Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo

We continue our every-other-week series profiling names you know sharing stories you don't. This week, we think the big thoughts and feel the big feels with Robert Rose. We talk music, on-stage interviews with celebrities, and making others FEEL SOMETHING by creating great experiences. About the series: In an era full of content marketing thought leaders, we want to get behind the tactics and tips...

We live in the era of experts. If we don't have an idea or answer, we can find and follow everyone else's. This creates copycat, forgettable work. Luckily, the most powerful way to differentiate from all of that is obvious and free. The only question is whether we have the courage to deploy it. Stories about Lisa Schneider, Chief Digital Officer at Merriam-Webster, and their award-winning, Preside...

We continue our every-other-week series profiling names you know sharing stories you don't. This week, we get starry-eyed over big ideas with Tamsen Webster. Stories include Tamsen's love affair with speeches, space bags for her brain, and her latest big idea: the Red Thread. About the series: In an era full of content marketing thought leaders, we want to get behind the tactics and tips and under...

We hear the phrase a lot, from friends, bosses, clients, peers: JUST SHIP IT! Just ship your work already. But should you? COULD you? Is this idea friend ... or foe? Today we go exploring the topic of shippin' it, and shippin' it good. Stories about Chris Piascik, an illustrator who has published a new drawing every single weekday since 2007, and Andrea Fryrear, a newly-minted author who wrote her...

We continue our every-other-week series profiling names you know sharing stories you don't. This week, a frank discussion with Mitch Joel. Stories include Mitch's first-ever keynote speech (and the celebrity that headlined the event); his obsessive and prolific writing habits; and why he believes there's one platform we'll all use in the future. That's right: ONE. About the series: In an era full...

Exploring how magic-makers in marketing stand out from the noise by relying more on their personalities than any best practices or tools.  Stories about Jay Baer's barbecue adventures (and why his favorite quote involves a pigeon) and Jessica Best's email geekery. At the end, I share some big news.    PROUD TO PARTNER WITH CONTENT MARKETING WORLD This episode was created in partnership with Conten...

Travel and creativity seem to go hand-in-hand (and then they go skipping down the street in some foreign land). Today we go exploring the topic of exploration: Why is travel linked to inspiration? Does travel help our work, or can it derail our productiveness? And how can we better tap into the benefits of travel to our work ... without booking a single ticket? Stories about Anthony Berriola, a ba...

"What is your writing process?" Like cats on catnip, us content marketers just can't resist when someone answers that question. We positively obsess over each others' writing process, and the more known the marketer, the more we swoon and purr. Ann Handley writes in a tiny house in her backyard? TO HOME DEPOT, TEAM! Seth Godin shaves his head 'til you can SEE the brilliance? HONEY! CAN Y...

  Richard's side project started with that familiar feeling when you just can't wait to see people's reactions. But in this case, it was his own reaction that surprised this serial side hustler. SUBSCRIBE at http://unthinkable.fm FEEDBACK ON THE SHOW? Email jay@unthinkable.fm Tweet http://twitter.com/jayacunzo Snap http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo Insta http://instagram.com/jacunzo   LINKS TO KNO...

Content marketers put creativity up on a pedestal. But when you actually create for a living, you know something far simpler, and you see something hidden in plain sight: brilliance. SUBSCRIBE at http://unthinkable.fm   FEEDBACK ON THE SHOW? Email jay@unthinkable.fm Tweet http://twitter.com/jayacunzo Snap http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo   LINKS TO KNOW: Joe Lazauskas: https://twitter.com/JoeLaza...

We've all been where Angela is at in her work right now. Today, we dive deep into this feeling and try to make sense of it. SUBSCRIBE at http://unthinkable.fm FEEDBACK ON THE SHOW? Email jay@unthinkable.fm Tweet http://twitter.com/jayacunzo Snap http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo LINKS TO KNOW: Angela's Twitter: https://twitter.com/that_angela Angela's project: http://ourgreatescape.ca/ TOPICS DISC...

FEEDBACK ON THE SHOW? Email jay@unthinkable.fm Tweet http://twitter.com/jayacunzo Snap http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo   TODAY'S STORY: The role of your gut instincts in creating exceptional work. With a story about music legend Sting from executive producer Andrew Davis, followed by the tale of Tim Jensen, a former U.S. Marine who doesn't believe people rise to the occasion as much as they do s...

Tyler Littwin took a deep breath, walked up on stage in front of his entire company, and let them have it. And they...loved every minute of it. Today in this short story about a side project, we hear the tale of Orlando Scampington. Join the community for content-obsessed content marketers: http://unthinkable.fm   LINKS TO KNOW: Orlando on Twitter: http://twitter.com/oscampington Tyler on Twitter:...

This week, go behind-the-scenes with the making of Unthinkable with Jay and executive producer Andrew Davis, as the two discuss the thinking behind the show, the audience they're out to serve, and why Jay wants to be the Anthony Bourdain of business content. Get Monday's email: http://unthinkable.fm Follow Jay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jayacunzo Follow Andrew on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dr...

What does it take to trust your intuition and succeed? Get a new hypothesis every Monday morning via email, packaged as an irresistible story. Text TRUST to 444999 ... or subscribe at unthinkable.fm   TODAY: What if something is based not on historical precedent, but potential? How do you measure that? Can you? Today, we go outside our echo chamber with a Grammy-nominated music teacher who helps u...

Josh Bernoff writes a blog about writing, putting him among a TON of others that could be completely the same. So he uses a hook in order to stand out. In this short story about Josh's side project, we dive into how that hook has built him a successful career as a solo entrepreneur and author. (Slingshots are short stories about a creative side project that led somewhere surprising or unexpected....

Join our Unthinkable journey -- each week, a new hypothesis for what it takes to trust your intuition and suceed. Subscribe at unthinkable.fm  or text TRUST to 444999.   TODAY: If you want to break from convention and follow your intuition, where does that leave all those best practices out there? It's so easy to follow a list or do what someone else says works. But what if best practices aren't e...

Juliana Casale's story is not unlike most of ours, because Juliana Casale is not unlike us -- trying hard to use her creative craft to elevate her career. But unlike many of us, Juliana recognizes something about her side project that has launched her career in B2B marketing forward. In this episode, she shares the story of how it all started in the most unlikely of places. (Slingshots are short s...

Subscribe at http://unthinkable.fm  to get our weekly hypothesis answering one question, explored through story: What does it take to trust your intuition? TODAY: We assume creativity has to be big. We need to tackle broad, sweeping ideals, produce massive, industry-leading projects, and find deep, life-affirming meaning in our work. But what if to get all that, we need to think smaller? Today, we...

Harry Stebbings managed to break into venture capital -- one of the most difficult industries to work in -- at the age of just 20. And he did so with a side project that took a strong stance on industry norms: The Twenty-Minute VC. In this episode, he recounts the early days of coming up with his idea, longing to work with millionaires who would hardly give him the time of day, and the moment when...

Subscribe at http://unthinkable.fm to get a quick note from Jay every Monday morning about trusting your intuition. TODAY: Why do some people seem totally fine using tactics that make us nauseous? If we're going to trust our intuition, then often times, that means rejecting some of the gimmicks and hacks and cheats that others don't seem to mind using. Why the gap in thinking? How can we make sens...

GET THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION from this episode -- subscribe at http://unthinkable.fm before October 30, 2016. TODAY: Jonathan Fields has written several books, hosts a top podcast, and speaks all over the world. By most measures, he's "made it." But his latest book, How to Live a Good Life, caused him to question everything he knew about writing. In this episode, he recounts the odyssey o...

Subscribe at unthinkable.fm to get a quick note from Jay every Monday morning about trusting your intuition. TODAY: If you're going to reject conventional thinking and instead trust your intuition, you'll find yourself sharing tons of ideas with others. But this can feel scary, like our ideas are secrets we'd prefer to keep inside. And when someone shoots them down, we assume they just don't &quot...

SUBSCRIBE at unthinkable.fm to get a quick note every Monday morning containing new episodes, exclusive bonus content, and new experiments to join.   TODAY: Deb Aoki is like many of us craft-driven creators. She aspires to do great work, but she's held more than a few jobs that treat her like a voiceless, last-in-line asset machine. They decide the strategy and lead the meetings. She inserts copy...

FOR EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT: Subscribe at http://unthinkable.fm to get a quick note from Jay every Monday morning.   TODAY: Your creative intuition is a powerful guide. So why does it occasionally seem like you're wandering in circles, unable to move past a single piece of a project? It just doesn't feel like you can get it RIGHT, so you keep agonizing over that part of the work.   Today, we learn...