Have you ever had the experience of getting tantalisingly close to a big opportunity in your creative career a but not quite making it? Maybe it was a pitch, or a competition, a publishing opportunity, a senior role, or a funding application. Maybe you got really positive feedback. They said you were great, your work […]

The post Are You in the Ballpark? (finally, The 21st Century Creative on YouTube) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

When the Covid 19 pandemic struck in 2020, human life on earth was massively disrupted. Not only the human tragedy of millions of lives lost, but also the social and economic damage caused by the virus and our attempts to control it. As a writer and a coach for creatives, I have been particularly concerned […]

The post Creative Disruption: How 12 Creatives on 5 Continents Rose to the Challenge of the Pandemic appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 10 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Itas been my most ambitious season yet, with creatives from 5 continents and probably the closest Iall ever […]

The post How I Created, Funded and Launched My New Podcast (while the World Was in Meltdown) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to Tokyo, to meet Ichi Hatano, a wonderful artist whose work has deep […]

The post From Tattoos to NFTs with Ichi Hatano appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Have you ever had the idea for a creative project that youave never quite got round to starting? […]

The post Using Lockdown to Launch a Dream Project with Nicky Mondellini appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

If you work on your own a in your office or studio, or your bedroom or at your kitchen table a it can feel like no one is watching. So it doesnat matter whether you show up. If you skipped a day on your novel, who would know? If you didnat go to the studio […]

The post All Arts Are Performing Arts appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 7 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today weare focusing on a creative sector that is close to my heart, which was massively disrupted but […]

The post Taking Deep Work Online with Laura Davis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

A few months ago I was listening to the DavidBowie: AlbumtoAlbum podcast, a terrific show about Bowie hosted by Arsalan Mohammed. In Season 3 episode 11 Arsalan spoke to Donny McCaslin, the leader of the jazz band that Bowie discovered in a New York club, and asked to work with him on what turned out […]

The post Sometimes You Have to Grind the Work Out appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are off to Australia in the company of Charlotte Abroms, a music manager based in Melbourne […]

The post Helping Musicians Through Lockdown with Charlotte Abroms appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Last week I suggested that if youare serious about achieving your creative ambitions, you need to think in terms of projects, not tasks. Because if you get up every morning and ask yourself aWhat should I work on today?a you risk making decisions based on what feels urgent right now, rather than what will make […]

The post Work on Multifaceted Projects appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 5 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are going to look at one of the biggest challenge for many people during lockdown, whether […]

The post Staying Creative as a Parent (Even in a Pandemic) with Kay Lock Kolp appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

When we think of productivity we typically think about tasks and to-do lists, working habits and routines. We focus on how to make the most of our time on a daily or at most a weekly basis. All of which is great, but if this is all we focus on, thereas a danger of getting […]

The post Focus on Projects, Not Tasks appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 4 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we meet Amrita Kumar, the co-founder and CEO of Candid Marketing, an innovative marketing agency in India. […]

The post Launching a New Business in the Pandemic with Amrita Kumar appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Marketing is a word that strikes fear into the heart of a lot of creatives. Itas an area where a lot of us feel we donat have a natural talent a weare far more comfortable making work than telling the world about it, let alone trying to get people to buy it. One reason for […]

The post Make Your Marketing Personal with a Media Dashboard appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 3 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are looking at the world of film and TV production, which was massively disrupted by the […]

The post Rebooting Global Filming with Hometeam appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

A lot of creative professions involve submitting work to gatekeepers of various kinds: agents, editors, publishers, gallerists, funders, producers, studios and competition judges and so on. Yes, the 21st century gives us plenty of options for creating things without gatekeepers a you can sell direct, build your own platform, launch your own event, self-publish or […]

The post Why Rejection Doesnat (Necessarily) Mean Your Work Isnat Good Enough appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Welcome to Episode 2 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to South Africa, to hear from Earl Abrahams, an artist and filmmaker who […]

The post Lockdown Series: Windows on a Changed World with Earl Abrahams appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

aEat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.a This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain. Apparently thereas no hard evidence linking it to him, but that hasnat stopped it from concentrating the minds of many people when they ask themselves […]

The post Eat that Frog (But Eat the Cake as Well) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Today we kick off Season 6 of The 21st Century Creative, the podcast that helps you thrive as a creative professional amid the demands, distractions and opportunities of the 21st Century. The theme for this season is CREATIVE DISRUPTION. Every episode will feature an interview with a creator whose work was disrupted by the Covid-19 […]

The post The Rocky Road for Theatre through the Pandemic with Steven Kunis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

I hope this finds you as well as can be. Here in the UK weare bracing for what we are assured will be a large wave of Omicron. I know things may be very different for you, depending on where you are in the world. But whatever the circumstances, I hope you are finding your […]

The post Video: Forget the Career Ladder a Start Creating Assets appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Today is the launch of my new podcast, and itas something Iave been planning and dreaming of sharing with you for years. Itas called A Mouthful of Air. And in several ways, itas the opposite of my 21st Century Creative podcast. I designed the two shows to work together from the start, although it’s taken […]

The post My new podcast (and why itas the opposite of The 21st Century Creative) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Last night I was about to go to bed when I suddenly remembered an idea Iad had for an article a few months ago. Though I say so myself, it was a great idea, and I was keen to revisit it, so I opened up the Scrivener project where I had written it downa| and […]

The post Ideas Are Leprechauns appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Michael Bungay Stanier, a returning guest whose interview way back in Season 1 proved very popular. And his book The Coaching Habit turned out to be even more popular, as it went on to sell three quarters of a million copies. Michael is back with some excellent […]

The post Avoiding the Advice Trap with Michael Bungay Stanier appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

A lot of productivity advice tells us that we need to stop procrastinating, beat Resistance, and get things done. The Americans like to talk about ashippinga, meaning finished and sent out for delivery. This emphasis on getting things done and out to market is part of their extraordinary entrepreneurial culture. Famously, Guy Kawasaki even said […]

The post Every Creative Project Is a Revolving Door appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Krystal Lauk, an illustrator who took an unconventional path by creating illustrations for tech companies, and founded a studio that counts Google, Uber, Facebook and The New York Times among its clients. Itas a fascinating story of discovery and enterprise at what Krystal calls athe intersection of […]

The post The 21st Century Illustrator with Krystal Lauk appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Iave recently started taking one-to-one Japanese conversation lessons. It hasnat been easy. In fact, itas been a bit of a humbling experience. Between work and family responsibilities, I only have 30 minutes a day to study Japanese, and Iave spent this time every day for the past two years memorising kanji characters, vocabulary and grammar […]

The post You Have to be Bad to Get Good appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Cynthia Morris, a coach for creatives who shares insights on the book-writing process, based on her latest book The Busy Womanas Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. So if you are contemplating writing a book – whether itas your first one or your twenty-first – there is […]

The post Writing a World-Changing Book with Cynthia Morris appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

If you think about overhearing something, you probably think of listening to someone elseas conversation, whether deliberately or accidentally, and picking up a titbit of information that you would never otherwise have been privy to. It might be funny, or shocking or useful, or – as in the case of so many loud phone calls […]

The post The Art of Overhearing Yourself appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.

Ex-presidentas former communications director says Access Hollywood tape awas a crisisa for his campaign

Hope Hicks, Donald Trumpas 2016 campaign press secretary, broke into tears on Friday while testifying in the ex-presidentas New York criminal hush-money trial, hours after she described his complete control over the campaign.

Hicks, who cut a skittish figure in Judge Juan Merchanas courtroom, is a key prosecution witness. She described Trump campaign staffersa panic when a recording emerged in which Trump bragged about groping women. aThis was a crisisa for his presidential bid, she said, describing the sentiment among the campaign staff.

The man, Marc Shultz, posted multiple comments last October under two separate YouTube livestream videos

A California man has been charged with sending death threats to Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who is overseeing the Georgia prosecution against Donald Trump over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.

The man, Marc Shultz, suggested that Willis awill be killed like a doga in one of several comments he posted under two separate YouTube live streams, according to the US attorneyas office for the northern district of Georgia.

People in Jerusalem express little sympathy with anti-war demonstrators, with some accusing them of hatred for Israel

At the Jerusalem theatre on Thursday night, concertgoers and staff expressed a mixture of anger, sadness and defiance as weeks of pro-Palestinian protests across dozens of US college campuses reached a tumultuous climax 6,000 miles away.

The noisy demonstrations have been closely followed in Israel, reported by major media and discussed by prominent public figures.

Actor brings force of Hollywood to trumpet Bidenas legislative record in briefing that both delighted and bemused journalists

aYou will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.a But enough about Washington. The Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who once saw off gangsters at a fictional spaceport, came to the US capital on Friday for a meeting with Joe Biden.

Quite why he was in the Oval Office, and what was talked about, remained something of a mystery. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Biden was riding high in the opinion polls but now, perhaps, he is in need of added star power.

Chinaas president arrives as EU anti-subsidy investigations and tensions over espionage, Ukraine and Taiwan continue

Chinaas president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia.

The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in the bloc are hardening after multiple spying scandals and Chinaas ongoing support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Prime minister said there were acredible allegationsa that India was behind killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Canadian police have charged three members of an alleged hit team for their role in the assassination of the Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the first arrests in a high-profile killing that officials believe was masterminded by India.

The arrests come nearly a year after the prominent activist was killed in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh gurdwara on the evening of 18 June in the city of Surrey, British Columbia. In what investigators previously described as a carefully orchestrated operation, two assailants fired about 50 bullets at Nijjar and escaped the area in a grey car.

Victoria Shi is modelled on Rosalie Nombre, a singer and former contestant on Ukraineas version of the reality show The Bachelor

Ukraine on Wednesday presented an AI-generated spokesperson called Victoria who will make official statements on behalf of its foreign ministry.

The ministry said it would afor the first time in historya use a digital spokesperson to read its statements, which will still be written by humans.

Texas Democrat says he and his also accused wife are innocent amid claims they took money from Azerbaijan and Mexican bank

The US justice department on Friday accused the Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, of accepting about $600,000 in bribes in exchange for influencing policy in favor of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank.

The Cuellars had made their first appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Houston by the afternoon, but it was not clear how they pleaded. Earlier, the congressman, who has represented a swath of Texasas border with Mexico in the US House since 2005, issued a statement denying unspecified aallegationsa against him.

Justices say they will not reconsider contentious February ruling that said frozen embryos are considered children under state law

The Alabama supreme court on Friday declined to reconsider a controversial ruling that said frozen embryos are considered children under a state law.

Justices in a 7-2 decision without comment rejected a request to revisit the ruling that drew international attention and prompted fertility clinics to cease services earlier this year.

Siblings Callum and Jake Robinson and US citizen Jack Carter Rhoad were travelling on a surfing holiday when they were reported missing

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Three bodies have reportedly been found in an area of northern Mexico where two Australian brothers and an American friend are missing.

Reuters cited two sources with knowledge of the investigation as saying Mexican authorities had found three bodies in the Baja peninsula. The bodies were reportedly found near a cliff, but have not yet been formally identified.

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Berlinas finance minister says property owned by Hitleras propaganda minister will be demolished if taker not found

Berlinas government is offering to give away a villa once owned by Adolf Hitleras propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, hoping to end a decades-long debate on whether to repurpose or bulldoze a sprawling disused site in the countryside north of the German capital.

aI offer to anyone who would like to take over the site, to take it over as a gift from the state of Berlin,a Berlinas finance minister, Stefan Evers, told the state parliament, the German Press Agency reported.

The movement to press for an end to Israelas war on Gaza has now found itself overshadowed by its loudest voices

The protesters who seized Columbia Universityas Hamilton Hall on Tuesday swiftly unfurled a banner down the front of the storied building with just one word: intifada.

Other students among the pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the heart of the New York campus were sceptical about invoking the Arabic call for an uprising because it has been so widely used by pro-Israeli groups to discredit their cause as support for terrorism and therefore antisemitic.

With an estimated 25% vote share, Tory performance matches 1995 nadir reached under John Major

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Results from local elections held across England on Thursday appear to confirm that Rishi Sunakas Conservatives are on their way out of power after 14 years.

The party, which brought the world Brexit, has been consistently trailing its main rival, Labour, led by Keir Starmer, by about 20 points in opinion polls.

Ruben Gallego, taking on Kari Lake in key Arizona race, focuses on acommunity eventsa to reach those who have slipped away

When one of the most celebrated Mexican boxers in history, Canelo Alvarez, steps into the ring against the undefeated Mexican fighter Jaime MunguAa on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, excitement will be through the roof at a campaign event just 280 miles away.

Thatas because the Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego, caught in one of the most critical US Senate races in the country against the former TV anchor Kari Lake, will be holding a watch party for the fight at JL Boxing Academy in Glendale, Arizona, complete with big screens inside, and a truck serving birria tacos and Mexican Cokes outside.

Residents of manufactured housing parks typically own their homes a but not the parks themselves, which can be incredibly lucrative. Now some residents are forming cooperatives, and taking control

• This story is co-published with the Lever, a reader-supported investigative news organization

Bev Adrian, a retired career placement counselor for people with disabilities, lives in Woodlawn Terrace, a mobile home park just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. The nearby streets are full of bustling local businesses a a Sota Boys Smoke Shop, a Pump N Munch Gas a but Woodlawn is a quiet park tucked away under maples and pines.

Adrian moved there four years ago, coincidentally right as Woodlawnas owner was looking to sell. Woodlawnas landlord was well liked, but for years the parkas residents had been hearing rumors about possible sales to much less friendly owners.

Final Destination inspires yet another throwaway teen schlocker, this time with an increasingly risible astrological bent

As many of us impatiently wait for the sixth Final Destination film, slated for release next year over a decade since the fifth, here comes yet another limp attempt to recreate that specific, sadistic form of magic. Some curse, some teens, some shock deaths, a formula thatas been trotted out in so-what films like Wish Upon, Countdown and Truth or Dare, shrugs where shocks should be, franchise starters ending after the first round.

Which brings us to Tarot, a film wisely kept from critics until the very last second and one that audiences would be smart to keep themselves from too. Itas not quite as bad as these things can often be but flashes of competence are not enough to distract from a sense of crushing pointlessness, more watery slop served up lukewarm for undemanding Friday night horror fans, who really ought to be demanding so much more.

Iave tried peanut butter and bacon pizza, and had a caviar one, too

There is nothing I like more in this world than pizza. I grew up in the early 90s in Connecticut, where my dad owned a pizzeria called Kenny Vas until I was three. I still have his old restaurant sign in my garage.

For the last six years, Iave eaten pizza every single day. Sometimes it might just be a slice, but most days I will get through a whole one. My favourite is a classic American deep-pan pepperoni. I also love tomato and cheese on a nice thick crust, so a plain margherita will never go amiss.

Gunners came from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth last March and head coach hopes for a less breathless display on Saturday

aIn my heart and in my soul a| this is what I am hoping for, yes,a Mikel Arteta says, as he prepares to go through the routine once again. It will be for the third time in the past fortnight or so and yet it is a movie the Arsenal manager has seen on countless occasions over the years a from a role on both sides, which only adds to the drama; the fear factor, too, which he must surely fight.

Artetaas team play first on Saturday as the Premier League title race nears its climax a at home to Bournemouth at 12.30pm. And then the defending champions, Manchester City, will have to respond when they host Wolves at 5.30pm.

A 13-year-old child and two women were struck by debris from downed drones; Lithuania rejects Russian claims of sabotage. What we know on day 801

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Athletes are breaking their silence about their experience of eating disorders and disordered eating. Why is this happening in an arena celebrated as the epitome of health?

Elite sport has long been consumed with the idea of the superhuman. Pushing the capabilities of the human body to its extremes in the hopes of uncovering the blueprint to engineer bodies that can jump higher, run faster and endure longer. And, as professionalism has increased, so too has the optimisation of athletesa bodies in the quest for peak human condition.

But recent revelations that former Australian womenas cricket captain Meg Lanning cut her international career short due to struggles with disordered eating have exposed some of the cracks that have long been forming in the elite sport system.

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The spooky comedy franchise may seem an unlikely place to find an ethnicity and faith adviser, but productions are increasingly aware of a duty to make sure communities are truthfully represented

The asensitivity readera is a well-established, if controversial, figure in the publishing world, offering advice on whether a bookas content might cause offence. The film and TV industry has also been forced to confront similar issues, with aintimacy coordinatorsa now widely employed to ensure that filmed sex scenes neither harm the actors nor outrage audiences. Perhaps less well-known, but now gaining ground in film and TV, is the role of a acultural consultanta a advisers taken on by productions to help them navigate the choppy waters of sensitivities around ethnicity and faith.

Sajid Varda, founder and CEO of media charity UK Muslim Film and director of the UKas inaugural Muslim international film festival, recently completed an assignment on Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the latest instalment of the popular and long-running series of supernatural comedies. Varda says the key to such roles is aauthenticitya; it is, he says anot just saying what is wrong with this, but how can we make it better and improve it?a

Late-night hosts talk police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests, Trumpas court naps and Kristi Noemas dogged defense

Late-night hosts talked use of force against college protesters and Donald Trumpas apparent struggle to stay awake during his criminal hush-money trial.

Protests are part of nationwide movement pushing universities to divest from businesses that support the war in Gaza

As the sun rose on a campus littered with wreckage, pro-Palestine protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, were still facing off with lines of riot cops and chanting aWeare not leaving!a

Police had cleared UCLAas student encampment in a late-night operation, and arrested at least 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators early on Thursday morning . The schoolas student newspaper said ahundredsa had been arrested, including students and faculty.

Tourists delighted as pinnipeds congregate at cityas Pier 39, apparently attracted by feast of anchovies

More than 1,000 sea lions have gathered at San Franciscoas Pier 39 this spring, the largest herd in at least 15 years.

Mounds of floppy, delightfully ungraceful marine mammals have plopped themselves on to rafts along the cityas pier, displaying themselves to the thousands of tourists who pass by the area each day.

Researchers visited the Chicago Cafe to find out if itas really 121 years old a and entered a chop suey parlor filled with memories

On a warm morning in March, a group of researchers entered an unassuming chop suey parlor in the Sacramento suburbs for a rare field trip.

The six history enthusiasts affiliated with the University of California, Davis, had gathered at the Chicago Cafe in Woodland, California, with one goal in mind: to determine the exact age of what may be the oldest Chinese restaurant in the country.

Workers removed remnants of the Gaza encampment while pieces of plywood painted with aWe love you Gazaa lay about

At the University of California in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, staff were picking up the pieces after two nights of violence that shocked the urban campus.

A loader heaved the remnants of the Gaza protest encampment that law enforcement had forcefully cleared early in the morning into a large grey dumpster. Pieces of plywood spray-painted with aWe love you Gazaa and aACABa (aall cops are bastardsa) still lay about.