Description

Jon Wells is a writer and filmmaker following Jesus. From church tech volunteer to filmmaker, shaped by watching over 100 films with a mentor: We talk about his daily writing practice, the challenge of showing up when the work feels mediocre, and his philosophy that guardrails only matter if they get you to "do the dance."

Jon shares about his current season of creative pruning—where outcomes disappoint but showing up brings unexpected peace. He opens up about how God provided before revealing the pregnancy, preparing him to trust through uncertainty.

We explore the entrepreneurial tension between ambition and presence as a father, why mysteries are fun rather than threatening, and his powerful insight about letting dreams die so they can be resurrected into something bigger.

Timestamps

(00:00:04) - Podcast introduction

(00:01:07) - Opening banter about nonprofits and bivocational pastors

(00:03:06) - Why Jon and Matt's conversations always go longer than planned

(00:05:52) - Jon's origin story: from tech team volunteer to filmmaker

(00:14:49) - Watching 100+ movies during COVID with a mentor

(00:16:48) - How movies make the intangible tangible

(00:19:17) - The decision to become a writer-director, not just a director

(00:22:36) - Jon's daily writing practice: six days a week, staying in the gym

(00:26:32) - Guardrails only work if they get you to do the dance

(00:28:19) - Creative decisions that surprised him: pruning season

(00:32:29) - "I am not enough alone"—learning reliance through exhaustion

(00:36:17) - What fills Jon up during seasons of pruning

(00:37:23) - The three-day fast that began a new season

(00:39:01) - God's provision before the pregnancy announcement

(00:42:59) - The open-handed life: giving up to gain more

(00:44:34) - Matt's season of transition and budget discipline

(00:48:05) - The hazy window: mysteries are fun and force you to live present

(00:49:37) - Movies about fatherhood: The Iron Claw and wrestling with provision vs. presence

(00:52:35) - The entrepreneurial bent and the struggle to be present

(00:54:44) - Ambition vs. contentment: the lifelong tension

(00:58:54) - Making friends with the questions you can't answer

(01:01:41) - Question from last guest Jordan: What belief did you hold confidently but now think is wrong?

(01:02:37) - Jon's answer: Religion doesn't have to be so structured; God is radically interested in humanity

(01:05:25) - Jon's question for the next guest: What would come from letting your dream completely die?

(01:06:42) - Resurrection vs. resuscitation: death that leads to new life

Description

Jordan Avni is a husband, father, and one of the sharpest product minds I know. We worked together for years, and I watched him navigate complexity with clarity, discipline, and a thoughtful approach to technology and leadership. This is a conversation about being present in a busy season, finding fundamentals in the noise, and building an identity rather than chasing goals.

Timestamps

Why this busy season is one men wish they could return to (3:06)

Choosing identity-driven living over goal-driven achievement (5:19)

The analytical framework for de-risking ideas (13:09)

Bad ideas you talked yourself into (17:06)

Productive vs. unproductive rumination (28:02)

Building boundaries between work and home (25:35)

The fight to be present when you're home (25:08)

Searching for fundamentals in the noise (22:48)

Differentiating signal from noise (23:15)

The video games that shaped a product mind (38:05)

Today, I'm joined by my friend Seth Kayser. He is a husband, father, music educator, and entrepreneur who runs Kayser Arts and Global Creation Foundation—bringing music education to places like Uganda and Nepal. We dive into deep capacity, intentional relationships, and the creative stirrings that keep pulling us forward.

We discuss:

- Why juggling is actually a form of entertainment (5:22)

- The procrastination-productivity paradox of entrepreneurship (6:34)

- Being married to another entrepreneur and protecting each other's dreams (30:07)

- How answering "yes" too many times becomes a lifestyle (4:35)

- The non-urgent important things we keep pushing off (7:25)

- Consistency over time and small, well-placed chops (1:20:18)

- The creative wrestling of wanting to write a book someday (1:19:19)

- What we freely created as children and why we should return there (1:22:09)

Kyle Rutkin is a writer, marketer, husband, and father who takes creativity seriously—not just as output, but as a responsibility. In this conversation, we explore the tension between creative ambition and everyday life, the patience required to build something meaningful, and why the people who outlast the dip are the ones who would be doing the work anyway.

We discuss:

- Why journaling for hundreds of hours reveals patterns you can't see otherwise

- The difference between creating for an audience and creating because you can't help it

- Navigating the dip: why most creative endeavors fail before the breakthrough

- Being faithful with small things when no one is watching

- Wrestling with the timeline of success while raising kids

- Why the people who make it are the ones who'd do it anyway

- How to hold your creative work lightly while taking it seriously

- The graveyard of people who tried to do it fast versus those who outlasted them

Timestamps:

(0:00) - Opening: Journaling, Time Capsules, and Reflection

(8:00) - Creative Cohorts, Parenting, and Finding Your People

(19:00) - The Dip and Creative Persistence

(32:00) - Being Faithful with Small Things

(45:00) - Wrestling with Timelines and Success

(58:00) - The Long Game: Outlasting the Quitters

(1:03:00) - The CEO Who'd Do It All Again Tomorrow

(1:05:00) - Doing the Work When No One's Watching

(1:06:00) - Closing Question: Creative Wrestling You Haven't Answered

Key Moments:

On the patience game: "The people that are really in it for the right reasons outlast all the people that are in it for the 'I thought if I did this consistently, I'd get a million followers.' No, the people doing it consistently have been doing it for 10+ years and they're just starting to get some success."

On creative persistence: "I would be doing this anyway. If you find it painful and most people find it painful, but you're like 'I would do this anyway even though it's painful'—you have something."

On the long game: "It's a very frustrating thing for me to hear all the time that you have to be faithful with the small things. But that's exactly what my dad is saying. That's not the answer I want, but that's the answer."

On doing the work: "Would you still be doing all the same things you're doing creatively even if no one was watching? The answer is yes. That's the thing about writing—for a year I'm doing it when zero people are reading."

Detailed Description

Kyle Rutkin (X, Website) is a writer and marketer navigating the intersection of creative ambition and fatherhood. He's part of a creative cohort where people wrestle with the questions that matter: How do you build something meaningful while raising kids? How do you stay faithful to the work when the timeline is unclear? How do you resist the quick-fix promises of the internet and commit to the long game?

We begin with Kyle's journaling practice—hundreds of hours captured in time capsules that reveal patterns and growth he couldn't see in the moment. We talk about the difference between documenting life and living it, and why reflection has become his unlock for staying grounded while pursuing creative work.

The conversation turns to the dip—that valley every creative person enters where doubt creeps in and most people quit. Kyle shares his wrestling with the timeline of success, the frustration of being told to "be faithful with small things," and why the CEO who sold 20% of his company for $250 million said he'd do it all again the next day anyway. We explore why the reward comes to those with the patience and persistence to outlast the quitters.

We also discuss the tension of being a Christian creative in the 21st century—how to pursue excellence and ambition without losing sight of what matters most. Kyle reflects on learning from his dad's wisdom (even when it's not the answer he wants), holding his work lightly while taking it seriously, and the freedom that comes from doing it whether anyone's watching or not.

I hope this conversation reminds you that the work is worth doing for its own sake, that the dip is where most people quit but where the real work begins, and that showing up faithfully—even when no one's watching—is how you build something that lasts.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed our conversation, please rate and review the podcast on the platform of your choosing.

Description

In this episode, Brenden and Matt delve into the importance of starting despite imperfection, cultivating curiosity, balancing work and family, and leveraging tools like AI to enhance creativity and productivity. They explore how consistent effort, intentional planning, showing your work, and asking the right questions can lead to meaningful progress and personal fulfillment.

Segments

00:00 - The challenge of starting and embracing imperfection in content creation

02:23 - The mindset of “start terrible, improve daily” for growth

04:12 - Prioritizing family, faith, and life adjustments over time

05:27 - Balancing content goals: follower growth, relatable content, and personal happiness

06:17 - Analyzing the virality of videos and the importance of shareability

08:51 - How platforms optimize for time spent and their implications for creators

09:57 - The significance of watch time and engagement metrics in content success

10:30 - Friendship and respect rooted in entrepreneurship and discipline

11:22 - Managing work, curiosity, and building legacy as a full-stack developer and content creator

12:05 - Cultivating curiosity through childhood influences and deliberate skill-building

13:35 - The importance of humility, conversations with kids, and modeling behaviors

16:22 - Teaching and simplifying complex ideas through engagement with children

16:49 - Reflecting on legacy, purpose, and leaving an investment in your family

17:14 - The value of embracing failure and learning in electronics projects and content creation

18:34 - The relationship between teaching and mastery, and the meta level of teaching others to teach

19:13 - The inspiration behind the “I don’t know you” podcast concept and self-discovery

20:19 - Overcoming perfectionism: starting with basic setup, tinkering, and iteration

22:31 - Creating ambiance with DIY lighting and tech hacks for better content

25:01 - The current season of life’s uphill climb and the importance of perseverance

26:45 - Investment in family and discipline as a long-term orchestration

27:53 - Managing responsibilities and optimizing life with dependency mapping and planning

30:28 - The paradox of responsibility versus freedom in life choices

33:39 - The long race: pacing, endurance, and the importance of pushing through discomfort

37:23 - The role of AI in brainstorming, note-taking, and expanding creative capacity

40:50 - The leverage and risks of powerful tools like AI and power tools

42:31 - The urgency of understanding and testing AI responsibly amid societal pressures

44:52 - Practical systems for balancing marriage, family, and entrepreneurial pursuits

45:13 - The power of dependency mapping and disciplined planning

47:21 - Setting input and output goals to measure progress effectively

48:09 - Anticipating the arrival of new family members and managing the ebbs and flows of family life

49:45 - The long-term perspective on providing, sacrifice, and legacy building

51:33 - The impact of AI-driven economic shifts and the importance of responsible development

54:11 - The motivation for content creation: trust, transparency, and future-proofing skills

56:07 - Increasing creative “temperature” to unlock new opportunities and networks

58:17 - Reflecting on continual growth, curiosity, and evolving priorities in life and work

59:36 - The likelihood of future collaborations driven by shared values and ambitions

64:19 - The challenge of aligning actions with core values and doing what feels meaningful

66:47 - The power of discipline: doing what you dread and managing sacrifice for long-term goals

67:47 - Final thoughts: gratitude, friendship, and the lifelong journey of growth

In this episode of I Don’t Know You, Matt sits down with filmmaker, father, and longtime friend David Orgill (Story11.tv) in Dana Point, California.

Together, they explore what it means to wrestle with identity, faith, and vocation in a world full of distraction. David reflects on fatherhood, creativity, and how his understanding of God’s will has shifted—from looking for a single “correct” path to embracing freedom, responsibility, and presence.

They also unpack the difference between consuming “candy” content versus sitting down for a slow, nourishing, home-cooked meal—and what that metaphor reveals about art, media, and the lives we’re shaping.

This conversation isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about learning how to live well while still asking the questions.

In this conversation, Matt and Alvin explore the intricacies of parenting, cultural influences, and personal growth. They discuss the importance of intentional parenting, the impact of cultural backgrounds on family values, and the balance between ambition and a quiet life. The dialogue also touches on the significance of gratitude, the challenges of modern life, and the desire to create meaningful connections.