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Justin Connor: The Lungs Hold Grief and Why Workaholism Is Both Saving Grace and Achilles Heel for Filmmakers
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Justin Connor, filmmaker and musician behind The Golden Age, shares how his saxophonist father and jazz-loving parents never encouraged music yet inadvertently programmed workaholism into his DNA—a double-edged sword that became both his greatest asset for wearing multiple hats on independent films and his potential downfall requiring hard drive reformatting of his life. Connor reveals how cigarette addiction reflected grief stored in the lungs, how psychedelics and ayahuasca offered exploration without true addiction, and why workaholism proved more dangerous than any substance by fueling perfectionism, obsessive careerism, and control. Drawing from his upbringing witnessing family dynamics, he explains how directing became about trusting himself as an adult after childhood wounds, why he interned for Eric Holder before a double feature of Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction redirected him to Hollywood, and how creating The Golden Age with superhuman strength felt like lancing a boil that needed purging—a film he could never remake even with 10 million dollars.
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B. Jeffrey: Why Obsession Is the Hidden Cost of Building an Empire
44:40|B. Jeffrey, a teacher at Parsons School of Design and author of Creative Careers, discusses how to make a living from your ideas without chasing false definitions of success. He explores the difference between having a vision and proving a concept, why obsession is a necessary condition for building empires like Ralph Lauren or Apple, and how most creative people never ask themselves what success actually looks like to them.David Allen: Why Your Brain is a Terrible Office
49:24|David Allen, creator of the Getting Things Done methodology, shares the unconventional path that led him from 35 jobs before 35, drug experimentation, and a childhood fascination with magic to becoming the godfather of modern productivity. He explains why your brain evolved for pattern recognition, not task management, and breaks down his capture-clarify-organize-reflect-engage framework.Dan Lerner: Why Your Character Strengths Matter More Than Your Skills
58:30|Dan Lerner teaches the Science of Happiness at NYU. He explains how to identify your signature strengths using the VIA assessment and why companies that emphasize character strengths see 73% employee engagement versus 9% for those focused on weaknesses. Includes a story about a lawyer who turned down a Fortune 100 job to join Jet.com as their 10th employee.Cyril Bouquet: How to Think Like an Alien to Unlock Creativity
01:01:51|Cyril Bouquet, professor at IMD Business School and lifelong immigrant, explains how creativity requires seeing the world with fresh eyes. He breaks down the ALIEN framework, an acronym for five lenses that help you escape conventional thinking and approach problems like someone from another planet.Brad Stulberg: Why Stability Comes from Changing, Not Resisting Change
59:26|Brad Stulberg returns to discuss his book Master of Change, exploring how the science of allostasis reveals that true stability comes from adapting rather than resisting. He shares practical frameworks like 2Ps vs 4Ps for handling daily disruptions and tragic optimism for navigating life's bigger changes.AJ Leon: The Defiance That Shapes a Life Worth Living
01:11:01|AJ Leon shares how losing his father at 14 and growing up marginalized shaped his philosophy of defiance over courage. He discusses the Ms. Mitchell moment that catalyzed his career, why context matters when processing grief, and the deliberate thoughtfulness behind building Misfit Inc into a collection of six companies.Chase Jarvis: Creativity is a Birthright, Not a Gift
01:12:53|Chase Jarvis, founder of CreativeLive and author of Creative Calling, discusses why creativity is a practical skill everyone possesses from birth that gets systematically suppressed by education and culture. He breaks down his IDEA framework for unlocking creative potential and building a life around the work you were meant to do.Adam Gazzaley: Why Your Ancient Brain Struggles With Modern Tech
54:11|UCSF neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley explains the evolutionary mismatch between our attention systems and modern technology. He breaks down top-down vs bottom-up attention, the limits of cognitive control, and practical strategies for reclaiming focus in a distracted world.Austin Kleon: Transforming Disgust Into Art and the Power of Creative Maladjustment
01:01:22|Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist and Keep Going, returns to discuss how creative work emerges from deep dissatisfaction with the world rather than contentment. He explores why the metaphors we use for creativity matter, how quilting offers a better model than vandalism for making art, and why every book requires learning the craft all over again.