The Accidental Creative

Episode E71 – DistancingIn this episode, we dive into one of creativity and leadership’s most overlooked superpowers: the ability to distance ourselves from our own immediate experience. We explore why our best work rarely happens by accident—it’s a result of disciplined, intentional decisions made from a broader perspective.We sit down with former nuclear submarine commander and bestselling author L. David Marquet, whose latest book, Distancing, unpacks the science and practice of decision-making from outside the narrow lens of our “immersed self.” Together, we examine why it’s so difficult to see beyond our own biases, emotional investments, and routines, and what it looks like to make choices for the legacy we actually want.Through practical stories—from creative team roadblocks to how Jeff Bezos made his leap away from Wall Street—we learn tactical ways to step outside ourselves and consider decisions from our future self’s vantage point. Marquet explains how to escape the trap of defending past choices a