James and Sana

It's been awhile since Sana and I made a podcast. It turns out we sort of missed it, and wanted to record a quick update for y'all who apparently tune in. I was pleasantly surprised to see well over 150 downloads for some of our episodes, so it looks like there's something of a demand for what we say. And for good reason. I cling to every word that Sana says, which is why I married her! So enjoy this short little chat, and we promise there will be more to come in the future!

If we were merely interested, we would not have made it through our first year of marriage. This is our story.

"Mr. Newcomb..." said the voice on the other end of the line. "Yes." "This is the hotel manager. Did you break the rules of the hotel this morning?" Silence. I could practically feel the white-hot lights in the interrogation room burning into my skin, my freedom hinging on what I would say next. "Mr. Newcomb, did you break the rules of the quarantine this morning?" "Did you see me breaking the rules?" "I saw it on the video camera." "I see." "Mr. Newcomb, would you like me to assist you in moving to the army barracks to do the remainder of your quarantine? Because I'll be happy to do so if that's your wish." "Now why would you do that?" "We notified the local authority, and they told us we should send you to the army barracks because you broke the rules of the hotel this morning." Silence. "I need some water sent to my room." "What size?" "The big 19 liter jug." "Okay, it's coming right up, sir." Click. The water arrived a few minutes later. The above conversation actually happened this morning at the hotel where I'm serving my mandatory 14-day quarantine upon my arrival in Vietnam to live with my wife Sana. What was my crime? you're probably asking. I walked outside my room in the hallway, attempting to mimic something that resembles a walk. It was 6 am, and not a soul was in sight. But the rule clearly states that "guests" are not permitted to leave their hotel room for any reason. Now, I don't mind rules that are intended to keep Covid out of the country. It's their home, I'm more or less visiting. What bothers me, whether for disease prevention or anything else, is rules that exist just to exist. And people who enforce them for no other reason than they're there - common sense, or the mental health of paying guests at a hotel be damned. As petty and childish as the hotel manager was, there's an important lesson to be gleaned from this experience. From my perspective, these people are unreasonable, to the point of being even fanatical in their hyper-compliance with the rules. But it kind of puts to shame many who have a business, a side-hustle, a ministry who don't have the same zeal. I'm not saying we should emulate the indifference to the welfare of other human beings. But in the spirit of not throwing out the baby with the bath water, there is an important lesson to be learned from this other wise negative experience.

jamesandsana.com

If you enjoy these podcasts that James and Sana produce, perhaps you'll consider supporting us financially. As you may have heard, we are in the process of obtaining a visa for Sana to reside in the United States. And boy it aint cheap. If you'd like to help us out with covering the attorney's fees, filing fees, copying fees (it cost nearly $200 just to make copies of all the materials in our application), and what not, we'd be tremendously grateful. If you choose not to, that's okay too. We love making these podcasts as it has grown us closer together as a couple, and we're glad other people are able to share in our exploits as we grow a new family! https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=AGV7XV97SF6L8 (Click here to send your contribution)

https://amzn.to/386Lsb8 (A Different Shade of Green) Got an idea for James and Sana to discuss on the show? Got a question about Persian culture? Visit us on the web at https://my.captivate.fm/dashboard/shows/jamesandsana.com (jamesandsana.com).

James and Sana continue their podcasting exploits in this fact-free, fun-filled episode. BTW, we now have a website! jamesandsana.com

beatinpath.media

"Your sushi is terrible!" said Gabriel, 6, to his father, James Newcomb. So it goes in James' rented apartment on the oceanfront of Virginia Beach, VA while he awaits the arrival of his wife Shafieh (Sana) Dorry when her visa to reside in the United States is approved by the State Department. The recent failed attempt at making sushi is the latest in a string of culinary mishaps which has befallen James and Gabriel. Police reports reveal responses to complaints of burnt blueberry pancakes, overdone turkey bacon, and meat in a spaghetti sauce with the texture of an Adidas running sneaker. Sana's arrival in the U.S. will be most welcome, not only to bring a degree of competence into the kitchen, but to finally unite a young child and his stepmother, with whom he has corresponded only via video chat since March 2019. When this podcast went to press, James was seen poring over a Betty Crocker™ cookbook planning dinner.

**This just may be the most important podcast episode of our lifetimes. We're certain that if you listen to this episode, you'll find something of value in it. Thing is, we're not exactly sure where. Sana gave James an introductory lesson in the Persian language, we discussed the best way to boil potatoes, and even managed to squeeze in a discussion on Biblical history among other topics. Enjoy!

(James) While I was living in Vietnam earlier this year, Sana and I went to a shopping mall to just hang out. It was very odd that the mall was playing kids music - think Wheels On the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, stuff like that. We discussed this on today's podcast. While Sana's rationale as to why the mall management would do that makes sense, it got me to thinking about how mainstream art as a whole has degraded to what it is today. Seriously... Does anyone think that Justin Timberlake holds a candle to Simon and Garfunkel, George Gershwin, Mozart, etc. when it comes to artistic integrity. Those cats were the Justin Timberlake of their time as far as popularity, cultural "relevance" and such. Think about that. The decline we see in social norms, off the charts anxiety and depression, mass shootings, etc. along with this decline in artistic integrity is not a coincidence. And now the arts are basically at a standstill during the COVID-19 era. Sana and I touched on this briefly, but truth be told, I wished we would have gone much longer on this one. I guess that's the beauty of a podcast. You can always fill in the gaps next week, right? Enjoy!

Well, Sana got a week off this week. She's got another week to devise ways to exploit James' weaknesses to gain the upper hand in their on-show banter. But this one is a doozy. James interviewed his friend and fellow podcast host Jason Heath this past week. Jason is a professional symphony bassist and hosts a show called Contrabass Conversations. Jason "gets it" when it comes to tribe-building and building community around a podcast. His show generates over one million downloads per year at last count! So he knows a thing or two about running a successful podcast, and is always game for a friendly chat to talk business, media production and life. Among the more salient points in our discussion: -Why a podcast is like your baby...5:00 -People are into you, not the topic...7:30 -Why put out content when there's already so much out there?...10:00 -Your hero podcaster didn't start out as a rock star...13:00 -The true meaning of entertainment..18:40 -How to kill your credibility while pitching your product...29:10 -An unconventional route to success in the digital media world...40:15 Check out Jason's work at https://my.captivate.fm/dashboard/shows/contrabassconversations.com (contrabassconversations.com)

There's a truth all podcast host need to embrace...You're an entertainer first and foremost. This causes a bit of cognitive dissonance in a lot of podcast hosts who start their show for good reasons: to make a positive impact in the lives of those who listen to it. "Entertainment" is circus monkeys and free candy in our minds. To "entertain" our listeners seems to run afoul of noble purposes that many podcasters have. Well, they don't understand what it means to entertain. To sum up, it means this: Don't be boring. If you can follow that one rule, you're guaranteed to have an entertaining show. The value that you intend for listeners to take away will come out, whether it's an entertaining, captivating presentation, or a dull, boring lecture. No one likes a lecture, you may as well be entertaining. Sana and James discuss what it means to be entertaining, and share a few principles on how to do so with integrity and in a way that ensures your message will be heard - and remembered! This is a topic that will be covered in James' new book: Podcasting Principles. To sign up for your free copy delivered to your email inbox, go to beatinpath.media to join the wait list. beatinpath.media

"Add value!" say all the business and entrepreneur types on their podcasts, emails, blogs, YouTubes, and the like. Funny thing is all these podcasts, blogs, videos, etc. look, sound and feel exactly the same as every other podcast, blog and YouTube video out there. It's as though it's a race to see who can be the best at copying the Facebook Guru of the Month. Follow the template these gurus establish, then do it with more energy, more frequency, more contrived pizzazz than the next guy or gal. Sana and I discuss this concept of "adding value" to stuff we put out in this week's podcast. Not to give away who killed Professor Plum in the library before the game begins, but we take issue with the concept of "adding value" to our content the way many seem to view it. BTW, https://www.dailysabah.com/op-ed/2018/12/11/rumi-and-his-holistic-human-rights-theory (Here's the poem by Rumi that Sana mentioned)

James evaluates Sana in this stunning new episode of our little show. If you'll recall, we discussed the 6 variables that make up the KLT (know, like, trust) factor in your business, relationships, ministry, what have you. The 6 variables are: Expert authority Likability Commitment and consistency Reciprocation Social proof Scarcity To the shock of no one, Sana scored extremely well on her very first Wife Performance Review (WPR). And James isn't complaining about anything either. We also talked about decision making, and when you know beyond the shadow of a doubt it's time to take action on something you've been mulling over. Enjoy!

I clearly remember my very first podcast interview. I don't remember my second podcast interview, because it went without a hiccup. So you can maybe see where I'm going with this. Translation: the first one was...memorable. It was for a podcast titled Outside the Music Box, and I wanted to explore Albert Einstein's love of music. Einstein loved to play his violin so much he even said in an interview that had he not chosen the field of physics, he would have been a musician. Well, thank goodness he didn't choose to be a violinist - his mind was put to much better use as a physicist. But that love of music intrigued me, so much so that I wanted to talk about it on my new podcast. So I did a bit of research (fancy term for a google search) and found a fellow who's a physics professor at Oxford University who's lectured and published a few videos about Einstein; he even collaborated with a professional violinist for his presentations. That's my man, I thought. But...this was definitely outside my comfort zone. Not only was I doing interviews for the first time in my life, I was interviewing a freaking physics professor at Oxford. It may not sound intimidating reading this copy, but it sure was for me at the time. I would have greatly preferred to get a few interviews under my belt before taking on this challenge. My years as a performer taught me that preparation is the key to dealing with intimidating situations. With enough preparation, you can handle anything. It turns out this person was my first ever interview. I had never interviewed anyone, for any reason, not even for the high school newspaper. Well, the show must go on, as they say. I was determined to be a podcaster, and I was going to just soldier on and get it done. I spent the time between confirming the Skype call (probably a week or so) visualizing this interview; visualizing asking the questions, my voice, my phrasing. I was as prepared as I could be given the circumstances. We exchanged pleasantries on the call, I hit record, and... Blankness. I froze. The neurons in my brain that ordinarily tell my tongue to move and produce sounds in a manner in which communication with other human beings is possible - they just up and quit working. Went on strike, some sort of dispute over "benefits" I later learned. In moments like this, PANIC is at the ready, waiting on the performer to falter just enough to get its foot in the door and eventually ruin the whole event. Fortunately I had enough performing experience that I was able to draw on in this moment of near-catastrophe. I apologized to my guest, who was very gracious through all of it, then took a few deep breaths, waited a moment, and began. I'm not going to say that I hit a homerun, but I will say I hit the ball squarely. A respectable showing for a first interview, and given the circumstances, a bit of a feather in the old cap. All this to say that if you're concerned about how you're going to sound or present yourself at the very beginning of any endeavor, be it a podcast, a youtube channel, or what have you, rest assured that you're not going to sound very good. Why would you expect to sound like a pro your first time? When you made love to your spouse the first time, was it fantastic? Probably not. In fact, it was probably disappointing. Such is life. Your audience doesn't expect you to sound great. They expect you to sound terrible. If you can manage to sound like you have some experience under your belt, then that's terrific, but that's not why people tune in. They tune in because you have a message. You care about this message so much that you're willing to confront those fears of getting out there and just getting it done. Your listeners/fans/followers will appreciate that far more than sterling production quality. So if you didn't get all that, get this: Give yourself permission to suck. If it's not 100%, or even 65% of what you want right out the gate, it's okay. You'll get better....

How do you define success?...1:10 Should I have a strategy to capitalize on Spotify's recent power moves?...7:55 How James and Sana are bringing back live music...18:10 And much more! To check out more of James and Sana's adventures and to keep tabs on the effort to bring her to the U.S. follow along at jamesandsana.com

Everyone's got one... No, I'm not talking about your belly button or your opinion on the pace of reopening society from the COVID-19 issue. I'm talking about embarrassing moments -- that we're okay sharing publicly. I have plenty of moments that will remain with me only for all time. But Sana and I have also made some pretty bone-headed moves that in hindsight are pretty funny. I guess as long as no one gets hurt, it's okay to laugh, right? Enjoy!

“I’m not good at sales,” many people say.  The truth is, if you have a pulse, you sell. It may not be selling real estate or toilet paper to the local shopping mall, but you’ve got to sell. It could be a child selling his parents on why a cookie before dinner is a good idea. It could be a job interview where you’re selling the person or people on why they should pay you for your services. It seems that some people are “naturals” when it comes to selling. While these people perhaps have a certain charisma in their personality that others lack, the truth is truly successful sales people have learned and mastered 6 attributes. You may use different words from what I’m using, but it’s the principles I want to focus on, not semantics.  These attributes cause people to Know, Like and Trust (KLT) you. The more of them you can employ in any situation where you’re selling yourself or a product/service, the better off you’ll be. I liken this to a vehicle. Think of the KLT as the model of the car you drive while you're selling - be it a job interview, selling a course, an audition for the community theater production, lining up a gig at the local coffee shop, selling coaching services, you get the idea. It's what gets you from Point A (no sale) to Point B (the other party is buying). Any product needs this vehicle. And the higher the value of the product, the more reliable it needs to be. Now, there are 6 attributes, or elements which I liken to the "fuel" for your KLT vehicle. These things are indispensable for powering the KLT vehicle, and the more of them you can use, the more reliable the vehicle will be. I realize that other words could be used in their place, and there may be one or two other attributes you can think of that I didn't. Whatever the case may be, this list does a good job of summing up the issue. So here they are: Expert authority Likability Commitment and consistency Reciprocation Social proof Scarcity

James Newcomb and wife Sana Dorry discuss how our reactions and our mindset determine how our circumstances affect our quality of life, particularly when circumstances go awry. Check out more free podcasts, courses, articles and much more on James Newcomb's personal smartphone app! Type in beatinpath.media/app into your phone's browser and you're off to the races.