The 21st Century Creative

In this special episode, I share how the pandemic prompted me to create, fund and launch my new poetry podcast, A Mouthful of Air. First, I reflect on my own journey through Covid disruptions – from coaching creatives to writing poetry – and then my friend Joanna Penn interviews me about the inspiration, funding and […] The post How I Created, Funded and Launched My New Podcast (while the World Was in Meltdown) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesThe Artist in the Loop: Taste Is Your Edge in an AI WorldWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore ItIt Was Twenty Years Ago Today 

When Covid closed his bustling Tokyo studio, Ichi Hatano turned to his ink wash paintings and digital art to stay inspired. From crowdfunding a sumi dragon book to renovating a countryside house and launching NFT art, he reinvented his creative practice. ‘Challenging yourself is very important’ – discover how Ichi reinvented his art across mediums. […] The post From Tattoos to NFT Art with Ichi Hatano appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore ItAI vs Artists: What Would Bowie Do?Thoughtful Ways to Use AI in Your Creative Process 

Have you ever had a creative project you never quite found time for? That was voiceover artist Nicky Mondellini’s dilemma until the pandemic cancelled her film work – and suddenly she had the time to launch her long-planned podcast. ‘If you don’t start now, you’ll never do it’ – tune in to Nicky’s story of […] The post Using Lockdown to Launch a Dream Project with Nicky Mondellini appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesIt Was Twenty Years Ago TodayThoughtful Ways to Use AI in Your Creative ProcessHelping Musicians Through Lockdown with Charlotte Abroms 

When lockdown cancelled her in-person writing retreats, bestselling author Laura Davis faced a choice: let her teaching career stall or reinvent it online. Laura, famed for The Courage to Heal and her new memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, challenged her own beliefs about digital learning – and discovered it could be just as […] The post Taking Deep Work Online with Laura Davis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesIt Was Twenty Years Ago TodayMy Creative Process (on the Podcast that Produces Jewelry)The Artist in the Loop: Taste Is Your Edge in an AI World 

When the pandemic brought live music to a halt, artists lost their gigs, their incomes and the vital connection with fans. Charlotte Abroms, a Melbourne-based music manager, used the enforced shutdown to pioneer new ways to help her roster thrive – from virtual gigs to mentoring emerging talent. ‘If an artist doesn’t have cash flow, […] The post Helping Musicians Through Lockdown with Charlotte Abroms appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesIt Was Twenty Years Ago TodayLaunching a New Business in the Pandemic with Amrita KumarWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore It 

Lockdown threw parents into a frenzy of juggling childcare, homeschooling and work – with creativity often sidelined. Kay Lock Kolp shows how even in crisis you can nurture your artistic spark alongside parenting demands. ‘Each of the next seven nights, take a few moments to look at yourself in the mirror.’ – hear Kay’s nightly […] The post Parenting for Creatives with Kay Lock Kolp appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesThe Artist in the Loop: Taste Is Your Edge in an AI WorldWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore ItThoughtful Ways to Use AI in Your Creative Process 

The experiential marketing world in India was shattered overnight when lockdown forbade face-to-face campaigns. Amrita Kumar turned the crisis into opportunity by launching Mojo Box – a subscription discovery platform that kept her business alive and engaged 240,000 consumers. ‘Going slow is okay’ – learn how patience became Amrita’s secret weapon. Episode summary Amrita Kumar […] The post Launching a New Business in the Pandemic with Amrita Kumar appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesIt Was Twenty Years Ago TodayThoughtful Ways to Use AI in Your Creative ProcessFrom Tattoos to NFTs with Ichi Hatano 

The world of film and TV production ground to a halt in early 2020, leaving studios, agencies and freelancers stranded by travel bans and lockdowns. Hometeam Productions turned that crisis into opportunity by tapping a global network of local filmmakers to keep content flowing for brands and broadcasters. ‘When the rest of the industry went […] The post Rebooting Global Filming with Hometeam appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore ItThoughtful Ways to Use AI in Your Creative ProcessAI vs Artists: What Would Bowie Do? 

Earl Abrahams is a Johannesburg-based lens-based artist whose films and photographs animate the city’s streets until lockdown confined him to his apartment block. Under strict restrictions he turned his camera into a window on the world, creating his Lockdown Series to reimagine confinement as a source of solace and invention. ‘Photography became my place of […] The post Lockdown Series: Windows on a Changed World with Earl Abrahams appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesThe Artist in the Loop: Taste Is Your Edge in an AI WorldWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore ItThoughtful Ways to Use AI in Your Creative Process 

Steven Kunis is a Greek-American theatre director based in London who founded Panorama Productions to create international collaborations in theatre and music. When his acclaimed production of Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men was halted by the pandemic, he responded by inventing Rocky Road, a hybrid theatrical-cinematic thriller that reimagined live performance for the Covid […] The post The Rocky Road for Theatre through the Pandemic with Steven Kunis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      Related StoriesWhy Creatives Hate AI – and Why We Can’t Ignore ItAI vs Artists: What Would Bowie Do?The Artist in the Loop: Taste Is Your Edge in an AI World 

Michael Bungay Stanier is a leadership coach and bestselling author whose earlier work, The Coaching Habit, has sold over three quarters of a million copies and helped leaders use coaching to unleash creativity in their teams. In this final episode of Season 5—Episode 50—Michael returns with his new book, The Advice Trap, to show you […] The post Avoiding the Advice Trap with Michael Bungay Stanier appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Krystal Lauk is the founder of Krystal Lauk Studios in San Francisco, where her illustrative work brings humanity and playfulness to tech interfaces for clients such as Google, Uber, Facebook and The New York Times. In this episode, Krystal shares her journey from analogue artist to leading a studio at ‘the intersection of delight and […] The post The 21st Century Illustrator with Krystal Lauk appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Cynthia Morris is a veteran creative coach and author of The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book, with over two decades of experience helping writers and entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life. In this episode, Cynthia reveals practical strategies—from mindset shifts to time-management hacks—to guide busy creatives through every stage of the book-writing […] The post Writing a World-Changing Book with Cynthia Morris appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Emily Kimelman is a bestselling thriller author whose Sydney Rye series has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. Her adventurous spirit shines through both her writing and her life – from sailing the seas on a houseboat to roaming the US in an Airstream trailer while building a thriving author‐entrepreneur business. ‘I could do […] The post The Adventure of Writing with Emily Kimelman appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Naomi Dunford has been helping unconventional business owners sell their work online since 2006, long before content marketing was a household term. In this episode she shares her contrarian approach to marketing for creatives – from reframing disempowering beliefs to spotting creativity in the world around you. ‘Creative people are the only people who are […] The post Naomi Dunford on Marketing for Creatives appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

How do you build a thriving music career when you make ‘wonky electronica’ on a six-string bass and refuse to stream on Spotify? British solo-bass pioneer Steve Lawson has spent two decades answering that question – and his solution turns the usual music-business logic on its head. This week he explains why smaller can be smarter, […] The post Making Music Sustainable with Steve Lawson appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

What does it take to write thirty-plus books, host a weekly show with millions of downloads and still find time to experiment with the latest tech? Best-selling thriller author and creative entrepreneur Joanna Penn believes it all comes down to smart routines and an unquenchable curiosity. In this episode we dig into two of Joanna’s freshest […] The post Joanna Penn on Productivity and Audio for Creatives appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Letterpress printer Nick Hand greets each working day in an Aladdin’s cave of cast-iron presses, wooden type and the rich scent of ink – a world away from the glow of a laptop screen. From this Victorian workshop in the heart of Bristol, Nick runs the Letterpress Collective and The Department of Small Works, reviving endangered printing skills while collaborating […] The post Traditional Crafts in the 21st Century with Nick Hand appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

What happens when a mathematician peers into the circuitry of artificial intelligence and discovers the stirrings of imagination? In this week’s episode, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy explains why he believes machines can already surprise us – and how their digital ‘dreams’ might soon expand human creativity. Du Sautoy’s latest book, The Creativity Code, asks whether algorithms can […] The post Marcus du Sautoy on AI and the Future of Creativity appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

The 21st Century Creative returns with an extraordinary tale of reinvention – meet sculptor-mosaicist Rachael Que Vargas, formerly known as John T. Unger, whose fire-and-stone artworks have travelled far beyond her Hudson, New York studio. From cutting scrap steel with a 45,000 °F plasma torch to painstakingly shaping gemstones for life-size anatomical mosaics, Vargas shows how […] The post John T. Unger (Rachael Que Vargas): 21st Century Artist appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

What would happen if you stopped hiding the most uncomfortable parts of yourself – and sang them out instead? Jazz-soul artist and playwright Monique DeBose did exactly that after a life-changing health scare, turning fear into songs, a hit one-woman show and a mission to help others voice their truth. In this episode she talks […] The post Voicing Your Truth with Monique DeBose appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

However brilliant your craft, it will languish in obscurity if the right people never discover it. Yet marketing can feel baffling – or downright distasteful – to many creatives. Enter Ilise Benun, the ‘Marketing Mentor’ who has spent three decades helping designers, writers and artists promote their work with the same imagination they pour into […] The post Bat-Signal Marketing for Creatives with Ilise Benun appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

However talented we are, most of us can recite a personal anthology of reasons why our artistic dreams must wait until ‘someday’. Creative coach Deborah Henry-Pollard has heard them all – and written the field-guide to dismantling them. In this lively episode the London-based author of What’s Your Excuse for Not Succeeding as an Artist? […] The post What’s Your Excuse for Not Succeeding as a Creative? with Deborah Henry-Pollard appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

What does it really take to thrive as a one-person business? Czech business consultant Robert Vlach has spent two decades answering that question for thousands of independent professionals across Europe. In this conversation Robert draws on his bestselling manual The Freelance Way and his experience founding one of Europe’s largest freelance communities to share battle-tested […] The post The Freelance Way with Robert Vlach appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

What separates the handful of screenplays that spark bidding wars from the mountain of scripts that never leave the slush pile? Two-time Emmy-winning writer–producer Erik Bork argues it all starts with one thing: the core idea. In this episode Erik – whose credits include HBO’s Band of Brothers and From the Earth to the Moon […] The post The Essential Elements of a Successful Story with Erik Bork appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Drummer and composer Maria Bovin de Labbé swapped Stockholm’s rock clubs for a quiet Norwegian peninsula, where she explores rhythm as meditation rather than machismo. Her ‘mindful drumming’ blends frame drums, clay darbuka and classic kit work into melodic soundscapes that invite listeners to breathe, slow down and feel every beat. ‘When I first sat […] The post Mindful Drumming with Maria Bovin de Labbé appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Peleg Top built a thriving Los Angeles design agency creating album covers for the likes of Capitol Records – then walked away to discover what success really means. In this conversation he traces a journey from graphic designer to globetrotting seeker, artist and coach, sharing hard-won insights into fear, love, money and the creative spirit. […] The post Peleg Top on Fear, Love, Money and Creativity appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

From a kitchen-table sketchbook to bestseller status, children’s author-illustrator Nadia Shireen has turned playful doodles into stories that families read on repeat. In this episode Nadia opens her toolbox – revealing why a strict 32-page format, a perfectly timed page-turn and the odd shocking punchline are all part of the magic of a picture book. […] The post Good Little Wolf and Other Stories with Nadia Shireen appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

What can a life of cycling round the world, rowing the Atlantic and busking penniless across Spain teach you about your own creative journey? British adventurer Alastair Humphreys has plenty of answers – and they’re as practical as they are inspiring. In this episode Alastair joins Mark McGuinness to explore the surprising overlap between epic […] The post What Creators Can Learn from Adventurers with Alastair Humphreys appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Remember the first time you realised you could never be happy clock-watching in someone else’s office? Brian Clark had the same epiphany – and turned it into a series of eight-figure ventures built on words, audiences and low-overhead tech. Founder of Copyblogger, StudioPress, Further and the Unemployable podcast, Brian has spent two decades proving that […] The post Brian Clark’s Career Advice for the Unemployable appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

A former paediatric ER doctor turned blockbuster novelist, CJ Lyons writes thrillers steeped in the life-and-death realities she once faced on the hospital floor. With more than 2.5 million books sold and awards ranging from the ITW Thriller Award to USA Today bestseller medals, CJ joins the show to reveal how true stories of courage, […] The post Storytelling: a Matter of Life and Death with CJ Lyons appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

‘Brutally honest’ is not just a catch-phrase for US consultant Emily Cohen – it is the red thread that runs through her advice to creative-studio owners. In this episode Emily shares the no-nonsense principles behind her acclaimed book Brutally Honest: No-Bullshit Strategies to Evolve Your Creative Business – from firing a client a year to […] The post Brutally Honest Advice for Your Creative Business with Emily Cohen appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Staring down a blank page can feel like free-fall – yet writer and podcaster David Kadavy has turned that terror into fuel for bestselling books and a life of creative freedom. In this episode he explains how a single sloppy blog post catapulted him from a cubicle in Nebraska to the cafés of Silicon Valley, […] The post How to Find the Heart to Start with David Kadavy appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Entrepreneur and investor Vicki Saunders believes the future belongs to businesses that combine profit with purpose – and she’s built a global funding network to prove it. Fed up with a system where only 4 per cent of venture capital backs female founders, Vicki created SheEO (now Coralus) – an ecosystem where women lend money, expertise […] The post SheEO: Women Transforming Entrepreneurship with Vicki Saunders appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

High-performance coach Rich Litvin helps Olympic athletes, Special Forces veterans and Fortune 500 founders push past the limits of their own success – and survive the loneliness that often comes with it. In this conversation Rich reveals the hidden costs of excellence, why the world’s top 4 per cent focus on 4 per cent gains, and how […] The post The Price of Being a High Performer with Rich Litvin appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Writer and broadcaster Christina Patterson has survived redundancy, illness and heartbreak, yet still radiates optimism and wit. In her acclaimed book The Art of Not Falling Apart she turns personal catastrophe into a manual for resilience. In this episode we discuss Christina’s unusual route into journalism, why she believes kindness beats cleverness, and how the […] The post The Art of Not Falling Apart with Christina Patterson appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

David Hieatt co-founded cult clothing brand Howies, revived a derelict Welsh jeans factory as Hiut Denim, and created the globally-admired ideas festival The Do Lectures. Along the way he has addressed Apple, Google and Patagonia and written several punchy business books, including Do Purpose. In this episode David explains why brands with a purpose ‘do […] The post Don’t Just Sell Something: Do Something! with David Hieatt appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Joanna Penn writes New York Times and USA Today-bestselling thrillers as J.F. Penn — and, under her own name, runs one of the most respected resources for authors on the web. Between fiction, non-fiction and courses she has released 28 books, sold over half a million copies in 84 countries and five languages, and been […] The post The Healthy Creative with Joanna Penn appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Generative artist Tyler Hobbs creates his canvases line-by-line in a text editor, then presses ‘run’ to watch the code produce a unique image. The results — futuristic yet strangely soulful — have won collectors and critics alike. In this episode we explore how Tyler blends randomness with precision, why he ships each print with the […] The post Tyler Hobbs: the Artist Who Paints with Code appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Season 3 opens with a Steven Pressfield interview about his latest creative manifesto, The Artist’s Journey. If you know Steve only as the author of The War of Art or the novelist behind The Legend of Bagger Vance, this episode reveals the larger pattern that links his fiction, his non-fiction and — crucially — your own […] The post Steven Pressfield on The Artist’s Journey appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Patricia van den Akker, the Director of The Design Trust, an organisation based in London with a mission to help designers and makers ‘create a business they are proud of’. Patricia is also the author of Dream Plan Do, an annual planner journal to help […] The post Creating a Business You Are Proud of with Patricia van den Akker appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Sara Milne Rowe, one of the leading performance coaches in the UK and the founder of the company Coaching Impact, and the author of The SHED Method: Making Better Choices When It Matters. She works with senior leaders and teams in the creative and media […] The post Making Better Choices When it Matters with Sara Milne Rowe appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Josh Szeps, a TV and radio host, political commentator and comedian, and creator of the podcast #WeThePeople LIVE. Josh hails from Australia and has spent the last few years living and working in the United States. He was one of the founding hosts of HuffPost […] The post Josh Szeps on 21st Century Media: TV, Radio, Podcasting and Beyond appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Gabriela Pereira, a writer and teacher who is on a mission ‘to empower writers to take an entrepreneurial approach to their education and professional growth’. Having earned her own MFA – which for those of us outside the US, is a Master of Fine Arts […] The post DIY Professional Development for Creatives with Gabriela Pereira appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Daniel Boettcher, the founder of The Intrepid Wendell, a bespoke jewellery salon in Washington, DC. If you visit Daniel’s website you’ll see he greets his visitors with the words ‘We love to share your joy’ – this is the guiding principle of Daniel’s business and […] The post The Business of Sharing Joy with Daniel Boettcher appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Jarie Bolander, a serial entrepreneur, living in San Francisco who has started and run several businesses in the tech, medical and PR sectors. His latest book is The Entrepreneur Ethos: How to Build a More Ethical, Inclusive, and Resilient Entrepreneur Community. Jarie is inventor or […] The post The Entrepreneur Ethos with Jarie Bolander appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Mimi Khalvati, one of the foremost poets currently writing in the UK. Mimi was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up on the Isle of Wight in England. She is the author of eight collections of poetry published by Carcanet and the editor of several […] The post Poetry as Discovery with Mimi Khalvati appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Todd Henry, a speaker, advisor to creative companies, and the author of a string of best-selling books for creatives, including The Accidental Creative, Die Empty and Louder than Words. I joked with Todd that he is also the grandaddy of creative podcasters – he has […] The post Todd Henry: Leading Creatives Is Like Herding Tigers appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

This week’s guest on The 21st Century Creative podcast is Javier Weyler, musician, composer and music designer. Born in Argentina and raised in Venezuela, he achieved national fame with the band Claroscuro before moving to the UK in 2000. Javier will need no introduction for fans of Stereophonics – he was the band’s drummer for […] The post Javier Weyler: A Journey into Sound appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.      

Welcome to the start of Season 2 of The 21st Century Creative, the podcast that helps you thrive as a creative professional amid the demands, distractions and opportunities of the 21st Century. It’s taken several months, many hours of work, and in the case of one interview, several thousand air miles, to put the new […] The post Tina Roth Eisenberg’s Labours of Love appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness. Click the icon below to listen.