Uncage Yourself 58: Tony Albrecht - In The Creative Arena
Tony Albrecht is one of my favorites. He’s a writer, podcaster, social entrepreneur, and student of the creative process. As the author of In The Creative Arena and co-founder of The Rowdy Creative, he works with people old enough to know they want a different trajectory and young and crazy enough to believe that big change is possible. His work is informed by his recovery from two afflictions, alcoholism and becoming a lawyer.
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TIMESTAMPS
03:03 Powered by espresso
06:18 Chapters of Tony’s life
08:32 Creative awakening
12:07 Offscripting
13:41 How to be a “creative”
19:08 Gen Z is freeing older generations
23:49 Dying to feel alive
29:00 Plugging “back in” on your terms
32:02 Surrounding yourself with non-conformists
34:34 Battling Resistance
37:50 Spartan way: extreme discipline
40:56 Examples of discipline
44:20 “Creativity is life or death”
46:34 How our children grapple with the scripted life
48:17 Rapid-fire questions
53:49 Choices today raise your trajectory for tomorrow
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TAKEAWAYS
1. The idea of creativity “isn’t just for the arts department…it’s how we make new stuff happen.”
2. View your engagement on social media as a forcing function for personal growth.
3. Oh, you’re scared? Evaluate the risks of doing versus not doing.
4. We must retool education: for leading and solving interesting problems (see Seth Godin’s “Stop Stealing Dreams”)
5. Make work happen: create the conditions to increase the likelihood that you’ll put your butt in the seat.
6. “Creativity is dirty work…It demands discipline.”
7. Relying on inspiration alone will not get you anywhere.
8. The scripted life we grew up with is quickly withering away.
9. Worst advice Tony received: “Law degrees are great because you can do so many things with them.”
10. “The small man builds cages for everyone he knows, while the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low, keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful, rowdy prisoners.” —Hafez
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RESOURCES
In The Creative Arena (Tony's book)
Tony's entrepreneurial efforts
The War of Art (book mentioned)