Feisworld Podcast

Located at the center of the Cité des arts du cirque, TOHU is a place for dissemination, creation, experimentation and convergence of culture, environment and community involvement. On June 19, 2019, TOHU announced the arrival of Ruth Juliet Wikler for the role of Deputy Director of Programming, Circus Arts. She is the guest on our show today.

As the creator of a podcast that has dedicated so many of our episodes to circus performers from around the world, we immediately reached out to Ruth for an in-person interview in Montreal, Quebec during their annual circus festival.

The annual festival, “Montreal Completement Cirque” which means “Montreal Completely Circus” is created and hosted by TOHU. My associate producer Adam Leffert and I went to experience the festival firsthand and for the first time in 2019 between July 10 - July 14th. The festival runs for ten days, where different circus companies from the world gather in Montreal to connect with an intimate local audience, and people who travel from afar.

The 2020 Montreal Circus Festival is scheduled for July 2-12, 2020. Mark your calendar and consider checking it out! 

Show Notes, Tools and Resources: https://www.feisworld.com/blog/joey-korenman

Joey Korenman is the CEO & Founder, School of Motion, who wakes up every day “to help thousands of aspiring Motion Designers learn their craft and develop the skills necessary to have a career in this magical field of ours.”

Previously Joey was a Creative-Director at the awesome Toil in Boston, MA, he also taught at the Ringling College of Art & Design, when he first packed up his bags and moved his family from Boston to Florida.

After spending years running his own ad agency, hours each day on his commute and clients who’d surprise him with new deadlines nights and weekends, he decided to pursue a new way of life and left Boston.

As a creative director who was working for top agencies in Boston at the time, things look great on paper.

“I was at the top of the mountain, but then I realized I climbed the wrong mountain.” - Joey Korenman

Instead of waiting for another 10, 20 years, Joey left everything he’d built, an unthinkable decision for most.

Working as a college professor taught Joey quite a few things. He had a steady paycheck until he decided to go solo and pursue his journey as a creative entrepreneur. In this episode, he reveals the secret to how he was able to launch his first successful online course without marketing dollars.

School of Motion wasn’t built overnight, but it’s still considered a quick success story. Joey committed to developing content consistently for 2 years, including a 30-day daily tutorial creation marathon that drove massive attention to his website.

To check out what School of Motion has become today, visit the official website: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/

Sabine van Rensburg (@circusbean) and Brin Schoellkopf (@brin_schoellkopf) are two circus artists currently working in the show Passagers from 7 Fingers.

We met these two talented young artists through the artistic director of Passagers from 7 Fingers, Shana Caroll, who appeared in an earlier episode of Feisworld. Passagers (or Passengers in English) is opening in Boston on September 25th, 2019 and leaving the city on October 13th, 2019. Make sure to check out the show with your friends and family! Learn more >>

Darren DeLuca, a public relationship consult at Arts Emerson, helped connect us with Sabine and Brin. I interviewed them both inside the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre.

Sabine, originally from South Africa, is an aerial silk artist. Her parents founded a circus school where she learned to perform as a circus artist, the rest is history. Sabine embraced the opportunity before enrolling in the Montreal Circus School. Soon after graduation, she found herself busy working for 7 Fingers. 

Brin was born and raised in Vermont, a jack of all trades type of Circus artist, he’s got a few impressive skills under his belt. He also works as a visual artist and videographer to promote other artists like himself.

The National Circus School in Montreal has prepared generations of artists for a very high level of achievement. Sabine and Brin share their schooling experience studying as college students inside this unique institution that is unlike any other college experience you’ve heard.

In this episode, we give you the insider’s view into the life of young circus artists, the relationships they built, how they navigate work, life, travel and beyond.

Special thanks to ArtsEmerson, Boston’s leading presenter of contemporary world theatre dedicated to engaging all communities through stories that reveal and deepen our connection to each other. 

[05:00] Please tell us a bit about your origin stories - where did you grow up and how did you find your way to the circus?

[07:00] What was your experience studying at the National Circus School in Montreal?

[08:00] What was it like to move on your own and start working professionally after school?

[09:00] Circus school is so intense, what was it like in the first 6 months of moving and immigrating to another country?

[11:00] Brin, how did it feel to move from Vermont to a place where the circus is everywhere, constantly?
[13:00] How did you handle going to school/taking courses while after the whole day of physical training?

[17:00] How was the transition to performing in your first show? How well prepared did you feel you were?

[20:00] Can you share about your experience working with Shana Carroll?

[25:00] What’s the most interesting aspect of 7 Fingers to you?

[26:00] Did your experience at 7 Fingers change your perspective about success and fulfillment, and how?

[27:00] What are your specialties/techniques within the show?

[30:00] How

In this episode, I talk about the effective use of in-person meetings, LinkedIn, recruiters, social media, personal website, freelance job websites to promote yourself as a freelancer and get new clients 

For more details, show notes and other episodes in this series, please visit: https://www.feisworld.com/freelance/promote-yourself-as-a-freelancer-and-get-new-clients

Bryan Falchuk is an author, speaker, and life coach. He was introduced to me through Michael O’Brien who appeared on an earlier episode of our show. As soon as Bryan and I met in person, we discovered many more common friends we shared right here in Boston, Massachusetts.

If you are listening to this and you are an up and coming influencer, an author who is seeking to be interviewed by on podcasts, there’s one important tip and trick I learned from Bryan. He created an interview prep document (PDF) that became very handy for hosts who don’t know much about him, yet. Hence, you should create something similar to this document, where you include your photos, suggested questions, bio, etc. Podcasters love to see that you’ve done your homework!

Episode Cheatsheet & Why You Should Listen

In this episode, Bryan Falchuk and I talked about:

• Facing major adversities and learned some hard lessons in his early years
  
• Overcoming obesity with successful weight loss/weight management
  
• Running marathons and staying active for life
  
• Career struggles before becoming finding his path as CXO (Chief Experience Offer)
  
• Managing life-threating illness and nearly lost his wife while his son was an infant
  
• Developing a unique approach to inspire others to live a fulfilling and happy life
  

To learn more about Bryan and follow the steps he has talked about on the show, check out this special landing page he prepared just for Feisworld Podcast listeners: https://bryanfalchuk.com/fei

Bryan has as new book coming out in 2019

Bryan’s second book, The 50 75 100 Solution, is being written right now, and is focused on helping you solve dysfunction in all relationships you face in life, whether with your significant other, coworkers, friends, family or others. The 50 75 100 Solution is anticipated to be released later in 2019, so be sure to sign up for updates.

Show Notes

Bryan Falchuk’s first book published in 2017

• [07:00]  How many podcasts have you been on? What are the most frequently asked questions?
  
• [08:00] How long have you been a life coach?
  
• [09:00] What’s the difference between coach and mentor?
  
• [11:00] How easy/challenging do you find coaching to be and how do you influence someone?
  
• [14:00]  What’s your take on when you are coaching and people immediately say ‘no’, or resist change?
  
• [15:00] What are some of the example activities and things you noticed that helps strengthen people's relationships (with partners for example)
  
• [18:00] Why do you think some couples struggle to open themselves up (with themselves)?
  
• [24:00] What do you think about the fact that we always form the first impression of judging people?
  
• [25:00] What’s your opinion about self-love?
  
• [28:00]

In the How to Freelance mini-series, we’ve covered a number of topics including health insurance, retirement plan, DIY incorporation, etc. and it’s time to talk about what you can and should freelance for. 

In this article we’ll discuss: 

1. What you’re good at
   
2. What you enjoy
   
3. What people are willing to pay for
   

The cross-section of all three pillars is the jackpot, the bullseye. 

The good news is that you don’t need to hit all three to start making money. 

Let me help break it down and explain what each of these pillars means, and how you can take actions right away. 

Learn more: https://www.feisworld.com/freelance for more articles and resources to help with your freelance career

When I find myself in the general how to freelance discussions, retirement savings isn’t one of the first questions people ask, but it’s actually more important than they think. Two things to know and to keep in mind before we start:

1. Retirement plans are available and easy to sign up and manage for freelancers and small business owners. You can do it today with $0 in the account.
   
2. By starting a retirement plan, you’ll reduce your taxes not by a little, but often significantly. It works almost the same way as when you had a full-time job when your employer contributed to your 401(k) automatically by taking a portion out of your paycheck each month.
   

Learn more: https://www.feisworld.com/freelance/retirement-plans-for-freelancers-and-small-businesses

Leigh Shulman is a writer, who also helps other people get pass the fear and doubts of writing. She created an enormous amount of writer resources and runs a thriving workshop for writers from around the world. Recently, she conducted a Creative Revolution International Book Writing Retreats, where she invites you to travel with her and write some more.

We found each other through altMBA. After listening to my episode with Seth Godin, she reached out and we hit it off right away. Leigh’s journey from working 9-5 to finding the life she loves is so on point for the message we have for the podcast, which is to help independent creators live their creative and financial freedom.

Born in South Africa, Leigh moved to the United States with her parents at a young page. While working in New York City later as an adult, Leigh made a bold decision to move her family to Argentina. It’s been ten years as of the recording of our podcast.

This is a story for independent creative women who want to live life on their terms while raising a family with young children.

This episode is for you if:

• You are planning on writing your first book

• You’ve always wanted to write but don’t know how or where to start

• You are at a crossroad with your own creative endeavor, perhaps while balancing a family life

• You are planning on or perhaps just move to a brand new city, feeling uncertain and overwhelmed.

• You are living in a foreign country for the first time

• You are a freelancer or entrepreneur who’s planning on starting your first mastermind/workshop/retreat

Originally for this post and episode of the “How To Freelance” mini series, I thought I’d dive right into different types of retirement plans for freelancers. Then I changed my mind. What’s the point of asking people to save money, or ways to save money without understanding the big picture of money. I use a very simple approach to grow my money everyday. In this article, I’ll summarize what the key points and credit the folks and mentors who taught me everything along the way.

A bit about my background: I became obsessed with personal finance books in my very early 20s. My parents didn’t teach me a thing about finance or personal investment while I was growing up. I knew I had to learn so much more on my own. It was an exploratory process. As an immigrant living in America, I had to be proactive about managing my own money since the age of 17. I have many people to thank for who helped me realize that the answer is NOT Wall Street, or a personal advisor, or some scammy report you buy for hundreds of dollars.

This subject can often be controversial. I welcome your comments, debate - hopefully with the intent for us to all get much smarter about making money.

Learn more: https://www.feisworld.com/freelance/how-to-make-and-grow-your-money-the-simple-way

My guests today are Vladmir Lissouba (Instagram) and Connor Houlihan (Instagram) from the incredible circus show called “La Galerie” (The Gallery) from Machine de Cirque.

Adam Leffert (Associate Producer of Feisworld Podcast) teamed up with me as a co-host after watching the show during the Montreal Circus Festival.

Vlad is a Montreal native and Connor is from the United States. They are currently performing in Edinburgh, Scotland (as of August 2019). Check out the show: Calendar from the company Machine de Cirque.