The Gently Mad: Life, Business & Entrepreneurship Without The Bs

What do you do when you have no good choices in front of you? Are you a failure if you quit or delay? I don't think so. I talked to my Justin about my podcasting course and give you a behind the scenes look about what's been going on and where I'm at with the course. Seth Godin says, in his book, The Dip: "Sometimes we get discouraged and turn to inspirational writing, like stuff from Vince Lombardi: 'Quitters never win and winners never quit.' Bad advice. Winners quite all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time. Most people quit. They just don't quit successfully." If you've ever created a product or wanted to, I hope this will be an encouragement to you. Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show Build & Launch Episode 12 The Dip ~ by Seth Godin Real Life ~ by Justin Jackson The 80% Principle Marketing for Developers Zen Founder

Barrett is an amazingly smart dude with a great story and super helpful advice. In addition to being the Director of Member Success at Fizzle.co, a training platform and community for honest independent entrepreneurs building businesses they believe in, he's also worked for Seth Godin & founded a company called Living for Monday. We pretty much covered the gamut, talking about our common roots in the Southeast, our distaste for the current state of American education and how to do what you really want to do, plus a lot more. As always, I had a great time talking to Barrett. Enjoy the show! Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show The Fizzle Show FS089: Do Podcaster's have to Blog? So Good They Can't Ignore You ~ by Cal Newport TGM14: Seth Godin TGM02: Chase Reeves TGM11: Caleb Wojcik TGM07: Corbett Barr More About Barrett @barrettabrooksBarrettBrooks.comFizzle.co

I was beyond excited to get to sit down with him and have a conversation about what actually matters in these little lives we lead and businesses we're trying to build. Merlin is an independent writer, speaker, and podcaster based in San Francisco. You may know him from Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, and You Look Nice Today. I loved these two quotes, which pretty much sums it all up for me: “My narrative is that I’ve never known what’s coming next—I still don’t. I fell down the right set of stairs and have been surrounded by people who have picked me up and said, “Let’s try this again.” It’s been one anxious block of uncertainty after another.” “…most of us are so stuck in this notion of how stuff should go that we want to find one of seven stories that matches our narrative. The fact is that most of us are wandering around, scared shitless, wondering what the fuck’s going to happen next.” As always, I had a great time talking to Merlin. Enjoy the show! Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show TGMlist

But there are some principles here and I loved going through them because I really needed to hear it myself. Everything I’m talking about is pretty much stolen straight from Seth Godin and how I’ve applied what he talks about to my own situation. So, all credit to Seth for his amazing work on this topic. Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show The Dip ~ by Seth Godin Startup School TGM14: Dancing With The Fear with Seth Godin  

Stephanie is the cartoonist and writer behind ArtToSelf.com, sending you a daily personalized, inspiring cartoon and note to help you start the day from a positive place. She is also the cartoonist and money expert at EmpoweredDollar.com On her website, she describes herself this way: "If you asked me in this moment to describe myself in a few words, I’d say that I’m a curious, creative, contemplative, positive, spiritual, grounded, joyful woman who’s full of love. But in the not-so-good moments, I’d describe myself  as an over-analytical, obsessive, untethered, self-critical perfectionist. Ouch." I fuckin love that because I feel the same way most of the time, except for the "joyful woman" part. This was a great conversation. Stephanie's story was an inspiration to me to keep at it and I know it will be for you too. As always, I had a great time talking to Stephanie. Enjoy the show! Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show Noah Kagan AppSumo BrainPickings TGM14: Dancing With The Fear with Seth Godin Mo

There are so many sleazy tactics and practices, half-truths and outright lies. If you’re not a part of it, you wouldn’t believe some of the things that people do. Pat Flynn, on the other hand, has built a reputation for being an honest, completely above board kind of guy. And I was curious about how he did that? And more importantly, how do you stay true to yourself when money enters the equation (and in Pat's case, lot's of money)? We talked about all of that and a lot more in this packed conversation. I learned a lot of things about Pat that I didn't know. What's the point of it all? Is he satisfied? Has his success brought the fulfillment he had hoped for? As always, I had a great time talking to Pat. Enjoy the show! Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show Alex Blumberg and Gimlet Media WTF with Marc Maron On Being with Krista Tippett The Tim Ferriss Show Fizzle Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Pencils of Promise Chris Ducker Internet Business Mastery More About Pat @patflynnS

I decided to talk about exactly that in today’s episode. Really I was trying to encourage myself, but I hope it encourages you too. It’s a marathon. Not a sprint. Keep moving. Keep getting better. Keep showing up. And good things will happen. “Patience and perseverance have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” ~ John Quincy Adams Enjoy the show! Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show Jenn Going - Whole Life To Live Stephen King Giveaway Support the Show TGM14 with Seth Godin

Mary Beth spent more than a decade in the financial planning industry before deciding she'd had enough of the corporate world and made the indiepreneur leap. Now, she works for herself, shaking up the traditional views of that industry by focusing specifically on GenYers, helping them make smart choices with their money. As always, I had a great time talking to Mary Beth. Enjoy the show. More About Mary Beth @marybstorjWorkableWealth.com

It was my honor to sit down with Leigh in Nashville last year and talk about her life, music, the struggle of being an artist and what has ended being the truly meaningful things in her life. As always, I had a great time talking to Leigh. Enjoy the show. More About Leigh @leighannenashLeigh on Facebook

I'm excited to give a shoutout to some great podcasts in today's episode. I find that I listen to very few "entrepreneurial" podcasts. So here are some of my favorites. And I'd love to know your favorites. Shoot me an email and let me know. Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show The Fizzle Show AskPat The $100 MBA Show Rainmaker.fm Build & Launch WTF with Marc Maron This American Life Stuff You Should Know #AskGaryVee StartUp

I had the opportunity to sit down with Chris Brogan for a minutes several months ago while I was preparing for a new show that eventually evolved into The Gently Mad.  It was great to talk to him and find out dive a little deeper into what he's all about. My favorite part of the discussion revolved around the idea of life/work balance and/or separation. It was great to hear Chris' somewhat contrarian take on that (since I happen to agree with him). We also talked about failure, the importance of "mission" and lots of other great stuff. Here are some of my favorite bits from the show: On the Separation of Life and Work “A lot of times people are under this weird pretense that they leave home at home when they head off to work and we all know that’s not true.” “It’s interesting to me that we even try to separate [life and business], because even when I’ve been brought into really big companies, a lot of times it ends up feeling like a personal therapy session. To me it’s not that different.” On Failure,

I'll be honest. Lately, I've been in a funk. It's like self-doubt central over here. So, instead of the normal Monday guest episode, I decided to talk about it. Also, I read an excerpt from this week's book giveaway, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield.

If you want to make a business out of your podcast, I've got some great news for you. It's totally possible.  This episode is a response to The Fizzle Show episode 89 in which Chase, Corbett and Barrett answered a question I submitted about podcasting vs blogging. They totally nailed it and I had some thoughts I wanted to add. Briefly, I touch on four things you must do if you want to make a living from a podcast: There are no rules. Be interesting (this is a skill that can be developed). Get creative with how you make money. Focus on your email list. Don't give up. Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show The Fizzle Show Episode 89 Invisible Office Hours The Bundle of Awesome TGM14 with Seth Godin

My wife used to sell coffee.  I used to be a journalist.  A friend of mine used to be a audio engineer.  We all used to be something. And now we’re something different. Maybe you used to be single, but now have a family. We all used to be something. And now we’re something different. Maybe you used to be single, but now have a family to support. Maybe you used to be too afraid of risk or filled with self-doubt or unable to step into the unknown and do something remarkable. If there’s one constant in our little breath of an existence, it’s change. Life is an ever-continuing series of seasons. If we obsess over our “future” we’ll miss the beauty and opportunities of the season we’re in. Don’t do that. Don’t fear picking the wrong thing or “wasting” your time. Instead, focus on getting better. Embrace the season you’re in and take advantage of the opportunities it affords you to make small, consistent progress. If you improve 1 percent each week, how much better will you be in a year? Change is inevitable.

James Clear. Where the hell do you begin with a guy like this? He’s an entrepreneur, weightlifter, travel photographer, author and regular writer at JamesClear.com. It was my honor to talk to him for an hour. I loved his perceptive on following one’s “passion” and what it really means to do creative work. According to James, the Muse can be scheduled. I tend to believe him and I think you will too after listen to this episode. We even geeked out about camera gear for few minutes toward the end. In his own words, “I’m just a country boy trying to make a difference.” Here are some of my favorite bits from the show: On Writing and Inspiration “The truth is that most of the articles I write get written that day. I don’t write every day. I tried to do that and totally burned. The important thing is to have a schedule you can stick to.” “This is the difference between professionals and amateurs. Professionals to do things on a schedule. Amateurs do things when it’s easy for them or when they feel motivated

Dan Martell has one of the most unique stories I’ve ever heard. I tried my hardest not be inspired, but just couldn’t help it. ;) Dan is an award-winning Canadian entrepreneur and founder of Clarity, a venture backed startup that makes it easy to connect with top business minds over the phone. He's also invested in 33 other companies as an angel investor. We talked about all of that as well as the amazing story of how jail time saved his life and lead to all those accomplishments. It was truly an honor to talk to Dan and I’m really excited about this one. Here are some of my favorite bits from the show: On Traveling “I think traveling could solve a lot of the problems in the world if we just get everybody to go travel and understand what they’re talking about.” On Experimentation “Most people could be very easily more productive, they just never strive for it. Once they’re 20 and they have a working structure, they never revisit it. And I just think that if everybody just started asking questions abo

A professional gets up every day, goes to work and dances with the fear. Seth Godin said this to me in a recent episode of The Gently Mad and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Dancing with the fear is what we do when we leave our comfort zone and do the work that scares us. Which is the only kind of work that has the potential to be meaningful and impactful. When I dance with the fear, I mostly fail. I stumble and flounder and knock over everything in search of the light switch. But there’s a worse kind of failing. The kind that happens when we play it safe. Staying in my comfort zone can feel like a win because I know my way around that room and can get through it without banging my knees into everything. But the only way to get better, the only way to discover just how much we can really achieve is to struggle and writhe out of the chrysalis and step into the unknown. Only then do we fight The Resistance. Only then do we have the potential to create work that matters. Only then can we cha

If I'm going to be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect from this conversation. I had (stupidly) labeled John as a certain kind of guy. Someone very different from me.  But, I was totally blown away by our conversation. First of all, labeling people is stupid. Second, I found that we had so much in common it was almost freaky. John is a brilliant guy and we both share a common inability to half-ass something. It’s all or nothing. And I love that about him. John is certainly everywhere these days, but I think I can honestly say you haven’t heard a conversation like this. Here are some of my favorite bits from the show: On Success and Persistence “Success and happiness is the gradual realization of a worthy ideal. And the keys there are gradual and worthy. So it’s not getting to whatever you think that journey end point is. It is the journey itself. But it’s not just any ideal like money or fame or fortune, it’s of a worthy ideal. So when we can find how to combine those two, things really get

A special edition episode of TGM where I talk about some important shifts in thought that have been going on lately.   It’s not as big or grandiose as an epiphany. It’s more like solving a puzzle. After an hour or so of trying and failing to connect one piece to another, your mind is able to grasp the edges of the picture and very quickly each piece drops into place. Monday was my birthday. I’m 35 years old. And most of those years have been spent engaged in The Search. Sometimes I knew what I was looking for, sometimes I thought I knew what I was looking for, but mostly it was aimless. It was a reactionary searching, born not of a desire for something in particular, but merely something more or different than what I had. It’s as if meaning and purpose have always been slightly out of reach. I still don’t have an answer. But it feels as if I’ve reached an altitude where I can look out over the landscape of my life and begin to see, if only faintly, the edges of the puzzle. And those faint edges have chan

What an honor it was to talk to Seth Godin. I almost decided to title this episode The One Where Seth Godin Kicks Me in the Ass, because that’s kind of what happened.  I kept talking about one thing and Seth kept trying to bring me around to another thing. I’d like to think in the time since we recorded this conversation, I’ve taken put some of Seth’s advice into practice. Regardless, I had a tremendously fun time talking to one of my heroes. Seth is an amazingly smart and kind man and oozes wisdom. A self-described starter of projects, Seth is the author of 18 bestselling books and I was was truly delighted to speak with him about life, business, meaning and how all of that intersects. Here are some of my favorite bits from the show: On Marketing and Shortcuts “A marketer’s job is to tell a story that resonates with us.” “All the people who talk about market and study up on the short-cuts are never heard from five years later.” “You do not find anybody who has built a career or a life that they’re pr