Getting Work To Work

Have you ever listened to a song that completely changed your life? What about hearing a sax solo so intense, you end up moving across the country and changing careers? This is but one example of the power of art and music shared by today's guest, Alex Woodard, writer, musician, observer, and storyteller. In our conversation, he shares his origin story of becoming an observational artist in the worlds of music and words. He talks about why leaving social media behind wasn't the death knell for his creative career, why he produces companion albums for his books, the role of nature in his life and work, and our work as a record of our lives. Throughout, he sprinkles powerful questions and observations that will get you thinking a little deeper about how you're living your own life.

"Once I get it on the page, it's not about me anymore."

"We got one chance and one shot—as far as I know—and you really gotta think about how you wanna spent that."

I'm trying to reimagine a new reality. Why? Because the one we've got right now has a few problems. But instead of a lengthy preamble, laying out the problems and having a healthy rant for fifteen minutes, I'm just going to dive into some solutions. But don't worry, I'm still going to rant because this is infuriating, the problems are systematized, incentivized, and habituated, and the people who care are constantly gaslit to believe they don't have the power to affect change. But power we have, especially when we band together. It's also going to take a healthy amount of work, imagination, and resilience to overcome billions of dollars of investment in conformity that trains us daily to be distracted, compliant, quiet, and alone.

How do you know the person you just met is who they say they are? A family member just called asking uncharacteristically to be bailed out of jail, what do you do? What do you say to someone whose offer to help is too good to be true? These are the questions at the core of today's conversation with Johnathan Walton, author of the must-read book, Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves. In this conversation, Johnathan shares how getting scammed out of $100,000 led him to his life's work of exposing con artists and helping people who have been scammed to find justice and peace. We talk about his journey from television reporter and reality TV producer to podcast producer and con hunter, why people don't educate themselves about con artists, how technology can be used against you and what to do about it, how he developed unshakable resilience, and what we can learn about creativity from studying the inexhaustible creative work of con artists. In a world of AI and frictionless technology that can be used to craft stories and keep track of endless details, Johnathan's work will prepare you for your own life's work: protecting yourself from the scammers, grifters, and thieves.

As I was lying in bed, my friend sent me a link to a conference and said, "Not seeing you on the speaker list." I clicked to see if I recognized anyone and after scrolling through three days of talks and speakers, I recognized two names, no one else. Times—yes, they change—but so do we. It's been at least eight years since I actively participated in that particular industry—web development for the curious—and honestly, I haven't looked back, but for a handful of times. Why? Because early in my career, I was actively tracking all the changes to the industry, growing, learning, and chasing relevance. I bent to match the arc of change, and after 20 years or so, I didn't recognize myself anymore. I had changed, but also recognized that I had more work to do, not in a particular industry, but within myself. So, I left behind web development and set out on a new journey of change, one that required me to wrestle, not with code but with my self.

Have you ever met a Fear Technician? Well, in this episode of Getting Work To Work, you're going to meet Guryan Tighe, a fear technician who works with people to unmask their fears. Her company was founded "on the belief that understanding and working with our fears, rather than trying to conquer them, yields more professional success and personal fulfillment." In this conversation, Guryan and I have a deep conversation about fear and how it is our greatest teacher. She also talks about rational and irrational fears, the role of self-awareness in understanding how fear is holding us back or wanting us to move toward something new, why we should honor the cycle of our beingness, and engaging with our fears and empowering ourselves with curiosity, gratitude, and purpose. If you are looking for a different way to dance with your fear, then this conversation is for you.

As a podcaster, I get a lot of emails about podcasting from podcast producers, thought leaders, and consultants. The emails are usually not about MY show—although I do get those emails that cold pitch their services—but about the podcasting industrial complex in general. The latest is about Amazon restructuring and cutting staff from Wondery, a premium podcasting studio and network famous for (I'm honestly looking this up and picking titles at random) Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Dying for Sex, and New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce.

With 13 pages of podcasts on the Wondery network, the question you might be asking is, "How were they making money?" Answer: "Bittersweet Amazon money." But amid the complexities of corporate restructuring and creative accounting, which we definitely don't have time for in this podcast, the question that the emails from podcast producers, thought leaders, and consultants are asking instead is "What will become of podcasts now?"

I love it when people come on the show with deep curiosities about life and what it's all about. Why? Because that depth of exploration shows up not just in the conversation, but also throughout their creative journey. And today's episode with writer Tom Epperson is one of those moments. Tom shares countless tales from his life including his creative origin story when he learned he wanted to be a writer, deciding to leave Arkansas with a childhood friend for Hollywood determined to make it, resilience in the face of adversity, the importance of keeping good things alive in yourself when surrounded by evil, and how characters come alive in his mind. We also discuss his most recent book, Baby Hawk, a novel in verse.

Greetings fellow dinosaurs! Did you know that we are living in the prehistoric age of technology and artificial intelligence? That kids born today "will never be smarter than AI," according to Sam Altman, CEO and cofounder of OpenAI? When I first saw this headline repeated ad nauseam on social media, I couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Surely, we aren't heading toward human depiction in Pixar's brilliant film, WALL·E, right? In a recent article on Fortune, Altman's comments as mentioned earlier were quoted, but I was more intrigued with this: "[Altman] also thinks his kids will be fully aware of that fact, and not mind it at all. 'They will grow up vastly more capable than we grew up and able to do things that we just, we cannot imagine. And they'll be really good at using AI,' he added." Who knows what the future holds, but I know that I'm more brontosaurus than tech bro, so I'm going to hang out by the pond, eat some leaves, and realize that there's more to life today than AI.

The best part of podcasting is meeting people who look at the world in ways that rewire your own vision. Today's guest is Dr. Neri Karra Sillaman, author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs, speaker, entrepreneur, and former child refugee. Our conversation begins with a poem Neri wrote putting us right into a single moment of her life. From there, we talk about the beauty of ambition, how she learned to see opportunity in discarded materials, immigrant entrepreneurship and the lessons that immigrants can teach us, why legacy is more important than profit, and what she sees in the next generation that fills her with hope for the future.

"Resilience means you know that you can get back up...you have faith in yourself." – Dr. Neri Karra Sillaman

For those new to Getting Work To Work, today's guest is gough, a legally blind filmmaker from Australia. He's also a comedic genius, raconteur, shameless self-promoter, and holds the distinction of being on this show 23 times. His latest film—available now at BeernutsProductions.com—is a dark comedy called MR. X about a blind hitman who falls in love. In our conversation, we talk about serious and important topics, such as the challenges of writing blurbs without giving too much away, ways to shake up the creative process, geography lessons, and the best ways to prepare kangaroo and emu. Oh, and I should probably give you a content warning. If you are sensitive to profanity, bad jokes (mostly on my part), or two guys making themselves laugh across three oceans (again, not great with geography), then tread lightly with this episode. But if that's not you, let's go!