Behind the Brilliance

It's the Season 7 kickoff of Behind the Brilliance!

The cynics say the advice about waking up early, meditating, and all of the other usual stuff is overblown and doesn't account for the role of LUCK in being successful. I agree with them so I decided to devote an episode to ways we can make our own luck.

Some stuff is legitimately beyond our control (like dicks/vaginas, skin color, etc) but there's a lot we can do that makes a difference.

This entire season will be devoted to making luck and hacking happiness. I can't wait for you to hear the conversations.

In the mean time, give this episode a listen. It covers:

-a twist on the conventional advice to "work hard"

-how to find your Prosper Point

-why "hobbies and interests" matter

-a different way of thinking about big goals

-and much more

Let me know if you're making your own luck and what you thought of this episode:

Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @lisanicolebell

Season 6 was a solid collection of conversations from an eclectic array of folks including writers, entrepreneurs, actors, and artists. I'm grateful to the amazing guests who generously shared their time and opened up about their experiences and lessons learned. I'm also grateful to you, the listener, for joining me in this special little community of people who want to be, do, and have more as we celebrate what we've got.

I've recapped 7 episodes from Season 6: 108 - Eric Bahn : entrepreneur + investor at 500 Startups 109 - Jamila Daniel : television writer, Star on FOX 111 - Tamara Floyd : blogger turned entrepreneur 115 - Tina Lifford : star on OWN's hit television show Queen Sugar 117 - Damon Young : writer + founder, Very Smart Brothas 121 - Dr. Andrew Newberg : neuroscientist + author of How God Changes Your Brain 128 - Tiffany Dufu : Author of Drop the Ball + Chief Leadership Officer at Levo

Drop a line and let me know what you thought about Season 6! @LisaNicoleBell on Twitter, Facebook + Instagram

Season 7 launches on July 27.

My nickname for this show is the Creativity Meets Commerce. Jessica has designed systems and processes for her work and offers frameworks for other artists. Her work deals with the hard stuff: staying out of your own way, thinking about the bigger picture of your goals, managing limited time, deciding to charge for your creative work.

During this conversation, we covered a lot of ground on how to get art done even as the artist struggles through the process. Jessica is practical (which I love), and she offers clear, accessible ways of solving common problems for people who want to make things.

Say hi to Jessica and let her know what you thought about our chat: @jccabel

We covered a lot including:

-melding creativity and commerce

-what idea debt is and how to eliminate it

-time management advice that works for creative types

-redefining "marketing" for people who hate salesy stuff

-art as a service

-overcoming dark times in the middle of a project

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB131

Felecia Hatcher is a White House Award-Winning Entrepreneur, Globally Sought after Speaker and Author who works to rid communities of innovation deserts and creates cool books, products and courses to help Start-Ups, Creatives and Broke Entrepreneurs follow their most epic dreams.

In this conversation, we talk about her journey from C student to award-winning entrepreneur. We talk about the $1 million grant she recently received for her latest venture, Code Fever.

We covered a lot including:

-time management hacks

-delegating (Felecia's war stories and advice)

-working with her spouse (and the effect it had on her marriage, spoiler alert: they didn't kill each other)

-the hardest lesson she's learned

-why she advises taking it slow with investors

-and much more

Say hi to Felecia on Twitter and let her know what you thought: @feleciahatcher

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB130

In the last solo episode of Season 6, I share some thoughts on weaving minimalism into our lives in practical ways. Of course, shenanigans are sprinkled throughout for our mutual amusement.

This episode covers:

-the Fleeing Suitcase exercise

-delaying purchases (aka the Amazon cart for life)

-curating + auditing what we own (and why we should do it regularly)

-the importance of gratitude and celebration

-and more

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB129

My nickname for this episode is the Sanity Show. It's full of fresh ideas and perspective on getting things done with grace, staying sane when you're ambitious, and learning how to leverage relationships to fulfill your personal and professional potential.

Tiffany Dufu is the author of the new book, Drop the Ball. We covered a lot of topics including time management, renegotiating relationships, comparative advantage (and how to use it to your benefit at work and at home), and much more.

Say hi to Tiffany and let her know what you thought about our chat: @tdufu

TOPICS COVERED (partial list)

-how to "find your purpose" and connect it to your daily work

-lessons on delegating effectively

-the importance of renegotiating relationships

-how to apply comparative advantage at home

-how to have critical conversations when you need support

-redefining what it means to be "good" at any given role in your life

-and much more

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB128

In the last Q+A episode of Season 6, I answer a question about how I discovered and implemented my system of values and a question about choosing between a lifestyle business and a scalable business.

Topics covered in this episode:

-Why I decided to clarify my values

-The process of choosing and implementing a new values system

-How to troubleshoot faulty values

-How to choose between a lifestyle business and a scalable business

-Why no one is really their "own boss" and why it doesn't matter anyway

-Much more!

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB127

Kristi and I had such a good conversation that lasted about 2 hours. We talked about her essay "Enjoli - read it at http://bit.ly/KristiEnjoli,why you're never too old to start over, and much more.

Kristi is a writer and soon-to-be author who penned the (popular and somewhat controversial) essay "Enjoli" on Medium last summer. The response opened a floodgate of reactions from people discussing alcohol consumption, being sober, and how the choice plays into other aspects of life.

After reading the essay earlier this year, I was struck by both Kristi's writing style and her observations about alcohol and what it's done to us culturally.

Even if you don't "think" you have an alcohol problem, this episode is a good reflection on anything we consider to be a detriment or vice to well-being. I've thought deeply about it as it applies to a variety of areas of my life. Maybe you will too.

Say hi to Kristi and let her know what you thought about our chat: @kristiccoulter

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB126

On Part 2 of Tipsy Talk, listener Priscilla asks about sustaining herself as an artist. I shared my experiences, and we covered a lot including:

-why financial literacy is a must for creatives

-high level marketing considerations for artists

-rethinking how much money is "enough"

-why doubling prices is often a great idea

-much more!

Share this episode with friends who are trying to work out the numbers of their ventures and art.

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB125

This episode is probably in my top 10 favorites of all the BTB episodes because of how practical and important the conversation was. It wasn't until the past couple of years that I stopped obsessing over making more money and started thinking more deeply about what money actually represents in my life. Most so-called finance gurus repeat platitudes about skipping lattes and "saving more" without ever addressing the stuff that really gets in the way of people making the kind of money they want to make and knowing what to do with it when they make it. Daniel and I unpacked all of that and more in this conversation.

We covered a lot of topics relating to money and lifestyle including:

-the amount of money research says is optimal for "happiness"

-why you shouldn't "stay in your lane" when it comes to education and career

-modern considerations for wealth creation

-the reason super smart people get money management wrong

-the connection between money and lifestyle satisfaction

-and much more

Let me + Daniel know what you thought of this episode - did you learn anything interesting?: @danielcrosby @lisanicolebell

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB124