In the game of being professionally creative, finding continuous inspiration is key.
We all know that keeping our grown adult brains fueled, flexible and full of wonder is integral to the success of our creative output. But simple? Ha-ha-HELL no. The universe is crowded with tips, tricks and pseudo-spiritual practices aimed at juicing up the old head meat. Compounded with the fact that we’re living actual, multifaceted lives outside our office walls, making intentional time to seek inspiration is often one of the first to-dos we lose.
Enter a solution: incentivize our employees to stay inspired. For years, we’ve had an annual “book club” at the office. When a team member reads something good and shares something good, we slide some cash their way. It’s a great incentive, because by feeding your brain, you feed OUR brains, so we feed your wallet. In the spirit of making it even easier to fuel up our noggins, this year we decided to expand the program to include podcasts.
I polled a few of our podcast club members for some of their recent faves. Read on:
Taylor is listening to “How I Built This”
“If you’re an entrepreneur (or even consider yourself entrepreneurial in spirit), How I Built This is probably one of the best podcasts you can listen to. I love that it’s focused on the story of how these incredible founders built their companies, the challenges they went through and what they’ve learned creating and growing something from nothing. For me personally, as I continue to explore my own entrepreneurial passions with my nonprofit, Brother Box, it helps to frame what’s important and what’s not, and keeps me motivated to continue building, testing and iterating to find what works. I recommend the Toms and Clif Bar episodes!”
Mary Susan is listening to “Ear Hustle” and “Catlick”
“Ear Hustle and Catlick remind me that there are more to people than first meets the eye. Each of these stories were developed because someone was curious, leaned in and asked more questions. What they found on the other side wasn’t what they had predicted. I’m encouraged to ask more questions. Being curious is SO important, particularly when developing empathy for other humans. There’s generally a story that tells us much more than our assumptions about someone else ever can.”
Laura is listening to “1619”
“The 1619 Project is an initiative from the New York Times that aims to reframe history “placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” Read more about it here. I admire the producers of 1619 for leaning into a challenging conversation that many struggle to approach or choose to avoid entirely. The podcast in particular balances personal experiences and research data, brilliantly woven together by way of story. Through this storytelling, the New York Times was able to relay important truths about American history in a way that sparked meaningful conversation for communities throughout the country.”
Blythe is listening to “Dolly Parton’s America”
“Dolly Parton’s America about the country music legend. It provides stories about her past, but it also dives deeper into how we can learn a thing or two from Dolly’s beautiful view on the world, reflected in her huge, diverse following. This podcast is inspiring to me as a lesson in positive thinking. Dolly sees the good in everyone! That’s not always so easy to do, but listening to her explain her perspective inspires the listener to dive into a bit of self-reflection. By far one of my favorites!”
Andrew is listening to “Blamo!”
“First, a little context: The whole #menswear movement on Tumblr coincided with my college graduation and subsequent foray into The Professional World, and the combination of tangibility, aesthetics, history, functionality, and societal/cultural implications — not to mention wanting to look like an adult — made clothing a super interesting topic for me. As with all movements, there were the street style stars, influencers and industry people who shaped trends and taste. Blamo! demystifies a lot of those larger-than-life characters and allows them to articulate their perspectives and creative challenges. It’s a podcast where you actually hear from people who are usually shaping messages, not shouting them: Jim Moore (creative director of GQ); Nick Sullivan (fashion director of Esquire); and Benjamin Clymer (Hodinkee).”
Meg is listening to “HBR Ideacast”
“HBR Ideacast specifically this episode… The Right Way to Form New Habits. As a person who likes to get things “right” and doing things “well” in life (type-Aish, Enneagram 1, people pleaser, anyone?) I can often get overwhelmed by a goal because I don’t see progress quickly enough. Author and entrepreneur James Clear shares his method of doing 1% more when it comes to developing good habits and kicking bad once. I particularly loved his concept of “habits of attention.” Where we allocate our attention becomes the precursor to the creative or innovative ideas we come up with. He makes the points that things like accountability, what you consume (read, watch, absorb, people you’re around) and basic healthy life habits all play into reaching your bigger goals.”
Cordell is listening to “Songcraft”
“Songcraft is one of my favorite podcasts and this is one of my very favorite episodes. I find the way Alex Ebert expresses himself and tells the story of his creative journey both beautiful and inspiring. What I like about trying to understand songwriting is that music is one of the most powerful, self expressive ways to connect people…such that you almost feel an instant sense of community with others who love the same song. I have so much respect for people who can fearlessly let you into places where they might feel all alone, but through music, invite us to realize that there are others who feel the same.”
I (Moe) am listening to “Heavyweight”
When I’m down in the creative-rut dumps, I’ve got two fool-proof methods for emotional extraction: a good laugh and a good cry. Johnathan Goldstein serves both in spades on Heavyweight. Each episode explores a story of past regret. With his awkwardly charming, self-deprecating narration, Goldstein accompanies the subject on a journey to confront a moment in time they wished they’d handled differently in the hopes of finding resolution. While each tale is wildly different, they all remind me that:
1) Despite our differences, we ALL experience confusion, disappointment, and loss.
2) We’re also strong enough to look our missteps in the eye, to have hard conversations, reach new understandings, and after all is done, genuinely laugh about it.
This is hands down my favorite episode from season three.
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Want us to update this list as the year goes on? Let us know in the comments. Have a podcast you’re obsessed with that’s not on our list? Let us know on our IG stories today.
