The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

Andy Dixon’s life has been anything but conventional. Born into a life of crime, he grew up imprinted with the notion that violence translated to love. In this amazing story, Andy talks about a journey of redemption and reinvention after a life sentence.

• Coming from a long line of people who lived outside the law
• An early vision of possibility in Andy’s life
• How Andy wound up shooting somebody at age 12
• Why the “nerds” in high school became friends with Andy
• Returning to a life of crime after finishing high school
• What it’s like to be $700,000 in debt as a criminal
• What it’s like to be an unconditional taker and never give
• The meeting with a spiritual leader that changed Andy’s prison time
• A pivotal moment that caused Andy to let go of violence
• The AIDS epidemic in the prison system
• How the prison system takes advantage of the individuals in it
• The marriage case that found its way to the Tennessee Supreme court
• The generational issue that exists in the prison system
• A look how we deal with maternal loss as children
• The transformation from violence to nonviolence

Andy Dixon spent 27 years in Tennessee prisons, and has since committed himself to altering the generational conviction cycle, particularly with America’s youth. Through an open dialogue and open heart, he has changed the lives of hundreds, facilitating rehabilitation and hope rather than continued violence and sigma.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Dixon’s life has been anything but conventional. Born into a life of crime, he grew up imprinted with the notion that violence translated to love. In this amazing story, Andy talks about a journey of redemption and reinvention after a life sentence.

• Coming from a long line of people who lived outside the law
• An early vision of possibility in Andy’s life
• How Andy wound up shooting somebody at age 12
• Why the “nerds” in high school became friends with Andy
• Returning to a life of crime after finishing high school
• What it’s like to be $700,000 in debt as a criminal
• What it’s like to be an unconditional taker and never give
• The meeting with a spiritual leader that changed Andy’s prison time
• A pivotal moment that caused Andy to let go of violence
• The AIDS epidemic in the prison system
• How the prison system takes advantage of the individuals in it
• The marriage case that found its way to the Tennessee Supreme court
• The generational issue that exists in the prison system
• A look how we deal with maternal loss as children
• The transformation from violence to nonviolence

Andy Dixon spent 27 years in Tennessee prisons, and has since committed himself to altering the generational conviction cycle, particularly with America’s youth. Through an open dialogue and open heart, he has changed the lives of hundreds, facilitating rehabilitation and hope rather than continued violence and sigma.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Onken’s journey began at crossroads of art and technology, with his work in desktop publishing and design. Upon discovering his passion for more hands-on means of expression, he eventually chose to take the entrepreneurial leap into digital photography.

• How an early trip to Africa opened Nick’s eyes to photography
• Why you should be constantly creating in order to improve your art
• Nick’s signature point of view, found in his art of capturing moments
• Reconnecting or reawakening your childhood dreams
• The power of going back to analog methods of creation
• The dangers of the digital trance and its impact on creativity
• How design influences everything that we do in the world
• The balance between living in the moment and capturing the moment
• Learning to recognizing the moments when doors open in your life
• The problem with looking at the world through formulas and rules
• Why you should look at good work and curate what you’re attracted to
• The challenges of marrying art and commerce
• Brick walls, obstacles and plateaus of every creative journey
• Developing a unique point of view by finding your personal joy and passion in the world
• Listening to your intuition in order to find your creative resonance
• Expanding your default to increase the field of your subconscious
• Why your point of view and brand make you unmistakable



Nick Onken’s practice is based around unadulterated passion and creative resonance. Based out of New York City, and fueled by curiosity and inspiration, he travels the world to capture souls, stories and moments.

Resources and People Mentioned

The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dandapani realized at the age of 4 that he wanted be a monk. He saw it as the most efficient path to enlightenment. But it wasn’t until completing an electrical engineering degree and finding his teacher that he joined a monastery, where he decided not to renew his vows after 10 years. 

• How Dandapani knew at the age of 4 he wanted to be a monk 
• A formative childhood experience that wouldn’t go away
• Finding a deeper purpose and meaning in your life
• Why spirituality needs a systematic approach 
• Discovering the deeper pursuit of your spiritual path 
• Dealing with the religious beliefs that contradict our own ideals
• Why you must spend time with yourself in self reflection 
• How to build a meditation practice one minute a time
• Why we have a finite amount of energy each day
• Finding the teachers who were meant to be in your life 
• Our misperceptions of the people in the “monk business” 
• A Look at the daily life and routine of a monk 
• Why Dandapni decided not to renew his vows
• The reintegration process that occurs after leaving a monastery

Dandapani is Hindu priest, speaker on self development and entrepreneur. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Kauffman is a poster child for how to give yourself an education that kicks the crap out of the one you got in school. Instead of going to business school, he decided to create a Personal MBA. The result has been a book that sold over 130,000 copies, and an incredible journey. In this interview we get into the first 20 hours of learning any new skill.

• What You Can Learn from the Marketing of Procter and Gamble 
• Insights into How You Can Conduct Consumer Research
• The Importance of Rapid Experimentation in Your Early Days
• The Advantages You Have Over Procter and Gamble
• Translating Data and Insights into Something Actionable
• Why You Should Tune Out What Other People Are Doing
• The Power of Taking a Very Strong Stand on Things
• Dissecting How to Give Yourself an MBA 
• An In-Depth Exploration of Self-Directed Learning
• Deconstructing Things into Smaller Parts
• The Growth and Many Iterations of the Personal MBA
• The #1 Mistake You've Heard 1,000 Times 
• Seeds for What Resulted in the First 20 Hours
• An In-Depth Look into Josh's Accelerated Learning Model

Josh Kaufman is the bestselling author of The First 20 Hours and The Personal MBA. His work helps people make more money, get more done, and have more fun. You can follow him on twitter @joshkaufman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A moment that shook them to the core caused Betsy and Warren Talbot to reevalute what was truly important in their marriage and their lives. They got rid of their belongings and decided to travel the world together. But the dream hasn't comes without unexpected challenges and hurdles. 

• Being shaken to the core in order to make changes in your life
• Embracing the life you want to have vs the one you created
• A moment in marriage when a deep connection occurs
• Why you must work every single day towards a dream
• The difference between a dream and a fantasy
• Distinguishing what we want from what we think we want
• Why you can’t be afraid to admit that you hate your dream
• The harsh realities of navigating a nomadic marriage
• Running away from a life vs running towards a new one
• Learning to trying the things that bring more joy to your life
• The importance of not being too specific with your plans
• Why you never want to bridge the gap between you and a dream
• The dangers of focusing on the outside of a relationship instead of the inside
• The moulding moment of Betsy and Warren’s marriage
• Bringing trust back into a marriage when it’s lost 
• The uncomfortable conversations that take place when saving a relationship
• Navigating difficult circumstances of your life in the moment
• Running a business as a married couple 

Betsy and Warren Talbot are a recovering, 40-something, Type-A couple who learned that living large is not necessarily living well

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh Howey has on the surface what might appear to be Cinderella story from the world of self publishing. His best selling series Wool caught the attention of Ridley Scott and has been turned into a screenplay. But as you might expect, there's alot more to this story. 

• Why so few writers follow a traditional path
• The role that our life experiences play in our writing
• Saying yes to every opportunity to for adventure
• Gaining it back when you've experienced a loss of faith
• The importance of having a flexible career
• Learning to question what we've been told and taught
• Why living on a boat taught Hugh the value of patience
• Inside the creative process of writing fiction
• Why Hugh doesn't read things similar to what writes about
• The importance of being committed to a creative craft 
• How 1000 true fans can radically transform your life
• Keeping yourself constantly delighted with little successes
• Why everybody has a story about their life 

Hugh Howey is the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. 

Hugh Howey has on the surface what might appear to be Cinderella story from the world of self publishing. His best selling series Wool caught the attention of Ridley Scott and has been turned into a screenplay. But as you might expect, there's alot more to this story. 

• Why so few writers follow a traditional path
• The role that our life experiences play in our writing
• Saying yes to every opportunity to for adventure
• Gaining it back when you've experienced a loss of faith
• The importance of having a flexible career
• Learning to question what we've been told and taught
• Why living on a boat taught Hugh the value of patience
• Inside the creative process of writing fiction
• Why Hugh doesn't read things similar to what writes about
• The importance of being committed to a creative craft 
• How 1000 true fans can radically transform your life
• Keeping yourself constantly delighted with little successes
• Why everybody has a story about their life 

Hugh Howey is the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this unmistakable classic we revisit our interview with Julliard faculty member, violinist and performance psychologist, Noa Kageyama. We discuss how to apply principles of peak performance psychology from the world of music to every area of your life.

• A Look into the Influences of Suzuki Violin in Noa's Life
• Why You Can Only See Dots Connecting in Hindsight
• The Reality of What It Takes to Get Good at Something
• Why So Many Small Ideas Are the Foundation for Big Things
• The Role That Intense Curiosity Plays in Your Success
• Why There's an Element of Performance in Everything You Do
• The Role That Learning and Practice Plays in Peak Performance
• Why You Can't Learn Effectively without Taking Action 
• Making Small Adjustments and Tweaks to Get Closer to Your Goal
• How the Curse of Instant Results Holds You Back 
• Why You have to Be OK with Being on the Journey
• Making a Mindset Shift to Doing Things for Intrinsic Value
• An Eye-Opening Look at the Master's Path
• Why There Is No Final Destination
• Looking at the Times in Your Past When You Were Really Engaged
• Why You Must Learn to Simplify Very Difficult Concepts
• Identifying and Developing the Key Mental Skills for Peak Performance
• Using the Past to Act Courageously in the Moment
• How Pushing Your Comfort Zone Will Cause You to Exceed Your Expectations
• Cultivating a Framework for Accelerating Your Progress
• Leveraging the Influences of Others to Create Your Artistic DNA

Dr. Noa Kageyama is a performance psychologist, Juilliard graduate, and is on the faculty of both Juilliard and the New World Symphony. He teaches musicians how to do their best under pressure. He is a wee bit obsessed with computers, technology, and the internet (and all things Apple). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click hereto post it to Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To say that Josh Long is an entrepreneur who keeps himself busy is an understatement. He’s the creator of the to-do list app Cheddar, the podcasting service Simplecast, and oversees sponsorship at the Great Discontent. In this interview he talks to me about the underlying themes and threads of his life’s work and how to identify yours. 

• Josh’s exposure to entrepreneurship at a very early age
• Why entrepreneurship is all about creating value
• The innate entrepreneurial spirit within all of us 
• Why our low points teach us so much about ourselves
• Learning to put things in perspective when you’re challenged
• Why facing your fears head on is the best way to deal with them
• Looking at your whole life through the lens of design 
• Finding the things that make you weird to develop your own frameworks
• The concept of design as a religion 
• Stripping things down to a core idea 
• Why should build and create things that you wish existed 
• Josh’s role in getting projects and funded for The Great Discontent
• What separates the risk takers from the ones who play it safe
• A look at the work that Josh did with Seth Godin
• The cathartic drive that comes from pain 
• Leveraging the patterns of successful people you admire
• The difference between getting A’s in life 
• Why Josh is only focused on serving 1000 people 
• The role that the story plays in everything you create

Josh Long is a designer and writer with a degree in philosophy and three books under his belt: Execute, Jenius, and Design Evolution. He co-hosts the Happy Monday podcast with Sarah Parmenter, is building the to-do app Cheddar, coordinates sponsorships for The Great Discontent, and is the co-founder of Simplecast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Clear’s journey resulted in the intersection of entrepreneurship, health, and creativity. The byproduct of this intersection was an deep study on how habits impact our lives. In this interview we discuss the process of creating identity based habits in order to change our lives. 

• How habits impact entrepreneurship, health, and creativity 
• Lessons from the baseball field that James has applied to his life
• Why you can design your own options for things in life 
• Post traumatic growth vs post traumatic stress 
• Learning to treat your failures as data points 
• Why mistakes and failures are required for mastery
• The importance of changing habits gradually 
• How volume, repetition and routine help us deal with failure 
• Why basics and foundational pieces of mastery truly matter
• Designing your environment to reduce activation energy
• The myth that you can’t miss a day with a habit

James Clear writes at JamesClear.com, where he shares strategies based on proven research and real-world experiences that make it easier to stick to good habits and live a healthy life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.