Follow Your Curiosity: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Creativity.

Follow Your Curiosity: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Creativity.

Follow Your Curiosity is a creativity podcast for ordinary people who want to explore extraordinary creativity and do their creative work more easily. I’m Nancy Norbeck, a Master Creativity Coach, and I host this show to help you move creativity from a "luxury" to a necessity in your life. Whether you are an exhausted perfectionist looking to reclaim your spark or a creator who wants to move past procrastination, I provide a sanctuary for messy, joyful creativity for people who long to feel human again. Every other week, I share in-depth, unscripted interviews with people from all backgrounds about their creative lives. We explore how they got started, what shaped them, and how they found their way into their work. In the alternating weeks, I share Creative Pep Talk episodes featuring ideas, tools, and reflections designed to help you quiet your inner critic and take the smallest, easiest step back to your own aliveness. Following my own curiosity often leads me into unexpected territory—including conversations connected to Doctor Who and the people who bring those stories to life, both in front of and behind the scenes. Every episode stands on its own, so I invite you to start wherever your curiosity takes you. If you’re ready to practice this way of being in a community, I invite you to join me for a free Creativity Circle. Join the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle: https://fyc.quest/Circle

Episodes

July 1, 2026 57 mins
What happens when you realize the very things meant to connect us are actually stealing your creative spark?   This week, we conclude our special 30th-anniversary archive release with actor Paul McGann. Originally recorded in 2020, this conversation remains a vital guide for anyone trying to navigate a creative life without losing their humanity to the digital machine.   Paul shares his prolific journey into audio drama ...
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Have you ever told yourself you don’t have a creative bone in your body?   This week, we’re looking at why that belief is a trap—and why it’s almost certainly a lie you were taught to believe. In this Report from the Creative Closet, I explore why we’ve narrowed the definition of creativity so far that we’ve lost sight of our own resourcefulness, adaptation, and meaning-making.   It&rsq...
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What happens when the "masterpiece" you expected turns out to be just the beginning of a very different journey?   In this first part of a special release from the archives, I’m sharing the beginning of my landmark conversation with the legendary Paul McGann. Recorded in May 2020 and originally released in August 2020, this was Paul’s first-ever podcast interview. While he has hosted many shows since then, this rem...
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What if the very thing you think is "childish" is actually the life skill you need most right now?   In this "Report from the Creative Closet," I’m looking at the fear of uncertainty that keeps so many adults stuck. We discuss why we’ve become so uncomfortable with open-endedness and why we feel like we need a manual for everything—even for taking a break.   I share the "Obsolete Child" philosophy, the r...
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What do you do when the world tells you "no" for seven years straight?   This week, I’m talking with legendary TV and film producer Phil Segal. With a 38-year career that includes everything from Twin Peaks and SeaQuest DSV to Deadliest Catch, Phil is perhaps best known to sci-fi fans as the man who fought for nearly a decade to bring Doctor Who back to the screen in 1996.   Phil shares how climbing over a studio fe...
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What happens when you spend so much time being "reliable" that you forget how to be meaningful?   In this third installment of Reports from the Creative Closet, I’m exploring the "Be Good" trap. We often learn very early that being predictable and agreeable is safer than being fully alive, but that safety comes at a high price.   I discuss the Traffic Rule Covenant—a look at how we use rules to reduce uncertai...
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What happens when you realize that "anything you want to be" actually includes the thing people told you wasn't practical?   In this week's conversation, I’m talking with my good friend Katie DeBonville. Katie is an emerging author whose new book, Grace Notes, explores the intersection of music, memory, and the courage it takes to speak your mind.   Katie shares the story of her legendary stand-off with a high schoo...
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Have you ever realized that "adulting" has become a fancy word for getting really, really good at ignoring your own signals?   In this week's Report from the Creative Closet, I’m exploring the eerie reality that we aren't actually "lost"—we just forgot where we put ourselves. I’m sharing why that "force of will" you had as a five-year-old is the key to breaking free from the mask that is currently exhausting ...
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What is the one question that drives every single thing you create?   My guest this week is the self-described "happy hyphenate" Matthew Jacobs. Best known for contributing to major titles like Young Indiana Jones and The Emperor's New Groove and writing the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie, Matthew joins me to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the TV movie’s release.   Matthew tells me about his "No Rules" approach to ...
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Have you ever looked at your life and realized that while everything is "okay" on paper, something is deeply off?   You aren't alone, and I don't think the problem is you. I think the problem is the invisible pressure we all feel to be "good enough" at everything we touch.   Welcome to the first Report from the Creative Closet—a new series of dispatches designed to help you move past the "shoulds" of adulthood and r...
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What happens when the role you play on screen starts to close doors in your real life?   My guest this week is actress Nicola Bryant, famously known as the American companion, Peri, on Doctor Who. In a story that sounds like a movie itself, Nicola shares how she pretended to be American for three years—both on and off-set—and how that choice affected her career for decades.   We explore her creative childhood,...

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If you're currently fighting with a project that refuses to behave, you might be trying to force an outcome that wasn't meant to be.   In this episode, I share a surprising lesson from Tom Hanks’ performance in Forrest Gump. We often think that being a "pro" means forcing our vision into reality, but sometimes the most professional thing you can do is learn to follow your project’s lead instead.   Whether you'...
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If you’ve ever felt frustrated, angry, or deeply misunderstood during a conversation, the culprit might be a single word you didn’t know was dangerous.   In this episode, I’m talking with equity strategist Danielle Marshall about the power of curiosity to bridge divides and change culture. Danielle shares why asking "What else might be true?" is her most powerful tool for connection and why she decided to lea...
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If you’ve been feeling like you’re clawing your way up a cement wall by your fingernails just to get through your "to-do" list, this conversation is for you.   I recently realized I was my own worst client. In this Creative Pep Talk, I’m sharing the three-word message I saw on the back of a truck that stopped me in my tracks—and how it helped me save my creative spark.   If you are a perfectionist...
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Have you ever felt like you need a "permission slip" to try a different creative path, even when you’re already "successful" in another? In this episode, I’m talking with award-winning screenwriter Leslie Rasmussen, who spent years in the high-pressure world of comedy writing for iconic television shows like Roseanne, The Drew Carey Show, and Sweet Valley High before pivoting to her true passion: writing novels.

If you...

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In this creative pep talk, I'm sharing a personal confession: I realized I was in the middle of nearly burning myself out because I forgot to let myself have enough fun. We live in a culture that wants us to prioritize working all the time and forget that joy is a necessity, not a luxury. I’m sharing the $0 Joy Gift—the tiny, simple things like a piece of classical music or a laugh over $10 aluminum foil—that can ...

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Paul Pape is a creative problem navigator, TEDx speaker, and author known as “Santa for Nerds.” Over the past 20 years, he has built a reputation as the specialty artist companies like Disney, Universal, and Nickelodeon call when they need something that doesn’t exist or their internal teams can’t build. Working from his Nebraska studio, Paul creates custom collectibles, props, and prototypes w...

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March 4, 2026 8 mins

“I am here to help people get their power back. I don’t want people’s power.”

Whether you know it or not, you have immense creative and personal power. But in a society that often tries to take that power away—or tells you that you should give your power to a "guru"—it’s easy to feel invisible in your own life.

In this video, I explore why creativit...

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Dr. Kelly Flanagan is a clinical psychologist whose writing and speaking have resulted in an appearance on the TODAY Show, as well as features in publications including Reader’s Digest  and Success Magazine. He’s no stranger to Follow Your Curiosity, having been on the show twice before to discuss his first book, Loveable, and his first novel, The Unhiding of Elijah Campbell.

He chose to...

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You don't have to earn your own kindness. This episode is a look at why radical self-compassion is the creative lifestyle shift your exhaustion has been asking for.

If you’ve been treating self care like a "treat" for good behavior rather than a necessity for your wellbeing, you aren't alone and you aren't broken. In this episode, I explore why radical kindness is a vital act of resistance for exhausted perfectionists struggl...

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