Defining Core Values as Actionable Principles

How do we keep our creative edge—and ourselves—intact while navigating constant demands, distractions, and emotional turbulence? In this episode, we explore two distinct yet overlapping paths to real impact and creative resilience.

We first sit down with Robert Glazer, best-selling author of The Compass Within, who demystifies the role of core values as more than just aspirational words—they’re non-negotiable principles that serve as a compass for decision making, relationships, and leadership. We discuss how to identify actionable, clarifying values, why supposed “values” like “family” often hide deeper principles, and how lack of alignment between values and life leads to burnout and stagnation. Glazer shares his “big three” most life-defining decisions and what happens when our work, partners, or communities are out of sync with who we really are.

Next, we’re joined by Josh Pais, veteran actor and creator of Committed Impulse, whose new book Lose Your Mind offers a radical take on performance and presence. Pais reveals how reframing so-called “negative” emotions like anxiety and nervousness—as simply energy—transforms dread into creative fuel. He walks us through practical access points to presence, explains why emotion labeling sabotages creativity, and shares tools for cultivating the embodied awareness needed to consistently put ourselves on the line, whether the audience is one person or a thousand.

Together, these conversations serve up a roadmap for navigating modern creative pressures with clarity, energy, and authenticity.

Five Key Learnings from This Episode:

1. Core values aren’t beliefs—they’re actionable, non-negotiable principles that guide behavior and decisions across every area of life and work.
2. Naming surface-level values like “family” isn’t enough—clarity comes from articulating how those values show up as decisions and actions, both personally and professionally.
3. Burnout is often rooted not in workload, but in living incongruently with our core values, which drains energy and leads to fragmentation or eventual crisis.
4. Emotions like fear or nervousness are not “bad”—they’re simply sensations, or energy, that, when accepted and embodied, can be used as creative fuel rather than barriers.
5. Authenticity is grounded in presence and congruence: anchoring to core values provides direction, while welcoming our emotional experience gives us the fuel to show up bravely and perform at our best.

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