Back2Different

Last September, Shara Lewis-Campbell. Andrew Foster and I all came together and had an idea: How about if work felt more like purpose and less like a sentence?

Last week, this idea was published: Humanity@Work, an ebook, paperback and hard copy that brought together over 35 people from around the world to contribute their insight about work. And life. And humanity.

So join us for a little while as we laugh and talk and laugh about how all this came together and where we hope it goes. The project is completely pro bono, btw, all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

So Sybil Cummin is the friend of a friend. She lives in Colorado, and she has quite a story. “Knock on any door” as people say. She is a very accomplished gymnast, outstanding student, and a recovering perfectionist. She takes herself not-too-seriously. Which is very important because her field is domestic violence and narcissistic abuse. Part of how she opened my eyes was when she focused on how much domestic abuse has risen during COVID, and especially how it has been underreported. It didn’t occur to me that someone who is a victim of abuse cannot call for help if s/he is in lockdown with the abuser.

She also works with little ones, who seem to be doing much better than teenagers under the cloud of the virus. We have a wonderful and very moving conversation as we explore I might be a couple drops in the bucket.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

Having run into Mike Vacanti more than once at Our Friendship Bench (I promise, only one more link!), I did one of those two kinds of people things we all can fall into. In this case, it’s ‘people I could be trapped in a lifeboat with’ and ‘people I would throw myself overboard if I were trapped in a lifeboat with.’ Mike is in category a.

We run amok together as we explore boyhood, school (we both knew our high school principals very well indeed), the value of commitment over command in the workplace, the beauty of possibility, the scars we all carry and that sometimes itch, ‘deep matters of the heart and soul,’ and love. OMG, not Love! Much alike, I was, like Mike, known as the rambunctious kid.

BTW, Mike is a featured contributor for Humanity@Work. 

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

I’ve run across (or into!) Mark O’Brien ([email protected]) in several online conversations. From the first, I knew we’d be friends, for two reasons. First, Mark and I both love to write and love to explore and discover, even if we ruffle a few feathers—or entire flocks—in the process. Second, after Mark says something, I never need to stop and consider, “I wonder what’s really on his mind?”

So we got together to talk. No surprise, we followed a jogging meander through writing, childhood, parents, courage, writing, literature, marriage, thinking, expectations, the nature of nature, and life bumps small and mammoth. Oh, did I mention writing? 

There is nothing like doing a podcast with someone to establish a friendship, btw. Little did I know . . . . 

Join us and find out how “There is a bee on the bridge” shines a bright light on our capacity for courage and love.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

Competitive skier, off to college to play baseball, golfer, professor, experienced in mergers and acquisitions, and now Brian Sommer (briansommercoaching.com) carries a passion for leadership and learning into his coaching work. We both love sports, through Brian is good at them. We both abide in a skeptical place, “separating what happens from what we say happens.” And we both discovered during our journey toward this meeting that teaching is both less and more than we thought.

Throughout this conversation, we ask more questions than give each other answers, e.g. “Imagine if all the books throughout history were kept?” Our deep passion and excitement about learning brings us together, and we agree that the genius resides in the person in front of you.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

I see podcasting as the discovery of surprises. I’m not in charge, just a part of. My conversation with Barry Schwartz ([email protected]) is a luge ride, full speed and switching the role of top slider (the one who signals the turn) and the bottom driver (the one who makes the turn) throughout. Here’s some of where we went: 

                                                                       dogged attachment 

                                                            uncertainty and probability 

                                                                the curse of knowledge 

                                               vaccinations and shopping for groceries

                                                  organ donations and social altruism

                                               drunk driving, smoking, and MADD

                                                                freedom and security 

                                                                  confidence intervals 

                                                                           cynicism

Barry’s book, Why We Work, is a great read. His TED talk, https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_way_we_think_about_work_is_broken, a luge ride you’ll not forget. Grab some water, dress warmly, and join us for The Store Does Not Take Care of Itself. 

 Thank you, Barry.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

We find our common territory much more easily than most may think. John Dunia (shamedoctor.com) is the 46th visitor to record on back2different. I’ve added layers of understanding and connection to my life since this podcast journey started, its birth parallel to the generation of the virus. 

I’d like to suggest that we don’t need to experience this time as a separation but as an acknowledgment of the absolute nourishment of connection. I have dozens of close friends I have never met ftf because of this venture. We simply drop our shields, open up, and care about each other. I am so very grateful. This is not farewell, btw!

John and I charge through healing, self-forgiveness, shame and guilt, scars, arrogance and pride, all in an atmosphere of trust, what my friend and teacher Michael Goldfaden told me means ‘unconditional positive regard.’ 

Maybe that’s all we need to move together, to declare Independence Day and leave shame in the dirt.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

We pick up a lot of ‘stuff’ as we grow up. If you’re familiar with George Carlin, you know what ‘stuff’ means. Joanna Bennett ([email protected]) shares her story, no holds barred, about finding her way through situations and assumptions that stood in the way of what she now knows and loves. She and her children have grown closer during the pandemic, and she lives by a very clear credo: I value peace more than happiness. Join us for a verbal romp.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

Laura Gray ([email protected]) has no lack of credentials. Corporate, academic, sales and training. And trauma. Her journey toward emotional rejuvenation and spirit included opening up some scabs and scars that were scary and necessary. In this courageous conversation, she tells her story to deliver a deep appreciation of how resilient we can become if we can barter shame for clarity. She helped me understand her journey and my own. Let her help you with that same understanding, that broken crayons still color.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!

As Andrew Foster led me through his story, he focused on writing. He has taken this advice from one of his professors and holds it close to his heart: “Stop! Write about it!”  We share a love of writing, especially of the most demanding love, poetry. 

I believe we are all in need of spiritual nutrition, the emotional body-building that comes from community. Especially now, as we are all bound up in viral incarceration, some of us are growing through this imprisonment, some of us less so. Andrew has been in prison for 17 years. Listen in as we explore the path we started with Andrew’s insight that the whole world is sitting down.

Never know what's going to show up when you click 'record'!