Heather O'Neill is a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. Her work includes When We Lost Our Heads, a #1 national bestseller and a finalist for the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal, The Lonely Hearts Hotel, which won the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and CBC’s Canada Reads, and Lullabies for Little Criminals, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, and Daydreams of Angels, which were shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Scotiabank Giller Prize two years in a row. O’Neill has also won CBC’s Canada Reads and the Danuta Gleed Award. The Capital of Dreams is her most recent novel. Born and raised in Montreal, O'Neill lives there today.

We talk about her childhood, reading and writing, books, The Capital of Dreams, breaking into traditional publishing, the craft of writing a novel, cultivating creativity, poetry and prose, simile and metaphor and more. I also read passages I highlighted from the book and we discuss them.

Links and show notes are here 

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Miriam Schulman is the author of "Artpreneur," a book about making a living off our creativity. After witnessing 9/11, she left a lucrative hedge fund job to focus full-time on her art. Since then, her story and art have been featured in major publications including Forbes, The New York Times, What Women Create, Art of Man, Professional Artist magazine, and Art Journaling magazine. Her artwork has also been featured on NBC’s “Parenthood” and the Amazon series “Hunters” with Al Pacino. 

We talk about getting past the starving artist mindset, pricing our art, limiting beliefs that inhibit artists, the value of taking risks, building confidence, beating procrastination, cultivating creativity, the value of email marketing over social media, embracing your weirdness, why we shouldn't let AI write for us, failure and having haters, advice for self-published authors, the future of marketing, and more.

Podcast shownotes are here 

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As a Manhattan book editor, strategic planner, and corporate marketing VP, Marcia Heath seemed to have it all figured out. But after a series of major setbacks, she headed to Aruba to reset and relax. There, she stumbled upon a story that would change everything: a tiny surf shop owned by two friends who were blazing an entirely different path to success. It was a moment that would transform her life and inspire her first book, "Little Giant," a story about defying conventional wisdom and seeking success on your own terms.

We talk about her book, her previous career and why she changed it, working as an editor, business values, creating a brand, starting a surf shop, surfing, transient global amnesia, finding happiness, facing our fears, writing books, changing careers, distilling one million words of interviews into a book, writing nonfiction, books, using accountability, and more.

Shownotes and links are here

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Annie Korzen is the author of "The Book of Annie: Humor Heart and Chutzpah from an Accidental Influencer." She played Doris Klompus on Seinfeld, has written humorous essays for The NY Times, LA Times, and many more. Annie has performed her solo shows on three continents. She is a Moth Mainstage storyteller, and can be heard on www.TheMoth.org. Annie has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, Tavis Smiley, and Dr. Phil.

We talk about living in Los Angeles vs living in New York City, finding what suits you, figuring out what makes you happy, learning from our mistakes, the hard work that it takes to succeed in the arts, dating, comedy and humor, improvisation, acting, writing, phobias, the benefits of traveling, cultivating creativity, and much more.

Shownotes are here

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Matt Drago is an actor living in Los Angeles, starring in the current motion picture "Somewhere in Montana."

We talk about the fires in Los Angeles, becoming an actor, the importance of being a hustler to succeed in any art, backstory and preparing for a role, what goes on behind the scenes, screenplays, making Somewhere in Montana, calling up emotions, working with the crew, advice for aspiring actors, and more.

Shownotes and links are here

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Scott Grace is a forty year veteran teacher of transformation. He is the author of four books, including his latest "Mindful Masculinity." He has been a stand up comedian and opened up for Robin Williams and Dana Carvey, and a singer-songwriter who produced nine CD’s of original songs. He has shared the stage with Deepak Chopra, Dr. John Gray, Marianne Williamson, Bernie Siegel, Ram Dass, Louise Hay, and many other famous authors and personal growth celebrities. His alter ego is the Spiritual Dr. Seuss, where he is funny and profound at the same time. 

We talk about living in Mexico, his book Mindful Masculinity, observing and becoming aware, the good side of masculinity, the importance of service to others, improvisation, creativity, his song portraits, LSD, joy, right brain and left brain, grief, relationships, meditation... He freestyles about Mexico in Dr. Seuss style, and makes up a song on the spot about our conversation.

Podcast shownotes are here 

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Peter Gooch is is an author, painter, and former art professor. He is the winner of the Bosque Publishing Prize for Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines and online. He holds an MFA from Western Michigan University. His short fiction has been published in The New Guard, Bosque Publishing, Etched Onyx, and Light and Dark Literary Magazine, among other publications. His first novel, Seren, is published by Apprentice House Press, will be available in April. 

We talk about his novel Seren, creative writing, books and reading, favorite authors, searching for a muse, creativity and the price we pay for it, finding moments of ecstasy, writing advice, poets, the importance of following the oblique tangent of thought, overcoming the fear to take risk, highlights from his book, what makes for good endings, what makes books great, and much more; enjoy!

Podcast show notes, including links to all the authors mentioned in the interview, are here

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Bert Terhart crossed the entire country of Canada from west to east in a canoe in one season, and he did it alone. He is one of only two people to have done this, and the only to have done it without a dog. 

We talk about growing up in Canada, finding adventure as a child, his adventure crossing Canada in a canoe, the gear he used, finding thousand-year-old portages cut in the rock, the misery and the enjoyment, the necessity of living in the moment, dealing with boredom, foul-weather gear, wildlife encounters, bears, a mountain lion, killer whales, sharks, badgers, and more.

Shownotes and links are here

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Susan Hensley is a transformational coach, speaker, and author dedicated to helping people navigate life’s transitions with joy, creativity, and resilience. She is the author of "Art for Your Sanity," a book to help people deal with uncertainty and tap into their innate wisdom and creativity. Susan’s mission is to empower people to unlock their inner wisdom, creativity, and sense of play during times of uncertainty and change. Through workshops, speaking engagements, and one-on-one coaching, she guides clients to rediscover their authentic selves and infuse their lives with more color, meaning, and joy.

We talk about finding joy, designing a life that does not require a coping mechanism, the importance of creativity and curiosity, art journaling, paying attention to the things in life that spark joy, curating social media feeds, cultivating creativity, and much more!

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support the show through Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics

Bob was a mob lawyer until he discovered the I Ching. He is now is a professor at Elon University, teaching Business Law and Meditation (two separate courses). 

We talk about growing up selling hot dogs and cotton candy, becoming a lawyer in Miami in working for Janet Reno as a prosecutor; hitting the mob for $72 million; being recruited by the mafia; discovering the I Ching and Taoism; cultivating wisdon compassion, kindness, and generosity; creating happiness in our lives; the importance of cultivating sympathetic joy; meditation; freeing up your intuitive mind to work on the problems in your life in a non-verbal way; Bob reads Desiderata; Jesus and Budhism; and more.

Shownotes are here https://www.paultrammell.com/dream-chasers-and-eccentrics

Support the show through Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/DreamChasersandEccentrics