The Accidental Creative with Todd Henry

It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we believe that we are running out of time. The ironic thing is, we are. Every single one of us has a finite number of days on this planet, and each new day means that we are getting closer to our inevitable end. I don’t say this to depress you, but rather to instill a sense of urgency about how you approach your days. 

If you knew you had exactly one year left on this planet, what would...

There are numerous forces impacting the world of work and we are watching the workplace shift beneath our feet in real time. While it’s anyone’s guess what the future of creative work may look like, we are starting to gain some sense of the landscape as marketplace experts deliver real-time research on trends and patterns. One such expert is with us today to help us understand where things may be headed.

Phil Simon is the author of ...

While it’s certainly important to address conflicts and work to resolve them in a healthy way, it’s equally important to focus on the overall culture of your team and how it is trending.

Read the full essay here.

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The most creative and productive careers often emerge at the intersections of disciplines. It’s not a linear path, but a serendipitous collision of multiple areas of interest that create an opportunity. Some might even call it a “creative accident”, which is the reason for the name of this show. Such was the case with today’s guest Danielle Feinberg. 

Danielle Feinberg began her career at Pixar Animation Studios in February 199...

When you think about innovation, you probably also think about disruption. Innovation in many people’s minds is about creating a better solution that makes an old one obsolete. This means that it’s inherently a competitive and finite thing - someone wins, and another person loses.

But what if we didn’t have to think of innovation in that way? What if innovation could be something other than disruptive? That’s what today’s guest Rene...

It’s faulty thinking to evaluate past decisions based upon your present understanding. And, doing so can lead to worse decisions in the future. In this episode, I share an essay that I recently wrote about why we need to approach each decision with clarity of mind and refuse to allow retro-analysis paralysis to cloud our judgment.

Read more essays and listen to the podcast archives at ToddHenry.com.

My new book Daily Creative is avai...

A few months ago, my friend Ben Beshear had me on his podcast Life, Money, and Living Well to discuss creativity, leading talented people, and finding purpose and mission in life. I really enjoyed our chat, and asked him if I might be able to release a part of it on the podcast. Today's episode features the first hour of our conversation. To hear the final part, where I discuss my views on retirement and productive passion, listen ...

When seeking advice, it's best to go to someone with a lot of experience. Today's guest has certainly earned his wisdom, and has compiled it into a new book of advice for anyone wanting to live a more meaningful life. Kevin Kelly is a renowned writer, futurist, and technology enthusiast. His career in technology and futurism began in the early 1980s when he became an editor at Whole Earth Review, a counterculture magazine focused o...

It’s time to reclaim the profundity of the present moment. Each moment has meaning that, if ignored, will be lost forever. Circumstances will never again combine in this unique way to form this moment, right here, right now. There are insights that you can never regain if you let them slip through your fingers.

Those who are able willing to do their own thinking and to take disciplined, strategic pauses even in the mi...

Do you have a framework for making decisions? How do you know which opportunities to take and which to pass on? Can someone take a look at your work - how you lead, write, talk, collaborate - and see what matters to you?

In my 2015 book Louder Than Words, I wrote about the value of having a personal manifesto (or team manifesto) that can guide your work and help you do work that is personally meaningful and uniquely valuable. It’s n...

If you are feeling uninspired, recognize that it could be due to feeding on the output of the Zeitgeist Blender. Don’t allow cultural sentiment to rob you of the joy of surprise and delight.

This is the podcast version of an essay from ToddHenry.com. You can read the full essay here.

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Each person has a unique form of genius to offer the world. It's the thing that you bring to the table that no one around you can bring because of your unique combination of passions, skills, and experiences.

On today's episode, Ozan Varol is here to discuss how each of us can awaken our unique genius and bring it to the world each day. Ozan's new book is called Awaken Your Genius.

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There are two parts to the tag that most of us wear: creative + professional.

"Creative" means that you get to use your skills to solve problems and create new value every day. "Professional" means that you do it for money, which means that sometimes you have to do what's expedient even when it's not your preferred path.

On this episode, I share three pieces of career advice that every creative pro should consider implementing in ord...

Throughout history, people have had to adapt to changing circumstances and opportunities in order to thrive. However, the pace of change has been accelerating for the past century in an unprecedented way. And, as creative pros, we often feel the effects of the pace of change.

On today's interview, Dr. Gabriella Rosen Kellerman is here to discuss how we can prepare ourselves for what is to come. As she says in the episode, "Since hu...

Today we're talking about a topic that affects many high-achieving individuals: imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their abilities and fear being exposed as frauds.

Now, to be clear there is a difference between imposter syndrome and self-awareness. Self-awareness is the recognition that your skill level may not be sufficient for the task at hand. For example, while I have som...

James Cameron is a famous filmmaker known for his visionary approach and use of cutting-edge technology in cinema. Recently, we were both speakers at Festival de las Ideas in Puebla, Mexico, where he spoke about creativity and the creative process. On this episode, I share three big ideas that I drew from his speech that we can each apply to our work as creative professionals.

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What separates high achievers from everyone else? And perhaps more importantly for those who lead a team, how can you create an environment in which high achievers can thrive?

On this episode Robert Glazer is here to share core principles from his new book Elevate Your Team. We discuss the four core capacities that high achieving people and teams exhibit, and some practices and disciplines that we can implement as leaders to help u...

What do you do when you encounter a challenging problem that seems to have no immediate solution? Rather than simply pushing forward on the work in a traditional way, you might try to leverage a "workaround", or a less-direct method of solving the problem. Paulo Savaget has studied the tactics of many innovative organizations and has determined that there are four key workarounds that they often employ:

1. The Piggyback
2. The Loophole
3. ...

The stories you believe shape your everyday behavior, including your collaboration and your ability to generate new ideas. Have you ever paused to consider the stories that are actually playing in your head?

In this episode, Michael Hyatt shares insights about how your mindset affects your leadership, your intuition, and even your ability to stay physically healthy.

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