Do you know where ideas come from? Or why you might be having trouble focusing these days? These are the kinds of questions today's guest LOVES to tackle.

Haley Forest is a behavioral scientist, innovation strategist, and self-proclaimed nerd for how the brain actually works. With a background that spans neuroscience, marketing, and a culinary degree, Haley brings a uniquely interdisciplinary lens to leadership, creativity, and decision-making. She’s currently completing her doctorate in Leadership Psychology, researching how attention and cognitive flexibility shape innovative thinking. Haley’s worked with startups, Fortune 500s, and global telecom brands to turn behavioral science into business strategy, and she’s on a mission to help people think better, lead smarter, and design with the brain in mind. When she’s not consulting or running workshops, you’ll find her fostering kittens or asking weirdly specific questions just for fun.

Follow Hayley on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to another season of What Doesn't Kill Us! I'm so pumped to bring you another round of incredible guests, but let's kick things off with a solo episode... all about what it's like to be a multi-passionate creative.

Are you someone who has a million and one creative pursuits? SAME. Do you ever find yourself saying, "oh I WISH I could focus on just ONE thing, it would make my life soooo much easier!"

Rather than asking yourself, "how do I choose", perhaps a better question is, "what do I need to focus on today".

Dr Maz sets you a challenge at the end of the episode that you won't want to miss out on!

If you loved this yap, you'll love The Creative Urge.

As you may know, What Doesn't Kill Us explores the nexus between creativity and post-traumatic growth. Today's guest is a living and breathing example of this in so many ways.

Meet, Caroline Brunne: a Trauma Survivor Coach, Breathwork Facilitator, and the founder of INSupport Community, a peer support network for survivors of child sexual abuse.

Caroline’s work is deeply informed by her journey of resilience and healing and her commitment to empowering others to reclaim their lives. Through coaching, breathwork, advocacy, and community building, Caroline provides survivors with the tools to move forward, break cycles of shame, and find strength in their stories.

In 2022, Caroline self-published her memoir, More Than One Thing Can Be True, an unflinching look at the complexities of family dynamics, generational trauma, and recovery.

In this episode, we dive into:

• What trauma-informed practice is
• How we can find purpose in our pain
• Caroline’s therapy dog Louie 
• What the goal of living with trauma could be, and much more.

If this conversation felt expansive, then you're going to be wowed by The Creative Urge.

To say I'm excited about sharing today's guest with you would be an UNDERSTATEMENT. From the moment we connected, it was clear to me that I'd met a kindred soul. In fact, I knew it when I read her most recent book, which t his podcast episode is named after.

Of course I'm talking about the wonderful, generous and uber-creative Holly Ringland.

Holly Ringland is the author of two internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning novels, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, one nationally bestselling work of non-fiction, The House that Joy Built, and she writes a beloved and bestselling Substack, The Joy Rise, on the intersection of creativity and connection. 

Her books have sold over 500,000 copies and have been published in over 30 international territories. 

In 2021, Holly made her TV debut co-hosting the ABC TV factual series Back to Nature which aired in prime time and to critical acclaim. 

In 2023, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart was adapted for an award-winning seven-part series starring Sigourney Weaver.

This episode broke me open and I know it’s going to do the same to you. We traverse a LOT of territory here, from Holly’s books and writing process, to the magic and mystery of the creative process. Being in Holly’s presence is like being in the company of an old friend, so settle in, get ready to take notes and enjoy this conversation with the bighearted Holly Ringland.

If this episode was your cup of tea, you need to get on board with The Creative Urge.

When you've got a big dream, it can be a real slog. One of the most underrated parts of the creative journey would have to be the effort that goes into simply 'trying'.

In today's solo episode, I spotlight why the quality of our 'trying' is what we need to focus on instead of the destination (aka the creative product). It's in the 'trying' that we learn, grow, get challenged and ultimate are led to unexpected places!

If this one tickled your fancy, you'll be giddy over reading The Creative Urge.

I'm thrilled to introduce you to today's guest, Jeff McCann, a full-time Australian artist, illustrator and maker.  He’s well-known for his colourful murals, engaging community projects and workshops for councils, cooperates and schools.

Jeff’s personal practise explores identity, nostalgia, world building, games and the natural world. Primarily working with cardboard to make wearable art, illustrations, art object, and small batch products, his love of the humble material is infectious! 

He’s a queer person who grew up in regional NSW (Dubbo via Wagga) and has been living in Sydney on Gadigal land for the past 15 years. 

In this episode, we talk about:

• Cardboard, yes, cardboard
• How Jeff embrace play in his practice 
• Why ‘Young Jeff’ is the my muse for his art - 
• How Jeff explores queerness through art 
• The niche of community art projects in Sydney and regional NSW 
• How making space for community can be a part of art and placemaking, and so much more!

Follow Jeff on Instagram and check out his amazing Youtube channel!

If you found this chat encouraging, you'll get a kick out of The Creative Urge.

Chances are you're already familiar with the heat of imposter syndrome when it arrives. But are you REALLY an imposter, or is there something else bubbling away under the surface that needs your attention?

In today's solo episode, I pick apart this sticky concept and offer some immediate and ongoing tools to help you keep it at bay.

If you loved this little rant, you'll find The Creative Urge a hoot!

If you've been following me on Instagram for a while now, you'll know that there's one person who I usually go on all sorts of adventures with... and she's today's guest on What Doesn't Kill Us! I'm of course talking about the wonderful Suz Chadwick!

Suz Chadwick is a BOLD Business, Branding & Speaker Coach supporting business owners, thought leaders & entrepreneurs to go from unknown & overwhelmed to courageous & confident powerhouses, ready to stand out and be noticed in a BIG way!

She's here to help you become the go-to person in your industry so that you have the RIGHT clients clambering for your brand of awesome sauce!

With over 20 years as a brand consultant working with global brands and entrepreneurs, leader and teams, Suz knows what works when it comes to creating a business, mindset and brand that helps you stands out.

The author of Play Big, Brand Bold, host of the popular Brand Builder's Lab podcast and the creator of Brand Builders Academy (BBA) & the Amplify Mastermind, she now works with savvy women in businesses to create courageously bold brands, get out of their own way & build profitable businesses that take you from Messy to Magnetic!

In this episode, we dive into the difference between internal and external stories, how you can flip the script to go after what you want and why choosing a better story (like "success is inevitable") can unlock a whole new level of life and business.

If this conversation revved you up, you're gonna lose your marbles over The Creative Urge.

I read an incredible Substack article this week, "Private Lives: Why not everything should be explained, captured, or known – a case of living without an audience” by a writer named Tamara. It's a deep dive into how our online behaviour is affecting our offline lives. It got me thinking about my work and how I want to move forward in the current age of visibility.

In this solo episode, I share two excerpts from the article and offer some reflections on how I'm currently navigating my own feelings about posting online.

I also mention Simon Sinek on Diary of a CEO, too.

If you enjoy this one, you'll love The Creative Urge.

Welcome back friends! Today's episode is a two-for-one as I sit down with the powerhouse humans from Casa Davka, Emily Cohen and Hunter Vargas.

Emily Cohen and Hunter Vargas are business partners and consultants at Casa Davka who offer customized business solutions to creative firms so they can refine, evolve, and elevate their strategies and practices. Emily has been in the business for over 30+ years, partnered with 500+ leading creative firms, and is a frequently requested main stage speaker. Hunter is an experienced marketer, project manager, client partner, and business development manager. They also happen to be a mother/daughter pair, so they work together seamlessly, complementing (and challenging) each other in many ways.

In this episode we talk about how Emily and Hunter work together, why boundaries are important (for their work and for their clients' success), what it means to have a vision and much, much more!

Follow Casa Davka on Instagram and LinkedIn.

If you gobbled up this chat, you'll savour The Creative Urge.