Thinking With Mitch Joel

Welcome to episode #749 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #749 - Host: Mitch Joel. In the early days of blogging and podcasting (2004/2005), I spent a lot of time teaching business professionals about digital marketing and media. One of the more confounding technologies to explain was RSS - the way in which someone would subscribe to a blog/podcast, and how they would be notified when something new was published. RSS stood for Really Simple Syndication, but it was really hard to explain. I came across a video on YouTube that was called, RSS In Plain English, by a company called, Common Craft. They used a whiteboard and paper cutouts to explain RSS, and followed it up with countless other videos. These videos became so popular that their format was then copied by many until it became a genre unto itself. Lee LeFever was the founder (and maker) of those videos. Known as the "explainer video genre," Lee (along with his wife, Sachi) have continued on growing this business. In 2012, he published his first book, The Art of Explanation, and more recently his sophomore effort, Big Enough - Building a Business that Scales with Your Lifestyle. Big Enough will help you chart a different kind of career path. If you're interested in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and e-commerce, this show is perfect for you. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 1:00:07.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Lee LeFever.
• Big Enough - Building a Business that Scales with Your Lifestyle.
• The Art of Explanation.
• Common Craft.
• RSS In Plain English.
• Follow Lee on Instagram.
• Follow Lee on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #748 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #748 - Host: Mitch Joel. I'm a reader. I pride myself on reading. Mostly business and non-fiction books. I can work through 1-2 of them per week... that is until Covid 19 hit. I was in a funk with my reading. Just could not get through a book. No matter what I did. No matter how hard I tried. Then, Seth Godin sent me an advance copy of his latest book, The Practice - Shipping Creative Work. I sat down, cracked the spine, and this book grabbed me by the neck and would not let go. I found myself peeling through the pages, taking notes, smiling, thinking, reflecting, and finding my groove back. That's what Seth Godin does to me. Every. Damn. Time. When people ask me who inspires me? His name is always first. When people ask me what books to read? HIs name is always first. When people ask me what blog to read? His name is first. When people ask me about great online courses? His name is first. Seth is the author of twenty books (most of them are massive bestsellers). Beyond his daily blogging prose, he has a great podcast (The Akimbo Podcast) and has been doing a ton of fascinating courses online that include marketing and podcasting workshops and his signature, altMBA. If you're looking for smarts, you need not look any further. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 55:46.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Seth Godin.
• The Practice - Shipping Creative Work.
• Seth's other books.
• altMBA.
• The Marketing Seminar.
• Udemy Courses.
• The Akimbo Podcast.
• Follow Seth on Instagram.
• Follow Seth on Facebook.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #747 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #747 - Host: Mitch Joel. Another part of this pandemic that can get me down is not meeting my fellow speakers in person. That's how I first connected and became friends with Brant Menswar. We both share a love of music, the music industry, and then with a slight (or major) zig zag into the speaking business. While I wrote about rock stars, Brant became a rock star. He cut his teeth playing guitar and singing across the United States. Then, due to some personal life incidents, made some bigger changes. Brant also co-hosts (along with Jim Knight) the podcast, Thoughts That Rock, a weekly leadership show that includes a rock star guest and presents two life-changing pieces of advice in 30 minutes. Now, he is an expert in how to cultivate values-based leadership, he more recently published his second book, Black Sheep - Unleash the Extraordinary, Awe-Inspiring, Undiscovered You. You may think that a black sheep is someone who doesn't fit in. Not in this case. "A black sheep's wool cannot be dyed. A black sheep is one hundred percent, authentically original. It cannot be influenced, changed or molded into something it isn't by outside forces." It's a small book that packs a big (and personal) wallop. Find your own black sheep, find your future… and find success. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 1:04:37.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Brant Menswar.
• Black Sheep - Unleash the Extraordinary, Awe-Inspiring, Undiscovered You.
• Thoughts That Rock.
• Follow Brant on Instagram.
• Follow Brant on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #747 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #747 - Host: Mitch Joel. Another part of this pandemic that can get me down is not meeting my fellow speakers in person. That's how I first connected and became friends with Brant Menswar. We both share a love of music, the music industry, and then with a slight (or major) zig zag into the speaking business. While I wrote about rock stars, Brant became a rock star. He cut his teeth playing guitar and singing across the United States. Then, due to some personal life incidents, made some bigger changes. Brant also co-hosts (along with Jim Knight) the podcast, Thoughts That Rock, a weekly leadership show that includes a rock star guest and presents two life-changing pieces of advice in 30 minutes. Now, he is an expert in how to cultivate values-based leadership, he more recently published his second book, Black Sheep - Unleash the Extraordinary, Awe-Inspiring, Undiscovered You. You may think that a black sheep is someone who doesn't fit in. Not in this case. "A black sheep's wool cannot be dyed. A black sheep is one hundred percent, authentically original. It cannot be influenced, changed or molded into something it isn't by outside forces." It's a small book that packs a big (and personal) wallop. Find your own black sheep, find your future… and find success. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 1:04:37.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Brant Menswar.
• Black Sheep - Unleash the Extraordinary, Awe-Inspiring, Undiscovered You.
• Thoughts That Rock.
• Follow Brant on Instagram.
• Follow Brant on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #746 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #746 - Host: Mitch Joel. Have you ever felt like an outsider? Like you don't belong? Like the things that you like, don't seem to be the things that everybody else likes? Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt that there was something different about her. This feeling permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life. She decided to reach out to other people who were unique in their environments to see if they had experienced similar feelings of alienation, and if so, how they overcame them. This brings us to her new book, Weird - The power of being an outsider in an insider world. Olga is a staff writer for The Atlantic, covering health, gender, and science. Prior to that, she was The Atlantic's Global editor. She has also written for a myriad of other publications. Weird is her first book. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 49:39.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Olga Khazan/
• Weird - The power of being an outsider in an insider world.
• The Atlantic.
• Follow Olga on Instagram.
• Follow Olga on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #745 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #745 - Host: Mitch Joel. One of the things that I miss most during these Covid times, is my breakfast meetings. Danny Iny is one of the usual suspects that I meet up with. I've said it before, and I will say it again: Danny is a kind-hearted, gentle and generous soul. Many others know Danny as the founder of Mirasse. We first met when he was putting his book, Engagement from Scratch! in 2011. Slowly, over time, we became close friends. Now, many thought leaders and businesses are thinking about virtual meetings and learning (more and more). So many of the smartest people are building and launching online courses. That world has changed from shifty marketing practices to Masterclass. Still, to do it well, you need to spend time with Danny (and his business). Danny helps people build better courses online. Not those shoddy ones… Danny and his team are all about true quality. This is Danny's passion. He is on a mission to support his very special global community of loyal and inspired entrepreneurs. Danny has also written the books, The Audience Revolution, Teach and Grow Rich, Leveraged Learning, and the recently published, Teach Your Gift. Thinking about building an online course? Starting your own business? How can you business create better services and experiences? Take a listen to this. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 56:01.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Danny Iny.
• Mirasse.
• Teach Your Gift.
• Leveraged Learning.
• Teach and Grow Rich.
• The Audience Revolution.
• Engagement from Scratch!
• Follow Danny on Instagram.
• Follow Danny on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #744 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #744 - Host: Mitch Joel. When I first read, Keith Ferrazzi's book, Never Eat Alone, something clicked. In a big way. Since then (putting aside the pandemic, which makes this activity near-impossible), I always book breakfast, lunch (and even coffee) meetings with different kinds of people. It has been one (of many) invaluable life (and work) tools that have simply worked for me. I had the pleasure of meeting Keith, in person, on many occasions over the years, and I consider myself lucky to have that opportunity. Keith Ferrazzi is an author, speaker, entrepreneur and thought leader. As Chairman of Ferrazzi Greenlight and its Research Institute, he works to identify behaviors that block global organizations from reaching their goals, and to transform them by coaching new behaviors. Keith has introduced a new concept that he calls "co-elevation." Formerly he was the CMO of Deloitte and Starwood Hotels. Along with Never eat Alone, he also wrote Who's Got Your Back and the recently published, Leading Without Authority. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 48:46.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Keith Ferrazzi.
• Leading Without Authority.
• Never Eat Alone.
• Who's Got Your Back.
• Ferrazzi Greenlight.
• Follow Keith on Twitter.
• Follow Keith on Instagram.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #743 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #743 - Host: Mitch Joel. It's hard to imagine a more recognized business thinker than Gary Hamel. He is, without question, one of the world's most influential and iconoclastic business thinkers. He has worked with leading companies across the globe, and is a dynamic and sought-after management speaker. Hamel has been on the faculty of the London Business School for more than 30 years, and is the director of the Management Lab. He has written 17 articles for the Harvard Business Review, and is the most reprinted author in the Review's history. His landmark books have been translated into more than 25 languages. His most recent include: The Future of Management and What Matters Now. Gary has been ranked by The Wall Street Journal as the world's most influential business thinker, and is a fellow of the Strategic Management Society and of the World Economic Forum. If you've heard of concepts like "strategic intent," "core competence," "industry revolution," and "management innovation," this is the the language and practice of management that Gary invented. HIs latest book is, Humanocracy - Creating Organizations As Amazing As The People Inside Them (along with co-author, Michele Zanini). Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 59:56.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Gary Hamel.
• Humanocracy - Creating Organizations As Amazing As The People Inside Them.
• Harvard Business Review.
• The Future of Management.
• What Matters Now.
• Follow Gary on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #742 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #742 - Host: Mitch Joel. I've been following the Big Think videos since they first started. Always fascinating perspectives, insights and stories from real leaders in business, life, entertainment and beyond. The truth is, that I knew nothing about the Big Think story. Until now. Victoria Montgomery Brown has built and run Big Think for the last 12 years (along with her co-founder, Peter Hopkins). It's become one of the leading digital media knowledge company, making people and companies smarter and faster. The company wasn't a venture-funded tech darling, born and raised in a Silicon Valley incubator. It's a scrappy, creative, labor of love that was born in a New York City bar, and raised in a rented closet in someone else's office. It's had to fight for its existence most of the time. And now, Victoria is not only telling the story, but taking her life lessons to help other female entrepreneurs get started. Her just published book is, Digital Goddess - The Unfiltered Lessons of a Female Entrepreneur. "This book is about dealing with the way things are, even when you don't like it, and being yourself, even when it seems like a drawback. It's about sucking it up, making the hard choices, and dealing with the consequences. It's about being honest no matter what is going down," according to Victoria, who has been called, "the anti-Elizabeth Holmes." Victoria prides herself on being nothing like the ill-fated Theranos CEO. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 59:18.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Victoria Montgomery Brown.
• Digital Goddess - The Unfiltered Lessons of a Female Entrepreneur.
• Big Think.
• Follow Victoria on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Welcome to episode #741 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - Episode #741 - Host: Mitch Joel. Since this pandemic started, I have been grappling with reading books (which, before all of this was never an issue). Alex Kantrowitz's debut, Always Day One - How The Tech Titans Plan To Stay On Top Forever, was one of the few books that got my reading gears going again. Alex is the founder of Big Technology, a newsletter and podcast about Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and the other tech players. Alex is a journalist by profession, and has worked at places line CNBC and BuzzFeed, before deciding that he wanted to become an independent journalist and publisher. He graduated from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Alex had unprecedented access to some of the biggest names in techs in the writing of this book. Enjoy the conversation...

• Running time: 1:01:09.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• ...or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Alex Kantrowitz.
• Always Day One - How The Tech Titans Plan To Stay On Top Forever.
• Big Technology
• Follow Alex on Instagram.
• Follow Alex on Twitter.
• This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.