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This week, Marshall, Nick, Sameem, Jenna, Gabe, Brent, and LP talk about thier writing aspirations for 2026. Links mentioned during the show: Marshall's GoFundMe Pacemaker The Queer Art of Failure Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Gabriel F. Salmerón –Twitter –Instagram Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules   Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!  

This week, Marshall, Brent, Jenna, Shingai and Wil interview Kate Maruyama and LP about the novella craft book they are collaborating on. Happy Holidays to our amazing community! Links mentioned during the show: Episode 159 - An Interview with Kate Maruyama Kate Maruyama Raw Dog Screaming Press Jenna Hanchey Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

What happens when curiosity, resilience, and storytelling collide over a lifetime of building something meaningful? In this episode, I welcome Nick Francis, founder and CEO of Casual Films, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, presence, and what it takes to keep going when the work gets heavy. Nick's journey began with a stint at BBC News and a bold 9,000-mile rally from London to Mongolia in a Mini Cooper, a spirit of adventure that still fuels how he approaches business and life today. We talk about how that early experience shaped Casual into a global branded storytelling company with studios across five continents, and what it really means to lead a creative organization at scale. Nick shares insights from growing the company internationally, expanding into Southeast Asia, and staying grounded while producing hundreds of projects each year. Along the way, we explore why emotionally resonant storytelling matters, how trust and preparation beat panic, and why presence with family, health, and purpose keeps leaders steady in uncertain times. This conversation is about building an Unstoppable life by focusing on what matters most, using creativity to connect people, and choosing clarity and resilience in a world full of noise. Highlights: 00:01:30 – Learn how early challenges shape resilience and long-term drive. 00:06:20 – Discover why focusing on your role creates calm under pressure. 00:10:50 – Learn how to protect attention in a nonstop world. 00:18:25 – Understand what global growth teaches about leadership. 00:26:00 – Learn why leading with trust changes relationships. 00:45:55 – Discover how movement and presence restore clarity. About the Guest: Nick Francis is the founder and CEO of Casual, a global production group that blends human storytelling, business know-how, and creativity turbo-charged by AI. Named the UK's number one brand video production company for five years, Casual delivers nearly 1,000 projects annually for world-class brands like Adobe, Amazon, BMW, Hilton, HSBC, and P&G. The adventurous spirit behind its first production – a 9,000-mile journey from London to Mongolia in an old Mini – continues to drive Casual's growth across offices in London, New York, LA, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Greater China. Nick previously worked for BBC News and is widely recognised for his expertise in video storytelling, brand building, and corporate communications. He is the founding director of the Casual Films Academy, a charity helping young filmmakers develop skills by producing films for charitable organisations. He is also the author of ‘The New Fire: Harness the Power of Video for Your Business' and a passionate advocate for emotionally resonant, behaviorally grounded storytelling. Nick lives in San Francisco, California, with his family. Ways to connect with Nick**:** Website: https://www.casualfilms.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@casual_global  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casualglobal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasualFilms/  Nick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickfrancisfilm/  Casual's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/casual-films-international/  Beyond Casual - LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6924458968031395840 About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson  01:21 Well, hello everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, that's kind of funny. We'll talk about that in a second, but this is unstoppable mindset. And our guest today is Nick Francis, and what we're going to talk about is the fact that people used to always ask me, well, they would call me Mr. Kingston, and it took me, as I just told Nick a master's degree in physics in 10 years to realize that if I said Mike hingson, that's why they said Mr. Kingston. So was either say Mike hingson or Michael hingson. Well, Michael hingson is a lot easier to say than Mike hingson, but I don't really care Mike or Michael, as long as it's not late for dinner. Whatever works. Yeah. Well, Nick, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're Nick Francis  02:04 here. Thanks, Mike. It's great to be here. Michael Hingson  02:08 So Nick is a marketing kind of guy. He's got a company called casual that we'll hear about. Originally from England, I believe, and now lives in San Francisco. We were talking about the weather in San Francisco, as opposed to down here in Victorville. A little bit earlier. We're going to have a heat wave today and and he doesn't have that up there, but you know, well, things, things change over time. But anyway, we're glad you're here. And thanks, Mike. Really looking forward to it. Tell us about the early Nick growing up and all that sort of stuff, just to get us started. Nick Francis  02:43 That's a good question. I grew up in London, in in Richmond, which is southwest London. It's a at the time, it wasn't anything like as kind of, it's become quite kind of shishi, I think back in the day, because it's on the west of London. The pollution from the city used to flow east and so, like all the kind of well to do people, in fact, there used to be a, there used to be a palace in Richmond. It's where Queen Elizabeth died, the first Queen Elizabeth, that is. And, yeah, you know, I grew up it was, you know, there's a lot of rugby played around there. I played rugby for my local rugby club from a very young age, and we went sailing on the south coast. It was, it was great, really. And then, you know, unfortunately, when I was 10 years old, my my dad died. He had had a very powerful job at the BBC, and then he ran the British Council, which is the overseas wing of the Arts Council, so promoting, I guess, British soft power around the world, going and opening art galleries and going to ballet in Moscow and all sorts. So he had an incredible life and worked incredibly hard. And you know, that has brought me all sorts of privileges, I think, when I was a kid. But, you know, unfortunately, age 10 that all ended. And you know, losing a parent at that age is such a sort of fundamental, kind of shaking of your foundations. You know, you when you're a kid, you feel like a, you're going to live forever, and B, the things that are happening around you are going to last forever. And so, you know, you know, my mom was amazing, of course, and, you know, and in time, I got a new stepdad, and all the rest of it. But you know, that kind of shaped a lot of my a lot of my youth, really. And, yeah, I mean, Grief is a funny thing, and it's funny the way it manifests itself as you grow. But yeah. So I grew up there. I went to school in the Midlands, near where my stepdad lived, and then University of Newcastle, which is up in the north of England, where it rains a lot. It's where it's where Newcastle Football Club is based. And you know is that is absolutely at the center of the city. So. So the city really comes alive there. And it was during that time that I discovered photography, and I wanted to be a war photographer, because I believe that was where life was lived at the kind of the real cutting edge. You know, you see the you see humanity in its in its most visceral and vivid color in terrible situations. And I kind of that seemed like an interesting thing to go to go and do. Michael Hingson  05:27 Well, what? So what did you major in in college in Newcastle? So I did Nick Francis  05:31 history and politics, and then I went did a course in television journalism, and ended up working at BBC News as a initially running on the floor. So I used to deliver the papers that you know, when you see people shuffling or not, they do it anymore, actually, because everything, everything's digital now digital, yeah, but when they were worried about the the auto cues going down, they we always had to make sure that they had the up to date script. And so I would be printing in, obviously, the, you know, because it's a three hour news show, the scripts constantly evolving, and so, you know, I was making sure they had the most up to date version in their hands. And it's, I don't know if you have spent any time around live TV Mike, but it's an incredibly humbling experience, like the power of it. You know, there's sort of two or 3 million people watching these two people who are sitting five feet in front of me, and the, you know, the sort of slightly kind of, there was an element of me that just wanted to jump in front of them and kind of go, ah. And, you know, never, ever work in live TV, ever again. But you know, anyway, I did that and ended up working as a producer, writing and developing, developing packets that would go out on the show, producing interviews and things. And, you know, I absolutely loved it. It was, it was a great time. But then I left to go and set up my company. Michael Hingson  06:56 I am amazed, even today, with with watching people on the news, and I've and I've been in a number of studios during live broadcasts and so on. But I'm amazed at how well, mostly, at least, I've been fortunate. Mostly, the people are able to read because they do have to read everything. It isn't like you're doing a lot of bad living in a studio. Obviously, if you are out with a story, out in the field, if you will, there, there may be more where you don't have a printed script to go by, but I'm amazed at the people in the studio, how much they are able to do by by reading it all completely. Nick Francis  07:37 It's, I mean, the whole experience is kind of, it's awe inspiring, really. And you know, when you first go into a Live, a live broadcast studio, and you see the complexity, and you know, they've got feeds coming in from all over the world, and you know, there's upwards of 100 people all working together to make it happen. And I remember talking to one of the directors at the time, and I was like, How on earth does this work? And he said, You know, it's simple. You everyone has a very specific job, and you know that as long as you do your bit of the job when it comes in front of you, then the show will go out. He said, where it falls over is when people start worrying about whether other people are going to are going to deliver on time or, you know, and so if you start worrying about what other people are doing, rather than just focusing on the thing you have to do, that's where it potentially falls over, Michael Hingson  08:29 which is a great object lesson anyway, to worry about and control and don't worry about the rest Nick Francis  08:36 for sure. Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know, it's almost a lesson for life. I mean, sorry, it is a lesson for life, and Michael Hingson  08:43 it's something that I talk a lot about in dealing with the World Trade Center and so on, and because it was a message I received, but I've been really preaching that for a long time. Don't worry about what you can't control, because all you're going to do is create fear and drive yourself Nick Francis  08:58 crazy, completely, completely. You know. You know what is it? Give me the, give me this. Give me the strength to change the things I can. Give me the give me the ability to let the things that I can't change slide but and the wisdom to know the difference. I'm absolutely mangling that, that saying, but, yeah, it's, it's true, you know. And I think, you know, it's so easy for us to in this kind of modern world where everything's so media, and we're constantly served up things that, you know, shock us, sadness, enrage us, you know, just to be able to step back and say, actually, you know what? These are things I can't really change. I'd have to just let them wash over me. Yeah, and just focus on the things that you really can change. Michael Hingson  09:46 It's okay to be aware of things, but you've got to separate the things you can control from the things that you can and we, unfortunately aren't taught that. Our parents don't teach us that because they were never taught it, and it's something. That, just as you say, slides by, and it's so unfortunate, because it helps to create such a level of fear about so many things in our in our psyche and in our world that we really shouldn't have to do Nick Francis  10:13 completely well. I think, you know, obviously, but you know, we've, we've spent hundreds, if not millions of years evolving to become humans, and then, you know, actually being aware of things beyond our own village has only been an evolution of the last, you know what, five, 600 years, yeah. And so we are just absolutely, fundamentally not able to cope with a world of such incredible stimulus that we live in now. Michael Hingson  10:43 Yeah, and it's only getting worse with all the social media, with all the different things that are happening and of course, and we're only working to develop more and more things to inundate us with more and more kinds of inputs. It's really unfortunate we just don't learn to separate ourselves very easily from all of that. Nick Francis  11:04 Yeah, well, you know, it's so interesting when you look at the development of VR headsets, and, you know, are we going to have, like, lenses in our eyes that kind of enable us to see computer screens while we're just walking down the road, you know? And you look at that and you think, well, actually, just a cell phone. I mean, cell phones are going to be gone fairly soon. I would imagine, you know, as a format, it's not something that's going to abide but the idea that we're going to create technology that's going to be more, that's going to take us away from being in the moment more rather than less, is kind of terrifying. Because, I would say already, even with, you know, the most basic technology that we have now, which is, you know, mind bending, compared to where we were even 20 years ago, you know, to think that we're only going to become more immersive is, you know, we really, really as a species, have to work out how we are going to be far better at stepping away from this stuff. And I, you know, I do, I wonder, with AI and technology whether there is, you know, there's a real backlash coming of people who do want to just unplug, yeah, Michael Hingson  12:13 well, it'll be interesting to see, and I hope that people will learn to do it. I know when I started hearing about AI, and one of the first things I heard was how kids would use it to write their papers, and it was a horrible thing, and they were trying to figure out ways so that teachers could tell us something was written by AI, as opposed to a student. And I almost immediately developed this opinion, no, let AI write the papers for students, but when the students turn in their paper, then take a day to in your class where you have every student come up and defend their paper, see who really knows it, you know. And what a great teaching opportunity and teaching moment to to get students also to learn to do public speaking and other things a little bit more than they do, but we haven't. That hasn't caught on, but I continue to preach it. Nick Francis  13:08 I think that's really smart, you know, as like aI exists, and I think to to pretend somehow that, you know, we can work without it is, you know, it's, it's, it's, yeah, I mean, it's like, well, saying, you know, we're just going to go back to Word processors or typewriters, which, you know, in which it weirdly, in their own time, people looked at and said, this is, you know, these, these are going to completely rot our minds. In fact, yeah, I think Plato said that was very against writing, because he believed it would mean no one could remember anything after that, you know. So it's, you know, it's just, it's an endless, endless evolution. But I think, you know, we have to work out how we incorporate into it, into our education system, for sure. Michael Hingson  13:57 Well, I remember being in in college and studying physics and so on. And one of the things that we were constantly told is, on tests, you can't bring calculators in, can't use calculators in class. Well, why not? Well, because you could cheat with that. Well, the reality is that the smart physicists realized that it's all about really learning the concepts more than the numbers. And yeah, that's great to to know how to do the math. But the the real issue is, do you know the physics, not just the math completely? Nick Francis  14:34 Yeah. And then how you know? How are the challenges that are being set such that you know, they really test your ability to use the calculator effectively, right? So how you know? How are you lifting the bar? And in a way, I think that's kind of what we have to do, what we have to do now, Michael Hingson  14:50 agreed, agreed. So you were in the news business and so on, and then, as you said, you left to start your own company. Why did you decide to do that? Nick Francis  14:59 Well, a friend of. Ryan and I from University had always talked about doing this rally from London to Mongolia. So, and you do it in an old car that you sort of look at, and you go, well, that's a bit rubbish. It has to have under a one liter engine. So it's tiny, it's cheap. The idea is it breaks down you have an adventure. And it was something we kind of talked about in passing and decided that would be a good thing to do. And then over time, you know, we started sending off. We you know, we applied, and then we started sending off for visas and things. And then before we knew it, we were like, gosh, so it looks like we're actually going to do this thing. But by then, you know, my job at the BBC was really taking off. And so I said, you know, let's do this, but let's make a documentary of it. So long story short, we ended up making a series of diary films for Expedia, which we uploaded onto their website. It was, you know, we were kind of pitching this around about 2005 we kind of did it in 2006 so it was kind of, you know, nobody had really heard of YouTube. The idea of making videos to go online was kind of unheard of because, you know, broadband was just kind of getting sorry. It wasn't unheard of, but it was, it was very, it was a very nascent industry. And so, yeah, we went and drove 9000 miles over five weeks. We spent a week sitting in various different repair yards and kind of break his yards in everywhere from Turkey to Siberia. And when we came back, it became clear that the internet was opening up as this incredible medium for video, and video is such a powerful way to share emotion with a dispersed audience. You know, not that I would have necessarily talked about it in that in those terms back then, but it really seemed like, you know, every every web page, every piece of corporate content, could have a video aspect to it. And so we came back and had a few fits and starts and did some, I mean, we, you know, we made a series of hotel videos where we were paid 50 quid a day to go and film hotels. And it was hot and it was hard work. And anyway, it was rough. But over time, you know, we started to win some more lucrative work. And, you know, really, the company grew from there. We won some awards, which helped us to kind of make a bit of a name for ourselves. And this was, there's been a real explosion in technology, kind of shortly after when we did this. So digital SLRs, so, you know, old kind of SLR cameras, you know, turned into digital cameras, which could then start to shoot video. And so it, there was a real explosion in high quality video produced by very small teams of people using the latest technology creatively. And that just felt like a good kind of kick off point for our business. But we just kind of because we got in in kind of 2006 we just sort of beat a wave that kind of started with digital SLRs, and then was kind of absolutely exploded when video cell phones came on the market, video smartphones. And yeah, you know, because we had these awards and we had some kind of fairly blue chip clients from a relatively early, early stage, we were able to grow the company. We then expanded to the US in kind of 2011 20 between 2011 2014 and then we were working with a lot of the big tech companies in California, so it felt like we should maybe kind of really invest in that. And so I moved out here with some of our team in 2018 at the beginning of 2018 and I've been here ever since, wow. Michael Hingson  18:44 So what is it? What was it like starting a business here, or bringing the business here, as opposed to what it was in England? Nick Francis  18:53 It's really interesting, because the creatively the UK is so strong, you know, like so many, you know, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones to, you know, and then on through, like all the kind of, you know, film and TV, you know, Brits are very good at kind of Creating, like, high level creative, but not necessarily always the best at kind of monetizing it, you know. I mean, some of those obviously have been fantastic successes, right? And so I think in the UK, we we take a lot longer over getting, getting to, like, the perfect creative output, whereas the US is far more focused on, you know, okay, we need this to to perform a task, and frankly, if we get it 80% done, then we're good, right? And so I think a lot of creative businesses in the UK look at the US and they go, gosh. Firstly, the streets are paved with gold. Like the commercial opportunity seems incredible, but actually creating. Tracking it is incredibly difficult, and I think it's because we sort of see the outputs in the wrong way. I think they're just the energy and the dynamism of the US economy is just, it's kind of awe inspiring. But you know, so many businesses try to expand here and kind of fall over themselves. And I think the number one thing is just, you have to have a founder who's willing to move to the US. Because I think Churchill said that we're two two countries divided by the same language. And I never fully understood what that meant until I moved here. I think what it what he really means by that is that we're so culturally different in the US versus the UK. And I think lots of Brits look at America and think, Well, you know, it's just the same. It's just a bit kind of bigger and a bit Brasher, you know, and it and actually, I think if people in the US spoke a completely different language, we would approach it as a different culture, which would then help us to understand it better. Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, it's been, it's been the most fabulous adventure to move here and to, you know, it's, it's hard sometimes, and California is a long way from home, but the energy and the optimism and the entrepreneurialism of it, coupled with just the natural beauty is just staggering. So we've made some of our closest friends in California, it's been absolutely fantastic. And across the US, it's been a fantastic adventure for us and our family. Michael Hingson  21:30 Yeah, I've had the opportunity to travel all over the US, and I hear negative comments about one place or another, like West Virginia, people eat nothing but fried food and all that. But the reality is, if you really take an overall look at it, the country has so much to offer, and I have yet to find a place that I didn't enjoy going to, and people I never enjoyed meeting, I really enjoy all of that, and it's great to meet people, and it's great to experience so much of this country. And I've taken that same posture to other places. I finally got to visit England last October, for the first time. You mentioned rugby earlier, the first time I was exposed to rugby was when I traveled to New Zealand in 2003 and found it pretty fascinating. And then also, I was listening to some rugby, rugby, rugby broadcast, and I tuned across the radio and suddenly found a cricket game that was a little bit slow for me. Yeah, cricket to be it's slow. Nick Francis  22:41 Yeah, fair enough. It's funny. Actually, we know what you're saying about travel. Like one of the amazing things about our Well, I kind of learned two sort of quite fundamentally philosophical things, I think, you know, or things about the about humans and the human condition. Firstly, like, you know, traveling across, you know, we left from London. We, like, drove down. We went through Belgium and France and Poland and Slovenia, Slovakia, Slovenia, like, all the way down Bulgaria, across Turkey into Georgia and Azerbaijan and across the Caspian Sea, and through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, into Russia, and then down into Mongolia. When we finished, we were due north of Jakarta, right? So we drove, we drove a third of the way around the world. And the two things that taught me were, firstly that human people are good. You know, everywhere we went, people would invite us in to have meals, or they'd like fix our car for not unit for free. I mean, people were so kind everywhere we went. Yeah. And the other thing was, just, when we get on a plane and you fly from here to or you fly from London, say to we, frankly, you fly from London to Turkey, it feels unbelievably different. You know, you fly from London to China, and it's, you know, complete different culture. But what our journey towards us, because we drove, was that, you know, while we might not like to admit it, we're actually quite, you know, Brits are quite similar to the French, and the French actually are quite similar to the Belgians, and Belgians quite similar to the Germans. And, you know, and all the way through, actually, like we just saw a sort of slowly changing gradient of all the different cultures. And it really, you know, we are just one people, you know. So as much as we might feel that, you know, we're all we're all different, actually, when you see it, when you when you do a drive like that, you really, you really get to see how slowly the cultures shift and change. Another thing that's quite funny, actually, was just like, everywhere we went, we would be like, you know, we're driving to Turkey. They'd be like, Oh, God, you just drove through Bulgaria, you know, how is like, everything on your car not been stolen, you know, they're so dodgy that you Bulgarians are so dodgy. And then, you know, we'd get drive through the country, and they'd be like, you know, oh, you're going into Georgia, you know, gosh, what you go. Make, make sure everything's tied down on your car. They're so dodgy. And then you get into Georgia, and they're like, Oh my God, you've just very driven through Turkey this, like, everyone sort of had these, like, weird, yeah, kind of perceptions of their neighbors. And it was all nonsense, yeah, you know. Michael Hingson  25:15 And the reality is that, as you pointed out, people are good, you know, I think, I think politicians are the ones who so often mess it up for everyone, just because they've got agendas. And unfortunately, they teach everyone else to be suspicious of of each other, because, oh, this person clearly has a hidden agenda when it normally isn't necessarily true at all. Nick Francis  25:42 No, no, no, certainly not in my experience, anyway, not in my experience. But, you know, well, oh, go ahead. No, no. It's just, you know, it's, it is. It's, it is weird the way that happens, you know, well, they say, you know, if, if politicians fought wars rather than, rather than our young men and women, then there'd be a lot less of them. Yeah, so Well, Michael Hingson  26:06 there would be, well as I tell people, you know, I I've learned a lot from working with eight guy dogs and my wife's service dog, who we had for, oh, gosh, 14 years almost, and one of the things that I tell people is I absolutely do believe what people say, that dogs love unconditionally, unless they're just totally traumatized by something, but they don't trust unconditionally. The difference between dogs and people is that dogs are more open to trust because we've taught ourselves and have been taught by others, that everyone has their own hidden agenda. So we don't trust. We're not open to trust, which is so unfortunate because it affects the psyche of so many people in such a negative way. We get too suspicious of people, so it's a lot harder to earn trust. Nick Francis  27:02 Yeah, I mean, I've, I don't know, you know, like I've been, I've been very fortunate in my life, and I kind of always try to be, you know, open and trusting. And frankly, you know, I think if you're open and trusting with people, in my experience, you kind of, it comes back to you, you know, and maybe kind of looking for the best in everyone. You know, there are times where that's not ideal, but you know, I think you know, in the overwhelming majority of cases, you know, actually, you know, you treat people right? And you know what goes what goes around, comes around, absolutely. Michael Hingson  27:35 And I think that's so very true. There are some people who just are going to be different than that, but I think for the most part, if you show that you're open to trust people will want to trust you, as long as you're also willing to trust Nick Francis  27:51 them completely. Yeah, completely. Michael Hingson  27:54 So I think that that's the big thing we have to deal with. And I don't know, I hope that we, we will learn it. But I think that politicians are really the most guilty about teaching us. Why not to trust but that too, hopefully, will be something we deal with. Nick Francis  28:12 I think, you know, I think we have to, you know, it's, it's one of the tragedies of our age, I think, is that the, you know, we spent the 20th century, thinking that sex was the kind of ultimate sales tool. And then it took algorithms to for us to realize that actually anger and resentment are the most powerful sales tools, which is, you know, it's a it's something which, in time, we will work out, right? And I think the problem is that, at the minute, these tech businesses are in such insane ascendancy, and they're so wealthy that it's very hard to regulate them. And I think in time, what will happen is, you know, they'll start to lose some of that luster and some of that insane scale and that power, and then, you know, then regulation will come in. But you know whether or not, we'll see maybe, hopefully our civilization will still be around to see that. Michael Hingson  29:04 No, there is that, or maybe the Vulcans will show up and show us a better way. But you know, Nick Francis  29:11 oh, you know, I'm, I'm kind of endlessly optimistic. I think, you know, we are. We're building towards a very positive future. I think so. Yeah, it's just, you know, get always bumps along the way, yeah. Michael Hingson  29:24 So you named your company casual. Why did you do that? Or how did that come about? Nick Francis  29:30 It's a slightly weird name for something, you know, we work with, kind of, you know, global blue chip businesses. And, you know, casual is kind of the last thing that you would want to associate with, a, with a, with any kind of services business that works in that sphere. I think, you know, we, the completely honest answer is that the journalism course I did was television, current affairs journalism, so it's called TV cadge, and so we, when we made a film for a local charity as part of that course. Course, we were asked to name our company, and we just said, well, cash, cash casual, casual films. So we called it casual films. And then when my friend and I set the company up, kind of formally, to do the Mongol Rally, we, you know, we had this name, you know, the company, the film that we'd made for the charity, had gone down really well. It had been played at BAFTA in London. And so we thought, well, you know, we should just, you know, hang on to that name. And it didn't, you know, at the time, it didn't really seem too much of an issue. It was only funny. It was coming to the US, where I think people are a bit more literal, and they were a bit like, well, casual. Like, why casual, you know. And I remember being on a shoot once. And, you know, obviously, kind of some filmmakers can be a little casual themselves, not necessarily in the work, but in the way they present themselves, right? And I remember sitting down, we were interviewing this CEO, and he said, who, you know, who are you? Oh, we're casual films. He's like, Oh, is that why that guy's got ripped jeans? Is it? And I just thought, Damn, you know, we really left ourselves open to that. There was also, there was a time one of our early competitors was called Agile films. And so, you know, I remember talking to one of our clients who said, you know, it's casual, you know, when I have to put together a little document to say, you know, which, which supplier we should choose, and when I lay it on my boss's desk, and one says casual films, and one says agile films, it's like those guys are landing the first punch. But anyway, we, you know, we, what we say now is like, you know, we take a complex process and make it casual. You know, filmmaking, particularly for like, large, complex organizations where you've got lots of different stakeholders, can be very complicated. And so, yeah, we sort of say, you know, we'll take a lot of that stress off, off our clients. So that's kind of the rationale, you know, that we've arrived with, arrived at having spoken to lots of our clients about the role that we play for them. So, you know, there's a kind of positive spin on it, I guess, but I don't know. I don't know whether I'd necessarily call it casual again. I don't know if I'm supposed to say that or not, but, oh, Michael Hingson  32:00 it's unique, you know? So, yeah, I think there's a lot of merit to it. It's a unique name, and it interests people. I know, for me, one of the things that I do is I have a way of doing this. I put all of my business cards in Braille, so the printed business cards have Braille on them, right? Same thing. It's unique completely. Nick Francis  32:22 And you listen, you know what look your name is an empty box that you fill with your identity. They say, right? And casual is actually, it's something we've grown into. And you know it's we've been going for nearly 20 years. In fact, funny enough for the end of this year is the 20th anniversary of that first film we made for the for the charity. And then next summer will be our 20th anniversary, which is, you know, it's, it's both been incredibly short and incredibly long, you know, I think, like any kind of experience in life, and it's been some of the hardest kind of times of my entire life, and some of the best as well. So, you know, it's, it is what it is, but you know, casual is who we are, right? I would never check, you know? I'd never change it. Michael Hingson  33:09 Now, no, of course not, yeah. So is the actual name casual films, or just casual? Nick Francis  33:13 So it was casual films, but then everyone calls us casual anyway, and I think, like as an organization, we probably need to be a bit more agnostic about the outcome. Michael Hingson  33:22 Well, the reason I asked, in part was, is there really any filming going on anymore? Nick Francis  33:28 Well, that's a very that's a very good question. But have we actually ever made a celluloid film? And I think the answer is probably no. We used to, back in the day, we used to make, like, super eight films, which were films, I think, you know, video, you know, ultimately, if you're going to be really pedantic about it, it's like, well, video is a digital, digital delivery. And so basically, every film we make is, is a video. But there is a certain cachet to the you know, because our films are loved and crafted, you know, for good or ill, you know, I think to call them, you know, they are films because, because of the, you know, the care that's put into them. But it's not, it's, it's not celluloid. No, that's okay, yeah, well, Michael Hingson  34:16 and I know that, like with vinyl records, there is a lot of work being done to preserve and capture what's on cellular film. And so there's a lot of work that I'm sure that's being done to digitize a lot of the old films. And when you do that, then you can also go back and remaster and hopefully in a positive way, and I'm not sure if that always happens, but in a positive way, enhance them Nick Francis  34:44 completely, completely and, you know, it's, you know, it's interesting talking about, like, you know, people wanting to step back. You know, obviously vinyl is having an absolute as having a moment right now. In fact, I just, I just bought a new stylist for my for my record. Play yesterday. It sounded incredible as a joy. This gave me the sound quality of this new style. It's fantastic. You know, beyond that, you know, running a company, you know, we're in nine offices all over the world. We produce nearly 1000 projects a year. So, you know, it's a company. It's an incredibly complicated company. It's a very fun and exciting company. I love the fact that we make these beautifully creative films. But, you know, it's a bit, I wouldn't say it's like, I don't know, you don't get many MBAs coming out of business school saying, hey, I want to set up a video production company. But, you know, it's been, it's been wonderful, but it's also been stressful. And so, you know, I've, I've always been interested in pottery and ceramics and making stuff with my hands. When I was a kid, I used to make jewelry, and I used to go and sell it in nightclubs, which is kind of weird, but, you know, it paid for my beers. And then whatever works, I say kid. I was 18. I was, I was of age, but of age in the UK anyway. But now, you know, over the last few 18 months or so, I've started make, doing my own ceramics. So, you know, I make vases and and pictures and kind of all sorts of stuff out of clay. And it's just, it's just to be to unplug and just to go and, you know, make things with mud with your hands. It's just the most unbelievably kind of grounding experience. Michael Hingson  36:26 Yeah, I hear you, yeah. One of the things that I like to do is, and I don't get to do it as much as I would like, but I am involved with organizations like the radio enthusiasts of Puget Sound, which, every year, does recreations of old radio shows. And so we get the scripts we we we have several blind people who are involved in we actually go off and recreate some of the old shows, which is really a lot of fun, Nick Francis  36:54 I bet, yeah, yeah, sort of you know that connection to the past is, is, yeah, it's great radio. Radio is amazing. Michael Hingson  37:03 Anyway, what we have to do is to train some of the people who have not had exposure to old radio. We need to train them as to how to really use their voices to convey like the people who performed in radio, whatever they're doing, because too many people don't really necessarily know how to do that well. And it is, it is something that we're going to work on trying to find ways to get people really trained. And one of the ways, of course, is you got to listen to the old show. So one of the things we're getting more and more people to do when we do recreations is to go back and listen to the original show. Well, they say, Well, but, but that's just the way they did it. That's not necessarily the way it should be done. And the response is, no, that's not really true. The way they did it sounded natural, and the way you are doing it doesn't and there's reality that you need to really learn how to to use your voice to convey well, and the only way to do it is to listen to the experts who did it. Nick Francis  38:06 Yeah, well, it's, you know, it's amazing. The, you know, when the BBC was founded, all the news readers and anyone who appeared on on the radio to to present or perform, had to wear like black tie, like a tuxedo, because it was, you know, they're broadcasting to the nation, so they had to, you know, they had to be dressed appropriately, right, which is kind of amazing. And, you know, it's interesting how you know, when you, when you change your dress, when you change the way you're sitting, it does completely change the way that you project yourself, yeah, Michael Hingson  38:43 it makes sense, yeah, well, and I always enjoyed some of the old BBC radio shows, like the Goon Show, and completely some of those are so much fun. Nick Francis  38:54 Oh, great, yeah, I don't think they were wearing tuxedo. It's tuxedos. They would Michael Hingson  38:59 have been embarrassed. Yeah, right, right. Can you imagine Peter Sellers in a in a tux? It just isn't going to happen. Nick Francis  39:06 No, right, right. But yeah, no, it's so powerful. You know, they say radio is better than TV because the pictures are better. Michael Hingson  39:15 I agree. Yeah, sure, yeah. Well, you know, I I don't think this is quite the way he said it, but Fred Allen, the old radio comedian, once said they call television the new medium, because that's as good as it's ever going Nick Francis  39:28 to get. Yeah, right, right, yeah. Michael Hingson  39:32 I think there's truth to it. Whether that's exactly the way he said it or not, there's truth to that, yeah, but there's also a lot of good stuff on TV, so it's okay. Nick Francis  39:41 Well, it's so interesting. Because, you know, when you look at the it's never been more easy to create your own content, yeah, and so, you know, and like, in a way, TV, you know, he's not wrong in that, because it suddenly opened up this, this huge medium for people just to just create. Right? And, you know, and I think, like so many people, create without thinking, and, you know, and certainly in our kind of, in the in the world that we're living in now with AI production, making production so much more accessible, actually taking the time as a human being just to really think about, you know, who are the audience, what are the things that are going to what are going to kind of resonate with them? You know? Actually, I think one of the risks with AI, and not just AI, but just like production being so accessible, is that you can kind of shoot first and kind of think about it afterwards, and, you know, and that's never good. That's always going to be medium. It's medium at best, frankly. Yeah, so yeah, to create really great stuff takes time, you know, yeah, to think about it. Yeah, for sure, yeah. Michael Hingson  40:50 Well, you know, our podcast is called unstoppable mindset. What do you think that unstoppable mindset really means to you as a practical thing and not just a buzzword. Because so many people talk about the kinds of buzzwords I hear all the time are amazing. That's unstoppable, but it's really a lot more than a buzzword. It goes back to what you think, I think. But what do you think? Nick Francis  41:15 I think it's something that is is buried deep inside you. You know, I'd say the simple answer is, is just resilience. You know, it's, it's been rough. I write anyone running a small business or a medium sized business at the minute, you know, there's been some tough times over the last, kind of 1824, months or so. And, you know, I was talking to a friend of mine who she sold out of her business. And she's like, you know, how are things? I was like, you know, it's, it's, it's tough, you know, we're getting through it, you know, we're changing a lot of things, you know, we're like, we're definitely making the business better, but it's hard. And she's like, Listen, you know, when three years before I sold my company, I was at rock bottom. It was, I genuinely thought it was so stressful. I was crushed by it, but I just kept going. And she's just like, just keep going. And the only difference between success and failure is that resilience and just getting up every day and you just keep, keep throwing stuff at the wall, keep trying new things, keep working and trying to be better. I think, you know, it's funny when you look at entrepreneurs, I'm a member of a mentoring group, and I hope I'm not talking out of school here, but you know, there's 15 entrepreneurs, you know, varying sizes of business, doing all sorts, you know, across all sorts of different industries. And if you sat on the wall, if you were fly on the wall, and you sit and look at these people on a kind of week, month to month basis, and they all present on how their businesses are going. You go, this is this being an entrepreneur does not look like a uniformly fun thing, you know, the sort of the stress and just, you know, people crying and stuff, and you're like, gosh, you know, it's so it's, it's, it's hard, and yet, you know, it's people just keep coming back to it. And yet, I think it's because of that struggle that you have to kind of have something in built in you, that you're sort of, you're there to prove something. And I, you know, I've thought a lot about this, and I wonder whether, kind of, the death of my father at such a young age kind of gave me this incredible fire to seek His affirmation, you know. And unfortunately, obviously, the tragedy of that is like, you know, the one person who would never give me affirmation is my dad. And yet, you know, I get up every day, you know, to have early morning calls with the UK or with Singapore or wherever. And you know, you just just keep on, keeping on. And I think that's probably what and knowing I will never quit, you know, like, even from the earliest days of casual, when we were just, like a couple of people, and we were just, you know, kids doing our very best, I always knew the company was going to be a success act. Like, just a core belief that I was like, this is going to work. This is going to be a success. I didn't necessarily know what that success would look like. I just but I did know that, like, whatever it took, we would map, we'd map our way towards that figure it out. We'd figure it out. And I think, you know, there's probably something unstoppable. I don't know, I don't want to sound immodest, but I think there's probably something in that that you're just like, I am just gonna keep keep on, keeping on. Michael Hingson  44:22 Do you think that resilience and unstoppability are things that can be taught, or is it just something that's built into you, and either you have it or you don't? Nick Francis  44:31 I think it's something that probably, it's definitely something that can be learned, for sure, you know. And there are obviously ways that it can there's obviously ways it can be taught. You know, I was, I spent some time in the reserve, like the Army Reserve in the UK, and I just, you know, a lot of that is about teaching you just how much further you can go. I think what it taught me was it was so. So hard. I mean, honestly, some of the stuff we did in our training was, like, you know, it's just raining and raining and raining and, like, because all your kits soaking wet is weighs twice what it did before, and you just, you know, sleeping maybe, you know, an hour or two a night, and, you know, and there wasn't even anyone shooting at us, right? So, you know, like the worst bit wasn't even happening. But like, and like, in a sense, I think, you know, that's what they're trying to do, that, you know, they say, you know, train hard and fight easy. But I remember sort of sitting there, and I was just exhausted, and I just genuinely, I was just thought, you know, what if they tell me to go now, I just, I can't. I literally, I can't, I can't do it. Can't do it. And then they're like, right, lads, put your packs on. Let's go and just put your pack on. Off you go, you know, like, this sort of, the idea of not, like, I was never going to quit, just never, never, ever, you know, and like I'd physically, if I physically, like, literally, my physical being couldn't stand up, you know, I then that was be, that would be, you know, if I was kind of, like literally incapacitated. And I think what that taught me actually, was that, you know, you have what you believe you can do, like you have your sort of, you have your sort of physical envelope, but like that is only a third or a quarter of what you can actually achieve, right, you know. And I think what that, what the that kind of training is about, and you know, you can do it in marathon training. You can do it in all sorts of different, you know, even, frankly, meditate. You know, you train your mind to meditate for, you know, an hour, 90 minutes plus. You know, you're still doing the same. You know, there's a, there's an elasticity within your brain where you can teach yourself that your envelope is so much larger. Yeah. So, yeah, you know, like, is casual going to be a success? Like, I'm good, you know, I'm literally, I won't I won't stop until it is Michael Hingson  46:52 right, and then why stop? Exactly, exactly you continue to progress and move forward. Well, you know, when everything feels uncertain, whether it's the markets or whatever, what do you do or what's your process for finding clarity? Nick Francis  47:10 I think a lot of it is in having structured time away. I say structured. You build it into your calendar, but like, but it's unstructured. So, you know, I take a lot of solace in being physically fit. You know, I think if you're, if you feel physically fit, then you feel mentally far more able to deal with things. I certainly when I'm if I'm unfit and if I've been working too much and I haven't been finding the time to exercise. You know, I feel like the problems we have to face just loom so much larger. So, you know, I, I'll book out. I, you know, I work with a fan. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic assistant who, you know, we book in my my exercise for each week, and it's almost the first thing that goes in the calendar. I do that because I can't be the business my my I can't be the leader my business requires. And it finally happened. It was a few years ago I kind of, like, the whole thing just got really big on me, and it just, you know, and I'm kind of, like, being crushed by it. And I just thought, you know what? Like, I can't, I can't fit other people's face mask, without my face mask being fit, fitted first. Like, in order to be the business my business, I keep saying that to be the lead in my business requires I have to be physically fit. So I have to look after myself first. And so consequently, like, you know, your exercise shouldn't be something just get squeezed in when you find when you have time, because, you know, if you've got family and you know, other things happening, like, you know, just will be squeezed out. So anyway, that goes in. First, I'll go for a bike ride on a Friday afternoon, you know, I'll often listen to a business book and just kind of process things. And it's amazing how often, you know, I'll just go for a run and, like, these things that have been kind of nagging away in the back of my mind, just suddenly I find clarity in them. So I try to exercise, like, five times a week. I mean, that's obviously more than most people can can manage, but you know that that really helps. And then kind of things, like the ceramics is very useful. And then, you know, I'm lucky. I think it's also just so important just to appreciate the things that you already have. You know, I think one of the most important lessons I learned last year was this idea that, you know, here is the only there. You know, everyone's working towards this kind of, like, big, you know, it's like, oh, you know, when I get to there, then everything's going to be okay, you know. And actually, you know, if you think about like, you know, and what did you want to achieve when you left college? Like, what was the salary band that you want? That you wanted to achieve? Right? A lot of people, you know, by the time you hit 4050, you've blown way through that, right? And yet you're still chasing the receding Summit, yeah, you know. And so actually, like, wherever we're trying to head to, we're already there, because once you get there, there's going to be another there that you're trying to. Head to right? So, so, you know, it's just taking a moment to be like, you know, God, I'm so lucky to have what I have. And, you know, I'm living in, we're living in the good old days, like right now, right? Michael Hingson  50:11 And the reality is that we're doing the same things and having the same discussions, to a large degree, that people did 50, 100 200 years ago. As you pointed out earlier, the fact is that we're, we're just having the same discussions about whether this works, or whether that works, or anything else. But it's all the same, Nick Francis  50:33 right, you know. And you kind of think, oh, you know, if I just, just, like, you know, if we just open up these new offices, or if we can just, you know, I think, like, look, if I, if I'd looked at casual when we started it as it is now, I would have just been like, absolute. My mind would have exploded, right? You know, if you look at what we've achieved, and yet, I kind of, you know, it's quite hard sometimes to look at it and just be like, Oh yeah, but we're only just starting. Like, there's so much more to go. I can see so much further work, that we need so many more things, that we need to do, so many more things that we could do. And actually, you know, they say, you know, I'm lucky enough to have two healthy, wonderful little girls. And you know, I think a lot of bread winners Look at, look at love being provision, and the idea that, you know, you have to be there to provide for them. And actually, the the truest form of love is presence, right? And just being there for them, and like, you know, not being distracted and kind of putting putting things aside, you know, not jumping on your emails or your Slack messages or whatever first thing in the morning, you know. And I, you know, I'm not. I'm guilty, like, I'm not, you know, I'm not one of these people who have this kind of crazy kind of morning routine where, like, you know, I'm incredibly disciplined about that because, you know, and I should be more. But like, you know, this stuff, one of the, one of the things about having a 24 hour business with people working all over the world is there's always things that I need to respond to. There's always kind of interesting things happening. And so just like making sure that I catch myself every so often to be like, I'm just going to be here now and I'm going to be with them, and I'm going to listen to what they're saying, and I'm going to respond appropriately, and, you know, I'm going to play a game with them, or whatever. That's true love. You know? Michael Hingson  52:14 Well, there's a lot of merit to the whole concept of unplugging and taking time and living in the moment. One of the things that we talked about in my book live like a guide dog, that we published last year, and it's all about lessons I've learned about leadership and teamwork and preparedness from eight guide dogs and my wife's service dog. One of the things that I learned along the way is the whole concept of living in the moment when I was in the World Trade Center with my fifth guide dog, Roselle. We got home, and I was going to take her outside to go visit the bathroom, but as soon as I took the harness off, she shot off, grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with my retired guide dog. Asked the veterinarians about him the next day, the people at Guide Dogs for the Blind, and they said, Well, did anything threaten her? And I said, No. And they said, there's your answer. The reality is, dogs live in the moment when it was over. It was over. And yeah, right lesson to learn. Nick Francis  53:15 I mean, amazing, absolutely amazing. You must have taken a lot of strength from that. Michael Hingson  53:20 Oh, I think it was, it was great. It, you know, I can look back at my life and look at so many things that have happened, things that I did. I never thought that I would become a public speaker, but I learned in so many ways the art of speaking and being relaxed at speaking in a in a public setting, that when suddenly I was confronted with the opportunity to do it, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Nick Francis  53:46 Yeah, it's funny, because I think isn't public speaking the number one fear. It is. It's the most fit. It's the most feared thing for the most people. Michael Hingson  53:57 And the reality is going back to something that we talked about before. The reality is, audiences want you to succeed, unless you're a jerk and you project that, audiences want to hear what you have to say. They want you to be successful. There's really nothing to be afraid of but, but you're right. It is the number one fear, and I've never understood that. I mean, I guess I can intellectually understand it, but internally, I don't. The first time I was asked to speak after the World Trade Center attacks, a pastor called me up and he said, we're going to we're going to have a service outside for all the people who we lost in New Jersey and and that we would like you to come and speak. Take a few minutes. And I said, Sure. And then I asked him, How many people many people were going to be at the service? He said, 6000 that was, that was my first speech. Nick Francis  54:49 Yeah, wow. But it didn't bother me, you know, no, I bet Michael Hingson  54:54 you do the best you can, and you try to improve, and so on. But, but it is true that so many people. Are public speaking, and there's no reason to what Nick Francis  55:03 did that whole experience teach you? Michael Hingson  55:06 Well, one of the things that taught me was, don't worry about the things that you can't control. It also taught me that, in reality, any of us can be confronted with unexpected things at any time, and the question is, how well do we prepare to deal with it? So for me, for example, and it took me years after September 11 to recognize this, but one of the things that that happened when the building was hit, and Neither I, nor anyone on my side of the building really knew what happened. People say all the time, well, you didn't know because you couldn't see it. Well, excuse me, it hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building. And the last time I checked X ray vision was fictitious, so nobody knew. But did the building shake? Oh, it tipped. Because tall buildings like that are flexible. And if you go to any tall building, in reality, they're made to buffet in wind storms and so on, and in fact, they're made to possibly be struck by an airplane, although no one ever expected that somebody would deliberately take a fully loaded jet aircraft and crash it into a tower, because it wasn't the plane hitting the tower as such that destroyed both of them. It was the exploding jet fuel that destroyed so much more infrastructure caused the buildings to collapse. But in reality, for me, I had done a lot of preparation ahead of time, not even thinking that there would be an emergency, but thinking about I need to really know all I can about the building, because I've got to be the leader of my office, and I should know all of that. I should know what to do in an emergency. I should know how to take people to lunch and where to go and all that. And by learning all of that, as I learned many and discovered many years later, it created a mindset that kicked in when the World Trade Center was struck, and in fact, we didn't know until after both towers had collapsed, and I called my wife. We I talked with her just before we evacuated, and the media hadn't even gotten the story yet, but I never got a chance to talk with her until after both buildings had collapsed, and then I was able to get through and she's the first one that told us how the two buildings had been hit by hijacked aircraft. But the mindset had kicked in that said, You know what to do, do it and that. And again, I didn't really think about that until much later, but that's something that is a lesson we all could learn. We shouldn't rely on just watching signs to know what to do, no to go in an emergency. We should really know it, because the knowledge, rather than just having information, the true intellectual knowledge that we internalize, makes such a big difference. Nick Francis  57:46 Do you think it was the fact that you were blind that made you so much more keen to know the way out that kind of that really helped you to understand that at the time? Michael Hingson  57:56 Well, what I think is being blind and growing up in an environment where so many things could be unexpected, for me, it was important to know so, for example, when I would go somewhere to meet a customer, I would spend time, ahead of time, learning how to get around, learning how to get to where they were and and learning what what the process was, because we didn't have Google Maps and we didn't have all the intellectual and and technological things that we have today. Well intellectual we did with the technology we didn't have. So today it's easier, but still, I want to know what to do. I want to really have the answers, and then I can can more easily and more effectively deal with what I need to deal with and react. So I'm sure that blindness played a part in all of that, because if I hadn't learned how to do the things that I did and know the things that I knew, then it would have been a totally different ball game, and so sure, I'm sure, I'm certain that blindness had something to do with it, but I also know that, that the fact is, what I learned is the same kinds of things that everyone should learn, and we shouldn't rely on just the signs, because what if the building were full of smoke, then what would you do? Right? And I've had examples of that since I was at a safety council meeting once where there was somebody from an electric company in Missouri who said, you know, we've wondered for years, what do we do if there's a fire in the generator room, in the basement, In the generator room, how do people get out? And he and I actually worked on it, and they developed a way where people could have a path that they could follow with their feet to get them out. But the but the reality is that what people first need to learn is eyesight is not the only game in town. Yeah, right. Mean, it's so important to really learn that, but people, people don't, and we take too many things for granted, which is, which is really so unfortunate, because we really should do a li

This week, Nick leads Marshall, Brent and Wil in a discussion about all things antagonistic. Links mentioned during the show:   Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Building an Edible Perennial Nursery with Nick Wren Nick Wren of Living Soil Tree Farms joins Jason to talk about the practical realities of starting and running an edible perennial nursery. Nick shares his journey from civil engineering to tree farming, explaining why he became passionate about native nut trees, fruit trees, and woody perennials.They cover the nuts and bolts of nursery operations, including seasonal rhythms throughout the year, the use of air-pruning beds for propagating seedlings, and the advantages of growing trees from seed versus grafted cultivars. Nick discusses the challenges of meeting market demand, balancing online shipping with local sales, and the economics of different scale operations.Key topics include strategies for protecting seeds from rodents, managing deer pressure, the role of composting and soil biology in tree health, and why greenhouse infrastructure is less critical for native tree production than many people assume. Nick makes a strong case for black walnuts, hazelnuts, and other underutilized native trees that could play a larger role in regional food systems.The episode also explores the broader philosophy behind small-scale tree nurseries, including the importance of preserving genetic diversity through seed saving, the potential for silvopasture systems, and how this work connects to building more resilient local food economies. Nick shares practical advice for anyone interested in starting their own nursery operation, from building air pruning boxes to grading and pricing trees. For those interested in edible landscaping, permaculture, or small-scale agriculture, this conversation offers both inspiration and actionable knowledge about working with native and edible perennial plants.Connect with Nick:Website: livingsoiltreefarm.comYouTube: Living Soil Tree Farm

Growing up with a single dad after losing my mom taught me unexpected lessons about grief, resilience, and becoming the man I needed to be. Nick Volinchak shares his raw journey from childhood loss to finding purpose—and what he wishes every kid in a single parent home knew.

This week, Jenna, Nick, Shingai and Sameem interview Tanvir Ahmed!  Please see the addendum below from Tanvir. Addendum from Tanvir Ahmed: This conversation was recorded in September 2025, and in it, I mentioned that Afghanistan was not presently being bombed. Between then and now, Pakistan bombed Afghanistan and killed dozens from the air, including journalists, cricket players, and children. Pakistan's escalation plans have been broadcast for some time now, as reported in February 2025. The article under discussion in Strange Horizons was about the way Muslims are racialized into monsters, with specific reference to Afghans. That same process is still at work in the ongoing ethnic cleansings of Afghans in Pakistan and Iran. Links mentioned during the show: Brown University's Costs of War Project The Taawon Project for Palestine Lynzy Billing, America's War in Afghanistan Devastated the Country's Environment in Ways That May Never Be Cleaned Up Lynzy Billing, The Night Doctrine (and you can read the original investigation here) Beshara Doumani & Gabi Kirk, Inheriting the Impossible Vajra Chandrasekera's acceptance speech upon winning the 2025 Ursula K. LeGuin prize An interview with Indra Das at Seize the Press with comments on the genocide in Palestine   Strange Horizons, Palestine Special Issue (29 March 2021) Samovar, stories from and an interview with Abdul wakil Sulamal Tanvir Ahmed, A Letter Dispatched from the Hills of Afghulistan and the Ramparts of Tarouz (and you can find a fuller list of works here) Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, Nick, Brent, and Wil are celebrating spooky month by diving into a discussion about the horror genre! Links mentioned during the show: Vessel: A Nocturnal Realm Series Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Nick, LP, Sameem, Shingai, and Jenna continue the conversation about reading and writing novellas! Links mentioned during the show: Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, Jenna, Sameem, LP, and Wil continue discussing The Secrets of Character, by Matt Bird. In this episode, the crew dives even deeper into chapter two! Grab a copy of the book today and join the conversation in the Discord! Links mentioned during the show: The Secrets of Character - Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube   Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Shingai brings Erin Brown, Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, Sarah A. Macklin and Bri Stokes to the table to talk about The Laugh of the Medusa by Hélène Cixous. Links mentioned during the show: The Laugh of the Medusa Erin Brown Yvette Lisa Ndlovu Sarah A. Macklin Bri Stokes Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, the crew meets up at Woldcon for an in-person podcast! It's hard to recap the awesomeness of all these folks together in one hotel room in a few sentences, so enjoy the conversation and follow the links below.  –Editor's Note: This episode sounds great (thanks to Writing Excuses for letting us use their equipment), but is mostly left as it was recorded. Please excuse any audio issues, coughing, mic bumping etc. Leaving this intact to capture the time together was important to me. I appreciate your understanding. -Marshall Links mentioned during the show: Maurice Broaddus Victor Manibo RJ Taylor Nikki Braziel –Autonomy of a Murder –Nikki's Substack Erin Roberts –Writing Excuses –1000 Hells Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Gabriel F. Salmerón –Twitter –Instagram Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Twitter: @wil_ralston Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert @fiyahlitmag Fiyah Lit Magazine LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Episode: SEO Without the Mystery: Nick Musica's Straightforward Approach to Getting Found OnlineGuest: Nick Musica, Founder of Optics In SEO AgencyWhat You'll Learn in This Episode:How Nick transitioned from publishing to SEO — before even knowing what SEO wasLessons learned from early SEO vendor experiencesThe “3+1” formula that drives sustainable search rankingsWhy multiple versions of your site could be killing your SEOCommon pitfalls that businesses face and how to dig out of the “funk”The role of networking, referrals, and in-person connections in finding clientsBalancing technical SEO with content strategy and off-page authority Connect with Nick:Website: https://opticsin.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmusica/Listen to the episode here: https://entrepreneurconundrum.com/nickmusicaKey Questions (01:01) How did you get to where you are today?(05:52) So now, how do you fulfill your following your interest aspect?(10:49) Who are your ideal clients?(12:11) How do you get in front of said client?(12:44) Are you part of the local chamber or BNI group?(14:31) Do you do posts on social media and use that very often as well?(15:10) What are some big goals that you have in the next year or two?(17:25) Do you feel like you have a roadblock for reaching that goal?(17:39) What's the best advice that you have ever received?(20:11) What's the best advice you've ever given?(21:42) Do you focus on like, backlinks and different stuff like that?(22:47) Is there something that you wanted to talk about, but we haven't covered yet?(25:15) Where can we go to learn more about you and what you do?Nick Musicahttps://opticsin.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmusica/Virginia PurnellFunnel & Visibility SpecialistDistinct Digital Marketing(833) 762-5336virginia@distinctdigitalmarketing.comwww.distinctdigitalmarketing.com

This week, Marshall, Nick, Jenna, Sameem, Shingai, and Wil continue discussing The Secrets of Character, by Matt Bird. In this episode, the crew dives even deeper into chapter two! Grab a copy of the book today and join the conversation in the Discord! Links mentioned during the show: The Secrets of Character - Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird Yoko Ono's CUT PIECE: A Masterclass in Performance Art and Courage Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, LP, Gabe, Sameem, Shingai and Wil chat with Jenna Hanchey about her academic career, her writing, and so much more! Links mentioned during the show: Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Gabriel F. Salmerón –Twitter –Instagram Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick: Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, and Wil talk to Sarah A. Macklin about her writing career, her work in comics, starting her own comic book publishing company, and much more! Links mentioned during the show: Sarah A. Macklin Burning Phoenix Press Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

For Rudy + Nick, part 1, see ep 211. For one-on-one episodes with Nick see ep 207. With Rudy, see ep 179, 186, 192, 195, 196, 204. Welcome back to Behind Greatness. This is a continuing series of talks where we host two luminaries in one conversation. Nick - a prolific journalist and author - joins us from his home in the UK. Rudy – a preeminent astrophysicist and a self-described “hopeless astronomer” – joins us from his place in Massachusetts. This is the second meeting between the two. Exploring again the depths of the “why nots” and “what ifs” in this conversation. Nick and Rudy get into plasmas and plasmoids, orbs and their mimicry and camouflage, a tear in the sky, Wilhelm Reich's love-measuring waveform, stories on famed Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, an account of Wernher von Braun and Roswell, and Edgar's space story about swapping consciousness with an elephant. For others: Series with Joe McMoneagle – Remote Viewer #001 – ep 198, 199, 200, 210, 215 Nick: Website: https://www.nickcook.works/about-nick-cook/ Books: https://www.nickcook.works/books/ Rudy: Center for Astrophysics – https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/ Journal of Cosmology – https://thejournalofcosmology.com/About.html Personal website – http://www.rudyschild.com/ List of Published papers – (via The SAO Astrophysics Data System) CCRI (Consciousness & Contact Research Institute) – https://agreaterreality.com/ Book (co-Author with Suzy Hansen) – Dual Soul Connection: The Alien Agenda for Human Advancement: (via Amazon) Book: Beyond UFOs: The Science of Consciousness & Contact with Non Human Intelligence – (via Amazon) Edgar Mitchell Book: The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronaut's Journey Through the Material and Mystical Worlds – (via Amazon) NASA – Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy “SOFIA” – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sofia/   00:00 NASA's Unspoken Astronaut Challenges 04:46 Introduction to the Discussion 06:23 Nick and Rudy's Quest for Truth 06:47 Remote Viewing and Plasma Phenomena 10:56 The Nature of Consciousness and Entanglement 13:52 Love and Quantum Entanglement 18:50 Probes, Orbs, and Alien Surveillance 23:02 The Science of Plasmas and Orbs 42:14 Reflective Qualities of Orbs 46:51 Remote Viewing and Aerial Phenomena 50:26 Belief Systems and Perception 01:00:20 Edgar Mitchell: A Life of Exploration 01:13:59 Astronaut Experiences and Consciousness 01:19:50 Closing Thoughts and Reflections To give to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.

This week, Marshall, LP, and Wil, sit down with comic book author Stephanie Williams to talk about her career so far, and so much more. Links mentioned during the show: Stephanie Williams Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, Brent, Sameem, LP, Shingai, Jenna, and Wil, welcome Sarah A. Macklin to continue the conversation about the Ryan Coogler film, Sinners.  Links mentioned during the show: Sarah A. Macklin Jenna Hanchey Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop  Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Nick Lavery, an active-duty Green Beret in the US Army Special Forces, a combat-wounded warrior, an author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur joins me on this episode. Nick's awards include the Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars, Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, the OSS Society Peter Ortiz Award, the Bruce Price Leadership Award, and the Special Operations Command Excalibur Award. Nick's list of clients includes the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Tool, Sherwin Williams, The FBI, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Habitat for Humanity, and many others.

This week, Marshall, LP, Shingai, Jenna, and Wil, welcome back Yvette Lisa Ndlovu to talk about the Ryan Coogler film, Sinners.  Links mentioned during the show: Yvette Lisa Ndlovu Jenna Hanchey Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop  Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, Sameem, Nick, Brent and Wil welcome back Maurice Broaddus to talk about writing book two in a trilogy, and so much more!  Links mentioned during the show: Maurice Broaddus Breath of Oblivion Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, LP, Sameem, Shingai and Wil chat with Jenna Hanchey and Ben Pladek about a novella by Sofia Samatar called The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain.  Links mentioned during the show: The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar Jenna Hanchey Ben Pladek –Tell Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

As a journalist, Nick Romeo has interviewed people doing remarkable things, from running worker-owned companies to redesigning gig work as public infrastructure. These experiences shaped his new book, The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy, and led him to one big insight: a better economy isn't just possible—it's already here. In this episode, Nick and Dart talk about the difference between market wages and living wages, why mainstream economics underestimates people, and how everything from co-ops to experiments in building gig work platforms as public utilities are reimagining the role of work in society right now.Nick Romeo is a journalist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. He writes about policy, power, and the systems that shape how we live and work.In this episode, Dart and Nick discuss:- Why we need a new definition of a “living wage”- The power of co-ops, trusts, and employee ownership- How gig work can be redesigned to serve workers- What it means to design an economy around fairness- How ownership models shape the future of work- Why traditional economics misses what really matters- And other topics…Nick Romeo is a journalist and author who covers bold ideas in economics, policy, and philosophy. He's reported for The New Yorker on everything from Austria's job guarantee experiment to Spain's Mondragon cooperative and Nicholas Humphrey's theory of consciousness. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, and Scientific American. He teaches at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. His latest book, The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy, offers a roadmap for a fairer, more sustainable economy. Praised by The Guardian as “enlightening and inspiring” and called “brisk and sensible” by The Washington Post, it showcases real-world models that are already changing how we think about work, wages, and ownership.Resources Mentioned:The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy, by Nick Romeo: https://www.amazon.com/Alternative-How-Build-Just-Economy/dp/1541701593CORE Economics Project: https://www.core-econ.orgMIT Living Wage Calculator: https://livingwage.mit.edu/Well-Paid Maids: https://www.wellpaidmaids.com/Tax Justice Network: https://taxjustice.net/Connect with Nick:Website: https://www.nickromeowriter.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-romeo-b4486393/ Work with Dart:Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what's most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

Talking points: relationships, masculinity, mindset, nice guy syndromeA bunch of you have reached out requesting an interview with Nick, aka The People Displeaser, and I'm happy to say we finally got the chance to talk. Nick's practical, no-nonsense frame is a breath of fresh air. If you're looking for ways to combat your own people-pleasing tendencies—and some really good reasons why you should—this is the episode for you. (00:00:00) - Is people-pleasing really that bad, and what creates one(00:08:39) - How “needs” turned into a form of manipulation, and the nuance of privilege(00:14:15) - Does people-pleasing show up differently in men and women, and what the true cost is(00:24:59) - Where does a man start dealing with people-pleasing(00:38:31) - The importance of rejection, and do women play a role?(00:48:55) - Nick's hard truths for introverts(00:54:22) - What you're going to face when start putting yourself firstNick Pollard, aka The People Displeaser, is a world-renowned coach and speaker who specializes in addiction, codependent behavior, and people-pleasing. Overcoming his own struggles—a deeply difficult childhood, his own addictive tendencies, and more—he now works tirelessly to support others wanting to break free. With tens of millions views on his social media channels, Nick has become a thought leader in personal growth and change, and now ranks in the top 10% of coaches worldwide.Connect with Nick-Website: https://thepeopledispleaser.com/-YouTube: www.youtube.com/@peopledispleaser-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeopledispleaser/***Tired of feeling like you're never enough? Build your self-worth with help from this free guide: https://training.mantalks.com/self-worthJoin myself, Ryan Michler, Larry Hagner, and Matt Beaudreau on a mission to improve yourself as a man, husband, business owner, and community leader at the Men's Forge. May 1-4, St. Louis, MO: https://orderofman.clickfunnels.com/uprising-landing-page1715263442491Pick up my book, Men's Work: A Practical Guide To Face Your Darkness, End Self-Sabotage, And Find Freedom: https://mantalks.com/mens-work-book/Heard about attachment but don't know where to start? Try the FREE Ultimate Guide To AttachmentCheck out some other free resources: How To Quit Porn | Anger Meditation | How To Lead In Your RelationshipBuild brotherhood with a powerful group of like-minded men from around the world. Check out The Alliance. Enjoy the podcast? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts,

This week, Gabe, LP, Sameem, and Wil chat with Jenna Hanchey about writing through executive dysfunction.  Links mentioned during the show: Jenna Hanchey Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Gabriel F. Salmerón –Twitter –Instagram Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Nick Sonnenberg, founder and CEO of Leverage, a world-leading efficiency expert, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Inc. columnist, guest lecturer at Columbia University, and podcast host joins me on this episode. Nick spent 8 years working as a high-frequency trader on Wall Street. Today, he and his team work with organizations of all sizes and across all industries to achieve greater output, less stress, happier employees, and the potential to gain an extra full day per week in productivity per person. Topics we cover include the importance of mentorship and support groups, the journey to bringing Come Up for Air to life, finding ways to detach, morning and night routines, and more. Get connected with Nick: Website: https://comeupforair.com/ and https://www.getleverage.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nick.sonnenberg.77  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholassonnenberg/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/nick_sonnenberg  Purchase a copy of Come Up for Air: https://www.amazon.com/dp/140023672X Leave a 5-star review with a comment on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-minds-coffee-chat/id1539014324  Subscribe to my Business Builder Newsletter: https://bit.ly/32y0YxJ  Want to learn how you can work with me to gain more clarity, build a rock-solid foundation for your business, and achieve the results and success you deserve? Visit http://jayscherrbusinessconsulting.com/ and schedule a 1:1 discovery coaching call. Enjoy, thanks for listening, and please share with a friend! To your success, Jay

Send us a textIn this episode of Palm Harbor Local, host Donnie Hathaway sits down with local fitness entrepreneur Nick Nicholas, founder of Naturally Driven Fitness. Nick shares his inspiring 23-year journey in fitness, from training for high school football to building a thriving health business right here in Palm Harbor.Nick dives deep into:Why personal training alone isn't enough—and what actually helps people transformHow he simplifies health and fitness with full-service solutions (meal plans, workouts, accountability, supplements & more)His honest take on the supplement industry and how to spot high-quality productsThe mindset shifts that turned him from employee to unstoppable entrepreneurThe impact of 75 Hard, time management strategies, and how he balances ambition with family lifeWhy failure became one of the best things that ever happened to himIf you've been struggling with consistency, direction, or motivation in your fitness journey—or you're a fellow business owner looking for that extra edge—this episode will fire you up and give you tangible tools to level up.

This week, LP and Wil talk to Marshall, Nick, and Sameem about being parents who also write. Other parents in the community feel free to continue the conversation in the Discord! Links mentioned during the show: Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Today, Nick Schrock speaks on the show to highlight Valoroo's staffing solutions for brokers and asset-based companies and explain the balance between remote work and in-office dynamics! Nick delves into sales strategies and the distinctions between "hunters" and "farmers" in sales roles, the significance of clear role definitions as businesses evolve, the challenges and benefits of a remote workforce, having a disciplined sales approach to ensure consistency and effectiveness, and the value of professionalism and strong communication skills!   About Nick Schrock Nick Schrock is the CEO and founder of Valoroo, a leading provider of affordable talent solutions through nearshore and offshore services in Belize, Mexico, the Philippines, and the US. With expertise in building offshore teams, Nick helps businesses scale and achieve growth efficiently. He previously worked at Flock Freight, Ungerboeck Software, O'Brien Associates Food Brokerage, and Northwestern Mutual. At 13 years old, he was a professionally sponsored roller blader. And by 16, he started a skateboard company. Nick has a bachelor's in business from McKendree University in Illinois. He is a 2nd degree Jiu Jitsu blackbelt.   Connect with Nick Website: https://valoroo.com/  Email: nick@valoroo.com  

This week, Marshall, Brent, LP, and Wil continue discussing The Secrets of Character, by Matt Bird. In this episode, the crew dives into chapter two! Grab a copy of the book today and join the conversation in the Discord! Links mentioned during the show: The Secrets of Character - Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, Nick, Shingai, Sameem, LP, and Wil start a new craft book series covering The Secrets of Character, by Matt Bird. Grab a copy of the book today and join the conversation in the Discord! Links mentioned during the show: The Secrets of Character - Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird Airbody by Sameem Siddiqui Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

In this episode, let's discuss the anticipated tightening of the carrier market in 2025 with today's industry expert, Nick Dangles! Nick focuses on the value of strong carrier relationships as the market shifts from an easier freight landscape to one requiring more proactive sourcing strategies, niche focus in sales efforts, effective carrier prospecting, building mutual trust between brokers and carriers, and preparation for compressed margins due to market changes! To register for the 2025 TIA Sales Success Summit, go to https://shorturl.at/ONQc4!   About Nick Dangles Nick Dangles is the Co-founder of Sync Logistics Training, a training platform built specifically for the transportation industry. Nick is a veteran of full truckload brokerage with over 10 years of experience in a variety of roles. In his current role, Nick helps brokerages train and retain more productive and engaged employees.   Connect with Nick Website: https://synclogisticstraining.com/  Email: nick@synclogisticstraining.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-dangles-a565a88/  

Today's Conversation with our returning guest, Nick Klingensmith, gives us a motivational episode about achieving personal and professional goals in freight! Nick highlights the significance of breaking down larger ambitions into manageable daily tasks, building supportive systems and habits, focusing on one key task at a time, fostering long-term success, and enhancing overall well-being and productivity!   About Nick Klingensmith After being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel in a drunken haze, jeopardizing his career and relations, Nick had to make a change. A 4-time cancer survivor, type-I diabetic, recovering alcoholic with herniated discs, nerve damage and sleep apnea, he defies it all when he finds Obstacle Course Racing. Refusing to accept his limitations, he's completed over 100 Spartan Races, 6 Major Marathons, several Ultras, and scores of other obstacle and endurance events.  As someone who has walked the path of a sales professional, Nick is an expert in propelling other achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts, by inspiring them to take purposeful action towards their goals.  Nick is a raw and passionate storyteller who holds nothing back when revealing who he used to be and the person he is now. A true testament to the power of resilience, with an unwavering belief in his purpose to overcome obstacles and inspire others to do the same, Nick delivers powerful and transformative speeches, drawing from personal experiences to illustrate the extraordinary potential of pushing through adversity.   Nick's books on Amazon: Selling, Inspired!: A Mental Endurance Guide For Enduring Sales Performance THROUGH THE FIRE : The story of the 4-time cancer survivor, type-1 diabetic, and recovering alcoholic who became an obstacle course racer and defied it all.   Connect with Nick Website: https://www.stridemotivation.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nklingensmith/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069207242260  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOiV2sNB3g4meufvBg3a9sA  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stridemotivation?lang=en  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stridemotivation/  

Eager to use his spare time productively, Nick Loper started his first side hustle, ShoeSniper.com. Throughout the decade he spent running the footwear comparison site, he consistently experimented with other income streams, including freelancing, affiliate marketing, and self-publishing. But when his business hit one of its lowest points, Nick found himself asking, “What do I truly want to be known for?” While having dinner with his boss one night, he managed to beat the nerves and summon the courage to quit his job. Then, he poured his energy into building Side Hustle Nation, a community helping millions of people find freedom through side hustles. In this episode, Nick shares practical advice on how you can start and grow a profitable side hustle of your own. In this episode, Hala and Nick will discuss:  (00:00) Introduction   (02:35) Side Hustles That Stick   (03:16) Breaking Your Comfort Zone   (04:59) Nick's First Side Hustle   (08:05) Side Hustle or Second Job?   (09:17) Why Millennials Love Side Hustles   (11:00) Digital Tools That Make Side Hustles Easy   (12:25) The Three Laws of Side Hustles   (16:49) Simple Ways to Test Your Business Idea   (20:28) Side Hustles You Can Start Right Now   (24:23) Turning Niche Skills Into Big Cash   (26:52) When Should You Quit Your Job?   Nick Loper is the founder of Side Hustle Nation and the host of The Side Hustle Show, one of the top podcasts for entrepreneurs. His journey started while juggling a corporate job and building a footwear comparison shopping site on the side, which eventually led him to full-time entrepreneurship. Nick is the author of bestselling books like Buy Buttons and $1,000 100 Ways, offering actionable insights into building sustainable income streams. His work has been featured in Forbes, CNBC, and Entrepreneur, and his Side Hustle Nation community is a hub for thousands of hustlers worldwide.  Connect with Nick: Website: sidehustlenation.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nickloper  Twitter: x.com/nickloper  Instagram: instagram.com/nloper Sponsored By: Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com/host Found - Try Found for FREE at found.com/profiting  Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at youngandprofiting.co/shopify     Resources Mentioned: Nick's Podcast, The Side Hustle Show: https://apple.co/4fhvMCg  Top Tools and Products of the Month: https://youngandprofiting.com/deals/  More About Young and Profiting Download Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com Get Sponsorship Deals - youngandprofiting.com/sponsorships Leave a Review -  ratethispodcast.com/yap Watch Videos - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting   Follow Hala Taha LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ TikTok - tiktok.com/@yapwithhala Twitter - twitter.com/yapwithhala   Learn more about YAP Media's Services - yapmedia.io/

This week, we've got an almost full house talking about our intentions around writing in 2025.  Editor's note: This episode is about as raw as it gets. We thought it would be a fun way to end 2024. Make sure to listen until the end! Happy Holidays! Links mentioned during the show: Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Gabriel F. Salmerón –Twitter –Instagram Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

From launching a comparison shopping site for shoes to creating a directory of virtual assistants, Nick Loper is the king of side hustles. Although he started out during the early days of the internet, when there were fewer resources and less user-friendly tools, he figured it out and kept experimenting. Nick tried many different side hustles, earning lessons from each one and refining his approach. Eventually, he created Side Hustle Nation, his hugely successful platform for empowering aspiring entrepreneurs to build profitable side hustles. In this episode, Nick and Hala discuss how to create and execute a successful side hustle, no matter your skill set. In this episode, Hala and Nick will discuss:  (00:00) Introduction (02:04) The Rise of Side Hustles (04:20) Nick's First Side Hustle Experiments (06:32) Making Money from Podcasting (10:38) Why Everyone Needs a Side Hustle (13:49) Thriving in a Recession with Side Hustles (20:11) Is AI the Future of Side Hustles? (24:04) Launching a Service Business (27:57) Turning Ideas into Products (30:05) Does Dropshipping Still Work? (32:01) Real-Life Side Hustle Scenarios (43:06) No-Skill Hustles That Actually Work (49:02) How to Track Your Profitability Nick Loper is the founder of Side Hustle Nation and the host of The Side Hustle Show, one of the top podcasts for entrepreneurs. His journey started while juggling a corporate job and building a footwear comparison shopping site on the side, which eventually led him to full-time entrepreneurship. Nick is the author of bestselling books like Buy Buttons and $1,000 100 Ways, offering actionable insights into building sustainable income streams. His work has been featured in Forbes, CNBC, and Entrepreneur, and his Side Hustle Nation community is a hub for thousands of hustlers worldwide.  Connect with Nick: Website: sidehustlenation.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nickloper  Twitter: x.com/nickloper  Instagram: instagram.com/nloper Sponsored By: Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com/host Found - Try Found for FREE at found.com/profiting  Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at youngandprofiting.co/shopify     Resources Mentioned: Nick's Podcast, The Side Hustle Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-side-hustle-show/id655135292  Top Tools and Products of the Month: youngandprofiting.com/deals More About Young and Profiting Download Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com Get Sponsorship Deals - youngandprofiting.com/sponsorships Leave a Review -  ratethispodcast.com/yap Watch Videos - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting   Follow Hala Taha LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ TikTok - tiktok.com/@yapwithhala Twitter - twitter.com/yapwithhala   Learn more about YAP Media's Services - yapmedia.io/

This week, LP and Wil sit down with Kate Maruyama to talk about writing horror, writing novellas, and so much more! Links mentioned during the show: Kate Maruyama Raw Dog Screaming Press Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Wil, LP, and Sameem interview R.S.A. Garcia! This episode is full of amazing stories you don't want to miss.  Links mentioned during the show: R.S.A. Garcia –Website –Bluesky Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

“Good innovation happens iteratively, not with a splash and bang.”Nick Jain Top Five Tips For Innovating In Large Organizations1.      Focus on running small experiments and collecting data2.      Ensure your innovation efforts align with your organization's objectives3.      Create cross-functional teams4.      Create a culture and incentive structure that encourages innovation5.      Provide the right tools and technology to enable innovation. TIME STAMP SUMMARY02:18 Importance of a good approach vs a big risky initiative 06:26 Innovative efforts linked to the company's core priorities and goals11:53 The 4G Framework of Incentives1640: Providing the right tools and technology is a crucial part in innovation Where to find Nick Website                          https://ideascale.com/ LinkedIn                         https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickjain/  Nick Jain Bio Nick Jain is the CEO of IdeaScale, the world's largest innovation SaaS company. Known for his commitment to high-quality products, he has dramatically reduced software bugs and boosted customer satisfaction.Nick's journey is one of resilience. Raised in India by a single grandmother, he excelled academically, graduating at the top of his class at Harvard Business School and summa cum laude from Dartmouth with a triple major in math, physics, and economics. His career includes leading companies in trucking, men's fashion and software, as well as working at top investment firms like Bain Capital.An evangelist for AI adoption, Nick championed the use of large language models at IdeaScale well before the AI hype cycle began. He pushed for generative AI technologies to be adopted by sales, product designers, and even software engineers, well before such adoption became mainstream.Outside of work, Nick enjoys poker, running, listening to battle rap, and traveling. He's also an avid reader, currently tackling “Moby Dick” and the fantasy novel “Lyorn.”

In this episode, Cody is joined by Nick Bonniksen, Director of Kiln St. George, to talk about the transformative power of sports, resilience, and the dynamic hospitality industry. Originally on the path to a professional baseball career, Nick's journey took a sharp turn after sports injuries forced him to rethink his future. With no Plan B, Nick started at the front desk of a Marriott and quickly rose through the ranks, proving that determination can turn entry-level beginnings into something extraordinary.After working in various roles—including Front Desk Manager, Sales Director, and even night auditor during the challenging COVID period—Nick continued to grow. His next move took him to Utah's Best Vacation Rentals as Sales Director and eventually Regional Manager, where he doubled the company's revenue. Recognized for his success, he was recruited back to Marriott as General Manager of Wyndgate St. George, where he led the location to a remarkable global ranking of #4 in just three years.Now at Kiln, a thriving coworking community, Nick hopes to bolster the business ecosystem in Southern Utah. Cody and Nick discuss how his sports background shaped his leadership, how he tackled obstacles, and his goals for Kiln's latest location in St. George. This episode is filled with insights on the value of perseverance and the rapid growth possible in the hospitality industry with the right mindset.Connect w/Nick:Website: https://kiln.com/communities/st-george/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-bonniksen-37280b178/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickbonniksen/Email: nick.b@kiln.com Follow us on Instagram - @thevibrantteam@virtualgmpodcastCheckout our website - www.thevibrantteam.com

Episode 157 - Rejectomancy   This week, Marshall, Nick, LP, and Wil discuss how they approach submitting their work and what they do when the rejections hit their inboxes. Is Rejectomancy a thing? Feel free to join the conversation in our Discord.  Links mentioned during the show: Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Quick question: What does innovation mean to you, and why is it so crucial for organizations today to embrace it? If you have been pondering about this and don't know where and how to start, then this episode is for you. Welcome to today's episode, where we're diving into the world of innovation with Nick Jain, CEO of IdeaScale, the leading innovation software company. If you've ever wondered how organizations like NASA, Comcast, NASCAR, and Doctors Without Borders stay at the forefront of their industries, IdeaScale is often the force driving their most groundbreaking initiatives. As the core platform behind these global giants' innovation efforts, IdeaScale enables organizations to source, develop, and implement ideas from within and beyond their teams. Nick's journey is just as impressive as his company's impact. Graduating at the top of his class from Harvard Business School and holding a degree in mathematics from Dartmouth, he's a visionary leader with a sharp analytical mindset and a passion for innovation. Today, we'll explore his approach to fostering creativity, sustaining innovation in complex organizations, and what it takes to lead in an ever-evolving tech landscape. Get ready for insights into the future of innovation, the power of ideas, and the critical role that visionary leadership plays in turning ambition into reality. In this episode, Nick will be sharing: 1) The biggest challenges organizations face when it comes to cultivating a culture of innovation. 2) The key ingredients for transforming raw ideas into actionable, successful projects 3) The Trends in the innovation space Learn more about Nick: Website- https://ideascale.com/ LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickjain/ X- https://x.com/NickMJain

This week, Nick, LP and Sameem talk to Shingai about her novelette, “We Who Will Not Die.” There are a few spoilers so check out the link below and read this amazing story. Links mentioned during the show: We Who Will Not Die Sameem Siddiqui –Twitter –Website Shingai Njeri Kagunda –Twitter –Instagram –Voodoonauts Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Twitter: @wil_ralston Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert @fiyahlitmag Fiyah Lit Magazine LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

This week, Marshall, Nick, and Gabe talk about the books they're reading that inform their craft, the books they put down, and what they can't wait to read next. Links mentioned during the show: Being a Vampire Unrelenting Backerkit Dragonsteel Nexus Writing Excuses Retreats Worldcon Gabriel F. Salmerón –Twitter –Instagram Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Where to find Nick⬇️Website: nicknorwitz.comX/Twitter: https://x.com/nicknorwitzYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLTZUJSEulehPtF_ytFiU_AInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicknorwitz/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicknorwitz/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nicknorwitzFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicknorwitzNewsletter: https://staycuriousmetabolism.substack.com/Where to find Jordan⬇️IG: @JordanLipsFitnessPodcast: Where Optimal Meets PracticalWebsite: JordanLipsFitness.comJordan's Coaching Options⬇️Group Programming [Gym Program]Group Programming [Home Gym].Helping you find the balance between OPTIMAL and PRACTICAL.

This week, Marshall, Nick, Brent, and LP discuss the Netflix show, Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.  Spoiler Warning: This show is amazing, so we couldn't help but spoil a lot of it. Links mentioned during the show: Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself Support the Show: Patreon Kofi Indie Bound Contact us! JustKeepWriting.org Discord Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Marshall: Website: www.marshallcarr.com Email: marshall@marshallcarr.com  Twitter: @darthpops  Nick:  Website: www.brightinks.org Email: nicholasbright@brightinks.org  Twitter: @BrightInks Wil:  Email: wil@justkeepwriting.org  Instagram: @wilsartrules Brent:  Twitter: @BrentCLambert www.brentclambert.com  LP:  Email: lpkindred@wandering.shop Twitter: @LPKindred Linktr.ee/lpkindred  Now, just keep writing!

Nick Broste is Chicago based audio engineer and musician who specializes in recording bands in ensembles in both studio and live settings. The spirit of removing the obstacles of artistic expression for artists is the driving force for Nick's approach to recording and always puts the music first.In this episode, you'll learn about:How the Role of the Engineer Changes When There is No ProducerThe Best Way to Record a Vocalist that is Playing Acoustic GuitarMicrophone Polar Patterns and How They Shape the Sound of BleedTips for Recording Brass and WoodwindsThe Importance of Talking About BudgetsBringing Value Outside Your Technical SkillsWhen Songwriting Credit Should Be Given to Session MusiciansConnect with Nick

In this engaging podcast episode, the hosts converse with Nick Fisher, co-founder of Agexa, about his journey and insights into discovering and elevating undercover experts. Fisher shares his experiences, including the story behind acquiring the domain agexa.com, the process of finding and partnering with truly knowledgeable yet under-recognized experts, and the challenges involved in marketing and scaling their brands. He discusses the importance of articulating expertise, gauging market demand, and ensuring student success rates. Fisher also delves into the ethical considerations and the common pitfalls in his business model. The episode is filled with practical advice and candid reflections on working within the educational and marketing spheres.00:00 Introduction and Early Struggles00:52 Welcome to the Podcast01:10 The Story Behind Agexa03:14 Building a Business Around a Domain05:01 Finding and Elevating Experts08:57 Challenges and Successes in the Industry11:25 Current Trends and Future Opportunities13:58 The Importance of Authenticity and Expertise18:22 Concluding Thoughts and Future PlansConnect with Nick:Website: https://www.agexa.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nick.fish?igsh=MWtkdGdqbzY3eDU0eg==Support the Show.Join the #1 Community for Service-Based Entrepreneurshttps://www.blackdiamondclub.com Follow Shawn and Lacey on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/drshawndill/ https://www.instagram.com/drlaceybook/

Humans are not meant to be alone all the time. But with jobs to fulfill,  businesses to run, kids to look after, and loved ones to spend time with, how do you gather old and new folks to rekindle friendships and encourage new connections? What better way to bring people together than hosting a cocktail party, right? Nick Gray, the founder of Museum Hack and author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: How to Build Big Relationships with Small Gatherings, joins us to share how he went from helping his family's businesses to launching his own tour operator business and then writing his very first book about the benefits of hosting social gatherings.  In this episode, Nick looks back at how he made it possible to help his family grow their business by leading their hiring, marketing, and international sales. He takes us back to when he started and grew Museum Hack and reveals why he sold and exited the company in 2018. Nick also talks about the benefits of hosting cocktail parties in widening your network and building connections. Topics include: How Nick became a museum tour guide and turned Hack the Met tours into a business How long it took Nick to launch his book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party Nick and Darius share one thing to consider before publishing a book How Nick grew Museum Hack before he stepped down and sold the company The biggest fear of a new party host and how to avoid it Nick reveals the best days to host a cocktail party The secret formula to successfully hosting parties and making new friends Nick explains why a conventional cocktail party lasts only 2 hours Tips for parents who want to host or attend a party How to leverage party hosting And other topics… Resources: How to Host a Party Website: https://party.pro/  The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: https://party.pro/book/   The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: https://amzn.to/39rfb2V   The Easy Way to Host or Plan a Networking Event: https://party.pro/networking/  How to Plan a Clothing Swap (The Easy Way): https://party.pro/swap/  Hosting a Happy Hour: Nick Gray's How-to Guide: https://party.pro/happyhour/  Kids at Your Party: Get a Sitter: https://party.pro/kids/  Connect with Nick: Website: https://nickgray.net/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickgraynews/?hl=en  Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imthedarius/ YouTube: https://therealdarius.com/youtube Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices