Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo

What does it take to trust your intuition and succeed? Get a new hypothesis every Monday morning via email, packaged as an irresistible story. Text TRUST to 444999 ... or subscribe at [unthinkable.fm](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Funthinkable.fm "http://unthinkable.fm")

 

TODAY:

What if something is based not on historical precedent, but potential? How do you measure that? Can you?

Today, we go outside our echo chamber with a Grammy-nominated music teacher who helps us re-think our conventional wisdom about data.

Then, we return to the business world and hear the story of Michael Brenner, the former VP of content marketing at software giant SAP. He shares his personal odyssey that unfolded after the company CEO tapped him to transform the business's entire approach to marketing.

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

Michael Brenner on Twitter: [twitter.com/BrennerMichael](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FBrennerMichael "http://twitter.com/BrennerMichael")

Say hi to Jay on Twitter: [twitter.com/jayacunzo](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjayacunzo "http://twitter.com/jayacunzo")

Go behind-the-scenes with making the show on Snapchat: [snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsnapchat.com%2Fadd%2Fjayacunzo "http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo")

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Music Education

Jazz

Improv

Students

Leadership

Risk-Taking

Curiosity

Content Marketing

Managing Up

Creativity

Craft

Josh Bernoff writes a blog about writing, putting him among a TON of others that could be completely the same. So he uses a hook in order to stand out. In this short story about Josh's side project, we dive into how that hook has built him a successful career as a solo entrepreneur and author.

(Slingshots are short stories about a creative side project that led somewhere surprising or unexpected. They run every other week as part of Unthinkable.)

Join the journey to figure out what it takes to trust your intutiion: [unthinkable.fm](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Funthinkable.fm "http://unthinkable.fm")

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

Josh on Twitter: [twitter.com/jbernoff](https://twitter.com/jbernoff "twitter.com/jbernoff")

Josh's writing: [withoutbullshit.com](http://withoutbullshit.com)

Jay's Twitter (best way to chat and offer feedback): [twitter.com/jayacunzo](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjayacunzo "http://twitter.com/jayacunzo")

Jay's Snapchat (go behind-the-scenes making the show): [snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsnapchat.com%2Fadd%2Fjayacunzo "http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo")

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Business Writing

Books

Forrester Research

Blogging

Donald Trump

Creativity

Careers

Intuition

Join our Unthinkable journey -- each week, a new hypothesis for what it takes to trust your intuition and suceed. Subscribe at [unthinkable.fm](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Funthinkable.fm "http://unthinkable.fm") or text TRUST to 444999.

 

TODAY:

If you want to break from convention and follow your intuition, where does that leave all those best practices out there? It's so easy to follow a list or do what someone else says works. But what if best practices aren't even the best?

Go outside the echo chamber with the story of a football coach bucking the trend and finding success -- and hear why his peers STILL think he's crazy, despite mountains of data from Harvard PhDs saying otherwise.

Then, hear the story of Mike Brown and Death Wish Coffee -- and hear about the cardinal sin he committed early on that actually wound up HELPING his brand grow.

LINKS TO KNOW:

Andrew Littlefield: [http://twitter.com/fsuandrew](http://twitter.com/fsuandrew)

Mike Brown: https://twitter.com/mikebrowndwc

Death Wish Coffee: [https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/](https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/)

Say hi to Jay on Twitter: [twitter.com/jayacunzo](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjayacunzo "http://twitter.com/jayacunzo")

Or go behind-the-scenes with making the show on Snapchat: [snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsnapchat.com%2Fadd%2Fjayacunzo "http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo")

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

 

College Football

Best Practices

Marketing

Coffee

Super Bowl

TV Advertising

Ecommerce

Craft

Creativity

Intuition

Juliana Casale's story is not unlike most of ours, because Juliana Casale is not unlike us -- trying hard to use her creative craft to elevate her career. But unlike many of us, Juliana recognizes something about her side project that has launched her career in B2B marketing forward.

In this episode, she shares the story of how it all started in the most unlikely of places.

(Slingshots are short stories about a creative side project that led somewhere surprising or unexpected. They run every other week as part of Unthinkable.)

Join the journey to figure out what it takes to trust your intutiion: [http://unthinkable.fm](http://unthinkable.fm)

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

Juliana on Twitter: [http://twitter.com/attackofthetext](http://twitter.com/attackofthetext)

Jay's Twitter (best way to chat and offer feedback): [http://twitter.com/jayacunzo](http://twitter.com/jayacunzo)

Jay's Snapchat (go behind-the-scenes making the show): [http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo)

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

B2B Marketing

American Craft Beer

Label Design

Side Projects

Creativity

Careers

Intuition

Subscribe at [http://unthinkable.fm](http://unthinkable.fm) to get our weekly hypothesis answering one question, explored through story: What does it take to trust your intuition?

TODAY:

We assume creativity has to be big. We need to tackle broad, sweeping ideals, produce massive, industry-leading projects, and find deep, life-affirming meaning in our work.

But what if to get all that, we need to think smaller?

Today, we go outside our echo chamber with James Miller, creator of the project A Small Fiction. Then, we hear the story of Larry Smith and the Six Word Memoir project.

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

A Small Fiction on Twitter: [http://twitter.com/asmallfiction](http://twitter.com/asmallfiction)

The tweet discussed: [https://twitter.com/ASmallFiction/status/659251935199891456](https://twitter.com/ASmallFiction/status/659251935199891456)

Larry Smith on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/larrysmith](https://twitter.com/larrysmith)

Six Word Memoir Project: [http://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/](http://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/)

Say hi to Jay on Twitter: [http://twitter.com/jayacunzo](http://twitter.com/jayacunzo)

Or go behind-the-scenes with making the show on Snapchat: [http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo)

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Twitter

Fiction

Writing

Creativity

Books

User-Generated Content

Content Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Magazines

Publishing

Craft

Side Projects

Intuition

Harry Stebbings managed to break into venture capital -- one of the most difficult industries to work in -- at the age of just 20. And he did so with a side project that took a strong stance on industry norms: The Twenty-Minute VC.

In this episode, he recounts the early days of coming up with his idea, longing to work with millionaires who would hardly give him the time of day, and the moment when everything changed.

(Slingshots are short stories about a creative side project that led somewhere surprising or unexpected. They run every other week as part of Unthinkable.)

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

Harry's side project: [http://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/](http://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/)

Harry on Twitter: [http://twitter.com/harrystebbings](http://twitter.com/harrystebbings)

Jay's Twitter (best way to chat and offer feedback): [http://twitter.com/jayacunzo](http://twitter.com/jayacunzo)

Jay's Snapchat (go behind-the-scenes making the show): [http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo)

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Venture Capital

Tech Startups

Investing

Brad Feld

Mark Suster

Tim Draper

Social Network

Mark Zuckerberg

Podcasting

Side Projects

Creativity

Craft

Career Growth

Subscribe at [http://unthinkable.fm](http://unthinkable.fm) to get a quick note from Jay every Monday morning about trusting your intuition.

TODAY:

Why do some people seem totally fine using tactics that make us nauseous? If we're going to trust our intuition, then often times, that means rejecting some of the gimmicks and hacks and cheats that others don't seem to mind using.

Why the gap in thinking? How can we make sense of that? And how does it change our behavior?

Today, we go outside our echo chamber with Emily Hirshey, a writer on Ashton Kutcher's Netflix show, The Ranch. Then we hear the story of two veteran content marketers who completely rejected one of the most common -- if gimmicky -- B2B marketing tactics.

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

Emily Hirshey on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/emilyhirshey](https://twitter.com/emilyhirshey)

The Ranch on Netflix: [https://www.netflix.com/title/80077977](https://www.netflix.com/title/80077977)

Dave Gerhardt Twitter: [http://twitter.com/davegerhardt](http://twitter.com/davegerhardt)

Erik Devaney Twitter: [http://twitter.com/bardofboston](http://twitter.com/bardofboston)

Drift home page: [http://drift.com](http://drift.com)

 

What did you think of this episode? Say hi to me (Jay) on Twitter: [http://twitter.com/jayacunzo](http://twitter.com/jayacunzo)

Or go behind-the-scenes with making it each week on Snapchat: [http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo)

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

TV

Television

Happy Days

Creativity

Craft

Art

Growth Hacking

Marketing

Content

Lead Generation

Demand Generation

Scripting

Intuition

SaaS

B2B

Software

GET THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION from this episode -- subscribe at [http://unthinkable.fm](http://unthinkable.fm) before October 30, 2016.

TODAY:

Jonathan Fields has written several books, hosts a top podcast, and speaks all over the world. By most measures, he's "made it." But his latest book, How to Live a Good Life, caused him to question everything he knew about writing.

In this episode, he recounts the odyssey of writing the book and shares what he learned studying the most successful authors in business. He also geeks out about the most exciting part of reading great writing -- and the weird reaction we all seem to share when we encounter it.

(Slingshots are short stories about a creative side project that led somewhere surprising or unexpected. They run every other week as part of Unthinkable.)

LINKS TO KNOW:

Jonathan's new book is available here: [https://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Good-Life-Surprising/dp/1401948413](https://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Good-Life-Surprising/dp/1401948413)

Jonathan's Twitter: [https://twitter.com/jonathanfields](https://twitter.com/jonathanfields)

Jonathan's podcast: [http://www.goodlifeproject.com/radio/](http://www.goodlifeproject.com/radio/)

Jay's Twitter (best way to chat and offer feedback): [http://twitter.com/jayacunzo](http://twitter.com/jayacunzo)

Jay's Snapchat (go behind-the-scenes making the show): [http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](http://snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo)

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Writing

Books

Reading

Authors

Novels

Creativity

Intuition

Craft

Side Projects

Podcasts

Subscribe at [unthinkable.fm](unthinkable.fm) to get a quick note from Jay every Monday morning about trusting your intuition.

TODAY:

If you're going to reject conventional thinking and instead trust your intuition, you'll find yourself sharing tons of ideas with others. But this can feel scary, like our ideas are secrets we'd prefer to keep inside. And when someone shoots them down, we assume they just don't "get it."

But what if the point of sharing our ideas is NOT to get the approval of others?

Today, we go outside our echo chamber with Unthinkable contributor Andrew Littlefield to hear the story of an unusual art project in Brooklyn. Then, we talk to internet legend and creator of PostSecret.com, Frank Warren, to hear the story of his epic project.

LINKS TO KNOW:

Andrew Littlefield: [twitter.com/FSUAndrew](twitter.com/FSUAndrew)

Oliver Warden: [twitter.com/robotbigfoot](twitter.com/robotbigfoot)

Frank Warren: [twitter.com/postsecret](twitter.com/postsecret)

What did you think of this episode? Say hi to me (Jay) on Twitter: [twitter.com/jayacunzo](twitter.com/jayacunzo)

Or go behind-the-scenes with making it each week on Snapchat: [snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo](snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo)

 

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Creativity

Art

Performance

Craft

Intuition

Business

Marriage

Love

Theater

Side Projects

SUBSCRIBE at unthinkable.fm to get a quick note every Monday morning containing new episodes, exclusive bonus content, and new experiments to join.

 

TODAY:

Deb Aoki is like many of us craft-driven creators. She aspires to do great work, but she's held more than a few jobs that treat her like a voiceless, last-in-line asset machine. They decide the strategy and lead the meetings. She inserts copy and creative where they see fit.

Ugh.

But Deb Aoki is no ordinary member of the team. She has a quiet superpower that gives her a massive voice in the room ... all without needing to say a single word.

(Slingshots are short stories about a creative side project that led somewhere surprising or unexpected. They run every other week as part of Unthinkable.)

 

LINKS TO KNOW:

Deb Aoki's site (comics, sketches, etc.) http://mangacomicsmanga.com/

Deb's Twitter: https://twitter.com/debaoki

Jay's Twitter: twitter.com/jayacunzo

Jay's Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/jayacunzo

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Drawing

Cartoons

Comics

eBay

Meetings

Executives

Graphic Novels

Graphic Recording

Creativity

Intuition

Craft