🎁 Pain is a Gift + CreativeMorning's Brian Thompson

Presented by StreamYard

Pain is a Gift

No matter if you’re kicking off your first show or collaborating with a crew of world-class producers, podcasting is challenging. At times, it’s laborious, strenuous, and a downright pain in the backside.

But if we listen to that pain, it has a lot to tell us.

Maybe our workflow needs retooling.

A limited knowledge of our editing software might be costing time and unnecessarily draining brainpower. 

A difficult conversation needs to be had with a co-worker whose contributions have been lacking.

Maybe it’s time to right the ship. Or sink it and move forward with a different show.

Pain tells us when we need to stop, take a break, and come back later when we’re rested.

It also signals to us when we’re on the right path, stretching our talents to yet unexplored possibilities.

Pain is a letter sent from our mind and body. It’s our choice to open it and discover the gift of what it has to say.

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Signal Flow: Brian Thompson

Industry game changers and valiant minds from creative professions share their wisdom, adversities, and paths to innovation.

Brian Thompson is the Content Manager at CreativeMornings HQ. He loves connecting dots and people. In his career as a copywriter and creative director, on both the agency and client side, he has helped create brand campaigns for organizations ranging from non-profits to the Fortune 500. His purpose in life is to amplify joy and creativity. He writes the weekly CreativeMornings Global newsletter, which reaches 230,000+ readers worldwide.

When you feel that breaking point or that discomfort, that pain, that's when you know you're on to something. Because to grow your creative muscle, you have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Like your body’s muscles, your creative muscle grows by ripping and then you heal and it’s rebuilt stronger.

I think podcasting is much more powerful than just the written word because you can create whole worlds between someone's ears.

Creativity really comes down to connecting the dots. You come up with new ideas by taking something old or taking something you're interested in, and then putting your own spin on it. And that can come from anywhere. That’s the beauty of CreativeMornings, you never know what that talk is going to be about.

We try to find the golden nuggets of the internet for our Fun Stuff to Click On section in the newsletter. [Editor’s note: I’ve lost countless hours to those dastardly, fascinating links.] Interesting, fun, or inspiring—the sweet spot is all three. You may click through to see a post on Colossal that has some super interesting artwork. But then three links down, you click on something that takes you to photographs from the Hubble telescope, and your brain cross-pollinates that stuff and you don't know where it's going to lead or what it's going to spark.

When I'm looking for inspiration, the first rule is to have a routine, your rituals, and you follow the process.

Inspiration and procrastination often go hand in hand. And that's the magic of it. You never know where those distractions are going to take you in your own work. 

The only cure for writer's block is to just put your butt in the chair. Keep showing up.

The podcasting structure that comes from the ancient radio days of intros and outros and stingers gives you the ability to tell interesting stories, but to also share things that may surprise and delight someone by deviating from that expected norm.

Do not be afraid of self-promotion. Creating something and bringing it into the world is a huge accomplishment, something to be proud of. Take pride in putting a spotlight on that stuff, because you truly are bringing some goodness into a world that really needs it.

There’s a podcast I love called The One You Feed. The name comes from a parable about a grandfather who tells his grandson, “There are two wolves inside you, a good wolf and a bad wolf.” The grandson asks, “Who will win?” And the grandfather says, “The one you feed.”

Further Exploration

One of my new favorite shows is If Books Could Kill. It found its way to me in a wonderful way.

I’m a big fan of Get Played, whose hosts recommended Triple Click, which is where I heard about If Books Could Kill. It was my first experience following the breadcrumb trail of host-recommended shows and gobbling up each discovery along the way. When’s the last time you gave a shoutout on your podcast to another show you love?