Share

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast
Austin Kleon | How to Keep Going When You're Tempted to Quit
In this episode of Unmistakable Creative, we delve into the mind of Austin Kleon, a New York Times bestselling author known for his unique perspective on creativity in the digital age. Austin shares his insights on how to keep going when you're tempted to quit, a topic he explores in-depth in his book, "Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Time and Bad".
Austin Kleon's work is a beacon for artists and creatives who find themselves at crossroads, feeling defeated or lost. He encourages us to stay true to ourselves, remain focused, and keep our creative fires burning, even in the face of adversity. His books, including "Steal Like An Artist" and "Show Your Work!" have been translated into dozens of languages and have sold over a million copies worldwide.
In this enlightening conversation, Austin offers a roadmap to capturing, organizing, and retrieving knowledge effortlessly, supercharging productivity, and ensuring that no good idea ever slips away. He has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. His work has been called “brilliant” by New York Magazine, and he has been dubbed “positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet” by The Atlantic. Tune in to this episode to learn from Austin's wisdom and experience and discover how to keep going when you're tempted to quit.
More episodes
View all episodes

Chris Guillebeau: Finding What You Were Born to Do
50:52|Chris Guillebeau, author of Born For This and creator of World Domination Summit, discusses finding your dream work at the intersection of joy, money, and flow. He shares his journey from juvenile delinquent to visiting every country in the world, the role of believing in your own success, and how to curate experiences that bring out the best in your community.
Charles Duhigg: The Science of Becoming a Super Communicator
01:00:52|Pulitzer Prize-winning author Charles Duhigg breaks down the science of conversation and connection from his book Super Communicators. He explains why 80% of our conversations naturally align, how to use looping for understanding during conflict, and why super communicators ask 10-20x more questions than average.
Bruce Lipton: Reprogramming Your Subconscious Mind and the Biology of Belief
01:08:24|Cell biologist Bruce Lipton explores how subconscious programming shapes our lives, explaining the science behind beliefs and habits. He discusses his research on epigenetics, how environment influences gene expression, and practical methods for reprogramming limiting beliefs installed during childhood.
Brad Pederson: How Toys, Failure, and Startup Santa Taught Him to Fail Forward
01:02:20|Toy entrepreneur Brad Pederson shares how building multiple toy companies and going through three bankruptcies taught him that struggles forge character. From launching a styrofoam glider as a kid to getting thrown into special loans by his bank, Brad unpacks why pride comes before the fall, how he learned to become antifragile rather than just resilient, and why courage is the cardinal virtue that makes creative ideas matter. He discusses the three roles of a CEO, the importance of play for adults, and how his book Startup Santa captures the lessons of failing forward.
Brad Montague: The Courage to Create Like a Kid
43:36|Brad Montague, creator of Kid President on YouTube, shares how his small-town upbringing and key mentors shaped his creative path. He opens up about working with his brother-in-law Robbie, protecting a child from the pressures of viral fame, and why maintaining childlike wonder is essential for authentic creative work.
Ben Guttmann: Why Simple Messages Win in a Noisy World
57:51|Marketing professor and author Ben Guttmann explains why we over-complicate our messaging and how to apply design principles to communicate with clarity. He breaks down the drill-built method for identifying emotional benefits, shares his controversial take on AI as unlimited stupid people, and reveals why features never sell but benefits always do.
Allison Schrager: The Economics of Risk, Uncertainty, and Making Better Decisions
44:45|Economist Allison Schrager, author of An Economist Walks into a Brothel, discusses the psychology of risk tolerance through her framework of financial economics. She explores how our high school social choices reveal risk preferences, the difference between calculated risks and reckless ones, and why taking more risks often leads to becoming better at evaluating them. The conversation covers risk in creative careers, the math of making risky art, and how to organize your thinking around uncertainty to make better life decisions.
Annie Murphy Paul: Why Your Best Thinking Happens Outside Your Head
47:04|Science journalist Annie Murphy Paul explains her theory of the Extended Mind - how we think better when we use our bodies, environments, and relationships rather than keeping everything in our heads. The conversation covers gesture and memory, why big screens beat laptops for creative work, the neuroscience of exercise, and how physical spaces shape intelligent thinking.
Alan Stein Jr: What Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant Taught Me About Sustained Performance
01:04:14|Performance coach Alan Stein Jr shares lessons from training NBA legends like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. He discusses the fundamentals that separate elite performers, why he does not let his kids win at games, the danger of measuring success by outcomes vs process, and why the unseen hours of practice matter more than highlights.