EP 431: From Corporate Advertising to Viral Artist: The Yin & Yang of Creativity with James McCrae

When Getting Fired Becomes Your Greatest Gift: The Creative Breakthrough That Changed Everything

What happens when losing your job becomes the catalyst for finding your true calling? Artist and author James McCrae reveals how getting fired from his corporate advertising position launched him from unemployed executive to viral social media sensation, transforming his relationship with creativity and authenticity in the process.

After years as a brand strategist in New York City, McCrae found himself at a crossroads when his entire department was eliminated during a corporate acquisition. Instead of frantically job hunting, he made a decision that would change his life: he sat in meditation and asked what wanted to be born through him.

The Artist’s Journey: From Small Town to Social Media Success

McCrae’s creative journey began in small-town Minnesota, where poetry served as his escape and a way to “create new worlds and explore the universe in much more depth” than his surroundings offered. His path meandered through painting, graphic design, and eventually corporate brand strategy, where he describes “sneaking into the business world through the back door as an artist.”

The turning point came when he started creating social media content and memes that began going viral. Rather than viewing social media as merely a marketing tool, McCrae transformed these platforms into his personal “art gallery of digital art and poetry.”

The Yin and Yang of Creative Expression

McCrae introduces a revolutionary framework for understanding creativity through the ancient concept of yin and yang. He argues that our society has created an overemphasis on “yang” energy (doing, productivity, action) while neglecting the essential “yin” energy (receptivity, stillness, pure potentiality).

“All doing begins with non-doing,” McCrae explains, comparing creativity to farming. “You want to make art, but you can’t start by growing crops. You need to tend the soil, plant the seeds, and water the soil first.”

This approach involves removing distractions and cultivating mindfulness through practices like meditation, spending time in nature, and consuming art. McCrae’s breakthrough came when he began a serious mindfulness practice in New York City, discovering meditation, yoga, and Eastern philosophy that helped him “tune out all the distractions and tune into my own inner being.”

From Ego to Intuition: The Art of Inner Listening

McCrae distinguishes between ego-driven and intuition-driven creativity, describing the ego as speaking “like an alarm going off or like a dog barking,” while intuition whispers quietly “almost more of a feeling than it is a thought.”

His daily practice involves meditating each morning before writing, then “taking dictation from the muse” rather than forcing ideas. He emphasises that creation and editing must be separate processes: “You should not write and edit at the same time. They’re completely different mindsets.”

The Vulnerability Revolution: Why Authenticity Goes Viral

McCrae’s breakthrough moment came when he stopped trying to project a perfect image and started sharing his authentic self. While other self-help authors played it safe, he began posting what he calls “apocalyptic poetry” and “sarcastic existential memes.”

“I’m just going to allow myself full permission to be an artist and express myself however I want,” he decided. The result was explosive: “I started really going viral online. Suddenly, I was getting thousands of followers every day, and people were reposting my memes all over the internet.”

His key insight: “You can be yourself much better than you can be anyone else. There’s only one you.” This authenticity created what he calls intimacy with his audience, proving that “people are hungry for something that’s honest and real and valuable.”

Redefining Creative Blocks and Writer’s Block

McCrae challenges the concept of writer’s block, reframing it as simply having nothing ready to come out. “Creative expression is like a purge,” he explains. “You’re purging this energy that’s built up in you.”

When creativity feels stuck, his solution isn’t to force it but to “fill up your cup of inspiration” through life experiences: reading, visiting art museums, travelling, falling in love, or getting your heart broken. “Writer’s block is more like your well is empty and you need to go out and experience emotions and novel experiences.”

The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Creativity

“There’s no creativity without vulnerability,” McCrae states, emphasising that emotions are “way more intelligent than our thoughts.” He compares thinking purely with the mind to “fishing in a shallow pond,” while accessing emotions allows you to fish “in a deep ocean where you can catch much more exotic, beautiful fish.”

This emotional depth provides access to the subconscious mind, which McCrae describes as “full of so many more insights and ideas than the conscious mind.”

Social Media as Creative Canvas

McCrae transformed his relationship with social media after his literary agent rejected his memoir. Rather than waiting for traditional gatekeepers, he decided to treat social media like “writing a book in real time, post by post,” with each piece treated “with the same level of artistic integrity that I would treat a book or a poem or a painting.”

This shift in perspective turned social media from a source of frustration into “a sandbox for my own creative exploration” and eventually led to the book deal he originally sought.

Three Essential Practices for Creative Awakening

McCrae leaves readers with two fundamental practices he considers essential for any creative person:

Daily Mindfulness Practice: Commit to some form of mindfulness daily, even just five minutes. This could be meditation, nature walks, visiting art museums, or attending concerts, anything that breaks routine and allows access to inspiration.

Keep a Dedicated Notebook: Every creative idea, from business concepts to poems, starts in McCrae’s notebook. “All my ideas, even my business ideas, like the classes that I teach, the workshops that I teach, the poems I write, everything I do, it starts in my notebook.” He describes it as “ground zero for your creative process” where there are no bad ideas and you can freely experiment.

The Deeper Message: Creativity as Life Force

McCrae argues that creativity isn’t just a skill but fundamental to human nature: “Creativity is a life force that we all not only have access to, but that is who we truly are.” He points to human design, from imagination and intuition to hands perfectly constructed to hold paintbrushes and pens, as evidence that we’re engineered for creative expression.

The challenge is that society conditions us away from this natural creativity through rigid structures and capitalistic pressure to be productive. However, McCrae insists that reconnecting with our creative nature is “always just one shift in perception away.”

Why This Matters Now

In an age of increasing automation and artificial intelligence, McCrae’s message about authentic human creativity and vulnerability becomes even more relevant. His journey from corporate termination to viral success demonstrates that our perceived failures can become our greatest breakthroughs when we have the courage to listen to our inner creative voice.

McCrae’s story offers hope to anyone feeling trapped in corporate structures or disconnected from their creative nature. Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is simply be yourself, trust your authentic voice, and allow your creativity to emerge naturally.

You can watch the full conversation on YouTube

About James McCrae

James McCrae is a viral artist, author of “The Art of You,” and creative coach who helps creators find their authentic voice and build successful creative businesses. His social media content has reached millions, and he specialises in teaching the intersection of spirituality and creativity.

Connect with James McCrae: Instagram: @wordsarevibrations