Fear Not, Creative with Steven Potaczek

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music, or watch on YouTube, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. Connect with Steven: Website: https://www.stevenpotaczek.com Buy the Book: https://a.co/d/085HJXBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenpotaczek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/potaczek LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenpotaczek Can AI replace you? Steven Potaczek has lived every side of that question: Billboard Top 40 songwriter, producer with placements on Parks and Recreation and New Girl, and now Founding Director of the Commercial Music program at Samford University. His answer is the most hopeful one you will hear. Machines can average what already exists, but they cannot live, grieve, or love, and the cracks in your story are the raw material of your art. A conversation about craft, courage, wabi-sabi, the power of yet, and why the age of AI may be the beginning of a creative renaissance. Steven's book, Fear Not, Creative, arrives October 1st. Pre-order it now, or email Steven through his website for a signed copy. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and introduction 01:24 The lifeguard's basement studio 04:19 Parks and Recreation and New Girl 06:07 From touring to teaching 07:55 Why he wrote Fear Not, Creative 10:19 Does a lifetime of skill still matter? 13:39 The apology poem: what AI can never do 16:17 Frida Kahlo and the power of scars 19:35 The cracks are the raw material 21:03 Wabi-sabi: beauty in imperfection 22:45 You will never know how amazing you can be 26:57 When the camera came for the painters 30:04 The drum machine lesson 33:42 The case for a creative renaissance 36:16 Excellence is the new scarcity 40:02 Stepping off the burnout wheel 42:14 Do not let anything steal the joy 43:51 Keep the channel open 44:54 Studio, family, classroom: the photo tour 47:15 Fear Not, Creative arrives October 1st 49:20 The power of yet 52:31 Die empty and the rapid fire 55:02 Just start 56:03 I'm proud of myself