Getting Work To Work

How are you keeping fear out of your orbit? What do you want your legacy to be? Who must you connect with over a shared interest or project idea? How will you help bring the world back to love? Nothing but massive questions with today’s guest, Julia Verdin, a director, writer, producer, and self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate. In this conversation, she shares her passion for making social impact films and the complex issues, such as teen trafficking and opioid addiction, she is tackling with her work. From her endless curiosity for life and an insatiable desire to learn to how she keeps fear out and creative possibilities open, Julia is a wealth of creative wisdom and generously shares throughout the conversation. No matter what you create, I hope this episode inspires you to use your voice for good.

• Rough Diamond Productions

There is an infinite number of messages surrounding us. If we are willing to tune in and listen, we can learn a lot about our values, what companies are forcing us to accept, and where we’ve lost our way. Recently, through a combination of blog posts, books, and interviews on this podcast, I’ve been challenged to think about how the evolution of digital tools can impact our work and the mindset we bring to life. For over 20 years, I’ve seen tremendous growth in the affordability and power of technology. Still, I’ve also made concessions about what I’m willing to pay for versus building myself; for that, there is a price. When we forget the journey of where we’ve been and what we can do and choose to accept the status quo—”this is how things have always been done”—we move away from growth and cozy up to mediocrity.

• On Coerced Mediocrity (Or: Why All Your Tech is Annoying You) by Bolt from the Blue Copywriting

Nothing better captures one’s attention in a sea of email subjects than the phrase “Butterfly Doula.” Elizabeth Blake-Thomas is not only nurturing a safe environment for butterflies to undergo the metamorphosis process, but she also applies that work to herself and others through her books and other creative endeavors. In this conversation, Elizabeth deeply shares her life experiences about curiosity, decision-making, perfectionism, and the stories of inspiration and delight that capture her heart. If you are someone who struggles with taking yourself too seriously, raising my hand here, her practice of laughing at yourself will help you. She also gives insight into brain breathing, an exercise that enables the “total reset of your brain” as part of her work called Medicine with Words which helps you live a life with intention and purpose.

• Medicine with Words

How in the world do you make money to fund your future? I think about this question a lot because I have no idea how anyone is making enough money in the digital economy on their work alone when platforms pay pennies per thousand for people watching, liking, sharing, commenting, you know the drill. I get even more confused when I think about newer free platforms; how are they making money? When people get used to free, why would they pay? With subscription services increasing monthly fees, how much of that will reach creators? Is crowdsourcing a viable path to funding your future? Do I build my own platform from the ground up? My head is swimming with all these questions and the absence of answers. So, let’s dive into the deep end of funding your future beyond pennies on the dollar.

1. Don’t treat your creative work like a loss leader.

• Midjourney prompt for episode art: funding your future money attention abstract surreal cinematic lighting –ar 16:9

Have you ever wondered how an uptight hippy makes films? No? Well, now you’ll know because gough from BeernutsProductions.com is here to talk about his latest masterpieces: a short movie mocking horse racing commentators and a five-part behind-the-scenes documentary series about making the film. Gough is a legally blind independent filmmaker from Australia and holds the honor of being on Getting Work To Work more than any other guest. In this conversation, he shares why you should befriend cab drivers, the importance of walks for boosting your mental health and creativity, the challenges he faced coming up with horse names, and the two rules that make his website, BeernutsProductions.com, so easy to use.

• Beernuts Productions

Building upon last week’s episode, where I talked about figures of speech that guide our work, whether we know it or not, I want to talk about a popular one in creativity: “You can’t create great work in a vacuum.” While I understand what the phrase is saying, and there are some excellent blog posts advocating for non-vacuum ideation, I think it lacks a key component of creativity: doing the actual work. I’m just getting back from attending an annual conference, and I’m struggling to get my groove going. There are a lot of distractions and items on the to-do list. What’s missing is my ability to tune everything out, get into a vacuum-esque state of focus, and crank out the work. It seems like when I get close to it, something pulls me out, and that sucks. Hah, vacuum puns are the best. In today’s episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m diving into the what, how, and why you need to create a vacuum-like environment for deep creative work.

1. Find a space where you can control every potential demand on your attention.

• GWTW Workshops

When you think about your business, how can you open your mind and drop into the moment to explore new possibilities? One way today’s guest does that is through analogous thinking, for example, having difficult conversations while talking about movies and TV shows. Mary Williams is the founder of Sensible Woo and the School of Moxie podcast. She is a librarian, systems coach, and podcaster who loves to help people think differently. In this conversation, we talk about her love for talk shows, podcasts, movies, and TV and how that love connects to her work. We also dive into the topics of reframing courage, the struggle we face as a society when it comes to attentional demands and classifying information, how to have better business conversations that aren’t boring, and how she has connected a metaphysical approach through tarot readings to business systems and processing intuitive feelings.

• Sensible Woo

I’ve been thinking about the stories, figures of speech, and memes that guide our days and keep us firmly entrenched in identities and labels. Whether I knew it or not, a guiding tale for much of my life was that I was a serial quitter. Whenever I did something new, I unknowingly set a timer for four months, and when it went off, I was usually onto the next thing already. Maybe you see yourself through a lens of accomplishments or failures. Or you define your life by figures of speech that people repeat ad nauseam, like “stay in your lane” or “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” None of these things are bad, but they can keep us stuck, so I want to ask: When was the last time you reexamined your potential and made changes accordingly?

• Midjourney prompt for episode art: reexamine your potential –ar 16:9

How can you think differently every day? How can you create environments of peace? How do you define peace? These are just a few deep questions that can jumpstart conversations courtesy of today’s guest, Diana Cutaia, who sees the world through a lens of curiosity and change. Diana founded Coaching Peace in 2012 to create positive and safe cultures that empower its members to lead with empathy and understanding. In this conversation, we discuss curiosity’s role in changing systems, connecting to other people’s joy, and how the lessons of a life in sports translate into the business world. Diana shares stories from her time playing and coaching sports, how to adjust to adversity, why we need to listen to our bodies, and the balance between drive and peace. If you are driven to succeed at all costs and want to find a new, healthier way, then Diana has some insights for you.

• Coaching Peace

‘Tis the season for another monologue about doubt. When I searched the podcast archives for doubt, last November came up, and it was examining the positive nature of doubt. I’m not sure what it is about the end of the year. Maybe it’s a change of seasons (a great song by Dream Theater) or the compound effects of exhaustion. But honestly, it’s probably part of the creative process, especially when pushing into new mediums. I just don’t feel it until the end of the year when life slows down. What if doubt has nothing to do with what you are doing but an indication of what you need? More grace and less tough love. Compassion, rest, and freedom to explore your curiosities.

1. When pursuing something new. Solution: Search for the creative process that makes sense to you.

• Spread Your Ideas Like a Horny Rabbit! Creative Systems of Content Production for People with Too Many Ideas!