Yes, you read the title right. After almost four years and close to 200 episodes (this is episode 196, to be exact), I’m putting The Creative Sandbox Way™ podcast on hiatus.

I don’t know how long I’ll be shelving the podcast — let’s consider that I’m putting it in the deep freeze, not grinding it up in the garbage disposal, because I certainly want the option of pulling it out again.

But here’s the deal:

Much as I love having recorded conversations and sharing my thinking via audio — and I do — ultimately, I started this podcast (way back in late June 0f 2015, as Live Creative Now) with a business purpose.

It was content marketing, pure and simple—an alternative to blogging. And it’s been great for that.

But over the years my read more…

Mike Brennan shares experiences through art & design.

Some of his work includes custom “Rockstar” pet portraits, pop culture art, yoga art, live event sketching, original paintings, and graphic design. He recently authored & illustrated the books Dear Snow: One Man’s Angry Rant Against Winter, The Art of Yoga, and Dear Human: What Your Dog is Really Thinking. While the media and subject matter may vary, he creates art that shares experiences to form connections with his audience.

His art has been featured on AMC’s Talking Dead, and the Syfy channel’s artist spotlight.

In this episode we talked about: read more…

David Koff’s been on or around the stage for over 40 years as an actor, producer, director, and teacher. He’s appeared on the TV shows “The West Wing” and on “Sesame Street”, something nearly impossible to pull off.

After over 20 years of professional acting in Los Angeles, David and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon where he’s performed and taught improvisation at Curious Comedy, The Brody Theater and now, to the students of the St. Andrew Nativity Jesuit school. He and his wife Mary are expecting their first child in November.

I met David last summer at the Applied Improvisation Network World Conference in Paris, where he gave a talk about his work teaching improv to kids. As you’ll hear in our conversation, he read more…

Amy E. Smith is a certified and credentialed confidence coach, masterful speaker, and personal empowerment expert. Owner and founder of Joy Junkie Enterprises, Amy uses her roles as coach, writer, podcaster, and speaker to move individuals beyond limiting beliefs and sabotaging mindsets to a place of radical personal empowerment and self-love.

With acute focus on helping people “find their voice,” Amy uses her popular weekly podcast, The Joy Junkie Show, to address issues of worthiness, self-confidence, and letting go of people-pleasing to assist listeners in creating and living radically joyful lives. Co-founder of TheSelfLoveRevolution.com, Amy has been instrumental in read more…

Nicole Lewis-Keeber holds a Masters Degree in Social Work and is a licensed clinical social worker. She has combined her experience as a therapist and mindset coach to assist entrepreneurs in revealing the blocks and blind spots in their business, that have origins from their past experiences. Nicole’s articles about the impact of small-t trauma on entrepreneurship can be found on Medium and in her blog.

In this episode we talked about: read more…

Pieter Van Winkle is a soul-centric facilitator and men’s leader. He combines wild, clear seeing with an abiding sense of humor to facilitate individuals, couples, and groups towards greater freedom and fulfillment. He gratefully lives on a farmstead in Western Colorado with his dog, Gia.

In this episode we talked about:

• Pieter’s background in dance
• How we can have either toxic or healthy, playful relationships with creative outlets
• When & why he began pottery
• How getting caught in the trap of perfectionism will paralyze you
• Looking at your unfinished objects as a blank canvas
• How Pieter was able to get around the ego in songwriting
• Closing the loop by sharing your creative work with an audience
• The Enneagram & how to find out what number you are
• How he works with his clients

read more…

Macy Harjot Matarazzo, AKA Reverend Lunchlady, is a Love Coach, Spiritual Teacher & Unicorn Wrangler. A first-time bride at 43 with over 25 years collecting failed relationships, devastating heartbreaks, & dateless holiday parties before she finally found the formula which broke the painful cycle! Now she devotes her life to helping other women stop the madness and draw in a meaningful love. She brings her clients a magical combination of transformational change methodology, Kundalini yoga & creative exploration to help women find their unicorn. read more…

I first encountered Neen James at Heroic Public Speaking Live. She is pint-sized, and (as she says herself) she sounds like a five-year-old, but don’t judge a book by its cover: Neen is a font of wisdom.

Neen is the author of Folding Time™ and Attention Pays™. In 2017, she was named one of the Top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru because of her work with companies like Viacom, Comcast, and Abbot Pharmaceuticals among others.

Neen has boundless energy, is quick-witted and always offers powerful strategies for paying attention to what matters so you can get more done and create more significant moments at work, and home.

Neen is the kind of speaker that engages, educates, entertains, and delivers the real-world solutions that apply in your organization, your home, and your community.

In this episode we talked about: read more…

Rythea Lee is a professional dancer and multi-disciplinary artist giving voice to personal and shared stories of healing. She’s an author, a singer-songwriter, a painter, a poet, and an all-around creative devotee. Her online show, Advice From a Loving Bitch, is her newest passion, teaching people to heal self-hatred through humor and emotional education.

Rythea is a proud Mom, a teacher of Peer to Peer Counseling, a trauma therapist for 24 years. She loves to help people free themselves and become fully expressive. She does this through her own rigorous inner work and through modeling courage. read more…

Daphne Cohn is all about stories. She literally asks questions for a living.

She interviews artists and makers for The Creativity Habit™ Podcast: the practice behind the art, the story behind the artist.

Daphne also conducts Story Sessions: helping artists sell more art.

The art market, online and off, is saturated, noisy, and competitive. The way to create real, lasting connection, build trust, and rise above the noise is through personal, honest, stories. Story Sessions uncover the stories that inspire, connect, and, ultimately, lead to more sales.

She’s also creating a community in response to the question: How do we read more…