Getting Work To Work

Ever since I started my creative journey, I feared being empty. Empty of ideas, thoughts, stories, projects, connections, business, ambition. What would become of me if no one wanted to work with me? Who would I be if I ran out of creative ideas? I associated emptiness with negative feelings: imposter syndrome, comparison, lack of self-worth, and low self-esteem. I didn't want to invite those feelings into my life, so I built processes, systems, goals, fail-safe methods, and a good old-fashioned work ethic to fight the onslaught of emptiness. I wanted nothing to do with it. Every time I felt its pull, I pushed harder, until I couldn't fight it any longer.

If you were to produce a film about your life, what would it say about the choices you made, the people you surrounded yourself with, and the impact you had on the world? Eriksen Dickens is today's guest on the show, sharing his passion for storytelling and filmmaking in the form of legacy documentaries. Our conversation begins with his endless curiosity about big existential questions and how his schooling in philosophy and psychology translates to filmmaking. He talks about turning a childhood passion into a business, what it's like collaborating with his brother, the seven storytelling pillars, keeping creative juices flowing on long-term projects, leadership, and balancing a long-term vision with the needs of today. Regardless of where you find yourself in the creative world, Eriksen brings a depth of introspection and drive that you can learn from and bring into your life and work.

Some monologues I have a pretty solid idea from start to finish, but others need time and reflection to make sure I'm not just ranting and railing against some invisible force. Today's episode started with a few early morning rants that I captured in my notes app. As I went through the day, I realized I wanted to shape it into something else, but didn't know what. So, I just wrote. I fought the urge to apologize for expressing my feelings, ate dinner, then deleted the apology. I'm not sorry, so why pretend? Because I got comfortable using code words to let people know what I was feeling without really saying what was going on. But, it's time to let the code words go. I'll still change the names to protect the guilty, but that's just smart.

What's the point of preserving old homes? Why do old homes matter? Two driving questions for today's interview with Lee McColgan, woodworker, restorer of old homes, and author of A House Restored: The Tragedies and Triumphs of Saving a New England Colonial. Lee shares his philosophy, how he thinks about old things, and many stories about his journey from finance to woodworking and home restoration. We talk about his fascination with how things are made by hand, the breadcrumbs of our work present throughout our lives, the creative drive and purpose of his work, the impermanence of all things, the eccentric personalities of people he's met over the years, why generalization is dangerous, and interesting things he's found hidden in the walls.

The simplest quotes are often the deepest and inspire endless reflection. In my conversation last week with Gregg Brown—entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and author—he dropped a short sentence that stopped me in my tracks: "We have to be prepared to be unprepared." My mind filled up with questions. How does one prepare to be unprepared? Why can't we prepare for all possibilities before they happen? How does preparing for how we will respond to the unknown becoming known impact all areas of our lives and work? In this episode, I'm diving into this quote and my questions in greater detail and hopefully discover a healthier mindset when faced with change.

How prepared are you for the future of your work? Maybe you are coasting on continual success, not worried about what's on the horizon. Perhaps you find yourself in a season of loss, feeling threatened by the rise of AI tools and frustrated with disruptive change. Regardless of where you are at in your professional journey, today's guest is on the show to teach us how to be change ready. Gregg Brown is an entrepreneur, speaker, and author of Spark Action: How to Lead Change That Matters. He helps "leaders and teams get ready for the future so they can tackle change head-on and get things done." In our conversation, he shares what getting future-ready in a rapidly changing world means. We also discuss the need for critical thinking and decision-making in the age of AI, how to bring our personality and brand of magic to our work, why it's crucial to shed our corporate skin, what change looks like in the middle of your career, and the importance of taking action and being explorers in everything we do.

What rules do you follow because you believe they will lead to success? What tools do you use to ensure you can be as relevant as possible? What if these rules and tools have the opposite effect on your life, and you can't see it because you're too close? What if social media is actually turning you into a new person you don't want to be, doing what you don't want to do? What if all your daily actions to stand out and get noticed shape you into a societal clone? How many more questions can I fit into this opening synopsis? One more? I love it when a book enters my world and shakes it up. Anti Rule: Navigating The Lies About Fiction Writing by Christian Francis is the small but mighty book that inspired today's episode. So, put on your dunce cap and join me in detention. It's time to chat about what we're doing wrong.

How do you pitch yourself and your business to podcasts you want to be a guest on, people you want to connect with, and companies you want to bring into your network? By taking the courageous step and shamelessly sending the email or making the call. Today's guest did that after hearing an earlier episode of Getting Work To Work with Rachel Allen. Solveig Petch is a strategic brand consultant and creative director providing "remarkable branding for the quietly rebellious." In our conversation, we talk about the importance of sending shameless pitches and the difference between courage and confidence. She shares what a brand is and how it's different than branding, what it takes to build a stand-out brand, why we choose generic values instead of those that will help us stand apart, and why it's okay to want to keep changing the world.

Earlier this week, in my paid newsletter for Getting Work To Work, I was reflecting upon the question: How is your body of work holding you back from experimenting with risky creative ideas and exploring new directions? No matter how long you've worked on your craft, you inevitably amass a body of work. The apparent measure is quantity, but you can also look at quality with an eye toward growth and outcomes. But the more I think about my body of work, the more I wonder if it's a hindrance rather than a help. What does it communicate to a potential employer or client? How can it hold you back by morphing from what you've done into a statement of being on-brand, not to mention consistency? Questions aside, I want to explore what to do if you feel stuck and need to take a creative chance beyond what you've done before.

I first met today's guest near the beginning of my creative journey at the NW Film Center in Portland, Oregon, where I was taking a workshop on interviewing techniques. Almost 20 years later, he is on Getting Work To Work to share his latest project hitting theaters and the internet today. Brian Lindstrom is a documentarian and co-director of Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill. In our conversation, Brian shares what captures his attention in filmmaking: the stories of struggles and victories and the beauty, strength, and resilience to overcome the odds. He talks about his first exposure to Judee's music in the early days of YouTube, why she was more than the one-note tragic story her Wikipedia page describes, why some projects need to take longer than others, and the joys of collaboration he experienced on this film. Most importantly, Brian reminds us of the importance of independent filmmakers and how we can vote with our attention and wallets.

Earlier today, I was writing about the National Geographic docuseries, Photographer, and my lifelong love of photography. This newsletter led me to explore my archives from two trips to Africa in 2008 and Haiti in 2012. Scrolling through thousands of photos, most not very good, I could see something in my work that only the passage of time allowed me to see: the desire to capture and be present with people. In 2008, I could feel the fear, but my creative brain was at work to document what I was experiencing. 2012 was a different story. I was documenting like before, but I was getting closer, physically and emotionally, as I engaged with people. I felt less fear and was more present. And then I came home. I had an adverse reaction to the anti-malarial medication I was taking, and I wanted to die. I didn't, physically, but part of my creative spirit disappeared over time. And as I look at pictures of me from that time, I realize just how much I miss that young man and his dreams.

How are you doing? No, really, how are you? Scanning social media lately, I see similar messages: clients are disappearing, budgets are shrinking, ghosting has become normalized, big companies are reducing their workforce, and burnout is the new badge of honor for independent creators. It's tough out there. And in today's episode, I will dive right into this topic for those of us who have been business owners and independent creators for years and decades. It can be hard to know what to do. I am struggling to know myself, but hopefully, there will be something I share in this episode that helps you face the road ahead.

Everyone's favorite blind Australian filmmaker is back on the podcast to promote his latest film, Idiom. Okay, everyone is a strong descriptor, how about: my favorite blind Australian filmmaker. I can't help it, gough makes me chortle (his word, not mine). From the angle he would take on true crime podcasts and why crime shows are awful and depressing, to providing educational moments related to geography, grammar, and other assorted (and assertive) topics, gough brings the Beernuts Productions fun factory straight to your earholes with production tales and stories of creative exploration. We talk about how he approached this film differently than previous films, how he wrote with the lead actress in mind, things you can't unsee or even unlearn, and must importantly, the hard truth that you can't "unstupid" stupid people. As you'll learn in this episode, gough is a healer, and a helper. So, sit back, and let him mildly entertain you for a good, solid 50 minutes.

The last time I crossed creative paths with today's guest was for my Innovators of Vancouver project over 11 years ago. Recently, as I've been getting into creative writing and poetry, his name naturally resurfaced, along with the open mic poetry events and workshops he facilitates throughout the area. Christopher Luna is a poet, collage artist, teacher, and maximalist who has been instrumental in fostering a creative community in Vancouver, Washington. In this conversation, Christopher shares the origins of the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic events and how he believes poetry chose him. We discuss what he learned from the legends and gods of poetry—Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, and Antler. Not to mention topics such as self-promotion, self-doubt and dissatisfaction, the subjective nature of art, writing versus arranging, curation, dream logic, and how art can help others. No matter what art medium you are currently obsessed with, enter this conversation with an open mind because Christopher has much to teach us all.

How do you clear your mind? A simple yet challenging question that I found myself pondering while playing guitar. There is so much going on in the world, so many tasks we need to accomplish, problems to solve, goals to crush, and subjects to learn. It seems like the more we fill our days with, the faster our brains fill, and the harder it becomes to focus, be creative, and produce innovative work. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, I'm exploring five ways I use to clear my mind. It's not an exhaustive list, but it is a start to helping you and me find a way to carve out time and space for our brains to work and find peace of mind.

I love talking with people who dream big and work together to overcome systemic challenges and affect change. Today, I have the benefit of talking with two amazing women who work with Oregon STEM, an organization that supports "the development of the next generation of innovators and leaders through statewide strategic leadership, collaboration, and alignment." Deb Mumm-Hill is the Executive Director of Oregon STEM, and Kyle Ritchey-Noll is the President of Oregon STEM and the Education & Workforce Policy Director of Oregon Business Council. In this conversation, they bring stories and examples of how their work throughout Oregon impacts students. We talk about data-driven decision-making, overcoming massive challenges to create a resilient education system for the future, collaborating with industry partners to help students prepare for careers, cutting-edge technology that uses data and generative AI tools to align students' aptitudes and interests with opportunities, and the power of career-connected learning. Special thanks to Leverenz & Associates for their hospitality and providing a lovely space to record this conversation.

When you think about your words, what impact do they have on the world? Do they make money, capture attention, or disappear in a sea of sameness? Today's guest believes that words make worlds, and in this conversation, she unpacks what that means as human beings in an increasingly technologically advanced society. Rachel Allen is the boss at Bolt from the Blue, a copywriting agency freeing businesses from the bonds of bad writing with the boldest claims: "We make words make money." She shares her entrepreneurial journey and how words helped her create a business that works for her and not how other people think it should be. We talk about objective and subjective knowledge, what it means to write for an audience, why she doesn't want to babysit technology, the aggressive nature of new digital tools, the boring middle, and why human is the only move left. I had a blast talking with Rachel, and I hope you enjoy the wisdom she shared throughout the episode.

What keeps you engaged in a good story? How do you know if you're being entertained or manipulated? These questions drive today's guest to help people tell better stories and increase our societal level of video literacy. Steve Stockman is a director, editor, teacher, and author of How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro. As an instructor, Steve's book was my go-to textbook, and I still refer to it as I continue to grow my production skills. In our conversation, Steve shares his passion for storytelling and what makes a compelling story. He talks about the need for video literacy, how to understand video language, why it's crucial to not over-rely on technology when learning to tell stories, how to respond to notes and critique, and what networking actually is. Steve's wisdom and experience can help you tell better stories, whether you are an aspiring filmmaker or a creative professional.

Fun fact: Today's guest was the very first person I interviewed over eight years ago when I started Getting Work To Work. Cliché statement aside, it's incredible how things change over time. Thank the maker; I sound less frightened, more relaxed, and a better editor. But enough about me; this is about today's guest, Benjamin Ironside Koppin. As Ben describes himself, he is a Swiss Army Knife filmmaker who directs and produces independent films and runs 1988 Films, a film distribution company with his wife. In this conversation, we talk about Pastor's Kid, his latest film coming to theaters on March 15, 2024. Ben shares behind-the-scenes stories, the challenges of bringing an indie movie to theaters, and how hard it was to make an R-rated Christian film that didn't fall into genre tropes. We also touch on what makes the best art, the artist's power, how he handles good and bad reviews, and the age-old creative question, "Should I be a generalist or specialist?" No matter your beliefs, I hope this conversation with Ben will encourage you in your creative journey.

At the foundation of this episode are two important questions: 1) How do you take in information and learn rapidly, and 2) how do you improve and become better than you could ever imagine? Today's guest, Gerald J. Leonard, answers these questions through stories of his journey to become a professional bass player, an author publishing several books, and a Project Portfolio Management guru. In this episode, he shares a technique known as photo reading, which is a process of quickly absorbing a book to increase retention and curiosity. We also talk about jazz as a model for business, authentically being yourself no matter the environment you're in, why surrounding yourself with experts is critical to your professional growth, and how life is like a great song.