Podcasts about illustrating

Send us a textImagine diving into a world where vibrant illustrations bring joy, diversity, and wildlife conservation to life. In this episode of the Adventures in Learning podcast, Dr. Diane chats with the talented illustrator Kayla Harren, who has turned her passion for art into a meaningful journey that connects children with stories of inclusion and the wonders of wildlife.Podcast Summary In this episode, Kayla Harren shares her journey from aspiring artist to inspired children's book illustrator, with a special focus on her books This Is How We Play and This Is How We Talk, which center characters with disabilities and special needs. Kayla discusses the importance of authentic representation and joy in illustrating diverse characters. She also shares her unexpected path into wildlife conservation, leading to exciting collaborations with the Wild Nature Institute and our shared adventure in South Africa with CBCC (Children's Book Creators for Conservation) and Wild Tomorrow. Throughout the conversation, Kayla highlights the power of storytelling, creativity, and finding beauty in everyday moments.Chapters and Timestamps01:03: Illustrating Joy and Diversity in Books10:27: Connecting Illustration to African Wildlife Conservation 23:11: Finding Hope in Small Things Order Kayla's Books:This Is How We PlayThis Is How We TalkA Voice Like YoursA Planet Like OursPreorder A Puppy Like YoursJuma the GiraffeHelping Brother RhinocerosOur Elephant NeighborsThe Boy Who Grew a ForestCalvinOskar's VoyageFollow @kaylaharren on instagram.Join us for an episode that celebrates the profound impact of art, storytelling, and conservation. Be inspired to see the world through a lens of joy and creativity!Support the showSubscribe & Follow: Stay updated with our latest episodes and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and the Adventures in Learning website. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! *Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.

With his highly anticipated debut graphic novel "More Weight: A Salem Story" releasing, Massachusetts-born author Ben Wickey joins us for an exclusive pre-launch interview about this Alan Moore-praised "appalling masterpiece." The Edward Gorey Award-winning artist's first solo work tells the harrowing tale of Giles Corey, the only person pressed to death under stones during the infamous 1692 Salem Witch Trials.What makes this upcoming graphic novel release extraordinary? Beyond Wickey's stunning and unmatched visual storytelling that brings historical horror to visceral life, he is a descendant of Salem Witch Trial victim Mary Easty, bringing deeply personal perspective to this decade-long project that Publishers Weekly compared to "From Hell." We explore the pre-release excitement, Wickey's meticulous research using historical documents, and his innovative dual-timeline narrative featuring Nathaniel Hawthorne interludes. Using the graphic novel format, Wickey cuts through pop culture mythology to restore the genuine horror and humanity of Salem's history.Discover how Corey transformed from testifying against his wife Martha to defiantly uttering his final words "more weight," and why this Salem witch hunt story will captivate readers everywhere.#SalemWitchTrials #BenWickey #MoreWeight #GraphicNovel #HistoricalHorrorBuy the Graphic Novel "More Weight" Read the Alan Moore World Blog: Ben Wickey An Extraordinary Enchanter More Weight Preview Page on TopShelfComix.com Sign the Petition: MA Witch Hunt Justice Projectwww.massachusettswitchtrials.orgThe Thing About Salem YouTube⁠The Thing About Salem Patreon⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts YouTube⁠⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artists Pierre Owens, DeAnna Skedel, KE Griffin, Anna Marten, and filmmaker Jon Brick. JON BRICK- Experience the magic of Ronzo at an exclusive screening of Jon Brick's new feature documentary—a lively tribute to the man who turned a small Southern town into a creative mecca. Ronzo is a witty, heartfelt documentary about Ron Shapiro — affectionately known as Ronzo — who turned Oxford, Mississippi, from a conservative college town into an unlikely cultural mecca. His Hoka Theater became the beating heart of the town's creative underground — a sanctuary for misfits where college students mingled with literary giants like Willie Morris, John Grisham, and Barry Hannah. The Hoka hosted music, indie films, plays, and midnight adult film screenings, and drew counterculture icons like Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg and Hunter S. Thompson. It also helped launch the careers of artists and musicians, including members of Wilco, North Mississippi Allstars, and Widespread Panic. Outside the theater, Ronzo stirred up local politics, using wit and empathy to provoke dialogue and bridge divides. His legacy continues through Hoka Days, an annual celebration in his honor, culminating in a lively parade in Oxford. Though Ronzo's death left a void, his influence remains, reminding us of the power of creativity, inclusion, and the arts in shaping communities. Ronzo's story is told through the voices of his closest friends and family, including musicians from Wilco, Widespread Panic, and the North Mississippi Allstars; actress Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy); renowned Southern writers; and TV and radio hosts Jim Dees, John T. Edge, Robert Gordon and Tom Franklin — to name a few. The screening is Saturday, September 27th, 7:30pm Grand Avenue Temple 206 E 9th Street KCMO, 64106 Tickets ($15) are available to purchase through the International Documentary Association, the film's fiscal sponsor with this link: https://ronzo.allyrafundraising.com/events/922 If you are unable to attend, we are accepting donations also through the International Documentary Association Fiscal Sponsorship Program: https://ronzo.allyrafundraising.com/ PIERRE OWENS- I'm an artist with Autism who started drawing when I was a young kid. I graduated from Paseo Academy in 2007 as a Creative Writing Major. I found my true calling back in 2009 while I did some job shadowing at AbilityKC. I was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two. Years later, he found my true love for movies. Movies have been a true part of my art. I come up with great movie ideas and create great movie posters for them. I'm an outsider artist with no art school education but has a God-given talent to create such beautiful portraits. The things that inspire me to draw are the people that I met, the places I've visited and the movies that I watched. I've done commissioned drawings for people across the country and some from around the world. My drawing style is very traditional and cartoonist-like. I mostly draw from pictures that I look at and from memory as well. Three years after I found my calling in the art world, I met professional artist Wes Benson and he inspired me to go further in my art career. In 2013, I started having my very first art show at his studio at The Bauer. In 2015, I showcased some of my drawings with Charles Mooneyham at an exhibit in St. Louis. In 2016, I presented a special drawing to former KC Mayor Sly James. In 2017, I had my first exhibit at the Bruce R. Watkins Center and it was a success. Months later, I was featured in an interview with former teacher Christopher Ulmer on his page called Special Books by Special Kids when I was showing off my ability to recall any movie release date. Right after that, drawing commissions started pouring in. They couldn't get enough of my work. In 2022, I had a second pop-up art fair at the Bruce R. Watkins Center. In 2024, I was featured in an exhibit with Harold Smith and other local artists at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. A few months after that, I had a couple of art fairs with fellow artist Trey Loomis at the City Market. In September of 2024, I participated in the 18th & Vine Arts Festival with Harold Smith, Trey Loomis and Crystal Major. Back in April of 2025, I participated in ArtsFusion KC and sold some art there as well. I'm currently participating in an exhibit called Digitalfiles/Flattiles at the Emily and Todd Voth Artspace. I have to say that being an artist can be tough sometimes but creating something beautiful can be the easy part. There were times I wanted to give up on my art but courage and the blessings from God has allowed me to never give up and to keep going. I had many ups and downs in my creative journey but I always come back up on top. Art will always be my true love.You can contact me for custom made drawings or previously drawn artwork by emailing at owenspierre81@yahoo.com or by calling or texting me at (816) 885-3772. ANNA MARTEN- In 2024, after nine years as a production illustrator who hand-painted signs and murals for a grocery store, I stepped away from my position and began to reimagine my creative process without the barriers of a corporate art world. I'm now getting reacquainted with the parts of myself that create for creation's sake. As an avid daydreamer, I acknowledge that memory plays tricks on us. If there's a boundary connecting memory, reality, and fantasy, then my art probably exists between all three. Lesser observed spaces draw my attention because I'm interested in the implied environment rather than the literal one. Whether there's a narrative to be uncovered or imagined, I enjoy recentering overlooked and candid moments as fantastical realities. Illustrating words was my primary livelihood for so many years, but I'm now more interested in exploring the conversation that exists between mediums. How do I conjure a story with both photography and painting? Can the two styles of communication work together while maintaining separate identities? In working together, is the result decipherable or purely fantastical? As an interdisciplinary creator, I'm open to learn or experiment with whichever mediums work best for each project. Anna Marten is a Kansas City-based multimedia illustrator with a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. She approaches traditional processes such as hand-lettering and painting with vibrancy. Her professional practice has incorporated hand-painted signs, murals, and displays into Kansas City businesses for over a decade. As an interdisciplinary artist, she has utilized screen printing, photography, acrylic paint, found objects, and sculpture for exhibition pieces. A few exhibit collaborators include the KC Fringe Festival, MCC, InterUrban Arthouse, and Vulpes Bastille. DEANNA SKEDEL has been an artist and professor in Kansas City since 2002. Her eclectic, wide-ranging studio practice has been akin to the practice of reading tea leaves: an act of both divination and meditation. DeAnna first began showing at the Ohio Craft Museum while still in undergrad. Graduate school at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago brought about some time working in theater. Sculpture and good friends presented opportunities at such venues as the US/UKContemporary Cast Iron SculptureProject and Overflow/Fluids (LA Art Girls) at the Getty Museum Los Angeles, California. She has been a Kansas City Avenue of Arts recipient, part of the Urban Culture Project, included in the book The Sixth Surface: Steven Holl Lights the Nelson-Atkins Museum and a member of the Kansas City chapter of the social justice organization, Avodah. Skedel has been honored by her peers at Metropolitan Community College-Blue River with the Missouri Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and is honored by students who call her “some crazy combination of Mr. Miyagi and Bob Ross” and is happy her children do not find her too embarrassing. Skedel has been an artist and professor in Kansas City since 2002. Her diverse, expansive studio practice resembles ... cooking—a meditative process of infusion and maceration. Reflecting on her life, she says, "As an artist, academic, and a parent of neurodiverse teenagers, I navigate evolving social concerns, teaching and learning styles, all while experiencing a shifting identity. At times, it feels like I am experiencing a 'puberty of maturity,' where, despite societal invisibility and the many layers my roles add, my personal evolution is accelerating." KAREN E (KE) GRIFFIN -I am a creative, proactive and transformative textile and performing artist possessing the innovative ability to formulate fabrics and seams into wonderful stories. My visionary process evokes and informs viewers by exploring tangible and verbal artforms. The art quilts, abstracts and panels are constructed of music notes, adinkra symbols, feathers, beads, prints, patterns, denim and 2D. The textiles contain the following materials: paper, African or cotton fabric on canvas or wood panels. After four or more art pieces are completed, stories are implemented to embrace the art quilt or abstracts. For 21 days, I shut off my outer body to support me with framing a piece(s). After the layout(s) is unveiled, I hand-select prints, patterns and threads to depict breathtaking textiles. My concepts consist of complying black outline drawings, digital graphing, photography, crayon drawings on poster board and sewing. Machine sewing or hand-stitching fabric on paper, canvas or cotton is my form of meditating. When my mind is relaxed, my hands control the progress and final art piece. I enjoy joining seams with fabric to generate a story, depicting my ancestors' journey to and in America. It takes two or more months to produce an array of textiles and stories from an idea to wall hanging, art show or presentation. Researching and studying the journey of African-Americans play an important role in designing, displaying and promoting my textiles. The primary purpose of sewing seams and applying a story is design to engage, empower and educate viewers of my creations about the history of African-Americans. As a textile and performing artist, I am honored to teach and share the journey of enslaved Africans in America through art and storytelling. My first solo exhibition consisted of twenty-one textiles on clotheslines with rope, clothespins, fencing post, burlap, buckets and concrete. The exhibit was designed to inform all generations with exploring the journey of enslaves, seeking FREEDOM in America. This quote best expresses how I hope people feel when they view my work. “There are times people don't want to hear what you're saying, but they will relate and engage to what you express through ART”. Art by .E Lewis

In this episode Jared discusses various ways to protect retirement income, focusing on fixed index annuities. He shares insights from his experiences in the financial services industry, including a recent conversation at the Utah State Fair and personal reflections on the challenges of educating the public while navigating mistrust. Jared explains the benefits and potential drawbacks of fixed index annuities, including bonuses, growth potential, and protection from market downturns. He illustrates his points with hypothetical scenarios and emphasizes the importance of making informed decisions about retirement planning.00:00 Welcome to The Jared Briggs Show00:41 Protecting Retirement Income: Why It Matters00:54 Real-Life Conversations and Insights02:53 Exploring Fixed Index Annuities05:19 Understanding Qualified vs. Non-Qualified Accounts07:59 Illustrating the Benefits of Fixed Index Annuities14:26 Addressing Common Concerns and Misconceptions19:19 Final Thoughts and How to Get Help

The Writers Advice Podcast is bought to you by Booksprout. Booksprout is my go-to platform to share my stories with readers to engage with reviewers before they are launched with the rest of the world. Head to booksprout to increase your online reviews today!This week on the Writers Advice Podcast I am joined by Author and Illustrator, Matt ShanksOn this episode Matt and I talk about:- From watercolour to writing- Publishing childrens books- Illustrating childrens book- How to create a graphic novel- and all of his advice for up and coming writers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-Check out Matt's books here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BILLIONAIRE ISLAND PAPERBACK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BILLIONAIRE ISLAND KINDLE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your copy of the Limited-Edition WRITERS JOURNAL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠THE WRITING PROMPT CARDS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠JOIN THE WRITERS ADVICE FACEBOOK GROUP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a part of my ARC TEAM HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join us on Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@writersadvicepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Me:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: oliviahillier.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @oliviahillierauthor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@oliviahillierauthor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Matt: Website: mattshanks.com.auInstagram: ⁠@matt_shanks

Feeling inspired after reading Jamie Glowacki's book “Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler”, the two of us muse on our current top three core values, where these values likely stemmed from, and how, specifically, they shape our parenting decisions.As Jamie so eloquently puts it, nothing a toddler says or does should theoretically trigger an adult to have an unreasonable, extreme reaction. So, if we are having such a reaction, it's likely due to an unresolved trigger or childhood wound. The values we place highest on a pedestal stem from what we view as being the most important aspects of functioning in the world, which will look different from person to person depending on how you were raised, your life experiences, relationships, and your temperament.Just like a Venn diagram, the two of us share some overlap with our core values and then branch off into varied territory. Illustrating how our values play out in real time with our children is where the magic lies. In this episode, we don't aim to tell you which values to hold dearly but how to consider them!& we want to hear from you! What are your top parenting values and why?Support the showJOIN OUR NEW, PRIVATE COMMUNITY! DONATE (Thank you!!

Today, I have a very special treat for you! This spring, our publishing imprint here at RAR, Waxwing Books, celebrated the release of Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien at one of my favorite bookstores, Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas.I had so much fun talking to Painting Wonder's incredibly talented author and illustrator, Katie Wray Schon, about this picture book biography of the fascinating woman behind the iconic illustrations in the works of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. We knew this conversation would be too good to keep to ourselves, so we recorded it, and now we're sharing it with you!In this episode, you'll hear: Why Katie wanted to write and illustrate a picture book about Pauline Baynes Katie's process for writing, illustrating, and revising a page-turning book What Katie would go back and tell her younger self, plus her favorite resources for aspiring authors and illustratorsLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/painting-wonder-launch

On the back of this year's Youth Summer Camp, Nathan speaks this morning about a theme that has been on his mind before, during and after the camp time. His words are not only aimed at the youth of our church but the whole congregation!Nathan's key verse is from Luke 6:46-49 (NIV) "Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."Illustrating his message with many other scriptures, he presents three cardinal points about the House of the Lord...Point number one - the house that stands, stands together Point number two - the house that stands, stands whatever the weatherPoint number three - the house that stands, stands foreverNathan expands on each of these points and presents a challenging message pointing to the fact that the house that God is building in our lives will stand forever if we build it on Him and remain faithful to Him.

Emma Thomas - Children of Transitioners - Our campaigning to safeguard children of trans people. Discussing her work with Children of Transitioners, highlighting the emotional and relational impact on families when sex is falsified in policy and practice. Illustrating the personal costs and long-term consequences for children and their families

In this episode of Chats and Tatts, host Aaron Della Vadova connects with talented tattoo artist Anthony Tex at the prestigious Gods of Ink convention in Frankfurt, Germany. They delve into the unique energy exchange that occurs during tattoo sessions, discussing the bond formed between artist and client during these intimate and vulnerable moments. Anthony shares insights about his 13-year journey in the tattoo industry, including his apprenticeship under his father, James, who has been tattooing for 26 years. The conversation highlights Anthony's unexpected path to becoming a tattoo artist, revealing how a childhood fascination evolved into a flourishing career, and being runner up to his dad on season 16 of Ink Masters. Tune in for an engaging discussion about artistry, mentorship, and the world of tattoos! Chat Breakdown: 01:50 - Choosing Tattooing Over Other Careers 02:12 - Family and Early Exposure to Tattooing 03:41 - Experience on Ink Master 05:02 - Importance of Illustrating and Drawing in Tattooing 07:57 - What Makes a Great Tattoo 09:47 - Composition and Placement in Tattooing 12:06 - Importance of Body Flow and Placement 15:26 - Spiritual and Emotional Connection in Tattooing 20:16 - Client Trust and Artistic Freedom 23:32 - Handling Client Feedback and Adjustments 26:38 - Growth and Learning Through Travel and Guest Spots 29:41 - Slowdown in the Tattoo Industry 32:18 - Saturation and Competition in the Tattoo Industry 35:58 - Concerns About AI Replacing Human Tattoo Artists 38:13 - Authenticity in Tattoo Art Creation Quotes: "There seems to be some kind of energy exchange when you tattoo somebody, like a bond that is created." "I think there was always talent. I think it's, you know, a lot of people don't want to, maybe show their failures or their weaknesses, you know, show vulnerability." "It turned for me from the idea of putting a tattoo on somebody into the idea of like decorating a human body."  "If you think everyone's a dick, then you're a fucking dick... You're just attracting... What's your problem?" "If you're trying to become the best tattooer possible, I don't think you should do that. Secluding yourself like that is going to stifle your growth." "I can't fathom not ever tattooing and just doing something else." "I think just reach out of that box a little bit. Try something new." Stay Connected: Chats & Tatts: Website: http://www.chatsandtatts.com⁠ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chatsandtatts  IG: http://www.instagram.com/chatsandtatts Chats & Tatts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/chatsandtatts Connect with Aaron:⁠   Aaron IG:⁠ http://www.instagram.com/aarondellavedova⁠ Guru Tattoo: http://www.Gurutattoo.com Connect with Anthony: IG: https://www.instagram.com/Anthony_Tex    

Brittany “Bea” Jackson illustrated the New York Times bestselling picture books, “Parker Looks Up,” about America's First Lady, and LeBron James's “We Are Family,” and her own “Lilly's Dream,” which she both wrote and illustrated. She is a former grand prize winner of the Illustrators of the Future Contest and was published in “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 24.” She has been a judge since 2021. We discuss how she developed her style as a self-taught artist, having begun as a fan fiction artist. We also discussed how she was discovered by a major publisher finding her through social pages. Visit www.beagifted.com/

Brittany “Bea” Jackson illustrated the New York Times bestselling picture books, “Parker Looks Up,” about America's First Lady, and LeBron James's “We Are Family,” and her own “Lilly's Dream,” which she both wrote and illustrated. She is a former grand prize winner of the Illustrators of the Future Contest and was published in “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 24.” She has been a judge since 2021. We discuss how she developed her style as a self-taught artist, having begun as a fan fiction artist. We also discussed how she was discovered by a major publisher finding her through social pages. Visit www.beagifted.com/

In the sixth episode of Soundscapes NYC, host Ryan Purcell talks with John Holmstrom a comic illustrator and founder of Punk magazine. In the early 1970s, Holmstrom moved from suburban Connecticut to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts where he studied under the celebrated comic illustrator Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman creator of MAD magazine. In 1975, Holmstrom conceived the idea for Punk Magazine by collaborating with Ged Dunn and Eddie “Legs” McNeil as an independent zine to cover the local rock scene. The trio initially considered the name Teenage News, a reference to an unreleased New York Dolls track, but settled on punk which they derived from the term “punk rock” which by 1975, had crept into music journalism as a descriptor of new sounds in the rock world. Punk magazine ran 15 issues from 1976 to 1979. During that time the publication brought international attention to the local rock scene and created an association between New York rock and punk. In addition to creating Punk magazine, John Holmstrom is perhaps best known for illustrating album covers for the Ramones, including Rocket to Russia (1977) and Road to Ruin (1978). In September 2024, Holmstrom relaunched Punk magazine to cover a new generation of punk bands in New York City.  Contact Soundscapes NYC Here Gotham Center for NYC History - CUNY GCDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In the sixth episode of Soundscapes NYC, host Ryan Purcell talks with John Holmstrom a comic illustrator and founder of Punk magazine. In the early 1970s, Holmstrom moved from suburban Connecticut to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts where he studied under the celebrated comic illustrator Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman creator of MAD magazine. In 1975, Holmstrom conceived the idea for Punk Magazine by collaborating with Ged Dunn and Eddie “Legs” McNeil as an independent zine to cover the local rock scene. The trio initially considered the name Teenage News, a reference to an unreleased New York Dolls track, but settled on punk which they derived from the term “punk rock” which by 1975, had crept into music journalism as a descriptor of new sounds in the rock world. Punk magazine ran 15 issues from 1976 to 1979. During that time the publication brought international attention to the local rock scene and created an association between New York rock and punk. In addition to creating Punk magazine, John Holmstrom is perhaps best known for illustrating album covers for the Ramones, including Rocket to Russia (1977) and Road to Ruin (1978). In September 2024, Holmstrom relaunched Punk magazine to cover a new generation of punk bands in New York City.  Contact Soundscapes NYC Here Gotham Center for NYC History - CUNY GCDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

In the sixth episode of Soundscapes NYC, host Ryan Purcell talks with John Holmstrom a comic illustrator and founder of Punk magazine. In the early 1970s, Holmstrom moved from suburban Connecticut to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts where he studied under the celebrated comic illustrator Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman creator of MAD magazine. In 1975, Holmstrom conceived the idea for Punk Magazine by collaborating with Ged Dunn and Eddie “Legs” McNeil as an independent zine to cover the local rock scene. The trio initially considered the name Teenage News, a reference to an unreleased New York Dolls track, but settled on punk which they derived from the term “punk rock” which by 1975, had crept into music journalism as a descriptor of new sounds in the rock world. Punk magazine ran 15 issues from 1976 to 1979. During that time the publication brought international attention to the local rock scene and created an association between New York rock and punk. In addition to creating Punk magazine, John Holmstrom is perhaps best known for illustrating album covers for the Ramones, including Rocket to Russia (1977) and Road to Ruin (1978). In September 2024, Holmstrom relaunched Punk magazine to cover a new generation of punk bands in New York City.  Contact Soundscapes NYC Here Gotham Center for NYC History - CUNY GCDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/journalism

In the sixth episode of Soundscapes NYC, host Ryan Purcell talks with John Holmstrom a comic illustrator and founder of Punk magazine. In the early 1970s, Holmstrom moved from suburban Connecticut to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts where he studied under the celebrated comic illustrator Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman creator of MAD magazine. In 1975, Holmstrom conceived the idea for Punk Magazine by collaborating with Ged Dunn and Eddie “Legs” McNeil as an independent zine to cover the local rock scene. The trio initially considered the name Teenage News, a reference to an unreleased New York Dolls track, but settled on punk which they derived from the term “punk rock” which by 1975, had crept into music journalism as a descriptor of new sounds in the rock world. Punk magazine ran 15 issues from 1976 to 1979. During that time the publication brought international attention to the local rock scene and created an association between New York rock and punk. In addition to creating Punk magazine, John Holmstrom is perhaps best known for illustrating album covers for the Ramones, including Rocket to Russia (1977) and Road to Ruin (1978). In September 2024, Holmstrom relaunched Punk magazine to cover a new generation of punk bands in New York City.  Contact Soundscapes NYC Here Gotham Center for NYC History - CUNY GCDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

SHOW SCHEDULE 7-1-25 GOOD EVENING: The show begins in Israel, illustrating errors made in the reporting of the war with Hamas. 1959 CHE IN GAZA CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR FIRST HOUR 9:00-9:15 Israel: Five errors of reporting the war. Peter Berkowitz, Hoover 9:15-9:30 Israel: Five errors of reporting the war. Peter Berkowitz, Hoover continued 9:30-9:45 Israel: Iran and its surrogates pause to talk. David Daoud, FDD 9:45-10:00 Israel: Iran and its surrogates pause to talk. David Daoud, FDD continued SECOND HOUR 10:00-10:15 Lancaster County: Stress fractures in the economy. Jim McTague, former Washington editor, Barron's. @mctaguej. Author of the "Martin and Twyla Boundary Series." #FriendsOfHistoryDebatingSociety 10:15-10:30 PRC: Military-civil scholars study the US grid to what end? Jack Burnham, FDD 10:30-10:45 NATO: Spending and Spain's waver. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. 10:45-11:00 EU: Switzerland and migrants. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. THIRD HOUR 11:00-11:15 War in the Belgian Congo. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:15-11:30 Regime change and disorder. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:30-11:45 USA: What is the plan? Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:45-12:00 King Charles Report: Royal train retired. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs FOURTH HOUR 12:00-12:15 SpaceX: Damaged launch pad. Bob Zimmerman behindtheblack.com 12:15-12:30 Mars: Solving a volcano from orbit. Bob Zimmerman behindtheblack.com 12:30-12:45 Russia: Trump Tower and the Russian mob. Craig Unger, "House of Trump, House of Putin." Continued 12:45-1:00 AM Russia: Trump Tower and the Russian mob. Craig Unger, "House of Trump, House of Putin." Continued

The challenging yet crucial skill of making hard choices is in the spotlight this week as McKay draws inspiration from Ruth Chang's TED Talk and real-world examples ranging from President Truman's wartime decisions to personal dilemmas faced by his own family and himself. The episode explores the nature of hard choices - those where options seem equally compelling or unclear - and offers practical strategies for navigating these pivotal moments. McKay emphasizes the importance of understanding your values, gathering information (but not getting paralyzed by it), taking small steps to test options, and ultimately, committing to a path. Illustrating how these decisions shape not only our immediate future but also who we become, our host urges listeners to embrace the process of choosing, even when it's difficult, as a pathway to growth and a more fulfilling life.Main Themes:Hard choices involve equally compelling options.The process of choosing fosters personal growth.Test different paths to gain clarity.Align decisions with core values and what fosters growth.Commit to a choice, then learn and adapt.True success is measured by service and impact.Making your own choices builds agency and responsibility.Learn from all past choices, good and bad.How you live with a choice matters more than the choice itself.Gain diverse perspectives to find the best path.Top 10 Quotes:"Hard choices are those when we're comparing options, they seem on par, and maybe for different reasons, but the choice, the decision, is hard and unclear.""This is the natural response, right? When faced with similar choices, most of us don't decide. And that may be the worst choice of all.""When you're faced with such a decision, you can start walking down one path or the other. Go as far as you can without too much cost or investment.""Which program will cause you as a person to have grown more? To become better and to give you new possible directions in life?""Choose the one that stretches you in the right way that helps you grow.""In my view, our decisions are not perfect, but our living with those decisions makes it so.""The real measure of success is, ‘How did we serve in our circumstance?'”"It's often not how good we are at making decisions, but how good we are at making life good from the decisions that we've made that matters.""Ascertain what matters. Identify your guiding values.""Take the attitude that this helps you become the author of your life, forming who you want to be."Show Links:Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

Artistic license has been used to promote Darwinian evolution since the late nineteenth century. Icons of evolution have appeared in textbooks, journals, magazines, and other visual media to promote a materialist worldview that is light on evidence and weighty on assumption. But in 2000, a book came along – Icons of Evolution – that finally exposed the myths, exaggerations, and outright fakery behind ten of the most infamous icons of Darwin’s theory. Today, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes the illustrator of that ground-breaking book, medical illustrator and artist Jody Sjogren, to discuss her experience of bringing these famous icons to life and working with author Dr. Jonathan Wells on the project. Jody also shares some of her memories of Dr. Wells, Read More › Source

In the latest episode of Storycomic Presents, I had the pleasure of speaking with Liza Woodruff, a Vermont-based children's book author and illustrator, about her newest picture book, Phil's Big Day. The story follows Phil, a young groundhog grappling with anxiety as he prepares for his big moment on Groundhog Day. Through Phil's journey, Liza addresses the universal theme of facing fears and the importance of support from loved ones. Liza shared her creative process, from initial sketches to final illustrations, and how her experiences living in Vermont influence her work. With over twenty books to her name, she brings a wealth of knowledge about the intersection of art and storytelling. Our conversation delved into how children's literature can be a powerful tool for discussing complex emotions, and how Liza's work aims to provide comfort and understanding to young readers. For more information on Liza Woodruff and her work, visit her website at lizawoodruff.com. The Title sequence was designed and created by Morgan Quaid. See more of Morgan's Work at: https://morganquaid.com/   Storycomic Logo designed by Gregory Giordano See more of Greg's work at: https://www.instagram.com/gregory_c_giordano_art/   Want to start your own podcast?  Click on the link to get started: https://www.podbean.com/storycomic   Follow us: Are you curious to see the video version of this interview?  It's on our website too! www.storycomic.com www.patreon.com/storycomic www.facebook.com/storycomic1 https://www.instagram.com/storycomic/ https://twitter.com/storycomic1 For information on being a guest or curious to learn more about Storycomic? Contact us at info@storycomic.com   Thank you to our Founders Club Patrons, Michael Winn, Higgins802, Von Allan, Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos, Marek Bennett, Donna Carr Roberts, Andrew Gronosky, and Matt & Therese. Check out their fantastic work at: https://marekbennett.com/ https://www.hexapus-ink.com/ https://www.stephanieninapitsirilos.com/ https://www.vonallan.com/ https://higgins802.com/ https://shewstone.com/ https://mrfuzzyears.com/ Also to Michael Winn who is a member of our Founders Club!

McKay explores the profound truth that our lives are shaped by our choices in this latest instalment of the Open Your Eyes podcast. From celebrity comebacks to devastating wildfires and artistic dedication, he illustrates how embracing "everything is a choice" empowers us to move beyond circumstance, take responsibility, and consciously design a life of purpose and fulfillment.Illustrating the real-world impact of decisions, our host draws upon such examples as a California wildfire, where proactive choices saved homes, and a professor's financial advice leading to debt-free living. He highlights the disciplined choices of artists like Picasso and Julie Andrews, alongside the compounding power of small daily actions. Stories of Suze Orman turning disaster into success and Ruth Pfau dedicating her life to service after a pivotal decision underscore how conscious choices redefine our paths. In essence, McKay encourages listeners to recognize their agency, define who they want to become, and use the power of choice to steer their lives intentionally.Main Themes:"Everything is a choice" as a core empowering principle.Small, consistent choices compound over time.Taking 100% responsibility for actions and outcomes.Defining who you become is crucial.Discipline can create freedom.Proactive decisions prevent disaster and build success.The "trim tab" effect: small choices steer life's direction.Pivotal choices can redefine a life's path.Top 10 Quotes:"We get to choose to live the life we have.""The world gets out of the way for people who know what they want and where they're going.""Every disciplined effort has its own multiple reward.""The choices we consistently make have a compounding effect on our life.""Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or disaster.""The day you graduate from childhood to adulthood is the day you take full responsibility for your life.""Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it's a kind of order that sets me free."Show Links:Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

This week I'm joined by Dr Jan Eppingstall to talk about scaffolding - what it means, how it helps with hoarding recovery, and why our needs for support change over time. We break down practical, emotional, and motivational scaffolding, from therapy and peer support to self-made systems and the way we talk to ourselves. If you've ever wondered how to find the right kind of help without feeling stuck with it forever, this is the episode for you. Buy your copy of Everything You Need to Know About Hoarding by Dr Lynne Drummond at cambridge.org/EverythingHoarding, and get 20% off with the discount code HOARDING20. #ad Explanation of Scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development Definition of scaffolding from educational psychology. Origins in Lev Vygotsky's work: helping people accomplish tasks with support. Relevance to hoarding and recovery. Application of Scaffolding to Hoarding Recovery Psychological, cognitive, and emotional elements in hoarding. Physical and organisational skill deficits in people who hoard. Differences and interplay between psychological barriers and practical skills. Illustrating support levels: from high assistance to independence. Personal examples demonstrating that support needs can resurface over time. The Changing Nature of Scaffolding Scaffolding shifts in form and amount as people progress or encounter setbacks. Individualisation: What's supportive for one may not be for another. Types of Scaffolding for Hoarding Recovery External supports: therapists, peers, coaches. Direct instruction and physical assistance. Environmental modifications. Tools and resources. Social encouragement and accountability. Assessing current functioning. Matching support to challenge level (not too easy, not too hard). Gradually reducing support as independence grows. Scaffolding for Neurodivergent Individuals Adjustments for ADHD: Shorter work periods, built-in breaks. Accountability partners and visual reminders/checklists. Adjustments for Autism: Predictable routines. Clear rules and decision trees. Sensory-friendly environments. Executive Function Challenges and Tailored Scaffolding Strategies like breaking down decisions, using templates, "parking lot" systems for deferred decisions. Recognising that executive function can be context-specific and fluctuate. Importance of Emotional Scaffolding Emotional regulation during dehoarding. Need for self-soothing and distress-tolerance skills as support is reduced. Informal and Internal Scaffolding Peer support, self-talk, problem solving, reminders. Adapting systems in the home as a supportive structure. Habituation and Evolvement of Support Systems Reminder fatigue and strategies to combat it (rotating formats, colours, locations). The necessity for systems to evolve as needs and effectiveness change. Mindset Shifts and Realistic Expectations Acceptance that supports may need to be re-engaged during crises or setbacks. Not viewing return to scaffolding as failure - progress and healing aren't linear. Testing assumptions about personal limitations. Re-evaluating and Customising Support Creating, testing, and modifying practical systems in the home with or without outside perspective. Recognising the value of trying new strategies even if initial skepticism exists. Links Zone of Proximal Development The Metaphor of Scaffolding: Its Utility for the Field of Learning Disabilities, Stone, C. Addison, Journal of Learning Disabilities, 0022-2194, July 1, 1998, Vol. 31, Issue 4 Podcast ep 183: ADHD, executive dysfunction and creating hacks and systems to reduce clutter chaos, with Carrie Lagerstedt Money Love podcast Podcast ep 127: Overcoming overspending with Paige Pritchard, Money Coach Come to a Dehoarding Accountability Zoom session: Accountability Booking Form Dr Jan Eppingstall at Stuffology https://www.facebook.com/stuffologyconsulting/ https://twitter.com/stuff_ology https://www.instagram.com/stuff_ology/ Dr Jan Eppingstall on Pinterest Website: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding Become a Dehoarding Darling Submit a topic for the podcast to cover Questions to ask when dehoarding: https://www.overcomecompulsivehoarding.co.uk/podquestions Instagram: @thathoarderpodcast Twitter: @ThatHoarder Mastodon: @ThatHoarder@mastodon.online TikTok: @thathoarderpodcast Facebook: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder Pinterest: That Hoarder YouTube: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder Reddit: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder subreddit Help out: Support this project Sponsor the podcast Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to the podcast here

"Learn the ins and outs of what goes into creating a great comic book!" Or, at least, my notes from panelists talking about what they think makes a great comic book. =============================== If you find my content of value, please share it with your friends! I'm putting out content most days! Mondays: New podcast episodes here at "Writing Tips & Writerly Musings" Thursdays: The occasional blogpost sharing "Writing Tips & Writerly Musings" Sundays: Productivity Sprints on YT/Twitch You can find me all over the internet (https://linktr.ee/morganHazelwood) If it fits your budget, show your support at Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/morganhazelwood) Thanks for listening! I'll be back next Monday with more rambling ideas about writing.

Del Walmsley emphasizes the importance of teaching children financial literacy and entrepreneurial thinking from an early age to set them on a path toward financial freedom. Illustrating how he applied this principle in his own life, he shares a personal story about guiding his daughter into real estate at the age of 16. With his support, she was able to invest in a property, capture $50,000 in equity, and begin earning $250 in monthly cash flow. Del underscores that financial education must begin at home, as schools and colleges typically fail to provide the essential knowledge and skills required for building wealth. Click to Listen Now

If you love bespoke brands, you will absolutely adore this episode, as we host Fin Fellowes, London-based artist, illustrator and founder of The Kensington Paperie. For over ​a decade, Fin has been known for exquisite one-of-a-kind paper creations for special events, weddings, and luxury brands across the world. A notable example of this​ is the collaboration w​ith Cabana Magazine and partnership with founder and editor, Martina Mondadori. The Kensington Paperie is a ​nod to Fin's personal love for wrapping a beautiful gift. ​She has created a ​stunning collection of wrapping paper inspired by the ​elegance of Italian marble and vivid florals ​reminiscent of the 18th-century English textile designer, Anna Maria Garthwaite. These thoughtfully designed papers are complemented with unique textures such as raw silk ribbon and Japanese washi tap​e resulting in a style that elevates gift-giving in an extraordinary and emotional way. In this episode Anne & Fin discuss:Fin's creative storyThe rich artistic family legacy, paying a special tribute to her Uncle MattyWhy The Kensington Paperie was created​The attributes that describe The Kensington Paperi​e Exciting news on the upcoming introduction to home!​The exceptional work of Fin Fellows and The Kensington Paperie has ​garnered recognition in publications such as Cabana Magazine, US Vogue, House & Garden, and the Wall Street Journal. Fin has not only established a brand that beautifully embodies British style and design, but her distinctive touch has also positioned it in a covetable space. Her spirit and brilliant combination of creativity and purposeful vision suggest that The Kensington Paperie is on its way to becoming a cherished British heritage brand.Connect with Fin Fellowes @finfellowes and The Kensington Paperie @thekensingtonpaperie and thekensingtonpaperie.comConnect with Anne @styledbyark.com and @classicandcuriouspodcast

Leave Health Bite a Feedback.Click This Link.What if the key to unlocking your wildest creativity isn't endless freedom, but the surprising power of boundaries, pause, and permission?It seems strange, but creativity thrives when we have boundaries. It's like being on a playground – you play differently when you know where the edges are. In this episode of Health Bite, Dr. Adrienne Youdim welcomes Sheri Jacobs, a three-time best-selling author, CEO, and innovation speaker to discuss the importance of creativity in our lives and how it can be cultivated through pause and permission. Sheri shares her journey from a photojournalist to a successful entrepreneur, emphasizing the significance of embracing uncertainty and setting boundaries to enhance creativity. She also highlights the transformative power of engaging in creative pursuits, particularly in nature.Who is Sheri Jacobs? Founder and CEO of Avenue M Group A sought-after keynote speaker with 300+ global keynotes and workshops on innovation, leadership, and organizational growth.Best-selling author of three acclaimed books, including Reshaping Your Business When It Matters Most, The Art of Membership, Venturing Into Uncharted WatersShe's an award-winning wildlife photographer and marathonerWhat You'll Discover in This Episode:How self-imposed labels ("I'm not creative") prevent exploration and discovery of creative potential.How boundaries paradoxically expand creativity: Illustrating that constraints (time, resources, physical boundaries) can drive innovation and imaginative solutionsReal tools + mindset shifts to cultivate creativityWhy This Episode Matters:Seeking to unlock your creative potential and navigate uncertainty with confidence? This episode reveals a surprising truth: "Pause" and "permission," when strategically applied within the framework of boundaries, are the keys to cultivating truly unbounded creativity. This episode will help you:Discover the unexpected power of boundaries and how they can enhance creativity and innovation in your life.Learn how to cultivate a sense of comfort with uncertainty and embrace change as a pathway to personal growth.Explore the importance of setting time for creative pursuits and how to prioritize them in a busy schedule.“...define your playground, but leave the play unscripted.” – Sheri JacobsResources and Links Mentioned:Sheri Jacob's award-winning images: Checkout her whale photo and other wildlife images at https://www.sherijacobs.com/aboutConnect with Sheri Jacobs:Website: https://sherijacobs.com/Ways that Dr. Adrienne Youdim Can Support You Join the Monthly Free Mind-Body Workshops: Participate in engaging mind-body practices designed to help manage your stress response. Register here. Sign Up for the Newsletter: Stay updated with valuable insights and resources by subscribing to the newsletter. Sign up here. Freebie alert. Register for our monthly free MindBody Workshop and receive a downloadable guide on emotional labeling to help you manage your emotions effectively. Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim Website :https://www.dradriennespeaks.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/

Discover how Violeta Encarnación balances freelancing, illustration, and creative evolution. She reflects on her journey from growing up in Cuba to becoming a book illustrator, her experience at SVA, and her shift into tattooing. Violeta opens up about the realities of freelancing, managing carpal tunnel syndrome, and honing her distinctive color palette. She also shares how nature inspires her work, the significance of personal connections in art, and her upcoming projects.   Show Notes:    We talk with Violeta Encarnación, a freelance illustrator, about her creative journey and experiences in book illustration. She shares memories of growing up in Cuba, the impact of her artistic family, and her transition to life in the U.S. Violeta reflects on her time at SVA, her path into tattooing, and the lessons she has learned as a freelancer. She opens up about managing an unpredictable schedule, coping with carpal tunnel syndrome, and staying authentic in her work. Violeta also discusses her distinctive color palette, nature's influence on her art, and the role of personal connections in creative careers. Episode Highlights   Childhood experiences and cultural background. Learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. Book illustration involves collaboration, patience, and the ability to convey complex emotions through images. Developing a unique color palette takes time and experimentation, and it can be influenced by nature and personal experiences. Finding one's voice in art and maintaining personal connections are essential for success.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Violeta Encarnacion 02:55 Cultural Influences on Creativity 05:50 Journey from Cuba to the U.S. 08:48 Navigating Language Barriers 11:54 Artistic Development and Education 15:05 Tattooing and Its Impact on Art 17:50 Freelance Career and Illustration Work 21:01 Illustrating Children's Books 24:31 Navigating Relationships in Publishing 25:43 Surprising Lessons in Illustration 27:16 The Journey to Illustrating a Book 32:30 Understanding Project Timelines 36:14 Managing Cash Flow as a Freelancer 39:54 Developing a Unique Color Palette 46:28 Exciting Future Projects CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST: Website: Violeta Encarnacion  Instagram: Violeta  Support the Show Website: Martine SeverinFollow on Instagram: Martine | This Is How We CreateSubscribe to the Newsletter: Martine's Substack This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin and edited by Santiago Cardona. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts Leave a review Follow us on social media Share with fellow creatives  

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by author, backpacker, and our resident alien expert, Mike Clelland. We made an honest attempt to discuss ultralight backpacking during this one, and although we do touch on the subject some, the bulk of this conversation is dedicated to owls, aliens, and all things paranormal activity. Mike has become the preeminent expert of the interplay between owls and UFO citings, which may not sound like a thing, however Mike has accrued a lifetime of stories from folks who have experiences that say that it is. If owls and aliens don't sound like your jam, we encourage you to give this one a shot, as Mike's long standing intense passion for these subjects turns out to be awfully contagious; Chaunce and I are thoroughly entertained. We also discuss the pros and cons of traditional vs. self-publishing, which Mike has done both, but really this is mostly aliens and owls.  Warning: This episode includes discussions of rape, death, and child loss in the context of aliens. If any of these topics are triggering, we encourage you to skip this interview. We wrap the show with the news that the Backpacker Radio crew is headed to AT Trail Days, news of a woman who set the overall FKT on the Florida Trail, Knorr Side recipe recommendations, the shortest roast in the history of roasts, what animal we'd train to be our hiking companion, the triple crown of memes, dog's cornchip paws, and more. LMNT: Get a free sample pack with any order at drinklmnt.com/trek. Gossamer Gear: Use code “BACKPACKER20” for 20% off packs at gossamergear.com.  [divider] Interview with Mike Clelland Mike's Instagram Mike's Website The Unseen, by Mike Clelland Mike's Podcast Time stamps & Questions 00:09:15 - Reminders: Sign up for the Trek's newsletter, join us for our live show in Austin, listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon, and apply to blog for the Trek! 00:13:19 - Introducing Mike 00:14:05 - What have you been up to since we last had you on? 00:17:00 - Fuck Marry Kill: Podcasting, Writing Books, and Illustrating 00:21:23 - What are the pros and cons of self-publishing? 00:26:16 - Give us the primer on why you think owls are special 00:31:35 - What are the general trends of people's owl sightings? 00:37:24 - Have you noticed commonalities between the people? 00:41:04 - Owl + UFO story 00:47:20 - In your opinion, what are aliens? 00:49:18 - What do you personally believe? 00:57:25 - What do you believe in terms of these common alien theories? 01:01:25 - What motivates the aliens? 01:04:06 - Are the aliens visiting intentionally or passing by? 01:06:45 - How does one become owl-ready? 01:09:45 - Why don't the aliens visit you all the time? 01:13:24 - Do you consider yourself a healer? 01:15:04 - Do you still cut the handles off the toothbrush? 01:16:05 - What got you into ultralight backpacking and inspired you to write the book? 01:23:35 - What types of trips did you go on? 01:24:50 - What are your strongest convictions about ultralight backpacking? 01:30:45 - How do you go ultralight despite having fears about the outdoors? 01:35:46 - How did you get into owls and UFOs? 01:47:00 - Chaunce's story 01:55:55 - Where do you think that voice came from? 02:02:40 - Return to Mike's story 02:07:03 - Are you still trying to process what happened and seeking the why? 02:08:20 - What happened on that day? 02:24:30 - Why isn't there clearer evidence of all this? 02:26:50 - What's the difference between paranormal activity and hallucination? 02:29:44 - What is your answer to why are you here? 02:31:37 - Do you think we're living in a simulation and what happens after we die? 02:37:30 - Mike's hypnosis session 02:52:30 - Do you think you're an alien scribe? 02:56:00 - What percent of you thinks you're an alien? 02:59:52 - What are your closing thoughts? 03:02:17 - Stay Salty Question: What's your hottest take in the world of backpacking? Or, what's something you'd add to ultralight backpacking? Or, what tip do you violate the most? 03:08:10 - Where can people keep up with you? Segments Trek Propaganda:  Fastest Known Human: This Woman Just Beat the Men's Speed Record on the Florida Trail by Katie Jackson 7 Delicious Knorr Side Dinner Ideas You Need To Try, According to an AT Thru-Hiker by Sheraya Smith QOTD:  If you could train any animal to be your hiking companion, what would it be and what special skills would it have? The Shortest Roast of All Time Triple Crown of internet memes Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/ and his coffee. Sign up for the Trek's newsletter Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Brad & Blair Thirteen Adventures, Brent Stenberg, Carl Houde, Christopher Marshburn, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Derek Koch, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Eathan Harwell, Gillian Daniels, Greg Alsop, Greg Knight, Greg Martin, Greg McDaniel, Griffin Haywood, Hailey Buckingham, Patrick Cianciolo, Rebecca Brave, Sawyer Products, SPAM, Timothy Hahn, Tracy ‘Trigger' Fawns A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Bells, Bonnie Ackerman, Brett Vandiver, Chris Pyle, David, David Neal, Dcnerdlet, Emily Galusha, Greg Floravanti “Lumberjack”, Jack Greene, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Luke Netjes, Merle Watkins, Peter, Ruth S, and Spencer Hinson.

Welcome to the Triple P Life Podcast! In this episode, Dr. Jay LaGuardia welcomes Michael Reddington, a certified forensic interviewer (CFI) and the author of "The Disciplined Listening Method." Michael shares his expertise in applying strategic observation and persuasive communication skills to uncover hidden value in high-stakes conversations. Drawing from his experience in investigations and teaching interrogation techniques, Michael explains how leaders, negotiators, sales professionals, and HR personnel can effectively navigate challenging interactions to achieve desired outcomes. Episode Takeaways: The ability to find common ground is crucial for successful communication, regardless of the context or the person you're speaking with. Illustrating your understanding of a situation before investigating the problem and seeking accountability can help reduce resistance and encourage open communication. Using the word "you" in conversations can be dangerous, as it may trigger defensiveness and hinder progress. Instead, make illustrative statements to demonstrate your understanding without assigning blame. When faced with a "brick wall" in a conversation, work with it instead of against it. Avoid arguing rationally against emotional problems, and instead, try to understand the underlying issues and find a way forward together. Leaders must consistently provide evidence of their trustworthiness through their actions and follow-through. Failing to do so can lead to a breakdown in trust and a decline in team performance. Deciding when to have a "no BS conversation" depends on the context and totality of circumstances. Factors to consider include the clarity of expectations, the resources provided, the magnitude of the issue, and the level of support given. Effective communication is a skill set that can be learned and developed, whether in business or personal relationships. Focusing on desired outcomes and putting emotions aside can help generate the results you seek. Chapters: 00:00 - Welcome and Show Introduction 02:18 - Introducing Michael Reddington 04:45 - From Teacher to Forensic Interviewer 08:10 - Understanding Communication Fundamentals 10:30 - The Three Keys to Effective Conversations 13:45 - The Power of Illustrative Statements 17:20 - Performance Management Conversations 21:15 - The Danger of Using "You" in Communication 24:40 - Breaking Through Conversational Brick Walls 28:15 - Handling Deflection and Responsibility 32:30 - Leadership and Accountability Follow-Through 36:10 - When to Have the "No BS" Conversation 39:25 - Applying These Skills in Personal Relationships Find all things Triple P Life by visiting the website. Follow Dr. Jay: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube Get Dr. Jay's Book: Change Your Mind Change Your Destiny Find all the nutrition and supplement products Triple P Nutrition has to offer here.

Steve's guest is noted economist L. Randall Wray, one of the early developers of modern money theory. As many times as this podcast has talked about MMT, it's always topical. In fact, just last week, Elon Musk discovered 14 magic money computers in government agencies! So, Trump had to hire the richest man in the world who hired who knows how many hundreds of young tech kids to discover what we've been saying for 30 years, which is that Congress appropriates money, and then the computers keystroke it into people's accounts. There's no mystery about this at all, but they think they've discovered not only something that people didn't know, but something that's, oh, it's so scary. It's nefarious that the government uses computers to increase the size of people's accounts. Well, that's spending. That's the way it's done. Clearly, this is a good time to revisit the valuable insights of MMT and look at the implications for building a society that serves its people. This episode dives deep into the fundamentals, debunking misconceptions about government spending, the role of taxes, and the myth that the US government can run out of money, like a household. Randy and Steve talk about changes in the economy due to financialization, and the difference between budget constraints and inflation constraints. Randy explains why we need to look at the history of debt in order to understand money. He talks about banking, including transactions between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. The conversation breaks down complex concepts into relatable terms, sometimes with a touch of humor. Illustrating the creation of currency, Randy describes an imaginary scenario in which the fictional characters Robinson Crusoe and Friday devise a currency to facilitate barter. Randy: So, they come up with the idea of, ‘hey, we can use seashells as a medium of exchange.' And this is where money came from. It was Robinson Crusoe and Friday. Okay, think about this a little bit. It's pretty bizarre. We've got Crusoe and Friday marooned on a desert island. I can think of two much more likely scenarios. Okay, one, Crusoe came from Europe. What do Europeans do when they come across native people? Steve: Kill them. Anyone with an interest in how the economy truly operates will learn something from this episode. L. Randall Wray is a Professor of Economics at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, and Emeritus Professor at University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is one of the developers of Modern Money Theory and his newest book on the topic is Understanding Modern Money Theory: Money and Credit in Capitalist Economies (Elgar), forthcoming in spring 2025. Recent books on MMT include Making Money Work for Us (Polity, November 2022), a companion illustrated guide, Money For Beginners (Polity, May 2023, with Levy Institute graduate Heske Van Doornen), and the third edition of Modern Money Theory: A Primer on Macroeconomics for Sovereign Monetary Systems (Springer, 2024). He is also the author of Why Minsky Matters (Princeton, 2015) as well as the author, co-author, and editor of many other books. Find more of his work at levyinstitute.org

Phil sits down with John Hendrix to discuss his new book, Mythmakers. Your Lamp-post Links: John Hendrix's Website Buy Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien You can support the show on Patreon. You can also email us at hello@lamppostlistener.com or leave us a voicemail at (406) 646-6733. LampostListener.com | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS Feed

Have you ever watched the movie Bambi? This timeless classic was in many ways made possible by one extraordinary artist. This is the story of Tyrus Wong and his incredible journey from his home village to Walt Disney Studios. Born in China, Tyrus embarked on a daring voyage across the ocean to the United States when he was just nine years old. It's time to discover his fascinating tale.  About Honest History Honest History creates award-winning books, magazines, and this show for young historians across the world. Our mission is to inspire kids to create a positive impact on history themselves. Learn more at honesthistory.co and @honesthistory. Credits This episode was written by Heidi Coburn, narrated by Randall Lawrence, and produced by Robot Pirate Media. Original theme music was written and recorded by Luke Messimer. More Enjoy this episode? Share with your friends and don't forget to rate and review. See you next time!

Episode Summary:In this first episode of 2025, Brian Auten and Chad Gross dive into a "Cornucopia" of topics, offering an eclectic mix of discussion points for anyone interested in apologetics, Christian living, and the new year ahead. The hosts share insights on their favorite apologetic arguments, explore the reliability of the New Testament, and provide encouragement for Christian parents. They also discuss Wesley Huff's recent debate and appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, reflecting on lessons learned and the importance of humility and grace in apologetic engagement. The episode wraps up with reflections on God's will, advice for parents raising children in the faith, and plans for upcoming book discussions in the podcast.Time Stamps:00:00 – Introduction: Happy New Year from Brian and Chad! Overview of the "Cornucopia" episode.02:31 – Quickfire Apologetics Questions: Favorite topics, arguments, and conversation starters.09:31 – Favorite Argument to Explain: Resurrection vs. design vs. contingency.14:24 – Key Question for Non-Believers: How to initiate meaningful faith conversations.21:22 – Illustrating the Moral Argument: Using movie characters like the Joker to highlight objective morality.26:05 – Content Creation vs. Artistry: Balancing authenticity with modern pressures of creating content.40:35 – Wesley Huff's Joe Rogan Appearance: Reflections on debates, patience, and truth in apologetics.54:43 – Book Club Announcement: Rational Faith by Stephen T. Davis – What to expect.01:02:01 – Listener Question: What does "God's will" mean in different contexts?01:13:56 – Encouragement for Christian Parents: When children stray from faith – lessons from Genesis.01:21:16 – Closing Thoughts and Gratitude: Looking ahead to new episodes and topics.Rational Faith by Stephen T. Davis: https://www.amazon.com/Rational-Faith-Philosophers-Defense-Christianity/dp/0830844740================================We appreciate your feedback.If you're on TWITTER, you can follow Chad @TBapologetics.You can follow Brian @TheBrianAutenAnd of course, you can follow @Apologetics315If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

Sharon Perdue, Director of SEO and Content Performance at Autodesk, delves into securing buy-in for SEO. In the fast-paced world of executive leadership, concise and impactful communication is essential. For SEOs, effectively demonstrating the impact of our efforts to executives is crucial for securing support and resources. However, capturing their attention and gaining buy-in necessitates a strategic shift – moving away from technical jargon and to a results-oriented narrative. Today, Sharon discusses illustrating SEO's impact for executives.Connect With: Sharon Perdue: Website // LinkedInThe Voices of Search Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have you ever read a book to your kids and been so disappointed by how uninspired the story is? Or how half-baked the visuals are? Or how poor the grammar is? Same. That's why when you come across the truly great ones, you elevate them and celebrate them. Maine author and illustrator (and father of two) Chris Van Dusen joins us to share about all that goes into creating purposeful, high quality children's literature.Episode 115 of Modern Dadhood is our holiday episode. The guys open with a discussion about The Clement Moore classic "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" and debate the merits of modifying classic material in the public domain before transitioning to their conversation with author, illustrator, and father of two, Chris Van Dusen. Chris shares his story of coming up in the art world, and the path that led him to writing and illustrating classic kids books such as Circus Ship, the Mr. Magee series, and the If I Built series as well as illustrating the Mercy Watson series for author Kate DiCamillo.After the interview, Marc shares a story of connecting in person with one of our early guests, singer/songwriter Martin Sexton.From our families to yours, we wish you happy, safe, and fun holidays. - Adam & MarcLINKS:Chris Van Dusen (Official)Chris Van Dusen (Instagram)Chris Van Dusen (Facebook)Martin SextonCaspar BabypantsSpencer AlbeeModern Dadhood (website)AdamFlaherty.tvStuffed Animal (Marc's kids' music)MD (Instagram)MD (Facebook)MD (YouTube)MD (TikTok) #moderndadhood #fatherhood #parenthood #parenting #parentingpodcast #dadding #dadpodcast

The Canadian graphic novelist talks with Mattea Roach about life with their late partner, who had an assisted death, and using art to confront grief in Something, Not Nothing

Friends and relatives of the victims of the Eastbourne Air Disaster of 1984 remember hearing the news of their loved ones. Christina used to work as an illustrator for Veritas.

Claire is from a family of artists where sketchbooks were ever present. Her father Glen is an animator, her grandfather Bil was a cartoonist and apparently her great granddad drew machine parts for steam engines. Her uncle Jeff is a cartoonist, her brother Max draws and animates… so does her cousin. And from the looks of it, her kids are following in her footsteps. After studying design at Parsons School of Design and l'École Supérieure d'Arts Graphiques in Paris, she began her career at Disney Feature Animation in California designing for Tangled, Frozen and Enchanted among other films. Over time, her work expanded to include picture books including Little Wonder, Prunella, Love is, Not Yeti, Make Way, Once Upon a Cloud, and a range of other collaborative projects. In the summer of 2024, Claire returned to Paris with her children, where you'll often find her sketching in a café alongside her basset hound, Stanley.

In the graphic memoir All Our Ordinary Stories, Teresa Wong uses spare black-and-white illustrations and thought-provoking prose to unpack how intergenerational trauma and resilience can shape our identities. Teresa and Mattea Roach discuss the art of cartooning and the intricate, often challenging journey of piecing together family history.

In this classic episode guest Scott Dollinger shares invaluable insights on the journey from achieving his first wholesale deal to scaling and running a successful real estate wholesaling business. Scott, a former corporate employee, recounts his initial struggles and the pivotal moment of landing his first big deal. Illustrating the importance of persistence, the power of decision-making, and the courage to step out of comfort zones. Key Takeaways: Persistence: Success requires determination and not giving up. Business Growth: Transitioning to a business owner involves strategic hiring and automating processes. Effective Leadership: the Key to scaling is managing a motivated team and tackling tough conversations. Growth through Challenges: Challenges are opportunities for personal and professional development. Revenue Focus: Beginners should prioritize direct revenue-generating activities. Resources: The Top 3 Reasons People Fail in Real Estate (And How to Overcome Them) Deal Machine (Discount code PIN) $40k in 40 Days Challenge Driving For Dollars Mastery

Darkness Radio presents Meeting With Remarkable Magicians: Life in the Occult Underground with Researcher/Author, Carl Abrahamsson! What does it mean to live a life as an occultist? There may be no single answer, but for Carl Abrahamsson, it has involved work in music, art, and film as well as deep involvement with renowned occult figures and organizations for more than 40 years. Illustrating the possibilities of a life infused with magic, Abrahamsson reflects on his decades spent in the company of some of the most unconventional thinkers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Revealing how his immersion in both the underground and above-ground world of art and the occult only grew through his adolescence and into adulthood, the author details his involvement with psychedelic culture, the punk subculture, and numerous occult figures and organizations, including Genesis P-Orridge and Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, Anton LaVey's Church of Satan, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and a branch of the American Golden Dawn. On today's show, we talk with Carl Abrahamsson about his new book, "Meeting With Remarkable Magicians: Life in the Occult Underground".  We talk about what made HIM so special that people of such stature wanted to take him under their wing, How music infuses with magick, and how the future of technology wil affect magick and "occulture" in the future! Get Carl's new book, "Meeting With Remarkable Magicians..." here:   https://bit.ly/3YhanDT Check out Carl's music and everything about him here:  https://www.carlabrahamsson.com/ Check out Carl on Social media: x: https://x.com/CaAbrahamsson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcarlabrahamsson Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/carl.abrahamsson/ Tik Tok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@carlabrahamsson #paranormal  #supernatural  #metaphysical  #paranormalpodcasts  #darknessradio  #timdennis #carlabrahamsson #meetingswithremarkablemagicians #lifeintheoccultunderground #shamanism #magic #occulture  #antonlavey #churchofsatan #thefenriswolf #topy #genesisporridge #goldendawn #ordotempliorietis #oto #ghosts  #spirits  #hauntings #demons  #spiritguides #Psychics #mediums #tarot  #ouija   #Artificiallife #artificialintelligence #AI  #Satanists #thechurchofsatan #TheSatanicTemple #conspiracytheory #neardeatheexperience 

Today's episode features storytelling expert Mike Ganino, who reveals the secrets to captivating your audience through vivid, relatable narratives. We'll explore the power of non-judgmental messaging, the difference between autobiography and memoir, and how creating impactful scenes can make your communication memorable.   Discover why personal stories are more effective than credentials, how to craft engaging introductions, and the importance of avoiding cognitive overload. Plus, hear about Mike's free storytelling workbook and Shannon's comprehensive business starter kit to elevate your entrepreneurial journey.   Mike Ganino is a culture and storytelling expert who helps leaders communicate, connect, and engage. Author of Company Culture for Dummies and named a top 30 Culture Speaker by Global Guru, Mike combines his experience as a hospitality and tech executive with his improv background to help clients craft impactful stories that drive culture and boost results. He has worked with companies like Uber, US Foods, and Snagajob, and is a faculty member at Heroic Public Speaking. Mike is also the Head Performance Coach for TEDx Cambridge, known for his high-energy keynotes that inspire immediate action.   Website: www.mikeganino.com  Special Offer: www.mikeganino.com/storycraft    What you'll hear in this episode: 04:43 Illustrating points with relatable stories, not literal. 07:18 Be assertive and concise in networking storytelling. 10:00 Use an ing verb and location to engage. 13:36 Worst interview ever turned out surprisingly successful. 17:24 Value is in unique perspectives, not shared knowledge. 20:37 Stand out with genuine, memorable personal details. 23:58 Focus on addressing specific problems, not promotions. 28:10 Audience engagement requires relatable, indirect messaging.   If you like this episode, check out: Simplifying Sales Strategy Lowering Your Price to Sell More? Product or Experience - What is More Important?   Want to learn more so you can earn more? Transform your small business journey – download the Small Business $tarter Kit here. Visit keepwhatyouearn.com to dive deeper on our episodes Visit keepwhatyouearncfo.com to work with Shannon and her team Watch this episode and more here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlIuZsrllp1Uc_MlhriLvQ Connect with Shannon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/shannonkweinstein/   The information contained in this podcast is intended for educational purposes only and is not individual tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before implementing anything you learn.

Can your brand truly stand out in the crowded Amazon or e-commerce marketplace? This episode features Kevin King, a master of product differentiation, marketing, and branding, who shares game-changing strategies to elevate your business beyond the basics. Kevin walks us through the creation of his innovative Basecamp Apple Watch charging dock, illustrating how identifying market gaps and blending functionality with aesthetic appeal can help you craft a premium product that demands attention. We then uncover the critical role of visual storytelling and emotional appeal in successful product marketing. Kevin shares compelling real-life examples, including a groundbreaking product launch during Christmas 2015 and the branding triumph of Liquid Death. We dive into the challenges and rewards of rebranding, drawing lessons from Kevin's experience with his dog product line transformation. The conversation underscores the importance of innovative packaging and impactful imagery in driving sales and maintaining a brand's identity. Finally, we explore unconventional marketing strategies that can turn an ordinary product into a thriving brand. Kevin recounts the phenomenal success of a hand sanitizer brand during the 2020 pandemic, revealing how creative tactics like catchy jingles and engaging public interactions led to remarkable sales figures. Whether you are an aspiring Amazon seller or a seasoned seller, this episode is packed with valuable insights and strategies to help you achieve a standout presence in a saturated market. In episode 598 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Carrie and Kevin discuss: 00:00 - Product Differentiation Secrets With Kevin King 04:36 - Multi-Functional Charging Dock Design 06:57 - Product Development From Scratch 10:16 - Illustrating a Product's Transformation With Cartoons 10:54 - Product Innovation and Differentiation Strategies 14:33 - Brand Identity Success Through Innovation 15:48 - Premium Bully Sticks Differentiation Strategy 16:50 - Researching and Deciding on Bully Sticks 21:35 - Listing Strategy for Niche Keywords 27:09 - Differentiating Products for Marketplace Success 27:36 - Pet Product Influencer Partnership 31:24 - Building a Brand With Differentiation 35:19 - Hand Sanitizer Market Frustration and Innovation 41:52 - Unconventional Marketing Strategies for Brand Success 42:45 - Successful Million Dollar Marketing  Strategy Transcript Carrie Miller: In today's episode, Kevin King is going to be sharing his secrets on how to differentiate your products so that you stand out from the competition.   Bradley Sutton: How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Are you a six, seven or eight figure seller and want to network in a private mastermind group with other experienced sellers? Or maybe you want to take advantage of monthly advanced training sessions with Kevin King, an expert guest? Do you want to come to our quarterly in-person all-day trainings at Helium 10 headquarters? Or do you want the widest access to the Helium 10 set of tools? For all of these things, the Elite program might be for you. For more information on Helium 10 Elite, go to h10.me/elite. Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Serious Seller's podcast by Helium 10. I am your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show. That's a completely BS-free, unscripted and unrehearsed organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world.   Kevin King: You know, a lot of times people don't in the space, don't like to share their products. They're afraid people are going to copy them. I'm afraid like, oh, if I share this, this cool thing I found, I'm going to have a hundred different copiers on it. And that does happen. You know, Bradley's had that with the coffin shelf, you know, here at series, and now there's I don't know how many coffin shelves that are A lot, a lot. Yeah, so it does happen. But I'm going to show you some ways to make that almost impossible today. I mean not to say that someone can't mimic you, because sometimes when people copy, that's a nice way of flattery. But there's a lot of things that you can do to differentiate your product and it's becoming super important. You know the days of when I first started. I know you've been doing this for a while 2015, 2016. You just go to Alibaba. You'd find a product look at Helium 10, see where the gaps are and just stick a different name on there and maybe create a logo, put it on there and put that up and sell it. Those days are long gone. I mean, can that still happen? Occasionally, someone can have success doing that, but it's extremely, extremely difficult. And branding true branding and true product differentiation is where it's at. And some people think, well, I'll just add a warranty or I'll add an eBook to my product or I'll bundle it with something else and that'll make it different enough. And that's usually not enough. And in today's world, you got to change your approach and that's what I'm going to show you today with real-life, real-world examples of my actual products. Some of these I'm not selling anymore for different reasons. Pricing got priced out of the market with raw supplies or something like that. But I'm going to show you exactly what I do and to try to give you some insights and some perspective on how you can approach this differently for what you're doing.   Carrie Miller: Very nice, I'm excited.   Kevin King: When it comes to business, there's really only two things that matter, and when you cut it to the core, that's innovation and marketing. I mean, yeah, there's all the details of finance and money and all this kind of stuff, but really, if you look at any business look at Apple, you look at Microsoft, you look at Tesla, you look at any of these. It's innovation and marketing. Those are the two fundamental things that you should be focusing on first. So, I'm going to start off with innovation. So the first thing I'm talking about is innovation. This is a product on screen called Basecamp. This is an Apple watch charging dock. It also charges your iPhone, charges your iPad. It has a night light on it. This is a really, really cool product that came out in 2015. It was launched in 2015.   Kevin King: So almost nine years ago, right when the first Apple Watch came out, and where this product, how this originated. This is a product that I sold and I actually created this product from scratch. This was my actual product and I created it from scratch right when the first Apple Watch came out. And what happened is I went on Amazon to try to find some ideas for products and I saw that Apple Watch charging docks were trending at the time and most all of them were like these cheap bamboo kind of wooden docks for 15 to 20 bucks, all coming off of Alibaba, with just different names on them. Each one looks exactly the same, just had a different name, and I was like, if I'm going to spend 500 bucks for a watch or whatever the watch costs back then. I don't want some cheap, cheap stand to put it on, I want something that looks cool. So I developed this that I would want and I was like I don't want something where there's cables hanging across my desk, cables hanging across my nightstand, so I want to hide all the cables and I want to be able to charge like three things at once. And so that's what I developed, and so this particular product you can see here has a little light on it.   Kevin King: I later added a Bluetooth speaker to it in a version two. It put the watch up on top, the phone would sit on the side and it had a. The charging was buried inside all the cables. Um, the back actually had two additional USB ports so that you could actually charge an iPad or put something else on the back of it. It had. The cables were all hidden underneath, so you'd wrap the cable around underneath so it's not like just all messing up your, your desktop or your, your nightstand or whatever the night light there you can see it. You can hit that button a few times and adjust it up in different levels. I created a really nice box for it and I had all the different adapters. I was prepared to sell this in the US market, and so I created one charging dock and then had them make the different adapters that go in the end, depending on if it's for the UK or for Europe, or for the US or for Australia the bigger markets. I later added a Bluetooth speaker to it. I changed that nightlight to not just a nightlight but actually a Bluetooth speaker so that you could this is the days before there was beats or any of that kind of stuff so it actually was a cool, cool thing to be able to have your phone sitting there charging and have a little speaker that would play your sound music or your wake-up call or whatever. You can see there are the little nightlights turned on. As an example, these are actually some of my listing photos that you're seeing on this. You can see that it would fit all kinds of different watch bands. I created a really nice box for the outside of it to differentiate it so that when you got it felt like you're paying 80 bucks for this thing.   Kevin King: This was a little video that I had made. I found the way I got this made is I came up with the idea. I found a factory on Global Sources Comm. So I didn't even use Alibaba. I use a company called global sources comm, which is another alternate sourcing place. It's not as big as Alibaba, but you can find some better factories sometimes on there. So if you haven haven't checked that out, check it out. And I found a factory in Shenzhen, China, that would do this and I ended up paying them a thousand dollars for the design and so they had their internal guys do all the design and then the molding and everything. It was expensive. It cost me about 30 grand to do all the molding because it's electrical parts and USB and there's a chip in there. So this is not for everybody, but I spent about 30 grand on that.   Kevin King: We've created all kinds of prototypes and they would send me these files, these 3D rendered files and these like SFP files, I think they're called. And then I took that actual file. So before this was ever manufactured, didn't even exist, there wasn't even a prototype yet. I sent it to a guy in Eastern Europe and he made this rendering from me from those files and this is a video. He made this entire video, this. The product did not exist so I could see it exactly as it was gonna be. He made these 360 degrees, basically before there was AI. AI video of the actual product. You can see this one only has one charging dock on a USB on the back.   Kevin King: I had a second one, but I did this and then I sent this out and did some testing, like what do you guys think of this? And I was able to get the people at one of these big Apple insider blog posts. They're like, when this comes out, let us know, we'll publicize it. So right there I was, like they thought it was cool. So, I had my launch ready to go. Like I said this didn't come from Alibaba, this didn't come from the Iwo market or the Canton fair.   Kevin King: The idea for this, this came from my head, and so I created this from scratch from my head. I've done that for a dog bowl and for some other products as well, and so I also. At the same time, back in 2015, I launched five different brands at once. Some of them were the traditional find something on Alibaba, change it up a little bit, change the packaging, put your logo on it and then send it out. But this one I actually designed from scratch. I think that's where you need to start thinking more and more about is designing things from scratch, and it's not always about a better mousetrap, it's about what the people want.   Kevin King: With today's technology and with the AI, you can do so much that I couldn't do nine years ago when this was launched. That you can do now with iterations and these renderings, that you could have 20 different types of this and do all kinds of testing on PickFu. You can do so much more now with this. So this was the renderings that they would send me. So I would open this up, these EASM files, and I could play around with it on my computer and spin it and everything and say, oh, let's modify this or let's change this, or I don't like where this is positioned, put the logo over here. So this before we even made a prototype.   Kevin King: And then what I did is I did 3D printing. So I had there's a guy in Austin where I live that had like 30 different 3D printers in his garage, literally, and so he had all kinds of different sizes and machines. I just took it. They followed him and he made this. This is a 3d printed uh sample. And then I took this to the Apple store in Austin and I said can, can you open up the drawer of all the watches. Uh, I want to make sure every watch, every band, fits on here and doesn't touch the light, and we'll make sure the cable fits through the, the fits through the, the channel on the back and everything. So, I had a total like piece of crap, basically, but 3d printed, but it's actually at least something that's I can hold and touch and feel, kind of get an idea of how it's going to be. And then we made modifications. So after I tested it with this, then I went through and I made modifications oh, we need to make the cable doesn't quite fit, it's not quite snug enough or it's crimping in the corner. So we went back and I, I, we made some modifications to it and then this was a prototype. So then they do what's a machine prototype? Um, there's a specific name for it, but it's a machine Like it's. They make like 20 of them before they make the mass run, and then I could actually test it and so I took it and that's what we created.   Kevin King: This is one of the product photos for the actual that I used on Amazon that I had taken. This is one in my guest room and so we just put it on a nightstand and just showed it. They're actually charging three different devices and how it works. It works like magic. And for the listing also, I actually showed. You know, I create cartoons. I found someone on Upwork.com that would do this for 50 bucks and I had them actually said I want a before and after. I could shoot this with photography and it would be expensive. So I just had them make a cartoon and say, look, show the before. Because every product you need to be trying to solve pain points. I mean there's three or four different things you want to focus on when you're developing a product. One of those is solving someone's pain point. So you want to show them what it's like before your product and what it's like after your product. So that's what I did here. Instead of using photos, I used these cartoons.   Kevin King: So I show on the left how you got all these cables everywhere and stuff all over the place taking up your whole nightstand just a mess. You're having trouble sleeping over there, the person you know. There're all kinds of little hints all throughout this thing. You got a light that's flashing on it instead of a night light. That's all bright, keeping you up. And then then you got the one on the right. That's like you having a peaceful sleep, everything's organized, everything's nice, and so these are things that you want to think about when you're actually creating your images is show the before and the after. You can do it in photos, you can do it in, or you can do it in cartoons and like this one and this, it worked really, really well. You're going to see another example of this in a minute. So this is the way you can do an example of how you can do innovation.   Kevin King: This product on 2015, Christmas of 2015, I was selling about $30,000, $40,000 a day of it at $89. And then what happened is the reason. I and I did a second version, I did a version two with feedback and put the Bluetooth speaker in, did some other changes, and then in March or April of the next year this is before there was Gatita, before there's any or Helium 10 that had the refund ability, and someone posted on a Facebook group, on the FBA High Rollers Facebook group on Helium 10, saying, oh, did you know that Amazon will refund you for damages and lost items? And so, I was like, oh, that's cool, they lost some of these things when I shipped them in. So, I filed a claim. And when I filed that claim for like 10 missing units, amazon suspended the listing and said, oh, we're going to do what's called a bend check. And they went and they actually said we're going to stop all sales. And we got to do a total inventory across all of our warehouses and I was like no, no, no, don't do that, don't do that, I don't care about the 10 units, just forget it, forget the claim. You're killing, you're crushing me on my momentum. Well, I was down about 10 days while they did this quote unquote Ben check worst decision I ever made and that basically killed the momentum of the product. But I was able to bring it back up, but never back to that level, because there's all kinds of other competition coming in. Um, and I sold this on uh, uh I forget the name of the website. Now it's kind of like a sharper image uh, website for dudes. I sold this in the best buy. I sold it a lot of places, but then the market started changing and I was able to ride this for a couple of years and it was good. So that's a way that you can think about doing innovation. That's an example of one that I did.   Kevin King: Now let's talk about something on the marketing side. On the marketing side, you can differentiate with your packaging. A lot of people do that, you know. You could have just a generic bottle that you see on the right or a really nice bottle on the left and put your differentiating bullet points in your image how they're showing one's made from bamboo and no plastic or biodegrade super-fast. The other one's going to take hundreds of years, and so on. These are great ways you can do it in your, in your image, in your image stack, to actually show the difference. Because it remembers, on Amazon, people, people buy, buy photos. They don't buy products. My buddy, Perry Belcher, is actually the one that actually said that. But they can't touch the product, they can't hold it in their hands, so they're buying based on the photos. So you got to remember that so many people skimp on their photos or they don't spend enough time creating the right photos to create the right emotions. People buy on emotion and they buy on photos, and so by differentiating like this, you can do a lot of cool stuff in your infographics and your stack.   Kevin King: Look at another one. I mean this is someone selling a commodity Liquid Death is water, it's just water. But look what they did with the branding and the way they actually packaged it. They put it into a can instead of a bottle. They had this liquid death name. All the graphics it's just most of the cans are actually oversized. Liquid Death is a great case study if you want to go and look at how someone actually has developed a brand on something that everybody else is selling and actually stand out. Now it's over a billion-dollar company and there's crushing. It's a really, really good case study. At some point I'll go into deep detail on this, but I want to show you one of my products where I did this. I had a brand that was originally called Tailwaggles and I made a mistake on this brand. I filed for trademarks to get brand registry and all that kind of stuff and about three months into the trademark process I get a note from the trademark office saying oh sorry, your name, Tailwaggles, is too close to something else. This is three months after filing and I'd already done the homework, but they found something in the system so I had to change it to Wag Haus. So I had to. Actually, I was already in production on some dog bowls and I actually had to call the factory, said throw away all those old molds and those imprints. We got to change the logo and logo and to change the whole name mid-production. It cost me a lot of money to Wag Haus, but one of the products that I sold under this this is the Wag Haus logo. Here it wore bully sticks.   Kevin King: If you're not familiar with what bully sticks are, they're still popular today. It's a dog treat. It's made out of the penis of a cow, so they use every part of a cow to maximize the value when they when they butcher it for meat and they take the penis and they actually make bully sticks for dogs. It's a very popular dog treat. So, there's six inch versions, there's 12 inch versions. Those are two typical sizes, and it in 2016, 2017. I was doing some research of what's selling on Amazon. I saw that these things are just crushing it. I already had a dog bowl out, so I was looking for another type of product to accentuate my slow feed dog. Well, and bully sticks came up and back then there's Helium 10 didn't have what was just getting going, so they didn't have Magnets and they didn't have Cerebro and all that stuff. So, I had to use this old program called amazing product validator. And so, I punched in bully sticks and look there, I was like boom, big green result thing saying that's a really good keyword, excellent BSR. You know, look at that search 359,000 search volume. I was like, all right, I'm going to do bully sticks.   Kevin King: So I started researching bully sticks and I looked at these. This is another tool back then where it was popular, called merchant words, and these are results from Merchant Words. They showed these search volumes actually are probably not right but it's the best we had back then. We didn't have much more accurate stuff like Helium 10. So it showed 7 million. I was like, all right, all the different keywords are based off of that free range and those are beef bully sticks and bully sticks for dogs and all had some decent search volumes. So I like, all right, I'm going to go into bully sticks as my next product on this brand. So I pulled up and did a search and I see that, um, there's all these different brands that are selling bully sticks and a lot of them, this are selling for around 20 to 30 bucks and it's a pretty much a package like a plastic bag full of 20 30 bully sticks, all for around 30 bucks, so somewhere around a dollar and a half a stick is basically the cost to the consumer for these. And I was like, okay, that looks good. So I started calling some factories and I was like I need to differentiate. I don't want to be just another guy selling 30 bully sticks for 30 bucks. What can you do? What can you make special?   Kevin King: And I started reading all the reviews on all the products and the reviews were coming back with like, oh, these bully sticks stink because you can just imagine it's the part of the cow that you know that area stinks sometimes and so people the it. My house has an odor to it. After my dog chews it or some liquid drips out onto my couch, my dog jumps up on the couch. It's just. And then people were worried about where are these bully sticks from. Is it US cows or is it some? There's a big scare of like Chinese beef back there. Are they Chinese cows? Are they from Brazil? Where are they from? And so, I was like I need to differentiate this product and I don't want to just put it in a plastic bag either. I want to put it in something really cool, and so the way I differentiated the product is I found this through tracking down. I wanted to make sure it was US made US beef, not imported, and I wanted to set it apart. And so, I found this guy who was a classically trained French chef, like worked in Michelin star restaurants and he was up in the New England area and I got in touch with him and said you make bully sticks. He's like oh yeah, I don't, but I don't do them on machines, I hand carve them, we smoke them in a certain way. We have a 15-step organic process that we do. I'm like this sounds perfect. This is like I can differentiate this from all these little cheap bully sticks.   Kevin King: I was like, well, they cost. He said you're not going to like this part, they're very expensive. So, I ended up having to sell three bully sticks, three 12-inch ones for $54 and 95 cents, so 55 bucks for three bully sticks. Now remember everybody else on Amazon selling 30 for 30 bucks roughly. So, I'm like way crazy overpriced. I was like I don't know if this is going to work. You know everybody, everybody always says on Amazon it's all about the price, all about the value. And I'm like I don't know if this is going to work. But I'm like you know what? I think there's people on Amazon that don't care about the price. If you know the avatar of your customer, you know that there's a lot of pet owners that a pet is just a farm animal. You know they keep the dog out in the backyard and it's just a farm animal. But for other people a pet is part of their family, it's their best friend, it's their compadre. I just saw a story my dad just forwarded me a couple days ago about how people take care of their pet's health better than they take care of their own health. And it's true and I was like I can market to that. There's people that have dogs that are willing to spend really good money for their dogs to give them the best. So this is classically trained French chef. That's a good story. It's organic. I'm solving all the problems of the juice because the way he cooks these and he does the smoking and stuff. They don't have all that extra liquid in them, they don't stink. They're organic. It's from the US, I can solve all the review pain points, and this is before all the AI tools existed to analyze reviews.   Kevin King: I was having to read reviews, so I was looking at how can I package these different, and so these were some of the packaging ideas I came with. But what I ended up doing is putting them in a cigar box. So I had a custom cigar box. I found a company in Brooklyn, New York, that's close to this guy, so I didn't have to pay shipping across the US or across the world. They'd make these boxes for me. I'd put a sticker on the outside with, like a cool textured label on the outside of it, and then we put them in the cigar boxes. So this is the six inch version. So there's five, six inches and those sold for 40, uh, 44, 95, I think it was. And the 12-inch version was only three sticks and sold for 54, 95. But I packaged it. So when you got it, you felt confirmed. You're like, if you just spent 44 bucks for five of these bully sticks, you're like, did I just get ripped off? But when it comes in the, in the, in the Amazon box, and you open it up, you're like, oh, this is a cool box. It's got a cool texture to it. It's all about the sensation when you feel the box. There's like a little edge on it, like a texture. The label had like a texture on it, so like, oh, this is kind of nice. So it helps justify in the mind that I'm getting value here. These are premium.   Kevin King: I created the listing. This is actually the bullet points and the title for the listing. All the keywords are in there and what I focused on is I couldn't compete on the word bully sticks, because the word bully sticks, as you saw earlier, was super popular and almost everything on that page is cheap, and so I could do a launch. Back then you could do all these coupons and all these giveaways and rank to the top within a day or two. It's crazy stuff you could do back in the day and I would get there. But then as soon as I stopped doing these promotions, I would fall off to page two, page three. But on long tail keywords like bully sticks made in USA or bully sticks no odor or premium bully sticks, those I could stay on page one for and there was enough keyword depth on all those where I could stay ranked for those and it worked because there's enough niche, enough variation in the keywords where it actually worked.   Kevin King: And so, then I created pictures. I went to a dog place, a dog kennel, where my dog would stay, sometimes like hey, can you get permission from some of the owners, I want to come in here and do a photo shoot with dogs? So we did a little cute little dog with a chef hat on, did another dog holding it. So actual, real pictures, not my iPhone, because a lot of other bully stick people were taking their iPhone, just taking a picture of a dog sitting on the ground or something. Just horrible pictures. So I create all these kind of cute pictures. Remember, selling is about emotion and so this creates emotion of oh look, how cute he is. And then I did a whole series of image stacks to show the difference. Because if you see something on Amazon for 50 bucks, you're like and it's three sticks, and you're like this guy's out of his freaking mind, $50, $55 for three sticks. I can just go buy 30 for 30. So I had to show the difference. Remember what I said people buy photos on Amazon, they don't buy products. And so, I showed them in the box to show that these are big. You know these aren't little skinny little things, they're like big honking sticks. I listed all the reasons people wouldn't buy, all the objections basically, and all the things that were important in all my research. You know these are kosher. You know you don't think about that, for a dog, I mean, but some people. That's important to them. So everything that was important I put on here. These are kosher sticks.   Kevin King: I showed the comparison look, ours are full. The other guys they stretch theirs. That's how they can sell 30 for 30 bucks because they're stretched and they're hollow. I showed look, ours are wide, the other guys are skinny. I showed look, ours has no odor, it's glossy and smooth, but the other ones stink. I showed look, ours are with a knife and there's something sitting on the table there. They're hand cut. The other ones are on some nasty ass machine that's never cleaned. So I showed all the reasons why you don't want these cheap ones and why you want mine. And then I showed a comparison of ours versus others just to keep.   Kevin King: I kept driving at home Like you're going through this image stack. You're like, all right, all right, all right, I get it, I get it. I showed them on a scale, like look, this is what they weigh. Don't just trust my, trust me. I mean, yeah, you could Photoshop this, but don't. I showed them. It validates it. So I showed everything. At the top here's some dogs driving through like a fast-food place and they're just getting some cheap, cheap, you know happy meal type of cheap hamburgers or something. And then I show in the bottom if you want Wag Haus sticks, you'd like go into a nice steakhouse where there's a maître d' with a bow tie on a serving these on a platter and just connotates that image and creates that emotion, creates that feel and helps justify why you should give these a try. And then I did another cartoon. I tested different cartoons, so I had another one go from fast food to Wag Haus Premium similar concept. Now it's still in a car, they're inside the restaurant and you look at the sign there. If you look at it, there's all kinds of details. If people blow this up, I know you can't see it very good here on the screen, but on Amazon if they blow it up, they would see. You know other, all these kinds of like making fun of the other sticks all in the menu and stuff. It works.   Kevin King: And then I created, you know a put back. Then I was called EBC but now it's called a plus content. So I created a plus content and I used pretty people. You want to use pretty people. You want to use faces whenever you can, even though you have the dog use and faces. There's science that shows that's a 35% lift in conversion rate when you use faces. A lot of people don't use faces in their photos. They just show the hands or they show the dog. But you need to have people and showing that they're having fun, their dogs happy. You're creating that emotion. I went out. This is before. It was popular to find influencers, influencer. The whole influencer UGC game was just getting going at this time. But this guy I found him on I think it's called Fame Kit. I forget the name of the website. I don't even know if it still exists, but you could go and you could hire people to create UGC.   Kevin King: I'm just going to play you a little bit of this video. I did not script this. I sent this to the guy. I sent him my bullet points to say, hey, this is kind of what I'm looking for. Can you do something? But I'm just going to play the first part of this because it's pretty cool what he did and you're going to see where he actually sniffs these things. He actually pulls them up to his nose yeah, they're right there. He actually pulls them up to his nose and does a demonstration of showing, look, there's really no smell, and I mean it just creates that trust and that yes, it's true. And then he's got playing with his dogs and he just did a really good job. Then I take a look at my reviews. Now these are some of the real reviews that were coming on the products. You know I was getting some fives and fours highly recommended. I would get the occasional one-star review. Someone like this is the biggest rip-off ever Three sticks for 50 bucks. You've got to be freaking, kidding me. But look, I got constant reviews. I had a 4.6, I think, average overall and it just worked really well. And I had one guy I subscribe and save. It had just begun back then, so I was on subscribe and save. One guy I think he did 86 or 87 times on subscribe and save Just kept buying them over and over like every, every. Every time that he would get renewed, he'd buy them. And he'd buy them in between too because he needed more. It just this work.   Kevin King: This is how you differentiate a product, uh, and how you approach a market where it's saturated differently and don't always think it's always about the price. As long as there's long tail keywords, you can do some amazing stuff. There's just a few more the lifestyle pictures the on the right there's my actual dog, Zoe, when she was a little much younger, and what happened is the guys that owned the best bully sticks, which is the biggest brand on Amazon. They saw what I was doing and they're like how's this guy, this guy in Texas, selling $50 for three sticks? We need to reach out to him. So they reached out to me and they said hey, why don't we partner up? Why don't you actually sell some of our stuff? You can basically private label some of our other treats. We've got duck feet and we've got, uh, pig's ears and we've got all these, uh, you know, antlers and all this other kind of stuff. Why don't we, why don't we partner up and you just, you just use your brand and private label from us. We manufacture here in the States, we'll ship it to you. So I tried it and it didn't work. I actually I need to package it differently. So, instead of putting in a plastic bag. I had these custom bags made and we tried this. It just didn't work. But my other bully sticks because of differentiation, the way I marketed it, the opportunities there and appealing to the rabid pet owner wanting to take care of their best friend, their member of their family it worked. This is an example on pets.   Kevin King: Now, if you want to get some ideas, if you're trying to ideate this oh, Kevin, this sounds good, but how do I do this? This is a really good link here that you can go to actually get an idea on how to position. This is a positioning, marketing positioning. I'm positioning the product against everybody else and this five-step process it's free at aprildunford.com that link there. Take a screenshot of this or maybe someone can post it in the chat. And this is a good five-step process to help you brainstorm through and to know how can you truly differentiate your product. So, I recommend you at least take a gander at that or have someone on your team take a gander at that. So, when you're trying to come up with your next product or differentiate what you've currently got, maybe something's kind of on the down and outs right now, but if you just re-engineer that product and come up from a different positioning point of view. You can do really well. So that's a resource for you there. That should be really good.   Kevin King: Now let's take a look at another thing on differentiation how do you turn a commodity into a brand, a commodity? You got Temu coming in that's selling all these cheap things on Amazon. You got Amazon now going to start allowing factories to ship directly from China under this Amazon whatever. It's called Amazon Direct there's a name for it but where they're going to basically have their own version of Temu on Amazon. That is going to kill some people. You're going to see some people go out of business on Amazon because of this, because they're not differentiating. They're just another me too product. There's no differentiation other than maybe the price, and it's who can sell the cheapest price is going to win, and if you're competing on price, you you're playing a losing game. You're going to lose against these Chinese factories. They're going direct because they're going to sell it on Amazon for less than you're buying it from them for. Let me repeat that when Amazon launches this section, which is basically a Temu type of section, your factory will sell it for less on Amazon direct to the consumer for less than what the price they're willing to give you to buy it from them. That's going to happen.   Kevin King: So if you don't differentiate your products or you're not thinking in terms of some of these examples I've given you, you're going to be. You may be in some high water and maybe going out of business, or if you're just starting, you may not have a chance to actually succeed. You've got to approach this game differently now. It's more complicated, it's harder, it's a real business. It takes thought, it takes effort. In some cases, it takes money, but this is how you can do it with a commodity product. This is a periodic table. It's a really good thing take a screenshot of this that when you're creating a brand, it's a periodic table of branding. You always remember most of us from school, you had to learn the periodic table of elements. This is a periodic table of branding and this is some of the things that all go into creating a brand.   Kevin King: A brand is not just a logo. A lot of people think, well, I've got my brand on Amazon. You don't have a brand, dude, you have no brand. This is no brand. This is a logo and a name. A logo and a name does not make a brand. A brand connotates a feeling. It connotates a message. It connotates an identity, an affinity for people. There's a lot more to it, and these are some of the things. Does the type of type style you use matter? Yes, that's part of it. Does the logo matter? Yes, that's part of it, but every brand has a voice, every brand. The name is important yes, but that's not a brand. You've got to go way, way beyond that, and this shows you some of the elements in a really nice, concise way that you need to focus on when you're truly building your brand, and I'm going to show you an example of this right now on how to do this with a commodity product, with one of mine.   Kevin King: We all remember the pandemic of 2020 and hand sanitizer was going nuts on Amazon. It was booming worldwide. Everybody's freaking out need to buy hand sanitizer. Around April of 2020, this was the SQP report, the Search Query Performance report on Amazon. It had just come out as a brand-new kind of thing on Amazon and hand sanitizer was number six, and some partners of mine and one of my other Amazon companies saw this and they're like we should do hand sanitizer and I'm like no dude, everybody and their brother's going to be doing hand sanitizer. This is going to be like hoverboards, going to be like fidget spinners. Everybody's going to be doing it. And they're like, no, we can do it. We got this, this company in India that can make this stuff for us. Yeah, I started doing homework on it. I'm like, well, okay, maybe there's something to it, but let me look into it. So I looked into it and I used some other tools. This is not Helium 10, it's a different tool. It's a private mastermind tool that shows showed me last week's sales volume and on the hand sanitizer it showed this was in April. It showed 129,000 units on Amazon on the word hand sanitizer alone just that single keyword. And then other ones. I was like all right. And then there's all these.   Kevin King: The Polaris, this big market research company, came out and said this hand sanitizer thing, even if the COVID goes away, people are going to change their habits. And yeah, you're going to have a huge bump because everybody's now using hand sanitizer but a lot of places are going to install hand sanitizer machines. It's going to become more pervasive in society. And I was like, yeah, okay, so if this has a big boom, boom up, it's going to go down when COVID goes away, but it's going to probably be higher than what it was before COVID started, just because people have changed their habits or they're more aware of it. That's basically what this Polaris study said. So, I'm like, all right, let's look, let's look school.   Kevin King: Then there's a story came out of this this kid that was in, uh, in in the middle of the United States I think he's in Tennessee or Kentucky or somewhere and he was going to all the dollar stores, uh, and buying out their hand sanitizer and then arbitraging it on Amazon for those crazy amounts. He ended up getting sued by the, by the uh, the state, uh, for price gouging and stuff. But I'm like, all right, and he's just crushing it. And so, you're all this stuff coming out. And then I look on Amazon and this is what was selling, because hand sensors, all the Perel and Germ Sharks, Germ X the two big brands in the US were hard to get.   Kevin King: And then what Amazon did is they created something called the COVID store and they gated, basically Perel. They said all the first responders, all the hospitals need to have access to this, not you people at home. We need to save this for the people that really need it, that are dying in the hospitals. So in order to buy the big hand sanitizers, you had to go into the COVID store and get authorized, and so it took a lot of the competition away on Amazon. I saw that and I started seeing all these like weird hand sanitizer people are making almost like felt like in their backyard coming up on Amazon. Some of it was long shipping times is coming from China and you'd order it and take a month to get to you and it's just garbage. And you look at, look at the reviews on they're just bad and they're selling for like crazy amounts it's $11.59 for these little bottles.   Kevin King: And so I was like, alright, guys, let's do this. We're not gonna use this company in India. We're gonna get proper FDA approval, we're gonna. There were some rules where you could at the time, where you could actually make this without going through all the steps of FDA if you did certain things. We figured out all that's figured out, all the legal side. We came out with a brand name of germ shark. We came out with and this logo. So this is where the name Germ Shark and we started this company. It was me and four other guys. I was handling them Amazon side of things and all the branding and all the marketing. And there's other guys handling all the sourcing and dealing with the factories and all that. And then the other three guys were the money guys and these guys put in about a million and a half bucks, before it was all said and done, of their own money.   Kevin King: Luckily, crypto was doing really well at the time. One of these guys was just making bank selling NFTs and on crypto, so he had a lot of extra cash just sitting around doing nothing. So he threw a bunch of that in and we started this brand, Germ Shark, and I was like, okay, if we're going to sell hand sanitizer in this super competitive commodity, hand sanitizer is like one to three ingredients, it's nothing. Anybody can do it. How do you differentiate a product that everything is basically the same? Yeah, you can put a smell in there or you can do a few things, but it's basically the same thing. How do you differentiate it? So, we came up with some bottles. We said we're gonna do a three pack of these small bottles and I tested it on Pick Fu and so I took R3, the ones that says winter there with the green box around it. Those were R3.   Kevin King: And I tested against these no-name brands, like these Chinese no-name brands, and we won, hands down won. Everybody said we would buy this one. This one looks legit, the others are sketchy. And then I tested against the top brands, like Perel, which is a number one brand in the US, and I got my butt kicked. Perel beat me because that's a bigger brand, people trust it more. So I was like okay, as long as Perel is not on the main Amazon site and they're locked away in this COVID store where nobody can get in there, I can crush it, I can be number one on Amazon until Perel comes back. And when Perel comes back onto the normal Amazon website, I'll be okay in spot number two or spot number three, because I've positioned myself, I've gotten my rankings, I've gotten my reviews. There's still enough depth in the market share that even if I'm spot two or three or four, I'll still make some good money. So we're like all right, let's go forward with this.   Kevin King: So then we create a whole line of products. We ended up going. We saw that there's wipes. We're having trouble. We had the big bottles to refill, like the canisters at, like the restaurants and malls and airports and stuff. We create little toys we actually created with our brand. We created like a little stuffed toy you see the little stuffed shark there. We create little holders. That little kind of turquoise looking thing in the middle is a holder for the clip onto your purse or onto your backpack or something for the small bottles, and then, oh, there's a better picture of it, these little guys here.   Kevin King: We created this kind of stuff, and why did we create this? Not to sell it, but for branding and for promotional purposes. So what we did with it is we went out and we did a campaign to hospitals, and so we reached out to hospitals and we said, hey, we'd love to send you a free gift. Thanks for your service, thanks for everything you're doing. We'd love to send you a free gift. So we made this little brochure here thanking them for everything. And then we sent a package of like 25 in a nice like four-color box, like a gift box. We put some of that little like shredded paper in there that makes it all look kind of fancy. Put them all in there and then we included, like you know, there's some kids and stuff in the hospital. So here's some stuffed toys. You know along the branding. And then what did they do? These are the actual ones getting it. You can see the box there and they started posting it all over social media and we started actually getting sales and this legitimized us. It showed like, look, this is legitimate, doctors are using this and they're showing this stuff off.   Kevin King: We create our A-plus content page and actually did some really good stuff with A-plus and we showed how, for every bottle, every package you buy, we donate a bottle. So we had a cause with it, too is we donated a bottle to charities. We created memes and graphics for social media that would actually show play off of different things. During that time, we ran huge campaigns on this. We did actual physical postcards in the mail. A lot of people was like, oh, the mail is dead, nobody checks the mail, bs. We did these physical postcards through the mail and sent them to hospitals, sent them to people that previously bought sanitizers. We got some lists. We got editorial recommendations because of our branding. People love the branding and the mission that we're giving a bottle for every three sold. And then we did stuff like jingles. We actually created a jingle for the brand because, remember I said, selling is emotional and this is a really good study here. You should take a look at this sometimes.   But sound is the most important thing to our brain, not visuals. So you can be watching a YouTube video and if the YouTube video is grainy or jumping around a little bit, then you might accept it, but as long as the sound quality is good. If the sound quality is good, you can deal with lesser quality video, but if the sound quality is bad, you're going to skip this. You're going to move on to something else and it's an area of your brain called Broca's area, and it's an interesting science. If you take a look at this from a branding point of view, if you can reach Broca's area, you can do things, really amazing things. Think of old jingles like the Oscar Mayer Wiener jingle, if you're old enough to remember that, or some of the old jingles that you see on TV now you know the State Farm jingles or some of the other ones that are out there. That's all branding and marketing and it's creating these visual images. There's a really. There's a lot more to this.   Kevin King: We could go and do a whole presentation just on this, but so we dialed in on Broca's area and to use influence, and so what we did is we created a jingle and then we created a video. I had, uh, one of the amazon companies that does these nice videos. I had a couple of them actually do it. I actually had a contest with pick food to be to be on water. I had four different companies doing and competing and we create these jingles and just this is not the best singing, so don't worry about the singing, but the music in the song. It will stick in your head. I'm here to help you, uh, keep your germs away. I'll bring the bottle to you. I've got the germ charge for you. Rub it, rub it, rub it, rub it. Germ charge protection. Peel your hand, catch the germs away. Brother, strength, the best protection, no matter where you are. It can't be too far.   Kevin King: Anyway, this was a really cool jingle that had all these lyrics to it and I sent this to Bradley here at Helium 10, and he watched it and he was like damn, dude, I can't get that out of my head now. I was like that's the point. So the next time that you want to get hand sanitizer, that comes to your mind. And it worked really well. So we had a couple of them. We also went out man on the street, we had these costumes and we would go down to a park and walk around, give them out and we'd go mess with people and we'd create all this stuff. We went to a grocery store and grabbed grocery carts and had like 10 of these sharks walking into this grocery store and freaking people out and just, we did all this kind of marketing to help differentiate and it didn't sell a lot locally but it helps us create the content that we could put out there worldwide. And it really worked really well.   Kevin King: These were our sales on seven, you know, $40,000 on one single skew on that day. And you can see, we just started crushing it and we started standing out, and this is how you take a commodity and you truly make it into a real brand. These were some sales, the first we started selling in July of 2020. We went live so this is basically the first month. Sales was a million bucks on a brand-new product, and so this stuff works, but you got to come at it from a different point of view. So, what I'm trying to do today is just show you a different way of thinking of this. Can you do everything I did? Maybe, maybe not, but you can start thinking in this direction and start moving in that direction, and that's what we have for you today. Thanks everybody for joining us.  

Key Takeaways- A business's growth is directly tied to the personal growth of the individual running it. Expanding one's identity and capabilities is essential for business success.-Understanding and addressing one's perceived identity and the limiting beliefs that accompany it is crucial.- Illustrating how self-doubt and fear can impact performance. A shift in mindset allows to embrace ones true self, leading to greater success.- Engaging with a community of like-minded individuals can provide support and encouragement throughout the journey of gaining clarity and growing a business.-The importance of self-reflection is emphasized. Writing down thoughts and feelings can help identify lies and open the door to truth, leading to clarity.Join The “Now” Newsletter: https://now.katierichardson.com/newsletterAbout Katie Richardson:Katie, once a girl who just liked to have fun, transformed into a globally recognized designer and entrepreneur. With expertise in woodworking, welding, drawing, and sewing, she crafted her own path. Despite initial doubts and imposter syndrome, Katie defied expectations by establishing Puj, a business that now boasts its products in 2,000 US stores and 26 countries, delighting over 1 million customers worldwide. Her greatest aspiration is to inspire women across the globe. Renowned shows like the Ellen Degeneres Show, Rachael Ray Show, Today Show, and Entrepreneur Magazine have featured her, while influential figures like Martha Stewart, Matt Damon, Camilla Alves, Mario Lopez, Robert Downey Jr., Kourtney Kardashian, Bill & Giuliana Rancic, and Pam Beesley have embraced her products. Today, Katie is a coach, mother of four, wife, author, and powerful speaker.Connect with Katie:Website: https://katierichardson.com/CASE STUDIES: https://now.katierichardson.com/casestudyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-richardson-creatorApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-working-now/id1515291698BuzzSprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1847280Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kV8cL7eTZ70UAXMOtcBbrNewsletter: https://now.katierichardson.com/newsletter

Episode #304 | Author and Illustrator Adam Allsuch Boardman (An Illustrated History of UFOs, An Illustrated History of Ghosts) grew up exploring stone circles in the UK and now draws Cryptids and UFOs for a living. He sits down with the BOIS to  discusses the stories and inspiration behind his new book, An Illustrated History of Urban Legends! -- LINKS Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bigfootcollectorsclub Listen to ad-free episodes & more on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bigfootcollectorsclub Order The Illustrated History of Urban Legends: https://flyingeyebooks.com/book/an-illustrated-history-of-urban-legends/ Adam's Website: https://aaab-illustration.com Michael's eBay Shop: https://www.ebay.com/usr/michamac7 BCC is Brought to You by… Fum:  Go to TryFum.com and use our code ‘BCC' to get a free gift with your Journey Pack! Joymode: Go to TryJoyMode.com and use code ‘BCC' at checkout for 20% off -- SHOW INFORMATION Bigfoot Collectors Club is produced by Riley Bray. Listener-Files Submissions: BigfootCollectorsClub@gmail.com. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bigfootcollectorsclub Instagram: https://bit.ly/3W7izlL | Twitter: https://bit.ly/3CDTpo2 Patreon - BCC The Other Side: https://bit.ly/3CGjYcd BCC Linktree: https://linktr.ee/bigfootcollectorsclub Our theme song is “Come Alone,” by Suneaters, courtesy of Lotuspool Records. Follow Suneaters on Spotify https://bit.ly/3XnD4vS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Civil War, Market Crashes, and The Fourth Turning "History Comes In Patterns" Neil Howe: Civil War, Market Crashes, and The Fourth Turning Patrick Bet-David sits down with author Neil Howe to discuss the "Fourth Turning" theory and its impact on societal change. Together, they delve into the potential for an impending revolution and what it could mean for the future. This is a condensed version of this interview. To watch the entire video visit- https://rumble.com/v58qpud-history-comes-in-patterns-neil-howe-civil-war-market-crashes-and-the-fourth.html or on YouTube- https://youtu.be/EVzmKpw_ges?si=3YyIJpnJRv1Avf-_ PBD Podcast 2.04M subscribers 874,364 views Premiered Jul 17, 2024 PBD Podcast The entire interview consists of- 00:00 - Podcast intro 01:13 - Patrick welcomes the audience and explains who Neil Howe is. 02:17 - PBD Podcast Intro 02:41 - Patrick welcomes today's guest Neil Howe 04:50 - Neil Howe explains why he wrote the book The Fourth Turning. 11:30 - Neil explains what The First Turning is and the last time it occurred in the U.S. 13:56 - Neil explains what The Second Turning is and the last time it occurred in the U.S. 19:01 - Neil explains what The Third Turning is and the last time it occurred in the U.S. 22:28 - Neil explains what The Fourth Turning is and the last time it occurred in the U.S. 25:11 - Will The Fourth Turning include a global World War or conflict? 37:04 - Neil explains the four types of Generational Arch-types 43:23 - Which of the Generational Arch-types typically move away from family and principles. 50:40 - Neil discusses the generational shift of views on LGBTQ issues. 1:02:24 - Neil discusses which Generational Arch-types make a return to morals. 1:13:03 - Why and how civil wars are playing out across the globe. 1:18:38 - The process for States to succeed from the Union. 1:23:30 - Where to live if the United States breaks out into a civil war. 1:39:10 - The role of faith and God in The Fourth Turning. ------

What does Christianity teach about salvation? J. Warner illustrates a number of competing notions related to salvation. Jim asks six questions as he steps toward the orthodox Christian view and illustrates each concept on a whiteboard. Finally, J. Warner plays his visualization of the gospel, The Best Story, to conclude the broadcast.