Getting Work To Work

Today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work is the first in a four-part series promoting Design Week Portland, “a week-long, all-inclusive festival celebrating the projects and processes as told by a creative community across many disciplines.” Over the next four weeks, you’ll meet amazing creatives who are not only producing great work, but also giving back and building a community of equality. Learn more about Design Week Portland at DesignPortland.org.

Now that the stage is set, the first creative I would like to introduce you to is Precious Bugarin, a creative director, designer and educator. In our conversation, we talk about the thread that weaves through all she does and how that brings balance, what it means to use design as a language of equity, the value of mentorship, how she has been involved with Design Week Portland, and the events she is participating in this year including Better Talk, where non-profits and creatives talk about what they can learn from one another.

Have you ever witnessed a performance or had an experience that led you to question the performance level of your own work? A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to meet The Neal Morse Band and experience their live show for their latest album, The Great Adventure. Song after song, note after note, emotions flowed through voice, instruments, lights, and the power of music. They gave it their all and now I want to make sure I give my all.

I’ve had this title bouncing around my mind for a couple of weeks now: Your Soul’s Adventure. It was sparked by something Nassim Taleb wrote in his book Antifragile about how he has reconnected with his “practical self, the soul of a practitioner.” Religious connotations aside, I’m going to explore my fascination with the soul, how it shows up in our life and work, and why it matters in the micro and macro views of the world.

In today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I talk with Tina Essmaker, a coach, writer, and speaker about reinvention, resilience, and rediscovering identity and values on the other side of life-changing circumstances. We touch on the importance of starting, not waiting for permission, and why you should constantly be investing in yourself and the things that are important to you.

You’ve probably heard the same quotes I have about inspiration and that it is for amateurs; professionals get to work. But this morning I was reading Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind and the authors reframed the importance of inspiration in the daily lives of successful and creative people. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to dive into the will and the ways of your creative life.

In a complex world or system, how do you keep it simple? This is the question I’ve been pondering for a couple of weeks, both in my own reflection and in conversations with others. Is there more value in complexity or is it just an opportunity to “justify your profession” as Nassim Taleb writes in Antifragile? Does the fact that I have so many questions take me away from simplicity and lead me down the path of complexity and sophistication? This is what I’m tackling in today’s episode of Getting Work To Work.

In today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I talk with Tim Kelley, global change agent and author of True Purpose: 12 Strategies for Discovering the Difference You Are Meant to Make about the importance of purpose, for both individuals and organizations. In this fast-paced conversation, Tim shares why purpose matters, how it impacts more than just the bottom line, and why a really good purpose should make you nervous and down-right cringe.

The message I seem to be getting lately all sounds the same: Define your target audience, find a problem they have, and offer solutions for them. I know that’s sound business advice; I don’t know if it’s my stubbornness or my streak of defiance, but I want to rebel every time I hear that. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I’m going to explore how you can make the stuff you want to make and then find your niche, genre, or tribe.

Every once in a while, I release a podcast episode that is something I’m thinking about, but not actually acting upon. One example is Episode 198: Self-Assessment and Feedback in which I talk about how to seek feedback. But something I didn’t consider until last week is the subject of today’s episode of Getting Work To Work: Now that you asked people for their feedback and you got it, what do you do with it? How do you process your emotions when you may not like what you hear?

In today’s interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I talk with Emily Prokop, host of The Story Behind Podcast and author of The Story Behind Book, about her love for trivia, curiosity, and learning new things. She shares about her struggles, her heroes, and how she continually pushes herself to look at the big picture by being more present in the current moment.