The Creative Rising

Why is it so hard for us to unplug? Is it FOMO, work loads, or deadlines that fool us into seeing rest as an optional “nice to do”? We are going to talk to Creative Director, and agency-owner, José Reyes about the courage required to press pause, gain perspective, and rejuvenate our creative souls.

While it may seem like some people always land on their feet, in reality, everyone’s career path has unexpected twists, turns, and the occasional dead end. Carly Ayres, now working on UX Community & Culture at Google, has plenty of titles under her belt (designer at Creative Mornings, author at CommunicationArts, co-founder of Hawraf, to name a few) but her journey as a creative began with a drive to explore the unknown and lean into learning, wherever the opportunity presented itself.

• For more on Carly Ayers visit: www.carlyayres.com
• Hosted by Blake Howard
• Produced by Matchstic: www.matchstic.com
• Intermission music & editing by Michael Engelking
• Illustration by Rachel Eleanor: www.rachel-eleanor.com

Job aspirations, decisions and questions can haunt us. We quietly wonder, am I in the right place? Am I being paid fairly? Is my title right? Is it time for me to make a change? In this episode of The Creative Rising, we talk to marketing guru, speaker, and author Chris Coleman to get her sage advice on a successful creative career.
*Audio quality note: This is a recorded phone call and the sound quality isn't as great as we would want. I hope you can overlook that fact and instead hear the real gold in the conversation. It's well worth it.

• Special thanks to Matchstic, a brand identity house
• Recorded live at Constellations Studio
• Episode edited by Wes Blankenship
• Music by Josh Garmon
• Hosted and produced by Blake Howard

What does it take to be a straight up boss in the board room? How do we handle the pressure when the spotlight is on? To take this challenge head on, we are going to talk with author and spoken word poet, Amena Brown about the courage required to speak with spirit.
For more on Amena, check her out at amenabrown.com. Also, be sure to check out her book Broken Record where ever you get your books.

What happens when career and ambition suddenly get halted due to uncontrollable factors? In this episode, host Blake Howard sits down with Toke Nygaard, the Chief Creative Officer at Zendesk, to talk about his story, an unexpected disease, and the power of empathy in action.

• For more on Toke visit him on twitter: @tokenygaard
• Special thanks to Matchstic: www.matchstic.com
• Hosted and produced by Blake Howard
• Editing by Michael Engelking
• Illustration by Rachel Eleanor www.rachel-eleanor.com