Mykel Dixon on the New Future of Creativity
In this episode of New Future, we speak to Melbourne-based Mykel Dixon, an award winning speaker, author and creativity expert who works with Fortune 500 and ASX 200 companies including Google, YouTube, and Lululemon.
A musician and artist by background, Mykel is known for demonstrating the power of creativity by infusing it into his work. He is known for playing the grand piano as part of his keynotes.
Mykel’s new book Everyday Creative: a Dangerous Guide to Making Magic at Work will be out 1 July, 2020.
Transcript
KRG (Kate Raynes-Goldie)
Welcome to the New Future podcast where we talk to business leaders, researchers and visionary thinkers about what happens next. I’m Kate Raynes-Goldie.
KR (Kate Razzivina)
And I’m Kate Razzivina.
KRG
On this week’s episode, we’re talking to Mykel Dixon, an award winning speaker, author and creativity expert, who works with Fortune 500 and ASX 200 companies including Google, YouTube and Lululemon. A musician and artist by background, Mykel is known for demonstrating the power of creativity by infusing it into his work. So it’s not a surprise he’s known for playing the grand piano as part of his keynotes. And he has a new book coming out later this year aptly titled “Everyday Creative: a Dangerous Guide to Making Magic at Work”. Mykel, welcome to the New Future.
MD (Mykel Dixon)
Thank you for having me, Kates. Great to be here.
KRG
So I’d love to dig in a bit more into your work and what you are currently working on. Can you tell us a bit more about what it is that you do, the magic that you create?
MD
Well, there’s the question pre- COVID-19, and there’s the question of what work you can be doing post or during COVID-19. The work I was doing was a lot of speaking, a lot of conference design and event/ learning experience design with leadership teams, and with large or small organizations that are looking to not just give themselves an edge commercially, but also to create a better experience, and get the most out of their people across that whole spectrum of both what they deliver, but also just how they can add value in new, exciting, dynamic ways. What is that looking like during a pandemic? Creating a whole lot of content, staring at a screen, doing live streams and writing newsletters and building websites. And I don’t know how I feel right in this very moment about the creative process. It’s easy to forget how important it is to have downtime. And, you know, you can’t just be ‘all output’. The value of input when it comes to a creative process – which is probably a lovely segue into talking about creativity on this podcast is – we need to allow ourselves a ton of space to be inputting more diverse, interesting, beautiful, unique, magical influences, as opposed to just trying to create relentlessly and produce, and produce, and deliver outcomes for our clients or ourselves.
KRG
Yeah, I think that being in isolation has really underscored the importance of that input, and you can spend all this time in front of a screen. The warning on my phone is like: “Your screen time is up like 5,000,000%!”
MD
And interestingly, pre COVID-19, I might have advised people who asked me: “So what can I do? What’s something really easy I can do to ignite more creativity?” I said: “Man, just watch a movie. Just give yourself the time to sit down and do some YouTube searching, follow that wormhole, and see where you end up”. But now it’s really showing also that: “Get off the screen! Get away from the screen, get out of your house, get away from the idea that you’re struggling with. Do everything you can to get as much distance as you can from the problem or the challenge or the work that you’re trying to create because the brain just doesn’t work in that linear way. It’s not a machine. It needs to de-press, and it needs to drift off, and wander, and get lost for the subconscious to process and come up with something interesting.
KRG
I’ve always found that being in nature has helped me to be more creative and, you know, if I’m stuck. But now it’s even more important to go and be in nature – as part of my process.
MD
Yeah. Just sitting outside, you know, just a walk, anything.
KR
Michael, and so what are you seeing on the ground right now – in your space?
MD
In my living room? Haha.
KR
Yes, in your industry. With the whole pandemic, or rather, what would you like to see? I guess what major changes would you like to see?
MD
It’s a big, beautiful question. What I’m seeing is not a whole lot because I’m locked in my living room. But I am seeing lots of people trying to figure out what’s next. I guess people and organisations are just holding their breath a little bit. I think that they are like – okay, let’s just wait another couple of months and see what happens. Initially there was a big hold on spending with a lot of my clients, and events were obviously postponed for six, and then 12 months, and then some even longer than that. So we’re in this great pause, and there’s been an inhale, and we were in between breaths – you know, the inhale and the exhale, which is kind of interesting. I think it’s inside of that pause. I love this evolving collective question or inquiry that seems to have touched on all of us, with varying degrees, but almost the same week by week. At first, we were like – oh my God, we just want to go back to normal. And then a couple of weeks after that we were like – well hang on, I am quite enjoying this time and space. And then we’re starting to get like – oh, I’m freaked out. It’s getting weird. I don’t understand this anymore. And then, you know, with the idea that possibly restrictions are being lifted, we move into like – oh, I’m not sure I want to go back to that old world anymore. So what do I want to leave behind? And what do I want to take? And I think the question that we’re going to be asking ourselves from here onward is – who am I going to be? Not when and not what, but who am I going to be? And what parts of myself do I need to set fire to, or let go of, to be one of the custodians, or one of these chaperones that can help usher in and lead this new world that we’re looking forward to co-creating? And that’s where I think it starts getting to a very interesting question around our identity, and a conscious transformation. Not just what are we willing to let go of or set fire to in the world, in how we used to work and go about our daily lives, but what are we willing to do about ourselves? Which is another whole layer of “ooh, do I really want to go there?” You know?
KRG
I think that’s a great segue into the next question, which is – why is creativity key to that creation, that new future that we’re sort of about to see, about to give birth to, I feel?
MD
The definition of creativity is evolving every year, I’m sure you’ve done lots of research around it. It’s quite a recent phenomenon. If you go back and look at the word itself, or our relationship to it, and how it’s changed and evolved over time – we’re definitely in a boom right now. One of the taglines I use in my marketing is that ‘Creativity is now the strongest economic currency’. And if we were to define it as ‘the ability to find or form new value that’s useful and original’, then that’s all there is to do now in the world of work – it’s to create or find and form new value that is original and useful. So as a commercial application, every single person in your organization needs to be creative. And the question then becomes – well, you know, are they all ready? And science tells us that we are. So then it’s about drawing that out and activating that in whatever way. And if we were to take a bit more of a ‘spiritual woo-woo’ vibe on this whole conversation, just for kicks – what other reason or purpose are we here as individuals, other than to remember, or rediscover, or recreate the fullest expression of who we are, so as to reach our creative potential. It’s to give all of ourselves to all of our life, which includes our work, which is just a pure creative process. Whether that’s a flower becoming itself as it opens its petals to the sun, or whether that’s a flowing river that is just moving energy and growing and ebbing and flowing and doing all this stuff, or that’s a human being as they move through many career iterations. It’s all a creative process. So seeing not just seeing what you do at work as creative, but seeing your life as something to create – I hope that’s what we start doing a lot more. Outside of the next season of this bizarre world we call 2020.
KRG
And so I think before COVID we were all obsessed with STEM – science, technology, engineering, math…
MD
Well, some of you were…
KRG
Yeah!
MD
I was very obsessed with STEAM.
KRG
Yeah, and that’s what I wanted to ask you about, because STEM is science, technology, engineering, math. STEAM is adding art into that. And you’ve talked about that idea of artistic intelligence being a key thing for the future.
MD
It’s interesting. I love Australia, we punch above our weight in sport, in the arts, in science and technology in so many ways. But in some other ways we really have got to just get with the program a bit. And as we’ve had this rush in the last five years – STEM, STEM, STEM, STEM, STEM, we gotta go STEM, we’ve all got to get our kids to be coders. They’ve got to be science and maths and tech. The East – the way that kids have been educated in the East – have had a large focus on that for a number of years – from South Korea and China and Singapore and places like this. They’ve all shifted – they’ve got some of the best education in the world and all of those countries that have done so well and thrived on a ‘STEM’ style education have now pivoted hard to STEAM, where they’re doing empathy training, and they’re more about sensory awareness, and embodiment, and aesthetic intelligence, artistic intelligence. Because they recognise that we’re going to have algorithms that can build algorithms far better than we can. So the science, maths, the technical component that will continue, with Moore’s Law, to take care of itself. But what’s going to give us an edge or an advantage, what’s going to enable us to still add new value like we were just sharing about – it’s not going to come from that logical, rational, analytical part of our brain. It’s going to come from the sensory, aesthetic, emotive, intuitive, artistic part of our being, not just our brain, and that is a glorious journey. What I love most about that is the way that we get that. And that might be your next question. So how do we bring more of that into our lives – that artistic intelligence? You don’t find and activate that in you in the same way that you would STEM – science, technology, math – you don’t sit in a room, you don’t learn in the same way. You learn through experience, you learn through reflection, you learn through making. So LEGO play – you learn through using your hands and that tactile experience, throwing yourself in the deep end, and then figuring out as you go, which is not how you learn a maths equation, you don’t just go – I don’t know, what about if I put a subtraction there and then… So a key element of this is if we want to bring more STEAM, more of the arts and the humanity into our being, into our workplace, we can’t bring it through the old lens. We have to bring it through a new way, which is awesome.
KRG
I think that touches on nicely with your new book that’s coming out – “Everyday Creative”. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
MD
It’s called “Everyday Creative: a Dangerous Guide to Making Magic at Work. And it talks about exactly that. It’s about how you can keep working in the job that you’re in. The overarching premises, whatever circumstance you’re in – it might be a job that you don’t like right now, or it might be a position that you don’t really like right now – doesn’t mean you can’t make it something magical, doesn’t mean that you can’t use what’s available to you, which is your own creativity, which is your own self expression, to make it more enjoyable for you. And if you do that – chances are, you’re going to be more effective at what you do. You’re going to get more results. So it’s like a double edged sword of joy, where you are proactively making your work, a work of art. Which is going to make you more successful. Which will make your company more profitable. Which will make everybody happy. So it’s like a shortcut by taking the scenic route to a better life. This book sounds amazing!
KR
It does sound amazing!
KRG
The scenic shortcut to being happy!
MD
That’s right. Yes.
KR
And Mike, I personally feel that it’s also really important to feel safe psychologically, if you really want to be creative. Do you feel that’s a really important part as well?
MD
One hundred percent. And the research tells us that the most high performing teams are the ones that feel psychologically safe with one another. We all have scars and wounds and bruises from expressing yourself as children, moving into adolescence, moving into teens, and then adults, where we sang and got laughed at, or we shared a poem and were ridiculed, and it’s like – that’s it. Or maybe we grew up with a sister that was creative. And so mom, and dad, and aunties, and uncles would reaffirm that narrative, that “Oh your sister is the creative one. You’re more of the analytical, science one.” And so we’ve adopted these stories, and we’ve carried them through, and we’ve even shaped our entire life as a result of these stories that maybe either we made up or were thrust upon us. And so it’s terrifying to our brain, to the amygdala, to these parts of ourselves to risk our identity or personality by saying – “Here, I made this, do you want to check it out? Do you want to play?” “I’ll say yes, I’ll create something with you.” It’s terrifying. So to start to work our way back into – maybe I could create a little video and put it on LinkedIn. Or maybe I could share an idea in a meeting. It’s knowing that it’s terrifying, and risky and dangerous means you’ve got to try to create some kind of place for yourself so that it does feel safer. And a way that I do that is I make sure that I’ve got a beautiful, loving team of people around me that I call on all the time. Like literally I’ll open the conversation with “Hey, man, how you doing? Dude, I just need you to tell me that I’m amazing. Like, I just need you to tell me that I’m great, because right now I’m freaking out. I’m worried about sending this newsletter. Or I’m worried that the last video was shit. Or I’m worried… bla bla bla.” I’m terrified of judgment, and expectation, and pressure, and all that stuff. And so I’ve set up a structure of safety where people can can go: “No, man. It’s all good. You’re amazing. We love you. You’re fantastic. Keep going, keep giving.” So I can be that for your listeners. If they want to call me, my number is 555… I’ll make you feel special .com or whatever!
KR
It’s really important though, for many managers and leaders in companies who do want creativity – because there’s so many managers who say – yes, we want creativity in our company! But then when it comes to the reality, it’s all about punishment and deliverables and everything has to be done perfectly on time and so on. So that doesn’t actually help. If your goal is to have a culture of creativity, then you as a manager need to create that environment for people to feel safe, to be able to embarrass themselves and not face the consequences.
MD
One hundred percent. Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And with that, you know, even if you are a manager, a leader, and you yourself are going through creative transformation or you’re trying to recover your creativity, and you’re feeling out of your depth, and scared – just put you aside for a little bit, and just shift your focus instead to try and identify, and nurture that creativity in others. So when you can see or sense that someone’s feeling a little vulnerable, just love them up. Your role now is to empower. And just to remind people – hey, it’s fantastic that you put that idea forward. Oh my god, that last project – doesn’t matter that it fell flat. It was amazing that you gave it a crack. It was amazing that you threw your hat in the ring and said: “I want to play”. The more that people are reaffirmed – like I call on my people to remind me – as a leader, if your role purely was just to tell your people every single day for nine hours a day – “You’re amazing, what you’re doing is incredible. Keep going, keep going. I love what you did here.” – the compound impact of that, the courage that you would instill into your teams and the courage, the bravery to take risks and experiment and support one another. It would become part of the vernacular where everyone is just: “”I love that, I live that.” And then when people feel safe and supported by one another, then you really can also be critical of one another. You can say: “You know, I didn’t like that last one. I reckon you can make it better.” But unless you’ve got that bedding of trust, which comes from love – no one’s ever going to give real feedback, everyone’s going to tiptoe around the edges, nothing meaningful is going to be created, or no profound breakthrough creativity will take place. Because everyone’s like, tiptoeing and: “Yeah, I liked it, Teresa.” – passive aggressive. Not what we want at all.
KRG
Yes. And there’s that other buzzword – innovation, right? And I think what you’re talking about is also key to innovation, like love and creativity. If you don’t have that, then you don’t actually have real innovation. Like in the sense of trying something new and maybe failing, and learning from the failure, and actually doing something that’s completely new and different.
MD
‘Innovation’ has always been a funny word for me. I kind of collapse the two a lot of the time, I think.
KRG
Creativity and innovation?
MD
You can’t have one without the other. Creativity is the engine room of innovation. ‘Innovation’ – I guess you could define as something that people adopt, instead of a wild, crazy idea that happened once – okay, let’s roll that out. And we can use that to change a system or that could become a product or an offering or whatever else. But you can’t have innovation without creativity. You can’t have creativity without courage. You can’t have courage without psychological safety. You can’t have psychological safety without love. So just start loving each other, everyone.
KRG
I love it. So good.
MD
This is great. We should do this every Friday.
KRG
I’m down for that!
MD
It’s a great time with you guys. It’s awesome.
KR
I guess we can also ask about any other unexpected or surprising impacts of COVID-19? Circling back to that, you know, the ‘fun pandemic’. Do you think there will be any other long term surprises of this pandemic?
MD
I’ve got a live stream show, TV show, it’s called “Open Myke”. And we get people on and it’s live, and improvised, and spontaneous, and whatever else. And we did a theme – the theme last week was ‘joy’. And what came up a lot was around permission, people really feeling like they’ve got to give themselves permission to feel joy, or to give joy or to experience joy. And someone wrote in the comments thread: “Joy is an act of defiance”. And I thought – you know what – there is going to be – when we return out of this pandemic, if we ever return, what comes next. There are a lot of what we talk about and what we want for the world. In terms of what we value, and how we want to be with each other, and the time, and frequency, and speed that we want to live our lives on, and the cost of things, and whatever else. A lot of it is going to feel like an act of defiance. It’s going to feel like we’re having to say ‘stop’ to the old machine, to the way things that were and that’s going to be tough for a lot of people. And I think, particularly sensitive people, people that are empaths or that really care and live a values driven life, I think the machine is going to turn back on and dial itself up to 11. You know what I mean? That’s my hunch. So we’re going to need to look after each other. And I think we’re going to need to really stick together and keep reminding one another – hey, there’s a beautiful silver lining opportunity in this moment, not to just be a bunch of hot air and a few nice blog articles, but to really say ‘no’ to a lot of things, and say ‘yes’ to a lot of other things. And if there’s one thing – I want to ask this question to both of you, actually, after I answer it – but one thing I’m going to really try to do, even for now, is to live my life at the speed that works for me. You know, this speed of life just feels so relentless to me. It’s like you’ve got to keep producing, you’ve got to stay on the thing, and don’t stop. But if we’re talking about creativity, I need time to do really great work, and I don’t want to put out a newsletter every week. You know, sometimes it might take me six months to put out a newsletter. And if that costs me my readers, or you know, I lose momentum – I want to be okay with that. Because what matters to me is that the work is coming from a deeper place and is more authentic. I want the process of making to feel as joyful as what I hope people feel if they consume or experience something I’ve created. Does that make sense? Because I think we’ll have more power. So that’s what I really want. I want to work on myself in trying to work from my own time. But can I extend that question to you, too? What are you going to do?
KRG
Yeah, actually, it’s very similar to that. I found when all this first started happening, because we kind of both work in the same space, and doing a lot of events – well, the way we deliver is via a lot of events, and face to face, and facilitation. And so I think it was one of the first industries to be hit really hard. And I kind of had that same feeling – okay, so I’m going to go hardcore about starting to put all this stuff online and work even harder. And then it just felt really extra horrible. And so my, my and then I was like – okay, well, I can start delivering events online. But part of the reason I do what I do is because I love working with people, and helping people, and it’s just not the same. It feels like, you know, setting up a home studio. It’s like being a TV star. And I don’t want to be on TV. I want to be working with people, and doing stuff with Lego, and not being like on Internet TV as my primary way of engaging with people. So I’ve really taken this time just to take some time and like, do this podcast with Kate, because it was something I really wanted to do in terms of talking to people. Yes, it’s still virtual. But yeah, to really slow down, and to be proactive rather than reactive. And I really hope that it does help us to slow down, because it’s just not healthy, and it’s not creative, and it’s not creating the kind of world that we want. I feel so much better being slower and not feeling the need to do things all the time. It’s hard to maintain that longer term – being, you know, financially sustainable. But I really hope that that’s something that we build into the new future.
MD
And that’s such a bigger philosophical question. In that it’s, as you mentioned, that’s really hard to do that with the financial pressures eventually, because it just immediately throws up – well, then we need to change that. Because clearly, that doesn’t work for us then. And then, before I throw it over to the other Kate, notice how I’ve just taken over your podcast! Actually, it’s great having you guys on the show. But I love that you said – being more proactive rather than reactive. But there’s a twist, there’s an irony there in that the proactivity you’re talking about is slowing down.
KRG
Yeah.
MD
So being reactive. We’ve all been reactive to this circumstance – means we’ve worked even harder. But it’s like – no. I’m going to be proactive about slowing down. And I think that comes back to the defiance. It’s like – no, I will not jump online and start Internet TV show because I feel, I’m going to read this book today.
KRG
I’m gonna have a nap. I have these cards that I found at my old friend’s house and it’s kind of like – you could pull out a card and it gives you different kind of life advice and it was like, “you can be you can be rich and have more naps” and I was like, yes!
MD
And then you throw away the deck and you just have just that one card! What about you, Kate?
KR
I certainly realized all the things that I kind of registered in my mind in the past and I just thought about them. Well, now we’ve had the time to really think about things and really notice things. And I’ve been thinking for a while that the workplace, the way people do work and just the way our society is designed has a lot of problems. And I just think a lot of the methods – expecting people to work really long hours and so on – it can produce a potential outcome, but it has so many other side effects. People get tired, burnt out. It’s not great for families – going to the office every day. It’s not great for the environment. It’s not good for people’s health, and mental health, and everything. So I really think that there will be a lot of changes coming in. Hoping that the companies that I work with, even though it’s in a different role as a CFO, I’m really hoping to be helping with those types of changes – redesigning the roles. I’ve personally always thought that having one full-time person for any particular job is just not an ideal situation. I’ve always questioned this – why does one person have to be the superhero who does everything?
KRG
I think what’s interesting is how you’ve structured your own CFO role now.
KR
Yeah, in my current CFO role I do work with quite a few companies. And yes, so many small to medium sized companies don’t need a full time CFO. But even in a larger company – I really don’t feel like you need to have one person doing one role. For example, we have one of the most successful tech companies in Australia – Atlassian, they have two CEOs. So if you can have two CEOs, why not have two of anything else? But that means quite often that people don’t have to work five days a week, they can work less days or less hours.
KRG
So you’ve structured your CFO role like that, right? . You’re on kind of an on demand CFO, but it means that the companies you work with are more flexible, but you’re more flexible too.
KR
Yes, exactly. So I honestly think that that’s the way of the future, really just redesigning how we do things. You can still achieve the same things, but just with different combinations of people and work. So that’s my passion.
KRG
More sanity. It’s kind of a theme here. Let’s go a bit slower.
MD
That’s great.
KRG
So to wrap things up, Michael, what are the top three things that leaders need to know about creativity, and maybe innovation, for the new future?
MD
The top three things. Number one, your relationship to creativity, and your people’s relationship to creativity, is all based on a story. It’s a narrative, there’s no ‘people have it or don’t have it’, or this or that. The level with which they express it, or you express it, leverage it, bring it to your day-to-day work, is all driven by a story. So don’t worry so much about learning a new innovation technique, or a new creative tactic. Work on your relationship with you and the story between you and your creative capability. Because if you address that, you’re in good state.
KRG
It’s like ‘being the change’.
MD
One hundred percent. It’s like you could do all the innovation programs in the world, you can be a design thinking guru, and get your accreditation and get a tick, and a gold badge, and a star and all that stuff. But if all of that is over the top of “You are not creative. My sister is the creative one.” – it’s not going to make any difference, because you sabotage it in some way, at some point. You will suppress and resist and you won’t put forward that most dangerous, awesome, profound idea that was going to change the world. So work on the story. The second thing would be that when thinking about innovation specifically, or design thinking, you’re not separate from that process. The maker is just as important as what is being made. And whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, you are infusing your personality. You are infusing your expression, your subjectivity into that product or that process. The more you embrace that, and the more consciousness you bring to that, I think the more stronger your idea or your innovation will become. Because then you’re building out an ecosystem. It’s not beige. It’s not. You’re in it anyway, so why not just fully personalise and make a statement with your idea, and it’s going to be more infectious to others. Anyway, I know that sounded a bit abstract, but I think with ‘designed thinking’ – we think that it’s a process. But there’s humans behind that process. And we’ve seen that with the way that AI happens. And there’s all kinds of flaws about – well, it’s a single, 25 year old white guy that’s coding that, and so he’s coding in bias. He doesn’t even know he’s doing it. That’s true of any process, any creative or interview process – you’re in it. So just bring consciousness, in a way.
KRG
For better or for worse, right?
MD
For better or for worse. And the third thing I’d say is – creativity lives in the making. So you can look at it, you can read as many books, you can do as many programs, and watch as many TED talks, and even this wonderful podcast we’re recording right now. You will learn more in five minutes of making than you will listening to 100 podcasts like this, about you, about your process, about what’s possible. You will move an idea forward eight weeks in two hours of focus, intentional creating, where there’s no expectation or pressure – you just lose yourself in your imagination. But you’re in the process of making you’re using your hands, and moving things forward. So don’t feel like you need a plan, or a strategy, or a set of tactics, or a blueprint. Just start. And maybe just before or just after you start – make your intention just to have fun with the process. Something profound will emerge. It’s just the way it works.
KRG
Yes, I see that in my LEGO Serious Play, when you use LEGO as a tool, you just start thinking with your hands. And the idea is to not think like you could sit there and be like – I’m gonna build this perfect model – and doing that. Actually, you don’t. It’s better just to start doing it, and see what happens. And everybody is continually surprised at what happens.
MD
Almost every day, right? I’ll tell you why. Because I’ve got a two and a half year old and a three and a half year old and we’ve got the LEGO, and you told me about how you can put LEGO on DUPLO.
KRG
Yeah, that blows people away.
MD
So we’ve got a bunch of DUPLO that now, you know, the three and a half year old – we progressed him into LEGO, but then the younger one is not quite ready. So there’s just always fights and arguments over it so I had to put it away. I prefer the DUPLO, to be honest – I think there’s a bit more freedom in the limitation.
KRG
Ahh!
MD
Which is a conversation for another day. But I sit there every morning – you know, they always end up in our bed anyway, so they wake us up in the morning. And it’s: “Come on dad, come and play LEGO”. And so every single morning without fail, I’ll sit there, half awake, half asleep. And I’m just putting blocks on other blocks. And, you know, I’m not even there. It’s not great parenting… But I’ll wake up half an hour later and we’ve built this amazing ‘magical castle of space futuristic tropical jungle’ – who knows what. And it’s just that process of just using your hands. And then I’m away and then I come back and go – holy shit, what did we just make? This is amazing. You know, it’s such a gift. And bringing that exact same approach to your next strategic off site, your marketing strategy blah blah blah blah blah – we would have such better businesses, and such better products ,and such better experiences at work, and in life – if we started there.
KRG
Because I think it creates a safe space as well. To circle back to that idea of safe space – you need a few things like – we’re just going to play with LEGO. It’s like everybody kind of goes back to being a kid and often there’s a bit of safety that comes with that play.
MD
Yes, it’s beautiful. Kids are so safe around each other up to a certain point. I mean, my two – they’ll fight about something, and 18 seconds later they’re building something else together, and they’re sharing, they’re creating. So like anything goes, anything is possible. And that’s a that’s a life quality we need to bring back. We don’t want to leave that in childhood. We need that as adults.
KRG
I agree. Well, thank you so much, Michael.
MD
Pleasure. Yeah, honestly, I think this is the best podcast I’ve ever been a part of / listened to in the history of podcasts!
KRG
Wow. Thank you!
MD
The energy with both of you – hey, it feels psychologically safe! You’re doing a good job!
KR
Michael, and if people want to find you, how can they get in touch with you?
MD
mykeldixon.com is my website, from there – the book is coming out on 1 July 2020, there’s a weekly live stream show, all the social media – the same handle. I’ve got to get you guys on my live stream show, for sure. And let’s just keep making the world a more beautiful, creative place!
KRG
Sounds good. So if you want to find out more about this podcast or to get in touch, you can head to creatinganewfuture.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a five star review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to this podcast. It really helps us get the word out about the New Future!