Follow Your Curiosity

Replay: Happy Accidents with Anthony Wilson

For the holidays, I'm giving you the chance to discover, or perhaps rediscover, two of my favorite episodes from the past year. This episode, with Anthony Wilson, stands out to me for its depth and its raw honesty about the creative process, and where life can take us when we least expect it. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

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Anthony Wilson's varied pursuits almost all came to him accidentally: he is a teacher, composer, and writer—in fact, he co-authored the Doctor Who-related book BOOKWYRM with previous guest Robert Smith?. In this conversation, he shares his accidental path to teaching and writing, how he dealt with the worst criticism he's ever encountered as a musician, and what we can learn from kids. We also talked about the importance of structure and how YOU are the most important audience for your work.

(Note: In October 2020, Robert transitioned and is now known as Stacey Smith? Because of the quantity of material predating the transition, Stacey has chosen to credit Robert for items before October 2020.)

Find show notes and links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Embracing Your Enthusiasm with Kyle Fletcher

If you've listened for a while, you know I have a VERY broad definition of "creativity," and the show is called "Follow Your Curiosity" for a reason. Kyle Fletcher is a different sort of guest—he specializes in educating others about spirits and cocktails—with a journey that's all about the curiosity. Kyle has allowed his enthusiasm for, and interest in, the beverage world to lead him down a path that has included learning how to learn about the field, channeling his interest in performance into his YouTube channel, and just plain letting his excitement run wild in a way that is infectious—even if you're not into whiskey, cocktails, or even coffee (I can say this from experience!).

Since we're in the festive season, if you're looking for some factoids to impress your friends, you'll find some here, too!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Following the "Nudge" with Paige Kaufman

Paige Kaufman is an early childhood educator who went from teaching kindergarten to running a wellness center—all because she listened to the "nudge" telling her her it was time to do something different. A lot of us people would ignore that feeling, but Paige followed her curiosity into this new venture without knowing anything about starting a business. We talk about that journey, from the societal forces that make it difficult to follow that sense that we should do something we don’t expect, to the difficulty some of us have learning to trust again, to the fear of fear itself, to the things she still uses today from her kindergarten days.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Protecting Your Creativity with Tracy Matthews

My guest today is Tracy Matthews, Chief Visionary Officer of Flourish and Thrive Academy and host of the Thrive by Design podcast. Tracy is a jewelry designer and entrepreneur who loves marketing. Even more than that, she loves helping other creative folks (and as we discuss, by “creative” we mean EVERYONE) get a handle on the business side of their work. If you’ve ever wondered how to make the leap from hobby to business, or if you’re struggling to find the balance between the work you love and the marketing end, you’ll get a lot out of this interview, including the importance of fun and protecting your creativity, how we often give up too quickly—but sometimes, if something isn’t lighting you up anymore, you may need to switch gears—and a lot more.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com and join the conversation on Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Bringing Your Vision to Life with Angela Fareri

What's your vision, or dream, for your life? Can you see it clearly? If not, you might want to consider making a vision board, and this week's guest, Angela Fareri, is here to tell us not only how and why creating a clear image for your life works, but how to make a vision board for yourself.

Angela and I also talk about how vision boards and journaling can work together (we compare a process called "scripting" to mindsculpting—a coaching tool I use), and we discuss similarities between vision boarding and the SoulCollage® process. It's all about empowering the imagination on this week's show!

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and share your thoughts with us on Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Dragonflies at Night with Anne Marie Bennett

Anne Marie Bennett has had a varied career—she’s been an elementary school teacher, has worked in a theater, and a SoulCollage(R) trainer and facilitator. She’s written several nonfiction books about her journeys with cancer and about the SoulCollage(R) process, but this year, she’s published her first novel. She joins me to talk about her creative history as well as SoulCollage(R), the shift to writing fiction, her fascination with and research into how celebrity affects those who inhabit it, and of course, her new novel, DRAGONFLIES AT NIGHT.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Quitting Is Not an Option with Orrin Evans

Over the last two episodes, we’ve heard from Todd Evans and Rachel Marianno, a brother and sister who grew up in an unusually artistic home and both became artists themselves. This week, their younger brother Orrin Evans joins me to round out the family and talk about his experience as the much younger child was similar and different, and how it influenced his career as a renowned jazz pianist and leader of the Grammy-nominated Captain Black Big Band. 

We talk about how he decided to leave college to pursue his career in music (and how his parents managed to walk the fine line of being supportive parents), how limiting his options forced Orrin to find ways to be successful—never more true than during the coronavirus pandemic—how the record industry has changed just over the last few decades, how the opportunity to visit other countries has changed him as a person, and a whole lot more. 

Check out the show notes and links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Seeing Possibilities with Rachel Marianno

When your father is a playwright and your mother is a lyric soprano, you're unavoidably exposed to a creative outlook on life. This week is the second in a series of three episodes where we'll be hearing from three siblings from an incredibly artistic family, all of whom are artists themselves.

This week, I talk to Rachel Marianno, the middle sibling, a teacher, school administrator, and poet in Philadelphia. We talk about what it was like to realize she was "different" as a result of the environment she grew up in, why she decided to major in education rather than theater, and how she's been able to influence and support her students to follow their creative call. Rachel also shares a poem with us.

Next time, we'll round the set out with Rachel's brother Orrin Evans, of the Grammy-nominated Captain Black Big Band.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Don't Give Up on Yourself with Todd Evans

When your father is a playwright and your mother is a lyric soprano, you're unavoidably exposed to a creative outlook on life. This week begins a series of three episodes where we'll be hearing from three siblings from an incredibly artistic family, all of whom are artists themselves.

We start with Todd Evans, the eldest sibling, a poet who has started several open mics in the Trenton, NJ, area, and also started the Don Evans Players, which performs his father's plays and other classics. We talk about what inspired him to start that group, how art came back to him after a period of addiction, and how his parents influenced him as a child and never lost their faith in him. He also graces us with a beautiful, brand-new poem.

Next time, I'll be talking to his sister, poet and school administrator Rachel Marianno, and we'll round the set out with his brother Orrin Evans, of the Grammy-nominated Captain Black Big Band.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com for details, including a video tribute to their mother (including some of her singing!), and share your thoughts with us on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Becoming the Eighth Doctor with Paul McGann, Part 2

This week—this month!—I have the honor and pleasure of talking with actor Paul McGann. He started his career in the West End, moving to TV with the BBC’s Monocled Mutineer, and to film with the cult classic Withnail and I. His credits also include Horatio Hornblower, Luther, and the Dickens adaptation Our Mutual Friend, and he’s narrated numerous documentaries. All that said, he’s probably best known as the Eighth Doctor from Doctor Who.

In the second of two episodes, Paul and I talk about working in radio/audio, the way lockdown has changed recording audio, working with Richard E. Grant, his thoughts on Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, earlier roles in The Hanging Gale and The Monocled Mutineer, and why he left social media.

Check out the show notes and links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation about this episode on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!