The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

Michael Bungay Stanier, senior partner at Box of Crayons joins us to discuss coaching questions that create behavioral change and enable us to do more great work.  Highlights  Nurturing the seeds that get planted in our lives The path from conscious incompetence to mastery The power working the system to get we want How to be the rebel within the system The balance between madness and me...

Jim Bunch, coach and founder of The Ultimate Game of Life returns to the show to talk about 9 the environment that make up our lives. Download Your FREE 9 Environments Assesment Highlights  What causes our addiction to personal development Shifting your mindset to believing you have enough Why the likelihood of change is less likely without a catalyst How your environments work on you 24 hour...

Tess Vigeland, veteran radio producer and former anchor for public radio’s Marketplace, join us to discuss her story of leaping without a plan B. Highlights  Developing an awareness of the moments we fall in love with our work The challenges of coming up with your own definitions of success Why we all don’t have to be special The mentality that sets us up to feel like failures How definitions...

Reema Zaman, writer, visual artist, and actress joins us to talk about using her art to become a voice for people who don’t have one.   Highlights:  How curiosity enables us to cultivate self-awareness Leveraging writing to find clarity and comfort in our lives Becoming the author of your own life  The golden thread that exists in each of our lives Creating narratives of resilience...

Tim Lawrence, creator of The Adversity Within shares how we navigate the internal journeys of loss, adversity, and how we grow by putting ourselves in challenging environments.  Highlights  How adversity creates ferocious internal resolve Putting yourself in intentionally constraining environments Why we don’t have to believe something inherently good about The difference between approva...

Ben Tseitlin,  founder of Benchic chocolates joins us to discuss how he leverages curiosity to design experiences and make chocolate.  Highlights  The power of not having domain expertise Why breaking things helps you understand them Letting go of expectations to create results The importance and power of focus  Making deliberate choices about running a business   Why empa...

Salim Ismail, Singularity University’s global ambassador and founding executive director, joins us to discuss the keys to exponential personal and professional growth.  HIGHLIGHTS How institutions and organizations can adapt to a new world Controversial theories on the success of Indian CEO’s Navigating complex human relationships  Combining lunacy and rational thinking  The role th...

Jerry Colonna CEO of Reboot. IO and former venture capitalist joins us for one of this year’s deepest and most thought provoking conversations about resiliency, our sense of self, and much more.  Highlights The keys to developing resiliency Myths about our moment of arrival  Dealing with impostor syndrome  Uncoupling our sense of self from extrinsic  The storm of emotions of th...

Dave Munson founder of Saddleback leather joins us to discuss the rather humble beginnings of building a successful retail business. Highlights Why we are not always aware how we’re impacting people Expecting something wonderful to happen when we’re inconvenienced Cultivating a constant state of wonder  Why our impact starts to happen later in life The importance of asking for help  Expe...

Amy Oestreicher joins us to discuss how she turned her life-threatening illness and over 27 surgeries into what she now calls a beautiful detour.  HIGHLIGHTS Finding hope when in our most difficult times  Dealing with the fear of not being able to make our mark on the world  Turning obstacles into opportunity  How Amy turned her story into a beautiful detour Why art and creativ...

Chris Bailey, author of The Productivity Project returns to the show to discuss how to bridge the productivity gaps in our lives, and how to effectively manage your time, attention and energy.   HIGHLIGHTS How to create a structure for your projects Why limitations and constraints increase your creativity The difference between production and accomplishments  Character traits coordi...

Adam Steltzner, an engineer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory joins us to discuss his new book the Right Kind of Crazy and lessons in creativity from landing spacecrafts on Mars.  HIGHLIGHTS Going to the edges of what we might be capable of Making a significant internal identity shift  Searching for what’s wrong to find what’s true  Managing fear in high-stakes situations  The...

Steve Kamb, rebel leader of Nerd Fitness joins us to talk about the power of using incremental progress to level up your life.  HIGHLIGHTS Lessons learned from The Legend of Zelda Applying the progress principle to our biggest goals Structuring your environment to induce flow states Finding the distinctive identity and fingerprint in our work  Removing the need for willpower and mot...

Jamie Varon, writer and designer joins us to discuss design and writing in a way that gets to the heart f what you want to say.  HIGHLIGHTS  Thinking along the lines of what a professional would do  The role of self-motivation in our work  The power of teaching yourself Overcoming the desire to just be comfortable   Recognizing the disconnect between where you are and...

Jeffrey Veen , design partner at True Ventures, and founder of Typekit joins us to discuss the benefits of living a more curious and creative life.  HIGHLIGHTS:  Lessons in design and content creation from the earliest days of the internet  Finding the things that are infectious to us  Why empathy is one of the most vital skills that we can learn  The power of democratizin...

Cal Newport, Georgetown professor, and author of of So Good They Can’t Ignore, and Deep Work joins us to talk about how to produce work of real of value while training your ability to focus. HIGHLIGHTS How positive serendipity pays dividends going forward  Exposing yourself to positive randomness The issues with “follow your passion” The role of engagement, craftsmanship Why deliberate p...

AJ Leon, founder of the creative agency Misfit Inc, returns to the show to discuss living a life of meaning, intention and purpose. HIGHLIGHTS Why you always have a choice in your life Letting go of our need to prove people wrong Evacuating a life plan that had gone horribly wrong Why you should never stop asking for what you want Understanding the difference between courage and defiance The diffe...

Phillip Mckernan returns to the show to discuss how to make 2016 the most prosperous year of our lives. HIGHLIGHTS Why happiness is the byproduct of meaning  Letting go of our attachments to create space Leveraging a wakeup call to become more of who we are  The danger of giving too much of your identity to external outcomes How to resist the temptation to dilute your truth  Developing the courage...

In this 2015 wrap up episode, Brian Koehn and I steal an idea from Tim Ferriss, and share some of the things we’ve learned from podcast guests in 2015.  Episodes Mentioned How to Live Well and Die Well ( Part 1 and Part 2 ) with Greg Hartle A Soulful Exploration of Inner Wisdom with Susan Piver The Art of Living a Noteworthy Life with Bob Goff Why You Should Never Miss an Opportunity to be Fa...

Wesley Chapman shares his personal story of 12 documented suicide attempts, and the tremendous power of accepting the transparent reality of our core identities  HIGHLIGHTS:  Wes’ experience with 12 document suicide attempt Finding your identity after it’s been lost  How our stories and circumstances become our power  Connecting the experiences of your life to express...

Tina Seelig author, educator, and executive director of the Stanford Technology Ventures program, talks about why most rules are just recommendations, the power of writing a resume of your failures, reframing problems to give us an expanded set of solutions and much more.   HIGHLIGHTS:  What happens when we do the right things for the wrong reasons Why passion follows engagemen...

Jennifer Boykin discusses what it takes to create your immortal beautiful work, getting comfortable with something unplanned happening and how we can use mastery of one craft to build confidence in others.  Why you can have everything, but not at the same time Learning about your dreaming instead of pursuing it Meeting the enormity of what is possible for us in our lives Using small wins to b...

Robert Kurson shares his journey from being an F-student in high school, to a desperately unhappy Harvard educated Lawyer and eventual New York Times Bestselling Author HIGHLIGHTS:   A formative relationship that played a fundamental role in Robert’s career  Why a strong work ethic is important for a creative career  The struggles of a challenging academic career   Fi...

Justine Musk discusses creativity, emotional resonance and the psychology of visionary leaders like Elon Musk, Coco Chanel, Steve Jobs, David Bowie and many others.  Highlights  The questions that we need to ask in an identity transition  How crisis forces complacency to be thrown out the window Coming out of the shadows in our lives Learning to read your life like a mystery novel a...

Bob Goff joins us to talk about love, what we’re made to do, and living a life filled with whimsy in this best of 2015 episode.  HIGHLIGHTS What you’re able to do vs what you are made to do Infusing your life with a sense of wonder and taking a childlike approach to everything  Viewing things as additions and interruptions  How curiosity and humility can shape our lives  Factor...