The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

We really have a problem with something that is We have so much on our plate and so many things going that we want closure. We want the report done. We want the kids picked up. We want the house cleaned.Whatever it is we want it done because that way we can take it off our plate and we’ll have one last thing we have to contend with. That’s why something like meditation is difficult for people because they feel like “when will I get done with this, when am I good at it?” When you say “it’s just something you do forever, that’s a very difficult concept and it’s an uncomfortable concept until you begin to see the benefits of it. When you begin to see the benefits of it and how it impacts your life and your self power, then that starts to dissolve and you start say “I get this. I want to participate in this forever because I want this ability to continue to expand – Tom SternerTom Sterner is the founder and CEO of the Practicing Mind Institute. As a successful entrepreneur he is considered an expert in Present Moment Functioning. He’s also the author of Fully Engaged: Using the Practicing Mind in Daily Life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Work is where we spend most of our time. And it’s where I think so much learning happens. It’s often where people are exposed to difference in a way that they’re not in their personal lives. We’ve got to work on global teams. We have to work with multiple nationalities. We have to figure out how to lead virtually without ever sitting in front of somebody physically. So we have to get really good at noticing and valuing diversity in all of its forms, and then being inclusive leaders. I think we’re a long way off from that. I’m trying to help corporate America specifically try to tell their story differently and prioritize diversity and inclusion as value that’s going to resonate with incoming talent. But I want them to walk the talk. I don’t want them to just use it as a marketing slogan. I want them to do the hard work which is the internal work in their culture. It’s really easy to buy your way on to lists and get awards and control the optics of the story on the outside. But the harder work and more valuable work is “what are we going to be about as a culture?” I think the role of leaders in setting that framework is really important. They have a huge platform they can use. Yet I find most are scared of it or don’t know what to say about it. They just let it go. And it’s a missed opportunity because people are hearing that as “I don’t matter.” Something is happening in their life that’s huge and their expected to come into work and deny it. That’s kind of the core of what we need to solve for.” – Jennifer BrownJENNIFER BROWN is an award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic speaker and diversity and inclusion expert. She is the founder, president and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting (JBC), a strategic leadership and diversity consulting firm that coaches business leaders worldwide on critical issues of talent and workplace strategy. She’s also the author of Inclusion: Diversity, The New Workplace and the Will to Change.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If we make a practice in our lives, like going to the gym or eating healthy, if you want to lose weight and be fit, or you want to be chiseled, you’ve got to make a practice. It’s a daily practice. You can’t go to the gym for a week and eat cake for 30 days nonstop and say “hey what happened? I was getting in shape.”Whether you’re feeling bad or feeling good, that doesn’t matter. It’s just your practice, like when you wake up and when you go to sleep. There are certain things you do. It’s a fundamental practice. Just like you talk about with writing. It’s a practice. Then you hit the flow state. Same thing in life. You make it a practice. Life hits a flow state.Things in life happen. People die. Nothing we can do to stop that. People we love die. Things happen. When we hit that flow state we bounce back much faster. The things that used to bring us down don’t bring us down like before. Then it’s only the real tragedies in life that bring us down. When a loved one dies, it’s a real tragedy and that should bring you down. It’s good to have loved someone that way and feel the loss. But the other stuff, the other garbage, the 99 percent of the stuff that brings us down that doesn’t matter lessens and its power over us lessens. So, I would say to someone who is either down or up, what matters is a fundamental daily practice of working on your inner self that keeps you in your personal flow. – Kamal RavikantKamal Ravikant is a venture capitalist and author of best-selling books such as Love Yourself Like your Life Depends on It, Live Your Truth and Rebirth: A Fable of Love, Forgiveness and Following Your Heart.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the New Year starts, we’re all thinking about the changes we want to make and the goals we want to accomplish. But  after the first 3-4 weeks, the excitement wears off and we find ourselves right back where where we started or in some cases in an even worse position. 96 of personal development efforts fail because people attempt to do life by default instead of by design. When the New Year starts, we’re all thinking about the changes we want to make and the goals we want to accomplish. But  after the first 3-4 weeks, the excitement wears off and we find ourselves right back where where we started or in some cases in an even worse position. 96 of personal development efforts fail because people attempt to do life by default instead of by design.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every environment is connected. You can’t change one environment and not have it change another. If you improve one environment it will send a ripple effect through the other environments. If you improve your physical body as an environment, what happens to your self image? It improves. Once your self image improves, what happens to your networks? Your network improve because you quit hanging out with the people that are bringing you down. What happens when your network improves? Your net worth is related to your network. And your financial environment can start to improve. The quality of people you’re hanging out with is better. Your confidence is up. Your strengths, gifts, and talents are up. Your physical health is up so you have more energy to commit to your vision, mission and passion. – Jim Bunch Jim Bunch is the founder of The Ultimate Game of Life.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The “you’re an imposter” mantra is beautiful oft repeated phrase from one’s inner critic. But there are a lot of other phrases the inner critic uses, so it’s kind of a subset of this self loathing that goes on. You correctly linked it to the kind of merging of sense of self and self worth with work. But I would argue that it’s even deeper. It’s merging a sense of self and self worth with almost anything that’s extrinsic to this meatball called me. One of the more profound teachings from Buddhism goes like this: you are lovable, you are worthy. Not because of anything you’ve done, but simply because you exist. – Jerry Colonna Jerry Colonna is an executive coach who uses the skills he learned as a venture capitalist to help entrepreneurs. He draws on his wide variety of experiences to help clients design a more conscious life and make needed changes to their career to improve their performance and satisfaction  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have your body which is your hardware. And then you have the external world. At an early age you develop the software or operating system to interact between the hardware and the external world. The operating system is formed during the first 7 years. This is why the Jesuits say “give me the child until the age of 7 and I’ll give you the man. So that early education: did you get bullied, how did you respond, how do you navigate playground dynamics, how do you deal with parental stress or family trauma.. You kind of form this operating system. Then we become adults in we start running applications on it: career, love life, sports, money, finance. And the applications start crashing. We blame the application. But we never go back to rewrite the operating system. In a newer world that we live in today that is infinitely more complex, we need to rewrite our basic operating system. Old tools for that worked when you had a lifetime. But the world is moving too quickly now for somebody to take 10 years to meditate to get to some level of transformation. – Salim IsmailSalim is a sought after speaker, strategist and entrepreneur – his last company, Angstro, was acquired by Google in August 2010. Salim spent two years as SU’s founding Executive Director and currently serves as its Global Ambassador focusing on its global presence. He Twitters his thoughts at @salimismail and blogs infrequently at www.salimismail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Creating a movement doesn’t happen with just doing one talk. Creating a movement is whole series of stories, ceremonies, symbols and speeches, over and over. – Nancy DuarteNancy Duarte is a communication expert who has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Wired, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, LA Times and on CNN. Her firm, Duarte, Inc., is the global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture. The largest design agency in the Silicon Valley, and 5th largest woman-owned employer, Duarte, Inc. is estimated to have created more than a quarter of a million presentations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dive into the captivating world of flow and neuroscience with renowned author and peak performance expert Steven Kotler, in this thought-provoking episode of Unmistakable Creative.In this mind-expanding conversation, Steven Kotler takes us on a fascinating journey through the science of flow - a state of optimal human performance where time seems to vanish and individuals feel their best and most creative. Drawing from his extensive research, Steven unveils the neurological processes that underpin this elusive state, shedding light on how we can tap into flow more consistently and unlock our full potential.Join us as we explore the key elements that trigger flow and how it can be harnessed to enhance creativity, productivity, and overall well-being. Steven shares practical tips and strategies for achieving flow in our daily lives, whether at work, in sports, or during moments of creative expression.Throughout the episode, Steven Kotler's deep expertise and passion for the subject shine through, leaving listeners with a profound understanding of how flow can be a game-changer in achieving peak performance.If you're curious about the neuroscience behind flow and eager to explore the possibilities of unlocking your full potential, this episode is a must-listen. Steven Kotler's compelling insights and practical guidance will inspire you to embark on a journey of heightened creativity, productivity, and fulfillment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you ready to discover the secrets behind creating work that captivates and compels others? Join us in this engaging episode as we dive deep into the realm of irresistible work with the renowned author and speaker Sally Hogshead.Sally Hogshead is a world-class branding expert, best-selling author, and a captivating storyteller. In this thought-provoking interview, she shares her valuable insights into how you can make your work stand out in a crowded market. Through her groundbreaking research, Sally has uncovered the key triggers that elicit fascination in others, and she'll show you how to leverage these triggers to make your work impossible to resist.During the conversation, Sally delves into the science of fascination, explaining how certain individuals and ideas hold our attention more than others. By understanding the seven universal fascination triggers, you'll gain a fresh perspective on how to craft your work in a way that resonates deeply with your audience.Unlocking the secrets of Sally Hogshead's work empowers you to create meaningful connections, increase your influence, and leave a lasting impact on the world. Whether you're an entrepreneur, artist, or creative professional, her expertise will inspire you to tap into your uniqueness and create work that sparks fascination and engagement.Join us in this captivating conversation with Sally Hogshead and discover how you can make your work a magnet for attention, admiration, and success. Get ready to unleash your full potential and create a lasting impact in the hearts and minds of others.Note: This episode contains invaluable insights from Sally Hogshead herself and is a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate their creative endeavors and professional pursuits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us on Unmistakable Creative for an enlightening conversation with Adam Grant, a renowned Wharton professor, New York Times writer, and influential management thinker. In this episode, Grant delves into the intriguing world of non-conformity, sharing insights from his bestselling book, 'Originals.'Discover how to get comfortable with ideas that may not always align with popular opinion, and learn to appreciate the moments that truly captivate your attention. Grant emphasizes the importance of developing confidence as a learner and challenges the conformist behavioral patterns prevalent in our education system.Explore the impact of system justification theory on our decision-making processes and the difference between instructor-driven and student-led learning. Overcome your fear of failure and understand why Grant believes that confidence is won through success, and in a surprising twist, why he thinks conformity is the new originality.Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the world's top-rated professors and gain insights that could transform your approach to success. Tune in now!" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“So even if you say “I’m not trying to do deep work now. I”m in line at the supermarket. I’m bored let me look at something.” That actually affects your deep work the next morning or the next day when you actually want to do it. There’s this whole notion of passive training where you basically are embracing boredom. You give your mind plenty of practice in actually resisting the urge for distraction, being bored, and being present. That actually has the same sort of ramifications on your ability to focus down the line, just like smoking having to do with cardio vascular fitness. If you’re smoking outside of your practice as a professional athlete, when you get to your actual game you’re going to struggle. If your attention is constantly shifting towards things that are novel and interesting, if you can’t tolerate boredom, it’s going to be hard when it becomes time for you to focus to actually do it.” – Cal NewportThe Great Courses Plus is a video learning services with access to thousands of lectures. Be sure to check out Fundamentals of Photography  and many other courses. Sign up for a one month free trial at TheGreatCoursesplus.com/CreativeCal Newport is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, who specializes in the theory of distributed algorithms. He previously earned his Ph.D. from MIT in 2009 and graduated from Dartmouth College in 2004. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If somebody wants to change their current situation, one of my favorite quotes is “if you’ve always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got.” An that’s from Tony Robbins. You just kind have to try and shake things up and kind of step outside your comfort zone. I know might seem easy looking at it from the outside. But it’s certainly not. You just have to find a way to shake things up. That’s all you can do. And you have to take personal responsibility for where you are at this point in time right now because once you accept responsibility and own your shit, that gives you an opportunity to change that. – Nathan ChanNathan Chan is the Creator of Foundr, a multi-faceted digital media business spreading the love of entrepreneurship through its podcast, digital magazine, training platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I want to disabuse everyone who is listening to this that you need to be artistic to be able to draw. You don’t. You don’t need even need to be creative. Drawing is not an artistic process, not in the way I’m talking about it. Drawing is a thinking process. And once you get to that point you realize that “I don’t care if you’re drawing looks like the thing that you’re trying to draw. Say that you’re trying to draw a picture of your car and I say “that doesn’t look like a car, that’s a terrible drawing.” If I can get the idea that there are two circles that represent wheels and a box sitting on top of them, if it’s close enough to me for a car for me to say “that’s a car”, that’s all I care about. What I’m interested in is what is the idea of what you’re trying to convey. Not the specifics of does it look exactly like that. – Dan Roam The Great Courses Plus is a video learning services with access to thousands of lectures. Be sure to check out Fundamentals of Photography  and many other courses. Sign up for a one month free trial at TheGreatCoursesplus.com/CreativeDan Roam  is the founder and president of Digital Roam Inc., a management-consulting firm that uses visual thinking to solve complex problems for such clients as Google, Boeing, eBay, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, the U.S. Navy, and the United States Senate. He’s also the author of Draw to Win: A Crash Course on How to Lead, Sell, and Innovate with Your Visual Mind.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every behavior has a payoff. I find myself asking “what’s the payoff in behaving the way that I am?” And if Im letting my past control me, there’s a part of me that gives permission to living as a victim, to the point where I’m less responsible. It’s easier to live as a victim then it is to live as a fully empowered agent of someone who can change and create the life that they want to live. When we live as a victim we can have excuses. We can have excuses for why we don’t certain things, virtuous things, because we have this bad past. So I start with, what’s the pay off? Do we want to be a victim or do we want to live a richer life.? – John CertalicJohn Certalic is the executive direct for Caring for Others. He’s also the author of Them: The Richer Life Found in Caring for Others Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I think what we have to do is begin with the strength of our message. We go to our content and decide what it is that is really the strongest feature of what we have to have offer. What’s the strength of what we have to offer? Is it reliability? Is it price? Is it comfort? Is it stability? Is it durability? What is it? Then, we go the moment before deliver that message and bring people’s attention to that concept whatever it is. That will make them receptive to the strength of our message – Robert CialdiniRobert Cialdini is the author of Presuasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On some level we’ve totally neglected primal communication.Cesar Milan can’t communicate with a dog with words. We’ve neglected that there’s an entire conversation happening between bodies that you can not speak over. You can talk talk talk, say powerful things, say disempowering things, do whatever you want. But you can’t neglect that level of communication – Kasia UrbaniakKasia Urbaniak is the founder and CEO of The Academy. She has taught some of the world’s most powerful women how to expand their personal power and influence, ask for anything they want, in all areas of their lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“What are you telling me that can help me own life? In some ways that comes down to a beautiful axiom about living, which is: What exactly are you doing on the planet? What are you doing for other people? how are you being generous with your resources, skills, and experiences? For me, when I see people lit up by things I talk about, like the music that I play, and they go off and do things by themselves, and it inspires them, that to me gives me goosebumps. It’s the most beautiful thing like a flame. You can extinguish it, but it can also be infinitely renewable by lighting up other people” – Peter HimmelmanPeter Himmleman is the author of Let Me Out: Unlock Your Creative Mind and Bring Your Ideas to Life and the founder of Big Muse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Unmistakable Creative, we delve into the world of email anxiety with renowned author and creativity expert Jocelyn K. Glei. Jocelyn likens our email inboxes to a slot machine filled with a mix of disappointments and random rewards that keep us hooked. She discusses the psychological mechanisms that drive our email-checking habits and offers insights into how we can break free from this addictive cycle.Jocelyn K. Glei, a writer with a deep fascination for work, careers, and creativity, is the author of four books, including the highly acclaimed 'Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work Done.' In this episode, she shares her expertise in managing email anxiety, setting boundaries, and prioritizing meaningful work over busy work.This episode is a must-listen for anyone struggling with email overload and seeking strategies to regain control over their inbox. Discover how to transform your relationship with email from a source of stress to a manageable part of your daily routine. Tune in to learn how to kill email anxiety and boost your productivity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unleash the power of unconditional giving with Phillip Mckernan on the Unmistakable Creative podcast. This episode delves into the profound impact of giving without expecting anything in return. Mckernan, a renowned speaker, coach, and creator of the film 'Give and Grow: A Journey to Uncover Your Gift,' shares his insights on the transformative power of unconditional giving.He discusses the tragedy of self-doubt and the importance of believing in oneself. Mckernan emphasizes that we often underestimate our potential to make a difference in the world. He also explores how people create chaos and distractions to avoid realizing their true selves. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand the power of giving unconditionally and its exponential growth potential.Join us as we delve into the heart of unconditional giving, its impact on personal growth, and how it can help us become the best versions of ourselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The way I started thinking about middlemen initially was this very simple definition: the person who connects buyers and sellers in a marketplace. In my reporting I actually came across a more expansive and smarter definition. This came from a VC in the valley named Mike Maples. And he says “a middleman in a network is that node in a network that connects other nodes to increase the value of the network.” That’s looking at it from a more positive view and it’s obviously a network view. It’s really looking at the value of the person who is making those connections because not all middlemen can create value or can increase the value of the network. Even if they do they don’t necessarily help both parties enough to justify their cost. I really like that positive angle. Also, it’s so expansive that it goes beyond buyers and sellers. If I know somebody who I think you should meet, I can make that introduction. I’m a middleman who has improved the value of my network by making both people hopefully better off. – Marina KrakovskyMarina Krakovsky is a social science and business journalist with a degree from Stanford University, and author of The Middlemen Economy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In classic cult psychology or cult literature, there’s really two characteristics to a cult. First is that it’s ideologically intense and of course that can describe a lot of organizations. Everything from say something like the Landmark forum to the United States of America. We have an ideology that sits behind the organization. In order to be a part of the US government you have to adopt a certain kind of ideology. There’s this idea that we have an ideology. And cults for that reason pray on people like myself who really want to make the world a better place, want to change the world or feel dissatisfied in some way. There can be political cults. There are quite a few of those out there. There can be spiritual cults. There can be even commercial cults. Real estate is apparently a really common place right now where you find people who are learning how to flip houses and do all this stuff. And they began to develop these really intense ideology around how they approach the world and how they see the world. – Bob GowerSince 2010, Bob Gower has been a coach and consultant, helping apply agile and lean principles at companies like Ford, Travelers, SunTrust, and GE.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’ve become absolutely convinced, when we look at how innovation happens inside organizations or how individuals come up with interesting ideas, where such powerful insights come from the most unexpected places. And the way leaders increase the chances for those insights or innovations to happen is when they can put lots and lots of people from lots of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives together. And develop this architecture of participation where people who wouldn’t otherwise be talking or otherwise wouldn’t be on a project team, people who otherwise wouldn’t be in the same room are in fact in the same room. It’s amazing the kind of insights that can pop out. I think that way of going through life is a much more enriching and rewarding way of going through life. – Bill TaylorBill Taylor is the co-founder of Fast Company and the author of Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In terms of of the new definition of success, at its most basic we have previously defined the American dream as one individual creating wealth. And usually we define that monetarily, for themselves and their family. So this is everything from the white picket fence and all of your needs are met within it to having a job that has a very clear trajectory, straight up the ladder, and you get all the glory and it’s all about your individual hard work and giftedness. I think that what i’m trying to argue for is breaking apart that whole idea that success is an individual pursuit and instead thinking of success as interdependent pursuit that is about the quality of life that you can create by doing work that you find meaningful that allows you to earn enough money by creating community around you, whether that’s where you live or in cowering spaces, but really having this sense that wealth is most accurately expressed through your relationships. The more people that you have deep, genuine and even daily relationships with, the safer you’ll be and probably the healthier and happier you’ll be too. – Courtney Martin Resources and Links MentionedCourtney’s TED TalkHow to be a Person in the World by Heather HavrileskyCourtney Martin is an entrepreneur, columnist at On Being and author of The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the core, any community around this world, if you do the simple things that require the human element of caring, loving and being present, it shifts the dynamic and trajectory for the lives of children. And that’s what I do for these kids, just offering hope in a state of what’s considered helpless. – Nadia LopezSponsorsHostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project’s website hosting by clicking here.As an educator, Nadia Lopez is pioneering a path of inspired leadership to show the world how under-privileged communities can make beat the odds and create positive institutions that have a global impact.  She’s the principal of Mott Hall Bridges and the author of The Bridge to Brilliance. At the core, any community around this world, if you do the simple things that require the human element of caring, loving and being present, it shifts the dynamic and trajectory for the lives of children. And that’s what I do for these kids, just offering hope in a state of what’s considered helpless. – Nadia LopezSponsorsHostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project’s website hosting by clicking here.As an educator, Nadia Lopez is pioneering a path of inspired leadership to show the world how under-privileged communities can make beat the odds and create positive institutions that have a global impact.  She’s the principal of Mott Hall Bridges and the author of The Bridge to Brilliance.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What causes a lot of people to quit is the first time they fail, the first time they weren’t good enough. It doesn’t matter how great of a football player you are, it doesn’t matter how strong you are. I can have you do pushups in the cold California surf until your arms give out. No matter how strong you are, eventually your arms will give out. That’s what seal training does. It pushes you past your limits. A lot of people aren’t comfortable going past their limits. They have a mindset that’ become fixed. They only like to do things that they can be good at. They tie in everything that makes them feel good about themselves by being naturally good at something or being able to do something with little to no effort. And for guys who make it through seal training ,what we feed off and what we pride ourselves on is the effort. – Eric DavisEric Davis served our country as a U.S. Navy SEAL and decorated veteran of the Global War on Terror. Eric has been recognized as one of the premier sniper instructors in the U.S. military and has served as a Master Training Specialist at the SEAL sniper school in Coronado, CA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Focus is about the ability  to attend at will. And to do so in the presence of distractors. And focus ends up becoming then a balance of continuous resources against transient resources. Transient resources, things where you’re being alerted or oriented to new stimulus in the environment and sort of vigilant as a sustained attention piece where you’re able to laser like focus and also be flexible enough to pull things out of your mind. Not stay so focused on something in front of you that you can’t think. It’s actually not just more. Performing better is not simply more attention, more focus, it’s about control over these things. – Andrew HillAndrew Hill, PhD. Dr. Hill is the Founding Director of Peak Brain Institute and the lead neurotherapist at the flagship Peak Brain Institute location in Los Angeles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If it looks good on paper and other people are impressed maybe that means it’s the right thing. And for me, one of the main lessons I learned was that you can have a job that on paper is perfect. The right company, the right title, the right salary, the right kind of influence, and prestige. Your parents are super impressed or it looks good on Linkedin. Deep down if you know that’s not the right fit for you, that’s on you. No one else is going to say something. – Smiley PoswolskyAdam Smiley Poswolsky is a millennial career expert and author of Quarterlife Breakthrough: A Career Guide for Millennials to find Meaningful Work   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anybody who has achieved in sports or in music or has traveled globally, anyone who has broken out of their social circle has realized there’s a whole big world out there. It gives you a certain amount of inner authority where you have the courage, when your social circle is dragging your down or not agreeing, it takes what I call Inner authority vs. Outer authority. Outer is authority is “what does the Bible say, what does the Quran say, what do my parents say, what does society say?” It’s always an “ism.” It’s always “I have a decision to make. Let me check with an outer authority to see what I should do” And there’s a lot of people who live that way right now. Inner authority is “I might check with an outer authority, but I’m going to make the decision myself and trust that my opinion is valuable.” – Dean KosageDean Kosage has more than 16 years of professional experience and specializes in motivational speaking and life coaching. An entrepreneur at an early age, he owned a restaurant and online retail stores with affiliates worldwide. By age 23, he gained such success that he was able to retire and focus his attention on Kosage Motivation, Inc. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discover the secrets to living a fulfilling life with Jonathan Fields in this enlightening episode of the Unmistakable Creative podcast titled 'How to Live a Good Life'. Jonathan Fields, a renowned entrepreneur, author, and host of The Good Life Project, shares his insights on the iterative process of growth and learning. He emphasizes that success is not the only metric but rather the lessons learned and personal growth achieved along the journey.Fields encourage listeners to answer a deeper calling within themselves, acknowledging that the path to creating something meaningful often takes years if not decades. He references the classic Ira Glass quote, highlighting that one's sense of taste develops long before the ability to produce at that level. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand the essence of living a good life and the importance of being open to the possibility of a long, rewarding journey.In addition to the enlightening conversation with Fields, this episode also features a guide to unlocking your mind's full potential. Learn how to build a 'second brain' with Mem.ai, a tool designed to capture, organize, and retrieve your knowledge effortlessly. Never let a good idea slip away again and supercharge your productivity. Start building your second brain today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The question “what do I want?”,we make it this big all encompassing question like one day you’ll wake up and you’ll know with absolutely certainty what the rest of your life is about. And what I suggest is that’s a false idea. And when we build it up that way, we make the question so big that it’s hard too hard to answer. Instead the way see it today and teach it today, don’t see the question with an answer, see it as a process. See it as a question that you answer over time. – Geoff BladesGeoff Blades is an author and advisor to senior Wall Street Professionals, CEO’s and other leaders, on all topics related to getting what they want in their business, careers, and lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If you are sharing something to connect with people… usually the scarier something feels the better is that you share it, but if it feels like relief, like you would talk to a friend, then often it’s done selfishly. Often times being vulnerable on the internet is whatever you make it…. One person can share something and another person can share the same thing, but their intention of unloading vs connecting is usually really clear at the beginning” – Marian SchembariMarian Schembari is a writer, storyteller and brainstorm partner based in San Francisco.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Productivity is not about doing things unthinkingly. Productivity is about pushing yourself to think more about things that matter. We know the people who are most productive tend to spend more time thinking about what their priorities ought to be instead of getting into their office and automatically answering emails, then working on their expenses, and responding to phone calls. Instead of going on autopilot, which is what habits help us do, what productive people do is say “I know that’s what I did yesterday, but is that the best use of my time today”- Charles DuhiggCharles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize winning at the New Work Times and the Best Selling author of Smarter Faster Better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this interaction that takes place between a person and a robot, the person is a critical determining factor in how that interaction is going to work. Just like with your computer. If you have a very frustration tolerance for example, computers are going to drive you crazy because computers are always going behave in confounding ways. They’re always going to do something that you didn’t want expect or want. If I allow my low frustration tolerance to guide my interactions with my computer, it’s not going to be a good relationship with my computer. It’s going to be a terrible relationship with my computer. Software isn’t going to work. We all know people who can’t get things to work on their computer. The computer is just fine. It’s the human part of the interaction that isn’t working well. – Tom GuarrielloTom Guarriello is the founder of Robosych, where he explores the psychology of human-robot interaction  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you want to make your art your commodity? Answer that. Because that choice is the most difficult choice you’re going to have to make. That’s going to guide and effect everything else that you’re doing. When I think about how that’s shown up in my life, it’s shown up in some incredibly beautiful ways and some incredibly difficult ways. When your art is your commodity, when you’re just a poet, and you’re doing it as a hobby, it’s like “I want to show up at this open mic and rock my love poem, you know I’m in love. I want rock my heartbreak poem because she just left me. Or I want to do my suicide depression poem because I’m feeling down.” And now when your art becomes your job, it’s like “I’ve got to rock this phone bill poem” – Sekou AndrewsAs the world’s leading Poetic voice, Sekou Andrews creates powerful poetic presentations that give voice to the missions of organizations and help them tell their most powerful stories. He’s also the creator of Stage Might, unique training to help you stand out on any stage, and inspire any crowd by becoming more authentic, moving, and memorable.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I was going through a rough patch I came to one of two conclusions: I’m either destined to be unhappy forever because I keep hitting these existential crises every few years and our society only has two words for them. It’s either a midlife crisis or a quarter-life crisis. Or this crisis state is accelerating and we’re all going to be experiencing it more frequently. As I started doing research for the book, I realized that the latter was really the case…Typically when businesses talk about pivoting it’s to change strategy to save the business from collapse. Plan A didn’t’ work so now they have to pivot or die. And in our careers it’s different. Pivot is now the new normal. Actually Pivot is a state of mind and it’s a method that we can all get better at. It’s also a privilege to ask what’s next. Part of hitting a career plateau or pivot point is that’s a sign of our success. – Jenny BlakeJenny Blake is an international speaker, career and business strategist and executive coach. She’s also the author of Pivot: The Only Move the Matters is your Next One Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even outside of outside of whatever skills you develop, say you never become a great guitar player, or singer or artists. That discipline, that willingness to keep working on something until you get better, these are skills that transfer into all other parts of your life. Same thing with sports. I think every kid should do some kind of sports, especially team sports. I can’t overemphasize how important some of the values were I learned from being on teams: learning about teamwork, and working together, and being willing to fail, accepting defeat over and over again. And making that part of your character. All of those are things that come out of extracurricular activities like music and the discipline of getting better at something. – Josh NeufeldSponsorsHostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project’s website hosting by clicking here.Designcrowd  gives you access to an entire creative team at a price that is accessible to anyone. For $100 off your first design project, click here and use promo code CREATIVE.Truecar users save an average $3221 off MSRP. Over two million cars have been sold using through the Truecar certified dealer network. Visit Truecar.com or download the Truecar app.Josh Neufeld is a cartoonist who works primarily in the field of non-fiction comics, specifically as a comics journalist. Even outside of outside of whatever skills you develop, say you never become a great guitar player, or singer or artists. That discipline, that willingness to keep working on something until you get better, these are skills that transfer into all other parts of your life. Same thing with sports. I think every kid should do some kind of sports, especially team sports. I can’t overemphasize how important some of the values were I learned from being on teams: learning about teamwork, and working together, and being willing to fail, accepting defeat over and over again. And making that part of your character. All of those are things that come out of extracurricular activities like music and the discipline of getting better at something. – Josh NeufeldSponsorsHostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project’s website hosting by clicking here.Designcrowd  gives you access to an entire creative team at a price that is accessible to anyone. For $100 off your first design project, click here and use promo code CREATIVE.Truecar users save an average $3221 off MSRP. Over two million cars have been sold using through the Truecar certified dealer network. Visit Truecar.com or download the Truecar app.Josh Neufeld is a cartoonist who works primarily in the field of non-fiction comics, specifically as a comics journalist.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anytime a minority of people in this country wants to change, and by minority I mean a minority of people who hold a specific belief or believe that change should happen, they have to convince a lot of people and a lot of their legislators to believe the same thing in order for that to actually get done. The fight for gay marriage felt like it was an overnight success but that took 30 years of organizing, and 30 years of convincing hearts and minds even when the majority of the country believe that it should have been done. It took a supreme court decision. It is really difficult and I have the utmost respect for people who can show up, hear the conspiracy theorists talk about how much they’re evil people, and deal with the atrocities that people accuse our government of, and still believe in the cause, and show up and get it done every day. – Caleb GardnerCaleb Gardner is a digital and social expert at Bain and Company, and formerly was lead strategist and editorial voice for BarackObama.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There’s a reduction belief around things like food and other kinds of sacred activities that make us human that we’ve managed boil down to an essential thing the way we do with everything in our lives. We want to become more efficient at them. More productive. I believe there are 5 things we do as humans that don’t deserve that kind of treatment: breathing, sleeping, procreating, eliminating and eating are essential things that don’t belong in that category. ” – Jeffery ZurofskyJeffery Zurofsky’s entrepreneurial spirit and love for food started at the age of eight, attempting to replicate in his family’s New Jersey’s kitchen what he saw master chefs create on PBS classic cooking shows. Satya Twena is the CEO and creative director of Satya Twena Fine Millinery, Makin Hats, and Sol A Mer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I remember the first guy that I taught. He walked into the studio very shy and very nervous. I was also nervous thinking “did someone just pay me to teach them how to dance?” What the hell? Do not let on that this potentially a scam. There’s no way he’s paying me to teach him how to dance. Let’s roll with this.” So he told me his story:“Obviously, I don’t know how to dance. But I’m gay and everyone expects me to know how to dance. They think I’m a fantastic dancer. That’s so far from the truth. I need so many shots of booze not get lost in my thoughts, and feel embarrassed because I know that I’m going to embarrass myself and people are going to wonder why can’t this gay man dance?And for the first half hour of the lesson he was staring down at his feet…shoulders caved in, head down, arms crossed as if he was literally guarding himself from being attacked. He started learning a few basic moves, very simple moves. And it started to feel good. Once he got the moves he started dancing to the beat…. And then his shoulders relaxed, his arms relaxed, and I remember he looked up at the mirror in front of him and then he smirked. He smiled and I said “what’s up?” He said “I think I can dance. I think I’m beginning to learn how to dance.” And I said “Damn straight you can dance” – Ben WestonBen Weston, the Men’s Dance Coach, helps men learn how to dance with confidence and power. And he’s on a mission to get the world dancing, one man at a time.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

” I think the word potential is one of the most bullshit words out there. How I know someone isn’t very good at being a performance coach is when they use potential. It’s literally a word that’s not allowed to be used in my practice at all….It’s the crutch that average people use to describe their mediocre results.” – Todd HermanTodd Herman is a performance coach who helps Olympians, billionaires, and teams break through to new levels of performance.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When you want to have more energy and more ability to write, it comes down to one thing. And that’s electrons. At the end of the day, you’re a battery. Your job is to make enough electrons to do what you want to do. We call that energy. You get energy from food, air, and to some extent from light and magnetism. The problem that most people have is that they have unstable energy supply to their head. Your brain and visual processing system are probably using 20% of your calories. Your heart, eyes, and your brain have about 10,000 mitochondria (these little power plants in your cell), per cell. So they’re very dense in energy consumption. The rest of your body has 1 or 2 per cell. So you have 10 times the energy consumption and energy production ability in your brain. That means, especially if you’re smart and focusing a lot, if you have slight perturbations in your ability to bring energy into those cells, it’s basically energy brownout.” – Dave AspreyDave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof and author of New York Times bestseller The Bulletproof Diet, is a Silicon Valley investor and technology entrepreneur who spent two decades and over $300,000 to hack his own biology.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another riveting episode of Unmistakable Creative, where we dive into the mind of Chris Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator and the CEO of the Black Swan Group. This episode, titled 'Jedi Mind Tricks of an FBI Hostage Negotiator with Chris Voss,' offers a unique perspective on negotiation and the power of deference.In this episode, Chris Voss shares his wealth of knowledge and experience from his years in international crises and high-stakes negotiations. He discusses the concept of deference and how ceding the illusion of control can give you the upper hand. Voss's insights are not just applicable to hostage situations but also to the business world and everyday life.Voss also talks about his book, 'Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It,' and his company, the Black Swan Group. The company applies the techniques proven in global crisis situations to the business world, providing a unique program for negotiation and communication. Don't miss this episode to learn from one of the most influential voices in negotiation and gain insights that could transform your life and career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I don’t care who you are. Even billionaires. We like to be surprised and delighted. Most people I would say walk around feeling under-appreciated and not over appreciated, whether it’s by your family, by your employee, by your kids….In general most people feel under appreciated by their most important relationships. So I think when you gift no strings attached, and it’s not an obligatory year end gift. I don’t send one gift between Thanksgiving and Christmas because that’s an obligation. But when somebody gets a gift just because “I was thinking of you” or just “because of who you are”, I don’t care if you live in South America or Nowhereseville, Ohio, that makes people feel a certain way. And we all crave that appreciation and acknowledgement as a human being. When you tap into that feeling, it’s powerful. And I think we’re all wired at a DNA level, to want to reciprocate it in some, way, shape or form eventually. – John RuhlinJohn Ruhlin is the author of Giftology and drives sales growth by teaching gifting strategies to leaders in the pro sports, non-profit, and business world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beyond working in whatever your parents did type of working, the industrial revolution really sort of began that idea that you would get a job, that you wouldn’t just be whatever your parents were or work on the farm that you inherited. That was the beginning of management and it was based off this idea that the majority of people didn’t need to think and act. We just need to teach you how to do this repetitive motion in the factory and pay you to do that motion for 8 hours. Then around the mid 1900’s we shifted from industrial work to knowledge work. What happened was that alot of those tools we brought with us from the factory to the office. The tools of how we manage people. And it worked because the work was still repetitive, but it was repetitive on paper instead of trying to assemble a car. And now we’re in this shift where knowledge work has become creative work. Everybody has to exercise creativity. Even in a normal “office” job you have to solve problems, come up with solutions, and create ideas. You have to exercise that muscle in a way that we haven’t had to do even 20 years ago. – David BurkusDavid Burkus is an associate professor of management at Oral Roberts University. He’s also the author of Under New Management and The Myths of Creativity  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I truly do believe that this is both the very best time in the history of the universe, as far as we can tell, to make something because the tools for creation have never been more easily gotten, they’ve never been cheaper. They’ve never been better. They’ve never been as diverse. And they truly make things more accessible. So if you want to make something that has been made already like a book, a movie, a song, the tools do that are just about free, which means almost anybody in the world can get their hands on it. And many of these things in previous generations were prohibitively expensive and relegated to the elites. But now you can make a book that looks as good as a best-selling author can make, and you can distribute it, and it costs very little do…We are at a moment right now in terms of what’s ahead of us, that it’s a very rapidly expanding opening. We’re on the cusp of all these very transformative technologies and trends that will produce more stuff and opportunities in the next 50 years than in the past 50 years as much as that’s hard to believe. – Kevin KellyKevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of Wired Magazine, and author of The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have this basic activity where you set a goal. You’re trying to do something that you can’t do and you have a practice activity that you can repeatedly apply and explore different ways in which you achieve this goal that you’ve set. And if a teacher has now been able to identify this as a suitable change for you, then we call that deliberate practice. – Anders EricssonK. Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychologist and Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is internationally recognized as a researcher in the psychological nature of expertise and human performance. He’s also the author ofPeak: The New Science of Expertise Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When you’re truly unmistakable, the competition becomes completely irrelevant. You’re not the best option. You’re the only option. When you’re the only option people don’t price shop, compare or wait for what you’re selling to go on sale. If you’re the only option people will wait in line to buy your product regardless of what it costs, or in some cases regardless of what you’re selling” -Srinivas Rao Srinivas Rao is the host and founder of The Unmistakable Creative. He’s also the author of Unmistakable: Why Only is Better Than Best.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There’s a necessary amount of suffering that needs to happen for new ideas or new work or change to happen. If I don’t suffer, I won’t know what joy or contentment is. If I flatline, then I won’t be able to experience it as deeply. And the cracks are where the light shines through. The cracks, weaknesses, suffering and pain are what allow for new growth. Change is actually good. It doesn’t feel good. But it actually leads us to new places…Every person of significance has experienced deep and painful setbacks or heartbreak or suffering to get to the next level to be able to get to the next space of awareness.” – Erik WahlErik Wahl is an internationally recognized graffiti artist, author of the book Unthink, and speaker who redefines the term “keynote speaker” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I was always able to envision “as soon as I get to this spot, the bullshit in my head is going to leave. As soon as this happens, it’s all going to go away. I’m going to feel really confident as a writer”. And I’ve actually reached all of those points and all that happens is the bullshit in my head shifts into some new story. That’s it. It doesn’t go away. I just changes. It’s a shapeshifter. So that’s where I am now. I’ve made peace with the fact there’s a part of my brain that’s always chattering on about how I’m an impostor, and I’m not good enough, and I’m going to make people upset. But I always get back to “am I writing what I want to be writing in way that I want to be writing it.” And I just kind of trust that’s all I’ve got. That’s what I’ve got to give the world. It’s either going to succeed or not. People are going to like it or not, but that’s what I have. I’m just going to focus on being the best writer that I can and telling the truth as accurately as I can.”Janelle Hanchett is founder of Renegade Mothering: The Fight Against Meaningful Parenting Advice Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.