How's that working from home going? Not exactly the dream you envisioned? In this episode, Michael explains how decision fatigue, lack of role clarity, and excess discretion can make us feel a little crazy, and introduces a few tools for creating structure amidst uncertainty and chaos.

Hello from amidst the global pandemic! In this episode, we talk about how the opposite of reactivity is creativity. You don't have to drown in online news and anxiety every day. You can do something creative and assert control over your own life.

Boredom has a bad rap. We spent our lives avoiding it. But what if our strategies for avoiding boredom are actually making us more anxious and less creative? What if boredom is not something to be avoided but actually something embraced, or at least .... accepted? In this episode, Coach Michael talks about the uses and benefits of boredom, and gives a bonus tip on how embracing boredom can slow down the passage of time.

This just in! In this episode, Michael M talks with his long-time bestest friend, writer and writing professor Faith Adiele, about the ingredients of a creative life, the role of humor vs. seriousness and the difference between being a working artist and someone who just lies on the couch eating chocolate chip cookie dough. This episode was ALMOST LOST TO THE AGES and was just recently found and magically put together. Listen now that you can! Whew!

Can you handle the truth? Or at least can you handle someone's feedback? Feedback is one of our main tools for learning and growth but, ouch, it sure stings sometimes. In this episode, Michael M is joined by his colleague, Bay Area super coach Hanna Hart, to talk through how we can best deal with feedback.

Does perspiration matter more than inspiration? The answer is "yes" and the 10,000-Hour Rule explains why. Michael analyzes why 10,000 hours is so hard to achieve in any career or avocation, but why we should still strive for it. A recollection from Mr. Wilgus, Michael's 8th Grade Algebra teacher. Plus, what if we're becoming expert in something that has not occurred to us?

Michael Melcher says: go forth and contaminate yourselves! In this episode, we examine the idea of "social contagion" – the concept that you are affected, changed and potentially improved by not only your friends, but also by your friends' friends' friends. Double M talks about how he is going to contaminate himself into becoming a more productive writer, and offers a cool exercise.

Is creativity something that best blooms when you work alone or with others? The answer is both! In this episode, Michael M examines some of the ways that creative activity emerges, and challenges you to push some alternate directions.

We typically go through life and work reacting to things, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. Sometimes we'll pause to re-frame in order to change the energy or make lemons into lemonade. But why not pre-frame things from the beginning? In this episode, Michael M shows how to do this.

Are free things ever really cost-free? Michael M propounds the idea of avoiding free samples, whether those samples are sugary bites from Costco, push notifications from our technology masters, or other people's random crap. We also hear a fun episode from his childhood.