Podcasts about creative change

This week on the Arts to Hearts Podcast we have Hanna Inaiáh as our guest. This episode will especially pique your interest if you are intrigued by AI as our guest shares her journey of using artificial intelligence (AI) in her work, including creating stunning images and designs. Hanna is a Brazilian digital artist and surface designer who creates designs that can be applied to home goods, clothing, packaging, and fabric. In this episode, she shares her journey of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into her work and how it has allowed her to create stunning and realistic visuals. As an artist, Hanna has worked with brands like Farm Rio, Sig Bergamin, Reserva, and Premiere Vision. The debate surrounding AI is not new. Ever since its advent, people have been skeptical about AI's role in our personal and professional lives. Hanna argues that AI should be seen as a tool that can enhance our creativity and grow our business, rather than something that should be shut down. Reflecting on her own journey with art and AI, Hanna says that using AI tools has had a positive impact on her creativity and has helped her attract new clients. For her, it was experimenting with AI that expanded her creative vision and allowed her to push her own limits. While AI allowed Hanna to see her designs more realistically and make adjustments accordingly, there has been pushback as well where not everyone agrees with Hanna's approach. However, regardless of people's opinions, Hanna has continued to do what she deems best for her art.  Currently, Hanna is exploring the idea of creating a course to teach other designers and artists how they can incorporate AI into their work. So, listen to this week's full podcast to find out more about Hanna's viewpoint on AI and how she managed to use it to her advantage. Are you an emerging artist looking for a platform to showcase your work to the world? We are introducing Edition 1 of a stunning coffee table book that will showcase the biographies and creative journeys of 100 women artists from around the world, so submit your artwork .  Order Arts To Hearts Magazine #5 here:  Order our "100 Emerging Artworks : 2023 Women's Edition"  Listen and subscribe on .

This week on our Arts to Hearts podcast, we have three guests who are featured in our book ‘101 Art Book: Floral Edition'. Our host Charuka Arora sits down with Dawn Bouchard, KC Christmas, and Christina Cowan to talk about their creative process, the hardest things they have faced as artists, and their experience of getting published in 101 Art Book. Dawn Bouchard decided to follow her passion after her retirement as a school principal, and now this is what she wants to do all the time. For the past 5 years, she has been painting and experimenting with acrylic paints and soft pastels. KC Christmas is based in South Carolina, and even though is a part-time middle school teacher, her first love is creating things and painting which involves acrylic paint and paper collages. Christina Cowan is from Connecticut, and while she is a social worker, she has been transitioning to a full-time artist. Her work involves oil where she also incorporates collages, poetry, and quotes in order to tell a story. For all three of our guests, the hardest part about being an artist is finding their style and managing the business side of it. This is something that rings true for many others, especially emerging artists, as the initial creative journey is all about finding your voice and how you can make the most out of your work. The creative journey is not all about the challenges, but also the rewards where the entire experience of creating something can be satisfying. It is all about taking inspiration from different elements and then using your art to bring those ideas to life, and for KC, Christina, and Dawn, that is what it's all about! Our book ‘101 Art Book: Floral Edition' has a stunning floral cover by Sonal Nathwani which also makes it a perfect addition to your coffee table. You can find inspiration in floral works by 101 artists and get mesmerized by their reimagination of something so simple yet so alluring; a flower. Order our book at the following link: .  Tune in to the full episode to listen to our three guests talk about their painting styles and the process that goes behind it all! Are you an emerging artist looking for a platform to showcase your work to the world? We are introducing Edition 1 of a stunning coffee table book that will showcase the biographies and creative journeys of 100 women artists from around the world, so submit your artwork .  Order Arts To Hearts Magazine #5 here:  Order our "100 Emerging Artworks : 2023 Women's Edition"  Listen and subscribe on .

Bio:Dr. Alan James Yu is an inspirational speaker, author, facilitator, retreat leader & coach on love, creativity, and leadership. He aims to help leaders from all walks of life build healthy and lasting organizational, community, and global change. For the last decade, Alan has worked in corporate, higher education, and non-profit sectors as a facilitator.He has lived in places as diverse as Singapore, the United States (Iowa City, Seattle, and San Diego)and currently resides in Bali, Indonesia. In 2022, Alan spent a month in Cambodia and began reflecting on his experiences living and working with Balinese communities in rural Bali. He put his thoughts into his first book, On Love, Leadership and the Collective Soul: A Guide to Making Creative Change.Links:Website: https://alanjamesyu.wixsite.com/alan-j-yuLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanjyu/Telegram: love_courage_passionTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/LoveExpandsQuotes:"We express a lot of our spirituality through art.""It's through the power of love that people can they form relationships with each other and support each other's spiritual growth, and we act as mirrors for each other."Episode Highlights:Alan Yu was born in Iowa, and is a second-generation Chinese American. Growing up, Alan and his family traveled a lot, and that exposed Alan to new places, people, and cultures.When Alan took his doctorate program, he had no idea that Bali would become his home. His interest was to teach leadership. Childhood Incidences:When you grow up in a family that has some Asian history, learning Western classical music is a big deal. Growing up, Alan had to learn how to play the piano. It didn't come naturally for him, and he had to put in a lot of work. Even so, he credits his piano discipline with working towards a goal and achieving it.Although he was born in the US, he was walking into an American fast food in his hometown one day, and an older man pointed him towards a Chinese restaurant that was across the street. It dawned on him that no matter how well he adapted, there would always be something to remind him that he was a foreigner.Influential Groups:Alan has had opportunities to perfect leadership in universities and the social sector, which has shaped the leader he is today. During Alan's doctoral program, his mentor, Rose Martinez, taught leadership creatively using the arts. Alan found her teaching method resonated with him.Cultural Epiphanies:While in Harbin, China, Alan caught himself making casual remarks to a teacher, not recognizing that there was a hierarchy to respect. His Japanese friend explained why his familiarity with superiors was considered rude.From his ethnographic research in Bali, and help from a cultural guide, Alan made the decision to live and work in Bali. The Balinese culture informs Alan's personal values, meditation, and teaching practice. Soapbox Moment:Alan has a calendar of leadership training offered in Bali. He invites anyone interested in going developing creative thinking within their organization to get in touch with him for more information.Receive Alan's FREE guide on How to Spark Creativity and Innovation...Without Banging Your Head Against the Wall for Days...Even if No Fresh Thoughts Are Coming to Mind! Send an email with "Gervais" in the subject line with your name and email address in the body of your email.Tagline: How love, leadership and collective soul foster sustainable organizational change.Support the show

There's a strategy we have long loved and wanted to cover on the show… and that strategy is all about how you can boost your authority, grow your audience and own the space by publishing a report. Now, what do we mean by a report… Well, the dictionary defines a report as: An account given of a particular matter, especially in the form of an official document, after thorough investigation or consideration by an appointed person or body. And that's a pretty good definition for what we're talking about. In this instance YOU are the appointed body! Yes, you are appointing yourself as the creator of a report! And that immediately goes to helping your credibility. Plus reports can be incredibly newsworthy. Meaning you could pick up some PR - whether that's in mainstream media or in your own market niche related media AND they can work really well as a lead magnet to grow your list and attract new prospects to your business. In this episode, your hosts, Suzi Dafnis and Michelle Falzon, share their top tips for creating and publishing a report (and how to use that report to get noticed, grow your list and build your profile as an authority in your space). Listen to this episode to hear more about: -> The simple format question that will elevate your report to “authority” status. -> How to use a report to get invited onto podcasts and get more speaking opportunities. -> Why adding a “Step 2” to your report could supercharge your results with one simple additional page in your funnel. -> Why you don't want to wait for people to consume your report to invite them to the “next” step with you. -> How to gain momentum by publishing a report on a regular basis (and which is better? Quarterly, Bi-Annually or Annually?). -> The one thing you MUST include in your report content. -> And much more! Also Mentioned in This Episode: -> HerBusiness Marketing Success Mastermind -> The REACH Retreat in Hawaii -> Content Sells Facebook Page -> Episode 11 - Step 2 Secret -> Episode 45 - Content Marketing Trends with Joe Pulizzi -> Episode 202 - The Features Trap -> Episode 207 - How AI is Changing the Marketing Game for Small Business Owners -> Content Marketing Institute -> Susan Bell Research -> Jacki Short - Sydney Centre for Creative Change

Episode 76: Alice Lovelace: How to Thrive as a Creative Change Agent (Reprise)Lately, we have heard from many artists and arts organizations who are joining the creative change movement. In response, we are revisiting Alice's story of creativity, chutzpah, and courage as a peaceful disrupter making serious change across the deep south under the most challenging conditions. For more inspiring change maker stories also check out the Change the Story Collection: Threshold Questions & Delicious QuotesWhat is "This Poem" really about?This poem is a cultural hybrid Travelin' everywhereBelongin' nowhereIrresponsible, Irreverent And totally irrelevantWhat do you mean by Peaceful Disrupter?I am never happy with the status quo. So, I'm always looking for ways to disrupt the status quo and to move it in a more progressive [way] or [by] empowering those who I see are being left behind.And that has to happen a lot, they have to be those who make other people uncomfortable, so that in their discomfort they actually deeply contemplate change. Because when we are comfortable, we don't contemplate change.... I'm a peaceful disruptor. I don't get loud. I don't, I definitely look for opportunities to shift power and to shift the conversation...What does "asking permission" mean in a classroom?When I walk into a classroom, the first thing I say to my class is I asked permission to be there. And often the teachers don't understand that, but I will say to the students, “this is your community, and I am an interloper, and other adults have made a decision that I should be here, but the rightful decision-makers are you because you were the one who had the power to make this a success or to make it a failure”. So, I always ask their permission.How can you fight the power of the false narrative?I've never forgot the lesson of. Standing up to bullies, not getting into the stories people are telling about you, ...the moment that you try to speak to that story, all it's going to do is keep that story spinning. So, I would never address it.Music AttributionVariations on a theme 1 » The Rush (w/ drum) - Variations 1 (c) by PodcastACThis work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.You should have received a copy of the license along with thiswork. If not, see

What is the creative change we see in the movies? In this episode of Incorporating Superpowers, host Justin Recla welcomes guest Louie Olivas to the show. Louie is the CEO of Cinema Olivas Studios and is working on a new science fiction script that is being turned into a graphic novel. The two talk about originality within Hollywood and what goes on behind the scenes! Tune in today to learn all about the creative change we're seeing in the movies!

What is the creative change we see in the movies? In this episode of Incorporating Superpowers, host Justin Recla welcomes guest Louie Olivas to the show. Louie is the CEO of Cinema Olivas Studios and is working on a new science fiction script that is being turned into a graphic novel. The two talk about originality within Hollywood and what goes on behind the scenes! Tune in today to learn all about the creative change we're seeing in the movies!

Triple H comments on WWE creative change speculation in a locker room meeting before WWE Raw. A major WWE Raw star's return has been confirmed for WWE Royal Rumble. A major WWE Star may have been pulled from WWE Royal Rumble 2023. Plus The Undertaker and Ric Flair are making WWE returns at WWE Raw Is XXX.Tom Campbell reports the latest news from WWE, AEW, IMPACT, NJPW and around the wrestling world every weekday morning. For the latest wrestling news throughout the day check out Cultaholic.com and follow us on Twitter @Cultaholic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's wrestling news, including...WWE's INSANE Royal Rumble Plans!Triple H Makes HUGE Creative Change On NXT!CM Punk Reunites With AEW's Dax Harwood!Former WWE Champion Speaks On Future HOF Induction!Follow us on Twitter:@MichaelHamflett@AdamWilbourn@WhatCultureWWE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Creative Action Unlimited develops new plays that guide creative change for individuals, organizations, and communities. After casting a group of actors, the company writes and performs pieces revolving around social issues such as racism, homelessness, suicide prevention, addiction, and child sex trafficking. Michael Kennedy joins us to discuss the incredibly important work Creative Action Unlimited shares with the community. https://creativeactionunlimited.com/ This episode is sponsored by the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York and Albany Civic Theater.

Cheerios. Lucky Charms. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Susan Pitt is a serial cerealist and seasoned Brand Experience Director who has spent just under a decade at General Mills believing none of the decisions we make as consumers are all that rational. As she puts it, “we're all wired for story”. Susan dedicates her days to helping craft some of the world's most iconic brands known in our culture. On this episode of the podcast, we learn of Susan's career path starting out on the agency side. As an observationalist, she articulates the distinct differences between the MBA mentality found in most people on the brand side vs the scrappy nature of “agency life”. Her work at General Mills has earned Effies, Cannes Lions, One Show and others – all while living out her personal motto: doing serious work without taking herself too seriously.

There are creative gypsies among us. One of them is Romanian creative talent Mihnea Gheorghiu (Pronounced: Mee-na Gee-orge-ee-yew) who recently returned to Milan from Cannes as a fairly happy man thanks to his teams coveted work on Diesel. On this episode of the podcast, Mihnea, the Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Italia, shares his nomadic journey from Romania to the USA to Italy. We talked about the creative role in advertising: as he puts it, to, “Feel something in the shortest time possible.” We also covered the need for creators to stay curious, the importance of “asking seemingly stupid questions”, and the need to remain an entertainer. If you believe, like Mihnea, that “creativity is the enemy of comfort”, join us for a fast listen.

Ever wonder why your best ideas show up in mid shower? Or how you refreshingly feel different after spending the day next to an ocean on the beach? Today, we dive head first into the healing powers of water. We're joined by the masterful J Nichols who was nicknamed “Keeper Of The Sea” by GQ Magazine. J has spent a career researching the benefits and impact water have on all of us. He is a marine biologist, PhD and author of the book “Blue Mind”. On this episode, J shares why we need to find moments to step away from terra firma to spend more time on, near or around lakes, pools, seas, hot tubs and more. 

This week, Sarah is joined by fiber work artist Lise Silva to discuss what it means to be an artist in transition. Are you a creative person who feels weighed down by outside expectations of your art? Lise discusses the beauty that can be born out of changing up your creative practice and rejecting capitalist ideals. Lise's Website.Follow Lise on Instagram.Sign up for a Craft and Practice Consultation. Enroll in Sacred Knots Craft and Practice.Read Lise's Book. Subscribe to Lise's PatreonResourcing the Creative Self Order the 2022 Many Moons Planner here.Sign up for our newsletter.Support our Patreon here. Follow Sarah on Instagram. Buy The Moon BookVisit our shop. 

"Don't just look at the world differently. Do the world differently.” This week's guest is a profound talent who does both. IN-Q is an award-winning poet, multi-platinum songwriter, and the best-selling author of Inquire Within. His ability to deconstruct society and bend those observations into words landed him on Oprah's SuperSoul 100 list of the world's most influential thought leaders. He was the first spoken word artist to perform with Cirque du Soleil, and to be featured on A&E, ESPN, and HBO's Def Poetry Jam. His stand-up poetry special, IN-Q - Live at the Ace Theatre, is now streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. On this episode, IN-Q shares some of his new work. In the spirit of courage, IN-Q nudged the host to write and share one of his own poems as well.

This week, Sarah is joined by fiber work artist Lise Silva to discuss what it means to be an artist in transition. Are you a creative person who feels weighed down by outside expectations of your art? Lise discusses the beauty that can be born out of changing up your creative practice and rejecting capitalist ideals. Lise's Website.Follow Lise on Instagram.Sign up for a Craft and Practice Consultation. Enroll in Sacred Knots Craft and Practice.Read Lise's Book. Subscribe to Lise's Patreon.Resourcing the Creative Self. Order the 2022 Many Moons Planner here.Sign up for our newsletter.Support our Patreon here. Follow Sarah on Instagram. Buy The Moon BookVisit our shop. 

A birth. A death. An anniversary. A circled date on the calendar. A special occasion where sending flowers or chocolates can bring loved ones together; even when they're physically thousands of miles apart. Now, imagine if this memory-making moment doesn't show up on time. This is the anxiety that comes with being Charlie Cole, the Chief Executive Officer of FTD, the modern florist collective. In this episode, Charlie and I discuss what it was like joining the company days before the lockdown in March 2020. Charlie shares what surprised him the most — that he didn't know about — until after he accepted the job. Finally, we banter back and forth on where fear and courage show up for him as he tries to reinvent a legacy brand that deserves its own flowers for turning 112 years old. Enjoy.

Will Cady is many things. A conscious creator. An Emmy award-winning composer. A member of the 2020 AdWeek Top 50 for Tech, Media and Marketing. Like many, Will thoughtfully resides at Reddit's intersection of content, news, social media and trusted, vouched forum. On this episode, Will reveals what he believes is at the core of Reddit's success. He expounds the importance of turning curiosity into understanding. And, above all, he shares what it means at Reddit to “remember the human”.

South African Marc Sidelsky believes in the power of storytelling, finding your voice and following it. Marc, an award-winning commercials director, tends to create scripts that disrupt and flourish in the market including his recent brave accomplishment of going straight to a CEO with an idea (Stussy X Nike) that one year later won honors at all major advertising festivals including the Clios, One Show and D&AD.  On this episode of the podcast, Marc shares where his passion for story-making started and gives smashing advice for anyone looking to push themselves in the content generation game. 

Lauren Verrusio is the Head of Creators, Culture & Content Partnership Communications at YouTube. Jennifer Zudonyi is a Senior Director of Brand & Consumer Marketing at Warner Bros Discovery, leading efforts around its NHL partnership. On this episode of the podcast, we hear the story of how two power women turn themselves into a power couple. Each shares their version of what it was like meeting each other in a male dominated world of sports. When did they feel safe coming out? How does their personal life now show up at work? What advice might they have for anyone looking to right a wrong they're experiencing firsthand in society? We get into it all on this episode of the podcast.

Think Postpartum depression only happens with women? Think again. For our Father's Day edition of The Courageous Podcast, we sit down for a brave conversation with pediatrician Dr. David Levine. David graduated with highest honors from NYU Medical School while completing his residency at Yale Children's Hospital. Even with all his wisdom and accolades, life changed fast — and not all for the best — when David became a father. On this episode, David bares all and shares his fatiguing story of being a pediatrician who suffered from paternal postpartum in a time where there wasn't a wink of literature on this topic. Fast forward to today. That lonely bout with depression steered David to take on the role as incoming Vice President of Postpartum Support International, the worlds leading organization supporting the mental health of new parents.

Aron Ezra is a thinker, innovator and serial entrepreneur with two major exits under his belt. While his wife might wish he'd take a break, Aron is currently in the thick of his third mega business as Chairman of Plan A Technologies; an award-winning software development firm serving startups to the Fortune 500 with offices in the US, Europe, Africa and Latin America. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Aron and I discuss all facets of the entrepreneurial journey. Where to start? How to ramp from small to big? When it's time to go from scale to sale? If you have the stomach to go out on your own and you need some expert advice from someone who has “done it” twice, has won dozens of awards, and was named one of the Most Intriguing people in Las Vegas by Seven Magazine, then this is the episode for you. Enjoy.

Todd is the SVP, Digital Innovation & Fan Experience for the Seattle Kraken. A former hockey player turned entrepreneur, Todd is charged with redefining how Seattle fans experience the game in a city with deep hockey history, but one that hasn't had an NHL team in almost one hundred years. On this episode, we discuss life just before the launching of the Kraken brand. We learn how it all started at a conversational breakfast where Todd joined two Leiweke brothers and famed movie maker Jerry Bruckheimer. If you want an inside look at the then best kept secret in hockey, how the Kraken earned it's late-in-the-game “red eye” in their logo, or were just curious how they put in the work to craft the first net zero carbon-arena, then this is the episode for you.

Ever show up to a party with a 6-pack of water? If you have, you most likely haven't been invited back. Unless that sixer was comprised of stone-cold tallboys from Liquid Death Mountain Water. In just three short years, LDMW is “murdering thirst” by disrupting a boring-than-still-water commodity category. At the center of it all is Greg Fass; recently named by Forbes as one of 50 most Entrepreneurial CMO's of 2022. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we are joined by Greg who has made a name for himself as a builder of consumer brands. He was the 2nd full-time employee at MeUndies, where he was at the forefront of non-traditional social-first brand marketing. Today, as Liquid Death Mountain Water's VP of Marketing, he takes great pride in subverting all water category conventions. Greg grew up in the snow, skate, and surf world and unapologetically shares that he hates corporate marketing, in his words, “as much as everyone else”.

Dan is a strategist, creative, and skilled facilitator. He is also an educator, global speaker, tech investor, and startup founder. His ethos is embedded in the More Space philosophy, to transform employees to intrapreneurs. So they are better equipped to tackle big problems. So they have the capability to create new solutions, and the confidence to put them in motion. This enables organizations to foster a culture of creative confidence and collaboration. Human-Centered Design (HCD) and Design Thinking is at the core of what we do. Our programs are centered around the More Space framework. The More Space framework incorporates the methodologies of Design Thinking, Futuring, Lean, and Agile. Talks about Innovation, Design Thinking, Human Centered Design. Timestamp 2:37 From designing things, to helping people make sense of things 7:01 Being the Gandalf to a classroom of superheroes 8:26 Using MURAL technology as a facilitator's tool 11:51 Being vulnerable builds trust in the room 16:04 Digging in and dealing with hiccups 19:05 Planning and scheduling for business - a balancing act 20:19 The birth of More Space for Light 25:11 What makes a good workshop 26:40 Self-care and the importance of sleep 31:10 Identifying the patterns and seasons of business, then making plans around it 32:56 Reclaiming a stolen focus 35:28 Motorbiking and being present in the moment 37:10 Understanding the “why” in the change process Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danlevy1979/ More Space For Light Website: https://morespaceforlight.com.au/expertise/vision-and-strategy/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morespaceforlight/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morespaceforlight YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbiT-qp26z40mzOynuvX6SA The Future of Now - Talkshops: https://morespaceforlight.com.au/the-future-of-now/ The Future of Now - Podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-future-of-now Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/upyourcreativegenius/ Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/patti-dobrowolski-532368/ Up Your Creative Genius - https://www.upyourcreativegenius.com/ Transcript Patti Dobrowolski 00:03 Hello Superstars! Welcome to the Up Your Creative Genius Podcast, where you will gain insight and tips to stomp on the accelerator and blast off to transform your business and your life. I'm your host, Patti Dobrowolski. And if this is your first time tuning in, then strap in - because this is serious rocket fuel. Each week, I interview fellow creative geniuses to help you learn how easy it is to Up Your Creative Genius in any part of your life. Patti Dobrowolski 00:39 Hey, everybody, it's Patti Dobrowolski. As you know, and today - oh my gosh, I have like one of my new best friends that is just incredible. And I would just say he's my new Australian best friend, because I have a best friend in Australia, and I have one in various different cities - but this one is somebody brand new, who I really, really love. He's so incredibly creative, you're gonna love him - Dan Levy, and he's with the company More Space For Light, which we're going to talk about what that means - but first, I want to introduce him to you. He's a strategist, a creative and a skilled facilitator - I'm telling you, he really rocks it on MURAL. So he's also an educator, global speaker, a tech investor and startup founder, he's done so many things that to help employees transform, and they call it becoming an INtrapreneur - so you really are living in alignment with your true purpose, as you go out and spread your work and your business into the world. So, his whole thing is around helping you creatively problem solve, and getting you to understand how to do it yourself, and he loves to enable organizations to foster a environment of creative confidence and collaboration. So, he does human centered design, and he's just a design thinker - you should check out his website right away, because it's incredible. And there's a whole bunch of case studies there that I was just like stalking you on Dan, and they're amazing. So please help me welcome Dan Levy - yes! All the way from Adelaide. Aren't you in Adelaide? Brisbane? Dan Levy 02:23 I am in Adelaide, in Adelaide. Patti Dobrowolski 02:24 Oh, Adelaide, okay. Yup. Dan Levy 02:25 Patti, you're gonna mess with everyone because I've got an English accent. So people go: "Oh. That's not very nice." Patti Dobrowolski 02:30 That's right. It's so true. Oh, well, but whatever. Here you are. You're here. Thank you for being on the show. Dan Levy 02:36 Thank you for having me. Patti Dobrowolski 02:37 Well, now tell us, Dan, now that I gave you that big drumroll of an introduction - and just want to say that it's his morning, it's my night, so we're on opposite ends - and so he's just waking up and I'm just trying to stay up, as you know. But here's- the conversation is going to keep all of you awake as soon as we get into it. Dan, you have to tell us how did you come to be a creative- and game-stormer and design thinker? How did you ever get to this place? Dan Levy 03:09 I would be lying if I said it was intentional. I started in design. And what I found was, as I got further and further away from the tools, I found that people either go down one or two paths, they either go, well, one of three paths: they either go into leadership in regards to they want to manage a group; they either go into development, meaning they want to own the experience; or they go into a more user-centric role, which means they want to be able to help people understand what the hell everybody else is doing. So that they can make sense and- Patti Dobrowolski 03:48 - And be fantastic. Yeah. Dan Levy 03:50 Yeah, yeah, yeah. So basically, I went down that more user-centric role. And what I found was the user-centric role usually involved me helping people to understand or attach rationale or linked things back to business objectives. And slowly what happened was I developed this design thinkers mindset and toolkit. And before I knew what was happening, I found out it was a thing. So then I had to kind of reverse engineer my thinking to fit into frameworks that allowed me to have conversations- Patti Dobrowolski 03:54 -that already exist. Dan Levy 04:07 Yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 04:08 - already existed, right. I love that. You had your own thing. And then you had to figure out: Okay, well, this is what they're calling that thing that I'm doing - and so I'm going to make sure that I understand that, so I can make sure that this thing that I have, I can do it in my own way. Dan Levy 04:42 I knew none of the words. Patti Dobrowolski 04:44 Yeah. Dan Levy 04:44 I found out about this program by Luma: L-U-M-A, Luma. And I got friendly with somebody from Luma and I was explaining to them my world - and they kept telling me: oh, that sounds like this tool, that sounds like that tool. So I invested, became a Luma facilitator to learn more about what they were doing - just basically to formalize, and make it less punk rock, bit more like there's this struc- Patti Dobrowolski 05:07 - legitimize yourself, you were trying to make yourself legit. Dan Levy 05:12 -Legit. Patti Dobrowolski 05:12 That's what your T-shirt should say. Now, were you a designer when you were a kid? How did you get into design? What did you do? Dan Levy 05:19 I was so into comics. And it's kind of a relevant conversation, this - because my boys had just started to get into comics. So all I've got left from when I was a kiddie is a big box of Marvel Comics, and I pulled them out the other day for the kids - and I just rediscovered my childhood at the moment. And the kids again, and they're drawing. So when I first got into art, it was all about creating stories, making comics, and getting into art, and then media with film. And then slowly, I figured out I like computers, and then it was interactive and riding the wave of web design and not app, but more CD-ROM designs. So that was really my path in. Patti Dobrowolski 06:02 So CD-ROMs, meaning you did the covers. Dan Levy 06:05 Meaning that - for example, Ford or Jaguar would create an interactive CD-ROM, which is basically, these days, like a website on a CD-ROM. Patti Dobrowolski 06:16 Yes, whoa. Dan Levy 06:17 And I'd be part of our creative team that would do the UI and the buttons. So do you remember something called Director and Lingo? Patti Dobrowolski 06:25 Of course, of course. (laughs) Dan Levy 06:26 Whoa, yes. I was working with Director and Lingo. Patti Dobrowolski 06:31 So oh, my gosh - so that's how you started being really a cartoon freak, and a comic book person, and then that evolved into doing this kind of design. So how do you pull that into the work you're doing now? Like, if you were the superhero in that comic, back in the past - well, how are you the superhero in the room today? What would your superhero do? Or what do you do as a design thinker in a session that makes you a superhero? Dan Levy 07:01 Okay, so I always say that everybody else is the superhero. I'm just the Gandalf. I'm the person that stands in the corner - or the Doctor Strange that kind of sets the constructs and creates the worlds for people to operate and to facilitate conversations. There's a chap called Daniel Stillman, who really changed my mind in regards to what it is to be a facilitator and actually thinking about designing conversations - not just about asking questions, but actually constructing that conversation. And since the pandemic - and we switched to a remote way of working - what I found is that because we're using collaboration tools like MURAL to facilitate conversations, that I am legitimately a conversation designer now, because ultimately, creating the conversation in the backdrop of a board to- Patti Dobrowolski 07:58 Well, and you're creating the - almost like the tapestry on which people can form and connect, and- Well, tell people what MURAL is about: you know, say a little bit about it, how you use it in design thinking, because not everybody uses it. And so how do you use it, and what's the advantage of using it compared to just live facilitation where you're there, and you might have Post-It notes and a room full of crazy people at tables. Dan Levy 08:26 The best thing about MURAL for me is that you don't have to rewrite hundreds of Post-It notes at the end of a workshop. (laughs) Its got this wonderful little function that says "Copy as Text", and you pop it straight into a spreadsheet. I know, because I felt the pain of that yesterday. But besides that, it's - well, you know, Patti, from your work that we work synchronously and asynchronously. And through the way we work now, we are able to actually conduct conversations without people needing to be there, we can keep momentum in the conversation. And MURAL is a tool that allows us to work asynchronously, as well as synchronously so we can keep decision making, collaboration, all these types of things, we can keep that in motion. And that's a great enabler, especially for people like ourselves that work with organizations across the globe and need to basically bind teams together to be able to collaborate and communicate and co-create. Patti Dobrowolski 09:30 Yeah, do you think that people are more willing, when they're using a collaboration tool like that online, they're more willing to be part of the game? Dan Levy 09:40 Mmm. Now, this is interesting. So we've run a couple of workshops over the last few weeks. And we found a bit of both. So somebody who don't want to be involved, it doesn't matter, they just like to- I call them lurkers, they lurk in the background, they don't have their camera - and other people want to get involved, something I'm really mindful of. And I don't know if you find this as well, when I introduced tools into a remote workshop, I'll try to reduce the amount of tools because regardless of how easy it is - and also bear in mind, we're super biased because we use these tools, yeah, almost fluidly for our work - they get a sense of overwhelm. Now I'll give you an example. Say, for instance, we've got a present- somebody wants to do a presentation. And we're then doing some interactive stuff, I'll put it all on the interactive board, and that way, we keep them in one spot. So even though it might be a little bit difficult for people creating a spreadsheet, their slideshow, and they have to take the pain of that - what that means is the user experience, they get a better experience. So I'm all about - how do we take the pain away from participants and own that pain to make the experience so much easier. And again, a tool like MURAL allows you to do a lot of, like, consolidating all the different other things that you could potentially use, or integrate in with a video conferencing tool - just makes it so much simpler. Patti Dobrowolski 11:16 Yeah. Now, for you - I don't know, you know, I have my sweet spot where I really know when I'm in the experience at the highest level I possibly can - you know, I'm fully engaged, and I'm really paying attention - what for you are the things that create the environment in which that happens for you. And it doesn't necessarily have to be online - it could be in person - but I'm curious, what creates the environment where you have, I would say, More Space for Light in what you're doing in the room with people. Dan Levy 11:51 This is hard. Because again, sometimes this is a form of flow, which I feel can be quite rare to get to. And I'm always nervous at the beginning of a workshop, so I'll try and get people out of their comfort zone - so they can meet me where I'm at. Patti Dobrowolski 12:09 Yeah. Do you ever tell them that you're uncomfortable with the beginning? Dan Levy 12:13 All the time. Patti Dobrowolski 12:14 Okay. And that does that normalize it, you think, for people in the room? Dan Levy 12:18 Maybe, but it normalizes it for me. Because, see, when I conduct a workshop - I'm sorry, if I'm not directly answering your question- Patti Dobrowolski 12:25 It's okay, we'll go back to it. Dan Levy 12:27 When I'm in a workshop, I feel like I like the environment to be like, we're in the pub, and we're sitting around a table, and we're having a conversation, and we're capturing it, and everyone feels empowered to be able to talk. Some people don't like that, because they are used to more of a cooperative meeting structure where they're told what to do. Patti Dobrowolski 12:49 -Formalized. Yes. Dan Levy 12:50 -Hierarchies, and people feel like if they talk out of turn, they might be seen as stupid. Whereas in a - using air quotes now - but in a more pub-type friendly environment. people say stupid things all the time. And either people will play on it or call them out, and it'll be a bit of a joke, and it's not such a risk. Because the stakes aren't high. Patti Dobrowolski 13:13 Yeah, it's not high stakes. Yeah, not high stakes. Dan Levy 13:16 So how can I reduce the stakes, reduce the risk, build that trusted environment where people want to take risks; and I feel as a facilitator, I have to demonstrate that vulnerability, so people - and maybe I don't need to, because maybe that compromises my message by saying: right, I'm gonna get everybody to take a deep breath now, and I need it as well. I don't know if that compromises, but at the same time, I'm being quite selfish in my space - because for me to deliver the best possible experience, I need to get everybody into my zone; I can't be in their zone, because if I'm in their zone, you know, I inherit all of their culture, all of their permissions, all of their weight- Patti Dobrowolski 14:05 Yes, yes...and so you're suddenly in their norms, instead of your norms. I would say imposing your norms on the space itself, and inviting them to step into it, is what it sounds like. And what's true is whether you're in person or online, there's always people who don't want to step in the space, but you don't know what's going on with them. So my thing is, like, leave them - you know, don't try to torture them. Although I will torture them a little - do you do that a little to try to get them to turn on their camera and stuff like that? Dan Levy 14:41 I'm from, say where I grew up, people are very vocal, and- Patti Dobrowolski 14:47 Where did you grow up? Dan Levy 14:48 I grew up in northeast London? So I'm from- Patti Dobrowolski 14:50 Northeast London, Yes. Dan Levy 14:51 Yeah. So it's a lot louder. I grew up from a very loud family, and I have to be really attuned to other people to know where their boundaries are. And so I need to test that to pick up their frequency. At the same time, sometimes when you're trying to bring the masses along, you can't bring the 20 or the 10% outliers so - you have an objective, you bring everybody along, and sometimes people might not collaborate as much, but you have to be comfortable with that. As long as it's different people's- Patti Dobrowolski 15:26 Yeah, otherwise you spend time, don't you think? You'd spend time like trying to get them to come, trying to get them - it's exhausting for everybody in the room, but especially it's exhausting for you, when you know that your agenda is already set. I love this, because I don't think that I have - I had Sunni Brown, you know, on, but we really didn't talk about facilitation that much. But talking to you, it's so great to hear from skilled facilitators, some of the challenges that you deal with, and how you manage them. Like, what's the worst thing that ever happened to you in the session that you were running, that you had to handle? Dan Levy 16:04 Okay, so I've come to learn that sometimes if you run as many workshops as us, you're not going to get 100% - like, you know, you watch a soccer match or a football match, and there'll be a player that won't always have a great game. That's just what happens when you run so many. And that's not always your fault. We ran a workshop the other week, and it was military precision. And this, I didn't feel comfortable, military position - because it takes away some of my spontaneity. Patti Dobrowolski 16:36 Yeah. Dan Levy 16:37 And I like to feel the energy and, and also, but - I needed to do that so that the client felt comfortable, because it was a really, really big client. Like, I can't say, "hey-" And they had my script, they had the board, we did rehearsals. Anyway, we've got into the workshop: within five minutes, the technology wouldn't work for the client, the client decided to change to another technology, which basically when we couldn't do breakout rooms, none of the presentations worked, none of the videos worked. There was too many people, they then started switching off their videos. And I basically put in the chat, and now we improvise. And I knew my script like that - I'd spent a long time on the script practice, I just closed the windows, I was like, right. I'm gonna have to just basically- Patti Dobrowolski 17:30 -and now the actor in me comes out. Doo doo doo! Superhero cape on, right. Dan Levy 17:36 Yeah. And it was just like, dig in, and do it - dig in and do it, and that. And we got through it - we got to the outcome we needed to. It wasn't the most comfortable workshop, because we had to constantly adapt. But we, but from an outcomes perspective, and getting everyone through and having everything needed to go as planned, it was perfect in that respect. Patti Dobrowolski 18:00 Yeah, that's fantastic. Well, you know, I love that. You know, the worst workshop I ever ran was one of the first change workshops where I didn't realize that people were getting fired - when they got called out of the room, they were getting fired, and they weren't coming back in the room - but nobody told me that. So I just thought I was really bad, so I just kept overacting - you know what I mean, like, I got louder and louder, and bigger and bigger. And what was true is everybody in the room was so sad, but I had no idea of knowing because it was my first engagement as a facilitator, so I just didn't know. And after that, I was like, you always have to be willing, and able to read the room first and then pivot, you know - read and pivot, and see and ask, like, what's going on? Why are you all, you know? So, I love that. Now, Dan, you run a lot of sessions with a lot of companies, how do you manage that kind of a schedule? And you got kids and a wife - I mean, how do you do all that balancing? Dan Levy 19:05 I'm getting better. I'm getting better. I'm starting to schedule and plan and, and be quite strict in regards to you know, like, only booking two gigs a month - maybe three at most? But yeah, and that seems to be working, but it isn't easy - I'll be honest, it isn't easy. It's the toughest thing, running a business - there's so many levels: see, we've just spoken about facilitation, and already there's like a multitude of levels there in regards to planning strategy, actual delivery and then all the human parts and soft skills and humility you need to have with that. And then after that- before and after and having to prepare and deliver the outcomes. And then on top of that, how do you market that and then how do you think, what's the flywheel to get more work and then you've got to think about all the accounts, oh gosh, run a business- Patti Dobrowolski 20:01 oh, yeah, it's a lot; then tracking them, It's really - it's a lot, and you know, you need like, a lot of people - it takes an army, really; it takes a village, they would say - you know, it really does, though. And so, tell me how you started More Room for Light. How did you start it? Dan Levy 20:19 How did we start- Patti Dobrowolski 20:20 -Light, yeah. Is it Space for Light? Why did I suddenly thought it was “room”? Space. Room - I think room and space, same thing, right in the US. Room is in your world, space? Dan Levy 20:33 Well, we get emails from lighting and room companies asking us- Patti Dobrowolski 20:36 I bet you do. (laughs) "Dear Dan, do you need help with the equipment? Because we have a whole lighting kit that you're going to love." Dan Levy 20:47 Absolutely. Yeah, if you need a discount, come to me, I can get trade prices. (laughs) More Space was started almost seven years ago - it was six and a half years ago, when my second was born. I was hitting a point in my career, where I wasn't happy. I was the strategist that was rolled out when a company needed a website or whatever it was, and I felt like where I'd been in my career, I'd regressed. I'd be working on some amazing products with amazing companies in incredible teams, whether it would be in London and Sydney. And I found myself in the marketing world, where the value, I felt, was more about the idea or the execution, but not about what difference does this make to the business from a more sustainable aspect. Patti Dobrowolski 21:46 Yeah, how's it gonna help them? How's it going to help them, yeah, right? Dan Levy 21:50 -And also like what, are we doing things that are risky in the respect of- are we as a brand company, doing things that will help us grow and move to the next horizon? So what we were doing was very kind of superficial and transactional: give me a microsite. So coming from IPTV products, and all this sort of stuff, I just didn't see a future doing what I was doing. Patti Dobrowolski 22:17 Yeah. Dan Levy 22:18 And I didn't see opportunities in the space to allow me to go out and explore and help organizations figure this out. Because initially, I just wanted to help companies do cool stuff. And I know that's kind of massive hypocritical from what I've just said, but I mean cool stuff in the regards of how do we leverage new technologies? How do we improve the connection with people whose lives we impact and whose lives we're trying to improve? How can we think about what we're doing a little bit differently from their perspective? As opposed to how much- Patti Dobrowolski 22:53 Let's create something cool, yeah, it doesn't create something cool, and then push it out. Dan Levy 22:58 Yeah, basically. And one night - I've always had a really high work ethic - and one night I was putting my eldest now to bed, and he said: Mommy, I want, I want more space for light. And I said to my wife, I said: what does that mean? That sounds - that's really interesting. She said, Well, he's not ready to go to bed yet, he wants- "more space for light", for him, meant: more time to read, more time to play, more time to kick a ball, play with his figures and all that. And I was, I want that. I want that, and I can give that. And it almost rejuvenized me and revitalized me - and I had a mission, I had a purpose, like I had something I could get behind, and that has really become a mantra for me, for us, and for the people we work with. Whether that's the future of now, whether that's our engagements, whether that's the friendships we've developed, like within the community or partnerships with - it's how do we make More Space for Light for each other, for mutual value, for our clients, for our customers, and it's just changed the dynamic of the conversation. Patti Dobrowolski 24:10 It's such a holistic view. I mean, I think this is what I love about it - is that you're looking at the bigger picture. I mean, I can't tell you how many meetings I've sat in, for big companies where they said, you know, and one of the things on the vision is gotta be work life balance. And what you're talking about, really, is bigger than that - it's not just work-life balance, it's that you understand that work and life are integrated. They're part of an integrated whole that we are graciously allowed to participate in. And that when you make more room for play, for curiosity, like you are a prolific reader, that's what I know to be true about you. Like I said, and then did you read that; and you go: oh, yeah, and this - have you read this and this and this. I ordered that already, right? So, but that, to me, just tells me about how much time it requires for you to process and to be creative, you know? Dan Levy 25:11 Oh, yeah. I think, and this is something I love - working with people that are hungry and curious. And I don't mean hungry in the respect of ambitious, and like - ambition is good, but when it's self serving and leaves everyone behind the curious in regards to want knowledge, want to learn, are prepared to be wrong, and are prepared to be challenged in their thoughts. And I think this is a really- this is when you know you're in a great workshop, when people feel comfortable to say things that might not be correct, but just want to get them out into the open, and let other people play with them and just understand from different perspectives. And that's when you've got a really interesting group of people because they've - sorry for the pun, but they've made the space for light: they've bought something out, and they're exploring - and that's really interesting, because they will achieve what they want to do, because they have that trust, and they have that capability of, you know, creative capability within all of them to be able to, you know, just have that durability to play with something so awesome. Patti Dobrowolski 26:23 That's fantastic. Now, tell me a little bit, tell us a little bit about your day - how does your day go? And how do you find a way to make more space for light in that day, like, what do you do? What time do you get up, and what do you do? I want to know what your rituals are, so we get to know you a little bit better. Dan Levy 26:43 Okay, so I'm going through a sleep phase at the moment. And by sleep phase, what I mean is I'm taking it a lot more seriously - I've got a mentor, or coach who's just basically impressing upon me how important sleep is, and your self health, your self worth. That's the wrong term, but self- , just looking after yourself and- Patti Dobrowolski 27:03 -Care, self-care, yeah. Dan Levy 27:04 Self care, thank you - and how the impact of sleep improves your focus and productivity during the day. And I've been playing with that and having early nights generally. Generally, I'm up just before 6am. I've got a panned-out gym, I call it - it's set up in the back in the open garage, I've got my weights, I do a little work, work out. I've been trying to meditate. I've a friend, he's given me this ADHD meditation tape for people like me that can't keep still. So it'll be 10 minutes, I'll do that - I'll most probably get disturbed by one of my little ones coming outside to wee on the lemon tree. (laughs) And then - and then pretty much, I've been working a lot from home lately, which has been - I'll be honest, a bit of a drag - because I'm kind of, I feel quite isolated. So I've got an office in town, and I'll go in and connect with people; but I've - because we're going away camping at the weekend, I've been trying to avoid as many people as possible that could potentially give me COVID, because I don't want to cancel this camping trip with my little one- Patti Dobrowolski 28:11 Yes, of course. (laughs) Oh my gosh. Dan Levy 28:12 -I've become this hermit, which is really awful. But after that, I'll be out and about. And then I've been a bit slack, Patti, because I started the year with 90 Day goals, and then month focus, and then dailies, normal that, I had that - and as the team's changed, and over, you know, different circumstances, we've had to deal with the pandemic, etc., I've slowly been more into the fill a bit - I'm in the weeds at the moment, but I'll have a set schedule, and I've been trying to clock off at around five-ish, because the kids roll in at three. So even if I'm on a call, they become part of the call. Patti Dobrowolski 28:49 Yes, I'm sure. Dan Levy 28:50 And then dinner, and then maybe, I've been trying not to work. Like maybe I'll do a few hours just to catch up and try and be in bed as early as I can, or chill out with my wife as early as I can. But that's generally the day is, for now I'll just be online working, grinding through my list of tasks. Patti Dobrowolski 29:12 There it is. That's right. I like that. I think that the idea of sleep is really - I'm glad that it's at the forefront. It's sometimes hard to grab for me. You know, I'll wake up now, and I'll look at my sleep clock app and it'll say: five hours, and I'd be like, oh no, that's not enough, you know - two more and then too late, I'm already awake thinking about coffee. Because there's coffee waiting for me out in the other room and once I start thinking about it, then I've gotta go - I'm a true addict. But I love too that you're talking about this idea of setting goals but then you have to let them go - you have to at some point let go of what your structure is. I think we get very obsessed with - you know, I guess the first thing I said, when we got on the call, before we started the podcast, I was saying, you don't have heavy- I read this or somebody sent me something about turning your 12 month year into a 12 week year, so that you get things done in a shorter sprint - you know, do it in a sprint. And the reason that I'm doing that in a sprint is because like you, I set those goals, and then I do those things. And then I know, I just know that right around now - because this is April, right, we're in the second quarter, right? And in the second quarter in the US - that's the way they divide it up, unless you work for Microsoft, then the first of the year starts in June, I don't know how they figured that out, but - so second quarter, then you have to reboot somehow. So either I'll draw a brand new map, or I will then just start to experiment with what is going to trick me into wanting to have fun again, to do something - what do I need to learn, that's gonna keep me inspired. So you know, that gym thing, it helps - it gets your dopamine going, you know - your serotonin is up, and then you're ready to go back in and do it, right? Dan Levy 31:10 Yeah. Also, I think there has to be a level of confidence and maturity in your business and the patterns and seasons of business. Because for a long time, I panic around Christmas, because nobody wants a workshop or talk to us around from December to January - and now I've reframed that. So initially, like I panicked, and then I'd listen to people like Gary Vaynerchuk, who was like, "You should working 48 hours a day", even though it's not possible to- hustling, get advantage of everyone to come out of January kicking arse, doing 3D and 4D and Tik Tok and NFTs and all that rubbish. And I was like, actually, this - admittedly, this is the first time I've done it this year - this is time for me to clean house and figure out a bit about me, about who I am, what More Space is, what do we want to achieve this year? Patti Dobrowolski 32:09 Yes. Dan Levy 32:10 And hopefully - and it sounds terrible - hopefully, we don't get any work till March. And so I can do that as soon as possible- Patti Dobrowolski 32:17 Exactly. This is what I said, you know, there's, there's something in my Instagram channel right now, where I say to the camera - I'm so happy when a client cancels the call because then I can go bike riding, and then I speed off on my bike, you know - because this is what's true, is that we don't always want to be on 24/7. And, and we're not meant to be on 24/7. And we need that time to create more space for light, and to understand ourselves and see what we're going to do next. What are we going to grow? And what do we want to read or play or, I don't know, go to the beach, something. Right? Dan Levy 32:56 So I'm reading a book. This is a recommendation by my coach. It's called Stolen Focus. And he said to me - Dan, your work issue's focus: you've got to do less, but more of like, just focus on what works for you. And I've been going through my own personal and professional transformation in regards to just honing in on focus and being quite comfortable to let certain things fall off and not do them. But just - and I'm figuring out that journey, that isn't like an automatic "Tomorrow, I'll get this" - like, this is a journey of self discovery for me. But this book's just been remarkable. So there were some principles that I'd already put in place. Like, I don't have my mobile phone in my bedroom. Like, I don't sleep with my phone, I stick with my Fitbit, just so I don't wake my wife up or we have our little ones sleeping with us. And that's the most discreet way I can wake anyone up. I'll try not to look at my phone when I wake up first thing, I want to see a human being if I can. Or if I'm doing a workout, I'll just put on my music and not look at my emails. And I'm trying to set boundaries. Yeah, I just saw this study on Instagram. It was just photos of people - just an observation of how people use their mobiles, and you see them in social settings, and I'm trying to reduce the amount of time I look at social media. Like, I'm trying to make the phone not rule me. Patti Dobrowolski 34:35 Yeah, I think it's - in this time. It's really difficult. It's like one of the biggest challenges that we have and not just us, but I think the younger generation is all about it. And so to make space for the phone to be away, is like- I can't have the phone in my room if I'm writing, because I will just hear the phone talking to me: it's saying "There's emails in here, do you want to see what the weather's gonna be like today" or - you know, everything that you could find in there will call you and distract you. So I love that. And I think that these are some rituals that I hope that our kids are really going to take to heart. And they're really going to start to put them in place and what kind of rituals, other rituals, do you have that really helped you stay in tune with yourself or in balance? Dan Levy 35:28 The motorbiking, trying to get - I know we both share a passion of going out on our bikes. That's been a big thing for me, cause we're constantly dwelling on the past or anxious about the future; that being present in this mind space right now in this second and maximizing the potential of this minute - often, we take that for granted. And I suppose especially like, when you've got this thing buzzing out - your phone, you got access to everything and nothing at the same time, but how can you see- Patti Dobrowolski 36:02 Everything and nothing at the same time, you said: you have access to everything and nothing at the same time. Oh, that is well put. Mic drop. Dan Levy 36:16 If you- just being present, and that's the motorbike for me - where you have to be present, otherwise you'll fall off the thing or someone will bump into you - that's been really good. And cycling as well. And just trying to just make the most of things, you know. Patti Dobrowolski 36:32 Yeah, that's fantastic. I love that, I love it. All right, now. So you know, you're a big change maker - you help people make change in their company, so - if you have any tips about people that are listening, and they want to make a change, some kind of change in what they're doing, what would you tell them? Because you pivoted from working for somebody else doing those things, to starting your own company - and you've done that multiple times. And every time you're in a room with people, you're asking them to pivot. So what would you suggest, if somebody who is - like you thinking, I don't know if I can do this anymore, I want to do something else - what would you say? Dan Levy 37:10 I would be sort - I don't want to be responsible for people making some dramatic change, but I - if you're in an environment, where you want to make change, for example, in an organization - I feel like you have to listen to understand a propensity for an organization willing to change, whether that would be one person, whether that would be a team - and start to figure out who the people are, that you can, that are champions and gatekeepers. Also, laddering back, why? Why is there a need to change? What is your why? What are the factors behind you making that change? And once you start to understand your why, you'll know whether it's kind of more of an environmental thing, more of a lifestyle thing or a whole chain, because - don't be too rash; often people seek a solution that's very binary, for example: "this isn't working, therefore I need to do that". There might be a third option or a compromise or, or an intermediary step that allows them to get an understanding of what they want. Because often people are so tied to a solution, they forget about the values all the while, the drivers and the signals that are pushing them to need to feel like they need to make the change. So I think, really figure out your why, and then start to play from there. Patti Dobrowolski 38:39 Yeah, I think too this, the other thing you're saying in here, that you aren't directly speaking to is that - or maybe I'm just hearing this in between space, which is - there is a part of us that feels like when things aren't working, it's better to go there than to stay here and work it out. Because sometimes in the working out, you work it through, and so then you don't have to go and repeat the pattern in whatever you end up doing after this because: you will repeat the pattern. And so if you can figure that out, and then you can leave gracefully and know that that was the right thing to do and that it's the right time - I think that is so essential. So I love that you're talking about finding stakeholders that are also willing to change and who are the gatekeepers, so you can win them over - so that you can create the kinds of changes that you want to see in your environment. I love that. I love you, Dan, you're so incredible. I loved having this conversation with you. I'm going to bring you back so we can talk more about what's happening with you. And I'm sure that the camping trip is going to be amazing, because you will be COVID-free. We're setting that intent. And so is there any- Dan Levy 39:59 Ah, I'm safe now. I've got one more day and I'm safe- (laughs) Patti Dobrowolski 40:00 That's right. (laughs) That's right, may we all stay COVID-free, people - let's just put that out there that we spread that out, so we can get back to - not get back to, but get forward to the life that we dream about, right? We dream about. Well, I dream about being in the same place in the universe with you Dan, so that we can do some kind of work together, so I look forward to that opportunity. And thank you so much for coming here and spending time with me in your morning - my evening, so we could get to know you a little better. Dan Levy 40:22 Thank you for having me, Patti - it's amazing. It's just so amazing to just be part of your orbit and be part of the multiverse that you connect to. So - you got another friend in Australia. Patti Dobrowolski 40:49 Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. So now, everybody, you know the drill - if you liked what you heard, please share it with your friends. And also, please follow Dan Levy with More Space for Light. You can find him on LinkedIn, you can find More Space for Light on the internet, and also in the show notes - we'll find other ways that you can connect with him, because he's incredible. And if your company is looking for an amazing facilitated experience, he's your man - I'm just saying. Okay, all right, everybody. Until next time, Up Your Creative Genius. Take good care, woo! Patti Dobrowolski 41:28 Thanks so much for listening today. Be sure to DM me on Instagram your feedback or takeaways from today's episode on Up Your Creative Genius - then join me next week for more rocket fuel! Remember, you are the superstar of your universe and the world needs what you have to bring - so get busy! Get out, and Up Your Creative Genius! And no matter where you are in the universe, here's some big love from yours truly, Patti Dobrowolski, and the Up Your Creative Genius Podcast. That's a wrap!

Some would say it's hard to lose yourself if you had yet to truly find yourself. This is the story of how one man went from city-to-city searching for his purpose while stumbling through a divorce and a soul-crushing bankruptcy only to come out the other side building a multi 7-figure empire. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we meet Ryan Weeden who had lost everything — not just money; but himself. Today, this “Hairpreneur”, Founder and CEO of Masters of Balayage, happily helps thousands across his global audience not just navigate with what's happening on their minds (their hair) but what's happening in their minds! We'll hear Ryan's personal trials and tribulations that he felt he had to go through in order to come out the other side as the man he is today. Enjoy.

On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we sit down with Bjorn Trowery who joined Meta's Communications/PR team near the beginning of the pandemic and the tail end of the brand formerly known as Facebook. We discuss what it's like for Bjorn to establish credibility with a new team handcuffed away from his “personal superpower”; his ability to be live, collaborating and in-person.

What does an asthmatic, a Rower, the co-founder of The Perfect Pushup and a Navy SEAL-turned-Platoon Commander have in common? All of them were my guest on this weeks episode of The Courageous Podcast. Alden Mills is one of a kind. He's on a mission to help 100 million people be unstoppable. He strives to achieve this feat by being a keynote speaker, an executive coach and the epitome of courage. What else did I learn about Alden from our 45 minute conversation? For being a Platoon Commander, he is also a humble human. If you want to learn what it's like to survive asthma and still become a Navy SEAL, if you aspire to be unstoppable, or if you care to hear why Alden has a bone to pick with Harvard, throw this episode between your ears.

Rhett Power is a Best-Selling Author, Executive Coach, Columnist at Forbes, and a Season 1 Cast Member of The Social Movement (TV Series). Rhett is also the Co-founder of Accountability Inc. and is host of Power Lunch Live; one of the first and most popular interview shows on LinkedIn. On this episode, we flip the script on Rhett as he's usually the one asking thought leaders, authors, and business executives their secrets to success. We talk about Rhett's transformation from product entrepreneur to becoming a member of the Marshall Goldsmith's 100. We also go behind the curtain on why Rhett and I came together every Friday during the pandemic to provide an hour long online forum where people could congregate, be inspired, learn and keep it real with one another. Enjoy.

Approximately 13 million adopted pets have found their way into homes over the course of the pandemic. While we've taken in our lovable new fur babies over the last two years, many of us are heading back into the working world leaving our pets behind (and alone) for the very first time. In dog years, that's over a decade and a half of their life! Mental health isn't simply something humans are dealing with; our four legged children will be coping with their own new levels of anxiety. Enter the team at Petco and Chief Marketing Officer Katie Nauman. On this episode of the podcast, Katie and I discuss Petco's shifting business to provide more holistic solutions for our pets and their owners. We chinwag on all the pet people working for the company and discuss how the idea of “bring a pet to work” is a year round ordeal in their culture. And, if you ever wanted to know how to go from an $8 an hour job to the Chief Marketing Officer at Petco, then this is the episode for you.

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on' experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 7 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries. Our first segment this week is brought to you by Rocky Wetzler who sits down with Kara Vorabutr a food writer and photographer whose work expands across multiple disciplines. Using food as both her subject of study and medium of art, Vorabutr produces projects that feature food as a conduit for people and cultures. She recently published a Bi-annual print journal and conceptual food project based on the art of eating, sharing, and connecting. Listen along as Rocky and Kara talk about the challenges of emerging art forms and the many unique ways to tell stories through creative and cultural mediums and platforms. In our final section of the season, senior Jalen Dural, interviews local Orange County Artist, Presley Lozano. Jalen delves into the mind of an artist who is trying to take the right steps towards being successful and explores with Presley the concepts of art expressionism and the reality of making a living as an artist in the modern marketplace. Listeners can hear how Presley chooses to try and push the boundaries of what she sees in art.

Rihanna. Neymar. Dua Lipa. Usain Bolt. Lewis Hamilton. These are a few of our iconic favorites who set the tone across the globe in style and culture. Collaborating with these originals is one of the world's leading brands in sports today. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, CEO and President of PUMA North America Bob Philion shares what it's like to steer the “Big Cat” under the “forever faster” mantra. We dive into what it has been like for Bob getting to know these larger-than-life superstars. We chat about PUMA's “Run Towards Change” reform platform and discuss how “the casualization of life” has really worked in PUMA's favor. While we don't delve too deep on “The Great Reshuffle”…we do get into “The Great Shuffle”; which entails Bob and his daughter showcasing their dance moves on social to pass the time during the pandemic. Enjoy!

Peyton Manning. Drew Brees. Eli Manning. Each of these Super Bowl winning quarterbacks relied on Bennie Fowler to run routes, block or catch passes over the course of his 8-year NFL career. But as Bennie will tell you, each of the above drew him to his current passion of helping executives and organizations maximize their performance. Today, Bennie is an entrepreneur, the creator of MVP leadership (cliff hanger opportunity: the MVP doesn't stand for what you think) and the author of the book Silver Spoon. As you'll soon learn from our episode, Bennie first learned to love leadership from his father Bennie Fowler Senior who was a high ranking executive at the Ford Motor Company. We discuss their relationship, Bennie's road to the NFL and his current role guiding leaders in business today.

“I don't know, but I'll figure it out”. 20 years ago, these were the words murmured by an unfilled-at-the-time Sam Zien to his wife after he quit his job as a biotech operator. It was then that he realized that something in his life didn't feel right. One morning, now unemployed, Sam recalls watching “one of the worst cooking segments” on a local San Diego channel when the idea came to him; launch a cooking show. Only problem? Sam didn't know how to cook. Today, Sam Zien, is known as “Sam The Cooking Guy”. He is quickly approaching 3,500,000 YouTube channel subscribers while his 5th cookbook “Sam The Cooking Guy: Between The Buns” comes out this May. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Sam shares how he went from averaging $8,000 a year over his first two years to becoming the Emmy-Award winning playful personality many of us have come to love today. Enjoy.

In today's episode of The Wise Dome podcast, we talked about creative therapies. Nikki chats with Jacki Short, she is the founder and director of the Sydney Centre for Creative Change. They are a leading provider of continuing professional development in creative therapies in Australia. She helps counselors that are struggling to engage children and others through practical, online skills-training courses in art, play, drama, and storytelling therapies delivered by highly experienced professionals. Jacki started her wisdom business with in-person training years ago, with a tape recorder and overhead projector! They offered a one-weekend course first and have grown to over 50 events now online. Her advice for those who want to start their own wisdom business: “Get REALLY clear on your WHY you are doing this. Will help you through the challenging times.” The offer: 10% off the price of the Embracing Creativity: Beginners Creative Arts and Writing Group. Benefits include: Enhance positivity and self-care. Gain a new perspective and vision for the future. Learn new skills and ways to cope. Experience being calm and grounded. Relieve stress and anxiety. This is not your typical art or writing class. Visit: https://www.artandplaytherapytraining.com.au/ If you loved today's episode, please subscribe and drop us a review! It's how we can keep the podcast going and growing with your favorite content! Connect with us! Facebook: WiseDomePodcast Instagram: @wisedomepodcast Website : wisedomepodcast.com

In today's episode of The Wise Dome podcast, we talked about creative therapies. Nikki chats with Jacki Short, she is the founder and director of the Sydney Centre for Creative Change. They are a leading provider of continuing professional development in creative therapies in Australia.She helps counselors that are struggling to engage children and others through practical, online skills-training courses in art, play, drama, and storytelling therapies delivered by highly experienced professionals.Jacki started her wisdom business with in-person training years ago, with a tape recorder and overhead projector! They offered a one-weekend course first and have grown to over 50 events now online.Her advice for those who want to start their own wisdom business:“Get REALLY clear on your WHY you are doing this. Will help you through the challenging times.”The offer: 10% off the price of the Embracing Creativity: Beginners Creative Arts and Writing Group.Benefits include: Enhance positivity and self-care. Gain a new perspective and vision for the future. Learn new skills and ways to cope. Experience being calm and grounded. Relieve stress and anxiety.   This is not your typical art or writing class.Visit: https://www.artandplaytherapytraining.com.au/If you loved today's episode, please subscribe and drop us a review! It's how we can keep the podcast going and growing with your favorite content!Connect with us!Facebook: WiseDomePodcastInstagram: @wisedomepodcastWebsite   : wisedomepodcast.comSupport the showIf you loved today's episode, please subscribe and drop us a review! It's how we can keep the podcast going and growing with your favourite content! Connect with us! Facebook: WiseDomePodcast Instagram: @wisedomepodcast Website : wisedomepodcast.com **LOOKING FOR A PLATFORM TO HELP YOU SHARE CONTENT, BUILD YOUR MEMBERSHIP, AND TEACH YOUR COURSES?**DID YOU KNOW?!!Wisdome is also a Gold winner in the International Titan Awards for Best E-learning Platform? Check us out and learn more at https://wisdome.com.auSTART FREE HERE: https://offer.wisdome.com.au Discover the all-in-one place to share content, grow your community, deliver coaching programs, and teach life-changing courses! Learn how to start sharing your knowledge online, from planning your knowledge business and clarifying your message to building trust and growing your brand. Join us for special offers and unlock access to Wisdome – the all-in-one solution for managing your content. Register ...

There are presently 171,476 words making up our English Dictionary. And with all those choices, you can see how many leaders fumble their way through picking the very right words to help motivate their people, navigate hard conversations, or galvanize a consumer base. Enter Molly Tschang who is a problem solver extraordinaire, lexicon rock star, and the Host of the radio show Say It Skillfully®. Molly envisions a world where people speak without fear and feel heard. She's passionate about each of us being who we are and helping others say what needs to be said, skillfully. Most believe actions speak louder than words. Until, of course, words fail them. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Molly gives us a little taste of her skill including what it takes to let go of what doesn't serve us. Enjoy.

In the 90th minute on a beautiful California day, in front of 25,000 raving fans, the day got instantaneously more sunny for today's guest when Javier Hernandez (“Chicharito”) went on to score the lone goal in a 1-0 opening day LA Galaxy win against MLS champions NYCFC. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we are joined by the President of the LA Galaxy Chris Klein. As the leader of a club with the most MLS Championships in history, the expectation to compete and win remains at an all-time high. Chris and I discuss the state of both the LA Galaxy and US soccer, the pressure that comes with his title and his rocketship ride from player-to-President; including a handful of mentors who helped him along the way. Enjoy.

Emily Musil Church, Ph.D. specializes in tech for good, entrepreneurship, and prize competitions. She spent a half dozen years at the XPRIZE Foundation and served as Executive Director of the human equity domain. Today, she continues her good work running world-changing, “crowdsourced" prize competitions at Milken Institute. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we discuss where her philanthropic gene came from, the potential outcomes of a prize that can change the world and her recently announced finalists of the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize.

Today, there's a video camera in everyone's pocket. But long before we coined the term influencers there were just people with influence. Back in 2010, HBO decided to take a chance on two of them: The Neistat Brothers. Van and Casey Neistat once described their series that was picked up by HBO as "a handmade home movie TV show”. While the democratization of content is here and now, eclectic Van Neistat remains a master storyteller, talented artist and DIY movie maker. From my lens, he truly ranks as one of the most interesting minds in America. Our discussion spans far and wide including his current Youtube endeavor, "The Spirited Man”, his relationship with his brother Casey and a few of our life adventures that included his Baja motorcycle trek (where Van brought along two total strangers) to my wedding. Enjoy.

Nice gets a bad wrap. But Adam Morgan is one of the true nice guys who has successfully navigated the creative business space. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we are joined by the affable Adam Morgan who is Adobe's Executive Creative Director. We discuss a panoply of topics including how C-Suites can better understand the impact creativity has on its bottom line as well as Adam's challenge to creatives; to “reach across the silo” and better understand the nuances of marketing and business. Who better to provide a point of view on the paramount importance of creative leadership than someone who has spent over two decades running creative departments at brands and agencies. Enjoy.

She's not only back from Beijing, but she has returned to the States with the ultimate mantlepiece. Aerial Mogulist and freshly minted Olympic Silver Medal winner Jaelin Kauf shares her whirlwind two weeks from navigating a Covid Olympics from the other side of the world to her mother surprising her “live” on The Today Show during her media tour in New York City. Jaelin relives her run, discusses “if she feels different” and confides where she hopes her picture will NOT go when they add it to the US Ski & Snowboard Center Of Excellence in Park City, Utah. We also discuss the history that was made with 4 US athletes finishing in the top 10 of her event, the work we did together on manifesting “Deliver The Love” and what comes next for the Olympic medalist. Enjoy.

Walter Geer isn't simply a talented black creative — he's a talented creative (period, full stop). Walt takes great pride sitting at the intersection of design, data, innovation and storytelling. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we zip around discussing his work as a leader in the digital advertising space as well as his monumental work as a DEI advocate. We dive deep to address race, fairness, talent and if he's seen any real progress in diversification of the board room. Walt also shares what drives him as well as what he has learned from his unique (and public) conversation with Proctor & Gamble's Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard. Savoy Magazine listed him as one of the most Influential Black Execs in Corporate America. Adweek named him as one of their 50 most important people in media, marketing and tech. If you're ready to keep it real, then hit play on this conversation between your ears.

Whatever it takes. Say “yes and”. Keep it real. These are just a few of the concepts the affable Erin Levzow knows all too well. She shares her “just keep figuring out” journey with us on this new episode of The Courageous Podcast. If you ever wanted to learn how someone can go from studying theatre in school to making it in Las Vegas to masterfully building an art Mecca in a hotel to finally, “selling tacos on the internet” (her words, not mine), then buckle in for a genuine conversation with Top 25 Women by AWNewYork, CMO of the Year 2020 and ballroom dancing extraordinaire Erin Levzow. Enjoy!

Chris Kneeland is the tell-it-like-it-is co-founder of The Gathering which is, as the name suggests, a gathering that takes place in Banff's Canadian Rockies by a consortium of world-class brand makers who wish to study, honor and celebrate the world's best brands. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Chris and I discuss what goes into making this event as well as how his “day job” as the CEO of proactive creative agency “Cult" has evolved over the last decade. This includes a passionate back and forth about why brand leaders continue to make the very same mistake: putting stories into the world that don't truly mirror what's going on behind the curtain in their culture. And, if you're a fan of Business Haiku's, Ryan tests a few new ones out on Chris. Enjoy.

If you are like the majority, then you have an hourly rate. This severely bothered this weeks guest who couldn't logically accept “hourly rate" payment terms for his talent. In fact, if Jonathan Stark was capable of cracking your problem in a shorter period of time, shouldn't he be paid more? On this episode of The Courageous Podcast we are joined by a former software developer who is now on a mission to rid the world of hourly billing. Jonathan is the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts, the host of Ditching Hourly, and writes a daily newsletter on pricing for independent professionals. If you're like me (and Jonathan) and believe that the laziest, lowest measurement of our worth is a measurement of time, then this is the episode for you. Enjoy.

Phil Horvath has been on quite the journey. Nothing like starting a prominent, new job during the thick of the pandemic. Now, almost a year in, Phil shares what it has been like to navigate his organization as the new President of Floyd's 99 Barbershop. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we discuss how Phil has gone about getting to know his team who reside across 114 locations in 13 states from Florida to Texas. This includes the colossal challenge of not being about to travel for face-to-face meetings with his new team for a major part of his tenure. We also discuss the personalities of such a curiously creative workforce, what they call “The Floyd's Vibe” (which you'll experience in every Floyd's shop) and the importance of helping Floyd's employees find their purpose and live their best lives. Enjoy!

In the world of food, Kraft Heinz is on the hunt for what's next now. In this episode of The Courageous Podcast we are talking transformation and the future of food with VP of Capabilities, Kevin Zidron. Kevin shares how his entrepreneurial spirit took him on a journey which started with stocking shelves. We discuss the importance of understanding the inner workings of an organization at all levels and how to wisely tap into your customer's behavior. We also discuss Kevin's leadership style; he believes in a people-first leadership approach, the "power of we", and shares how focusing on continuous learning is driving transformation at Kraft Heinz. https://lnkd.in/dYXsXvv

Nadine Epstein is Editor-in-Chief of MOMENT MAGAZINE which was co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel. Nadine is also Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Creative Change, the Founder of the Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative and has now launched the Role Model Project which was established in memory of her dear friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with whom she collaborated on Nadine's latest book RBG'S BRAVE & BRILLIANT WOMEN: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone.

We are joined by Google's Head of Industry Dustin Bomar who learned an entirely new category shifting from the travel business to the telecom arena. If not more courageous is Dustin's backstory. As a father of two adopted African American kids, now 7, we took some time to discuss the impact of these last two chaotic years; including its toll on his family. Dustin shares his concern for the type of country we are creating that his kids will one day grow into. Take a listen on this episode of The Courageous Podcast. https://lnkd.in/dYXsXvv