The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity

Open Audio

Episode 122: Creative Spark Series - Sharing Your Creative Self with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick

July 9, 2026

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore both the fears and the benefits of sharing our creative selves with family, friends, and the wider world. Many creatives feel misunderstood by those closest to us, such as family members who may not “get” or value our work, so we feel hesitant or resistant to share our creative ideas and expressions with them. However, we believe there’s a positive risk in sharing and allowing ourselves to be known in this way, because it can actually allow our loved ones to become interested and invested in our creative lives.This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to identify one trusted person in your inner circle that you could share your creative ideas with, take that initial step, and see where it leads.

Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 106: Creative Confessions, Episode 108: Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Our Minds, and Episode 120: Putting Yourself Out There.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Charlotte Gullick’s Website

The Syncreate book by Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick

Show / permanent hyperlinks:

Zorana’s Website & Book: The Creativity Choice

Open Audio

Episode 121: Emotions and Choice in the Creative Process with Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD

June 25, 2026

What either allows or prevents us from taking action on our creative ideas and bringing them into being? According to our guest Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD, emotions and choice play a major role, including our fears about being judged, as well as both our sense of creative anxiety and identity. How we manage these emotions ultimately guides our creative freedom and efficacy.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, if you have more ideas than you can pursue at any given moment, we encourage you to practice what Zorana calls “idea stockpiling,” which involves finding a way to record our ideas, whether in a notebook or voice memos, or even in a physical drawer, so we can return to them later. We also encourage you to notice and utilize your feelings and emotions in service of your creativity, rather than fighting them. For example, energetic moods are great for creative ideation and brainstorming, whereas more subdued moods are better for critical thinking and revision.

Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process in a variety of contexts, you might also like our conversations in Episode 62: The Neuroscience of Creativity with Dr. Indre Viskontas, Episode 117: Creativity, Anxiety, and Authenticity with Amanda Beck, PhD, and Episode 119: Jazz Lessons with Musician Mathematician Lawrence Udeigwe, PhD.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Zorana’s Newsletter on Substack

Zorana Ivcevic Pringle on LinkedIn

Show / permanent hyperlinks:

Out of the Blue Music Video on YouTube

Open Audio

Episode 120: Creative Spark Series - Putting Yourself Out There with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick

June 11, 2026

In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte discuss both the fears and rewards of putting your creative work out into the world, sharing examples from their own experiences with music, film, and writing. While sharing your creations can feel uncertain, vulnerable and risky, you’ll never know the potential benefits unless you try. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to put yourself out there creatively, whether by submitting your work for publication, contests and prizes or simply attending a creative event like a reading or open mic.

Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 102: Creativity as a Path of Adventure, Episode 116: Creativity, Power & Agency, and Episode 118: The Power of Imagination.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Out of the Blue Song on Spotify

Charlotte Gullick’s Website

The Syncreate book by Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick

Show / permanent hyperlinks:

Four Lemmas Album on YouTube

Open Audio

Episode 119: Jazz Lessons from Musical Mathematician Lawrence Udeigwe

May 28, 2026

If music is a language of emotions, mathematics is a language of the nature of reality. In this episode, jazz musician and mathematician Lawrence Udeigwe reveals how these two languages inform each other, and the lessons they hold for everyday life. We discuss his new album, Four Lemmas, and how he bridges the worlds of music and math in his creative, academic, and teaching work. Dr. Udeigwe is a Professor of Mathematics at Manhattan University and a Research Affiliate in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His work integrates teaching and research, with a focus on incorporating research-driven ideas into the classroom to advance mathematics pedagogy and curriculum development.

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to be bold in bringing together your diverse talents and interests int something new and unique, and to be flexible with your To Do list - If you don’t get it done today, there’s always tomorrow!

Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process in a variety of contexts, you might also like our conversations in Episode 9: Music and Psychology: "The Pocket" Experience with Dr. Jeff Mims, Episode 113: Music Mindfulness and Healing with Dr. AZA Allsop, and Episode 117: Creativity, Anxiety, and Authenticity with Amanda Beck, PhD.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.

Episode-specific hyperlinks:

Lawrence’s Website

Lawrence’s Instagram

Show / permanent hyperlinks: