Serious Business

Happy New Year! Toni and Mike ring in 2018 with a lively discussion on how to turn your expectations into action. Instead of blindly setting unattainable resolutions for yourself, take time to really think about the past year. What did you learn? What can you take from the past year to deepen, grow steady, and then create change? It’s a subtly different way of thinking about setting goals for the new year. What will 2018 look like for you? Show notes: Raptitude: Go Deeper, Not Wider James Smith: The truth behind why I rip so many traditional diets… Todoist  

Toni and Mike discuss the value of critical thinking skills and how to measure success before getting to the heart of this week’s episode: getting started, showing up (even when you don’t want to), and envisioning your own version of the finish line. Show Notes: Power Causes Brain Damage What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?

You don't have to like it, you just have to do it. This week, we touch on the upcoming holidays and the sensation of mandatory fun and enforced renewal.  Happy Thanksgiving! Team cake!

​This week, Toni and Mike take on the insidious Impostor Complex, and it's evil twin, Inferiority Complex. BUT ARE WE QUALIFIED? Show Notes: Failing at Normal: An ADHD Success Story - Jessica McCabe How to ADHD - Jessica McCabe BUCKY RUNS OVER A FUCKING CAR Tanya Geislr  12 Lies of the Impostor Complex Jumanji 2  I Don't Wanna Grow Up (Tom Waits)

This week, we turn to beauty, joy, and delight. It’s a celebration of things that make us happy, the little dopamine hits and attention resets necessary to thrive in today’s chaotic environment. + Show notes: Outlander National Parks Webcams Bureau of Land Management Instagram New Star Wars trailer The Flash Neil Gaiman Mike and Neil Gaiman Norse Mythology Good Omens Terry Pratchett Octavia Butler Mary Oliver David Sedaris Unsplash Vellum app View from the Cheap Seats Pixelated boat Simpsons jokes on Twitter  

Yakspo! We're trying to turn our emotions from the tragedies of the week into being part of the solution (or at least not caving to the continual chaos and outrage). Turn on Do Not Disturb and stay to the end for our special tribute to the late Tom Petty. Show Notes: Yakspo! Delightful local coverage of Yakspo Temple Grandin Homeless Bird Do not disturb while driving FruitJuice for Mac Everytown for Gun Safety Writer John Scalzi Nails Why It’s So Hard to Be Creative Under Trump Tom Petty’s America Is The One We Want To Believe In Tom Petty’s final interview: There was supposed to have been so much more Netflix Documentary - Running Down a Dream  

We needed some comforting last week, so we turned our attention to fur pants and comfort-food genre media. Toni and Mike talk at length about the new series, Star Trek: Discovery, and its (frustrating) distribution model. We touch upon the value of genre, “lowbrow” media and outrage fatigue. We might have made the Trekkies mad.

We are back for Season FOUR, and we're going back to our roots. That is: tasteless humor and occasionally insightful observations on making creativity, career, family and fun work better together. This week, Toni and Mike catch up on what's new in their writing lives, Toni's Nested Set of Skills™, and the power of empathy in communication. We discuss reward system and getting kids to help out. Also: vengeful peanut stains and Letterman's beard.

Show Notes: ​Quelf Buzzr Resistbot

It's our 50th episode! How is this possible? While we ostensibly talk about being a parent in the Internet age, balancing keeping an eye on your kids while giving them autonomy to make mistakes, we’re also discussing all the tradeoffs we each have to make to stay sane. Mike and Toni revisit classic themes of feeling overwhelmed, getting involved, and how to keep the demon dogs at bay.

Toni and Mike continue their ongoing conversation about how we cannot limit external inputs to help us focus on what matters most. They push back against the notion that not being on social media makes you somehow less “real” of a person, and building your platform before you build the project your platform is designed to promote. The discomfort is were the work happens. Show notes: Iowa Parrot Rescue Wildlife Center Admits Lead-Poisoned Bald Eagle From Chesapeake This Polar Bear Loves To Wear A Bucket On Her Head Freelance Success George Saunders: what writers really do when they write  

Toni’s on a 30-day social media hiatus, which is our starting point for a discussion of the intentional consumption and sharing of news and content. Ask yourself: “Is what I’m sharing furthering my priorities? Is it useful?” And “How do you know which hill to die on?” Mike and Toni share their favorite daily and weekly news sources among the shock and awe of American life in 2017 (see show notes below). Here’s our recipe for fighting overload and prioritizing your own thoughts instead of others’ when you’re “emotionally porous.” Turn off the fire hose Firewall higher quality sources of information Consume them intentionally Take action accordingly What about you? How do you manage the media onslaught? What are your go-to resources? Show notes: DMCA takedown Re:act newsletter Indivisible Elizabeth Warren WaPo 5 Minute Fix WaPo Amazon Prime subscription / trial What the fuck just happened today? The Daily podcast  

To all our many enemies, we’ve handcrafted an episode about priorities — discerning and setting them, managing, and living with them. Show notes: Study Hacks blog by Cal Newport Cal Newport  

In the final episode of the dumpster fire of 2016, we discuss Christmas traditions and examine our privilege. This time, we don’t shy away from current events and our feelings about them. We reflect on how we can resist the current state of afairs with a unified collective narrative and action plan of our own. Also: Mike is confused about who’s who. Show Notes: “Pantsuit Nation had the potential to mobilize millions. Instead, it’s just a feel-good commodity (LA Times OpEd)” 20 Examples Of The Mandela Effect That’ll Make You Believe You’re In A Parallel Universe Serious Business podcast on Pinterest People About to Spill Coffee on a Bed on Pinterest  

For our annual Thanksgiving episode, we grease the wheels for your holiday travel with the perils and pleasures of Black Friday, getting into the end-of-year contemplative mood, exploring ways to broaden our mindset, and finding peace in stressful times. We definitely don’t talk about current events, nope, not at all. Mike’s notes for how to survive this week   Read Walk Relax Limit or no social media Make progress Smile Plan Daniel José Older’s tweet/advice Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang  

Much to Dan’s chagrin, we recorded this episode during a Bears game. Unsurprisingly, Pinterest is making Toni sick in the brain. Mike got roped into being the math parent, so he complains about homework…which leads into some discussion of education and opening your kids (and yourself) to new possibilities. Also worth noting: Toni’s innards haven’t been right since she rode the chia train. Show notes: The creepy Ronald McDonald chainsaw statue The Serious Business Pinterest board Instapaper acquired by Pinterest  

We’re back! The third season begins with Mike’s new office and what happens when you get everything you wanted. We talk about Toni’s recent move and how asking more of life has meant life has asked more of them in return. Plus the usual doses of parenting, productivity, and navigating your life by the beacon of a fecal fast food franchise. Show notes: It’s All Greek to Me—Restaurant Impossible Pengun falls down Swedish Fish Oreos Going Deep Workshop Is calendar-based productivity a fad? Google Goals Momento Word Warp How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain  

Mike and Toni spend some time remembering ashtrays before continuing their discussion of stuff and how we release our attachments to it. They also share some thoughts on making your projects a priority when life gets in the way, setting realistic goals, and how forgiveness can help you forge new patterns of productivity.​ Show Notes Rich Litvin - The Prosperous Coach   Steven Covey's matrix of urgency vs. importance   Going Deep workshop  

Mike and Toni consider the slightly silly world of smart appliances before the bulk of this week's discussion on going through Stuff, paper "hoarding," and how we decide what to keep and what to eliminate from our lives. We touch upon Mike's project, the Life Changing Art of selling a lot of self-help books and ask the burning question, "Where do all the scissors go?" Last, but not least, we discuss our unabashed affection for The Force Awakens and which Star Wars characters would be good at golf (spoiler alert: probably not Chewbacca). Show notes: Dynamite magazine Star Wars Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base - SNL

Back for 2016, Toni helps Mike to get a better handle on overreaching for personal development goals, and to instead focus on what he can be curious and playful about. Toni explains her position on the law of attraction, magical thinking, and pattern recognition. And that’s not to mention the horror of caricatures, the eldercare shitshow, operating within systems, and kids using tech for unintended purposes. Here’s to a great year ahead, friends! Show notes: Duolingo Get Rich, Lucky Bitch!: Release Your Money Blocks and Live a First Class Life by Denise Duffield Thomas

Holidays, man! This week Mike and Toni talk about the annual onslaught of holiday overwhelm. Even as we’re Christmas shopping for more stuff, we discuss breaking free of our attachments—be they to physical objects, social media interactions, or information—and avoiding the inevitable disappointment of overly specific expectations. See you in 2016! Show Notes Read Between the Lynes Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed Jewel-Osco KitKat Cake CanvasPop XKit Mobile app for Dumblr Why I do not use social media anymore — Alexandra Franzen How can I get un-hooked from Facebook? — Alexandra Franzen Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message by Tara Mohr

A shortie from the holiday week-that-was. Toni and Mike talk grocery shopping and food delivery before diving into the rich world of ideas—generating them, capturing them, and making room for new ones. The problem isn’t usually too may ideas, it’s which ones to chase. Also: believing in things you can’t see, trusting our instincts, and the difference between stroking and petting (spoiler: one sounds dirty). Show Notes Amazon Dash Button This Is Your Brain on Silence Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic

Happy Thanksgiving week! Toni and Mike send you into the holiday with a discussion on social media completionism and how early is too early with holiday lights. More seriously, they discuss Toni’s adventures with ADD, how people come back when they don’t get what they want, and how small inroads are the only way to make progress on big audacious projects. Show Notes The Going Deep Workshop with Toni McLellan Mike’s big new book project Samantha Bennett “The 1% of a long-lasting career” by Paul Jarvis The Serious Business newsletter is here! Sign up now!

The importance of pauses: it's not a failure if you need a break from everything. Accepting, delegating, and rejecting perfectionism can help you "go pro." Toni and Mike discuss balancing ambition with appreciation, completionism and media overwhelm, and a few minutes on what the hell is wrong with Tumblr (and, frankly, all social networks). Show Notes The Artists Way, by Julia Cameron Going Deep Workshop with Toni McLellan Mike’s newsletter, The Miscellaneum Unroll.me RescueTime Love Boat Insanity

The all-new second season of Serious Business begins with Halloween and cosplay shenanigans before taking on Dan's aspirational chaps purchases. We also talk spoilers, anticipation and recent sci-fi/adventure movies, including X-Files, Star Trek, Star Wars, Prometheus and The Martian, Jurassic World, James Bond, and the possibilities for a a plea for a Serious Business fan fiction marketplace. Show Notes Hatsune Miku Hit Charade: Meet the bald Norwegians and other unknowns who actually create the songs that top the charts Fire Emblem Green Arrow What is the Difference Between a Warlock and a Wizard? Mel Gibson Calls Police Sergeant “Sugar Tits” During Drunken Arrest Tirade X-Files 2016 trailer Star Trek: The Animated Series Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoiler revealed in Duracell Christmas advert Andy Weir on his strange journey from self-publishing to Hollywood Ulysses, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Quincy intro Daniel Craig explains why calling Monica Bellucci an ‘older woman’ is ridiculous The Librarians

Little free libraries, treemail, bird talk as prelude to talking about Mike's new running habit as a metaphor for starting anything new.

This week focuses on work-life balance – what it means, how it's different for men and women, and how it all boils down to your priorities and what you're okay with.

Toni and Mike talk avoidance vs laziness and our resistance to going deep to do our best work. We discover that, like great customer service, going deep always come back to love rather than disbelief and fear.

Who you were vs. who you are. Lessons in not being a jerk, sports martyrdom, seeing bands you love, and avoiding harmful self-talk. Walk on, friends.

Money consciousness, commencement speeches and the lesson that life is not easy. Fear and our ability to fight it with curiosity. And if that wasn't heavy and personal enough, we explore some end of life issues and the idea of "good death."

We start with ham radio versus actual ham before moving on to being disillusioned with politics and limiting your exposure to negativity. Mike's struggle with consumption vs. production leads to a discussion around making space and radical prioritization as a way to make space for what you value most. Plus a really good pep talk on leveling up from Toni!

Toni and Mike receive a coffee delivery and discuss getting dressed for the weekend, curating your online persona, and finding the touchstones that anchor your life when all doesn't go as planned.

This week Mike and Toni offend garbage-men and -women and answer a listener question about staying positive (and/or motivated). We use Toni's experience as a freelance writer and writing student to explore grad school, working with a writing coach, and being possessed by the devil.

Toni and Mike discuss arborists and other jokes of adulthood as well as tornadoes, flying, and the ongoing practice of living with anxiety. They also consider looking ahead to the next phases of life and reinventing yourself while still engaging with the present.

Homonyms for bald. Shootin' pool and how we all suck as beginners. Just showing up summons the muse. and bite-sized, achievable goals get things done. Caffeine, sugar, diet coke, smoking and other habits.

We begin accidental Season Two of the podcast with the elemental parts of ourselves, not getting hung up on perfection and the thrill of being a beginner. They're not men, they're machines.

On a roll, or rather a foam roller, this week. Amid discussion of ungulates, Merlin-worship and being too old for music festivals, Toni and Mike address why our best thinking happens in the shower, capturing ideas, the tyranny of systems that prioritize busywork over real work, perfectionism, and refilling the well. Phew!

An episode about paying attention, whether it be through poetry, creative nonfiction, or to time. Also, romantic gestures ("artistic" or otherwise), not knowing what shape your endeavors will take, & answers to listener questions about taking control of your schedule & making time for family dinners.

Toni and Mike tackle the fun in frightening grandparents and revisit losing before exploring autonomy and respect, inertia, assumptions, making the time to practice a craft, and seeing things for what they really are instead of what you think they might be. It's a good one!

This week Toni and Mike recap art night and the unvarnished life on the way to a discussion of autonomy and happiness, resilience and finding balance. Along the way: Listener feedback, setting priorities, and of course, pooping.

Mike and Toni have cabin fever, but take the opportunity to discuss the origins of nostalgia, getting organized, digital vs analog tools, using systems to categorize priorities and living intentionally. Lots to think about from this episode!

In and around superhero shows, Mythbusters, and Larry Sanders, Toni and Mike talk transitions, getting okay with being lazy, overcoming inertia, and making small changes that can affect big plans for the new year.

Surprisingly jam-packed episode with insight into kicking off the new year. Also: Owning a big phone, liking old music, money & happiness, cracking the code for thriving in your life, planning the year ahead, & change as a series of small steps. PLUS, The Very Important reveal of a new segment: "Dan Reads Yelp Reviews.”

The approaching Winter Holidays and the resulting overload of emotions, commitments and expectations. Your Christmas won't be perfect. We're here to help.

How does one make their way and, dare we say, innovate in a world of binary opinions and blueprints? How do we trust ourselves? Oh and the Star Wars trailer.

The approaching winter, family games, Indiana Jones, Amanda Palmer and asking for help, hard conversations, being right or being happy, believing your thoughts.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving from Serious Business. We talk holidays, hygge, gratitude, warmth, slowing down and pregaming for the long winter ahead.

Our most serious and inspirational business yet. Toni and Mike talk about handling change and work—asking what's possible, callings vs. careers, what else is out there, leaps of faith, sticking to it vs. instant gratification, advice for writers, Julia Child, and being a novice.

This week there's something wrong with the waffles. We prepare for winter by talking Crocs, vanity URLs, appliance shopping, handling change and transitions, purging and what if god is a possum.

It's an extra spooky Halloween episode! Discussed: Kid Halloween vs. Adult Halloween, Toni's birthday, toe socks, personal flamethrowers, the Hulk's student loan debt, motivation and being on The Track. We also cover experiential learning, the value of hard work and changes of scenery to unlocking creativity. Of course there's also a fart story or two.

Discussed: Adventure Time, Doctor Who, binge watching, and garlic! We also cover the mind-body connection, being a germaphobe, passing on your anxieties, depression and medication, Space Ghost, Weezer, nesting dolls of yoga teachers, why Toni's not doing a Zombie Run but IS biking to the ends of the earth, fear, and the ivory tower of "what if."