Potential City

Thank you to all who have been with me on this journey and best of luck in all you do.

-Caleb

A rising figure in Columbus politics and current City Council President Pro Tempore, Elizabeth Brown brings a very honest and open perspective to this conversation. While many Americans are inundated with negative perspectives on politics, Elizabeth grew up with an honest and authentic father, who also happened to be (and still is) an elected official. Elizabeth offers useful perspectives on community engagement, finding your passion, and figuring out what life holds for you.

Overall I found this conversation highly engaging and several of my own views on politics were challenged as a result.

References:

Senator Sherrod Brown

Defense of Marriage Act

Americorps City Year Program

“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed, but when we are silent we are still afraid, so it is better to speak” – Audre Lorde

Community Development for All People

Elizabeth Brown City Council Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Kenny Sipes is not your average coffee shop owner. Only in business for about 5 years, Kenny has grown The Roosevelt Coffeehouse into a well-known and loved destination for many in Columbus. Like its owner, Roosevelt is dedicated to fighting injustice throughout the world.

Kenny was gracious enough to sit down for a very real talk about what it took for him to get where he is now, and how he has learned some of the hardest lessons in his life. I hope you are able to glean from this as much as I have.

Links:

The Roosevelt Coffeehouse

2 PM

Ice Cube’s Barbershop

Buster Douglas

Scarface

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

Tommy Burns – Message about his daughter being murdered and being a recovering alcoholic: https://www.amazon.com/Burns-Great-Message-Sober-Alcoholics/dp/B004G1Z5HM

Roosevelt 5-Year Anniversary Video

The Gravity Project

Donald Miller – StoryBrand

La Marzocco

Other Podcasts with Kenny:

https://www.joyventure.net/podcasts/kenny-sipes

https://conqueringcolumbus.com/podcast/episode-15-story-roosevelt-coffeehouse-kenny-sipes/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/19-shaped-by-sobriety-a-journey-to-purpose-with-kenny-sipes/id1490339584?i=1000474231990

Scott Schweitzer has known since he was a child that he wanted to influence the way politics works in our country. At 8 years old he was listening to political talk radio and absorbing the ideas of how politics influences our country. Fast-forward to today, Scott is Chief Operating Officer* at the most successful political advertising agency in the United States.

Scott’s civic engagement doesn’t stop at politics. He has served on the Board of Directors at two prominent Columbus organizations and is one of the founders of a local brewery. Scott has a great deal of wisdom to share about his own journey in bettering himself, finding happiness in his life, and reaching the goals he makes for himself.

*In the podcast I mistakenly said that Scott was Chief Organizational Officer. Chief Operating Officer is his actual title.

Links:

The Strategy Group Company: https://tsgco.com

PaineWebber Co. (Now known as UBS): https://www.ubs.com/us/en.html

Series 7

Series 11

Cincinnati Microwave (CNMWQ)

WorldCom

Olentangy River Brewing Company

Fashion Week Columbus

Edheads

Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD)

Intellectual Foreplay

In just one short conversation, I have come to see Alex as an inspiring individual and an incredibly engaging conversationalist. He approaches life with vigor and emphatically embraces personal growth and constant learning. He is a man with numerous life lessons and I have no doubt anyone who hears this episode will be better for it.

Links:

Idea Foundry:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Gary Vaynerchuk: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/

Tim Ferris and the 4-Hour Work Week: https://tim.blog/

10 Billion Innovators: https://www.10billioninnovators.com/

Ray Bradbury: https://raybradbury.com/

David Mead has had a long and successful career as a leader of live events professionals. His attitudes towards people, growth, and success set an admirable example for anyone making any type of foray into a customer-facing venture.

In this episode of Potential City I felt I had the opportunity to truly get to know the man that is David Mead. The conversation starts off somewhat slow to get a strong sense of all that David has accomplished, but the longer you listen the more wisdom there is to gain.

When considering starting a business, most people tend to look for something big, or valuable, or novel. Few people would consider starting a brand new business with something as simple as selling socks. This is exactly what Michael and the other founders of Keep It Simple Socks, LLC have done, but these aren’t normal socks. They are designer socks.

In this episode of Potential City, Michael and I dig into what it means to start a business, how to have realistic expectations, and how to collaborate with others to reach a common goal.

Links:

Keep It Simple Socks, LLC:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Experience Columbus:

www.experiencecolumbus.com

As an artist and a business owner, Jeromy Laux has to balance the many external and internal voices that threaten his work. It is easy as an artist to become self absorbed, to shut people out. Most people are much quicker to offer criticism than to offer praise, which often results in artists (and many of the rest of us, for that matter) shutting out the voices of others and elevating their own ego to mask their insecurities. It is also very easy for artists to reach a point of insecurity that they crave the affirmation of others, even if those others have no credible opinion on the work they are doing.

Jeromy and I discuss all of these things and many others in this, the first episode of Potential City.

Links:

Laux Creative, LLC:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Vivian Maier:

http://www.vivianmaier.com/