The Moxie Podcast

We recommend pouring a bowl of your favorite cereal before listening to this week’s chat with leading cereal influencer (yes, you read that right), Cereal Snob’s Thomas Hicks. Along with giving us a peek at the world of cereal reviews, Thomas shares what he’s learned from this work and how he’s using this experience to overhaul his brand. 

We also touch on authenticity and human connection, exploring how we can be better people and better creators through genuine curiosity about the people we meet.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. What it means to be one of the world’s leading cereal influencers.
2. How Thomas went from noticing a new flavor of Cap’n Crunch to being a leader in this space.
3. About his petition to bring back Rice Krispy Treats cereal and why you should sign it.
4. Why he recently unlisted nearly 200 of his YouTube videos and how it plays into his current rebrand.
5. The ways Thomas is using strategic experience, data, and knowledge to differentiate himself from other reviewers.
6. What he loves about creating content.
7. How perfectionism can strangle creativity, plus how he’s fighting it in his own work.
8. Why authenticity is essential to everything that we do in life.
9. How connecting as people and pushing past labels makes the world a better place.
10. Thomas’ number one key to success.

Do you have easy access to YouTube? In about 40 minutes, you’re absolutely going to need it.

This week, Michelle arranged a visit from some of my personal heroes: The Rocky Mountain Ringers. As a handbell player, getting to indulge in and share my passion for this instrument with group members Amy and Jeff was an incredible experience. We’re all about pursuing your dreams and passions at Hectic, so I hope you’ll be as inspired by this conversation as I was.

(And I’m not kidding about YouTube. After listening, you will just have to find a handbell performance to experience the magic for yourself.)

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How my ultimate dream led to this conversation.
2. Why handbells and the time I spent in a handbell choir as a teen hold such a special meaning for me.
3. About the complexity and teamwork involved behind the scenes in every performance.
4. The reasons playing the handbells requires you to be fully present and focused in the moment.
5. Plus, how this unique headspace offers freedom and space from the stresses in your life.
6. How the Rocky Mountain Ringers are using COVID-caused changes to introduce more people to the beauty of the instrument.
7. What entrepreneurs can learn about making mistakes from playing the handbells.
8. Why Amy wants team members who will let her grow and learn through challenges while also having her back when needed.
9. The many reasons this surprise and conversation were so incredible to me.
10. Why being passionate and sharing what you’re passionate about can help you bring people up with you on your entrepreneurial journey.

If you ever feel like you have to fight to have control of your life and how you spend your time (in both big ways and little ways), this episode is for you. Dr. Beth Waterman, licensed mental health counselor, joins to share how we can recognize, engage with, and find relief from the traumas that may be controlling us. From practical ways to deal with these cycles to permission to acknowledge them, she offers easy ways to approach your mental health.

Even if you don’t deal with “big T Traumas,” we hope you’ll give this episode a listen to see how you can heal the past experiences that may be affecting your life and career today.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How working with victims of sexual exploitation and prostitution in Kolkata, India led to Beth’s work today.
2. What the pandemic changed about mental health and how it may be an underlying cause for the Great Resignation.
3. The reasons any kind of trauma (from little t to big T) can negatively impact your daily life.
4. Why communal and individual validation for trauma is crucial to understanding how and why it still affects us.
5. How you can recognize, understand, and address the experiences that may be taking control of your life and thoughts.
6. Tips for determining which trauma or part of your life may be affecting you at that moment.
7. The many ways “Shoulds” can negatively impact your thoughts and actions, plus how to give yourself permission to deny them.
8. Why practicing ways to address the physical indicators of stress can help counter the mental effects, such as negative feelings and thoughts.
9. What we can learn from (and teach) kids about countering and naming our needs.
10. Why having discussions about mental health is so important.

Did you start your business because it was a step toward what you want to achieve or because it flowed from the person you are and the purpose you hold? Alex Drummond joins me this week to share how he is helping the next generation of entrepreneurs discover their stories and take steps to realize the purpose they hold.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to reclaim a can-do, why-not lens that will help you understand your identity. Your passion and purpose don’t have to be world-changing, but knowing what they are will help you shape a life worth living.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How Alex went from refereeing in the NCAA to working with high school students to help them learn these lessons of self-discovery.
2. About Alex’s camper van conversion and the freedom it offered throughout the pandemic.
3. What adults can learn from the mindsets of student entrepreneurs.
4. Why he spends the first 3 weeks of his class on identity and vulnerability.
5. The reasons your journey and the steps you take are the only things that matters in self-discovery.
6. And why you can’t do it alone.
7. His strategy for making friends that offer experience and wisdom that can enrich his journey.
8. Why your self-identity is so much more important than any external factors in your entrepreneurship and life.
9. The common misconceptions we hold about purpose.
10. What may be under the massive shift we’re seeing in the workforce and workplace today.

My guest of the week is a connector. He brings people together, creating and participating in communities that are life-giving to everyone involved. He also happens to kill at it independent creating, giving clients what they want before they even know they want it.

I am thrilled to introduce you to Todd Van Fleet, photographer and designer extraordinaire. Whether he’s adding to his popular bicycle landscape photo series or journaling new ideas for future pursuits, he gives 100% to everything he creates. In our episode, he shares how he is able to manage his busy schedule without sacrificing quality and creativity. And it fits very serendipitously with our last episode!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How being in a community of people that you love, trust, and/or respect can help you be at your best.
2. Why you have to balance rest, more mundane work, and creativity to live and perform with excellence.
3. The reasons Todd thinks managing expectations is the most important thing you can do to grow a successful freelance business.
4. How his unique way of upselling creative services has given him 100% client retention.
5. What one (or more) thing(s) Todd wants to be best at.
6. All about his bicycle landscape photos, from the start of his interest in photography to the charity fundraiser that sparked the collection.
7. How using his creativity for something more than himself has led to bigger things, plus what those things are.
8. Why ADHD is a creative superpower that inspires incredible ideas.
9. About Todd’s many notebooks, and how they help him process his creativity.
10. Tips for going beyond client expectations and using this extra step to win repeat business, even from major clients like the Denver Broncos.

When was the last time you took a break? Not a vacation where you still did some work or a few hours that you had to use to handle another responsibility, but a time when you focused solely on rest and recovery?

For me, it had been way too long and my body had had enough. So we’re doing things a bit different this week. We’re taking a break from guest conversations to focus on the value of rest. Rest for your mind, rest for your body, rest that gives you life. 

Freelancers and entrepreneurs are notoriously bad at giving ourselves the margin we need to feed our creativity. The more you try to give from an empty cup, the more burnt out, stressed, and unproductive you become. Today, we hope you can learn how to identify the signs that you need rest, along with some easy ways to start taking care of yourself.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why an emotional outburst showed me that I needed to give myself rest this week.
2. How to understand and recognize the signs that tell you when you need rest.
3. The ways I use journaling and a strong support team to understand where I’m at and what I need.
4. My hope that sharing my struggles with rest will help the freelance community become more comfortable with this conversation.
5. How separating from work can help you prioritize what you’re doing and do what matters most more effectively.
6. What rest can look like for different people and at different times.
7. Why you should focus on what gives you life over anyone else’s definition of rest.
8. Plus, an easy way to understand what in your life is either giving or taking energy.
9. Your first Hectic rest-work assignment, which will help you understand what is driving your emotions and how to master them.
10. Why all of this matters so much today and for the future.

For Brittany Charboneau, life is about being present in the moment and finding joy in even the smallest things. Even as she has run in some of the country’s biggest races, including the 2020 Olympic trials, she has focused on enjoying every second, keeping a positive outlook, and being wholly her genuine self. She joins me today to talk about her journey to authenticity, what she’s learned since she started pursuing running full-time, and how she combines her love of comedy and running in her brand, the Funny Runner.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Brittany’s journey to embracing the pink-wearing, glitter-loving, Broadway-show tune-singing road runner that she is.
2. How she used permission from others regarding her authenticity to give herself the confidence to embrace it.
3. The lessons about understanding and pursuing your genuine self that she tries to give to the kids and adults she coaches.
4. Brittany and Darryl’s favorite Hamilton songs, plus what we can learn from them.
5. What Brittany does to prepare mentally for big races, including her upcoming Boston Marathon run.
6. Why she began focusing on being present and grateful for her running experiences over just reaching her running goals.
7. How and why she is putting imposter syndrome to the side rather than fighting with it.
8. The reasons Brittany stops to pick up all of the loose change she sees.
9. What we can learn from little things that add up over time, even if they’re just pennies.
10. The things she hopes to accomplish by the time she’s an old lady.

My guest this week is not a fan of labels. She is working to change the legal industry and that is the most important thing to know. Join me and Eda Rosa as she shares how she is pursuing and accomplishing this goal. With hard work, a good support system, and the right perspective, she is fighting for justice and a healthier way of practicing law.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. That Eda doesn’t do it all by herself, instead staying to true to herself by asking for help when she needs it.
2. What changing the legal industry from the inside out looks like for her brand.
3. The reasons she left her six-figure legal job to try something new.
4. And how she has built a thriving business in the few years since that decision.
5. How her incredible childhood and parental role models nurtured a love of change and determination to live without fear.
6. Eda’s journey to mental strength, healing, and getting what she needed to build her brand.
7. About negative bias and how it makes you your biggest obstacle.
8. What you can do to fight a negative perspective in your life and business.
9. Why the power of numbers only matters for the numbers you create, especially as a Hispanic woman and entrepreneur.
10. What kind of tools for success you can find in Eda’s book.

There’s something different about my guest this week. She practically glows with passion, vulnerability, and authenticity. During this episode, you’ll hear how Odalys Jasmine learned how to own her story and share it with the world. From childhood hardships to current projects, she explores her experience with finding and understanding success on her terms. 

As a Latino and child of immigrants, Odalys works to make space for minority communities through storytelling workshops for students, modeling for Latino-owned businesses, and her podcast, Hella Latino. She is changing the world with her beautiful story and we can’t wait to share it with you this week.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. About Odalys’ story, from childhood homelessness and adversity to becoming an entrepreneur and helping others find success.
2. The similarities between her story and mine (Darryl’s), plus how our experiences have helped shape us.
3. How being raw and vulnerable and sharing your story can transform the world.
4. Why trying to fit a fictional idea of success can rob you of fulfillment and make you feel like an imposter in your own life.
5. What (and who) prompted Odalys to find her authentic self.
6. How you can do the same, from learning to talk to yourself to embracing the things that make up the unique and beautiful you.
7. The reasons you need a supportive team at your back to become successful, even as an entrepreneur.
8. Why being vulnerable and authentic makes people respond to you, your story, and what you do.
9. Why Odalys never leads with accomplishments on her podcast.
10.  What she is doing (and getting ready to do!) to further her passion, goal, and community

All good tattoos start with a story. The same can be said for brands. For David Peterson, my guest this week, this idea was the inspiration behind his company, Tat2 Marketing Group. Together with his business partner Tammy and their crew, they help companies learn how to promote and share their stories.

During our conversation, David shares his love of analytics and data. As the “left brain” of his partnership, he uses his passion for understanding why things work to get big results for his clients. He also offers tips to help you do the same, no matter your field of work.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. The cool entrepreneurial story behind Tat2 Marketing Group.
2. How asking clients “Why?” helps him find the best angle for marketing that sees results.
3. Why using and following the data is a critical, but often overlooked, part of marketing.
4. Plus, how freelancers in any field can use this advice to improve their work.
5. Why discovering what he sucked at helped David get into the work he does now.
6. What we get wrong about the things that do or don’t make a person creative.
7. Why building partnerships with people who are strong in your weaknesses can help you grow in business.
8. How owning who you are can lead to wild success.
9. And what we can learn about authenticity from kids.
10. Tips for knowing when you need to structure your business better to empower growth.