Follow Your Curiosity

Creative Pep Talk #54: Be Curious, Not Judgmental

Our culture tells us we should be obsessed(!) with the thing we're meant to do, which can lead to judgment on our part—of our kids, our friends, and ourselves. There are lots of reasons not to be obsessed, and better ways to deal with them than judgment. I'll tell you more in this short episode. 

If you suspect you're multi-passionate, I highly recommend the work of Barbara Sher ("Refuse to Choose") and Margaret Lobenstine ("The Renaissance Soul"). Thanks to Walt Whitman by way of Ted Lasso for this episode's title!

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 fycuriosity.com, or contact me on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon!

Stick with It with Patrick Lombardi

My guest this week, Patrick Lombardi, was born and raised in New Jersey, where he still lives and writes for a variety of local and national sites like BestofNJ.com, NJ.com, and BuzzFeed. He’s collection of humorous stories and essays, Junk Sale, came out in 2018. He’s also the creator of DevourNJ.com, which highlights independent food businesses in New Jersey, and the companion New Jersey Food Truck Cookbook, which was just released in February.

Patrick talks to me about how he decided to focus on his writing, the challenges of writing humor, including judging feedback for humorous prose, and why it’s so important to engage in your art, whatever it might be. We also talk about his decision to start a website for local food, and how he manages all this on top of a day job and family life with an almost-brand-new baby. 

Please leave a review and in it, tell us about a time when you've stuck with something you love.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing and publishing!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon! And if you're feeling stuck in your own creative process, 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!

Creative Pep Talk #53: Do It Now

It's easy to think we don't need to get to our creative work now. It's also wrong. I'll tell you why in this short episode.

The episode I mention about being ready is Pep Talk #5: Ready.

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 fycuriosity.com, or contact me on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon!

Nothing Is Wasted with Michael McLaughlin

Novelist Michael McLaughlin trained as a doctor for more than a decade before deciding that medicine wasn’t where he wanted to be after all. He moved back into his first love—fiction writing—in stages, moving to medical communications before deciding it was time to write full-time. Michael tells me how and why he made that shift, including how he wrote his first book, on career change, before jumping into the world of long fiction. We also talk about how he draws on his medical background and combines plotting and writing by the seat of his pants to get the best results in his work. 

Please leave a review and in it, tell us what helps you believe in yourself.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing and publishing!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon! And if you're feeling stuck in your own creative process, 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!

 

Creative Pep Talk #52: Do It Badly

We often believe that the best way to do good work—of any kind—is to do it well. Seems obvious, right? What if I told you the opposite is often true? I explain 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 hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fycuriosity.com, or contact me on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon!

Believing in Yourself with Matt Leyshon

Author Matt Leyshon spends his days as a software engineer before morphing into a fervent writer at night. He’s best known for his writing and research for his debut novel, Jack the Ripper: Live and Uncut, which has received the Jack the Ripper: Book of the Year award for fiction from the Ripperology community. He has also appeared as a Jack the Ripper expert at MegaCon and on the History Channel.

Matt joins me to talk about why that book was self-published for only six months, his foray into writing a thriller in a fantasy setting, the importance of encouragement in the creative process, why creative folks should always be bold and take chances to promote their own work, and more.

Please leave a review and in it, tell us what helps you believe in yourself.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing and publishing!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon! And if you're feeling stuck in your own creative process, 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!

 

Creative Pep Talk #51: Personas

Building on last week's conversation with Nina Hart about Keith Johnstone's book, "Impro," here's why putting on a persona can be a valuable part of your creative process.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my Creative Pep Talk episodes.

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 fycuriosity.com, or contact me on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon!

”Impro” with Nina Hart

My friend and fellow Kaizen-Muse creativity coach, Nina Hart, was one of my first guests, and she comes back to the podcast today. Nina is an author and performer—including being an original member of San Francisco’s experimental dance troupe, Contraband, and, playing a purple electric bass, recording and performing with numerous bands—and I invited her to dig into Keith Johnstone’s groundbreaking book on theatrical improvisation, Impro, with me.

I knew Nina would have a lot to say about how we unknowingly are our own biggest obstacles to our own creativity, which is a primary focus of the book. We talk about the role status plays in our lives and our perception of things like permission and perfection, how cultural and societal expectations create the fears that hold us back, the importance of feeling safe to let those fears go, and much more.

Please leave a review and in it, tell us when you feel most safe to express yourself.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in acting and theatre!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Post.news, Spoutible, and Mastodon! And if you're feeling stuck in your own creative process, 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!

 

Creative Pep Talk #50 (!!): Give Yourself Credit

It's the 50th pep talk! And it's time to give ourselves credit. Why? And How? I'll tell you in this short episode.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my Creative Pep Talk episodes.

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 fycuriosity.com, or contact me on Post.news and Mastodon! And I'm now on Spoutible—come say hi!

Sound and Voice with Jodi Krangle

Jodi Krangle is a Toronto-based voice actor who works with major brands all over the world including Dell, BBVA, HGTV, Nespresso & Kraft. She's been heard in thousands of your favorite commercials and websites, so odds are very good that you’ve already heard her voice. She also hosts the Audio Branding podcast, which delves into how to make an impact with sound, and how sound influences us. We talk about her journey to voice acting, the reality of voice acting versus our perception of it, and some ways sound can alter perception that will probably surprise you. Jodi also has some advice for anyone who’s considering a career in voice acting.

Please leave a review and in it, tell us about a time when incidents from your own life have turned up in your creative work!

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in acting and theatre!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Post.news and Mastodon! And if you're feeling stuck in your own creative process, 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!