Cracking Creativity Podcast With Kevin Chung

A recap of episode 65 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Ryan Hildebrandt and myself where we talk about providing value, writing my book, and starting a TEDx event from scratch.

Something a little bit different this week. Instead of a one way interview, I had a conversation with Ryan Hildebrandt of The Maker’s Journey podcast.  In it we talked about starting our podcasts, why you should provide value, writing a book, building  a TEDx event from scratch, and much more. Here are three things I learned by talking with Ryan: Everything Starts Off as an Experiment If you look around at all the wonderful things people are able to accomplish, you might believe they were meant to do it. For them, things go off without a hitch. Their work sells like hot cakes. They look calm, composed, and confident all the time. What you don’t see is how they got there. You didn’t see them struggling. You didn’t see them speak timidly about their work. You didn’t see how they doubted themselves. We all have this mistaken belief that other people are special. Ryan believes everything starts off as an experiment. “When you create something, it’s almost always… it’s is a bit of an experiment really. You’re neve

A recap of episode 64 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Dr. Matthew Horkey and Charine Tan where they talk more about why experiences are better than having things, why you should invest in yourself, and why communication is the most important skill you can learn.

Dr. Matthew Horkey and Charine Tan were both on extremely successful career paths. Matt was working for a seven-figure chiropractic business and Charine was offered a lucrative management position at her company. On the outside, everything looked great. But internally, they both felt they were living a life of complacency. The tipping point came when they took a sabbatical to wine regions around the world. That’s when something struck Charine. She believed they could build a business around wine and travel. So they built up enough run way to quit their jobs and started their journey as the Exotic Wine Travelers. In this episode, learn why experiences are better than having things, why you should invest in yourself, and why communication is the most important skill you can learn. Here are three things you can learn from Matt and Charine: Having Experiences is Better Than Having Stuff One of the things people learn over time is accumulating possessions is not as fulfilling as having great experiences. While man

A recap of episode 63 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Nicolas Cole where he talks more about why you should learn from everything you do, why you should help others, and why marketing is not your enemy.

Nicolas Cole looks like someone out of a fitness magazine, but it hasn't always been that way. When he was growing up, he was sick almost every day. By the time he was 17 years old, he weighed less than 100 pounds. He missed school a lot and didn't have many friends. So he turned to World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft became his escape from life. He played so much that he was one of the top players in the entire game. That is until he was faced with a tough decision. He could either continue to pursue his video game career on his own or receive his parents' help and go to college. He chose college. It was at this point that Nicolas took the principles from gaming and applied them to fitness. He went from less than 100 pounds to 170 pounds by gamifying his workout routines. He also wrote about his fitness routines and his journey on Quora and became one of its top writers. In this episode find out why you should learn from everything you do, why you should help others, and why marketing is not your enemy. Her

A recap of episode 62 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Monica Kang where she talks more about why you should think link an outsider, the importance of asking questions, and how self-awareness can improve your problem solving.

Monica Kang knew early in life that she wanted to work in international affairs. Her upbringing in two countries compelled her to understand how people related to each other, and steered her towards her role working with the government. Monica worked for years in international affairs, and even though she loved her job, she still felt something was lacking. She saw that people weren't creatively fulfilled at their jobs and knew she wanted to help them. She knew she could fulfill that gap, so she started up Innovators Box. In this episode learn why you should think link an outsider, the importance of asking questions, and how self-awareness can improve your problem solving. Here are three things you can learn from Monica: Think Like an Outsider One of the things that has helped Monica build Innovators Box is the fact that she didn't have prior experience in business. Too often, when we are well versed in an industry, we have trouble thinking outside of the box. Instead of relying on tried and true advice, Moni

A recap of episode 61 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Kaitlyn Guay where she talks more about why creative growth is an evolution, how to find beauty and gratitude in every day life, and ways you can overcome Resistance.

Kaitlyn Guay grew up wanting to be in Broadway. She grew up in a household where she wasn’t allowed to watch TV and could only watch movies on the weekends. She grew up in a cultural bubble where she entertained herself by writing poems and song lyrics for fun. While she wanted to be an artist and entertainer, those around her thought it would be too risky, so she became a musical teacher. This allowed her to share her passion for the arts with others. That is until a severe case of Chronic Lyme Disease forced her to change her path. Instead of letting the disease break her, she leveraged it into creating a young adult book series and jewelry line. In this episode, learn why creative growth is an evolution, how to find beauty in gratitude in every day life, and ways you can overcome Resistance. Here are three things you can learn from Kaitlyn: Creative Growth is an Evolution Many people mistakenly believe that you are either born with an artistic talent or you aren’t. While some people are more talented at th

A recap of episode 60 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Adam James Butcher where he dives more into why you should share your work, the value of habits and routines, and why selling is crucial for your business.

A recap of episode 59. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Andrea Dantas wheres he dives more into why you should never stop learning, why you should always remember your why, and what it takes to do work that matters to you.  

Andrea Dantas could have ended up poor and broke in Brazil. Her father went bankrupt when she was a child and her mother struggled to feed two kids. Her one saving grace was her love for acting. Andrea left Brazil to study acting in Australia. While she was able to get a tourist Visa, she had trouble getting a work Visa. So her mother smuggled her money by putting it inside books she sent through the mail. While she survived on a diet of canned beans, she was still happy because she was learning and doing what she loved. She has been able to build a successful career in acting through years of studying, performing, and working in multiple countries. In this episode, learn why you should never stop learning, why you should always remember your why, and what it takes to do work that matters to you. Here are three things you can learn from Andrea: Never Stop Learning One thing Andrea made very clear is that you should never stop learning. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been practicing your craft for one year or one

A recap of episode 58. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Bodlar Deathbringer where he dives more into the challenges you face as an artist, the importance in marketing and networking, and why you need to confront your fears.    

Bodlar Deathbringer is a visual artist living in New York City. Since early in his life, it seemed like he was destined to become an artist. His father was a visual artist and his mother was a writer. He also started creating his own paintings when he was eight years old. So it would seem odd that Bodlar went into IT work. After years of working in the corporate world, he finally decided he had enough. He decided he would move to New York City to pursue his art career full-time. It hasn't always been easy, but Bodlar has been working as an artist ever since. In this episode, learn about the challenges you face as an artist, the importance in marketing and networking, and why you need to confront your fears. Here are three things you can learn from Bodlar: Work Hard and be Prolific No one has any illusions that life as a full-time artist is easy. Bodlar believes you must want it. ""It's hard. It's really hard, and it's perpetually terrifying. You know, you just always have to be on point. You have to hustle. Y

The first recap episode of the show. Let me know what you think of the shortened format. If you liked this recap, check out Ginger's full episode!

Ginger Kern knew she wanted to leave her childhood home in the Midwest even when she was a young. She grew up reading books on adventure and mythology, which fueled her desire to get away. So, when she had the opportunity to visit her family in Germany, she jumped on it. Even though she didn’t speak German and her family didn’t speak English, she was hooked on travel and living abroad. This was the beginning of her life fueled by travel, adventure, and a desire to help other people do the same. In this episode, Ginger talks about embracing your playful side, taking rites of passage, and transforming herself and others. Here are three things you can learn from Ginger: Engage in Playfulness Once we become adults, most of use lose our sense of playfulness. While this may be good in some situations, it absolutely prevents us from being our most creative selves. Being playful allows us to experiment without worrying about ridicule. It allows us to be curious as we explore the world. That’s why Ginger likes to put

Chris Dessi was fired three times in two years, but that didn’t stop him from building a successful career. Instead of letting those setbacks get him down, he leveraged them into building his own business, writing multiple books, appearing on TV, and running his own summits. In this episode, learn about the power of a personal brand, being a taste maker, and defining success. Here are three things you can learn from Chris: Build a personal brand Building a personal brand is one of the best things you can do to make a name for yourself. Once people recognize you for your thoughts and your work, it becomes easier to get your voice heard. But it’s not always easy. If you want to build a personal brand, you have to stop taking what’s given to you. Instead, you need to look within yourself to discover what makes you unique, what differentiates you from everyone else. Chris believes we can do this by being introspective. “Building your personal brand is about becoming introspective and not a lot of people become in

Puneet Sachdev worked for years in the hotel industry and with General Electric as a management consultant. He now uses that knowledge in his work as a consultant, creative philanthropist, and coach. He is also the author of Deepa Wishes Daddy Happy Birthday, a book based on the time he’s spent with his daughter. He uses 100% of the proceeds from the book to support the education of underprivileged children. The book also began his work as a creative philanthropist. In this episode, learn how Puneet turned his idea into reality, why you need to put yourself out there, and the importance of being present. Here are three things you can learn from Puneet: We Are All on a Journey Many of us believe we aren’t destined for greatness, but we never take the first step. The first thing we must all do, if we want to find success, is accept the fact that we are all on a journey. Puneet believes we all have a choice to make. We can choose to continue on the path we’ve been on, or we can choose the unbeaten path. “When yo

Sally Safadi was working at an after school program for kids between medical school and graduating . While there, she found it was difficult for children to learn in the traditional school environment after already spending eight hours in school. So she came up with different games for the kids to play to get them involved in learning. This began her shift from studying science to studying and exploring creativity. Sally’s site, Neurons Away, is the hub for all her work including her book and card game. Each of her projects help people explore and exercise their imaginations. In this episode learn about her various projects, the power of constraints, the benefits of trial and error, and much more. Here are three things you can learn from Sally: The Power of Learning to Play in Empty Spaces Most of us are taught to find a single answer to problems. We haven’t been give the proper tools to tackle problems with more than one possibility, which is why we struggle with empty spaces. “The way we are taught, especia