The Spark Lab

Russ Hess
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Where stuck people get sparked into motion. Real talk. Real change. No fluff. The Spark Lab is a podcast for people who are ready to stop gliding and start flying - and for the leaders, coaches, and community builders who want to help them get there. Hosted by Russ Hess - author of the Catalyst Framework and founder of The Spark Lab - each episode delivers honest conversation, practical tools, and the kind of encouragement that gets in the boat with you and paddles. Get in, Get sparked, get moving.

  1. Oct 22

    Be Somebody’s Lighthouse

    Why am I doing all this? Because somewhere close to you, someone is headed for the rocks and can’t see them. In this episode I talk about being a lighthouse for the people around us, staying faithful to the dream, and why it’s never too late to learn what you need to learn. The second best time is right now. If you’ve got a song in your heart, play it. You never know who you’ll inspire. Get seen. Get sparked. Get moving again.

    Be Somebody’s Lighthouse

  2. Oct 15

    Listen Until It Makes Sense | Millionaire Mindset

    Where do you turn when you're searching for answers and the clock is ticking? This week I share an author, speaker and podcaster who showed up in my feed and models exactly what I've been looking for: faith, business and a late-career mindset, all in one person. He gives away a lot of free content, and there's no buy-in required. I explain why I'm following him, how I plan to take what he teaches and put it into action through the Spark Lab, and a simple challenge for you: listen until it makes sense, then decide what you'll do in the next 24 to 48 hours. If you're near retirement age, running a small business or side hustle, or just feel stuck, this one's for you.Keep moving. Get sparked. Myron Golden: https://myrongolden.com/

    Listen Until It Makes Sense | Millionaire Mindset

  3. Oct 7

    Stacked Against Me

    In this episode: How a 97-database, three-server migration pushed me into AI, deep and fastWhy I work a full-time job, a pizza route and care for my 89-year-old father, and still say you can startWhere to start: Claude, ChatGPT and the people worth following, like Dan MartellWhy financial freedom, not retirement, is the real question at 62 I couldn't clone myself, so I got an assistant. This week I share how I went deep into AI with 35 years in IT, a sick father, a part-time job and a debt mountain, and why every reason not to start is a reason to start. Get acquainted with AI, then come back and tell me what you did.

    Stacked Against Me

  4. Sep 30

    AI & The Spark Lab

    In this episode: Russ shares how Spark Lab actually began — not as a plan, but as something that found himThe week his dad was hospitalized was the same week he had to face 20 years of inherited manual work processesHow that collision led him to AI, and the moment he said "I need an unfair advantage"Why he believes AI is leverage, not a replacement for wisdom, faith, or relationshipA free resource: the complete 31-page AI Field Manual, available now at sparklabpro.com This is the real story behind Spark Lab — not a polished origin myth, but what actually happened. In the same week Russ's father landed in the hospital, he also had to take over 20 years of manual processes inherited from a retiring coworker. Overwhelmed and out of time, he turned to AI for the first time in his 35-year IT career — and discovered something that changed everything. This episode traces that path honestly, and closes with an invitation: download the free AI Field Manual at sparklabpro.com and start your own journey.

  5. Sep 23

    I Didn't Invent This

    In this episode: Russ steps back from the framework's four stages to explain the pattern underneath everything he's buildingWhy The Spark Lab, The Spark Lab Advantage, his speaking, and the book aren't separate projectsThe honest truth about why he's really doing all of thisWhat he wants every listener, client, and conversation to walk away knowing There's a pattern that shows up almost everywhere once you know how to look for it — in individuals, in businesses, in societies going back thousands of years. Russ didn't invent it. He found it. In this episode, he steps back from telling another single story and explains the discovery underneath every single thing he's building — why a business owner and an individual carrying something heavy are more alike than different, and why none of what he's building are separate projects at all. They're one discovery, worn differently depending on who's in front of him.

    I Didn't Invent This

  6. Sep 16

    The 2 Millimeter Shift

    In this episode: Russ closes the full Catalyst Framework arc — Stuck, Seen, Sparked, and now MovingWhy "moving" doesn't require massive effort — just a 2mm shift, repeatedThe boulder-and-wedge idea: small, repeated leverage beats one big pushAn honest admission: Russ is still in the stuck feeling sometimes too, even nowA call to reach out to God when you're stuck, and start moving again You don't need a massive amount of effort to move forward — you need leverage. In this episode, Russ closes out the full Catalyst Framework by tackling Moving: the stage where people often get tripped up, because they think it requires a huge push. It doesn't. It requires a 2 millimeter shift, applied a little at a time, stacking up like credits toward a degree. Russ gets honest about still feeling stuck himself sometimes, and shares why calling out to God — being seen, getting sparked — is what turns "stuck" into "moving" again. Bite-sized. Repeated. That's how the elephant gets eaten.

    The 2 Millimeter Shift

  7. Sep 9

    Sparked

    In this episode: Russ shares his own real, in-progress financial reckoning — a full, honest audit of years of debt he'd been avoidingWhat it looks like to move from Seen to Sparked — Stage 3 of the Catalyst FrameworkThe moment seeing the truth turns into an actual first moveReal percentages, not exact numbers — because honesty doesn't require exposureAn invitation to look at the one number you've been avoiding this week Being seen is step one. Moving is step two. In this episode, Russ shares something he's living through right now — a full, honest reckoning with years of debt he'd been avoiding, and the moment that truth stopped being a weight and became a starting point. No shame, no easy fix — just the real percentages, the real shift, and the first small moves that turned "stuck under it" into "moving through it." This is Sparked: the stage where seeing clearly finally becomes doing something about it.

    Sparked

  8. Sep 2

    The Checkers Game

    Being seen isn't about someone fixing your problem — it's about someone finding the real you underneath it. Russ shares an afternoon with his father — a two-hour game of checkers that became the clearest picture yet of what the "Seen" stage of the Catalyst Framework actually looks like in real life. Between feeding tubes, fatigue, and a diagnosis that doesn't leave much room for hope, Russ found a way to see his dad as a father again, not just a patient. This episode is about the difference between fixing and seeing — and why the second one might matter more than we think.

    The Checkers Game
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About

Where stuck people get sparked into motion. Real talk. Real change. No fluff. The Spark Lab is a podcast for people who are ready to stop gliding and start flying - and for the leaders, coaches, and community builders who want to help them get there. Hosted by Russ Hess - author of the Catalyst Framework and founder of The Spark Lab - each episode delivers honest conversation, practical tools, and the kind of encouragement that gets in the boat with you and paddles. Get in, Get sparked, get moving.

Information

  • Creator
    Russ Hess
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Russ Hess
  • Show Website
    The Spark Lab