Make Create Build

Laura thought we were going to have a festive holiday episode about gratitude journaling. Things went a little astray as it became clear there was some discomfort and stressors getting in the way of this seemingly simple Thanksgiving topic. 

We dig in to see what resistance is getting in the way of Laura’s gratitude journaling. Keith realizes that Laura is feeling a lot of pressure to get gratitude right. If nothing else, she is overthinking it. Can we make it simple and let go of it needing to be perfect? 

Stick around for Laura’s top 5 tips for dealing with stress and techniques to bring your focus back and be more present. We think these can be powerful for both personal and professional environments. 

We also had a Parent’s Night Out! We are both grateful for that. 

Thanks for joining us! 

▾ Here are select works and resources we enjoy and find helpful ▾

Jon Acuff, All It Takes Is a Goal: The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap into Your Massive Potential

Shirzad Chamine, Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential AND HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOURS

www.positiveintelligence.com

Brené Brown, Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count 

Annie Kagan, The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad-Boy Brother Proved to Me There’s Life After Death

Don’t forget to get your puzzle on!

*Some Links are affiliate links. If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.*

PODCASTS to check out:

How Did This Get Made?

The Tobolowsky Files

Gratitude and Stress –  Episode 12 

All the Links: 

🔊 LISTEN ON: 

🟣  Apple

🟢  Spotify

🔵  Amazon

🟠  Overcast

We had a Family Movie Night. There was popcorn, treats, mic drops and a few tears. But first, we discuss Parents Night Out! 🎉 The first intentional live music Keith and Laura experienced in four years. There will be more PNO to come.

In the heart of this episode, we dig into what resonated with each other and our reactions to the Barbie movie. Laura says it best, “I think it was also about life, it was about leadership and it was about showing up in the world as you and trying to navigate your way as your true self.”

Barbie highlights historical inequities and our current situation through contrasting typical gender roles and shifting perspectives. Our identities and experiences inform how we move through the world. No doubt, we need systemic changes to serve and support more people. As we work toward more equality and equity, we share how we interpret the signals we receive along our paths and how we think our weirdness is going to give us the advantage in making a change.

Thanks for joining us, watch out for deer.

Spoiler Alert: Family Movie Night – Episode 11

All the Links

▾ Here are select works and resources we enjoy and find helpful ▾

● Barbie (movie 2023)

● LP, Love Lines

● Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, 6 Leadership Lessons From Barbie – Don’t Over-Pink It

● Michael Bungay Stanier, How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters

● Megan Devine, It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand

● Taylor Tomlinson, Whatever she’s up to just go find it.

● Fusebox the podcast hosting and player we use. Check it out!

*Some Links are affiliate links. If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.*

🔊 LISTEN ON:

🟣 Apple

🟢 Spotify

🔵 Amazon

🟠 Overcast

Is our marriage more like a Start-Up or a Merger?  

We talk about Arthur C. Brooks’ article from The Atlantic, “Why the Most Successful Marriages Are Start-Ups, Not Mergers.” It was a quick read that left us with much to talk about. Listen in to how we operate in our marriage as we ponder if we are a Start-up or a Merger. 

There are, and have been, shifting dynamics within our partnership as we’ve grow as individuals and as partners. As we keep moving forward together on this journey, we know our foundation is based on communication and empathy. What works for us? What works for you? 

Laura wants to go on more date nights and they both wonder if Keith is on the verge of a midlife crisis!? 🏎️ 🤨 

It’s always good to check in and see what is and isn’t working.

Thanks for joining us.

Marriage, Support and Communication: A Start-Up Story –  Episode 10 

All the Links: https://linktr.ee/makecreatebuild

▾ Here are select works and resources we enjoy and find helpful ▾

Arthur C. Brooks 
▸ Why the Most Successful Marriages Are Start-Ups, Not Mergers  
Apple News  OR  The Atlantic

▸  From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life

Elizabeth Gilbert  
▸  Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia

Jon Acuff  
▸  All It Takes Is a Goal: The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap into Your Massive Potential

▸  Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done 

▸  Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking

Alisa Cohn  
▸  From Start-Up to Grown-Up: Grow Your Leadership to Grow Your Business

●  Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber – a great series to check out.

David Grann  
▸  Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Fusebox the podcast hosting and player we use. Check it out! 

• *Some Links are affiliate links. If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.*

🔊 LISTEN ON: 

🟣  Apple 🟢  Spotify 🔵  Amazon 🟠  Overcast

Let’s do another Mixed Tape Session. We show up and see what each other has been up to and what’s resonating with us as we transition towards winter.

Laura finished her gardening for the year and Keith was a guest on Owen McGrann’s Sonder Union podcast. Owen is a thoughtful conversationalist and host with intriguing guests. You’ll wish you were sitting between them and joining in the conversation. Check out all Sonder Union episodes on Apple or Spotify.

In today’s episode, we cover morning routines, what we are listening to and reading, traditions we’re excited about as the seasons change, and Keith circle talks a little around ideas ruminating in his head, and Laura’s looking forward to a new project.

Quote Cards:

“The future turns out to be something that you make instead of find.” – Lewis Lapham

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi

All the Links: https://linktr.ee/makecreatebuild

Here are a few quick links to works or resources we enjoy and find helpful:

● Brian Koppelman, The Moment with Brian Koppelman – APPLE or SPOTIFY

● Owen McGrann, Sonder Union with Owen McGrann – APPLE or SPOTIFY

● Michael Bungay Stanier, How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters

● Jon Acuff, All It Takes Is a Goal: The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap into Your Massive Potential

●  @MichaelFranti  – Turn it UP!

● Seth Godin, The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams

● Fusebox the podcast hosting and player we use. Check it out

• Some Links are affiliate links. If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.

A Mixed Tape Session 2 Episode 9

LISTEN ON:

Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and Overcast

What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you doing that? Or like us, did your path have a few more twists and turns? Our journey down the path isn’t always consistent and so straight forward.

Keith and Laura find some common threads that still connect them to their younger selves and the drive and passion that made them want to connect and learn in their teenage years.

Do the same things still resonate with you? Did you find a way to incorporate them into your daily practice, into what you do in your spare time, or into projects that you’re pursuing?

Here are a few quick links to select works we enjoy and find helpful.

● Kim Scott, Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity

● Daniel H. Pink, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward

● Michael Bungay Stanier, How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters

● Mel Robbins, Take Control of Your Life: How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game

● Gary Vaynerchuk, Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success

● Seth Godin, The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams

● Fusebox the podcast hosting and player we use. Check it out!

• If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.

Passion, Purpose, Practical – What Did You Want to Be? Episode 8 All the Links: https://linktr.ee/makecreatebuild

We’ve started, we’ve failed, and we keep moving forward. Let’s keep our momentum going with work that matters. Speaking of work that matters, we are talking about Seth Godin’s book, Poke the Box.

Over the week, we read (or reread) Poke the Box. And, now it’s time for us to do what we do; talk about it and see what resonates with each other. We even mention a few other books that we’ve been enjoying by Mel Robbins, Alisa Cohn, Michael Bungay Stanier, and I’m sure Keith mentions The Practice by Seth Godin.

Let’s shines a light on the Lizard Brain. It’s time to commit to making a difference and decide what matters. Become an initiator. Start. Go. Do.

Don’t forget to send us any recommendations of your favorite reads or listens. And, if you have any suggestions for Laura as she leans into her writing, let us know.

All the Links for Make Create Build

Here are a few quick links to select works we enjoy and find helpful.

● Seth Godin, Poke the Box

● Alisa Cohn, From Start-Up to Grown-Up: Grow Your Leadership to Grow Your Business

● Michael Bungay Stanier, How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters

● Mel Robbins, Take Control of Your Life: How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game

● Seth Godin, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work

● Seth Godin, The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams

• If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.

We talk through imposter syndrome. The pitfalls and how we push past them.  “I don’t feel good enough,” or “who am I to . . .”  We address how it feels and how we push through to keep taking steps on our journey. 

I may not feel qualified to do this “thing,” but what I do know is I’m going to learn as I go through this, and I’m committed to myself to not just learn, but to hold myself accountable, to continue to improve and hone my craft.

Pushing Through Imposter Syndrome Episode 6

Make Create Build Linktree

When life presents unexpected obstacles or you feel like waving the white flag; how do you keep going? You’re in the hard part. That’s the dip. How do you keep showing up and doing the best you can with the time you have? The way I try to work through is by choosing action. What choice can you make to keep moving forward with your project?

We talk about some of our practices that we use to help us keep pushing forward, even when it gets hard. What resources or techniques do you find helpful when you are having trouble seeing a way forward?

How Do You Keep Moving? Episode 5

Here are a few quick links to select works we enjoy and find helpful.

● Seth Godin, The Dip

● Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility

● Field Notes – The best memo notebooks around.

● LP, Love Lines – Amazing New music we found.

● How Did This Get Made? – Podcast

● The Anxious Achiever – Podcast

• If you buy something using one of our affiliate links, we’ll receive a small commission.

Better late than never?

We’ve been thinking about how the podcast is rolling out and shaping up. As we’re finding our voices, going through the different episodes, trying to piece together the conversations that we’ve had–we’ve gone from talking about just starting, to the overwhelm of starting, to perfectionism. 

So, how do we spend time with the things that light us up and surround ourselves with things that bring energy, excitement, and happiness? The ideas that you surround yourself with, the people, the things, the information, the practices, are ultimately what influences how you experience your world, your days.

We dive-in to the books we read, the music we listen to and get excited about. The small little practices that help us stay positive, shift or reframe our perspectives, and keep moving forward. They all play a role in our ability to keep showing up, to do the work. 

We talk at length about a favorite new artist of ours, LP. It came to our attention after recording and publishing the episode, that in our discussion, we address LP with the incorrect pronouns. LP prefers they/them pronouns. We apologize for our oversight. 

Our aim is to be inclusive and for people to feel comfortable listening, participating, sharing space with us. We can’t always be articulate. We wish we could. Even if we don’t have the ‘right’ words to express our thoughts all the time, we will continue to learn, grow, and make space for others as we strive to share and listen generously.

A Mixed Tape Episode 4 

Make Create Build Linktree

Perfectionism is complex and may appear in various shapes and forms: over-processing, hesitation, avoidance, and overwhelm. Our relationships and projects can suffer if we chase perfection. Let’s lean in and harness the good, prepare for the bad, and close the door on the ugly.

How will I show up? What will people think? How will they perceive what I put out there? What do I post? What do I say? Is it good enough? Am I showing up the way I want to show up? What’s the message I wanted to convey?

Reading through the different types of perfectionism in Katherine Morgan Schafler’s The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power shows that perfectionism can be incredibly nuanced. And, being a perfectionist isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Can you recognizing it? And then, can you harness those things to be your superpowers? We also mention some insights from Jon Acuff’s Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done and Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking.

We talked last time, around perfectionism, and just getting started. Just doing it, getting out there, posting the post, starting the project. The practice is the point. It’s not about doing the thing perfectly, it’s about the process of going on that journey.

Laura, “And I guess for me, maybe specifically the way that my perfectionism shows up. One thing that I know I can do is instead of sitting and struggling, perhaps I can continue to connect with you and talk through it. I think that’s incredibly helpful for me. I also think just knowing that we’re doing the best we can, that we’re showing up honestly with good intention and letting that be good enough.”