Remote Pep Talks with Ryan Millar

Sometimes events can bum us out, big things out of our control. In that case, let's focus on what we can manage. In this episode, which happens to take place on the sidelines of a community football match, Ryan lays out three things that you can focus on to help you power through. 

Ryan talks the importance of finishing work, and to prove the point he shares a rap song he made a few years ago, that actually turned out to be pretty good. Finish your things. Not all of them, of course.

Ryan takes a walk in the woods and discusses the importance of taking steps, both physical and figurative.Topics covered include podcasting, push-ups, housework and parenting. 

A delightful, wide-ranging and in-depth chat with the fascinating and delightful Jillian Vorce of the Jillian Group. In addition to being an exceptionally good hang, Jillian is a B-Corp consultant, podcaster, and speaker with a heart for sustainability. In this episode we look back at how she started her agency, grew it so rapidly, and how and why she ended up changing directions in her personal and professional life, and what all of that has taught her. 

In this episode Ryan sits around the campfire and discusses sticking with projects even during the time when they start to get tricky, and the initial enthusiasm wanes. It's short and sweet with lots of useful reinforcing ideas about the value of sticktoitiveness, which is incidentally a great word.

Let's head to the library and talk about words. Ryan loves words, and he loves using them and talking about them. He's also celebrating the publication of a new book "Daft Poems & Twisted Tongues: An Assortment of Wonderful Words", hence today's topic. The discussion covers Speak and Spell, tongue twisters and the reasons for putting together a kids' book of poetry and using a nom de plume. Here's an Amazon link to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9082771438

On this episode Ryan sits with Mike Brown of New York's Pineapple Improv (https://www.pineappleimprov.com/). This discussion falls under the heading of a "Project Pitch Polish" episode, as Ryan and Mike dive into the mechanics and specifics of how Mike talks about his improv baby, and also they talk about the value of using the gift of pineapple as conversation fodder. They also get into Mike's love of collectibles, dinner party etiquette, and film buffery. Mike is an ebullient, engaging and passionate guy who also happens to be a seasoned improviser and all-around good human. Enjoy! 

Ryan's back from yoga, and it's put him into a new perspective, which is: the importance of taking it easy. So don't forget to relax, and enjoy that. 

How can we continue to develop as people and as practitioners of whatever it is that we're working on? Ryan visits the Straat Museum in Amsterdam Noord and reflects on the importance of artistic evolution to keep us stimulated and engaged. From bucking your own system to keeping your identity small, Ryan explores how continued evolution is necessary for continued fulfillment.   

In this ultra-short episode, I start warming up the feed for Season Three, after a long hiatus. A quick check-in, just to get us back to square zero. More episodes coming soon.   

This episode discusses the difference between speaking confidently and speaking loudly. It also breaks down the bookwriting process and Ryan's own history helping people learn to speak with confidence. As this episode is related to Ryan's upcoming book release, he runs through the different sections of "The Confident Presenter" and why the book is organized that way. Oh, and this is the final ep of season two. Enjoy!

Ryan's writing a book, and that project is BIIIIIG. And then he just stopped. For like, a month. Now, as he gets back to it, he reflects on the project, the stop, and how seasons and rhythms affect our work. This RPT takes place in a lush quiet winter forest. Enjoy! 

There's a quote from Albert Einstein in this episode. And that guy was very smart!

Kids can be soooooo frustrating! Obviously, this topic will be a familiar one for anyone who's a parent or who has been a kid. It's all about dealing with frustrations, but especially about dealing with the frustrations of having kids. And needing to get those kids to school. Spurred on by a listener inquiry, Ryan tackles the topic head-on, and draws on some timeless wisdom, including a quote about halving a burden, as well as one about stepping in the same river twice. There's also a pretty decent off-the-cuff gold panning metaphor that is alone worth the price of admission. Visit the playground, bathe in the sounds, and enjoy some peppy wisdom.

Exploring depth means to dive beneath the surface. Too often, we can skirt the surface of things, without giving their full space our full attention. There are a few different ways we can reckon more completely with things in their depth, including ourselves. Some of the concepts, ideas and media mentioned in this episode include the notion of a "depth year", Stephen King's "On Writing", Natasha Lyonne's "Russian Doll" (and a piece of wisdom Ryan picked up from her) and more. 

In this summertime easy listening episode, Ryan visits a foosball-filled house party to discuss the value of networking, the mindset shift that can support it, and some tactics for improving our networking experiences.

In this episode, Ryan discusses shitty first drafts, the Losada line, sustaining our craft, bringing your best self to the office and a myriad of other ways that positivity can and does have an effect on our work and happiness.

How important is perspective? Well, it's kinda the only thing. This episode starts with Hamlet before opening up into a world of thoughts on what thoughts can do, and how important it is to get up again, once you've been knocked down.

Ryan's back after taking a long-ass (and well-deserved?) break. Time to discuss the value of taking action. Topics discussed include Greg McKeown's book Essentialism, James Clear's Atomic Habits and being the busiest person, all while by a quaint Dutch harbor town in the early morning.

This is it, your chance to enjoy a relaxing rowboat ride while being reminded of the importance in doing things like... taking a relaxing rowboat ride with a friend, or otherwise just unplugging and taking a break. Ryan also discusses his book TAKE IT EASY, and the value in approaching your work with a sense of calm readiness. 

Some of the things discussed in this episode include Ferris Bueller's life philosophy, mining your life for meaning using storyteller Matthew Dicks' Homework for Life model, Father's Day, and the value of being tired at the end of the day. 

From making tentative post-COVID social and activity plans to strategies for creating space for deeper connections in your relationships, Ryan opens up on opening up. Subjects that come up along the way include: what was the deal with dinosaurs, and how the Dunbar number can frame your need for connected relationships. 

Well well well, someone has several questions about career path and direction, and Ryan is quite ready to talk about this, and in fact, has recently been doing a whole bunch of thinking on this very subject. As you'll hear, the idea of career transitions is very relevant to what's going on in Ryan's life at this moment. From assessing and appreciating the destabilizing effects of kids and pandemics on our careers, to thinking how to restart and pivot so that your work is more closely aligned with who you are and what you care about, this episode gets right into a few key principles to keep in mind when life throws you a curveball. It's a good talk, this one. Ryan even speaks a little bit of Japanese and Dutch -- insofar as he is able to.

Misinformation and disinformation are all around us. How do we deal with it, and its effects on friends and family, asks Guil. Ryan heads off to a library in Gothenburg, Sweden to address, or at least attempt to address the rampant online misinformation and how it can warp friends and family. From Q Drops to the theme song from 'The Facts of Life', and everything in between, this very thorny and broad issue requires quite some unpacking. There aren't really answers, of course, but maybe we can discover a few strategies to counteract the deluge of confusion.

Ryan heads out to bask in some early morning bird calls to discuss standing firm in your convictions, the value of marginal gains, and a little reflection on the power of DFBs (Deep Fucking Breaths). This episode is soundtracked by the International Dawn Chorus. "The dawn chorus occurs when birds sing at the start of a new day. In temperate countries, this is most noticeable in spring when the birds are either defending a breeding territory, trying to attract a mate, or calling in the flock."

Death comes for us all, and the question for this episode is about that hard stop at the end of life. Luckily, Ryan is able to use this as an opportunity to say thanks to his high school drama teacher for the mentorship and fostering his love of the performing arts. And, thanks to a quote from Keanu Reeves and a Redditor, there's a pretty successful attempt to glean some sense from thinking about death. There's also a little bit of reminiscing about high school drama which, if you were a high school drama nerd, you'll find extremely relatable. 

Ryan is bad at making things, from a broken clock radio as a kid to a model he tried to make recently. But how does that square with his self-perception as a 'creative'? In this episode Ryan explore the ideas of skill, flexibility, resourcefulness and making ideas into realities.

This is a playground-based discussions about kids, only children, siblings, growing older with a sibling, parenting one, two or many kids and the imagined future Sicilian holiday that led Ryan to really get behind the idea of having a second child. If you're a parent and thinking about having a second kid (or in the process of having a second kid), this is ideal content. If you're not in either of those categories, you might enjoy it anyway.

This episode takes place on a beach in Hawaii, which is a pretty great place to be. The topic is "Where do I start with making life choices and changes? And what advice can I trust? (not just you, but generally). It seems to me everybody has an agenda and advice to match to suit THEIR needs (even if it's just financial gain), and not mine.How can you trust someone with something that important as my life, my sanity, my happiness?"It's quite a lot to dig into, and we do, touching on books such as Design Your Life and Second Mountain, and ideas like five friends and two wolves.

While in a gentle breeze on a sailboat, Ryan examines a question from Julie, about getting a heating and cooking system for her sailboat. Topics covered include: how awesome sailing is, decision fatigue, the Pareto Principle, weighing the pros, and a couple of sailing terms. Useful content for sailors and landlubbers, because we all need to make decisions. 

From revisiting life as a tour guide in Rome and Vatican City, to looking at where we've ended up in our life and how to shake out of our routines and take steps toward realizing our potential or finding our life's purpose, this episode covers, in brief, a number of big topics. To underscore the need to push yourself, Ryan even speaks a little unvarnished Italian at the end. Benissimo!

Out at a cafe, enjoying a warm beverage and good company, just reflecting on what it takes to keep making work you care about, when it seems like nobody is that bothered about it. Or, for that matter, to start making creative work. Do it for yourself.

Do we like work? Not generally. Do we need to work. Yes, normally. How do we manage that tension. Well, that's the topic of this episode.

Imposter Syndrome, that bastard. 

This is a trailer for Remote Pep Talks, with Ryan Millar. It should give you a sense of what this podcast is all about, and why you should add it to your listening pile. Because who doesn't need a little warmth and positive advice, coming to your ears from somewhere cool?