity.

Comparison and self-improvement are great ways to reject yourself. I explain why—and what to do instead—in this short episode. Read the post from Dr. Kelly Flanagan that inspired this pep talk. My previous pep talk on comparison and self-rejection . Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! Please leave a review , and in it, tell us about a time when self-acc...

What’s it like to doubt the beliefs of the strict religious community you grew up with? What’s it like to leave? Where do you find the courage and strength to make that choice, and to adapt to your new life? Director Scott Homan and writer and musician Ryan Sutter have lived these questions, and collaborated to tell the story in the new documentary, Witness Underground. The film focuses on Ryan’s...

The Rolling Stones have a new album, and Mick Jagger has some great creative advice for us all. I explain in this short episode. Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! You can read the interview with Mick Jagger here . Join my free creative community, The Spark! We celebrate each other's creative courage, and I'll be sharing programs for subscribers and li...

Director, animator, and author Kevin Jon Davies grew up enthralled by Doctor Who and Spike Milligan’s The Goon Show. When he discovered the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio show, it seemed like the best of both worlds. Before long, he was doing animation for the TV series. Kevin tells me how he got into animation, how he moved from animation into directing—including directing 30th a...

We don't talk about it much in creative circles, but it's really important to know when and why to let go of your creative work. I'll tell you more in this short episode. Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! Join my free creative community, The Spark ! We celebrate each other's creative courage, and I'll be sharing programs for subscribers and listeners...

My guest today is Hilary Hattenbach, a freelance writer based in LA. Hilary majored in magazine journalism but ended up working in entertainment marketing for studios like Disney and 20th Century Fox before a chance meeting in a bakery led her to do-author The Kitchen Decoded Cookbook. Hilary tells me about that meeting and the cookbook that resulted, why being in an “artistic adjacent” field didn...

You need a strong NO in order to have a strong YES in any part of your life, including your creative process. I'll tell you why in this short episode. Please leave a review , and in it, tell us about a time when saying no made a difference. I'm experimenting with my own writing over on Substack! It's called The Spark, it's free, and I hope you'll join us! Want more tips? Check out this playlist wi...

Romana Hasenöhrl has traveled all over the world and is the author of several books, including two novels, the second of which is currently in progress. She also coaches writers, who call her "Romana Rocks," and is an astrologer. Romana joins me to talk about how travel has influenced her writing process and her creativity, how astrology is a useful tool to see ourselves in a new light (and to see...

Life happens. Stuff goes wrong. It's a cliché, but when you're handed lemons, sometimes the best thing to do is to make lemonade. I'll tell you why in this short episode. Please leave a review , and in it, tell us about how you made the best of a bad situation. I'm experimenting with my own writing over on Substack! It's called The Spark, it's free, and I hope you'll join us! Want more tips? Check...

Author Rahna Reiko Rizzuto wrote the way many of us do as a child and teen, but didn’t truly turn to writing until she discovered, at the age of 30, that her Japanese-American mother, and her family, had been stripped of everything and put in an internment camp during World War II. The book she produced in her quest to understand these events, Why She Left Us, won the National Book Award. Her two...

What can a simple choice from actor David Tennant tell us about creative freedom? I'll tell you in this short episode. Please leave a review , and in it, tell us about how you might stop taking things so seriously. I'm experimenting with my own writing over on Substack! It's called The Spark, it's free, and I hope you'll join us! Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creativ...

Odds are good you're making things harder than they need to be—and that's getting in your way more than you realize. Please leave a review , and in it, tell us about how you've made something less hard on yourself. I'm experimenting with my own writing over on Substack! It's called The Spark, it's free, and I hope you'll join us! Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creativ...

Writer, editorial director, and publisher Michael Dolan was a math whiz before he fell in love with writing and journalism in high school. After a career in magazine publishing and working as a professional writer, he decided to start Winding Road Stories, which aims not only to publish new authors, but to help those authors build a writing career. Michael tells me about his start in publishing, h...

It sounds counterintuitive, but the fastest way to get things done is to slow down (and stop multitasking!). I'll tell you why in this short episode. Please leave a review , and in it, tell us about how slowing down has helped you. Check out my new newsletter, The Spark ! It's free, and I hope you'll join us! Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! I'd love...

Caroline Whiddon thought she was going to play French horn professionally, but panic and anxiety had other ideas. Fortunately, orchestra administration turned out to be her true home, ultimately leading her to co-found the Me2/ orchestra with her husband, conductor Ronald Braunstein. Braunstein’s bipolar diagnosis left him unable to find work, and Me2/ is the world’s only classical music organizat...

Which project should you work on next? And what should you do when you feel downright compelled to work on something, even if it's not the next thing on your list? I'll tell you in this short episode. Check out my new newsletter, The Spark ! It's free, and I hope you'll join us! Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! I'd love to hear your feedback, questio...

My guest this week is author David Roth, who spent thirty-five years as a professional writer of documentaries, corporate communications, multimedia, and more before turning to creative writing. He completed his MFA in 2017 and published his debut novel, The Femme Fatale Hypothesis in 2019. That book just received the American Book Fest's 2023 International Book Award for Best Literary Fiction. Da...

Last time we talked about how sometimes, quitting is the smartest thing you can do. This week, I'm sharing one crucial way to make sure you don't waste time on a project you should abandon. Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! Get the 6 Creative Beliefs that Are Screwing You Up , plus biweekly updates on what's going on in my world (including upcoming ev...

My guest this week is Rob Schwartz—journalist, music/film producer, entrepreneur, and son of the late Morrie Schwartz of Tuesdays with Morrie fame. Rob has founded a number of companies, both in Japan and the US, and has produced numerous film and music projects with international teams.  Rob and I talk about his experiences in Japan and India, and how travel enhances creativity, and the role of l...

We're told all the time that "winners never quit, and quitters never win." That "advice" can get you in all sorts of trouble. I explain why in this short episode. Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! Get the 6 Creative Beliefs that Are Screwing You Up , plus biweekly updates on what's going on in my world (including upcoming events) for free! I'd love to...

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden has been a story lover since she and her family watched TV and movies together. Her father taught her how to find the deeper layers of a story. This love prompted her to pursue a double major in Religious Studies and Theatre and Speech, a MA in Theatre Arts, and finally a MAEd so she could share her love of stories with her students. Now retired, Lucinda writes her weekly bl...

Creative work, and in fact, most of life, works better when we're good to ourselves, even if that seems counterintuitive. I'll tell you why in this short episode. Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! Get the 6 Creative Beliefs that Are Screwing You Up , plus biweekly updates on what's going on in my world (including upcoming events) for free! I'd love to...

I’m absolutely thrilled to be talking this week with actor Peter Davison, star of All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who, At Home with the Braithwaites, West End musicals like Spamalot and Gypsy, and much more. He’s also the author of a delightful memoir, Is There Life Outside the Box: An Actor Despairs , and Doctor Who fans also know him as the creator of the 50th anniversary special, The Five...

Author Elizabeth (Eliza) Morton was an actress before she started writing, and has always loved the power of stories. She’s also part of an acting family—she’s married to Doctor Who’s Peter Davison and step-mother-in-law of the show’s David Tennant, and sometimes wonders if she started writing romantic sagas as an escape from all the science fiction in the house. Liz joins me to talk about acting...

It's so easy to want to be like everyone else, but is it really a good idea?  Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks! Get the 6 Creative Beliefs that Are Screwing You Up , plus biweekly updates on what's going on in my world (including upcoming events) for free! I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fy...