Getting Work To Work Chris Martin Studios

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.