The Beautiful Thinkers Project began with a belief: creativity isn't a talent reserved for a select few. It is a right, a muscle every person is born with. It grew out of Carolyn Hadlock's work as Executive Creative Director at Young & Laramore and her conversations with founders, leaders, creators and visionaries about how they imagine and produce ideas. Those conversations became four things.

The podcast. Nine seasons, in the top 20% of podcasts globally, with listeners in 156 countries.

The course. A class at Indiana University's Media School where students produce a season of the podcast.

The Field Guide. A Field Guide to Beautiful Thinking: 9 creative principles for Your Daily Practice. Nine principles, 45 exercises.

Experiences. The project designs and produces custom experiences, built around a specific place and its audience: a film sponsorship, director interviews and a closing-night event at the Crested Butte Film Festival, and on May 20, 2027, RE:CONNECT at TimeLine Theatre.

Carolyn began as an Art Director at Young & Laramore in 1992 and stayed three decades, becoming the agency's first Executive Creative Director. Her work for national consumer brands was recognized by The One Show, ADC, Cannes, Communication Arts, Graphis and The Effies. In 2014 she co-founded The Creative Leaders Retreat with The One Club, its longest running conference. She hosts the podcast, wrote A Field Guide to Beautiful Thinking, and teaches at Indiana University's Media School.