Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
Jay Acunzo
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5 Listeners
5.0
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The Battle for the Soul of the Internet
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
01/19/22 • 26 min
5.0
Today, we hear the story of Patreon, as told by cofounder and CEO Jack Conte. More pressing for our purposes as makers, however, is the driving belief Jack shares which is the beating heart of the creator economy -- or should be.
There's a coming fork in the road we'll face if we want to create for a living and thrive. The decision is embedded into the very name of the movement: creator economy.
I think the pendulum has swung too far towards the economy part, and we need to remember what this is for: finding ways to fund the work and lives of the creative people who make our world -- and our experience of it -- better.
SHARE THE SHOW:
Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jay
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:
https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter
Every Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.
VOICES IN THIS EPISODE:
- Jack Conte, cofounder and CEO of Patreon -- https://twitter.com/jackconte
SPONSOR: Riverside
Riverside is the easiest way to record podcasts and videos in studio quality, from anywhere. Record separate audio tracks to avoid the cut-outs, optional video to enhance the show’s experience, and even clip content for sharing elsewhere, all without leaving the platform. Riverside is powerful enough to be used by Marvel, the NY Times, TED, Freakonomics, Indie Hackers, GaryVee, and Guy Raz, but simple enough for thousands of indie creators and new podcasters to use it for their shows.
Learn more and try it free at https://riverside.fm/
CONNECT WITH ME ELSEWHERE:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayacunzo and https://twitter.com/UnthinkableShow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacunzo
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo
Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION:
Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com
Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Unthinkable is a storytelling podcast about creative people who break from conventional thinking to make what matters most. We’re traveling the business world to learn how to create work that resonates — with powerful stories from makers, marketers, and leaders like the CEOs of Zoom and Patreon, execs from Adobe and Disney, and creators like writer Tim Urban, comedian Sarah Cooper, and photographer Chase Jarvis. From artisans to entrepreneurs, writers, designers, podcasters, video creators, and all the weird and wonderful nooks of the working world, we’re meeting inspiring people to learn what we can do to resonate more deeply with the work we create.
Listeners have called the show “This American Life for my work” with stories “as captivating as some of the best, like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Carlin.”
Thanks for listening!
01/19/22 • 26 min


2 Listeners
2 Comments
2
Signature Stories: Simone Stolzoff
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
11/13/23 • 43 min
5.0
Signature Stories is a miniseries where world-class business storytellers take us inside one important story and dissect it with us. It's like Song Exploder meets storytelling for our work! In our fifth episode of the series, a globetrotting, bestselling, keynote-giving, smart-opinion-having, big-idea-distributing author takes us inside what was ultimately a tiny moment in his life that sparked all that "big" stuff.
Simone Stolzoff is the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work. He's written for the Atlantic and Wired, worked as a design lead for the innovation firm IDEO, and even got his creative start in school delivering spoken word poetry from the stage.
Together, we dissect a signature story that's become "mythology" to him from his own life, and we talk about what makes it work -- and why he approaches it with such restraint. Then, we learn why and how effective storytellers imbue stories with meaning to ensure they matter to others.
BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLER:
- Subscribe to Jay's free newsletter, Playing Favorites, and learn what it takes to stand out easier and resonate deeper by communicating with greater power, everywhere you show up. Join free at jayacunzo.com.
- Join the Creator Kitchen, a mastermind of smart experts learning to become more influential voices -- NOT by relying on any cheap tricks, but by mastering their craft and creating higher-impact content. Community, masterclasses, 1:1 and 1:few coaching from Jay, and more. Learn about membership and see what's inside the Kitchen at creatorkitchen.com.
***
IN THIS EPISODE:
Simone Stolzoff: website and books - LinkedIn - Twitter - Threads - Instagram
***
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
- Creator, host, writer, editor: Jay Acunzo
- Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins
11/13/23 • 43 min

1 Listener
1 Comment
1
The Concept: Telic
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
01/26/22 • 50 min
5.0
In the first installment of The Concept, we learn about telic and its opposite, paratelic. These ideas inform our own internal motivations -- or that of our teams -- and they can radically change the results we see from our work.
SHARE THE SHOW:
Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jay
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:
https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter
Every Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.
SPONSOR: Riverside
Riverside is the easiest way to record podcasts and videos in studio quality, from anywhere. Record separate audio tracks to avoid the cut-outs, optional video to enhance the show’s experience, and even clip content for sharing elsewhere, all without leaving the platform. Riverside is powerful enough to be used by Marvel, the NY Times, TED, Freakonomics, Indie Hackers, GaryVee, and Guy Raz, but simple enough for thousands of indie creators and new podcasters to use it for their shows.
Learn more and try it free at https://riverside.fm/
CONNECT WITH ME ELSEWHERE:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayacunzo and https://twitter.com/UnthinkableShow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacunzo
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo
Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION:
Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com
Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com
RESEARCH LINKS:
- https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:182009/datastream/PDF/view
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00746/full
- https://trans4mind.com/transformation/transform4.2.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversal_theory
- https://scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1843&context=etd
- https://positivepsychology.com/theory-psychology-flow/
- http://www.dankalia.com/mind/dt/_pschlg/ReversalTheory/RT_TheoryMotiv.htm
- https://worldofwork.io/2020/03/reversal-theory-motivation-and-emotion-in-motion/
- https://flowleadership.org/flow-benefits/
- https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=rpta_fac
- http://michaelapter.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Personality_Dynamics.pdf
01/26/22 • 50 min

1 Listener
1 Comment
1
Announcement from Jay
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
03/24/22 • 3 min
Learn more about Elevate and apply here: https://jayacunzo.com/accountability-group-for-b2b-marketers-creators
The first group begins work April 11.
MORE DETAILS:
Achieve your creative goals with small working groups of B2B creators and marketers, led personally by me, Jay Acunzo.
- 8 weeks of guided work on your existing, most important projects, with 1:1 and 1:few time with me.
- Sharpen your ideas, be more creative, and earn more passionate fans and customers.
- Connect with successful, generous, creative peers, vetted by me personally. (The first group will be limited to 9 people, at most.)
ELEVATE is a premium offering for B2B marketers and creators to avoid stagnation and keep improving their output and results. If you’ve ever been stressed about time (to be creative), focus (thanks to endless to-dos), differentiation (on merit, not gimmicks), or results (from work you genuinely loved creating) ... this is for you.
There is no one-size-fits-all “system.” Instead, this is a structured way for me to provide live and asynchronous help and guidance — along with other high-performing peers — in a way that’s customized to your actual work.
Learn more and apply: https://jayacunzo.com/accountability-group-for-b2b-marketers-creators
Our work begins the week of April 11.
Trust your gut: your best work is in front of you.
03/24/22 • 3 min

1 Listener
MINI-Series: Illustration with Haley Weaver (Haley Drew This)
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
05/11/22 • 27 min
5.0
Resonating deeply doesn't require us to do anything big or expensive. The MINI-Series explores four types of created work that don't take up much space -- but still carry tons of meaning to those who encounter it. Last episode was about copywriting. This episode: illustration, featuring Haley Weaver of the wildly popular instagram account, Haley Drew This.
Together, we unpack some of her seemingly simple but deeply emotional webcomics -- many of which uplift those suffering with their mental well-being. Haley creates honest, beautiful, yet simple depictions of her own vulnerabilities and her experience of anxiety, relationships with friends, understanding of love, and more.
SHARE THE SHOW:
Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jay
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:
https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter
Every other Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.
VOICES IN THIS EPISODE:
Haley Weaver is the acclaimed illustrator and writer behind Haley Drew This and the popular instagram account @haleydrewthis featuring her webcomics centered around anxiety + mental health, relationships, and selfhood.
Her forthcoming book is Give Me Space But Don't Go Far.
SPONSOR: The Juice
The Juice is like Spotify for B2B learning: a beautiful, curated collection of the best creators and resources serving sales and marketing pros today. Get suggestions based on your job title, search top resources, or create and share playlists of useful ideas and content.
Learn more and try it free at https://www.thejuicehq.com/
Connect with Hiba Amin on The Juice here: https://app.thejuicehq.com/creators/hiba-amin
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/h5amin
CONNECT WITH ME ELSEWHERE:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayacunzo and https://twitter.com/UnthinkableShow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacunzo
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo
Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION:
Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com
Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com
05/11/22 • 27 min

1 Listener
1 Comment
1
What You Need to Know About Rocky | One-Shot #14
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
02/02/22 • 16 min
5.0
In this one-shot, Jay unpacks one of Rocky’s most iconic scenes to better understand how we can approach our own constraints and begin to use them to our advantage.
SHARE THE SHOW:
Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jay
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:
https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter
Every Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.
SPONSOR: Riverside
Riverside is the easiest way to record podcasts and videos in studio quality, from anywhere. Record separate audio tracks to avoid the cut-outs, optional video to enhance the show’s experience, and even clip content for sharing elsewhere, all without leaving the platform. Riverside is powerful enough to be used by Marvel, the NY Times, TED, Freakonomics, Indie Hackers, GaryVee, and Guy Raz, but simple enough for thousands of indie creators and new podcasters to use it for their shows.
Learn more and try it free at https://riverside.fm/
CONNECT WITH US ELSEWHERE:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayacunzo and https://twitter.com/UnthinkableShow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacunzo
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo
Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION:
Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com
Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Unthinkable is a storytelling podcast about creative people who break from conventional thinking to make what matters most. We’re traveling the business world to learn how to create work that resonates — with powerful stories from makers, marketers, and leaders like the CEOs of Zoom and Patreon, execs from Adobe and Disney, and creators like writer Tim Urban, comedian Sarah Cooper, and photographer Chase Jarvis. From artisans to entrepreneurs, writers, designers, podcasters, video creators, and all the weird and wonderful nooks of the working world, we’re meeting inspiring people to learn what we can do to resonate more deeply with the work we create.
Listeners have called the show “This American Life for my work” with stories “as captivating as some of the best, like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Carlin.”
Thanks for listening and supporting Unthinkable!
02/02/22 • 16 min

1 Listener
1 Comment
1
The Science of Resonance | One-Shot #11
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
11/10/21 • 13 min
5.0
What does resonance really mean? In this short episode, we explore the science of resonance and how understanding the definition of the word can help us to focus on making content that matters.
SHARE THE SHOW:
Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jay
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:
https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter
Every Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.
SPONSOR: THE JUICE
Discover the world's best and brightest thinking and resources for sales and marketing pros on The Juice. They're like the Spotify of B2B, with content playlists and suggestions based on your job title and level. Avoid the endless lead-gen forms, skip all the system-gamers found via Google searches, and browse the most useful and transformative ideas affecting your work, for free.
Learn more at https://thejuicehq.com
CONNECT WITH US ELSEWHERE:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayacunzo and https://twitter.com/UnthinkableShow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacunzo
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo
Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION:
Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com
Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Unthinkable is a storytelling podcast about creative people who break from conventional thinking to make what matters most. We’re traveling the business world to learn how to create work that resonates — with powerful stories from makers, marketers, and leaders like the CEOs of Zoom and Patreon, execs from Adobe and Disney, and creators like writer Tim Urban, comedian Sarah Cooper, and photographer Chase Jarvis. From artisans to entrepreneurs, writers, designers, podcasters, video creators, and all the weird and wonderful nooks of the working world, we’re meeting inspiring people to learn what we can do to resonate more deeply with the work we create.
Listeners have called the show “This American Life for my work” with stories “as captivating as some of the best, like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Carlin.”
Thanks for listening and supporting Unthinkable!
11/10/21 • 13 min

1 Listener
1 Comment
1
Unthinkable's Next Focus
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
02/08/21 • 11 min
Fundamentally, Unthinkable is a podcast about creativity -- creativity at work, creativity used to enact change, and creativity as a form of practice, improvement, and exploration.
For several years, the show focused on one problem, one source of frustration: our obsession with best practices, and all the problems that causes. So we set out to change how we all see the work. Now, we're embarking on a new adventure -- to change how we see ourselves.
Let's stop acting like experts and start acting like explorers. In fact, that's what we are. Idea explorers. You and me? We're fellow travelers. We know that where we stand right now, the status quo for ourselves as individuals, our teams, our industries, communities, society, where we stand right now, isn't going to do. In the distance we see the mountain peak, but between here and there is a jungle and we have no idea how to get there.
So we're picking up our machetes and we're going to hack through it. We're going to try to reach that mountain peak, swing after swing, episode after episode. That's what creativity is: attempts. Practice. It's just repetition plus reinvention, over time. It's exploration, and we're setting out to find and learn from some inspiring Idea Explorers.
TO SUPPORT THE SHOW & FUND BETTER STORIES...
1. Consider my course on show development:
Learn how to build your initial ideas into a pithy, powerful premise that prompts subscription -- for your podcast or video series.
Learn more about Growable Shows here: https://marketingshowrunners.podia.com/growable-shows-developing-your-ideas-into-an-irresistible-premise-your-audience-loves-shares
***
2. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter, Playing Favorites:
Get one original idea or story every Friday morning about making what matters most -- to others and yourself. What does it take to be their favorite? Isn't that the goal?
Subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/gWVi_9
Thanks for listening!
02/08/21 • 11 min
Break the Wheel (ft. Tim Urban, Wait But Why)
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
02/24/21 • 44 min
Tim Urban writes a blog about ... well ... lots of stuff. Understanding ourselves and our relationship to each other and the world, maybe? From making friends to exploring space, cultural and societal forces to neuroscience breakthroughs ... all packaged as brilliant, entertaining, and sarcastic essays. Tim Urban has written about it all.
But like any exceptional project or career, Tim's is not one that reveals any singular secret to success. In fact, it just might be the millions of "secrets to success" that we're drowning in today which are holding us back in our own projects and careers.
Best practices. Tips and tricks. Cheats and hacks. Gurus and get-rich-quick schemes. Trendy new tactics. Conventional wisdom. These are all just spokes on a wheel. But if we truly want to make what matters, perhaps we're better off escaping that wheel -- or dare I say, we should break the wheel?
(This episode originally aired in 2018. I am re-airing this because it perfectly ties into our new journey to tell the stories of Idea Explorers -- people who made the shift from viewing themselves as experts to viewing themselves as explorers, and where that leads them in their creative work.)
SUPPORT THE SHOW + HELP FUND FUTURE STORIES:
1. Monthly/annual membership group, Make What Matters: makewhatmattersgroup.com
Tiny techniques, creativity concepts, business and buy-in support, and plenty of behind-the-scenes of Unthinkable and other projects.
***
2. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter, Playing Favorites: jayacunzo.com/newsletter
One original story and idea for making your audience's favorite things, sent each Friday morning.
***
THANKS FOR LISTENING AND SUPPORTING!
Keep making what matters.
-Jay
02/24/21 • 44 min
Experts vs. Explorers
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo
04/06/21 • 54 min
Your knowledge is finite. Your curiosity is infinite. So why, oh why, do we usually rely more on our existing knowledge than our boundless curiosity? We live in a society that seems to value the ability to have the answers, but the path to making work that matters just might mean admitting, "I don't have the answers, but I'm going to figure this out."
What if we stopped acting like experts and started acting like ... well ... something else?
In this episode, we hear stories from keynote speaker Andrew Davis, bestselling author Shane Snow (Dream Teams, Smartcuts, The Storytelling Edge), and Dr. Jade Wu, sleep psychologist and researcher from Duke University.
NEWSLETTER:
Playing Favorites shares one new story every Friday morning that you can't find anywhere else, focused on creating work that matters. Subscribe at jayacunzo.com/newsletter
MEMBER GROUP:
Make What Matters is where marketers, freelancers, podcasters, writers, and creatives join forces to push themselves and each other to create more elevated work and accelerate their careers. For techniques, connection, collaboration, and inspiration, consider joining at makewhatmattersgroup.com
SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE INVOLVED IN THIS EPISODE:
Andrew Davis: akadrewdavis.com | twitter.com/DrewDavisHere
Shane Snow: shanesnow.com | twitter.com/shanesnow
Jade Wu, PhD: jadewuphd.com | twitter.com/jadewuphd
***
THANKS FOR LISTENING AND SUPPORTING!
Keep making what matters.
-Jay
04/06/21 • 54 min
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FAQ
How many episodes does Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo have?
Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo currently has 220 episodes available.
What topics does Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo cover?
The podcast is about Marketing, Craft, Creativity, Storytelling, Podcasts, Business and Careers.
What is the most popular episode on Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo?
The episode title 'The Battle for the Soul of the Internet' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo?
The average episode length on Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo is 31 minutes.
How often are episodes of Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo released?
Episodes of Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo are typically released every 7 days, 3 hours.
When was the first episode of Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo?
The first episode of Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo was released on Mar 17, 2016.
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Comments
5.0
out of 5
7 Ratings

Todd Hixenbaugh
@hixenbaughtodd
Dec 1
I love this show. Truly helpful as I am getting into the creative world.
2 Likes
Reply