Ozan Varol: How to escape conformity, ignite creativity, and awaken your genius.
episode 152.
Hey, friends. Welcome to what I think is a freaking amazing podcast episode. I’ve been eagerly waiting to share it with you. Today the brilliant Ozan Varol is hanging out with us.
Ozan is a rocket scientist turned award-winning professor and bestselling author. He is one of the world’s foremost experts in creativity, innovation, and critical thinking. A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Ozan grew up in a family of no English speakers. He learned English as a second language and moved to the United States by himself at 17 to attend Cornell University and major in astrophysics. While there, he served on the operations team for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers project that sent two rovers–Spirit and Opportunity–to Mars.
Ozan then pivoted and went to law school. He graduated first in his class, earning the highest grade point average in his law school’s history. He became a law professor in his twenties to influence others to make giant leaps on Earth. After getting tenure, he left academia to become a full-time author and speaker.
Ozan has been called a “true original” by Adam Grant and dubbed a “superhero” by Dan Pink. His work has been described as “must read” by Susan Cain and featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time, BBC, CNN, Fast Company, Washington Post, and more. His books and articles have been read by millions around the globe.
He’s the author of two bestselling books, Awaken Your Genius and Think Like a Rocket Scientist. The books have been translated into 25 foreign languages and received numerous accolades, including being selected as One of Amazon’s Top 20 business books of the year, Adam Grant’s # 1 pick of his top 20 leadership books of the year, One of Inc.com’s “6 Business Books You Need to Read This Year (according to Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, and Adam Grant),” and One of 6 Groundbreaking Books of Spring 2020 (according to Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Dan Pink, and Adam Grant).
In today’s episode, we talk about…
How everyone is born creative
Why you need to show the parts of yourself that you’ve suppressed
Why comparison is one of the worst things you can do
The two issues you’ll run into when you conform
How little drops of work will create a ripple effect
Why names given to what you’re doing matter
Why it’s crucial to know your why
What happens when you force yourself to create
Questions you can ask yourself to help unlock your unique talents
Why it’s important to give the shamed parts of yourself a voice
What you can do to inspire creativity
The importance of journaling
Why it’s more important to create than consume
…and so much more!
You can listen on your favorite podcast app…
Want more from Ozan?
Check out his website
Hang out with Ozan on Instagram
Buy Ozan’s book Awaken Your Genius
I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts, reactions, or takeaways as you listen, so definitely screenshot and tag me @courageously.u on Instagram.
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Happy listening!