Serenity interviews Melissa Cassera, a screenwriter, author, and publicity strategist, who introduces herself as a girl who has lots of obsessions. Melissa wants us all to celebrate something every single day, specifically something we accomplished. She offers advice about knowing what you want to do and applying it at a high level in many different ways, describing how she is a storyteller, which plays out in her publicity work, her screenwriting, and her books. Melissa's final advice is to put ourselves in positions to lose, or to be a beginner, because it will make us unflappable in the face of any rejection. Melissa's conversation is packed with advice for learning to validate ourselves, trust our gut, and discover who we are outside of any specific type of work. 

Chapters

2:08 Melissa describes herself as a storyteller, which plays out in many ways

5:10 How Melissa's work history mattered when she started screenwriting

5:58 Knowing what you want to do and finding adjacencies

10:00 Celebrate something. Every Day.

14:07 Our wish: work optional

21:11 Melissa starts a business and returns to acting to help fund it

27:19 From the casting chair, Melissa tells us all: It is not personal

29:40 Melissa's quitting story: leaving pharmaceuticals to start a business

34:35 Getting free of the need for external validation

42:24 When to question whether you've tied your identity to the wrong thing

50:42 What you accomplish is good enough and it absolutely counts

55:28 Melissa's podcast about having multiple income streams

1:02:27 It Worked For Me: Put yourself in a position to lose and always be a beginner

Links

Melissa Cassera (website)

Drip Trickle Flow Flood (Melissa's podcast)

Other things we reference in this episode: Work Optional, a book by Tanja Hester

I Do This For a Living is independently produced. 

@serenitylive

Meet Josh Smith. He loved stories of knights as a kid (a little romantic and a little heroic), and he makes sure his life today is about serving others in the same way. He does this wearing many hats, including IT manager at a drug and alcohol recovery center, husband and dad, youth pastor, gamer, and writer. He also cooks, plays the bass, and loves to travel. Josh has a dynamic friend group that writes together when they're not playing Dungeons & Dragons or posting their adventures online. Josh is an inspiration - he fills his days with all the things he loves and is driven by a purpose he has believed in since he was young.

Chapters

4:19 Childhood Dreams 

13:03 Journey to IT

22:37 A typical day in all Josh's hats

25:00 Josh's bigger picture: IT for a drug and alcohol recovery center

30:58 Do we actually *want* work to be challenging?

34:18 Workplace flexibility

36:09 What do you like to do? (travel! video games! reading! writing!)

40:22 Minecraft on YouTube

42:29 Josh finds his tribe (writing together nd playing D&D!)

51:45 How authors are using Kickstarter for presales

57:03 AI and creativity

58:24 Same as ever: the tough thing about being creative is making the time

1:01:44 Gifting vs. calling vs. doing good things

1:07:44 It Worked for Me

Links

Josh on YouTube: @mrdiscoman

Eon City Burnout (by Josh and other authors)

CompTIA for A+ and other IT certifications

Realm Makers - https://www.realmmakers.com/

Josh's writer's group:

• Jason C. Joyner
• Becky Dean
• J.J. Johnson (author of Iggy & Oz) and his podcast Geeky Dads Talk About Geeky Things!
• Steve Rzasa

Other fun things referenced: Star Wars Legion

I Do This For a Living is independently produced. 

@serenitylive

Today's guest is Serenity's sister, Felicity White, and their voices may sound nearly identical, but their work experience is a study in contrasts. Felicity White has moved intentionally toward a job in her dream industry, and she flat-out loves it. Listen to see how she got there, if she finds even one small thing to dislike about it, and what she dreams for the future. Felicity teaches exploratory studies for a living, so her insights are limitless when it comes to strength-finding and career choices. Tucked into the career inspiration, Felicity also teaches us the beautiful lesson, "The only way out is through." 

Chapters

3:46 What Felicity does for a living

5:08 Moving from student to teacher and a job Felicity loves

10:59 A surprising job skill makes the difference

18:24 What is a para?

21:23 Days in the life of a community college professor

23:23 One thing that matters

28:24 Defining moments

29:05 The only way out is through

35:39 Felicity's favorite conversation topic

42:00 Smart Girl Syndrome vs. Growth Mindset

44:58 The only way out is through (reprise)

50:12 Should everyone go to college for a 4-year degree?

1:00:40 Felicity finally finds a thing she doesn't like at work! (it's about AI)

1:03:01 It worked for me

Links

Falling Upward by Richard Rohr

Holy Hurt by Hilary McBride

Postscript Press in Nebraska (they make happy pills!): https://www.instagram.com/postscript.press

The Holland Code (Felicity recommends choosing "Match My Interests" and taking the 30-question quiz)

CliftonStrengths

Love + Work by Marcus Buckingham

I Do This for a Living is hosted by Serenity Bohon, a writer with a day job, a sarcoma survivor, and endlessly fascinated by what we do for a living and what we do to feel alive.

I Do This For a Living is independently produced. 

@serenitylive

Meet Caroline Starr Rose, a children's author and prolific reader who believes we should all be lifelong learners and embrace a wide variety of genres when we read. Serenity and Caroline met online over their shared love for the book Anne of Green Gables and its author, L.M. Montgomery. In today's episode, they talk about the real work of being a published author and Caroline's passion for honoring the child experience. They also get very nerdy about L.M. Montgomery's life and journals.

Chapters

4:11 Caroline's journey to becoming a children's book author

6:06 What it takes

13:51 What's involved in the writer life (oy, the revisions!)

24:15 Other things Caroline wanted to be

29:15 What's next for Caroline

37:08 Let's talk L.M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables

55:54 Where to start with Caroline's books

57:30 It Worked for Me

Links

Find Caroline online: carolinestarrrose.com

CarrotTop Paper Shop on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarrotTopPaperShop 

All things L.M. Montgomery: https://lmmontgomery.ca/about/l-m-montgomery/

Serenity's website, which used to be called Serenity Now: serenitybohon.com

Other mentions: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (book); Gretchen Rubin and her podcast Happier; Anne Bogel from ModernMrsDarcy.com and the What Should I Read Next podcast; Austin Kleon; The Life and Works of L.M. Montgomery with Dr. Kate Scarth, Chair of L. M. Montgomery Studies at UPEI (on Audible); Project Hail Mary (book by Andy Weir).

L.M. Montgomery quote in Caroline's frame and on Serenity's mug in their respective offices: "The work for which we are fitted—which we feel we are sent into the world to do—what a blessing it is and what fullness of joy it holds."

I Do This For a Living is independently produced. 

@serenitylive

In today's episode, Serenity's guest is her fifth-grade crush (now husband), Mike Bohon. (She calls him Michael.) Mike describes his job as a risk consultant working mainly in the transportation industry. Mike finds meaning in his work, which he explains, but he defines his calling as something beyond the job. In this episode, Mike and Serenity talk work, parenting, jobs versus careers, finding meaning at work, and work-life harmony. 

Find Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-bohon-cds-85499b62/

I Do This For a Living is independently produced. 

@serenitylive

Welcome to I Do this for a Living, the show that questions everything about work culture and asks how we can spend as much time and energy on the things that matter as we do on the things that pay. 

I'm your host, Serenity Bohon, a writer, day jobbist, and sarcoma survivor. After decades in the American workforce, I have a lot of questions about how we view work, what we do there, and how we find meaning in it or in the lives our work supports.

In the intro episode, I let the listener know what they can expect and list the whys behind the podcast and what it's about, including:

1. Aliveness
2. Work
3. Work culture
4. What we do on purpose

Resources:

Serenity Bohon on Instagram

The Thank You Room by Serenity Bohon

I Do This For a Living is independently produced. 

@serenitylive