Welcome to the first in a series of creative pep talks—topics to help you get and stay unstuck in your creative process (aka your life). In this inaugural pep talk, I share my plan for these mini-episodes and tackle the age-old question of just who is creative—and why a lot of people believe they're not.

These episodes will come out every other week, alternating with my regular interview episodes (those aren't going anywhere!). I hope you enjoy them.

I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and experience with these ideas! Send me a note at fycuriosity.com, or contact me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

The idea of "talking to God" may bring up images of saints or prophets—or a disconnect from reality. John Roedel fits in none of those categories. He's an improv comedian and poet who started writing conversations between himself and God as silly one-offs during a crisis of faith, only to find them becoming deeper and more insightful over time. One of his pieces from a few years ago went viral in the spring of 2020, to his great surprise, when the newly quarantined public found itself reflected in his words. John and I talk about being the family oddball, the perks and perils of "talking" with God (including readers' expectations), living your life according to "Yes, and..." and even enact that viral post for you.

Check out the show notes (including John's "Ten Seconds" video) at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Actor Richard Oliver has performed in film, TV, stage, commercial, audio, and even video games. He also directs for his own theatre and teaches acting. Richard has been named best actor by the New York City Indie Film Awards, and was a finalist for best actor from the Lockdown Festival. While we connected online thanks to the Minister of Chance, a Doctor Who spinoff audio series, we talk about everything from whether drama school is really necessary to the ways punctuation and breathing can help illuminate a character to the importance of having fun with whatever you’re doing—and everything in between. And we do also get into the birth of the Minister of Chance (both the character and the series) and its future.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Author Nancy Springer has written more than 50 books, in genres ranging from mythic fantasy to magical realism to mystery. Her most popular novels by far are the Enola Holmes mysteries, featuring Sherlock's younger sister, the first of which is now a movie on Netflix. Nancy has often said that writing saved her life, and our conversation gets into the nitty gritty of just what that means, as well as her "free-range" childhood, what works in a novel that doesn't in a short story (and vice versa), writing a novel with no idea where you're going, and more. (Warning: Nancy's very open about her history with depression and suicidal ideation in this conversation.)

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

If you've ever felt like art and business exist in two different worlds, you're certainly not alone. My guest this week, Erica Ando, brings them together for us. Erica tells us about her late-ish discovery of painting and art, how she started her own successful design business, and what led her to leave that business and work to create The Empowered Artist, where she helps other artists get their own businesses up and running. We talk about how fear distorts our thinking about ourselves and our possibilities, how reality doesn’t create our thoughts and feelings, how we correctly and incorrectly assess our value, and a lot more.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

This week, I’m bringing you a current teacher who’s a former colleague of mine: Lisa Houston, who started the drama program at the Pennington School and now serves as its middle school dean of students. Among other things, Lisa tells us how she rebuilt the drama program from the ground up, how it’s expanded over the years, what it’s like to take a group of high school students overseas to perform at a major festival, and how she’s seen theater impact the kids who participate in it, and even change lives. You'll also hear about the effect teaching drama has had on her life. 

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

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.

---

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!

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 Alison Miller, stands out to me for Alison's absolute courage and determination to live life on her own terms, and the way life supports her in return. I hope you'll be as inspired by Alison as I have been.

---

Alison Miller describes herself as an uncertain adventurer and determined warrior goddess, and as you'll hear in this interview, she's earned both titles. Alison has lived on the road on her own since the death of her husband six and a half years ago, following her own inner compass the entire way. She's crossed the country eight times, carrying the names of those loved by people around the world on her pink teardrop trailer, seeking out love and adventure as she goes. She listens only to her own guidance, discovering that there are no mistakes that can't be corrected, and that love really is everywhere. Recently, she's been making a documentary about her journey, which she plans to show as she continues her travels.

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!

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!