Or So I Thought

Every project, every activity, has its own unique set of challenges.  A challenge that is universal to ALL projects, however, is the emotional seesaw it puts us through.  In this episode we bring in a couple real-life stories that illustrate the three emotional stages we must go through to complete a project. Casey Neistat goes through this, as well as all Uber drivers during a daily shift. Those are Pain, Flow, and finally-- Bliss. This episode is generously sponsored by Freshbooks, easy cloud accountant for the non-accountant. Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith.

Kirby Ferguson created the viral documentary Everything is a Remix in his spare time, just as a little side project outside of his day job. After the instant buzz it received, Kirby was able to leverage his side project into a full-fledged career as a film-maker and video producer.  In this episode we’ll hear from Kirby on how the idea for Everything is a Remix first surfaced, then we’ll see how the success of that project turned into its own business, and then we’ll use his story to extract tips on how one should balance the work once we’ve turned a passion into an occupation. Kirby's new project is called This is Not a Conspiracy Theory, and it's superb! Check it out. Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith www.benmurraysmith.co.uk This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks, cloud accounting for the non-accountant.

Sarah Knight is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck. She joins us and helps us talk through some important questions like: Is being nice gonna have us finishing last all the time?  Are we just mislabeling what it means to be nice?  And, what happens when we stop giving a you-know-what?... These questions are musts to ask for our career, business, and relationships.  Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith www.benmurraysmith.co.uk This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks, cloud accounting for the non-accountant. 

Sarah Knight has been in the publishing world for 15 years. First, selling books, then working for a literary agent, then as an editor at a major book publishing firm, and finally as an author.  She walks us through the process of writing her first book, how it impacted her, and what aspiring authors should know about the industry.  Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith www.benmurraysmith.co.uk This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks, cloud accounting for the non-accountant.

Everyone knows the tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, they've become household names. Most don't know that all success stories in the Tech world have some milestones in common. David Cancel is a serial startup founder, his latest venture is Drift and his story is a great case study into what makes for an accomplished career in the industry. In this episode we dissect David's story and try to figure out what we can bring back into our own careers, whether in tech, arts, entertainment, or any other modern industry.  Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith www.benmurraysmith.co.uk This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks, cloud accounting for the non-accountant.

Tucker Max sold millions of books, but being a writer wasn't even a goal of his originally. His career arc is very interesting, because it allows us to see how big a role luck and timing have on our careers.   In this episode, we talk to Tucker and try to piece together the factors that made him a hero to 20-year-olds everywhere, as well as the turn of events that have turned him into an entrepreneur. Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith  www.benmurraysmith.co.uk This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks, cloud accounting for the non-accountant. 

Liz Josefsberg, a top-notch wellness expert to celebrities like Jennifer Hudson, also consults with corporations to help their employees get their health back on track. This week she helps us gain a healthy perspective on stress. In this episode we find that not all stress is built the same, and then we learn ways to eliminate the toxic stress that hinders our work.   

Why do some unremarkable videos go viral while many great ones go unnoticed? What factors help an idea catch on? Whether by accident or by design, the products and messages that spread all have some things in common. In this episode we bring in Jonah Berger, Professor at Wharton Business School and author of the book Contagious. He shares some stories of ideas that have become popular, and deconstructs what they had going for themselves. From Car Insurance commercials, to restaurants with outlandishly priced comfort foods, a shareable idea possesses certain things. These are things that we can leverage to help our businesses, art, or messages gain a large following.  Music written and produced by Ben Murray-Smith benmurraysmith.co.uk

Seth Godin joins us in this episode, and we learn from him why the current model of education is broken, and actionable steps to taking charge of our own learning as adults. Along the way we discover why we should be approaching our career as a series of projects, and what skills hold the most value in today's world.  He also tells us some stories of his clashes with the educational system, and why Zig Ziglar impacted his life immensely. You can read full shownotes and find out more about the show at https://AlexCespedes.com.

Illustrator and Writer Jessica Hagy helps us decode the process of finding our tribe. Because if you're an entrepreneur, or an artist, or simply a professional trying to leave your mark--your tribe is the canvas on which your paint your masterpiece. Subscribe on iTunes or at WitsAboutYou.com. New episodes every Tuesday.

The world's most powerful men and women all know one thing: how to craft a message that will move others at your will. In this episode we bring in persuasion and rhetoric expert Jay Heinrichs to teach us what the ancient Greeks learned about speaking, and how to boil down our message into the perfect set of sound bites. Subscribe on iTunes or at WitsAboutYou.com. New episodes every Tuesday.

This week's topic is near and dear to any focused individual, it's about rejection. How to deal with it, how to approach it, and how to use it in your favor. We feature Steve Barr, a successful cartoonist and illustrator with 40+ years in the game.