Even though many of our employees do not necessarily consider themselves the “creative type” (we have many butchers, farmers and finance gurus), each of them was able, with Austin’s guidance, to grasp a broader definition of the creativity that Austin believes exists within all of us.  I believe that my staff’s experience with Austin helped support them to consider and pursue creativity in their daily lives, both at work and on a personal level. Thank you, Austin! —ANYA FERNALD, CEO, BELCAMPO INC.

San Francisco Bay Area-based Austin Hill Shaw is the creator of The Creativity Quiz, The Creator’s Cheat Sheet, and author of The Shoreline of Wonder: On Being Creative.

Prompted by a brain-rattling bike accident in 1999, followed by a life-changing insight gained during a three-month meditation retreat in 2004, he began to explore the subject of creativity in earnest, wanting to understand the secrets behind creativity’s seemingly universal appeal.

Since then, he has amassed a wealth of knowledge regarding creative expression in art, science, and religion, in childhood development and adult maturation, in business and the economy, in product innovation, in intimate and organizational relationships, and in non-ordinary states of consciousness, delving into the very core of what it means to be human. More importantly, he has striven to embody all that he’s learned, using his own life as an ongoing experiment, testing and refining his methods in his pursuits as a writer, speaker, trainer, entrepreneur, and architectural designer as well as through rock climbing, surfing, spiritual practice, and being a husband and father.

In a time of rampant job automation and outsourcing, Austin’s message regarding the importance of creativity and how to activate it is swiftly making its way out into the world. Drawing upon an innovative mix of cutting-edge science, artistic expression, and age-old spiritual wisdom, Austin presents a timely and enlivening understanding of creativity, one that ignites the full-person creative potential of individuals and organizations alike.

Whether he is addressing a large audience or working with individuals one-on-one, Austin combines visionary insight with heartfelt empathy, profound ideas with unexpected humor, and sobering seriousness with joyful irreverence, all with a remarkable sense of presence.

He is a gifted storyteller, with the ability to unpack the complex subtleties of the creative process and present them in a way that can be put to use immediately. Through his keynote presentations, writing, personal coaching, and his work with his architecture clients, Austin Hill Shaw is dedicated to helping others awaken their natural creative capacities and to share their creative gifts with others.

View Austin’s mission statement

“Austin’s power as a speaker and his influence as a creativity guru come from both the passion he speaks with and his openness to the possibilities of spontaneity.  He listens with focus and responds with ‘Wow,’ and he let’s the joy of discovery take you where new possibilities exist or are evolving.  I think that joy of discovery is the key to the benefit Austin bring to others and is what he can most usefully engender in others.”  – Terry Lamb, Videographer, Actor, and Public Speaking Coach