Podcasts about his mo

Episode 121 Melinda Salazar and Carrole Ann White  Starting in 2017, someone started killing women in southwest Detroit, MI.  The killer struck at night, and always used the same weapon – his car.  Detroit police realized that they had a serial killer on their hands. His MO was always the same – pick up a white, female sex worker; have a sexual encounter with her in his vehicle; and then, run her down with that vehicle and rob her.  He was brazen, ruthless, and active, with at least five cases fitting his MO.  Despite all the trappings of modern technology at detectives' disposal, they could not identify the Hit and Run Killer.  Finally, the application of forensic genealogy in an active investigation gave detectives what they needed – a name.  This episode features an exclusive interview with CeCe Moore on her genealogy analysis, and brings to listeners a case that received very little media coverage. To listen to every episode of DNA: ID ad-free and get other benefits, simply  visit our channel page on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Of course, you can also support DNA: ID with a Patreon subscription. For all things DNA: ID, visit the show's homepage Visit this link to buy DNA ID Merch

Between the years of 1875 and 1883, stagecoaches working along the routes that connected the mining towns in California's gold rush country on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains were used to holdups. A lot of robbers were shot or later caught and sent to prison-but there was one bandit the Wells Fargo agents couldn't catch- and that was Black Bart. Over a period of 8 years he successfully held up 28 stages. At two of these holdups he left a poem in the empty strongbox and signed it Black Bart- PO8. His MO was to appear alone from behind the bushes or a large rock with a shotgun at a point in the trail when the stage had to slow down, and demand that the strongbox be thrown down to him. He wore a flour sack over his head so no one could identify him, and he always escaped on foot in rough country. Curiously, although there were many stage companies working the area, he only held up Wells Fargo stages- as if he had some kind of a grudge to settle- and as it turns out he did. Try the new "Tales of Escape & Suspense"- links below! ANDROID USERS- 1001 Tales of Escape & Suspense at Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2HQYk53AJHTOgBTLBzyP3w 1001 Stories From The Old West at Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0c2fc0cGwJBcPfyC8NWNTw 1001 Radio Crime Solvers at Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/0UAUS12lnS2063PWK9CZ37 1001's Best of Jack London at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2HzkpdKeWJgUU9rbx3NqgF 1001 Radio Days at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5jyc4nVoe00xoOxrhyAa8H 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6rzDb5uFdOhfw5X6P5lkWn 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6rO7HELtRcGfV48UeP8aFQ 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories & The Best of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4dIgYvBwZVTN5ewF0JPaTK 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5P4hV28LgpG89dRNMfSDKJ 1001 Stories for the Road on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6FhlsxYFTGNPiSMYxM9O9K 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5sUUFDVTatnGt7FiNQvSHe 1001 History's Best Storytellers: (INTERVIEWS) on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3QyZ1u4f9OLb9O32KX6Ghr APPLE USERS New! 1001 Tales of Escape and Suspense at Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-tales-of-escape-and-suspense/id1689248043 Catch 1001 Stories From The Old West- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-from-the-old-west/id1613213865 Catch 1001's Best of Jack London- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-best-of-jack-london/id1656939169 Catch 1001 Radio Crime Solvers- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-crime-solvers/id1657397371 Catch 1001 Heroes on Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2  Catch 1001 Classic Short Stories at Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tommy Lynn Sells was a serial killer who traveled  across many states in the US. His MO was to kill children. Join me in my latest True Crime episode in which I will discuss the case that rocked America.

This episode describes events that include kidnapping, rape, gun crime, animal death and murder.    Robert Hansen, dubbed the Butcher Baker by the media is an Alaskan serial killer who is suspected of murdering up to 21 women, most often sex workers. His MO - take them out to the wilderness and hunt them down like wild prey.    The book, Butcher Baker by Genoveva Ortiz played a huge part creating this book so please, if you want to read the full story check it out!   Podcast is researched, written and produced by me, Kimberley. And the script is proof read by Nicky Reynolds.   Any feedback, or case suggestions you can contact me on Instagram  @nogooddeedspodcast, email me at nogooddeedspodcast@gmail.com    I also now have a website www.nogooddeedspodcast.com Go check it out!    Love Kimberley

(A Ben and Fiona episode - prepare for an Irish potty mouth and bullshit trivia)"You're dead, Willy."There's nothing that keeps my Willy more alive than watching two topless men, sledgehammers in hand, knock through a wall!Ghost finds Patrick Swayze shifting gears from high kicking dancing enforcer to pottery sculptor and fake psychic exposer. A once in a generation talent. Demi Moore pops in with a short back and sides to force out some occasional tears. Could that hair get any shorter...? Mere mortal men would have harnessed that statue up, oh not Patrick. His MO is to swing out the window and roadhouse that thing straight into the living room! Old habits die hard, right Demi? She gets it. Also, imagine coughing in a lift now? Sam and Carl could have no complaints about being slung down that elevator shaft. Wear a mask. Saves lives! (shouted in their direction as they plummet)I feel Patrick did well to remain a part of the living as long as he did! We could have been out of this pandemic sooner if we'd had Vincent Schiavelli's subway ghost marshalling the tubes 'this is my train! Stay home. Saves lives!   Listen out for Fiona's impression of Whoopi Goldberg, who quite literally whoops and shouts her way to an Oscar. That's my 'view' anyway...Subscribe & Follow the Flogging!Social Mediahttps://www.facebook.com/filmfloggershttps://www.instagram.com/filmfloggers/https://twitter.com/FilmFloggersWebsitehttps://filmfloggers.buzzsprout.comHelp Flog the Podcast by Leaving a Review! Apple iTunes Review,https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/filmfloggers/id1530910798Email FilmFlog suggestions to hosts@filmfloggers.comArtwork by @deanbeattieSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/FilmFloggers)

Welcome to the soft launch of Storied: San Francisco, Season 4! We love catching up with friends and past guests of the show. For Kevin Fagan (S1E13), we were kinda blown away by what he's been up to, though we probably shouldn't be surprised. In San Francisco in 1974 and '75, there was a serial killer on the loose. His MO was to sketch or doodle his victims in public—in cafes, bars, and the like. The drawings then served as an "in" with his targets. Police believe he killed at least five men in the spree, with the potential for more. Kevin shares with us how he came to the story of the Doodler, set to debut as an eight-part serial podcast hosted by Kevin today (Parts 1 and 2 should be available wherever you get your podcasts). Check back here Thursday for an excerpt from "The Doodler" podcast. We recorded this special podcast on Zoom in March 2021. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

For our first episode we will be discussing Son of Sam, a Serial killer from New York who believed a demon dog was telling him to kill people. His MO was killing young brunettes in their cars by firing random shots. Was he actually listening to a demon? Or was he just evil? For sources and photos from this episode we will be posting them on Instagram as well as on our website. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kaileytash/support

The media dubbed him the “Last Call Killer” because he targeted men in gay bars who were obviously intoxicated.  His MO involved dismembering the bodies and wrapping the parts in plastic bags, which he then carefully washed to remove all incriminating evidence.  He eluded capture for almost ten years... and then new technology revealed fingerprints no one knew were there. To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The media dubbed him the “Last Call Killer” because he targeted men in gay bars who were obviously intoxicated.  His MO involved dismembering the bodies and wrapping the parts in plastic bags, which he then carefully washed to remove all incriminating evidence.  He eluded capture for almost ten years... and then new technology revealed fingerprints no one knew were there. To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

SEND US A VOICEMAIL (https://www.speakpipe.com/pod30network) (question or comment) to play on the show! The voicemails we use on the show will win Jackwagon Express or Sinister Nation merch! The boys are back with Jackwagon Express shenanigans and the pod within the pod Sinister Nation.  The unsolved case of the Texarkana Moonlight/Phantom Murders from the 1940 (starts at 1hr 5min 48sec) is the true crime deep dive on today's show.  The pod went a little long so we decided to make this a two part episode.  This is part one. Find out what the boys are canceling this week in "You've been canceled".  Sports is back as our resident Dallas Cowboy and Las Vegas Raider fans give their opinions on the week that was in the NFL.  Troy has a nice little Antonio Brown rant... hilarious.    The Texarkana Moonlight/Phantom Murders was a series of attacks by an unknown masked man in 1946.  The man used what is described as a white pillow case with eye holes cut out to conceal his identity during the attacks.  His MO was to attack couples, sexually assault them, and more often than not, kill them after.  In all, 8 were attacked, 3 lived.  Were there more we don't know of?  Why did he just stop?  Did he die, move on to another city, or get arrested for another crime and end up in jail?  There were many suspects and a few that were very interesting and could very well have been the Phantom.  I'm sure if they had DNA analysis in 1946 like they do today, there may have been a different outcome and someone arrested.  Find out all the details on each attack, the MO, the evidence, and details on the suspects in this episode!!!! PLEASE subscribe to the show so you don't miss part 2!!!!  We are available on all the popular platforms... click POD30NETWORK.COM (https://www.pod30network.com) to subscribe. We would appreciate it if you could give us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jackwagon-express/id1513851815) follow us on social... TWITTER (https://www.twitter.com/jackwagonpod) INSTAGRAM (https://www.instagram.com/jackwagonpod) FACEBOOK (https://www.facebook.com/jackwagonpod) YOUTUBE (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPK9Ju-_58Vuq0Lh2lK1Ujw) Email  thejackwagonexpress@gmail.com

SEND US A VOICEMAIL (https://www.speakpipe.com/pod30network) (question or comment) to play on the show! The voicemails we use on the show will win Jackwagon Express or Sinister Nation merch! The boys are back with Jackwagon Express shenanigans and the pod within the pod Sinister Nation.  The unsolved case of the Texarkana Moonlight/Phantom Murders from the 1940 (starts at 1hr 5min 48sec) is the true crime deep dive on today's show.  The pod went a little long so we decided to make this a two part episode.  This is part one. Find out what the boys are canceling this week in "You've been canceled".  Sports is back as our resident Dallas Cowboy and Las Vegas Raider fans give their opinions on the week that was in the NFL.  Troy has a nice little Antonio Brown rant... hilarious.    The Texarkana Moonlight/Phantom Murders was a series of attacks by an unknown masked man in 1946.  The man used what is described as a white pillow case with eye holes cut out to conceal his identity during the attacks.  His MO was to attack couples, sexually assault them, and more often than not, kill them after.  In all, 8 were attacked, 3 lived.  Were there more we don't know of?  Why did he just stop?  Did he die, move on to another city, or get arrested for another crime and end up in jail?  There were many suspects and a few that were very interesting and could very well have been the Phantom.  I'm sure if they had DNA analysis in 1946 like they do today, there may have been a different outcome and someone arrested.  Find out all the details on each attack, the MO, the evidence, and details on the suspects in this episode!!!! PLEASE subscribe to the show so you don't miss part 2!!!!  We are available on all the popular platforms... click POD30NETWORK.COM (https://www.pod30network.com) to subscribe. We would appreciate it if you could give us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jackwagon-express/id1513851815) follow us on social... TWITTER (https://www.twitter.com/jackwagonpod) INSTAGRAM (https://www.instagram.com/jackwagonpod) FACEBOOK (https://www.facebook.com/jackwagonpod) YOUTUBE (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPK9Ju-_58Vuq0Lh2lK1Ujw) Email  thejackwagonexpress@gmail.com

This is referred to as the “Prologue”, kind of a summary and introduction to John's letter. It sets the tone for what's to come. The first impression on this is that it is very ethereal, very spiritual, and not very concrete. John is telling us what he is going to tell us, which is definitely different from the other gospel writings. But not only that, John is, right up front, telling us just what he personally believes about Jesus, and he makes it clear that this is what he wants to convince the reader as well. The verses that I really love in here are at the end of this section, verses, 14-18. Two things stand out to me this morning. First is this statement that Jesus is full of BOTH grace and truth. Jesus isn't the judge who beats you up for doing wrong, who drags you through the mud for mistakes, who looks to punish you and relishes in the fact that you didn't quite make it this time, and that now He can come down on you. No, Jesus is full of Grace. At the same time though, we see through the gospels that He doesn't shy away from the truth...He raises the bar in terms of standards to a place where no one can pull it off. But it is this combination of the two that is so compelling...probably best illustrated in chapter 8 with the woman who comes to Jesus in the temple, and he makes this statement: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” It is the grace He gives that makes His truth so palatable. The second thing that really jumped out at me is just the bigger idea that God came down to us, He sent Himself as His Son to be on this earth with us, to suffer with us, to experience life with us, to know us intimately, and to demonstrate who He is. We live in a ‘show me' world today, and most of us think that if we got to see God it would be easier to believe; that if we got to experience God first hand, that we'd be ‘all in'. You know, I think we get that wrong. First off, when we think that, I can almost picture God sitting up in heaven thinking, “Well, I have already done that, I have already come down and spent years on the earth with people, and they didn't believe Me until I was gone.” And then we might say, “Well, that wasn't me.” Or we might say, “No, well, I mean, show up as God and I will believe, not at Jesus, not as a man.” And to that I am sure God is probably thinking, “Have you read about when Moses saw me, how his face was turned to ash and he couldn't hardly be in my presence without being overwhelmed?”. See, I think we fail to recognize the magnitude of God. We can only use the context of our life to imagine things about God; I think we just lack the ability to imagine what God is really like. So, this morning, it is thankfulness that is in my mind from these verses...thankful that God came down and proved Himself to us. The fact that we sometimes don't think that proof goes far enough is on us...if His physical presence wasn't enough to ‘prove' He is who He says He is, then we have an unquenchable desire for proof. I am thankful that He came with the balance of both Grace and Truth, and not just Truth as was His MO in the /old Testament. I am thankful to live in the post-resurrection world, that I can have Jesus upon which to reflect, and the Holy Spirit as a companion. I am just very thankful this morning.

Jeffrey Dahmer is one of America's most notorious serial killers. Having killed 17 men in an escalating fashion, Dahmer's crime still baffle us today. His MO was simple- he would lure men back to his house, sometimes under the ruse of paying them for nude photos, he would kill them then defile the body in other ways. Despite the many interviews Dahmer did with the media, the biggest question we are left with is what made a man commit such horrific crimes? Please follow us on socials!Instagram: boozeyblondespodTwitter: boozeyblondesEmail: boozeyblondes@gmail.comFacebook: Blondes, Booze, and Bullsh*teIntro/Closing Music: "Shaving Mirror" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Most of us have heard the story about one of America's most notorious serial killers: Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer murdered a total of 17 men between 1978 and 1991. His MO was to find men on the "outskirts" of society. Dahmer was not like other serial killers, he did not take pride or become happy when killing his victims. He was a lonely person and wanted to have somebody who would not leave. In his own words, "[t]he only motive that there ever was was to completely control a person; a person I found physically attractive. And keep them with me as long as possible, even if it meant just keeping a part of them." Sources: Biography.com Wikipedia My Friend Dahmer Confessions of a Serial Killer The History Channel --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Mike Rabil has been a rising star in entrepreneurship since the day he graduated Dartmouth, where he was a captain on the football team. His MO is building businesses that reimagine the status quo. His most recent venture is the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), which he launched with his brother Paul in the spring of 2019. Already, the PLL has differentiated itself as one of the most creative and innovative sports leagues in the world. The league is run like a start-up and it's growing rapidly. Throughout our convo, Mike discusses a range of topics including his idea of leadership, how he developed the innovative mindset that he's brought to the PLL and his vision for the league going forward.

Ex-Army family man and organic gardener Mark has carved out a solid place in his niche, with his successful channel, Self Sufficient Me. His MO is straight forward: help viewers become more self-sufficient. With over half a million subscribers, his how-to guides have done just that! This week we chat with him about what it's like to go from the army to full-time dad and YouTuber.

For 30 years, Wichita Kansas was terrorized by BTK, a moniker the serial killer bestowed upon himself. His MO was simple- once he locked on to a “project” he’d break in, Bind them, Torture them, and Kill them. His fetish started at a young age and revolved around bondage- specifically autoerrotic asphyxiation. Yet the brutality of his crimes was not enough. He craved notoriety. BTK frequently sent letters to the press and even made the 911 call that lead them to a recent victim. It’s this need for attention and lack of technological understanding that ultimately did him in. Go pour yourself a glass of something nice and join us on this week's dark ride.Please follow us on socials!Instagram: boozeyblondespodTwitter: boozeyblondesEmail: boozeyblondes@gmail.comFacebook: Blondes, Booze, and Bullsh*teIntro/Closing Music: "Shaving Mirror" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/I Meet Autumn by KhalafNasirs (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/khalafnasirs/59568 “The Dusty Attic” By ErikMMusic Copyright © 2012 Rickair Productions All rights reserved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iVudI95Ebc

The media dubbed him the "Last Call Killer" because he targeted men in gay bars who were obviously intoxicated. His MO involved dismembering the bodies and wrapping the parts in plastic bags, which he then carefully washed to remove all incriminating evidence. He eluded capture for almost ten years... and then new technology revealed fingerprints no one knew were there.To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Guys. This is one of the worst cases you will ever lend your ears to. Park Ranger and all around rude dude David Parker Ray spent 40 years and over $100,000 dedicating his life to the abduction, torture, rape and murder of countless women. His MO reads like a script for the Saw franchise and that's putting it lightly. Hold onto your butts, because The Toy Box Killer is here.

Strange & Scary Mysteries of the Month is a compilation of the weird, disturbing and downright baffling stories currently happening in our world. From UFOs to serial killers, ancient sites, mysterious creatures and even ghosts – these are the strange and Scary Mysteries of the month for July 2018. Please support Scary Mysteries! Check out our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries... - There's a lot of cool access, giveaways and even a custom episode! Buy awesome original shirts made by Scary Mysteries https://newdawnfilm.com/scary-mysteri... Subscribe for Weekly Videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiE8... _________________________________________________________ Strange & Scary Mysteries of the Month - July 2018 5. The Case of Michella Welch On March 26, 1986, 12-year old Michella Welch took her siblings to Puget Park in Tacoma, Washington at around 10 AM. About an hour later, she left them there to go home and make sandwiches for lunch, and after that headed back to the park. Once there, she placed their lunch on a park table and went looking for her siblings. By 1:15 the brothers and sisters had found the brown paper bag lunches waiting for them, but their older sister was nowhere to be found. 4. Malibu State Park Shooter Thirty-five-year-old, Irvine, California native, Tristan Beaudette, was inside his tent at Malibu Creek State Park when he was fatally shot and killed in his sleep. A veteran outdoorsman, he went on the camping trip to allow his wife, an obstetrician, some quiet time to study for an exam. Beaudette was with his two young daughters who were 4 and 2 years old and they were inside the tent with him when he was killed. They were left unharmed. His brother-in-law was also camping with them but he was staying in a different tent. 3. British Model Kidnapping Saga It was supposed to be another photoshoot For British model, Chloe Ayling. Her agent confirmed the booking and afterwards made the arrangements. However, after arriving on July 11 in Milan, Italy, she was accosted by two men. According to her statement, a man with black gloves put a hand on the back of her neck and the other on her mouth. Then another man injected her with something in her arm. Ayling lost consciousness and woke up in a pink bodysuit and socks. She was placed inside the trunk of a car, with her wrists and ankles bound. 2. Nicole Lovell When 13-year old Nicole Lovell snuck out of her Blacksburg, Virginia home on January 27, 2016, she thought she was heading out for a “secret date.” But it turned out, she wouldn’t be returning home ever again. Nicole was seventh grader who had befriended 18-year old, Virginia Tech student and cross-country athlete, David Eisenhauer, online. On January 27, it’s believed Eisenhauer and another Virginia-tech student named Natalie Keepers, lured Lovell out of her home under the pretense of a secret meeting. 1. Suspect in The Doodler Case The Doodler, was a serial killer who rampaged through the San Francisco area between the years 1974 and 75, targeting gay men. His MO was to strike up conversations with potential victims and then lure the men into sexual encounters. Once alone, he would stab them and leave them to die on beaches or in parks. The reason why he was dubbed as the “doodler” was because he was said to have drawn sketches of the men right before assaulting or killing them.

What does Anu like the most about her dad? His Mo! Do you know what a Mo is? Actually, Anu likes everyone with a Mo. So much so that when she sees a Mo, she gets funny ideas! Funny story written by and illustrated by Madhuri Purandare, Published by Pratham Books. Narrated by Asawari Doshi. Storyweaver link: https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/131-babachya-mishya Our Website: www.booksthatspeak.com Listen to the podcast: iTunes: http://apple.co/2fVfELt Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/books-that-speak Player.fm: https://player.fm/series/books-that-speak-childrens-stories-in-marathi-hindi-and-gujarati audioBoom: audioboom.com/channel/books-that-speak Watch Videos: YouTube: http://bit.ly/2x4LIGX Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksThatSpeakPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/booksthatspeak

We are heading over to England to discuss one of their more notorious serial killers. Peter Sutcliffe terrorized Yorkshire in the late 1970s/early 1980s and was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper by the press. Over a 5 year period, Sutcliffe would murder 13 women and attempt to kill another 7. Police believe that he could be responsible for many more attacks.Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the dastardly acts committed by Peter Sutcliffe. His MO involved a combination of hammers, knives, and screwdrivers. One fascinating aspect of this case is how it was handled by the police. They would come under incredible scrutiny for a series of bad decision that would allow Sutcliffe to continue to kill many more women.Visit truecrimeallthetime.com for the show's contact and merchandise information.You can help support the show by going to patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeAn Emash Digital Production

His doctor forbade world champion power lifter Robert Herbst to lift anything when he was a child with scoliosis. Eighteen world championships and twenty one consecutive national championships later, what compelled him to rebel? Herbst believes in managing risk but errs on the side of throwing caution to the wind. It’s paid off spectacularly. His MO in all his successes, including his Clark Kentian day job as a lawyer, is that as soon as he identifies a challenge, he burns his ships. He makes an irrevocable commitment. Period. Lessons: 1. Better to fail on the stage, than fail by staying home.
 2. Make an irrevocable commitment to your goal.
 3. Be physically active enough that it becomes a need. 
 Links: Make America Fit Again (TM). http://w8lifterusa.com Robert Herbst on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIT0iclJGOGQ68uKvFgJu1uvYjo50amBu CREDITS Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc. Hosts: Joe De Sena with Johnny Waite, Sefra Alexandra, Col. Tim Nye, Dr. Delle & David Deluca Synopsis – Matt Baatz © 2017 Spartan

On this week s episode, we re joined by Jason Schuller, a designer and maker of things for the web. His MO is always focusing on elegant simplicity, endlessly being inspired by awesome creative people, and relentlessly learning by making mistakes. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress, the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins. Launch your new site today! In this episode Brian Gardner, Lauren Mancke, and Jason Schuller discuss: The creative career of Jason Schuller Launching Press75 The decision behind the sale of Press75 The allure of side projects Prioritizing family in business decisions Creating Work/Life balance Listen to StudioPress FM below ... Download MP3Subscribe by RSSSubscribe in iTunes The Show Notes Follow Jason on Twitter Visit Jason’s Website Plasso Follow Jason on Instagram Follow Jason on Dribbble Follow Jason on Medium The Transcript The Creative Entrepreneur: Living the Dream Voiceover: Rainmaker FM. StudioPress FM is designed to help creative entrepreneurs build the foundation of a powerful digital business. Tune in weekly as StudioPress founder Brian Gardner and VP of StudioPress Lauren Mancke share their expertise on web design, strategy, and building an online platform. Lauren Mancke: On this week’s episode, we are joined by Jason Schuller to discuss being a creative entrepreneur and living the dream. Brian Gardner: Hey, everyone, welcome to StudioPress FM. I am your host, Brian Gardner. Today I’m joined as usual, with my co-host, the Vice President of StudioPress, Lauren Mancke. Lauren Mancke: Glad to be back this week again, everyone. Thank you for joining us as we continue our series on talking to members and experts of the design community. Brian Gardner: Today we have the pleasure — are joined by Jason Schuller, a designer and maker of things for the web. His MO is always focusing on elegant simplicity, endlessly being inspired by awesome creative people, and relentlessly learning by making mistakes. On top of that, Jason is a personal friend of ours, and we’re very fortunate to have him on the show. Jason, welcome. Jason Schuller: Hey, thanks guys for having me. It’s good to talk to you again. Brian Gardner: Yeah, for sure. We always like to kick off the show by asking the same question, to some degree: Who is Jason Schuller, and what is your backstory? Jason Schuller: It’s funny, I feel like “who I am” is a lifelong journey at this point. I’m 40 and still don’t know who I am. I was born just south of Seattle, out in the country, and grew up loving the outdoors. Snowboarding, mountain biking, things like that. I had a pretty typical childhood that way, here in the Pacific Northwest. I still enjoy all those things. Just love being out here and being creative out in nature. That’s me. Brian Gardner: Give us a little background then, from where you started — at least from a design and being a creative — because you weren’t always that way. As you evolved through your career it leaned that way and then you became a full-blown entrepreneur. The Creative Career of Jason Schuller Jason Schuller: The first time I realized I wanted to be a creative person … I think it’s always in you. We all know, to a certain extent, that’s in you just growing up. But I think the first time I actually realized it was in high school. I took a drafting class, and with those tools and being the perfectionist that I am — just being able to realize the design of a house and draft it out and see something I’ve made come to life. I think that was the first time I realized I wanted to do something along those lines. I always struggled in school. I’m dyslexic. I have a hard time reading books. I have a hard time with traditional learning. So drafting and becoming an architect was a struggle for me, because I wasn’t able to get through those required courses to realize that dream. That was the start and the end of wanting to be a creative person at that time. Lauren Mancke: I actually have a few dyslexic people in my family, and my dad was always concerned about that when I was growing up. I never really had an issue with that, but I can imagine that would be difficult. At what point in your career did you have creative jobs? Did you start in a normal job environment, or did you always have creative jobs? Jason Schuller: I got married really young, at the age of 23, so I was kind of forced to find a job. Because, of course, you got to pay the bills and you got to move out of your parents’ place when you get married. It’s probably a good thing. I found a job at the Boeing company here in Seattle as a technical writer, and that obviously doesn’t really get the creative juices flowing. I think it was at that time when the web really started to take off. I didn’t have any traditional training or education in web design or development, but I had an interest in it. What I started doing while I was working at Boeing was just finding websites, downloading the source code, and playing around and making things my own. Reverse engineering and learning that way. I think that’s when I really started to catch on to what you could do with the web and how I could apply my own creativity to building things for the web. Brian Gardner: So you and I and Cory Miller — another friend of ours at iThemes who we had on the show a few weeks ago — we all had this same sort of story. Where we were at our day jobs, relatively non-involved with WordPress or development or design or whatever, and we just — maybe out of lack of interest or being bored — tinkered around with WordPress and code and whatnot. You were at Boeing, I was at an architectural firm, and Cory was working in marketing at a church or something like that. Let’s talk about the beginning of your WordPress “career,” because it practically coincided with mine and Cory’s. It’s great to look back on those early days when we all had day jobs and were freelancing to start out our businesses. What stands out to you the most back then and what was the funniest part of what we did as WordPress was really beginning to evolve into something more than just a blogging platform? Jason Schuller: Just like you guys, like you said, I was working at Boeing still when I got into WordPress. Every organizational website at the Boeing company is probably still maintained using Static HTML. I was looking for a solution to that, because it seemed like a dated process for creating and maintaining websites — using Static HTML. I was poking around with Joomla, as I’m sure you did too, and WordPress came around. I immediately was drawn to it because of its simplicity. I was able to take all the website templates that Boeing had created and turn them into themes for WordPress really quickly and put together, essentially, a platform for maintaining organizational websites in the company. That’s when I really was drawn to WordPress and the potential for creating things for WordPress. That’s what spurred me into actually leaving the company, seeing that I could do much more than what I was doing. Start going off into a freelance career. I didn’t expect to sell themes at that time. I think in doing that process — leaving the company, starting doing freelance work — that’s when I saw what you guys were doing with premium themes and starting to sell themes. I think was specifically you, Brian, and Aidi with his premium news theme that he had. That’s what really got me interested in WordPress themes and potentially branching out into that market. What stands out the most was how easy it was to build a following within WordPress just getting off the ground. I went from working at the Boeing company, leaving, and within two months having a pretty strong following already in the WordPress community simply by blogging and sharing what I was learning at the time. That really stands out to me the most early in those days, is how easy it was to build that audience and that following. I think the funnest part — to follow up on that question — was meeting people like you, Brian, and Cory and Aidi, and just sharing the fun in what we were doing. Making things, designing and creating themes, releasing them, and having thousands of people consume them. That was just such an exciting time. It’s something that I had never experienced before — I’m sure you hadn’t either — sharing that camaraderie with my supposed competitors, which didn’t seem like competitors at all. I think that was the funnest part. Launching Press75 Lauren Mancke: Walk us a little bit back through the process of creating Press75. You touched on getting started with WordPress. At that time … you started in 2008, is that correct? Jason Schuller: Yeah, I got started in 2008. Lauren Mancke: Brian, you had the Revolution theme going then, but that was before you rebranded to StudioPress, right? Brian Gardner: That’s for sure. Lauren Mancke: Walk us back through the process of creating the company. You mentioned creating a following. Share with us a little bit about what made you stand out among other theme makers out there. Jason Schuller: Sure, my start in WordPress — I actually launched a blog called WPelements. I think that’s how you came to know me, through a plugin I released. Brian Gardner: Oh, the Feature Content Gallery. Lauren Mancke: I remember that plugin. Brian Gardner: Love it or hate it. Jason Schuller: Oh my god. Again, I was just blogging through WPelements, building that following. People were downloading plugins I was making and it surprised me, because I’m not a developer by trade. I’m not a designer by trade. I was just learning and putting things out there — broken or not — and people were following along. That was just the state of what WordPress was back then. It was growing so rapidly and there was such a growing community around it, it was that easy to build that audience. But again, noticing what Brian was doing, what Aidi was doing, and what Cory was doing with the premium themes, it lead me to believe that with this following I had now I could do the same thing. I think what stood me apart was finding my own niche doing something that I enjoyed doing, which was video. There weren’t too many video themes back then in 2008, so I took a stab at releasing a video-centric theme where you can embed videos and have it displayed in a nice grid. My first theme I put out there on WP Elements for $5 and it sold … it was a crazy number of copies within a couple hours. I remember going for a walk with my wife and our dog and coming back and checking the computer to see if I had sold anything, and it was something like 200 copies had been sold or something like that for $5 a piece. That’s when I realized that this could be something. It spurred me to, over the next couple months, releasing a couple more themes and then eventually building Press75 and creating a dedicated theme shop out of Press75. Brian Gardner: That’s the creative entrepreneurial dream. They say “make money while you sleep” is the big dream. You want to do that while you’re at the beach, taking a walk, or while you’re sleeping. I know when I first started selling Revolution back in the day, it was that. My favorite part of the day was when I would wake up and go to my day job and know that by then I had already made $600 or something like that. It’s part addictive, it’s part inspiring, and it’s part, “can I keep this going?” Obviously you get to that point where you have to decide, “Should I actually leave my established day job as a young, married-type of person?” We had a kid at the time, so even more so. Thankfully, Shelly had a job, and a good job at that, so it was a little bit easier for me to take off. But I think we all as entrepreneurs get to that point where we’re not sure if we should jump or not. I remember, I think it was Chris Cree or somebody told me way back then that they had been doing stuff for themselves for seven or eight years and they just haven’t looked back. When I heard that I was like, “I don’t want to not be at that spot.” Jason Schuller: Right, and I think now you can look back and say the same thing if somebody asked you. Brian Gardner: For sure. Jason Schuller: Literally, I’ve been on my own for almost nine years now, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I can’t imagine going back to work for a company like Boeing and being in that process of a daily grind. It’s so foreign to me now. I can’t even think of going back. When anybody asks me, “Should I do it?” I always say, “Yeah, do it.” I think where we got lucky is that we did it and it worked the first time. It doesn’t always work the first time for a lot of people. Brian Gardner: All right, let’s take a quick break for an advertisement here, because at StudioPress FM, that’s how we roll. Minimalism plus warmth, a winning combination, Gallery Pro is a theme that features your gorgeous galleries and pages in a minimalist style that features stunning typography. You can make Gallery Pro your own with options for a styled portfolio, multiple column classes, a flexible front page, and full color customization. Find out more on Gallery Pro, head over to StudioPress.com/Themes. Brian and Jason s backstory Brian Gardner: All right, we’re back. Now, as I alluded to earlier, you and I created our businesses around the same time. In fact, what many folks don’t know and they’re not aware of, is that at one point you and I actually formed a partnership for a brief period, which ended not too long after it started. Now, I want us to talk about why that partnership failed. I guess failed is a harsh word, because it obviously wasn’t terrible — we’re still friends and you’re on the show and whatnot. But let’s revisit why we decided it was better to part ways, because I think a lot of people might to relate to that and it speaks to the styles of being different types of entrepreneurs. Jason Schuller: It might be different for you, actually, but for me, I think we are a lot alike in a lot of ways. I think that might have been our biggest problem as partners. We both wanted to do our own thing. We both wanted to lead the charge in what we were doing. I think when you have two partners that are so much alike in that way, it leads to problems. I know for certain the reason my marriage works so well is because my wife and I are completely different people. We balance each other out. And I think that’s true for business partnerships as well. When you have strengths and weaknesses and your partner can balance out those strengths and weaknesses with their own, I think that’s what leads to good partnerships. We were both getting started. We saw the potential, and it was just really good that we recognized so early on in our partnership — because it was only a couple months — that we wanted different things. We were able to split ways before it got dirty and go back to doing our own things. And it worked out for both of us. I’m really happy with how that panned out. I don’t regret having a partnership with you at all. I learned lessons from that, and that’s important as well. Brian Gardner: I guess it’s overdramatic because I used the word fail . I wouldn’t call it a fail. Like we said, it dissolved for very good reasons. Like you said, when you have two like-minded people, it’s tough. We just both wanted to create and do that part of it, and then no one was left to do the administrative or the marketing side of it, because all we want to do is create and move forward. I think that the lesson here is you don’t always have to work with other people. Sometimes there are great fits and there are good marriages. I know that when I merged into Copyblogger — the five of us — that was a situation where everybody brought something unique to the table and it has worked out. Our situation is sometimes when … I wouldn’t even say that the situation came between two friends, because it didn’t. We parted amicably. You did your thing. Because you had stuff you wanted to work on, and maybe it was slightly different than the direction I wanted to go. I think we both split and still continued our success, and that was good. Jason Schuller: I really see that as the beginning of me really branching out and being successful with Press75. I saw it as the beginning, not the end, for sure. It was a good experience for me. Lauren Mancke: At the time, I was curious what had happened there. I think, Brian, you had mentioned to me about this. You were using his plugin on your themes and then something happened, and I never heard what happened. So that’s fun, to hear the backstory after all these years. Brian Gardner: I was a little bit skittish back then in what I should and shouldn’t share with the public and people. It’s different than it is now. Even when Revolution — StudioPress rebranded from Revolution because of a cease and desist letter, and I got squirrelly because I was new to this. I did a lot of, “Well, it was the best thing, the great decision.” I didn’t do a lot of backstories because back then I was less into transparency and authenticity than I am now. Now I think I’m more that way because I want other people to learn from the stuff that I’ve gone through. Back then it was all new and I didn’t have any real knowledge to share other than, “This is weird, so let’s not talk about it.” Jason Schuller: Right. I think I was the same way. You get full of yourself a little bit. You definitely don’t want to share those lessons because you’re not — it’s not apparently clear what the lesson is back then when you’re going through it. It takes sometimes a couple of years to look back, reflect, and realize who you were back then and how you want to be now. The Decision Behind the Sale of Press75 Lauren Mancke: Let’s continue in that vein, Jason. What are some of the biggest challenges that you’ve faced with your company, Press75? I know we had a chance to talk at Circles Conference about some of the reasons you decided to sell it, and you’ve also shared with some others about your frustrations with WordPress in general. Can you give our listeners a bit of a behind the scenes on the decision to sell? And did any of the frustrations you’ve had with WordPress affect that decision? Jason Schuller: Yeah. There’s a couple of factors that went into me wanting to sell Press75. I think the biggest challenge, first of all, of running Press75, was trying to stay true to myself and not giving in to the appeal of doing everything that everybody else was doing at the time. I think that was my biggest struggle. I built Press75 on my own style and my own way of doing things, and that’s what made it so popular. I fell into that trap after a while of noticing what everybody else was doing and wanting to do the same thing. Wanting to grow it beyond what it was. That was one of my biggest struggles. The second side to that is the direction WordPress was taking after a while. I think it was around 2010-2011 that WordPress really started to get, in my eyes anyways, pretty bloated compared to what it was in previous years. It was this perfect, simple, content management system that was easy to build themes for, and it became this massive CMS for doing pretty much anything you wanted to do with it. With that came the responsibility in creating themes that people wanted. What people wanted was basically all the functionality that WordPress provided, plus all the functionality that every plugin available for WordPress provided. That’s where I started to disconnect a little bit. I wanted to continue doing my own thing, which is minimalist, simple design, and it wasn’t jiving with what the market wanted at the time, which was everything under the sun. That’s what really led me to go down the path of looking for a new owner for Press75 and wanting to do something different. Brian Gardner: We had Cory on the show, as I mentioned earlier. He and I and Lauren discussed something very important and something that still is under-discussed, I think, in the entrepreneurial space, and that’s all about mental health. Specifically, how it pertains to being an entrepreneur. Now, after selling Press75 during the summer of 2014, I know you went through a pretty rough time trying to process the end of that and what would be next. You went through a period of time … To whatever extent you feel comfortable, can you just talk about that a little bit? What went through your head and some of the emotions and things that were going on after the sale and before you started the next few projects? Jason Schuller: Sure. Yeah, that was definitely a depressing couple of years for a lot of reasons. I think, primarily, when you’re in that game of building something and it’s successful — it’s the first thing you’ve done and it became a success really quickly — you have this attitude that everything you do in the future is going to be successful just like the previous thing. I kind of had that attitude getting out of Press75, thinking that whatever I did next was going to take off and be successful. It just wasn’t the case. That was a big lesson for me to learn. But with that came a lot of depression. I can definitely say that I was the most depressed in my life — from the standpoint of my professional career — than I’ve ever been. But it was twofold, because in my personal life, my little girl had just been born in 2013. Personally, I was on a high. Professionally, I was on a low. Those two were just clashing in the middle all the time, because I had this great need to provide for my family, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. Learning that lesson that maybe I’m not as special as I thought I was and that not everything I create is going to be instantly a success. Looking back on that, it was extremely important for me to go through that period of a reality check almost, and realize that creating successful businesses takes more work than you actually might think. It’s going to be harder the next time around, even though I have had a previous success. That’s where I am today. And that’s when I started opening up to new opportunities of maybe joining a team or working under the umbrella of another company and seeing what that opportunity has in store for me. That’s when I joined up with Drew Wilson and Plasso. I feel like I’ve grown so much more since doing that. It was an important step for me to take. The Allure of Side Projects Lauren Mancke: You’ve also been working on a number of projects like Droplets and Pickle and Atmospheric. Can you talk a little bit about those and what made you decided to do each one of those? Jason Schuller: I think Brian can relate to side projects and wanting to do everything that pops into your head. Maybe I get a little bit less focused than Brian in that way. It’s one of the things I enjoy most, is doing side projects. But it’s also a big drawback for me as well, because it distracts me from doing the things that I should be doing. I take on these side projects. I want to see something come to life and I put it out there. Then as soon as it’s out there, I lose interest. The process of building them, giving it my all and making something work, I think that’s really a healthy thing. But putting it out there and just letting it just go stale, that’s not so healthy. I’ve been trying to learn for myself and my own sanity to focus on important things and not give in to doing everything that pops into my head. Side projects — they’re kind of a double-edged sword for me. Brian Gardner: I for sure relate to the whole, “Have an idea, carry it out, and launch it” type of thing. I’ve had to be very specific with what I do as a “completely outside of the scope of my job” thing. I’ve only got one thing that I do there. But from a creative standpoint or from a design standpoint, I get inspirations left and right all the time. I’m always in my own head thinking, “Ah, I’ve got this great idea.” Even if it’s an idea of something I would do as a true side project, I try to channel it away and say, “That’s not the right time to actually pursue a actual side project,” but conceptually take what you’re envisioning and wrap that into something that then can become a theme that we sell on StudioPress. Some of the things that I’ve done lately have been the ideas or creative endeavors that I wished to live out, but just dial back the execution part and say “Okay, well at least I’ve put forth some time and effort and energy into something that a) is part of my job, and then b) something that hundreds or thousands of people can benefit from and they do.” Jason Schuller: I’m starting to do that same thing. It feels good to be able to refocus that energy in a different way that makes it available right away under what you’re supposed to be doing. Again, I’m working under Plasso right now and designing and making things for Plasso, so every time I have an idea I’ve been exactly doing what you’re saying, rechanneling that energy into something that maybe could work for Plasso. That seems to be panning out for me, because I can use that energy still and not let it go away. Prioritizing Family in Business Decisions Brian Gardner: We talked about some of the stuff you did at Boeing. That worked its way into WordPress and Press75. Then you sold that and you’ve had some of these fun side projects. Some have and haven’t been included or involved with WordPress. And then you’re doing work with Plasso. But there’s more to you than that, though. I know that because I’m a friend of yours, but also because I follow your Instagram feed, which is a total window into the world outside of Jason as the guy who sits in front of a computer and does design and software and creativity stuff. From the conversations you and I have had over the years, I know that the definition of life for you far exceeds running a business and being a successful entrepreneur. I can think of two things — or shall I say two people — that matter to you more than anything. I’m guessing I’m right here. Jason Schuller: Oh yeah, absolutely. The ability to be home with my family, my wife and my daughter, and be with them more than I actually work has been the biggest gift of my life. Again, I can’t imagine going back to working for that company eight hours a day and not seeing my daughter. Only seeing her in mornings and at night. It’s not anything I can even fathom at this point. This experience is something I’ll cherish forever. It’s actually my biggest motivator in life to keep doing what I do. To be creative, to keep pushing, and to keep learning and growing and stay relevant, so that I can maintain that lifestyle that I like so much now at this point. Because I want to maintain being able to spend as much time with my family as I can. Brian Gardner: We talked to Brian and Jennifer Bourn a few weeks back about maintaining a work/life balance, because they spend a lot of time with their kids traveling and doing things like that. From my perspective from the outside, even though I know that personally you were going through some rough times, to see you post pictures or to talk about — even in the context of a sentence — just saying, “This is my dream. This is my world. Spending time with my daughter and watching her grow up.” From my perspective as a dad, it’s awesome. It’s great to see. And it’s also convicting, because sometimes I don’t feel like I have that much of a conviction to be that intentional about spending time with Zach and Shelly and stuff like that. I’m around a lot. I’m here all day when he’s here. I send him off to school. I’m home when he gets home. But it’s a lesson and a great motivator, like you said, to maintain that. Because once you have that … Of course, things will change as she gets older. Because he’s 12 now and he doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore sometimes, and I’m like, “Okay.” Then you think, “A few more years, he’s going to be out of high school.” I look at Shelly and I’m like, “What are we going to be doing all day long now?” There’s that to consider. But you still have plenty of time left with her. Creating Work/Life Balance Jason Schuller: I look back at those couple of years where I was super depressed from a professional standpoint but just living the high life from personal standpoint … I don’t know, I just have to believe that maybe that’s way it was supposed to be. For me to be there 100 percent for my kid those first couple of years that she was growing up and becoming a person, I think that that was such a special time. I reflect and think of it that way, instead of, “Oh, I was just super depressed all the time from a professional standpoint.” I look back at it — at those pictures, all those videos, and all of those trips that we took together — and remember it that way, as the time I got to spend with my daughter growing up. Brian Gardner: Let’s talk to Lauren. Lauren, how do you feel about the fact that you’ve been able to spend a couple years with Fox? Now you’ve got two more coming, and I don’t know if being home will actually be a good thing for you or not with all the distractions and whatnot. Lauren Mancke: I actually was going to chime in. I think that’s one of the things I bonded with Jason over when we first met, was that family-first mentality. We discussed making business decisions based on that. Putting your family first and creating a work/life balance that gives you the opportunity to be home with your children. I think it’s really important. I heard, Jason, that you’ve got a pretty sweet setup for working from home. Brian’s actually mentioned it on another episode. I haven’t been able to set up my super sweet office yet, but I’ve got schemes and I’ve got visions. What is your favorite part of working remotely and working from home? Jason Schuller: I think you have to make a creative space for yourself. Something that inspires you every day. Somewhere you want to actually sit and spend a good amount of time in, so that you can let those creative juices flow. For me it was building this office. It’s literally just a little room on top of my separated garage. I built it in 2009, I designed it myself. My father in-law and I built it together from the ground up. Now it’s just that space I get to go to every single day and enjoy the view from my office and just be creative. It’s quiet and it’s peaceful. I think it’s really important for us when we work at home to have that space that you can go to and feel that way and just work. Brian Gardner: See, I don’t think I have that. Mine’s called Starbucks. I just rent that space, $6 a day. My office isn’t anything special. I’ve actually had — I still probably won’t do this, because it just would cost too much and it would be silly — but I had this vision of designing the office that I have into a Starbucks. I have a friend of mine who his friend is actually one of the guys who architects and engineers the refurbishment of Starbucks. I was actually going to hire him and say, “Come into my room and do Starbucks stuff.” I was going to put a little live-edged countertop. Put in the floor and some lighting. Really try to emulate a Starbucks. Then I just realized that was probably money not well spent. But I do, I see the pictures of your office. It overlooks the lake there, and you’re always posting pictures of the mountains. “Then I took a quick drive up to go mountain biking.” There are people in this world — you are one of them, Jeff Sheldon is another — who I really have envy over their lifestyle and their ability to connect in places that I don’t live near. So good for you, that you get to have that type of space. Jason Schuller: Yeah, man, I really love living here. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m sure there are plenty of better places to live than Seattle, but I grew up here. I love it. I love being connected to the mountains and nature in general, and being able to do that pretty much within 20 minutes of my place. It’s super important for me to maintain. So yeah, I love it. Brian Gardner: As we wrap this up, we asked Bill Kenney a few weeks ago — from Focus Lab — the same question. I want to do the same with you, because I got a feeling it might be a little bit different answer. I think it’s really important for our listeners to get different points of view, so here it goes: If you had a chance to speak to a group of young designers or creatives and your presentation was limited to five minutes, what would you say to them? Jason Schuller: Wow. That’s a loaded question. Just drawing from my own experience, I think the most important thing, for me anyways, is moving forward. Is not to forget who I am and what I do, because that’s what lead me down a bad path when I was doing Press75, was paying too much attention to what everybody else was doing and trying to emulate that. When I really sat back and did my own thing and did it in my own way, that’s when I was most successful. That’s the most important point for me. Also, making yourself a little uncomfortable at times. I got really comfortable during those years of building WordPress themes. Living that life for a couple years really didn’t challenge me all that much. I’ve noticed this last year of working for Plasso — being with a team and being challenged on a level that I’ve never been challenged before — I’ve grown so much as a person. As a creative person, as a designer, and as a developer. I don’t think I would be where I am now without that continual challenge. I think getting yourself uncomfortable is also a big lesson that you need to keep in mind as you move forward. Brian Gardner: That’s a great answer. Lauren Mancke: That is a great answer. Is there anything else you want to add before we wrap this thing up? Jason Schuller: No, man, I can’t think of anything. It’s been a pleasure talking to you guys, and I wish I could chat with you more often. Brian Gardner: We can make that happen. Whether it’s on the show or not. Jason Schuller: I miss those WordCamps. I’m not in that WordPress scene anymore, but that was the best part of those WordCamps, coming together. Skipping all the presentations and sitting in those halls and chatting with guys like you. People that were doing the same thing. Brian Gardner: I will say this, Circles Conference, for me, has become the new WordCamp thing. I realized I’m more of a creative than I am a WordPress guy, even though I create WordPress products. I love WordPress and I’m so thankful for what it’s done for my life, but I realized my hardcore passion is about creativity. I will say, there was an empty spot in my heart this past year because both of you guys left me. We had the luxury of being together both — all three of us, actually — last year, and I missed both of you there this year. Hopefully next year maybe we can try it again. Jason Schuller: Oh yeah, I’ll be there next year for sure. Lauren Mancke: I won’t be pregnant. Jason Schuller: But you’ll have three kids running around. Lauren Mancke: Yeah. Brian Gardner: Will’s a soldier, he can handle it, right? Lauren Mancke: He’s got this. Brian Gardner: Well, Jason, thank you so much for being on the show. Thanks for being a good friend to us at StudioPress — to Lauren and I — and we look forward to seeing what you come up with next. Jason Schuller: Thank you.