What does it take to make the music you want to make? Talent? Time? The right people? Luck?

Jeffrey Ryan and I discuss all those things along with his childhood, life, and how he’s developed as a musician throughout the years.

Jeffrey Ryan, Mitch Faris, Big Jon Bey, and Ray Owen are the band Ryan & Faris. They are based in Southern California and are currently finishing their second album for release around Summer 2015. Their music is a wonderful blend of rock, blues, and country, and we feature some music from the upcoming record on the episode, including a live performance from Jeffrey Ryan.

While he listened to a variety of music growing up, Rick Taub initially started to play and perform music in his early 20’s, becoming a professional bass player in Blues, Jazz, and Soul.

Rick Taub shares his musical journey in Los Angeles, starting at Babe’s and Ricky’s Inn, and around the world. Some of the legendary and well-known artists he’s played with include John Lee Hooker, Miss Mickey Champion, and William Clarke.

How long does it take to find your groove, your passion? For many of us, it’s a constant search. Our guest Jon Schumacher is currently involved in a cool business he has co-created called Hangouts That Convert. For Jon, it’s been an interesting journey to get to this point.

Jon Schumacher’s first career was as a physical therapist. From there, Jon branches off into many different businesses, including videos, podcasts, and books. He first tells us how he became a physical therapist, then all the different points he’s been to on the way to becoming an entrepreneur.

If you had any choice, where would you live?

Growing up in the Sacramento, California area, our guest Michelle Phi had a dream of living in Los Angeles. She finally got to move to LA about a year ago, working as a writer for PerezHilton.com and as a co-host on Afterbuzz TV. She talks about the draw of Los Angeles and how she likes it so far.

Hear Michelle Phi’s story as she discusses the passion she has for her work, focused on entertainment and journalism. She also recounts her childhood and education, including her Vietnamese-American experience that others can sympathize with. And finally, she recaps some highlights from her first year in Los Angeles.    

If you think it’s tough leaving a job, imagine leaving a tenured teaching position behind.

Vincent Wimbush left a career teaching Biblical Studies in a university setting to start his own organization. Learn more about Vincent’s life, his views on learning, religion, and interpreting texts and the world around us, and why he decided to leave the confines of teaching in a college to set out on his own.

If you need a reminder of how important it is to live more fully – or if are like me, need a kick in the pants to get off our collective lazy such-and-such – then this is the episode for you.

Tony Ryals was born with Arthrogryposis, which causes joints not to function properly. In the case of Tony, the joints in his arms, legs, hands, and feet don’t work. His torso and head are normal, his arms and legs are not.

He is now a painter with a gallery of his own in Jacksonville, Florida. He paints with his mouth. And his life is a masterpiece. Listen to Tony’s story.

If this were a Woody Allen film, Seven Things You Wanted to Know about Harold Rhee But Were Too Afraid to Ask. Or not.

Plus, Nancy and Harold Rhee review Blue Apron, TableRunner, and Munchery. Three services that want to help simplify the daunting task of figuring out what’s for dinner.

We are pleased to have Koy McDermott, founder of Leaders Inspire Leaders, as our guest. He is an entrepreneurial leadership coach, striving to help Millennials and others turn their passion into business. He also hosts his own podcast, and we discuss other projects he is working on during the episode.

Koy McDermott lives in the Austin, Texas area and is a graduate of Texas State University.

What happens when Peter Muller, a long-time Silicon Valley software engineer, with no prior airplane design experience, attempts to design one? One that will improve and increase size, comfort, and features, as well as reduce cost.

By the way, Peter Muller is working on his airplane on the side, outside of his regular job. Check out our conversation.

On The Legal Watchdog Podcast, one learns about some of the crazy legal situations that actually occur in courtrooms and wherever a legal question might come up, for example, arrests. While a legal podcast like this could be tough for listeners to understand, Michael Cicchini, Amy Kushner, and Matthew Perz do a great job of making it all accessible. In addition, speaking to Michael and Amy shows the importance of letting your personality shine through in your work, whether it is writing a book, or hosting a podcast.

If you want to gain some legal knowledge and listen to some intelligent conversation and entertaining banter, the Legal Watchdog podcast is for you. If you are interested in your own podcast, this conversation with Michael Cicchini and Amy Kushner might inspire you to get started!