What will the discovery of new ideas and experiences look like in the future? Will you run into the unknown to find them or perhaps wait for others to shape the novel into stable and predictable interactions? These are a few questions inspired by today’s conversation with Richie Lokay, the VP of Product Design and Services at Wunderkind. He brings his energy and intellectual curiosity to his team to solve visual problems and experiences at a growing scale. In this conversation, we explore the stages of invention, design rigor, the value of deadlines, perfection, and why swinging for the fences is an essential skill.

What are you passionate about? A simple question that requires time and intention to discover the answer. Lauren Krasnodembski wasn’t sure what she was passionate about until she began to find the breadcrumbs that led her to a life of impact. Lauren is a transformational life coach, creator of Mind Muscle Motivator, and the author of Reclaim Your Power: A Guide to Allow Your Passions and Purpose to Discover You. In this conversation, she shares her journey of reclaiming her power and how you can too. She talks about the importance of understanding your strengths, learning where you may be limiting yourself, and taking messy action.

Where do you even start an introduction when talking with Jay Jay French, the founder, guitarist, and manager of Twisted Sister? Along with Steve Farber, his writing partner of my #1 Business Book of 2021, Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock ‘n’ Roll, Jay Jay and Steve bring their business insight and wisdom to Getting Work To Work. From the never-ending drive to reinvent and the power of collaboration to finding a new audience every day and embracing the boredom of excellence to get better constantly, there are many human and business lessons to learn from the stories and moments in this conversation.

If there is a question that today’s guest inspires me to think about in my daily life, it’s this: “Why should people care?” Matt Wastradowski is a travel writer who uses his curiosity and insatiable drive to discover Oregon’s majestic places, people, and experiences. In this conversation, he talks about his latest travel guide, Moon Columbia River Gorge & Mount Hood: Waterfalls & Wildflowers, Craft Beer & Wine, Hiking & Camping, and shares a few of his favorite moments in the research and writing phases of the project. There is something for everyone in this guide, from a neon sign museum and wine tasting to picnics on the Columbia River and apple orchards in Hood River and everything in between.

If you were to write a book about your life, what would be the captivating moments that would reveal themselves? Christos Kalogirou mined his memories to share stories of his youth in his book, Wild Dogs: An Adventure in Adolescence. From attending a prestigious private school and being expelled to eventually returning, graduating, and even receiving an Alumni of the Year award, he has lived a life of urban legend, entrepreneur, and prankster. In this conversation, he talks about the power of perspective, what he learned about business, his process for writing his book, why you should value your time, and what he learned living on the path of the hard way.

As a self-professed word-slinger for capitalism, Sara Rosinsky brings words and stories to life through her company, Shiny Red Copy. She is also the author of Unflubbify Your Writing: Bite-Sized Lessons to Improve Your Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar. In this delightful conversation, she shares her love for words and the stories behind every single word. We talk about the origin story of her business, the power of mentorship, the ethereal nature of copy, and the beauty of limitations—not to mention her curiosity for typefaces and etymology. Sara has a lot to teach you throughout this conversation if you want to have more fun with your writing.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to navigate and sustain a 42-year independent creative career? Michael e. Stern is here to share a story about desire, goal-setting, perseverance, and resilience as he moves from being behind the camera to leading a team. In this conversation, he talks about who taught him what a producer does, his approach to communication and leadership, how he trusts his instincts and team, and how he meets people. I always learn from Michael, and this conversation is rich with wisdom and insight.

How are you making someone’s life better with your business, no matter how tiny? This is but one question that reveals what today’s guest is all about. Together with his wife, Karene, Chris Lambert-Gorwyn brings their philosophy of heart-centred business to other business leaders through coaching and mentorship, not to mention other business ventures and a bestselling book that encapsulates their actionable insights and tools. In this conversation, Chris and I talk about what it means to be heart-centred, the paradox of power and play, aligning goals with values and rewards, how to create your own economy, and the importance of finding a different way to do business. If you are an entrepreneur looking for new ways to approach your business, this interview is for you.

The opening paragraph of Debbie Clapper’s artist statement perfectly sums up our time together: “My work’s main intention is to take the viewer beyond the surface level, delving deep into the piece, allowing exploration and self-reflection.” Debbie loves abstract art because it can be anything and nothing. In this conversation, we explore her endless curiosity for grace, how she overcomes the critical voices that show up in the middle of the night, and how she took what she learned from her graphic design business to transform her art through collaborative relationships with others.

You know that dream for your life that you lie in bed every night hoping it comes true? Not only is it possible for you, but you don’t need all the details figured out before starting. And today’s guest will tell you why. Brittany Wagner is a motivational speaker best known for her role in the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U and author of Next Chance You. In this conversation, Brittany shares powerful insights into shifting your mindset from “last chance” to “next chance,” overcoming bitterness and perfectionism with decisive action, and looking for ways to grow by devoting time and effort to improving one area at a time.

What happens when your lifelong dream finally occurs after 20 years of perseverance? For data nerd Justin Stanley, he finds his way on the Jeopardy! stage only to face the 3rd-winningest champion in the game’s history. In today’s conversation, Justin shares his journey from qualifying to competing and recounts his favorite and embarrassing moments. As a fan of the show, it was an absolute blast to hear all the behind-the-scenes goodness, not to mention celebrating the culmination of a friend’s lifelong dream.

What lights you up? For today’s guest, his obsession with learning new things is how he answers that question. Jeff Straw is a man of many talents: photography, branding, music, and teaching. In this conversation, he shares not only his musical journey from sax to guitar, with a healthy mix of DJ’ing, but also how he built his photography business by carving a lane and finding his style, one project at a time. He talks about the importance of sharing and teaching through his vlog, helping unlock others so they can get creative, and how he wields his power of improvisation.

My impromptu support of independent authors continues this week with Aaron Hockley, who just released his brand-new book, The Computer Ate My Photos: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Photography. Aaron is a photographer, speaker, and author fascinated with the intersection of photography and technology. In this conversation, he shares the two-year journey of writing the book, how artificial intelligence technology has evolved, and how AI will impact the world of photography in the future. From his vantage point, the future is hopeful, one that I hope sparks your curiosity to learn more.

Have you ever thought about what your core values sound like and how they fit into the sound universe? Today’s guests on Getting Work To Work have by taking their drive, passion, and hunger for music and sound and translating it into audio branding. Gabo Agüero, Dalmiro Lacaze, and Mauro González are the creative forces behind Drop Music Branding out of Argentina. In this conversation, they share their entrepreneurial journey to make a living through music and sonic branding. They touch on topics that impact us all, including the importance of partnerships, how there are no excuses to create, ways to keep the game fresh, and a new way to look at staying in your lane.

Kelley Baker, affectionately known as the Angry Filmmaker, is one of my favorite people. Not only is he a filmmaker, sound designer, and editor, but he is also an author, having penned several collections of short stories and non-fiction books. In this conversation, Kelley and I travel the shores of comfortable and uncomfortable topics: from the joys of eavesdropping and the curse of remembering too much to influences and the origin of ideas. We talk about his latest book of short stories, Dennis Barton is a Bastard and Other Stories, telling the truth in art, and how to continue growing and evolving as an artist. Most importantly, Kelley preaches the gospel of independents and how every one of us can support independent artists with our time, money, and attention.

How are you using experiments to grow through barriers such as perfectionism, inertia, and the status quo? That is a question I explore with today’s guest, Kay Coughlin, an entrepreneur, podcaster, and life coach for caregivers. She also happens to be my business coach, and I’m her podcast producer. In this conversation, we explore experiments and the primary role of noticing emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and data without judgment in the experimentation process. She shares about how to overcome confirmation bias, the value of failure, being okay with discomfort, building successful collaborative partnerships, and all things boundaries.

Where does your curiosity lead you? For today’s guest, Paul Nylander, his curious nature has taken him from the world of high-energy physics to book design as he searches to understand how everything works. Paul is a book designer, engaging storyteller, and owner of Illustrada, a studio that collaborates with small presses and independent authors to get their ideas into the world. In our conversation, he shares his curious journey from physics to design. He also explores where his love for books comes from, the art and science of change, the nature of generalists and specialists, and the role of questions and trust in his design process.