Doing What Works

When someone you love wants your advice, do you freeze? We don’t blame you. A lot can go wrong. And in this edition of Doing What Works we offer advice for having a productive exchange. One thing that almost never backfires is the right question. You’ll know what to ask if you listen closely enough. Keep listening, keep asking better questions, and get ready to be thanked for your help!

Here are your show notes…

Rushmore Cave [https://www.rushmtn.com/rushmore-cave-2/]? Worth it. The same with Moneyball [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/]. And How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too! [https://www.amazon.com/How-Behave-Your-Children-Will/dp/0141001933]

“Every time you tell a story it becomes less true.” That’s from Storyworthy [https://www.amazon.com/Storyworthy-Engage-Persuade-through-Storytelling-ebook/dp/B07CV2PFYJ] author Matthew Dicks.

Tiny Beautiful Things [https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Beautiful-Things-Advice-Sugar/dp/0307949338] is a collection of Cheryl Strayed’s “Dear Sugar” advice columns.

“You have to date your wife.” I got that from Roy Kent on Ted Lasso [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10986410/].

“What you love is what you’re gifted at.” That’s from Barbara Sher [http://www.barbarasher.com/index.htm].

Maybe you’ve heard it called the deferred life plan, otherwise known as “I’ll be happy when X happens.” Whatever you call it, we hope to inspire the opposite in this edition of Doing What Works. Oh, sure. Delayed gratification is a big part of doing what works, but! There’s a time and a place.

Here are your show notes…

“Those poor people.” That line from Galaxy Quest [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/] must occur to everyone who knows how Darrell and I are living at the moment (in a broken-down RV in the Pennsylvania wilderness). Says Darrell!

“If you’re not having fun you’re not doing it right.” That’s from What Color Is Your Parachute? [https://www.parachutebook.com/] author Dick Bolles.

Do you have something, as Rocky [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/] might say, that if you achieved it would make you feel like you’re not just another bum from the neighborhood?

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/12/09/safe-harbor/].

Nothing like an extended power outage to make you rethink and appreciate your daily routines. That’s what happened to Darrell and me recently -- and it’s why, in this edition of Doing What Works, we hope to inspire you to inject a little more fun into the otherwise ordinary days.

Here are your show notes…

Seinfeld [https://time.com/6103335/seinfeld-netflix-business/] is on Netflix now!

If you’re paralyzed with fear about making the so-called wrong decisions for your life, maybe this edition of Doing What Works can help. We talk about how to look at self-assessments, running to things as opposed to away from them, and the most important part of any plans you make (hint: it isn’t necessarily the following!). Have fun, learn a lot, and don’t sweat any particular move too much.

Here are your show notes…

What Color Is Your Parachute? [https://www.parachutebook.com/] might just help you find your ideal job.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” That’s from Albert Einstein [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/987-there-are-only-two-ways-to-live-your-life-one].

How do you perceive the world and make decisions? This assessment might help [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator].

“The parts of your brain that generate anxiety are more interested in having a plan than the details of that plan.” That’s from Dr. Jordan Peterson [https://twitter.com/jordanbpeterson].

“I had a plan for my life, but everything interesting happened on the sidestreets.” That’s from Cliff Hakim [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/476933.Cliff_Hakim].

Over the years you’ve accumulated a lot of people in your orbit. In this edition of Doing What Works we’re going to encourage you to take a look at them as energy sources or energy drains. Maybe you can’t totally excise the drains, but you can almost certainly minimize your exposure to them. And while you’re at it, don’t fall into the trap of conserving energy. Because as Katie reminds us, the more you expend the more you have.

Here are your show notes…

What We Do in the Shadows [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7908628/] talks about energy vampires.

“Yes, and” is a principle of improv [https://improv.eu/principles/].

The Biocybernaut [https://www.biocybernaut.com/maureen-anderson/] experience was a game changer for Maureen.

“You don’t have eight hours a day to create. You have two. Plan accordingly.” That’s from Naval Ravikant [https://twitter.com/naval].

In Matthew Sanford’s book, Waking [https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Memoir-Transcendence-Matthew-Sanford/dp/159486845X], he says one task of life is coming to terms with how relentlessly repetitive adulthood can be.

The most important metric to track is personal energy. That’s from Scott Adams [https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays].

You know the feeling. People offer to help, you’d really rather they didn’t, and now you have a different problem -- their bewilderment. That’s why in this edition of Doing What Works we talk about the magic of leaving dishes where they are, eschewing keyboard shortcuts, and getting out of the way so the people who can help have a clear path. Sometimes the best way to be there for someone, after all, is not being there at all.

No show notes this time. We’re winging it!

If the bagged produce you bought is past the “sell by” date, is it safe to eat? What about the five-second rule? How dangerous is it to eat something you just dropped on the floor? Does cooking food to the point of charring it put you at greater risk for cancer? Those are just a few of the questions we tackle in this edition of Doing What Works. Our guest also happens to be our producer, Darrell, who’s been hosting a food and agriculture radio program (now called Farm to Fork) for almost twenty-five years.

Here are your show notes…

Want to learn more about Farm to Fork [https://northshoreproductions.com/]?

Your state’s land grant university has an extension program that, according to Darrell, is a great source of information about food safety [https://nifa.usda.gov/extension].

Have you heard the one about the adventure that only became an adventure because you started writing it down? When Darrell and I moved into an RV in the Pennsylvania wilderness, a friend back “home” in Minnesota wanted to hear everything. In real letters. By snail mail. When other friends wanted to hear everything, too, I started sending them copies. The fun of seeing their reactions to my latest is topped only by the thrill of writing it, and in this edition of Doing What Works we talk about the life-changing magic of jotting things down.

Here are your show notes…

Would you like to be on the mailing list for missives from the RV [ mailto: [email protected] ]? I’ve written four chapters of It’s All Downhill from Here so far: Hell, Frozen 2, A Series of Unfortunate (But Mostly Just Weird) Events, and Happy Campers.

Want a free copy of Do-Over: An Accidental Template for Scaling the Abyss? I’m happy to send you one [ mailto: [email protected] ]!

“No one cares about the stories they’re not in.” That’s from Matt Nathanson [https://www.songlyrics.com/matt-nathanson/last-days-of-summer-in-san-francisco-lyrics/].

“We want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth -- but not all at once.” That’s from Dr. Nick Morgan [https://publicwords.com/].

Dr. Jordan Peterson [https://twitter.com/jordanbpeterson] says the human heart demands an adventure.

Richard Goldman’s decision to change careers and open a bookstore is chronicled in The Career Clinic: Eight Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UE88OK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0].

“The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.” That’s from Neil Gaiman [https://www.uarts.edu/neil-gaiman-keynote-address-2012].

Back pain? This stretch [https://bodybyyoga.training/yoga-for-beginners/happy-baby-pose/] might help.

SWSWSW is often taught in sales training as a way of dealing with rejection. Some people will say yes, some people won’t, so what?

Are you afraid of making the wrong decision? What if there’s no such thing? That’s difficult to remember when the stakes feel high, but in this edition of Doing What Works we’ll share some tools that can help. Like approaching life as improv. Take your best guess, go all in, and say yes to whatever happens. You’ll have fun, and you’ll learn a lot. Promise!

Here are your show notes…

Need a burst of silly? This should do it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUSM4EKcRI]!

Darrell and I know a little something about tight squeezes. And that’s why Katie and I are devoting an hour of the program to the importance of having your own space. Maybe it’s just a closet. Maybe it’s a corner of a bedroom. But we, all of us, need a “room” of our own. Even if it’s in an RV, or a cramped studio apartment that houses an entire family in a pandemic. In this edition of Doing What Works, we have a few suggestions that might be as life-changing as they appear at first glance to be trivial.

Here are your show notes…

Want an all-in-one desktop computer [https://buyersguide.org/laptops/t/pc-all-in-one?m=p&d=c&c=83356854647360&oid=kwd-83357201396569:loc-190&qs=all-in-one%20desktop%20computers&lp=112093&li=&nw=s&nts=1&tdid=9049364]?

“There will be time, there will be time,” T. S. Eliot says in one of Katie’s favorite poems [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock]. “To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.”

A friend once told Gretchen Rubin, “I cleaned out my fridge, and now I know I can switch careers.” Gretchen knew exactly what she meant [https://gretchenrubin.com/2015/03/do-you-have-things-that-you-dont-use-but-cant-toss-hobbits-do/].

Memento mori [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori]. Remember you will die. It will help you know how to live. Mitch Albom talks about the concept in Tuesdays with Morrie [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/571089-every-day-have-a-little-bird-on-your-shoulder-that].