Creativity Threads Life w/ Mr Benja

Classic episode with John Diaz that's been remastered for 2024. We get into mental health, team dynamics, mentoring in the game industry, Comic Con, working with people in different studios, and yelling at co-workers. Fun times.

https://www.instagram.com/j_kingpin/

To live today is to need to be resilient. It's a power that all super heroes have. The Power Man Luke Cage is the character that most exemplifies that theme. Don't be fragile. Stay hard.

Joe Rogan is an odd beast. Hated by some. Loved, apparently, by millions that listen to every episode of his show. I actually don't care what you think of him, but you can learn some things. I have nine things that you can steal from him.

From Electronic Arts to Rockstar Games to Lucasarts and beyond, Tony Barnes joins in to discuss game development ups and downs as well as how he's kept going after three decades of iconic work. To some, he is the game developer's game developer. Acting as game designer, director, producer, coder, artist, and musician, Tony has pretty much seen it all, and he's STILL going strong.

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You can find Tony online at:

Retro Ninja Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/retroninjagames/
Website -- https://retroninja.com
Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/8bit.ninja/
Twitter -- https://twitter.com/Twitchfactor

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There is nothing quite like the first episode of a series to set things in motion. When I saw the first episode of Attack On Titan, I realized just how powerful an opening episode could be. When I saw the LAST episode, I realized that the first episodes are even more important than I thought.

Disclaimer: I actually liked The Marvels. But I realized something as I listened to people talk about it: No one cared. 😕 While you might be thinking "Well I cared!", that's not good enough for a movie on this scale. One of the jobs of a creative is to make something that people care about. That person can be just you, but most often, it's hoped that our creations will be experienced by many engaged people.

At a San Diego Comic Con, I met the wonderful and awesome Taraji P Henson. Years later, that meeting made me realize something about branding and attention.

Pro wrestling is real. Don’t argue with me. If you don’t know that I’m getting at something, then you probably don’t need to be listening to my podcast. It's all a creative act.

Correction: I got Mr Wonderful (Mr Wonderful) mixed up with Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig).

I get to speak money and creativity with a high school friend Natalie Freeman. She's an accountant, entrepreneur, and host of her own podcast, "Successful, but Single". We discuss transitioning from being an accountant and licensed financial advisor to pursuing her creative endeavors with starting her podcast. We get into the challenges, hurdles and joys of navigating the entrepreneurial world and the importance of financial literacy. 

Being "remarkable" is the only way you're going to prove your resolve and make creative change happen in your world.