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Todd Henry

Formerly The Accidental Creative.
Being a creative professional should be the greatest job in the world. You get to solve problems, express yourself, bring something new into the world and you get paid to do it. What's not to love.  Yet every day, creative pros face, tremendous pressure and uncertainty. The temptation is just to play it safe, surrender to distraction and settle for less than your best daily creative is about making sure that's not your story. 

Each episode focuses on a topic relevant to creative pros, like how to come up with ideas under pressure, or how the collaborate when you're overwhelmed, or how to lead your team and help them discover motivation. 

It's time to fall back in love with your work.

Listen to Daily Creative wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe in the Daily Creative app at dailycreative.app.

Daily Creative with Todd Henry

Episode 80: Lucky By Design – Show Notes

Is luck really just random, or can we engineer it? In this episode, we explore how “luck” is often the result of preparation, pattern recognition, and a deep understanding of hidden systems that shape opportunity. Drawing from the unlikely success story of Gary Dahl’s Pet Rock and the groundbreaking research of Wharton economist Judd Kessler and his new book Lucky By Design, we dig into the ways luck is built, not found.

Judd Kessler introduces his framework of “hidden markets,” where things like tickets, jobs, and creative opportunities aren’t always allocated by price or obvious mechanisms. Instead, they’re shaped by invisible rules that govern access and advantage. We discuss the “three E’s”—efficiency, equity, and ease—as the building blocks of these markets, and examine real strategies to decode the signals and systems at play.

Along the way, we unpack how showing up prepared, making it easy for others to work with us, and understanding the actual rules of the game can help leaders and creative professionals tilt the odds in their favor. We also take on the coming wave of AI-driven speed and automation, and ask what it means for authentic signaling in a world where bots are getting faster and smarter.

Five Key Learnings from the Episode:

Luck favors the prepared. 1. What looks like serendipity is often the outgrowth of discipline, awareness, and the willingness to build a “door” for opportunity to knock on.
Hidden markets have hidden rules. 2. Whether it’s a ticket lottery or landing a client, outcomes are shaped by underlying systems—not just price or “fairness.” Learn the rules, and you can play the game more strategically.
The three E’s—Efficiency, Equity, and Ease—are metrics for opportunity. 3. Whether trying to get noticed, land a deal, or hire the right people, balancing these three helps you become the option others choose.
Reducing friction creates value. 4. In creative and business relationships, being easy to work with and removing obstacles can be a more powerful signal than raw talent alone.
Signals matter more than ever in the age of AI. 5. As automation makes it cheap and easy to fake enthusiasm or speed, genuine signals—like real relationships and proven follow-through—become even more vital.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Apply for Creative Leader Roundtable

 Leading creative people is rewarding, but it can also feel isolating. That's why I've started Creative Leader Roundtable, a private community where leaders like you connect monthly to get practical insights, honest feedback, and real encouragement. You'll leave every round table with fresh perspective and tactical ideas.

You can apply right away. So if you lead a team of talented people, go check us out at CreativeLeader.net, because creative work deserves brave leadership.

How To Be Lucky (By Design)

How do we keep our creative edge—and ourselves—intact while navigating constant demands, distractions, and emotional turbulence? In this episode, we explore two distinct yet overlapping paths to real impact and creative resilience.

We first sit down with Robert Glazer, best-selling author of The Compass Within, who demystifies the role of core values as more than just aspirational words—they’re non-negotiable principles that serve as a compass for decision making, relationships, and leadership. We discuss how to identify actionable, clarifying values, why supposed “values” like “family” often hide deeper principles, and how lack of alignment between values and life leads to burnout and stagnation. Glazer shares his “big three” most life-defining decisions and what happens when our work, partners, or communities are out of sync with who we really are.

Next, we’re joined by Josh Pais, veteran actor and creator of Committed Impulse, whose new book Lose Your Mind offers a radical take on performance and presence. Pais reveals how reframing so-called “negative” emotions like anxiety and nervousness—as simply energy—transforms dread into creative fuel. He walks us through practical access points to presence, explains why emotion labeling sabotages creativity, and shares tools for cultivating the embodied awareness needed to consistently put ourselves on the line, whether the audience is one person or a thousand.

Together, these conversations serve up a roadmap for navigating modern creative pressures with clarity, energy, and authenticity.

Five Key Learnings from This Episode:

Core values aren’t beliefs—they’re actionable, non-negotiable principles 1. that guide behavior and decisions across every area of life and work.
Naming surface-level values like “family” isn’t enough—clarity comes from articulating how those values show up as decisions and actions, 2. both personally and professionally.
Burnout is often rooted not in workload, but in living incongruently with our core values, 3. which drains energy and leads to fragmentation or eventual crisis.
Emotions like fear or nervousness are not “bad”—they’re simply sensations, or energy, 4. that, when accepted and embodied, can be used as creative fuel rather than barriers.
Authenticity is grounded in presence and congruence: 5. anchoring to core values provides direction, while welcoming our emotional experience gives us the fuel to show up bravely and perform at our best.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

To listen to the full interviews from today's episode, as well as receive bonus content and deep dive insights from the episode, visit DailyCreativePlus.com and join Daily Creative+.

Your Compass & Creative Fuel

How often do our teams, family members, or collaborators end up misunderstanding each other even when we think we’re being perfectly clear? In this episode, we dive into the high cost of miscommunication and what it takes to become a “super communicator” in a noisy, divided world. We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg, whose new book “Supercommunicators” unlocks why our conversations so often miss the mark—and offers a toolkit for breaking through confusion and building true alignment.

Together, we explore how clarity, empathy, and attention are more crucial than ever, especially as our workplaces and lives move online. From hospital handoffs to debates with Uncle Gary, we unpack the vital art of matching the right kind of conversation, listening deeply, and decoding the signals that don’t show up in written words. If you’ve ever walked away from an exchange realizing you and your counterpart were simply talking past one another, this episode is for you.

Five Key Learnings from This Episode:

Assumptions are the enemy of understanding. 1. We can’t assume others interpret our words as we intend; confirming mutual understanding is essential—even in routine exchanges.
There are three types of conversations—practical, emotional, and social. 2. Misalignment around which conversation is taking place is often the root cause of frustration and disconnect.
“Matching” the conversation builds trust. 3. Super communicators detect what kind of conversation someone needs and mirror it—acknowledging emotion when present, before pivoting to solutions.
Deep questions invite deeper connection. 4. Asking about values, motivations, or experiences (rather than just surface details) opens the door for more meaningful dialogue.
Non-linguistic cues are powerful—but different channels require different strategies. 5. Tone, posture, and facial expressions matter, but in written or digital communication, politeness, clarity, and rereading from the receiver’s perspective become the superpowers.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

Supercommunicators

In this episode, we explore the exhilarating—and sometimes terrifying—landscape of disruption with innovation expert Scott Anthony, author of Epic Disruptions. Together, we examine the rapid shifts happening across every industry and what it takes not just to survive, but to lead through change with courage and creativity.

We discuss why disruption is as much about human behavior as it is about technology, and highlight the critical missteps leaders make when they listen only to their best customers. Scott shares stories from history, from the early days of the printing press to the dawn of the iPhone, revealing the hidden patterns of how real innovation emerges. We also dig into the “shadow” cast by epic disruptions—the unforeseen challenges, culture clashes, and the uncomfortable process of rewriting rules in real time.

Scott explains how disruption often begins on the margins, serving unlikely customers and overlooked markets, and why innovation is a “collectively individualistic” pursuit that requires both lone sparks and community effort. Finally, we discuss practical steps for leaders to keep their organizations alert to opportunity: experiencing “tomorrow, today,” fostering playful experimentation, and nurturing cultures that let the sparks of creativity catch fire.

Five Key Learnings from This Episode:

Disruption is about behavior, not just technology 1. : True innovation only matters if it changes how people act, not just what tools they use.
Listening to your best customers can blind you 2. : When markets shift, incumbent leaders often miss game-changing opportunities by focusing too narrowly on current power users’ demands.
The “shadow” of disruption is real 3. : Disruption isn’t universally good; it often generates resistance, unintended consequences, and a messy mid-transition period that leaders must thoughtfully navigate.
Innovations start at the edges 4. : The next big thing rarely comes from the center of mainstream markets; instead, pay attention to niche users and unexpected applications.
Innovation is a team sport 5. : Breakthrough ideas depend on collaboration across disciplines and generations, and thrive in environments that make experimentation fun, not fearful.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

Thriving In Times of Epic Disruption

Why does so much around us feel "vaguely familiar"? In this episode, we dive deep into the creative malaise of our overstimulated world—where endless scrolling, constant content, and a deluge of data make everything seem slightly derivative and uninspiring. We unpack the concept of “vague familiarity” and examine why our passion for novelty is constantly dulled by today’s information overload.

To help us cut through the noise, we’re joined by Andrew Robertson, chairman of BBDO and author of The Creative Shift. Andrew brings decades of frontline experience in fighting creative sameness at one of the world’s most successful advertising agencies. We explore the sometimes uneasy balance between operational excellence and breakthrough creativity, and how organizations can make space for real innovation without falling for surface-level quick fixes.

Along the way, we break down actionable principles for reigniting creative excitement, including finding inspiration at the "edges," practicing attentional minimalism, and prioritizing productive passion over passive consumption. Andrew shares compelling stories—including how Delta Airlines redefined the passenger experience by rethinking the real source of travel stress—and reveals what it really takes to recognize a great idea (even in risk-averse environments).

Five Key Learnings from this Episode:

Rediscover the Edges: 1. Creativity flourishes at the intersections and boundaries of different disciplines and domains. Stepping outside your usual circles—whether it’s through new conversations or learning in unfamiliar fields—leads to fresh insights.
Practice Attentional Minimalism: 2. With relentless digital noise, deliberate focus and margin are essential. Setting boundaries around your inputs and carving out undistracted time helps you notice what truly matters.
Pursue Productive Passion: 3. Creative energy comes from making, not just consuming. Progress and intrinsic motivation fuel innovation more than passive amusement.
Define the Real Problem: 4. The most effective solutions come from unwillingness to leap immediately to action. Every creative breakthrough begins by deeply diagnosing the real challenge, even if sitting with ambiguity feels uncomfortable.
Manage Risk—Don’t Chase Certainty: 5. Seeking certainty kills originality. Instead, smart creative leaders evaluate the downside, manage risk, and are willing to act without guarantees—knowing that bold ideas don’t come with precedents.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

The Creative Shift

In this episode, we explore what it takes to sustain creative leadership—not just for the next launch, but through the marathon of a meaningful career. We sit down with serial entrepreneur and author Chris Ducker to dig deep into his philosophy from his new book, "The Long Haul Leader," where he shares battle-tested frameworks for combating burnout and resisting the relentless drive of hustle culture.

We reflect on how our culture glorifies quick wins and non-stop hustle at the expense of our health, relationships, and lasting impact. Chris opens up about his own struggle with severe burnout during the pandemic, describing the pivotal moment he realized he’d lost touch with what truly made him “him.” We discuss practical strategies that allowed him to recover, including building what he calls a Life Operating System (Life OS)—a set of rhythms and habits designed to make leadership and creative work sustainable for the long haul.

We also highlight the importance of focusing on the right “who” as leaders, and why serving the right people makes all the difference. Together, we offer a smart, honest take on how to build resilience, manage energy, and stay effectively creative without losing yourself to exhaustion.

Five Key Learnings from This Episode:

Sustainability beats constant hustle: 1. Hard work matters, but treating hustle as a perpetual lifestyle leads to burnout. Purposeful sprints are powerful only when surrounded by practices that let you recover and refocus.
Breaking points clarify priorities: 2. Real change often follows a crisis—those moments of total exhaustion or loss of purpose—but transformation only happens when you intentionally respond, not just notice the warning signs.
Design your Life OS: 3. Just like computers have operating systems, leaders need intentional frameworks for health, learning, energizing relationships, meaningful work, and hobbies—layering small “micro moves” for a compounding impact over time.
Serve your real audience: 4. Lasting fulfillment and greater impact come from identifying and serving those you’re best equipped to help, not by trying to please everyone or chasing external validation.
Burnout is not just part of the job: 5. Chronic fatigue, disengagement, and emptiness are signals that something fundamental needs to change. Effective creative leadership means spotting the signals early and course-correcting—not waiting for a blow-up.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

Why Hustle Culture Fails—and What to Do Instead

In this episode of Daily Creative, we dive deep into the concept of doubt as a catalyst for creativity, innovation, and effective leadership. We explore a real-world story where doubt reshaped a project and led to a superior outcome, challenging our culture’s bias toward certainty and snap answers. Our guest, Dr. Bobby Parmar, author of Radical Doubt and professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, unpacks the neuroscience and psychology behind how we process uncertainty—and why embracing doubt can be a superpower for leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators navigating complexity.

Together, we examine why most of us conflate intelligence with having the “right” answer, how our brains use doubt to signal that there’s more to learn, and why organizations need to shift from rewarding certainty to cultivating a culture of inquiry. Dr. Parmar breaks down the brain’s “trio” of systems—pursue, protect, and pause/piece together—and shows how effective decision-making requires moving beyond tunnel vision and quick fixes.

We also discuss practical tools for reframing doubt, including leveraging four essential “lenses” (principles, consequences, character, and relationships) when making decisions. Through tangible examples and research insight, we reveal how the most creative and resilient outcomes often emerge when we pause, invite challenging perspectives, and courageously sit with uncertainty.

Key Learnings from This Episode:

Doubt as a Doorway: 1. Doubt isn’t a weakness to hide—it’s a signal that more learning and better answers are possible. When handled well, doubt expands possibilities instead of narrowing them.
The Brain’s Trio: 2. Our brains switch between pursue (seeking reward), protect (avoiding risk), and pause/piece together (slowing down to learn) systems. Engaging the “pause” system is critical for creativity and wise choices.
Four Moral Lenses: 3. Effective decision-making requires balancing principles, consequences, character, and relationships—especially in complex or ambiguous situations. Relying on just one lens can create blind spots.
Short-term vs. Long-term Thinking: 4. Focusing only on immediate certainty often undermines long-term value and opportunity. Doubt helps us reframe decisions within a broader context, allowing for patience and creativity.
Culture of Inquiry: 5. The best leaders foster environments where questioning assumptions is safe and expected. Encouraging dialogue around uncertainty leads to stronger teams and more innovative solutions.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

How to Turn Doubt Into Your Creative Superpower

In this solo episode, we explore a profound question: Are we building our professional lives around fleeting moments, or are we becoming mountains—steady, enduring, and impactful over the long term? We reflect on the contrast between “moment makers” who chase applause and “mountain builders” who quietly cultivate trust, skill, and lasting influence through steady practices.

We examine the cultural obsession with moments of sudden attention and why anchoring our identity or work to them can lead to instability. The episode offers thought-provoking guidance on grounding our creative efforts in durable rhythms, valuing depth over visibility, and making decisions today that will matter years from now. We end with a reminder that while moments energize us, only the mountains we build truly stand the test of time.

Five Key Learnings from This Episode:

Moments vs. Mountains: 1. Moments of recognition are exhilarating but temporary; it’s the disciplined, unseen work that builds something lasting.
Build Practices, Not Just Projects: 2. Ongoing habits and rhythms—done even when no one is watching—anchor our work and sustain creativity beyond any single project.
Value Depth Over Visibility: 3. Focus on the substance and real-life impact of your work, rather than chasing surface-level attention or popularity.
Think in Decades, Not Days: 4. Cultivate patience. Prioritize decisions and actions that will leave you proud decades from now, not just tomorrow.
Stay Grounded in Purpose: 5. Root your passion in meaning and purpose, not applause, to remain steady through creative highs and lows.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

Are You A Moment, or a Mountain?

Why does time feel so slippery, especially for creative pros? In this episode, we explore the phenomenon of “time anxiety”—that restless sense that we’re running out of time or not spending our hours on what really matters. We’re joined by Chris Guillebeau, author of the book Time Anxiety, who brings a fresh lens to how we experience time, how our anxieties about it span past, present, and future—and why productivity hacks alone will never be enough.

We dig into the difference between optimizing and aligning our time, the dangers of chasing phantom deadlines, and why so much of our stress comes not from the clock itself but from unresolved tensions and borrowed definitions of success. Together, we share practical tactics to help you shift from a reactive, urgent default to a more intentional, aligned creative life.

If you’ve caught yourself sprinting but never arriving, or if you’ve ever felt that low-grade hum of anxiety about how you’re spending your days—this conversation is for you.

Five Key Learnings:

Time anxiety spans the past, present, and future. 1. It’s not just about feeling overwhelmed day-to-day—it’s also about lingering regrets, future uncertainties, and the ever-present sense of the clock ticking down.
Optimization isn’t the solution—alignment is. 2. You can’t “efficiency” your way out of anxiety. The real answer? Align your time with your values, priorities, and the impact you want to have.
Phantom deadlines and borrowed benchmarks create false pressure. 3. Much of our anxiety comes from arbitrary timelines based on outliers or cultural expectations. True progress comes from setting your own standards and constraints.
Not everything urgent is important. 4. Creative work demands space for what 
matters 5. . Protecting time for meaningful—and even non-urgent—work is essential to breaking the cycle of anxiety.
Self-awareness is the starting point. 6. Pay close attention to how you spend your time and how it makes you feel. Notice unresolved tensions, distinguish between energizing and draining activities, and let those insights guide your daily choices.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

To listen to the full interviews from today's episode, as well as receive bonus content and deep dive insights from the episode, visit DailyCreativePlus.com and join Daily Creative+.

Time Anxiety

Episode E71 – Distancing

In this episode, we dive into one of creativity and leadership’s most overlooked superpowers: the ability to distance ourselves from our own immediate experience. We explore why our best work rarely happens by accident—it’s a result of disciplined, intentional decisions made from a broader perspective.

We sit down with former nuclear submarine commander and bestselling author L. David Marquet, whose latest book, Distancing, unpacks the science and practice of decision-making from outside the narrow lens of our “immersed self.” Together, we examine why it’s so difficult to see beyond our own biases, emotional investments, and routines, and what it looks like to make choices for the legacy we actually want.

Through practical stories—from creative team roadblocks to how Jeff Bezos made his leap away from Wall Street—we learn tactical ways to step outside ourselves and consider decisions from our future self’s vantage point. Marquet explains how to escape the trap of defending past choices and why adopting the perspective of someone else, somewhere else, or sometime else can unlock breakthrough clarity—especially under pressure.

Five key learnings from the episode:

Your Default Perspective Is Limiting: 1. Our natural state is to experience life “locked behind our own eyeballs,” which distorts decision-making and binds us to short-term thinking.
Distancing Is a Learnable Skill: 2. By shifting perspective—adopting the point of view of our future self, a replacement, or a distant observer—we can challenge the baggage of our past choices and see new possibilities.
Regret as a Catalyst: 3. Imagining what your 80-year-old self will wish you had done can help you minimize regret and act courageously in the present, rather than succumbing to inertia or short-term relief.
Warning Signs You’re Too Immersed: 4. Moments of feedback, unexpected events, or high pressure can signal you’re making decisions from a defensive and self-centered state—when you’re most likely to prioritize safety over boldness.
Simple Tactics Drive Distancing: 5. Whether it’s journaling as your future self, asking what advice you’d give a friend, or physically changing your environment, even small shifts can provide the clarity to lead with intention rather than urgency.

Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

To listen to the full interviews from today's episode, as well as receive bonus content and deep dive insights from the episode, visit DailyCreativePlus.com and join Daily Creative+.

The Brave Habit is available now

My new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. 

Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

Lessons From Future You: How To Use Distancing To Unlock Brilliant Ideas

In today's episode of Daily Creative, we dive into the subtle yet powerful dynamics that can undermine our creative potential. Imagine you're driving down a familiar road, and your car begins to pull to one side, requiring constant correction just to stay on track. This metaphor perfectly encapsulates how certain hidden forces can slowly erode our creative output and lead us astray from our best work. These stealthy saboteurs are what we call the "Assassins of Creativity".

We'll explore how these assassins—Dissonance, Fear, and Expectation Escalation—work quietly behind the scenes to hinder our productivity and innovation. Through a recent keynote from Todd Henry, we break down these assassins and provide actionable insights on how to counteract them. From aligning tactics with strategy and purpose, to taking calculated risks in the face of fear, and managing expectations to maintain creative white space, this episode is packed with valuable lessons on sustaining creative excellence.

Five Key Learnings from this Episode:

Dissonance 1. - A gap between what we are doing and why we are doing it can create tension and zap our creative energy.
Fear 2. - When the perceived consequences of failure outweigh the perceived benefits of success, it prevents us from taking necessary creative risks.
Expectation Escalation 3. - Constantly increasing expectations can squeeze out the white space needed for creativity and innovation.
Unnecessary Complexity 4. - Overcomplicating problems can introduce dissonance and hinder a creative team's progress.
Opacity Phenomenon 5. - A lack of clear reasoning behind tasks can lead to dissonance and reduced engagement from creative professionals.

Get full interviews and daily content in the Daily Creative app at DailyCreative.app

Mentioned in this episode:

NEW BOOK! The Brave Habit is available now

Rise to important moments in your life and work by developing the habit of bravery. Available in paperback, ebook, or audiobook wherever books are sold.

Learn more

Assassins

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