Halli Thorleifsson shares his extraordinary creative journey from the Icelandic music scene through design, agency leadership, and unconventional projects including a restaurant tribute to his late mother. Growing up in Iceland's small, generalist culture, Halli learned early that everyone is creative and all creativity is connected. ~

After losing his mother at 11, he found expression through music and eventually web design, building a successful agency that was acquired by Twitter. 

Living with muscular dystrophy, Halli embodies the philosophy that "today is the best day there is"—a mindset that has driven him to create without waiting for permission. 

From managing 100+ employees to designing dreamlike physical spaces and launching a walking podcast, Halli demonstrates how adaptability, resilience, and refusing to quit transforms doubt into work only you could create.

Key takeaways:

• Everyone is creative—we've just met people who've been told or believe they're not creative
• All creativity is connected; writers, musicians, designers all experience the same journey of doubt, uncertainty, and unexpected outcomes
• Being a generalist allows you to adapt and see connections others miss in an increasingly uncertain world
• Meet people where they are rather than assuming everyone thinks and works like you do
• Not everyone needs to be "fixed" or changed—sometimes people simply don't fit, and that's okay
• Turning cherished memories into businesses requires careful consideration of the emotional weight versus operational demands
• Today is always your best day—act now rather than waiting for perfect conditions that may never come
• The creative process guarantees one thing: if you don't quit, you'll create something nobody else could have made
• Adaptability and resilience are the most important skills to teach the next generation facing rapid change
• Start before you're ready, embrace being bad at first, and trust the process of getting better through persistence
• Physical movement and changing environments stimulate creative thinking in ways stationary work cannot replicate
• Understanding all aspects of a project, even at surface level, makes you more effective than pure specialization

Daring Creativity. Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic

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Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business

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