Shut Your Monkey

Jul 11 2018 217
Shut Your Monkey Podcast artwork

Hear that voice in your head? The one that nitpicks all your new ideas? That's your monkey. And we're gonna shut it down! SHUT YOUR MONKEY: The Podcast is going to give you a weekly dose of moral support and practical advice. With intelligence, wit, and compassion, best-selling author Danny Gregory and his weekly guests will delve deep into your head and pull that monkey out. We'll explore creative blocks, missed deadlines, tantrums, procrastination, perfectionism, and all the old monkey tricks. And we'll leave you super-charged, inspired and ready to start making your best work. Based on the new, life-changing book — available everywhere.

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12-The Final Shutdown

Jul 11 2018 14 mins  
Two years after my last episode, I'm back with some final thoughts and a big announcement. I will tell you the one thing that is guaranteed to not only shut your monkey once and for all but also to transform your life and leave a lasting mark on the world. What is your mission? And how can you make it your destiny? Lets discuss it. If you'd like to continue this discussion, let's d

11Intoxicated - Victor Yocco

Jul 07 2016 30 mins  
This week we’ll discuss how the monkey uses alcohol, drugs, overeating and other destructive habits to interfere with our creativity. This week's guest is Victor Yocco, the author and psychologist. Click here to find out more about Victor's new book, Design for the Mind - Seven Psychological Principles of Persuasive Design. Use the discount code: yoccomupad to get 39% off the bo

10Impossible — Jennifer Louden

Jul 01 2016 43 mins  
Last week, I felt a little harried and overwhelmed and the podcast was rushed and missing some good bits so I hope to make up for it this week with lots of interesting stuff. Our main topic will be how the monkey tries to define our lives in completely unrealistic ways. This week's guest is Jennifer Louden, the bestselling author and personal growth pioneer. If you like the conver

09Unreliable — Ilise Benun

Jun 23 2016 27 mins  
This week we’ll discuss how unreliable the monkey’s advice can be and why you should ignore much of what it says. And then we’ll get some much more reliable and useful advice. We’ll talk to Ilise Benun, the author, speaker and founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, who has been helping creative people improve their game for thirty years. What’s your experience with your monkey

08Change - Karen Salmansohn

Jun 16 2016 34 mins  
In this week’s podcast, Shut Your Monkey author and host Danny Gregory talks with the author Karen Salmansohn. Karen has sold over a million copies of her wonderful and hilarious self-help books, books like How to Be Happy Dammit, The Prince Harming Syndrome, Instant Happy and The Bounce Back Book. She’s a contributor to Oprah, Psychology Today, The Huffington Post, Lifetime TV

07Distractions - Jonathan Carroll

Jun 09 2016 32 mins  
In this week’s podcast, Shut Your Monkey author and host Danny Gregory talks with the novelist Jonathan Carroll. The conversation is freewheeling — from how to start a novel, to day-jobs to the benefits of self-criticism, how to make your creative self your friend to the pleasures of handwritten manuscripts. Here's an example of a second draft of his manuscript for Bathing the

06Meddling - Todd Colby

Jun 02 2016 31 mins  
In this week’s podcast, Shut Your Monkey author and host Danny Gregory talks with Todd Colby, the poet, artist and former member of Drunken Boat. They'll discuss the creative process and the role of discipline and preparation in keeping the monkey at bay. Monkey of the Week: the Paranoid. It’s that voice that says: "They’re laughing and sneering, because no one likes you. Or

05Ghosts - Patti Digh

May 27 2016 27 mins  
In this week’s podcast, Shut Your Monkey author and host Danny Gregory talks with Patti Digh, the bestselling author, teacher and storyteller. They'll discuss trauma and how the harsh voices of our childhood can continue to play tired old tapes in our heads — long past their expiration date. Monkey of the Week: the Fake. It’s that voice that says: "You are a fraud and an imp

04Creative Targets - Stefan Sagmeister

May 20 2016 57 mins  
Why does the monkey hate when you make create something new? This episode will dig into it. First, I talk about creativity and how the monkey loves to hate it, meddling with your creative process and throwing up blocks. Then I am joined by this week’s guest, the rock-star of graphic design, Stefan Sagmeister. I’ve known Stefan for about fifteen years and every time we chat I c

03Origins: Dr. Robyn Cooper

May 12 2016 32 mins  
Why do most of us have an inner critic, a negative inner voice that keeps us from being creative and trying new things? In this week’s podcast, Shut Your Monkey author and host Danny Gregory talks with psychologist Dr. Robyn Cooper to uncover Whthe psychological sources of our negative inner voices, shedding light on their origins and exposing them as historical, but not necessar