Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo

While I'm on vacation, I wanted to ensure I shared something special. Jay Clouse's show, Creative Elements, is among my favorite interview podcasts about creativity and building a career as a content entrepreneur and artist online today. Jay asks me about... My experiences as a sports journalist and sports PR intern at ESPN and elsewhere, before getting into marketing. How I think about and develo...

Alex Cook's obsessions are ever-changing, from growing and farming mushrooms to men's haircare products to riding Fat bikes on the beach ... to investigating family mysteries involving his grandfather, a dog, and an old wooden chest full of clues. All of this led Alex to create his company, NanaGram. It's the most rewarding app you'll ever use (full disclosure: I'm a longtime customer).   THANKS T...

The stories that inspire us and move others to action don't often feel within our grasp. Maybe we think it's about budget, or more time, or even more team. But so often, creativity is about resourcefulness, not resources. This applies squarely to storytelling. In fact, if we just learned (or re-learned) what a "story" really is, we might better equip ourselves to tell great stories. Stories requir...

Alex Cook's obsessions are ever-changing, from growing and farming mushrooms to men's haircare products to riding Fat bikes on the beach ... to investigating family mysteries involving his grandfather, a dog, and an old wooden chest full of clues. All of this led Alex to create his company, NanaGram. It's the most rewarding app you'll ever use (full disclosure: I'm a longtime customer).   THANKS T...

In a new monologue story, we try to understand how to bring greater focus and our own unique form to our creative work more consistently. After all, being a professional creator means showing up even when we don't feel amazing in order to tinker, draft, and ship. We need to bring our focus and our form to our work upon command. How do we do that? We look to an unexpected source of inspiration.   F...

In a new story, we try to understand what the heck a "rep" is in creative work, so we can reach our next rep faster, better, and more consistently.  We hear the story of visual artist Matthew Zaremba and learn more about reps from Grammy-nominated music educator and CrossFit coach Kevin Mazzarella.    FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Playing Favorites shares one new story every Friday morning that you can'...

In this episode, I experiment with something I'm calling "One-Shots." In this particular One-Shot, "making bad" -- what creative people we admire seem to have in common.  FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Playing Favorites shares one new story every Friday morning that you can't find anywhere else, focused on creating work that matters. Subscribe at jayacunzo.com/newsletter COMMUNITY FOR CREATORS: $13/month...

Every creative person is trying to make what matters. The projects and jobs they pursue, the bosses or clients they like or dislike, and the works they admire -- it all comes back to that one idea. Not "rank #1" or "drive massive growth." Make. What Matters. I believe everyone has what it takes to make what matters, but we often stop or stagnate in our creative process. So what do prolific, thrivi...

Your knowledge is finite. Your curiosity is infinite. So why, oh why, do we usually rely more  on our existing knowledge than our boundless curiosity? We live in a society that seems to value the ability to have the answers, but the path to making work that matters just might mean admitting, "I don't have the answers, but I'm going to figure this out." What if we stopped acting like experts and st...

In this episode, the story of Lisa Schneider, (former) Chief Digital Officer at Merriam-Webster, and their award-winning, President-trolling, brilliant and witty Twitter account, social media presence, and dictionary brand -- yes, a beloved dictionary brand.  Their success started with a simple aspiration that threw into question the most accepted approach to their marketing work. It all ended in...

Standup comedian and comedy writer Sarah Cooper's rise to mainstream fame feels inevitable. Looking at her 2020, she was one of the biggest stories in entertainment and the creator economy more broadly.  It started when her nephew turned her onto TikTok, and it's there where she went viral. She filmed herself in her apartment doing lip-sync videos of Donald Trump speeches and media appearances. He...

Tim Urban writes a blog about ... well ... lots of stuff. Understanding ourselves and our relationship to each other and the world, maybe? From making friends to exploring space, cultural and societal forces to neuroscience breakthroughs ... all packaged as brilliant, entertaining, and sarcastic essays. Tim Urban has written about it all. But like any exceptional project or career, Tim's is not on...

How does your intent for your work change your results? If your goal is to build something big, does that increase the odds of succeeding? Why, then, do so many stories about huge successes start out the same way: with a shrug, and a quick, "I just wanted to brew some beer." ?  Today, we explore the story of The Alchemist, makers of the industry sensation, Heady Topper. And we hear about a brutal...

Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon, has some firm beliefs about making stuff on the internet -- namely, that the economics simply don't reward great, quality, resonant, service-minded creators. Thus, the sensationalism and clickbait and algorithm-gamers win out. But that trend is changing, with Jack's company helping lead the charge. This episode goes deep inside some rather cathartic ideas for creators....

Gibi can't use her real name publicly, at least not anymore. Yet her work on YouTube is her calling, it's her everything. Despite the harassment and public criticism for what might ultimately be something rather mundane and sometimes rather wonderful, Gibi persists. Why? And what is the project that most embodies this double-edged sword of her work? She takes us inside its making. Whether you love...

This is the story of a company which, by today's typical business standards and best practices, shouldn't exist. They're the perfect example of why there is no ONE right way in this work we do. We visit them live and in-person and discover some rather surprising things. --- If you enjoy these stories, there are a few ways to go deeper: - Inquire about my keynote speaking for your next event or com...

We all wish we had the wide open creative field -- total creative freedom. It turns out, however, that creative freedom doesn't work. It may not even exist. Today, two stories about constraints, creativity, and the surprising outcomes of embracing limitations. If you enjoy these stories, there are a few ways to go deeper: - Inquire about my keynote speaking for your next event or company meeting a...

Joanna Wiebe never meant to quit her job and start her business, Copyhackers. In fact, she quit Intuit by accident. Blame the boss, or the wine, or the way Outlook was configured. But don't blame fate. In fact, THANK fate, if you believe in such things, because without Joanna leaving her job all those years ago, thousands of aspiring writers would be worse-off ... and thousands of pages of great w...

Today, a classic episode from the Unthinkable archives about Erik Devaney, a writer and content marketer, who goes deep inside the emotions and the amusing tale of carving the white whale. Find Erik's Medium article, referenced in the story, right here. If you enjoy these stories, there are 3 ways to go deeper: - Inquire about my keynote speaking for your next event or company meeting at jayacunzo...

A bonus, behind-the-scenes episode originally aired on the popular podcast, The Learning Leader Show. --- Ryan's book, Welcome to Management, is now available on Amazon . You can find his podcast, The Learning Leader Show, on Apple and everywhere you podcast. --- If you enjoyed this episode, there are a few ways to go deeper with my work: - Inquire about my keynote speaking for your next event or...

Today, a classic episode from the Unthinkable archives about InVision, a software company that made a feature film seem less risky than writing more How-To blog posts.  If you enjoy these stories, there are 3 ways to go deeper: - Inquire about my keynote speaking for your next event or company meeting at jayacunzo.com - Subscribe to my blog to get a few short ideas on creativity, finding your voic...

"I Made It" is the podcast I'm creating together with Podia, which sells tools for creators who run their own businesses, helping them sell things like courses, digital downloads, and membership/paid subscription. In this episode, world-class photographer and the CEO of CreativeLive Chase Jarvis deconstructs a favorite project: his book, Creative Calling. Subscribe to the I Made It feed separately...

Announcing the launch of a brand new podcast I'm hosting and writing, "I Made It," the official show of Podia. You can subscribe wherever you listen, but also join our exclusive community at podia.com/podcast -- you'll get exclusive content + invites to join me and Podia CMO Len Markidan on live video calls, discussing creativity, the various creative types of work we all do, and creator businesse...

Today, a reinvented type of episode sharing 5 quick concepts that can help transform your work (or, yanno ... do a little good here and there at least?) -- -- -- HELPFUL LINKS: Book Jay to speak: jayacunzo.com Read Marketing Showrunners, the media company Jay founded to help cover and advance the practice of brands making original series: READ or SUBSCRIBE FREE

When you share an idea and others simply don't get it, what's happening? And how can we be more persuasive in presenting our creative ideas so we can do our best work?  Link to subscribe: marketingshowrunners.com/subscribe Inquiries about Jay's public speaking appearances: jayacunzo.com or email speaking@unthinkablemedia.com Jay's book is available in print, Kindle, and audio forms on Amazon. It's...