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The Beautiful Brilliance of Boredom with creative polymath Elle Cordova | A Bit of Optimism Podcast

We’re wired to chase the next spark—scrolling, swiping, refreshing—but some of our brightest ideas sneak in when we stop chasing, let boredom settle in, and give our minds room to wander. Elle Cordova knows the power of that pause. When the pandemic hit pause on her life as a touring musician, she stumbled into new creative territory—making offbeat comedy videos about delightfully nerdy topics like particle physics, grammar, and fonts. Those sketches went viral, and suddenly she was thriving as a social media creator with a devoted following. In this episode, we talk about finding what truly lights you up, pushing through writer’s block, working with anxiety—and yes, Star Wars makes an appearance (because of course it does). Plus, Elle treats us to a live, in-studio performance of her song Roswell. This…is A Bit of Optimism. For more on Elle, check out: https://www.ellecordova.com/ --------------------------- This episode is brought to you by True Classic! I really love their T-shirts, so we called them up and asked if they wanted to work together. And they said yes! Check out their clothes at: http://trueclassictees.com/ --------------------------- + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: https://simonsinek.com/classes/ Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/ Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/ Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/ Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/ Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/books/together-is-better/ + + + #SimonSinek

Elle CordovaguestSimon Sinekhost
Aug 12, 20251h 5mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. EC

    I've been backed off and banned from probably close to like six, seven casinos now in Vegas. And unfortunately, they're all my mom's favorite casinos, so we can't go there anymore.

  2. SS

    You're not-

  3. EC

    She, she's told me to stop. So-

  4. SS

    So I love this, that all you wanted to do was be a good daughter-

  5. EC

    [laughs]

  6. SS

    ... celebrate your mom's birthday, and now you're banned from half a dozen casinos in Las Vegas.

  7. EC

    [laughs] I know. It's a funny turn of events. But yeah, I blame my mom.

  8. SS

    [laughs] It's your mother.

  9. EC

    She, she brought me there.

  10. SS

    I mean, it's always childhood trauma.

  11. EC

    Exactly.

  12. SS

    Isn't it?

  13. EC

    I, I just wanted to sit with her longer and have-

  14. SS

    [laughs]

  15. EC

    ... have more drinks, so.

  16. SS

    Two introverts walk into a bar. Let's be honest, that's not happening. But here's what did happen. Two introverts sat down for a conversation about creativity and the importance of boredom. Yes, boredom. It turns out boredom is underrated. It can actually be a remarkable source of calm and creativity, which a lot of introverts may already know. That was definitely the case for Elle Cordova. She's a singer-songwriter, a poet, and a certified nerd who in the isolation of lockdown discovered a creativity she didn't know she had. The result? Well, I'm sure a lot of you have seen her sketch about fonts at a party or her poem about the Big Bang, both of which went very viral. Before the Big Bang, there was no up, there was no down, there was no side to side.

  17. EC

    There was no up, there was no down, there was no side to side. There was no light, there was no dark nor shape of any kind. There were no stars or planet Mars or protons to collide. There was no up, there was no down, there was no side to side. And furthermore, to underscore this total lacking state, there was no here, there was no there, because there was no space. And in this endless void, which can't be thought of as a place, there was no time, and so no passing minutes, hours, days.

  18. SS

    I first learned about Elle when I stumbled on her song Roswell, which if you stick around, she plays live for us at the end of the episode. And if you're a nerd, you'll appreciate our chat about Star Wars archetypes and how we need to give boredom a rebrand, which turns out isn't boring at all. This is A Bit of Optimism. True Classic is sponsoring today's episode. Fun story, I met Ryan, their CEO, over lunch, and I was like, "I really like this guy." That's why we're proud to work with them and have them as our sponsor. You are a perfect example of why it's important to meet your heroes. [laughs]

  19. EC

    Aw. I'm not sure if I, if I'm, if I'm taking this the right way.

  20. SS

    Because, you know, you, they always say never meet your heroes 'cause you're always disappointed.

  21. EC

    Yeah.

  22. SS

    I found you and your work w- from music. I found your song, uh, Roswell, when you had a different name. What was your name?

  23. EC

    Rayna Del Sid.

  24. SS

    Right, you- [laughs]

  25. EC

    Yeah

  26. SS

    ... had a stage name.

  27. EC

    I had a stage name.

  28. SS

    You had a stage name. Then I found out that's not your name. So I knew you as a musician, started following you on the Instagram. Then I find out that you're a poet and a smart person and a nerd, and you are the personification of a polymath. I reached out to you on the Instagram, slid into your DMs-

  29. EC

    You did

  30. SS

    ... and said, "Hey." And you wrote back, and we got together and f- and, and nerd bonded, I guess-

Episode duration: 1:05:23

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