As a creative entrepreneur, I hear a lot about the importance of solving problems for people. Be a problem solver. Find problems you enjoy working on. Meet people who have the problem you can solve and help them. The more I reflect on this idea of being a problem solver, the more I see the lack in my ability to think this way. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to explore five types of problems and how to solve them.

In today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I talk with Mary Fox, Co-Founder and CEO of Marlow, a career design and management platform, about professional development and what people often get wrong in their careers. We also touch on the importance of boundaries and understanding the trade-offs we daily make, as well as fixed versus growth mindsets, learning how to ask for what we need, and the value of being scrappy.

I've been struck by a few questions recently: What are you working for? What do you want your life to be? What do you stand for? Whether I'm reflecting upon past job experiences, reading the latest business leadership books, or imagining what could be, at the core is this thought: Am I living to work or am I working to live?

It’s always fun to get podcast topic ideas from friends. Last week, I was having coffee with a friend and he said, “I’ve got one for you. Crazy ideas and making them happen.” Well, Louie, this one’s for you. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to share my thoughts on how to not only cultivate crazy ideas, but how to bring them to life and work to get others excited about them as well.

In today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I talk with Jason Resnick, developer, business coach, and podcaster about how he brings personalization and delight to solving problems for his customers. By focusing on the data behind business decisions and staying in constant communication, Jason is able to create the unexpected and build a sustainable business. I certainly learned a lot from this conversation and hope you do as well.

I love it when I hear something I know I have heard before, but I’m finally ready to receive it and act upon it. Yesterday, I heard a valuable bit of advice about doing the work you want to be known for and that got me thinking about a few important questions that I’m going to explore in this episode of Getting Work To Work: What am I known for? What do I want to be known for? How wide is the gap between those two answers?

There’s the old saying about the definition of insanity, doing the same thing you’ve always done and expecting different results. We’re halfway through the first month of 2019 and I’ve got this stuck in my mind. I have my dreams and ideas ping ponging through my head, reality is staring at me, and fear is elevating as I realize that I can’t do the same things I’ve done. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to explore the fear I’m facing when it comes to asking for what I need, want, and desire.

In today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I talk with Matt Du Pont of UnusuallyDifficult.com about how to connect with people you want to know through effective emails and informational interviews. Matt brings his experience and expertise in product management, sales, and coaching to share how creative professionals and job searchers can actively improve their communication through strategic outreach, listening, and genuinely caring about others.

There’s nothing quite like the experience of reading something and having it pique your curiosity. The other morning, I was reading The Book of Beautiful Questions and the phrase “curiosity for stories” jumped off the page and embedded itself in my brain. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to explore what it means to have “curiosity for stories” and share four ways to build your capacity for curiosity-driven storytelling.

Chris Colin, co-author of What to Talk About: “Curiosity has to be at the heart of your heart when you talk to someone. The kind of curiosity that works best is a curiosity for stories.”

In episode 220—Consume or Create?—I talked about the agility of production as a critical component of creating new work and I wanted to go a little deeper into the topic: How can I overcome the things that hold me back so that I can get into a cycle of creation? In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to talk about the following themes that prevent me from being an agile producer: ideas and inspiration, comparison, inertia, friction, perfectionism, finances, and lack of growth.