Podcasts about both charlie

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This verse is not only on a  necklace but its meaning is woven throughout Charles Martin's heartwarming novel, When Crickets Cry. God crosses two paths, Reese, the former heart surgeon, who is hiding from his painful past and seven year old Annie who is selling lemonade and giving away sunshine and smiles. She has a failing heart and has been praying for a surgeon!Charlie is Reese's blind brother-in-law who lives next-door. The two rebuild old boats together. Both Charlie and Annie live life to the fullest! Charlie's favorite quote is from Helen Keller, “I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.”“People marvel at the genius of Mozart because he supposedly wrote “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” at the age of three and composed his first symphony at the age of twelve. And yes, of course, he was a genius, but another way to look at it is that he just discovered early what God had made him to do…Of course he was brilliant, but that's not the point. The point is he knew and then he got to work.” This wisdom came from Emma, Charlie's sister and Reese's late wife, who knew Reese was made to fix hearts.“If anything in the universe reflects the fingerprint of God, it is the human heart…It derives no benefit from the blood it pumps making it the most unselfish of organs…it is also the most courageous and faithful.” Can Reese get over the pain of the past? Will he be able to forgive himself? Will Annie get the surgery she desperately needs before her time runs out? Just like each piece of a puzzle is ‘critical to the whole', each person in this story reminds us that we all have a part to play in this life. Please join us as we take a trip to rural Georgia and learn about love, loss, and redemption! 

In this second episode of the Furniture Industry Awards Gala Series, Heather Greenwood returns as host to welcome Charlie Malouf, President and CEO of Broad River Retail, and Manny Rodrigues, COO of Broad River Retail, after Broad River Retail's achievement of being named Furniture Retailer of the Year.  The conversation looks ahead to the future of Broad River Retail while also celebrating its past. The conversation emphasizes the importance of recognizing the foundational contributions of previous leaders and the company's co-founders, Jonathan Ishee and Jackson Moore, as well as the Miskelly family. The hosts discuss how current successes at Broad River are deeply rooted in these past efforts and stress the significance of honoring societal and historical sacrifices by continuously striving to make positive contributions. Key topics include the company's vision for growth, the importance of a purpose-driven business model, and the unique approach that combines traditional industry benchmarks with innovative strategies. The conversation also highlights the disciplined approach to decision-making, focusing on mutual prosperity, and a collaborative, entrepreneurial spirit within Broad River. Manny underscores the necessity for continuous improvement and hands-on involvement to support the Memory Makers. Both Charlie and Manny reflect on challenges faced and lessons learned, ultimately aiming for sustained growth and resilience.  This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MHk2HqSh9po  Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes. Broad River Retail brought this show to you. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com                             Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broad-river-retail 

In this second episode of the Furniture Industry Awards Gala Series, Heather Greenwood returns as host to welcome Charlie Malouf, President and CEO of Broad River Retail, and Manny Rodrigues, COO of Broad River Retail, after Broad River Retail's achievement of being named Furniture Retailer of the Year.  The conversation looks ahead to the future of Broad River Retail while also celebrating its past. The conversation emphasizes the importance of recognizing the foundational contributions of previous leaders and the company's co-founders, Jonathan Ishee and Jackson Moore, as well as the Miskelly family. The hosts discuss how current successes at Broad River are deeply rooted in these past efforts and stress the significance of honoring societal and historical sacrifices by continuously striving to make positive contributions. Key topics include the company's vision for growth, the importance of a purpose-driven business model, and the unique approach that combines traditional industry benchmarks with innovative strategies. The conversation also highlights the disciplined approach to decision-making, focusing on mutual prosperity, and a collaborative, entrepreneurial spirit within Broad River. Manny underscores the necessity for continuous improvement and hands-on involvement to support the Memory Makers. Both Charlie and Manny reflect on challenges faced and lessons learned, ultimately aiming for sustained growth and resilience.  This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MHk2HqSh9po  Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes. Broad River Retail brought this show to you. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com                             Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broad-river-retail 

This episode is a bit special. It's the first time we have had two guests on at the same time. They are Charlie Pickles from the Reform Think Tank and Jack Shaw from Labour Together. You might recognise those names. Both Charlie and Jack have been on the podcast in their own right and had their own episode. Given that we've just had an election with a change of government, we wanted to get these two policy experts back in to talk about what a Labour government might mean in terms of public service reform. We cover a wide range of topics including the new central government missions and how they will be delivered, what the new government might mean for devolution and the relationship between central government. One thing is for sure – a lot more collaboration will be needed between public services at all levels. Both Charlie and Jack are so insightful and enthusiastic about genuine public service reform, which is what we hope you are all here to listen to!

Welcome to The Purpose Summit Series on Stories from the River! To kick off this 12-episode series with selected speakers from The Purpose Summit 2024, Charlie Malouf welcomes Davin Salvagno, Founder and CEO of Purpose Point and a return guest of the podcast. They sat down for this conversation at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum Gear Shop during The Purpose Summit 2024. A friend of The River, this episode marks Davin's fifth appearance on the podcast.  Davin shares the experience of bringing the 5th Purpose Summit to Charlotte, and he discusses the intricate planning and teamwork that goes into organizing The Purpose Summit.  Recorded in front of a live audience during the breakout sessions on day two of the Summit, Salvagno shares insights about the opening night of The Purpose Summit, where purposeful and positive speakers like Nick Craig and Jon Gordon set a high standard, delivering messages that were both inspiring and transformative for attendees. He describes the first night as a microcosm of the Summit's larger objective, emphasizing the importance of stopping to follow others' maps and instead becoming map-makers. The Purpose Leadership Awards also shone a spotlight on organizations exemplifying purpose from three different areas (for profit, non profit, and faith-based). The discussion moves to the events of the following morning with presentations by Ron Carucci and Mark Whitacre, both delivering impactful content that challenged and inspired participants. Davin reveals that this year's feedback was particularly positive, noting a stronger emphasis on actionable "how-to" advice compared to previous summits.  He addresses the demanding nature of organizing the Summit, sharing his motivation drawn from the high percentage of disengaged workers and the transformative potential business holds. Both Charlie and Davin underscore the significance of the event for attendees and organizations like Broad River Retail. Looking ahead, The Purpose Summit is set to return to Charlotte in 2025, with Salvagno expressing hope for the Summit to continue its impact and possibly establish a long-term home in Charlotte. Episode References:  To Be Honest: Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice and Purpose by Ron Carucci - https://tobehonest.net/   Davin's What GOOD Looks Like Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-good-looks-like/id1591149494  Be a Map Maker - Nick Craig - https://coreleader.com/impact/  This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EQaEMbxNePM   Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes. This show is brought to you by Broad River Retail. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com         Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broad-river-retail     

Welcome to The Purpose Summit Series on Stories from the River! To kick off this 12-episode series with selected speakers from The Purpose Summit 2024, Charlie Malouf welcomes Davin Salvagno, Founder and CEO of Purpose Point and a return guest of the podcast. They sat down for this conversation at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum Gear Shop during The Purpose Summit 2024. A friend of The River, this episode marks Davin's fifth appearance on the podcast.  Davin shares the experience of bringing the 5th Purpose Summit to Charlotte, and he discusses the intricate planning and teamwork that goes into organizing The Purpose Summit.  Recorded in front of a live audience during the breakout sessions on day two of the Summit, Salvagno shares insights about the opening night of The Purpose Summit, where purposeful and positive speakers like Nick Craig and Jon Gordon set a high standard, delivering messages that were both inspiring and transformative for attendees. He describes the first night as a microcosm of the Summit's larger objective, emphasizing the importance of stopping to follow others' maps and instead becoming map-makers. The Purpose Leadership Awards also shone a spotlight on organizations exemplifying purpose from three different areas (for profit, non profit, and faith-based). The discussion moves to the events of the following morning with presentations by Ron Carucci and Mark Whitacre, both delivering impactful content that challenged and inspired participants. Davin reveals that this year's feedback was particularly positive, noting a stronger emphasis on actionable "how-to" advice compared to previous summits.  He addresses the demanding nature of organizing the Summit, sharing his motivation drawn from the high percentage of disengaged workers and the transformative potential business holds. Both Charlie and Davin underscore the significance of the event for attendees and organizations like Broad River Retail. Looking ahead, The Purpose Summit is set to return to Charlotte in 2025, with Salvagno expressing hope for the Summit to continue its impact and possibly establish a long-term home in Charlotte. Episode References:  To Be Honest: Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice and Purpose by Ron Carucci - https://tobehonest.net/   Davin's What GOOD Looks Like Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-good-looks-like/id1591149494  Be a Map Maker - Nick Craig - https://coreleader.com/impact/  This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EQaEMbxNePM   Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes. This show is brought to you by Broad River Retail. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com         Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/broad-river-retail     

Meet Charlie Pineda, a Indie Pop/Alternative musician from Salt Lake City, UT. In a heart-to-heart chat brimming with passion, Charlie Pineda and Maddie Mackey dove deep into the excitement surrounding Charlie's upcoming music launch.

On-Location Interview from the 2023 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, NV with Charlie Cook and John Petrolino. Both Charlie and John have been awarded the Blogger of the Year Award from the Second Amendment Foundation; Charlie in 2019 and John in 2023. Charlie Cook hosts the YouTube channel titled “Riding Shotgun With Charlie” and features him conducting interviews behind the wheel while riding in various locations around the country with his “shotgun riding” passengers, which have included Massad Ayoob, Alan Gottlieb, & Hickok45, among others including Cheryl & Danny Todd. He's been a speaker at the Gun Rights Policy Conference since 2016, presented at AMMcon since 2017, and hosted the Concealed Carry Fashion Shows around the country. Charlie spoke on the Supreme Court steps at Heller 10. The Second Amendment Foundation awarded Charlie the Defender of Liberty in 2017 and “Riding Shotgun With Charlie” as the Ray Carter Blogger of the Year in 2019. John Petrolino is a US Merchant Marine Officer, writer, and author of “Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on General Gun Safety & Use.” His work on the 2nd Amendment has been featured in “AmmoLand”, “Bearing Arms”, “The Shore News Network”, and “The Save New Jersey Blog”. Petrolino has a life long interest in the shooting sports and writing. He is also an NRA certified pistol, rifle and shotgun instructor. John is currently living under and working to change New Jersey's draconian and unconstitutional gun laws.

How do we sustain our ambition and creativity over time? Over a lifetime, even?I had the pleasure of sitting down with Charles (Charlie) Gilbert, a lifelong creative, a writer, a composer, a director, and a teacher. In this episode, Charlie talks about sustainable creative habits, how retirement has opened up new possibilities for his work, and his big ambitions for this chapter of his life. He also shares his perspective on defining success, particularly in an industry where rejection can be the norm, and the importance of support and partnership in pursuing creative goals.Ambition isn't just for the young. Both Charlie and D'Arcy demonstrate that we can be ambitious at any age, if we so choose. Learn more about Charlie Gilbert: Website Facebook: @chasgilbert LinkTr.ee The SAVI Singing Actor Thanks for Listening!If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcastSend me a voice note, ideas for what you'd like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Go to: https://bit.ly/sapodcast-askOr simply send an email here: podcast@SustainableAmbition.comSign up for my curated bi-weekly Sustainable Ambition Forum newsletter at: https://sustainableambition.com/subscribe

Join Nate and Charlie as they try to sneak a special interview episode past Pete this month. The guys are joined by Brandon Rhiness who wrote and directed the movie 'Grotesque' now available on Tubi (man we love Tubi). Brandon talks about how this movie came to be, some behind the scenes info, as well as his career up to this point. Both Charlie and Nate really enjoyed the movie and have a blast digging into the creation of the character Mildred and all of the chaos that ensues after her "surgery". Bonus: we find out some info on how movies get picked up for Tubi! There are some mild spoilers in this episode but we definitely recommend you go watch 'Grotesque' 2022 so you can enjoy the glee we all had talking about the surprisingly high body count!

 Today we have a very special guest in the shape of Charlie Watson, who you might know better as Runner Beans. Charlie was one of the first runners I followed on Instagram many, many years ago, and her enthusiasm and realism when it came to training, goals and nutrition have been fundamental to my own running journey, so we were thrilled to speak to her here. Charlie has had an adventurous journey so far, from aspiring marathon runner, to NHS employee in the face of the pandemic, and she has also very honestly documented her journey to parenthood, of which she touches on at the end of this podcast. To begin with I ask her, now that she's just completed her 16th marathon, does she still have the fear when she steps on the start line? We also talk about how she got into running in the first place, and how she moved into her new career as an NHS dietition – a sidestep that is in fact entirely linked to her running. Both Holly and I are desperate for advice ahead of Holly's half marathon, so we quiz her here on training and nutrition, and if there are any shortcuts we can take ahead of our next goals. I think you all know the answer to that one...Next episode: Holly's half marathon debrief!LinksThis episode is sponsored by Merrell! All podcast listeners can get an exclusive 20% discount off all Merrell Orders over £50 at SportsShoes.com. Just use the code OUTOUT20 at the checkout on any Merrell products.Sign up to Charlie's free, monthly Rise & Run from the Westin. Both Charlie and I stayed at the Westin London City ahead of the marathon – you can't get a better location! Check it out if you're running in April, or just planning a visit to the Big Smoke.]Follow Charlie on Instagram.Check out her brilliant book, Cook Eat Run – the best cookbook for runners. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Today we have a very special guest in the shape of Charlie Watson, who you might know better as Runner Beans. Charlie was one of the first runners I followed on Instagram many, many years ago, and her enthusiasm and realism when it came to training, goals and nutrition have been fundamental to my own running journey, so we were thrilled to speak to her here. Charlie has had an adventurous journey so far, from aspiring marathon runner, to NHS employee in the face of the pandemic, and she has also very honestly documented her journey to parenthood, of which she touches on at the end of this podcast. To begin with I ask her, now that she's just completed her 16th marathon, does she still have the fear when she steps on the start line? We also talk about how she got into running in the first place, and how she moved into her new career as an NHS dietition – a sidestep that is in fact entirely linked to her running. Both Holly and I are desperate for advice ahead of Holly's half marathon, so we quiz her here on training and nutrition, and if there are any shortcuts we can take ahead of our next goals. I think you all know the answer to that one...Next episode: Holly's half marathon debrief!LinksThis episode is sponsored by Merrell! All podcast listeners can get an exclusive 20% discount off all Merrell Orders over £50 at SportsShoes.com. Just use the code OUTOUT20 at the checkout on any Merrell products.Sign up to Charlie's free, monthly Rise & Run from the Westin. Both Charlie and I stayed at the Westin London City ahead of the marathon – you can't get a better location! Check it out if you're running in April, or just planning a visit to the Big Smoke.]Follow Charlie on Instagram.Check out her brilliant book, Cook Eat Run – the best cookbook for runners. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for people 18-45 years old in the United States, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parents like Ed Ternan & Stephanie Hellstern know this fact too well and are doing everything in their power to spread the news. Though they live thousands of miles apart, Ed and Stephanie have connected as parents who have lost children to fentanyl, or so-called fentapills. Ed, who lives in California, started a non-profit called Song for Charlie in honor of Charlie Ternan who died after taking what he thought was a Percocet pill. The pill was actually pure fentanyl and killed him within 30 minutes. Stephanie, who lives in the Fort Worth area, lost her 16-year-old son, Kyle, in the summer of 2020. She found him in the backyard of their home. He too died from a single pill. She started the KSS Kyle Shane Sexton Foundation to raise awareness about what she calls the ‘poisoning' of young people. Both Charlie and Kyle purchased the pills off of Snapchat, which Stephanie describes as “like ordering a pizza.” This is a conversation every parent needs to hear. Raising Joy is part of Cook Children's Health Care System's Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.

Welcome to Over The Influence, Series 3! We're Sharon, Freddie and Ben, three normal people who decided to give up alcohol to see how our lives would change. We're not medical experts but we are expert ex-drinkers, and our podcast brings people together who are on their own alcohol-free journeys by celebrating just how wonderful life without booze can be! Apart from, this isn't us in this episode... Because this is the first episode of our new takeover series, where Charlie Martina and Joey Duckworth tell us what it's like to be young and sober in modern society. Both Charlie and Joey decided to ditch booze in their early 20s, and in this episode they talk about what the drinking environment is like for young people today - do they face the same pressures to drink that shaped so many older drinkers? Is there a change in the way young people view alcohol? Do quit lit books, podcasts and visible role models on Instagram make a difference? We now have a live studio (Zoom) audience watching the podcast as it's being recorded. If you'd like to watch future episodes of the podcast being recorded, you can find out more about this and all of the other benefits of joining our online AF community at overtheinfluence.co.uk Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod on Instagram and Twitter, or search for "Over The Influence" on Facebook. We'd love to hear your story - please get in touch with us at otihq@overtheinfluence.co.uk and of course if you'd like to join our fabulous alcohol free community of likeminded people, visit our website to find out about the connection and resources we offer - www.overtheinfluence.co.uk. #alcoholfree #stopdrinking #healthandwellnessjourney #zeroalcohol #idontdrink #sobercurious #healthydrinking #alcoholfreelife #soberaf #alcoholfreeliving --- Over The Influence is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Do you want to present a podcast? Sound Rebel works with businesses, brands, charities & other organisations across the UK. If you own a business, work in a marketing department, or know someone who does - go to soundrebel.co.uk now to find out how podcasts could help you to tell your story.

In November, these mommas mentally prepared for their toddler's messiest and most adult-involved milestone yet, potty training. Both Morgen and Trisha planned on tackling potty training differently.  It's now four months later when pen to paper meets reality. In this episode, we update you on the reality of potty training, sharing what we ended up doing and how it REALLY is going, especially now that they are at the bowl movement stage. Playground accidents, anyone?   Remi was ready to take the lead within a week, whereas Charlie slowly grasped the concept and then regressed once her brother was born, causing Morgen to change her approach a few times. The ladies also discuss how the training is going at home versus school and they highly suggest sending to school extra pants you won't mind having sit there for weeks on end. Morgen sent a pair of pants to school she forgot about, and thought Charlie was wearing another child's pants when she came home in them. Let's not forget that potty training isn't just about trying to make it accident-free. It's also about toddlers learning to wipe. Too little toilet paper, too much toilet paper, the struggle is real. Morgen and Trisha may differ on how they tackle potty training, but their most significant takeaway is to follow the child. Both Charlie and Remi let their parents know in their own ways when they were ready. As a parent, you can be afraid of "missing the potty training window," but we promise you won't if you listen to your child and the signs they are giving you.  Links: Magnetic Potty https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEMIS-NextStep2-Children-s-Potty-Training-Elongated-Closed-Front-Toilet-Seat-in-White-1588SLOW-000/311424359   Step Stool Potty  www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PBVLVWF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1   Travel Potty  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071YF2F22/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VJZHH4YX2C2E93EWXSDA?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1  

Both Charlie and Nick are out today so Joel welcomes Mario Ellie to the broadcast. 

This week the fellas address the NEWEST Quarantine Craze... THE DIRECTORS CUT! Both Charlie & Jon rant about the, repackaged, re-edited, re-branded content coming our way, and the Directors Cut that set the standard!

Led by arranger and founder Charlie Rosen, the 8-Bit Big Band has rekindled a love of swing with fans of game music. Following a sold-out show in New York City, the band has invited high-energy sax virtuoso Grace Kelly to join them for two concerts in Boston on March 1 . As Charlie told me, he has so much admiration for classic themes from Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy that he thinks of them as The Great Game Songbook. Charlie says his love of Broadway provides the inspiration for his arrangements, which range from classic Benny Goodman to a Frank Sinatra-style cover of Still Alive from Portal. Grace and Charlie performed together as part of The Late Show Band, and their energy just clicked. Grace has been a special guest for many of the 8-Bit Big Band's concerts. Both Charlie and Grace are planning to debut new arrangements of beloved game themes at the Boston concerts. The band has released two albums , and third is due out this summer. Episode tracklist

Meeting at the 2019 TechFugeesNZ hackathon Mike recognised two very clever, passionate, and dedicated wahine in Charlie and Samar ... and they got on like a house on fire.Samar is currently an Azure Digital Transformation Specialist at Microsoft but really she would say that she is all about, "Empowering organisations to digitally transform their business with Microsoft Azure". Charlie is the Product Manager of Search at Trade Me and Advisor Member of InternetNZ's .NZ Policy Panel.Both Charlie and Samar would say they are way more than titles and you need to listen to get to know the real them in this episode that ranges from "What even is tech?", through to, "How to support those that work in tech" Samar and Charlie have complimentary, but not always agreeing views, on how the New Zealand tech industry can "be better".Charlie:- https://nz.linkedin.com/in/charliegavey- https://twitter.com/charliegavey- http://charlie.nz/Samar:- https://nz.linkedin.com/in/samaralrayyes- https://twitter.com/samaralrayyes------------------------------------------------------Behind the scenes of tech, media, and startups, hosted by Mike Riversdale, Raj Khushal, Vivian Chandra, and others. See you at #WellyTechShare, Follow and Like us on:- https://twitter.com/AccessGrantedNZ - https://facebook.com/AccessGrantedNZ - https://linkedin.com/company/access-granted-podcast - https://nstagram.com/accessgrantednz/ Subscribe to the show:- https://www.accessgranted.nz/subscribe/#WellyTech news and events- https://wellytech.accessgranted.nz/- https://www.meetup.com/WellyTech/- https://mobile.twitter.com/wellytechnz Buy the AG merch:- https://www.accessgranted.nz/shop/

Siblings Charlie* and Oscar* were always close growing up. But as they got older, there was one thing that they didn't talk together about: the way they eat.  Both Charlie and Oscar struggle with different types of eating disorders—Charlie has struggled with bulimia, and Oscar has anorexia. Despite their closeness and years-long suspicions about each other's eating habits, it's taken a long time to open up about their difficulties with food to each other. When they finally had their first real conversation about it last summer, Charlie said it "felt like I was coming out." "This was finally like pointing a finger at it," Oscar responded. "And saying, 'This is a thing that exists.'"  Are you or someone you know struggling with an eating disorder? We've compiled resources here.  *Names changed 

Cool Beans Comedy Hosts Corey Craig and Matthew Moore cornet the very funny Mindy Sterling in Matt's Santa Monica guest house where they get the skinny on what she enjoys beyond acting, why she prefers performing improv to stand up, and what scares her!  It's a solid hour of humor, drama and chills as the great Mindy Sterling talks turkey with the boys! In association with Cool Beans Comedy and Mindy Sterling, Charlie Schlatter is on a mission to become LLS Man of the Year! And what better way to fundraise than a comedy show!?!  This show will be absolutely hilarious, and even better, for an incredible cause! Both Charlie and Mindy promised pictures on the Red Carpet for anyone who would like them!  Come join the fun! Limited tickets available!  YOU MUST COME! SUN, MAY 20, 2018, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT Ice House Comedy Club, 24 N Mentor Ave, Pasadena Get Tickets here:  https://coolbeanscomedy.com/llscharlie Help Mindy raise money for LLS and have coffee or an early dinner with her before the show.  Opening bid starts at $500.  Email info@coolbeanscomedy.com, subject line "Mindy" and we'll get you in the pool! *Music provided by bensound.com

Carey and Demir Bentley are the founders of Life Hack Bootcamp. This husband and wife team joins Charlie to talk about how radical self-care is the key to unlocking better work and more happiness. This topic is important to us all, because so many people think about their work as getting more work done – often, at the expense of living a better life. Both Charlie’s and Carey and Demir’s businesses center on helping people live rich, flourishing lives – to do that, you often have to shift your focus from your work, to your life. Key Takeaways: [2:25] – “The end of all human action is flourishing.” – Aristotle made this point to convey that we do things to thrive; we’re not just doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff. We often get into the habit of thinking that if we just get stuff done, the self-care, flourishing and thriving will happen. This usually does not end up being the case. [3:30] – In a Protestant work-ethic culture, there is a dangerous attitude about work: work is its own reward and you don’t need any rest. A deeper aspect of this culture is that your happiness and salvation also rely upon how hard you work. However, studies show that the most successful people don’t overwork themselves, and they value rest and self-care. [6:17] – If you buy into this culture, it can become a vicious cycle of always working to obtain the next level of happiness – it doesn’t encourage us to be content with where we are. In reality, the amount that we work and push ourselves is not correlated with how happy we are. Taking time for self-care can actually help you achieve rapid results without overworking yourself. There are two moments when people usually surge ahead: the first, when someone is sick of their work, but the more important one is after they’ve come off a long period of rest. [9:10] – Whenever there is a gap between focusing on getting something done and moving to something else, we have a tendency to fill it with something. We don’t know how to just allow ourselves five minutes to sit and think or chill out; we have to be doing something. It’s not enough to just take time off; it’s important to ask yourself if that time is truly restful. [12:50] – Charlie discusses how his metrics of productivity have shifted now that he has his book deal. This has allowed him to do a qualitative audit of how he spends his time. Back in June, he set some new parameters for himself to avoid burnout, and when evaluating how it was going, his new metric became not necessarily what the category of work was, but rather how much he enjoyed it. When deciding how to spend your non-working time, it’s important to pick something that rejuvenates and replenishes your energy, not something that drains it. Often times, what’s comfortable is not nourishing, and what’s nourishing is not comfortable. [18:30] – When you’re thinking about self-care, you might have to introduce a little more work in the sense that you pick an activity that may not be comfortable to do (exercise, for example), but that has payoff at the end. [18:55] – Carey and Demir started a new course called FAST Force, which focuses on time mastery as four aspects that work together: Focus, Attitude, Stamina and Time. You have to have and use all four of these things to achieve time mastery. They have people budget out all the hours in the week, not just their working hours. [23:05] – What’s missing in the productivity conversation these days is that you have to operate powerfully so that you can live powerfully. Sometimes it’s the reverse, and you have to live powerfully to operate powerfully. Charlie, Demir, and Carey share how this has played out in their lives with regards to career and lifestyle. [27:00] – When talking about personal change and self-mastery, you have to dial in what motivates you. As you move forward, you have to decide whether you’re willing to give something that you value up in order to make a change. In Charlie’s experience, most people aren’t willing to give up the thing they enjoy, but this allows them to create a firmer boundary so they are able to keep it and modify something else. [30:15] – Commit yourself to the things you want to do that will rejuvenate you, and that becomes a solid thing in your calendar. This will help ensure you get to do it every day, rather than leaving it as something you will do if you have time after work. Where people really get rejuvenated is when they have self-time alone doing the things that fill them up. The things that really fill our cup don’t cost anything. [32:05] – If you do feel the urge that you need to be more successful, ask yourself what’s driving that. A lot of times, our underlying attitudes can sabotage us without us even realizing it. Demir talks about the movie Office Space. The lesson of the movie is that when you decide first who you want to be and how you want to live, and then restructure work around that, it’s the beginning of tremendous success. This is how Carey and Demir have been able to create their flourishing lifestyle that brings them joy in both work and play. [36:00] – You don’t have to wait for the burn out or a wake-up call to start making the incremental changes that will benefit your self-care and make your life better. We find that when we really dig into what makes successful and happy people successful and happy, it’s the little things that they’ve made time to do that revive them. Give yourself the space to want what you want, and optimize yourself around that. It doesn’t mean you have to give up your success; it could actually be the start of the most successful times of your life. [42:45] – If you’re listening to this and it’s a lot to take in, you may not have found that thing that primes the pump for you. It’s about finding the activities that will help you make the most of the 168 hours you’re given in the week. Programming your personal time can help you enjoy it more. [46:00] - There are some areas in life where a scarcity mindset is beneficial. Time is a precious resource, and when we value our time, we allocate it with care and intention. There is enough time to be a good parent, a good business person, or a good person in your community, but you really have to get into a positive scarcity mindset. [49:35] - Carey is a huge proponent of integrating your work to-do list with your personal to-do list. Put everything on one to-do list and prioritize it all together. When there’s a reason, we find ourselves doing miraculous feats of productivity. [54:10] - If it’s worth doing, it’s worth planning to do. Whatever activity you’re doing, do it extremely. Make it worth your time and attention. What is an extreme example of being a good employee, or an extreme example of a good parent? Being extreme is a fundamental underpinning of how we think about approaching life. [59:24] – Carey’s challenge for listeners is to think about one thing that you’ve always pushed away from yourself as being too silly or childish, or a dream that you’ve had, and take an action that commits you to that. Chunk it down to something you can get a taste of in 15 minutes. Demir challenges listeners to realize that life is precious, and we don’t know how long we’ll be here. Really step into that emotionally and fully appreciate the 168 God-given hours each week. Ask yourself what you would do if you had to apply for a new 168 hours each week. Mentioned in This Episode: Productive Flourishing Lifehack Bootcamp Deep Work, by Cal Newport 10% Happier, by Dan Harris Triggers, by Marshall Goldsmith 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman

 9 “Secrets and Rules For More Success and A Better Richer Life” Charlie Munger Part 1: https://youtu.be/b3gcUGvU53s If you want to get your own copy of Poor Charlie’s Almanack: Expended Third Edition here’s the link. http://amzn.to/2iIgtvX 1) Understand “Cognitive Bias” and What Default Human Practices/Tendencies to Avoid Three Tendencies To Avoid While Making Life and Business Decisions: 1) Bias from envy and jealousy, related from Buffett – “It’s not greed that drives the world…it’s envy.” 2) Avoid accepting delusional beliefs (sounds simple but…), and 3) Making closed minded judgments about people…remain open to learning from people who you at first dislike.  Here’s a link to a brief video reminder: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/06/28/3-psychological-habits-buffetts-partner-charlie-munger-warns-can-hurt-your-career.html   https://youtu.be/sJgHvuTeryM   2) Practice Frugality and Simplicity "One of the great defenses — if you're worried about inflation — is not to have a lot of silly needs in your life." According to CNBC: “Despite their success, Munger and Buffett are notably frugal.” Buffett goes to breakfast every day but often spends less that $4.00. Both Charlie and Warren have lived in modest homes and driven older-model cars most of their lives.  It was a habit they built to ensure that they had money to invest.   3) Read Daily and Choose Your Reading Wisely "In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time — none, zero." The richest man in the world, Bill Gates,  reads 50 books a year, or Buffett, who spends as much as 80 percent of his day reading. Munger's been an avid reader since he was a kid and he notes that "By age eight both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin had permanent places on the bookshelf above his bed." Dave Frees’ Tool To Do This Better Developing the ability to read with discipline and more effectively – set aside time to do it…everyday. Set aside time to think strategically about what you want to read. Reading rules:  Read the cover, intro, table of contents.  Then, and as you read, do a note card(s) with the essential ideas, copy and quotes you might later use and also a separate note card with action items/resources.  Once you’re done the book do a mind map on a card. Keep both in the front of the book but take the action item and resources card out and buy/acquire the resources and diary the action items.   4) Develop the Right Habits and Use The Compounding Effect Of Knowledge and Wisdom "Spend each day trying to be a little better, smarter, and wiser than you were when you woke up."   The wealthiest, most successful people tend to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and prior achievements.  They are constantly looking for ways to improve and Munger is no exception. Again, according to CNBC: "In Charlie's own life, when he was practicing law, he implemented a self-education regime for one hour a day to learn such things as real estate development and stock investing…He has often said that he is a much better investor at 90 than he was at 50, a fact he attributes to the compounding effect of knowledge." 5) Rules For Business Owners & Career Advice: "Three rules for a career: 1) Don't sell anything you wouldn't buy yourself, 2) Don't work for (or hire) anyone you don't respect and admire, 3) Work only with people you enjoy." Dave’s Take on This: whenever you’re brainstorming new products and services, or the re-vamp of an existing one, make sure to repeatedly ask the question “Would I buy this for myself or another person?  If so Why?  And, “how could it be even better, simpler, and even easier to get the desired result?” And when it comes to hiring and working for clients/customers/patients, it’s not enough to know that you enjoy and respect them.  Try to understand what it is about people who you have, for years, enjoyed and respected, and why you feel that way.  This makes judgments about others in the future easier. 6) Be A Renaissance Man or Woman And Learn Across Disciplines “If you skillfully follow the multidisciplinary path, you will never wish to come back. It would be like cutting off your hands.” “I paid no attention to the territorial boundaries of academic disciplines and I just grabbed all the big ideas that I could.” Munger   https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pat-flynn-show/id1253261458?mt=2 Generalism 7) Be Aware of Your Limits and Expand Them But Excel Within Them Don’t Get Ahead of Them “It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” “I think Warren and I know the edge of our competency better than other people do.” Munger Think strategically and globally as you take on a project, about the following:   What are the upsides? Financially as well as in terms of happiness and team/work satisfaction/motivation What are the risks? Financially and to all of the above. What are our known and existing resources and strengths that are used here? Where/How are we weak here? Do others within the organization agree? How have customer’s clients and patients rated us in these skill areas in past transactions?     8) Build On Simplicity – Informed Simplicity   “Take a simple idea, and take it seriously.” Munger   Ultimately, we build best when we build on simplicity and we are dedicated to simplifying.  Don’t start with ideas that are too complex. Find one that solves a basic need or problem is a new OR proven way that’s not previously or currently being applied to this market/problem/niche.  Build from there but continuously seek to “re-simplify.”   9) Build A “Lattice” of Mental Models To Be Truly Effective In Every Aspect of Life   “What are the models? Well, the first rule is that you've got to have multiple models because if you just have one or two that you're using, the nature of human psychology is such that you'll torture reality so that it fits your models, or at least you'll think it does. … And the models have to come from multiple disciplines because all the wisdom of the world is not to be found in one little academic department. That's why poetry professors, by and large, are so unwise in a worldly sense. They don't have enough models in their heads. So you've got to have models across a fair array of disciplines. You may say, “My God, this is already getting way too tough.” But, fortunately, it isn't that tough because 80 or 90 important models will carry about 90% of the freight in making you a worldly wise person. And, of those, only a mere handful really carry very heavy freight.”  Munger Here’s an amazing resource on Munger and models: https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/mental-models/ The categories from which we derive useful mental models/frameworks of thinking and more accurately understanding the world:   Mathematics and Statistics Biology Human Nature and Judgment Military and Covert Warfare Improved Thinking & Psychology Systems Thinking Physics of the Observable World and Quantum Mechanics Micro Economics   And when we align our lives and practices with not only our principles and values but also with the “laws of nature” and a better way of thinking (a matrix of mental models) then things start to get really good.   There are hundreds of models under each category above, but let me suggest a few that you learn and consider in the future as you: 1) develop products and services, 2) solve problems for yourself, team and clients, 3) launch new marketing and sales  efforts and campaigns, 4) improve your profitability, systems, and the value of your practice as well as, 5) taking actions to radically improve your relationships and personal life.   Mathematics and Statistics:   Compounding and the time value of money – Once we understand the power of compounding of money, we can begin to understand the time value of money AND that compounding might apply to other things as well.  For example, if we understand the time value of money we may stop giving away value by allowing clients to pay us over long periods of time.   Can’t be done?  Yes it can but you need to think more deeply.     Can you alter who you attract?  Can you offer multiple payments but with interest or at a higher price?   Likewise, when we understand compounding in one way (of money) we can start to think about building skills earlier and reaping the reward of getting better and better sooner.   For example, I learned a set of skills as a negotiator and interrogator that I have used since my twenties. Had I learned them later I’d have left millions of dollars on the table over the years.  And, I’m better than ever now and can use these skills is more imaginative ways, across multiple disciplines to make even more and to limit downside risk.   Pareto’s Principle  - Otherwise known as the 80/20 rule.   Once we learn that 20 percent of most societies seem to amass 80% of the wealth (across cultures, religions, nations, and throughout time) we begin to realize that we use 20% of our homes 80% of the time and that 80% of the time we are wearing the same 20% of our shoes and clothes.   This leads us to understand that 20% of our marketing and advertising gets us most of the results (but not always the 20% of the clients that yield/pay us 80% of our profits or the 20% who make 80% of the best referral.  That 20% of our team accomplishes 80% of the tasks. When we do we can look at hiring, training, client selection, lines of business and service, and our advertising and marketing in a totally different (and more effective and profitable) way.   The laws of small and large numbers - One of the fundamental underlying assumptions of probability is that as more instances of an event occur, the actual results will converge on the expected ones.   For example, if we know that the average man is 5 feet 10 inches tall, we’re far more likely to get an average of 5′10″ by selecting 1,000 men at random than 5 men at random.   The opposite of this model is the law of small numbers, which states that small samples can and should be looked at with great skepticism.   Can you think how this might apply to thinking about a sales letter, Facebook advertising, reviewing resumes?   Biology: Adaptation Species tend to adapt to their surroundings and changes in their surrounding.. But, the adaptations made in an individual organism’s  lifetime are not passed down genetically. Rather, whole Populations of species adapt through the process of evolution by natural selection, as the most-fit offspring of the species survive in the new and changed environment and are then able to reproduce at an above-average rate. Can this help us in business?   Well, think about testing and marketing.  The landscape recently changed dramatically for trusts and estate lawyers.  For most of their clients, the old motivations to do planning…the federal estate tax…is now gone.  So what to do?  What will get them to act in this new, and tax friendlier environment? Before we create or offer a new product or service in a full launch and expensive rollout (where we dedicate enormous resources that cannot easily be recovered) it might be useful to offer a few variations based on our theory of what’s best in a new legal environment.  One or two of our tests may substantially outperform the others (as they did).  Then and only then do we put our resources behind a broader release of the real survivors.  The Red Queen Effect (The Arms Race of Genetic and current Adaptation) As the above blog observes, “The evolution-by-natural-selection model leads to something of an arms race among species competing for limited resources.”  Thus, when one species acquires an advantageous adaptation, a competing species must also adapt in some equal or better way or it will fail as a species. Essentially, this model tells us that staying in the same place, can mean falling behind or dying out. This evolutionary arms race is called the Red Queen Effect for the character in Alice in Wonderland who said, “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” So, this gets us thinking about the need for constant reinvention or at least about being aware of changes in the environment and in our competition. It also suggests both an advantage in being innovative and able to cloak or hide the innovation from our competitors for as long as possible. It means we have to develop ways of working smarter NOT just harder. Finally, if we bring different models to bear there is also a model from warfare that tells us that splitting our forces diminishes their power and makes error more likely.  So do we do ourselves harm by splitting our energies and resources and developing new services and products when our existing ones are still going strong? Now we know we’re getting somewhere because our models have conflicting things to tell us and we have to think about it even more. Complicated? Yes. Extremely powerful?  You Bet. Human Nature and Judgment: Trust Fundamentally, most societies and social/business structures operate on the basis of trust. A trusting system is one that tends to work most efficiently and as a result,  the rewards of trust are extremely high. When prospects learn to trust you and your business, cost of acquisition is lowered.   This means that the skills of truly building and maintaining trust are a highly valuable.  But how people test for trust and what they require to maintain it seems complicated and dependent on contest.  To learn more see my article on trust here: Trust Part I https://www.successtechnologies.com/2016/12/why-trust-is-essential/ Trust Part II https://www.successtechnologies.com/2017/02/why-trust-is-essential-part-two-of-four-tests-clients-use-and-how-to-establish-trust-in-business-relationships/ Trust Part III https://www.successtechnologies.com/2017/02/why-trust-is-essential-part-3-of-4-building-trust-as-a-leader-and-using-that-power-for-good-not-evil/ Trust Part IV and Resources https://www.successtechnologies.com/2017/03/why-trust-is-essential-part-4-of-4-building-trust-bonus-materials/ Tendency to Distort Due to Liking/Loving or Disliking/Hating Here are links to two more excellent articles on two more mental models worth adding to your way of thinking about and looking at problems and creating solutions. Basically, we tend, based on past association, stereotyping (another human mental model that must be understood), our own ideology, or by direct experience, to distort our thinking and judgments in favor of people or things that they like and against people or things they dislike. This tendency leads to overrating the things we like and underrating or broadly categorizing things we dislike, often missing crucial nuances in the process. Application in business and in life:  Build a practice of asking ourselves the question, “Am I making this decision/Judgment based on objective facts/observations OR might my basis for the decision be based on a tendency to like or dislike a person or institution involved? Another thought to drive better business practices and more effective behavior in life: “And what will a man naturally come to like and love, apart from his parent, spouse and child? Well, he will like and love being liked and loved.” — Charlie Munger Manipulative?  Yes.  But if you do truly love and carefor your clients, customers, friends, and relatives…think about it.   Military, Covert Practices & Warfare Seeing the Front One of the most valuable military tactics is the habit of “personally seeing the front” before making decisions – not always relying on advisors, maps, and reports, all of which can be either faulty or biased. The NLP Map Is Not The Territory model illustrates the problem with not seeing the actual front, as does the incentive model. Leaders of any organization can generally benefit from seeing the front, as not only does it provide firsthand information, but it also tends to improve the quality of secondhand information. In business this can translate into periodically observing and/or debriefing front line contacts.  Listening to phone call recordings and, for a sales manager/director might mean actually taking calls when a new product launches to hear the questions, objections and vocabulary used.  This is turn can inform marketing and sales training. Asymmetric Warfare Think the American Revolution, ISIS, Osama Bin Laden  and the Iraqi Insurgency. The asymmetry model as applied to warfare is one side creating and playing by different rules than the other side. Generally, this model is applied by an insurgency with limited resources. Unable to out-muscle their opponents using conventional weapons and tactics that favor the conventional force, asymmetric fighters use other tactics, as with terrorism creating fear that's disproportionate to their actual destructive ability. Two-Front War Model – From Both Directions The Second World War was a good example of a two-front war for Germany. Once Russia and Germany became enemies, Germany was forced to split its troops and send them to separate fronts, weakening their impact on both fronts.  America was lured into a two front war in Europe and the Pacific which successfully (for a time) diluted it’s ability to bring it’s full military force to bear. In business, opening a two-front war can often be a useful tactic that will cause competition to divide it’s forces.  This can be especially powerful if the second “front” is launched by another competitor or type of competition. If you care currently fighting a two front war solving that dispute or avoiding the opening of a second front, An example might be an organization effectively tamping down “internal discord” (think Uber) to focus on its competitors or external attacks.   Improved Thinking & Psychology:  The Map Is Not the Territory This NLP model tells us that there will always be an imperfect relationship between reality (on the ground) and the various models we use to simplify, represent, understand and to operate within the reality.  The reduction and simplification is helpful and often allows us to act, but we should not be unmindful of it or surprised when the reality differs from the model.    Thought Experiments A technique popularized by Einstein, Tesla and Edison, the thought “experiment” is a way to logically carry out a test in one’s own head that would be very expensive, difficult or impossible to perform in real life. With the thought experiment as a tool, we can “solve problems” in advance and then deploy/implement and test our “solutions” in the real world. Occam’s Razor Named after the friar William of Ockham, Occam’s Razor is a heuristic for simplifying choice and selecting between or among competing explanations or solutions. Ockham’s Razor essentially states that we should prefer or select  the simplest explanation with the fewest moving parts. Such explanations are, in general,  easier to understand, and more likely, on average, to be the correct explanation. This principle is not an ironclad  law but a useful mindset/force multiplier.  It allows us to make more accurate choices more often. Essentially, the idea is that “If all else is equal, it’s more likely that the simple solution suffices. Of course, we also keep in mind Einstein’s famous idea (even if apocryphal) that “an idea should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.   Systems & Systems Thinking  Feedback Loops (and Homeostasis) People (and the business structures that they create) prefer the comfort zone.  Once they have achieved a safe place to live in a comfortable way it will take quite a bit of energy or a significant threat to get them to change.  That is why creating and monitoring feedback loops matters so much in business as standing still is, in reality moving backwards. Without careful and regular self assessment and a review of the data we become subject to disruption by people and entities willing to lie with change and who are more aware/adaptive. Algorithms An algorithm is generally an automated set of rules, code, or a “blueprint” leading a series of steps or actions moving the result step-bystep toward a desired outcome. Algorithms are best known for their use in modern computing, but are a feature of biological life as well. For example, the  DNA of any organism contains an algorithm for building a new version of that organism. Redundancy A critical model of the engineering profession is that of backup systems. A good engineer never assumes the perfect reliability of the components of the system. He or she builds in redundancy to protect the integrity of the total system. Without the application of this robustness principle, tangible and intangible systems tend to fail over time. Criticality A system becomes critical when it is about to jump discretely from one phase to another. The marginal utility of the last unit before the phase change is wildly higher than any unit before it. A frequently cited example is water turning from a liquid to a vapor when heated to a specific temperature. “Critical mass” refers to the mass needed to have the critical event occur, most commonly in a nuclear system. Network Effects A network tends to become more valuable as nodes are added to the network: this is known as the network effect. An easy example is contrasting the development of the electricity system and the telephone system. If only one house has electricity, its inhabitants have gained immense value, but if only one house has a telephone, its inhabitants have gained nothing of use. Only with additional telephones does the phone network gain value. This network effect is widespread in the modern world and creates immense value for organizations and customers alike. Black Swan Also popularized by Nassim Taleb, a Black Swan is a rare and highly consequential event that is invisible to a given observer ahead of time. It is a result of applied epistemology: If you have seen only white swans, you cannot categorically state that there are no black swans, but the inverse is not true: seeing one black swan is enough for you to state that there are black swans. Black Swan events are necessarily unpredictable to the observer (as Taleb likes to say, Thanksgiving is a Black Swan for the turkey, not the butcher) and thus must be dealt with by addressing the fragility-robustness-antifragility spectrum rather than through better methods of prediction.   Physics of the Observable World and Quantum Mechanics: Velocity Velocity is not equivalent to speed; the two are sometimes confused. Velocity is speed plus vector: how fast something gets somewhere. An object that moves two steps forward and then two steps back has moved at a certain speed but shows no velocity. The addition of the vector, that critical distinction, is what we should consider in practical life. Activation Energy A fire is not much more than a combination of carbon and oxygen, but the forests and coal mines of the world are not combusting at will because such a chemical reaction requires the input of a critical level of “activation energy” in order to get a reaction started. Two combustible elements alone are not enough. Catalysts A catalyst either starts or maintains a chemical reaction, but isn’t itself a reactant. The chemical reaction may slow or stop without the addition of catalysts which can maintain it. Social institutions and systems, of course, take on many similar traits, and we can view catalysts in a similar light as they might apply to business and life.  My dog Tucker was a catalyst to the rebirth and longevity of a much older dog Jazz.  Hiring the right leader within an organization might be a catalyst to improved performance at multiple levels. Leverage As famously stated by Archimedes, “Give me a lever long enough and I shall move the world.” With the right leverage, even a small amount of input or  force, can create a great output force that changes the system it is applied to. In business and life, we can use another model like the 80/20 rule to give our existing sales and marketing budgets/teams amazing leverage.   Micro Economics: Opportunity Costs Doing one thing means not being able to do another. We live in a world of trade-offs, and the concept of opportunity cost rules all. Most aptly summarized as “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Creative Destruction Coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter, the term “creative destruction” describes the capitalistic process at work in a functioning free-market system. Motivated by personal incentives (including but not limited to financial profit), entrepreneurs will push to best one another in a never-ending game of creative one-upmanship, in the process destroying old ideas and replacing them with newer technology. Beware getting left behind. Scarcity Game theory describes situations of conflict, limited resources, and competition. Given a certain situation and a limited amount of resources and time, what decisions are competitors likely to make, and which should they make? One important note is that traditional game theory may describe humans as more rational than they really are. Game theory is theory, after all.

Both Charlie and Angela work as coaches. In this episode, Angela and Charlie talk about how to know when it’s time to work with a coach or a consultant. The conversation gets to the heart of some of the ways that we don’t allow ourselves to get the help and support that we might be needing. Key Takeaways: [2:28] - What Charlie and Angela often find in their work is that people will put the support they need further down the pipe. One of the common things people say is that they’ll get the help or support they need after they finish a list of certain things. Many times, this list of things is something a coach could help you do faster or more effectively. [5:23] - Angela notices that clients often express their excitement to work with her, but they say they have too much going on at the time. Again, these things are usually the exact things a coach or consultant could help with. [7:07] - It almost feels like people wait to work with a coach because they feel like they need to diagnose themselves, and heal themselves or make themselves well before they go to the doctor. Too often, Angela and Charlie cross paths with people who haven’t given themselves the permission to invest in themselves to get the support that they need. [8:46] - The busier you are, the more important it is that you have to make better decisions. When you’re busy, you’re more likely to continue to make easy decisions that don’t solve the problem, or participate in patterns that keep things going that aren’t actually conducive to making a change. Sometimes, the best time to talk with someone is during the hard parts of life - it may not be the best decision to wait for things to slow down. [11:03] - For Charlie, it’s about energy and attention. If your energies and attentions are focused on taking care of someone else or a rough situation, it may not be the best time to work with a consultant. In general though, if there’s a lot going on, chances are there will continue to be a lot going on. So that may not be the best indicator of whether you could benefit from a coach or not. [14:55] - One thing to consider is that is it more likely that you and whoever you work with will be able to co-create something to help you get out of a busy cycle, or can you figure it out faster on your own? Usually, working with a coach or consultant will allow you to figure it out faster. What would it be worth to you to have the trouble issue solved? [18:12] - Some people think they already know what they need to do to get moving in the right direction. Charlie’s question to them would be how long have you known that? If you know what you need to do, and you’re not doing it, ask yourself why. Additionally, just because you think you know what needs to be done, doesn’t mean you’re right. Having someone hold you accountable for those things can be helpful. [22:11] - It can be useful to commit to people that you’re going to do something. A good coach will ask you about these commitments, rather than just letting them go. It can be a delicate situation because you don’t want to end up in a situation where you’re frustrated to meet with your coach or consultant because they’re going to grill you about those commitments. [24:03] - Sometimes a coach will challenge you to do more than you would on your own. It’s important to make sure this is something that resonates with you. Make sure that the goals are your own, and the coach is helping you do what you already want or know you need to do. [26:26] - Angela leaves us with these thoughts: Whatever the facet of life, if there is a goal and future you see for yourself that is important to you, invest in yourself. Spend the time on yourself like you would for other people. [27:45] - Charlie leaves us with these thoughts: How is what you’re doing working for you? If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re going to keep getting what you’re getting. At what real point in the world will you make a different decision and go about something in a new way? Mentioned in This Episode: Productive Flourishing Leave a Review

In today’s episode, Charlie and Angela discuss what it means to live away from family when they are dealing with health challenges and medical issues. Whether you are close or far from your relatives, you may have to be part of the healthcare journey of aging parents or grandparents. Charlie and Angela talk about different ways to determine your values, how to work with others in the family to come to decisions, and how to overcome the shame and guilt that may arise in these difficult situations. Key Takeaways: [3:30] - As we approach this conversation, it’s important to remember that every person’s relationship with their family is different, and their experience is going to be different. As you start making decisions about things related to family, you have to distinguish the fine line between your values, family values, and social pressures of “the way things should be.” [4:55] - The context for Charlie and Angela’s family is that both their parents and Angela’s grandparents live in Arkansas, and now they live in Portland, Oregon, and it has created a barrier in time and distance. [7:07] - For many creative people, it can be hard to find career opportunities where you’re from. Sometimes the place you’re from doesn’t resonate with you culturally, or allow you to be your most productive self. For Charlie and Angela, they’ve made the decision to stay in Portland for those reasons (and more), rather than packing up and moving closer to family. [9:20] - Almost everyone is going to have to think about decisions related to family health at some point in time. Even if you’re in the same place as your parents or family, you may still be involved. But there is a whole new set of logistics that comes into play when you are not where your family is. [11:25] - The thing Angela relies most on when determining whether an event is something she needs to be there for is her intuition - what felt right and what felt resonant in her heart. It wasn’t always the same as what her friends thought it would be or what society thought it would be. [13:35] - Both Charlie and Angela have dealt with dementia in their family. For Charlie, it’s tricky because he wants to be there for everything, but on the other hand, he knows he can’t be there for everything. In addition to this, with dementia, his dad is not always present, even when he’s there, and too many people around can be too much in his dad’s situation. [16:45] - Logical is not always what happens when it comes to our relationships with families. One of the best things we can do for ourselves and our families is to be able to have open and healthy conversations about what we’re able to do, what we want to do, and what we realistically can do in certain situations. Having this understanding is especially important in situations where maybe the family relationship isn’t the best, or there aren’t shared values. [19:40] - It is important to try to get aligned on what outcome everyone wants. Everyone may have different ideas of how to get there, but it can help make the process easier to get everyone on the same page. You can set up different conditions and agree on them, and then get into the discussion of how best to achieve them. [21:50] - Another important thing to remember is that everyone’s contribution may not look the same. Charlie talks about situations where maybe one person can’t be there, but could provide money or off-site planning to make things happen. Every contribution is important. [23:28] - If you want a condition that’s different than the rest of your family, you have to be willing to be part of the solution to make it happen. If you’re in a situation where you can’t contribute time, energy, money, etc., you may not get as much say as someone who is able to be there and do the work. [26:00] - If you are the sibling or child who is there, you may have to let go of being the martyr and ask for help or support. As the one who is with the family making the day-to-day decisions, asking for help and support can actually benefit the person you are caring for as well. Be careful not to close yourself off to people offering help as well. If you are a primary caregiver, it can be very valuable to have a therapist or a coach. [33:15] - Guilt and shame are things many people wrestle with in these family situations. It is important to distinguish what is coming from yourself, versus what is coming from what other people think. Once you identify the source, figure out what it is that is not being manifested, and figure out what you can do to change the situation. [37:37] - Identifying what is not in alignment for you (versus what other people think should be happening) is an important aspect of dealing with guilt and shame. Us developing as people is the constant awakening of ourselves - uncovering what our truths and values are. [40:22] - As a caretaker, your life matters too. You make choices based on what will benefit everybody, including yourself. Put yourself in the mix of people and things that matter. [42:15] - Whether you are the caretakee or the caretaker, Charlie is sending love. Do the best you can to take care of yourself and the people involved. At the end of the day, it’s really about the people. Mentioned in This Episode: Productive Flourishing The Rise of the Creative Class, by Richard Florida Who’s Your City, by Richard Florida Leave a Review

In this episode, Angela joins Charlie to discuss how they are balancing service work and volunteerism within their personal and professional lives. Both Charlie and Angela have taken on new commitments with various organizations, and they’ve been examining how much time they’re giving to service and volunteerism, as well as making some important decisions about what those boundaries look like. Key Takeaways: [1:38] - Charlie and Angela talk about the new commitments they’ve taken on - in many cases within organizations they had already been previously involved in. Their boundaries for what they can take on are being tested as these new commitments displace other things. They have had many conversations about how much time they’re giving to service and volunteerism, as well as taking a hard look at those boundaries. [4:18] - At the Wayfinding Academy, they are flipping the college experience on its head - it starts by focusing on students first and who they want to be in the world, and helping them cultivate themselves and their next steps needed to be that person. Charlie has recently become the board Chairman within this organization. His work with Social Ventures Partners, where he is also on the board, focuses on bridging the gap in Pre-K education for minority populations. [6:45] - Angela has also taken on a new role within the Wayfinding Academy, as Chairperson of the Wisdom Council (Charlie’s old position). In addition to this work, she is involved with the board of a women’s spiritual community in Portland, serving as the right-hand person for the spiritual leaders of that community. This commitment is twofold; in addition to the administrative commitment, there is also a spiritual commitment. [9:15] - Angela talks about why they are involved in these acts of volunteerism. In addition to it just being part of who they are and what they do, there is a big focus at Productive Flourishing on community integration. It’s a great quality to have to jump all in with the things you’re involved in, but sometimes you may get into a situation where you jump in too fast. Charlie and Angela keep this under control by checking in with each other on boundaries and making sure these commitments are aligned with the work they want to do in the world, while continuing to take care of themselves. [12:43] - Charlie talks about value (both economic and otherwise) and how that can guide our decisions about what we’re involved in and continue to do. He also talks about Proactive Activism: a strong civic involvement to help bridge the gap between the public and private spheres. Instead of just preaching, they get involved because they want to model the message as well as sharing it. For them, a big focus is education, as it is a pathway to equality. [15:55] - Finding institutions that advance your political or social priorities is really important. Charlie and Angela talk about the personal reasons they have for choosing their particular organizations to be involved in, and what it means for them to be involved in those organizations now. [21:50] - Charlie talks about their involvement on the boards of their organizations - both Charlie and Angela don’t like to be passive in an organization, and being on the board allows them to be in a high-leverage scenario to make the the most impact. These positions also fit their specific skill sets. Additionally, they both prefer greater involvement in a few organizations rather than spreading themselves too thin across several organizations. [25:55] - Integrating volunteerism and service into business: How do these organizations further Charlie’s professional and personal development? For Charlie, these organizations are a natural outgrowth of the people he’s involved with in the community and embody who he is as a person. It has been challenging to incorporate the results of his involvement professionally, because the leadership is more committee-based rather than the type of leadership he would use for a small business. Although it has challenged him, it’s been a good learning period. [28:53] - Your business can’t fuel all parts of you - volunteerism and service provide another context for leadership and taking on big goals. [31:25] - In addition, having these extra involvements has made Charlie more intentional with his business work with Productive Flourishing. It has also made him more intentional about spending his extra time to further Wayfinding Academy and Social Venture Partners (SVP), rather than killing time on Facebook or something that is not as fulfilling. Charlie has experienced a lot of personal growth. [36:00] - Angela shares her experience of how volunteerism and service have influenced her personal and professional growth. She feels that her leadership skills have been tested and challenged, and have gotten better in the past few years. She has also gotten more comfortable speaking up and using her voice to make her perspective clear. Being able to use her past experiences in her new contexts has allowed her to better show up with her work with Productive Flourishing. Her work with Productive Flourishing, Fourteenth Moon, and Wayfinding Academy seem to feed each other. [39:11] - In Angela’s work, she has been challenged by engaging in and facilitating hard questions and conversations. It has been an interesting development for Angela, but she’s been able to take the ability to facilitate tough conversations in her personal life into other areas, like Productive Flourishing and her council and board work. This is an excellent example of the benefits of being involved in civic organizations; they can help you develop skills you may not have otherwise developed. In addition, it gives you an additional avenue to cultivate and practice these skills. [44:10] - Being involved in outside organizations also allows you to keep your growing pains and strife outside of your personal relationships. Keeping those aspects in outside organizations that are in service to your community is a good way to build synergy and a good life where you are able to grow and develop in service to other people. [45:17] - There can be some downsides. Investing your emotional energy into external or volunteer organizations can decrease it in other areas. It is important to find a balance and make sure you have ways to “fill your cup” as it becomes depleted. Angela and Charlie both speak to the fact that working through these challenges themselves has allowed them to help other people with them as well. [49:44] - Charlie describes the effects of their involvement in these organizations as catalytic, both in business and in personal life. It has allowed for new growth and awareness. We don’t always realize what we can do and who we are in a lot of ways until we have the external situations that reflect those things back to us and give us a mission, trial, or opportunity to play out what we can do. [50:55] - If you’re looking for ways to thrive and flourish in the world, find places to volunteer or be of service in your local community, and align those things with the ways that you want to grow. Mentioned in This Episode: Productive Flourishing Wayfinding Academy Social Venture Partners Women of the Fourteenth Moon Democracy on Trial, by Jean Bethke Elshtain Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam Leave a Review

In this episode, Angela joins Charlie to talk about tipping points in your career or business that require you to change something. These tipping points could be changing in family arrangements, burn out, or a number of different things. They look at these periods of time when you’re going through something and you can’t do “business as usual,” how to recognize those times, and what to do to deal with them. Key Takeaways: [3:50] - With summertime rolling in, for people who may be more naturally energetic in the earlier parts of the year, the changing of the season can create different tensions as you start to slow down. While it’s important to listen to these signals, they may not always coincide with your business demands. [6:27] - Whether you’re burnt out, “well done,” or you see it coming, these are all things to be paying attention to. This may also be a good time to invite some reflection into your life. [8:27] - While these situations may look different for different people, they are all situations where we need to be internally more aware. No matter what your work situation is, it’s important to be able to tune in to where your energy is at and what is going on in your personal and work life. [11:00] - Many of our creative listeners are constantly pushing and driving. One of the life lessons to learn is to moderate the driving, or lean into the driving in certain ways. It can be easy to localize what we’re going through, but there seems to always be something else that needs to be done. Zoom out - don’t look at just what you have to do this week or this month. Look for patterns to make sure you’re not overworking yourself. [17:32] - One thing that happens for Charlie when he gets in these situations is that it takes him a lot of effort to engage with projects he usually enjoys (and also that need to get done). For example, writing is usually cathartic, but that’s one of the things he has trouble with when he’s getting close to well-done. When he notices this, he is able to ease up slowly to avoid reaching the burn out stage. [23:17] - For Angela, there are a few things that start to happen. She can usually tell when she’s getting closer to burn out by the fact that her mood is more easily upset, and she tends to focus on things that aren’t very helpful. [26:55] - Both Charlie and Angela pay attention to their behaviors as an indicator of their emotional state. All of us have different ways in which the toll of stressors show up for us. You may have to ask yourself “what am I doing that’s uncharacteristic of me?” or “what’s different and what could be causing it?” [30:35] - Some reasons for these feelings creeping up could be changes in your external world, rather than you, or your work. Any of these things can increase emotional and cognitive pressure. Sometimes it’s hard to acknowledge how they’re affecting us. [33:28] - Business and life are always connected. We have to acknowledge when work bleeds into our lives outside work. [35:02] - What do we do when we notice ourselves in these situations? Charlie advocates for self-compassion - when you notice you’re going through something, the first response should not be to just soldier on. Before you jump right into fixing, acknowledge that something’s going on and take it seriously. [37:08] - Whenever you know that something major is happening in your world, stop and think about how it affects you and what you had planned to do. Think about how it may requiring you to shift around the things you need to do. [38:33] - Finally, try not to make a really drastic change, because this seems to make things considerably worse. Go through the process of who might be able to help you lighten your load or share responsibilities. If the load becomes too heavy to bear for you, find people and other sources to help distribute that load. [42:36] - As he wraps this episode up, Charlie encourages you to think about where you are as far as the total load that you carry in your life, and seeing where you are on the spectrum on the way to well-done. Be compassionate with yourself about what you discover. No matter where you are, be thinking about what personal resources or practices you have that you can go to if you are getting too close to burnt-out. Building this team before you need it can help you avoid crashing and burning. [46:22] - There are many people out there dealing with a similar feeling or situation, and Angela hopes that you will take some time to reflect on anything that has resonated with you in this episode, and pay attention to that. Mentioned in This Episode: Productive Flourishing Falling Upward, by Richard Rohr Leave a Review

A lot of people have a love-hate relationship with systems. On one hand, they can help clear up a lot of mind chatter and resolve frustrations. On the other hand, they’re not that fun. Many creative people tell themselves they just don’t get systems. In today’s episode, Marina Darlow joins Charlie to discuss the relationships between systems, being creative, and emotion, as well as some of the reasons people avoid building better systems. Key Takeaways: [2:35] - Many people might feel that systems/ automation take the humanity or the soul out of projects. Both Charlie and Marina agree that systems can actually allow you to focus on the things that you really care about doing by removing background chatter and the need to engage with things you’d rather not. [4:20] - Especially among creative giants, many people think that systems will stifle their creativity. However, if you are finding it difficult to move an idea from start to finish, systems can help provide a road map for the in-between (or equipment you have to use, or a playbook). [8:12] - Systems geeks often conflate processes as well as the tools and apps that run those processes. As a listener, it is helpful to remember that these things go hand in hand. Marina likes to think of a system as a method plus a container, or a tool that helps you implement that method. The focus should be on finding a system that helps to efficiently complete your tasks. [11:24] - With almost every tool that you start using, there will be a learning curve. Don’t abandon it - if you’re confident in the process, then dealing with the learning curve will become much easier. This stage of getting to understand how a tool works can be difficult for people who consider themselves to be creative. [15:42] - Splitting up the design, the build, and the following across your business can increase efficiency and decrease frustration, so different people know how to approach that space. As you’re working through new systems, remember NPS - no perfect system. [18:03] - Marina worked with a client (a filmmaker) who wanted more help planning out his week to accomplish a big project. He was getting stuck, and Marina had him pretend he was writing some material for a series. When he was writing a story instead of writing out tasks, his planning was much easier. Turning unpleasant tasks into a story can allow us to engage with our systems more. [23:04] - What happens when this project is extended to other clients? Many people jump on board because inventing a story or creating a narrative sounds more fun than putting tasks on the Gantt. When you create a story, you create a system that is very engaging. [27:30] - Moneyball applied to creativity: the secret of a great player is how many times they are able to get on base. In creative work, you never really see your big hits coming. The more we are “at bat”, the greater the chance that we will have a hit more frequently. [29:32] - You have to be careful with systems building; sometimes it’s a very sophisticated way of hiding from the very best work you need to do. A good system can help to contain the desire to perfect everything and to hide in the back. [31:26] - When is it time to scrap systems? Systems can actually hold you back when you try to dream and create a vision. In situations where there may be an emotional block, it makes sense to get away from the current structures you have in place. In some cases of crisis mode, it may be more important to focus on communication first and then find the system that works. [37:07] - Charlie and Marina talk about system maintenance: after you build it once, you may still need to review your key systems every quarter to see if they’re still working how you need them to. In a way, part of a good system is to self-assess. [40:40] - When teaching your systems to new employees or new partners, there may be a learning curve as they learn how their technical skills fit into the specific context of your business. [43:55] - What steps does Marina use with her clients to establish their own personal systems? The first step is the assessment, and she always starts with “what hurts?” Once you know where the struggles lie, you can begin building systems for that point. Also, here is where Marina begins to see how they think. Out of these things, they devise a custom process. [47:17] - When tackling systems building, start with what hurts the most. There are many ways to determine that and to figure out which systems to tackle first. Coming from a place of emotion can help understand this as well. When you confront that emotional wall, it’s not that you’ve done something wrong, it’s that you’ve done something right and that’s where the work is. [51:34] - Marina leaves listeners with this invitation: sit for 5-10 minutes and think about which system really bugs them the most in their current state. Think about it from the emotional perspective: what makes you feel either guilt, resentment, or avoidance to figure out what’s not quite going right. Mentioned in This Episode: Creative Giant Campfire Facebook Group Vision Framework Smartsheet Creative Giant Show Episode 71 Leave a Review

Mike Vardy, a friend and fellow productivity teacher, joins Charlie to talk about the power of defaults, theming your week, how to use creative/focus blocks, and how effective scheduling, planning, and decision making is really about being kind to yourself.   Key Takeaways: [2:25] - Productivity should be fun! It is important to find a harmony between frameworks that help to keep us in check, and frameworks that are too rigid to allow for fun in our productivity. [4:18] - Charlie and Mike talk about what happens when they experiment with their schedules, and how we can prioritize our schedules to suit our personal productivity goals. This is especially pertinent to morning people versus night owls. When we experiment, we can figure out what works for us and what doesn’t. [7:05] - Both Charlie and Mike speak to the idea of spontaneity within a structured schedule. When it comes to free time, they both encourage doing things you really want to do during your open time. They talk about to-do lists and calendars, and how you can organize these to meet your needs. [10:30] - Mike talks about personalizing our productivity, and how that might benefit productivity in our personal goals, as well as in the workplace. How might this look for meetings? [13:00] - Mike talks about the idea of “whole-ocracy” and how adopting this idea might make meetings more efficient and beneficial for everyone’s productivity. Organizations need to have a framework that they can thrive within, rather than one they just survive within. [14:30] - Charlie and Mike talk about meetings, and the most effective ways to organize and carry them out, and what benefits meetings have for team building. [19:02] - Charlie talks about the idea of “strategic mindfulness” - having meetings where you can hash specific things out will prevent those things from taking space at other inopportune moments. This will allow us to present in other important moments. [20:23] - Charlie talks about Mike’s practice of theming days - in this practice, you have a default for the day; you know what you’re doing that day, and you also know there’s a time and place for everything. Mike also has monthly themes that help to funnel his goals for his daily themes. [25:17] - Creative blocks and focus blocks: if you have tasks you need to get accomplished, you can chunk it out into what you can get done into two or three focus blocks. It is more attainable to figure out what you can accomplish in 90 minutes rather than a whole day. Pre-planning also leaves us in a better place to set ourselves up for success. [28:00] - Charlie and Mike talk about the idea of fierce kindness, and how that affects pre-planning and actual execution. [30:43] - What is the balance between work and rest or work and play? There are appropriate times where it is okay to not be doing anything, especially if it will be beneficial for your physical or mental health. If your day gets derailed, don’t consider the day’s theme a failure. [35:40] - Many people focus on what they can’t doing during a day, as opposed to what they can. If we shift our thinking to what we can get done in the absence of other things, that can change our relationship with productivity. [37:58] - If you’re high-energy in the evening, lean into that. You can map your days based on your theme of the day, your focus blocks, and what time of the day is the best time to work on these things. With defaults in place, we can start to see a pattern in our productivity. [41:28] - The relationship is more important than the project. As we decide what to take on, it’s important to make sure we have the ability to devote our best time and energy to the project and the relationship. When we’re kind to others, we’re kind to ourselves. [44:04] - Mike’s invitation and challenge to listeners: theme your week! Figure out how you can theme your days and finish more often the things you want to get done and move forward. ** ** Mentioned in This Episode: Creative Giant Campfire Facebook Group Productive Flourishing Planners productivityist.com/creativegiant Mike’s Page - link to books and other resources  

Aired Sunday, 19 June 2016, 2:00 PM ETCharlie-the riverman-Bergeron joins me in a special intuitive and interactive show. We are using the show to join all hearts together to join with us in a water blessing ceremony. If you were to join us where ever you are and when ever you are drawn to listen. Have a glass of water ready besides you and listen to the blessing. Join with the intent that your energy will join with the invocation and all others listening to the show in this earth work. Then after offer the charged loved filled water to the land your in. This is responsible earth guardianship work. This will be a important soul service you offer by this act.Bring in flowers, crystals skulls or stones or anything you are guided to join in your sacred space.Both Charlie and myself offer our energies in hearts service to all life. We hope this may be the first of many interactive shows where we all join as a circle of hearts gathering and working for the betterment of our planet. We are one heart.

Sometimes on the show we just sit down with an old friend and have a funny conversation. Period. Enter Eric Kalb. Master drummer. Both Charlie and Mowo! have the pleasure of calling Eric an old friend. Eric has played with Charlie over the years , Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and many incredible acts including […]

You're in for a special treat this week! Two Guys and Their Joysticks brings you listeners a special episode dedicated to a discussion about the Xbox One. We laugh. We cry. But mostly, we get very, very disappointed. Both Charlie 'the English dream' and the ever Polish Jacek give their views and opinions on the 8th generation of consoles with a strong focus on Microsoft's VHS player- whoops, I mean 'gaming system'. Disclaimer: this episode is somewhat quiet, totally not because Jacek was kicked out his office and forced to record in his bedroom and DEFINATELY not because Charlie was partially intoxicated. Listen at your peril. Here's the episode link: https://ia601705.us.archive.org/17/items/E04.5XBOXWatercoolerHushedEdition/E04.5_%20XBOX%20Watercooler%20-%20Hushed%20Edition.m4aHere's the official page link: https://www.facebook.com/TwoGuysAndTheirJoysticks