Getting Work To Work

When you're faced with challenges or struggles in your life and work, what do you do to get unstuck? Maybe you vent to a friend, go to therapy, or even hire a coach, but today's guests—Tim Preston & Jonathan Thomas—have a tool that can help you to uncover your own solutions through a process they call CoreSelf Mapping™. Through eight steps, the CoreSelf Map Process moves individuals and teams through three major questions: Where am I now? Where do I want to be? How do I get there? In this conversation, I talk with Tim and Jonathan about the origins of this work, their three operating principles—slow down, trust the map, and question respectfully—and the concept of the internal observer and how it shows up throughout the process. We also learn more about Tim and Jonathan's new book, CoreSelf Positioning: Getting on the Same Page, Literally.

Earlier this week, I met up with someone who wanted to ask me questions about my podcasting journey. After sharing everything I could possibly think of, even the stuff that people don’t want to hear about, I looked at the clock and saw that we had been talking for almost two and a half hours. As we wrapped up our conversation, I wrote a quick note: “Give it all away—meeting people who want to learn from you.” Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea—no, this philosophy. As content creators, we have an unlimited wealth of knowledge buried in our minds. Not everything we know becomes a podcast episode, blog post, or social media thing though. Why? Because when we create, we are focused on an imagined audience. We chase trends, we want to be relevant. But this all changes when we are in conversation with actual people. We aren’t worried about being relevant, just helpful. In order to unearth everything we know, we must hold nothing back from the inquisitive mind. We must give it all away.

If you were to learn how to paint where would you start? Maybe you’d go to YouTube and watch some introductory videos, buy some cheap art supplies, and spend an afternoon giving it a shot. The results? A contact high from the paint and a lingering belief that you’re just not talented enough. So, you quit. Fortunately, today’s guest has found a better way. Kevin Murphy is a renowned illustrator, portrait artist, and founder of Evolve Artist, an online painting program studied around the world. In our conversation, Kevin shares the philosophy that drives not only his school, but also his life. He shares his journey into art and art education, what he learned about building businesses through the dismantling of a business, how expectations can trip us up and distract us from our work, the power of first impressions, and why his ideas won’t die with him.

When was the last time you sat around, maybe reading a book, definitely looking at the sky, but ultimately, doing nothing productive? Depending on who you are and what you do, that either sounds like heaven or hell. And if you’re tapped into all things tech, downright impossible. I mean, who are we if we aren’t online, am I right? But what if productivity is actually holding us back from discovering who we could actually be? In today’s monologue, I’m going to share a few recent experiences and epiphanies, surrounded by quotes from Adam Gopnik’s book, The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery.

What fears are holding you back from the things that truly matter? Does your fear serve you? What could you learn from fear? What small action could you take to go from fearful to fearless? These four questions are a taste of my time with Dr. Benjamin Ritter, leadership and career coach, talent development executive, international speaker, and author of Becoming Fearless: 65 Strategies to Journey from Self-Doubt to Self-Mastery. In our conversation, we dive right into the deep end of the pool, talking about what it means to live selfishly toward our values and how that allows us to be more present with others. Dr. Ritter shares his journey from losing everything to discovering what matters most to him, the Three C’s of Self-Leadership, fear and fearlessness, and how we can re-examine our relationship with work.

You ever have one of those moments when the passing of time just hits you right in the stomach? The other day, I was driving home from running an errand, pizza in the trunk, music blasting, a typical northwest summer day. Apart from my sore back, I felt pretty good. Not a care running through my mind as I noticed my surroundings. “Wow, trees really have grown a lot in the past 20 years.” I’ve driven the route before—it avoids the busier roads—but something felt different this time—I felt different. Especially when I started thinking about who I was 20 years ago.

How do you keep your imagination and productivity going year after year, decade after decade? By challenging yourself, doing your work to the best of your ability, and taking nothing personally. Today’s guest is Jeffrey Konvitz and is no stranger to the world of imagination. He’s worked in film as an entertainment attorney, screenwriter, and producer. He’s also the author of The Sentinel, The Guardian, Monster: A Tale of Loch Ness, and his latest book, The Circus of Satan: Murder, Revenge, and the Rise of Organized Crime. In our conversation, he talks about his writing process, why it took over 24 years to write the book, the differences between novels and screenplays, and how he tackles heavy issues without making it a slog.

Refilling the creativity and curiosity tanks is easy when life is going as planned. When balance is maintained, money is in the bank, and work is more feast than famine. But what about the other times? When pain keeps you in bed instead of at the desk, depression fuels boredom (or is it the other way around), the lack of money saps all motivation and means to explore new crafts and potential paths, and loneliness lies and keeps you isolated from community. Terminal velocity, straight to hell. You need to find a way to not only slow down, but shift your direction. And that’s what today’s episode is all about.

When you are running a business—no matter how small or large—it’s easy to forget why you are doing it. You look around at what everyone else is doing and question your own success. You read the latest business book about systems and processes of giant corporations and wonder why they didn’t work in your small business. So, what are we to do? Today’s guest has some fresh ideas for us to consider. Sri Kaza is a seasoned business leader and small business advocate with a background in corporate strategy and entrepreneurship. He fell in love with small business and the potential they have when focused on purpose, proximity, and positioning. In our conversation, we talk about his underdog principles, the differences between scale and personal economies, apprenticeship, and the evolution of the creative industry. He also shares about his upcoming book, Unconvention: A Small Business Strategy Guide.

I wasn’t sure what today’s episode was going to be about until I heard something in an episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. While visiting Sarma, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Somerville, Massachusetts, Phil and his guest mentioned that the chef travels all over the world, eats delicious food, and brings those flavors back to the menu. That got me thinking: What would be the equivalent of doing this for podcasters, filmmakers, writers, and other types of artists? Sure, we have the Internet at our fingertips and can go anywhere with a tap and swipe, but what are we missing when we only do that? When we don’t get away from our workspaces, offices, and task lists? When our analog senses dull from constant connection to a digital realm? We are missing a lot and in today’s episode, I’m going to share a few ways to step away and influence your imagination.