The Creative Giant Show with Charlie Gilkey

Sarah Bray is a wife and homeschooling mom who has spent the past nine years working with clients as a strategic designer, front-end developer, and nation-builder. She has consulted with over 100 clients on content strategy, product design, marketing strategy, brand and identity development, and online business development. Now she is mostly a writer who is about to finish up her new book Gather the People. She is a huge advocate for nation building as a people-first alternative to traditional marketing and business development and always has a lot of projects going on. She joins Charlie on the show today to talk about what she does and how she got to where she is.   Key Takeaways: 01:33 – Sarah started out as a Web designer. 04:11 – Sarah decided she wanted to care about what she was working on, so she shut down her Web design studio and started her own marketing company. 05:39 – Shortly afterwards, Sarah went to work for a software company in Washington State. 08:35 – Sarah gave herself three weeks to write her book, and she is now on the last week. 10:44 – People confuse risk and uncertainty, and that’s a huge mistake. 17:45 – The trick to wanting to put something out there, a big idea you have, is to reduce the scope of what you’re doing to something that’s really small, and then make that one small thing really well and fantastic. 21:10 – What is really hard about growing as an entrepreneur is competing with your past self all the time. 26:29 – Everything that we make and create has the potential to expand someone else’s world. 31:46 – Sarah also homeschools her kids. 40:21 – There’s conflict in everything that you learn, and sometimes that conflict involves other people.   Mentioned In This Episode: Gather the People Julianne Rhodes Rework Basecamp Twyla Tharp Digg The Chairs Are Where the People Go – Misha Glouberman Lori Pickert

Jennifer Boykin is the creative visionary behind the midlife reinvention movement “Life After Tampons” who speaks, teaches, and writes about women who rise. She frequently contributes to major Internet sites and blogs regularly for The Huffington Post. Jennifer has experienced many losses in her life, including the death of her only daughter over 20 years ago. She joins Charlie on the show today to discuss dealing with loss, busting through fear, her website community at lifeaftertampons.com, and much more.   Key Takeaways: 01:36 – Jennifer experienced the death of a child over 20 years ago, which led to the start of her movement. 03:40 – Jennifer had always felt that motherhood was always necessary to her happiness but not sufficient so she went back to graduate school. 06:21 – The one rule at Jennifer’s website is they don’t talk about their loved ones and families so they don’t hide behind it. 08:04 – A lot of women spend so much time and energy devoting to family that when they finally have some time, money, and space, they don’t have the first clue about what they want to create. 11:25 – There is nobody talking about what Jennifer talks about on her website, and there are a lot of women who are looking for that sense of community. 12:09 – The biggest challenge for Jennifer has been getting up to speed on technology and staying current with it. 14:59 – Women have a deep yearning for a sense of meaning and purpose in life. 18:52 – Combine your urge for meaning and purpose with what your great loves are. 20:18 – Make it your business to know yourself. 26:39 – Every gain comes with a loss.   Mentioned In This Episode: lifeaftertampons.com Jonathan Fields Pamela Slim

In 2013, when Jake Ducey was 19, he dropped out of college to backpack the world. That then inspired him to write his first book Into the Wind, which he self-published, and it ended up making it to the top 300 on the Amazon bestseller list. He used the money from that book to build an orphanage in Guatemala and has since gained a strong online following and wrote his second book, The Purpose Principles. He has given a TEDx talk and has traveled the nation speaking to over 100 schools and corporations. This summer Jake will be joining The Warped Tour, touring 52 cities in 70 days. He joins Charlie on the show today to talk about his journey and the success he has achieved by following his own path.   Key Takeaways: 00:31 – Jake dropped out of college at the age of 19 to backpack the world. 06:20 – It wasn’t about quitting everything and going to the next country. It was about making a difference. 06:46 – Jake decided that if his first book worked out he would build an orphanage for Guatemala. 07:09 – Jake taught himself how to write, sold his books door to door, and it ended up making the Amazon bestseller list. 09:50 – Jake’s newest book is called The Purpose Principles because he had read The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, who also wrote the forward to the book. 16:28 – Jake will be emceeing The Warped Tour this summer and doing a high school tour of 50 high schools this spring. 21:37 – The Gallup polls for the fall of 2014 showed that 73 percent of Americans said they’re actively disengaged from their jobs. 23:00 – Jake believes success is feeling content and happy within ourselves. 25:08 – Jake is creating a TV show called Seeking Everyday Heroes.   Mentioned In This Episode: Into the Wind The Purpose Principles Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul The Warped Tour Brian Gadinsky, American Idol The Success Principles Bronnie Ware John Gray TEDxYouth Ralph Waldo Emerson Amazon Start With Why, Simon Sinek First Things First, Stephen Covey

Thursday is the cofounder of Urgency, Inc., an online marketing agency focused on technical clients. She’s been blogging for over 10 years and has written for a variety of publications. She is a true renaissance woman whose interests include diversity in tech, the use of punctuation, crypto currencies, analytics impact on content strategy, gifs, and open source business models. She is a cofounder of PDX Shelter, a Portland based nonprofit startup, and an organizer at PyLadies PDX. She comes on the show today to talk to Charlie about the issues women face in the tech industry and other things related to tech and business.   Key Takeaways: 1:59 – Thursday grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. 4:00 – Urgency, Inc. was launched at the beginning of this year. 8:01 – A lot of tech companies want to be seen as progressive and modern, but most of those companies are founded by white, straight men who are usually from a middle class to upper class background and don’t think about any experience other than their own. 11:48 – One key starting point in looking at startup companies is looking at how they hire. 15:12 – The number of women who are getting CS degrees is increasing dramatically, but the problem is more a question of keeping women in tech. 16:16 – Investors are less likely to work with women founders, especially women who have families. 21:45 – Being aware of the social issues taking place in companies is the first step to making change. 27:05 – GamerGate started as a posting by a guy who was upset with his ex-girlfriend who was a game developer, and he accused her of sleeping with game journalists to get better reviews and eventually turned into attacks on several women. 32:15 – The same tropes that Anita Sarkeesian has identified in video games are also very visible in other forms of media. It’s a very prevalent thought pattern. 35:40 – PyLadies is a Python user group which for just women. 37:10 – PDX Shelter is a project that uses technology to address homeless problems. 46:08 – Even though all of these problems in the tech business world may seem huge, just taking one step and doing one thing is on the way to solving them.   Mentioned In This Episode: Urgency, Inc. Go Daddy Entrepreneur Magazine PDX Shelter PyLadies PDX Kathy Sierra GamerGate Anita Sarkeesian Startup Weekend Matthew Fountain Firebase

Jonathon Button and Quinn Vandenberg left everything behind at age 25 and moved to Nicaragua. After 6 months of living among the locals, surviving off of just $2.00 a day, and immersing themselves in the culture, Life Out of the Box was formed. They work with local artisans to create unique handmade products that they then sell, and for every product sold they give a child in need school supplies. They have traveled all over Nicaragua giving school supplies to thousands of children and have since developed Life Out of the Box products from Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Morocco, giving thousands of school supplies to children in need.   Key Takeaways: 2:58 – Jonathon and Quinn had been dating for not even a year when the idea of living life out of the box started coming together. Shortly after, they quit their jobs and moved to Nicaragua. 3:46 – Life Out of the Box goes into developing countries, works with the local artisans there to create handmade products, sells them, and for each product sold they give a child in need school supplies. 4:12 – Each product sold has its own unique number on it that the customer can use to go online and look up and see exactly what child they gave school supplies to. 7:00 – They both lived in Nicaragua, completely immersed themselves in the culture, and then went to different schools asking them what they needed most and figured out that basic school supplies were the biggest need. 12:45 – A big part of a social venture is to be able to allow people in a country to create things and use that income to support their own family. 15:59 – They are up to 5,600 handmade bracelets made. 16:53 – Their goal this year is to give to 10,000 children. 19:56 – One thing they’re trying to figure out how they can give to children around the world without them actually being there. 26:13 – Since Jonathon and Quinn are also dating, they struggle with finding a balance between their working life together and their non-working life together. 35:51 – An unanticipated problem they have run into is the large number of people who want to be involved with Life Out of the Box.   Mentioned In This Episode: Life Out of the Box www.lifeoutofthebox.com

Mike Ambassador Bruny’s mission is to help individuals discover their greatness and live it out. His latest project, Brand Inside a Brand, focuses on personal branding for the working professional. He is the author of Move the Crowd: 30 Days of Hip-Hop Affirmations to Change Your Life, as well as a speaker, certified life coach, an alum of the Boston based Leaders of Color Development Program, The Partnership, Inc., and a stay-at-home dad to his 10-month-old son. He talks to Charlie about how he got to where he is today, lessons he’s learned along the way, and how to take action on something you’re passionate about and make it happen.   Key Takeaways: 2:08– Working at Intel is where Mike learned to become a professional speaker and where the idea of Brand Inside a Brand was started. 3:28 – Mike created his own curriculum helping people create a brand inside a brand while at Intel. 5:43 – One challenge you can run into is that companies don’t want you to be your own brand.  7:03 – People who have a good, strong brand of their own are people who you wouldn’t even realize work for a company because they’re so independent. 8:29 – Part of your brand and what Mike teaches is to learn how to be more entrepreneurial, not become an entrepreneur. 11:09 – The idea of working for an employer for the intended length of your working career is obsolete. Most people move on from project to project. 15:21 – It’s about finding a job where you can show up and be the best of yourself, doing the things that you’re interested in, and the things that you’re interested in generating value. 21:35 – Mike sees hip-hop as a language of people. 24:05 – Mike has a vision of getting Seth Godin and Jay-Z on a stage together. 26:00 – Mike’s next project in the works is a community called “No More Reasonable Doubt,” a space where students of color can go to get his work and seek help. 29:27 – Mike organized an event for Charity: Water and helped raise $10,000 for them.   Mentioned In This Episode: Brand Inside a Brand Intel Move the Crowd: 30 Days of Hip-Hop Affirmations to Change Your Life The Partnership, Inc. Ekaterina Walter Justin Levy, Citrix Scott Monty, Ford Matt Cutts, Google Robert Schofield, Microsoft Guy Kawasaki, Apple Ralph Waldo Emerson Jay-Z Charity: Water Chris Brogan Russell Simmons, Do You! Andre Taylor

Lucy Pearce is a number one bestseller on Amazon and has written several books on the subject of motherhood and women. Some famous titles include Moon Time, The Rainbow Way, and the Moods of Motherhood. She also has her own publishing company, Womancraft Publishing, that helps empower women and get their voices and books published. Lucy joins Charlie today to talk about how you can unleash your inner creative and not feel guilty about raising children while you're doing it. They also talk about how men can better support creative women and mothers, how to be a productive woman, and more on today's Creative Giant show.    Key Takeaways: 3:10 – Lucy comes from a large family of creatives. 7:00 – When the creative woman can not express herself properly, then her dark side will come out more and more.  10:10 – Multitasking is important at times, but you'd get more things done if you focus on one task at hand.  13:40 – You have to prioritize time for yourself and your creative outlet. Talk to your partner and work with each other's schedules.  15:20 – Have small creative side projects that you can pick up anywhere you are to help maintain your sanity.  19:50 – Between Lucy's 1st and 3rd child, she wrote 4 books, but then again, she doesn't clean her house often or iron. It's all about your personal priorities. What are yours?   23:30 – When reading about productivity tips, it seems like there's more of a male bias to it and it can be hard for many women to relate to.  27:30 – How can the men support the creative woman or the mother? Lucy explains in this segment.  31:20 – A woman's mood and creative energy levels vary depending on her cycle. It's important for men to be aware of that energy and what stage of her cycle she is in.  34:50 – Lucy talks about her book Moon Time, which helps women chart their cycle and their creative energies.  39:10 – Lucy has just taken on a PA and, as a natural lone wolf, she is learning how to delegate her work.  42:40 – In this segment Lucy talks about her most unanticipated challenge so far.  45:10 – Final takeaway? “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Don't put it off until next year, start now.    Mentioned In This Episode:  LucentWord.com DreamingAloud.net http://thehappywomb.com/ http://www.womancraftpublishing.com/ http://www.amazon.com/Lucy-H-Pearce/e/B00DDTD15G

Johnny B. Truant is the co-founder of a publishing company called Sterling and Stone. He has written many fiction books like Unicorn Western, The Beam, Fat Vampire, and more. Johnny and Charlie go way back and have known each other for quite some time. On today's show, Johnny talks about his dreams in wanting to become a fiction writer, self-publishing, and gives great insight on how to make partnerships work.     Key Takeaways: 1:40: - Charlie introduces Johnny.  4:30 – Johnny writes four hours a day and can produce between 6,000 to 8,000 words.  7:30 – Johnny talks a little bit about how he started writing.  11:15 – It took 12 years for Johnny to write his first novel and then he gave up on trying to write fiction.  16:00 – Don't be afraid to call yourself an expert!  20:45 – New technology made it easier for everyone to do their own self-publishing.  25:15 – People think that because they're doing creative work, they can not develop a reliable plan or path, but Charlie says this is not true.  28:00 – Try not to compare yourself to Johnny. Work at your own pace and always try to do a little bit more than you did yesterday.  31:00 – How does Johnny make it work with two other partners? He explains in this segment.  39:20 – You need to respect the other partner involved, communicate, and treat your business relationship almost like a marriage.  43:10 – If you are able to manage your expectations well, you won't end up being disappointed and you can move the business forward with your partners.  46:00 – What's the one key takeaway? There's no substitute for hard work.    Mentioned In This Episode: http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-B.-Truant/e/B007984T5S http://sterlingandstone.net http://selfpublishingpodcast.com/ http://750words.com/

Todd Sattersten loves business books. He helps experts publish books and is the founder of BizBookLab. He is also the co-author of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. He talks with Charlie today on the show about how he got started, why he decided to help others in the publishing industry, and more.     Key Takeaways: 1:30 – Todd talks about how he got started in the book industry.  5:45 – Due to the economic down turn and the shift in the book industry, Todd decided to take more of an entrepreneurial path instead.  11:40 – Todd talks about paper versus digital formats and how it changed the industry.  20:40 – Traditional publishing or self-publishing? There are benefits to both.  28:35 – There's a fine between writing something you and a very small audience would appreciate and writing something the masses would love.  32:45 – You have to have a clear focus on who your reader will be before you write your book.  37:30 – Field test your book with a few of your critics before your book hits the market.  40:50 – You always have to be promoting your book. Todd created custom book covers for his book to give away on special occasions.  47:30 – Publishing can be a really good thing to add to your business model.  50:15 – The one takeaway? Todd says, “Find the place you can easily see the gratitude that you have for it.”   Mentioned In This Episode: http://toddsattersten.com/

Terry "Starbucker" St. Marie is a writer, consultant, start up investor, and more. He has recently started an online magazine called BuiltOregon.com, which was crowd funded in December 2014. Terry has had his own business since 2010 and was named top 100 Leadership and Management Experts by Inc. Magazine. He sits down with Charlie to share his story, why he does what he does, how he builds strong communities, and more.    Key Takeaways: 1:30 – Charlie introduces his guest, Terry.  6:00 – Why did Terry leave his 'stable' job for a three-person team?  14:10 – Terry shares tips on how you can work on building better communities.  19:10 – In Charlie's experience people are shy in connecting other people to a higher purpose. Why is that? Terry shares some insight into this.  26:30 – Serve our customers and support each other is the business principle Terry lives by with his employees.  29:10 – One of the things that make us unhappy are setbacks and feeling stalled in our lives.  34:15 – Unanticipated Challenge? Terry doesn't know what to do with his book.  39:10 – Life can be good and hard at the same time.  42:00 – Don't forget to always push forward.    Mentioned In This Episode: BuiltOregon.com http://www.terrystarbucker.com https://twitter.com/starbucker Three Signs of a Miserable Job – Patrick Lencioni 

Glenda Watson Hyatt is a blogger, motivational speaker, and more. She has cerebral palsy, which limits some of her function. On the show you may hear the use of additional technology to help her communicate her message to the Creative Giant audience. She delivers an inspiring message on the show today and Charlie talks a bit about her life, motivational speaking, and living her life's purpose.    Key Takeaways: 3:11 – Despite Glenda's disabilities, she has lived a very enriched life and won't let it stop her.  5:01 – What are some of Glenda's challenges in being a motivational speaker?  6:30 – Glenda wrote her book to help share her story.  8:40 – Glenda wants people to see her as intelligent and capable.  10:10 – At some point in our lives, we are going to have some sort of disability.  14:15 – Glenda has gone kayaking, horse back riding, and zip lining.  18:20 – How does Glenda over come her fear?  20:00 – Charlie is glad they had this interview unscripted.  23:10 – Glenda leaves the listeners with some final thoughts.    Mentioned In This Episode: I'll Do It Myself by Glenda Watson Hyatt.  http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/ Twitter @GlendaWH

Todd Kashdan is a public speaker, psychologist, professor, and author. He has published over 150 peer reviewed journal articles about the meaning of life, strength and development, stress, and more. He is the author of Curious? and, his most recent book, The Upside of Your Dark Side; which he talks a little bit about on The Creative Giant Show. Todd shares his wide range of insights with Charlie in this episode as well as talks about some of the challenges he faces, creating stronger bonds, and more.    Key Takeaways: 2:45 – Todd explains how he has two core values and how challenging it is to manage both of them.  7:24 – If you're doing things that aren't pleasurable, but are meaningful, then it's important to have discipline.  11:00 – Everybody has their own set of tools, but it takes time for people to figure out what those tools are and how to use them.  16:20 – Don't always be nice. It sometimes pays to call people out and be a little more narcissistic. 21:50 – Experiencing challenges or discomfort with others creates strong bonds. If you are always nice with certain people, then those bonds aren't tested and you may seek comfort else where.  27:15 – Remember, experiencing anxiety, guilt, and embarrassment, although uncomfortable, these emotions have a purpose. They serve to remind you to be considerate of others.  35:30 – If you are impulsive and say what's on your mind without being a jerk about it, people tend to view you as more open, more kind, and will want to be in relationship with you.  43:50 – We become what we're doing, so what are you doing?  47:30 – Charlie loves Todd's latest book, The Upside of Your Dark Side.  48:20 – Todd talks about what's next for him in this segment.    Mentioned In This Episode: http://toddkashdan.com/ Body of Work by Pam Slim  

Laura Coe is an entrepreneur, coach, and writer. She teaches her clients special spiritual techniques to help them live better emotionally stable lives. Laura co-founded Litholink Corporation, a healthcare company that helped over 350,000 patients a month nationally. When she sold Litholink to a Fortune 500 company, she decided it was time to pursue her lifelong passions and help others. She talks to Charlie today on The Creative Giant Show about her new book entitled Emotional Obesity, emotional health, corporate America, and more!    Key Takeaways: 2:10 – Laura explains how she transitioned from being a co-founder to an author on emotional health issues.  5:40 – What is emotional obesity? Laura explains.  8:30 – How do we know if we're emotionally obese when there is no emotional scale?  11:50 – When Laura left corporate America she wanted to do something she loved, but she couldn't pursue it just yet because she had lost her inner voice.  17:10 – Laura talks about some of the challenges she had when writing her book.  22:40 – You don't need a PhD to help others or do good work.  26:50 – What kind of exercises can we do to tame the emotional obesity? Laura shares some insight.  30:00 – One of Laura's unanticipated challenges is starting her second business and becoming an entrepreneur again.  32:00 – The one takeaway you need to know? Laura says just start! Step forward even when you're not ready.    Mentioned In This Episode: http://emotionalobesity.com/ Paradise Lost by John Milton

Mark is a fourth-generation entrepreneur who has written 7 different programs and a number of classes for entrepreneurs. He runs a distribution business and is also a paramedic in the San Francisco Bay Area. He sits down with Charlie today to talk about doing what you love, making the money you want, and making a difference in the world.    Key Takeaways: 2:15 – Mark talks about how he started Heart of Business.  7:30 – You can make a profit as well as make a difference in the world.  12:30 – Let go of perfectionism.  18:30 – Most entrepreneurs love what they do, but many people have a hard time connecting with their customers even when they have a sales or marketing background. 24:20 – Mark talks about what excites him the most about his business.  32:00 – Ask yourself this question, do our current methods match our principles?  36:30 – One of Mark's unexpected challenges is expecting something to happen 'right now' with his team when it needs more time to grow. 38:00 – The one takeaway? Mark says be compassionate and gentle with yourself on your journey.    Mentioned In This Episode: http://www.heartofbusiness.com/

Jeffrey Davis is a creativity consultant who helps connect his clients to what really matters. He is a writer and the author of the book entitled The Journey from the Center to the Page. He also has had several essays, articles, and short stories appear in both print and on the web publications all over the world. He sits down with Charlie Gilkey to talk about ideas and how to honor the people who inspire you.     Key Takeaways: 2:15 – We're always swimming in new ideas and sometimes we accidentally take it from someone else.   7:10 – What is a signature idea?  15:07 – Danny Brown pointed out how an advertising agency stole an independent video's premise and ideas without any attribution.  20:10 – Both Jeffery and Charlie talk about the degrees of attribution.  26:55 – People don't want to reference their competitors, but when you do, you are operating from a point of generosity versus a hoarding mentality.  31:10 - Maria Popova actually created a standard on how to properly attribute content creators and she was called an elitist for it.  37:25 – Being generous with your ideas actually helps you with your book marketing.  41:15 – Jeffery read a great Forbes article about how to steal ideas ethnically. Charlie chimes in on this as well.   43:25 – We  have signature ideas that can not be stolen.    Mentioned In This Episode: Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky Ecstasy of Influence by Jonathan Lethem  After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield