How to skillfully handle “creative stuckness” with Aaron Harvey

Doing things right, perfect & precisely: perfectionism, Procrastinating, postponing and delaying

obsessions, worries, inner critic, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, get things done, perfectionistic behaviors, pivot in your career, self-compassion, growth-mindset, develop a new relationship with your mind, values, worry thoughts, uncertainty, ruling-thoughts, compassion-focused therapy, negative predictions, fear of failure, choices, challenging conversation, disengagement to engagement, curiosity
  • Do you ever wonder how a person makes ideas happen?
  • How a person creates a concept and puts it into action in a campaign, art or book?
  • How do ideas scale to the point that they’re so popular and well established?
  • Do you ever wonder how a creative mind chooses an idea and how they discount hundreds of them when pursuing a creative project?

In this interview, I chat with Aaron Harvey, co-founder of Made of Millions, a non-profit organization that is at the vanguard of rebranding mental health and creating awareness about mental health in all settings, and in particular in work environments.

In a casual conversation, Aaron shared his process as a creative person, how he conceives an idea, how he handles creative stuckness, how he manages fears of his ideas not landing well, and how he scales ideas.​

An interesting concept that Aaron mentioned is “repetitive rejection” as a part of the creative process!

This was a very special conversation and hope you enjoy it and find it helpful!

About Aaron

Aaron is the cofounder and executive director at The Made of Millions Foundation, a global advocacy nonprofit on a mission to change how the world perceives mental health. He created the organization after spending over 20 years suffering in silence with debilitating intrusive thoughts. It was only after Googling his symptoms that he realized he was living with undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder, most specifically, Pure O.

Through his experience with OCD, he has become a passionate advocate for democratizing access to mental health education and destigmatizing taboo symptoms. His background in marketing has made him an innovative leader in workplace mental health. He has collaborated with numerous organizations such as Yahoo and Mind Share Partners, and has spoken at leading industry events including Adcolor, The Wellbeing at Work Summit U.S., 4A’s Talent @ 2030, Dial Global, and Be Kind 21.

Outside of mental health, he is the cofounder and executive creative director of Ready Set Rocket, a data-driven agency on a mission to forge a better future. He works with leading brands such as the NBA, Michael Kors, JP Morgan, Puma, Univision, Carnegie Hall, and more.

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creative stuckness

Resources

Show notes with time-stamps

00:00 Creative Curiosity
01:29 Diving Deep into the Creative Mind of Aaron Harvey
03:49 The Journey from Music to Advertising Genius
06:02 Embracing the Entrepreneurial Spirit in the Creative Industry
08:27 The Art of Idea Selection and Execution
15:31 Navigating the Challenges of Creative Rejection and Feedback
26:31 Strategic Decision-Making in Creative Campaigns
30:45 Exploring the Impact of Lines and Ideas in Branding and Nonprofits
30:45 The Dynamic World of Advertising and Social Movements
30:45 Addressing Mental Health Through Intersectionality and Advocacy
30:45 Behind the Scenes: The Creative Process and Systemic Change
30:45 A Casual Conversation: Coffee, Creativity, and Cultural Shifts
31:49 Embracing the Expat Life: Insights into Living Abroad
 

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About Dr. Z.

I’m originally from Bolivia, South America, and am a psychologist by training. I’m formally trained in empirically supported treatments, and when I say “formally,” I mean that since 2004 I have received intensive training in them, particularly in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). 

Over the past 18 years, I have created resources for and worked with overthinkers and overachievers dealing with all types of anxiety-related struggles: perfectionism, procrastination, productivity anxiety, uncertainty intolerance, indecision, impostor phenomenon, overthinking, phobias, rumination, panic, worry and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I absolutely love my job!

In 2019, I was nominated as a fellow by the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science because of my contributions related to the applications of ACT for anxiety-based struggles. I’m the author of seven books and the co-author of three (see the section on previously written books).

I’m the founder and director of the East Bay Behavior Therapy Center, a boutique private center in the San Francisco Bay Area that offers therapy and coaching for anyone experiencing anxiety-based struggles.

In 2023, I gave a TEDx talk, “Stop playing-it-safe and start living” that has more than 264K downloads.

While I’m a psychologist by training and science-based by passion, my style is jargon-free, accessible, caring, and lighthearted; teaching ACT skills doesn’t have to be boring or inaccessible, so I do my best to make every skill I teach—in any format—as engaging as possible. 

I believe that learning to navigate anxiety-based reactions is one of the key skills of the 21st century, and I’m passionate about it.

I'm passionate about disseminating ACT skills for anxiety-based struggles.

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