DREAM THINK DO | Motivation, Encouragement & Strategy

Daniel Scrivner… he's a true DREAM THINK DOer.  He's a self-taught designer who got his start freelancing and eventually joined DDB - an advertising firm in Venice Beach.  Then… he moved to San Francisco and joined Apple's Marketing Communications team… where he got to work on several landmark product launches and projects.  In 2011, Daniel left Apple and joined the small team at Square.  He went on to become Square's Director of Design… where he grew his team from 5 to 40… and his team touched almost every aspect of Square's design.  During that same time, Square went public… and was valued at over $3.6 billion.  In 2016, Daniel left Square and founded Blackletter Ventures… and has become an investor in more than 30 companies.  Daniel has also become a trusted advisor to brands like Nike, Disney… and he speaks on design and entrepreneurship around the world.  Which brings us to what he's up to now.    RESOURCES: Daniel's website: www.danielscrivner.com Investments: www.blackletter.com  Daniels new Podcast: Outliers: www.outliers.fm/ Daniel references the book, "HOW WILL YOU MEASURE YOUR LIFE" by Clayton Christensen.  Here's an article in the HBR about the story behind it.  FLOW: Daniel wants to give DREAM THINK DOers would like to give 25% off their first year with Flow. You can sign up for free at www.getflow.com and use promo code "DREAMTHINKDO" when you subscribe. BONUS INTERVIEW: Daniel and I extended our conversation to talk about leadership and life!  Check out this bonus interview for some pure gold insights on stretching yourself, continuing to innovate and living life to the fullest!  ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT Daniel Scrivner EPISODE: Characterized by his refined aesthetic and ability to work at the highest level across mediums, Daniel is recognized as a leader in his field.  Get this… his client roster includes organizations like Apple, Square, Nike, Disney, and Target, and his accolades include a D&AD Black Pencil for Apple.com, a nomination to Kleiner Perkin's Design Council under John Maeda, and several "Best Of" awards in both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store. As you'll hear in our interview, Daniel is a self-taught designer, who's worked his way up to now being CEO of Flow.   Daniel has been invited to speak at some of the world's most innovative organizations, including Andreessen Horowitz, General Assembly, Designer Fund, and 500 Startups.  A California native, Daniel now lives on five acres up in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado with his bride, Bre, and their dog, Sunny.  With clients and investments across the US, he spends most of the time in Colorado, with many trips to California and New York when it's safe to do so! MINUTE BY MINUTE SHOW NOTES: 0:02 What to expect today 1:25 Get to know Daniel 4:09 Conversation starts 4:56 How David got into design 12:28 The correct way to think about self education 15:08 Daniel's journey from designer to CEO 18:02 Give yourself permission to go all-in 20:05 Put in the work to create better opportunities 21:17 The one thing Mitch wants to know 26:06 Know yourself 27:26 Recognize your weakness in a healthy way 31:09 Mitch's biggest takeaways 31:11 How to see bonus footage   I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What do you think?  What stood out to you from this convo with Daniel? I have to say I love his devotion to continually learning.  That core belief has allowed him to push through and have some AMAZING experiences.  Apple. Square.  Now… FLOW.  Pretty dang cool!  Plus, that devotion keeps him stretching and achieving at new levels.  Love that.   What did you dig?  What did it stir up? I want to hear from YOU!  Comment here or you can connect up with me on Facebook or Instagram and let me know.   I can't wait to hear YOUR thoughts! #letsdothis #bestyearyet For more podcasts click here

Vishen Lakhiani joins us for DREAM THINK DO.  Vishen is the founder and CEO of Mindvalley - a leading online personal growth education company.  He's also written TWO New York Times best-selling books and we dig into both. One is "The Code of the Extraordinary Mind" which we'll tap into at the backend of the interview… to get you a powerful and really useful six-step process to help with daily meditation and prayer.  We'll also be digging into his brand new book, "The Buddha and the Badass, - the secret spiritual art of succeeding at work."  During the interview, we'll talk about what being a Spiritual badass even means… and more importantly… how you can tap into it to improve your work, your relationships, and your life.       RESOURCES: Vishen's books: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: click here The Buddha and the Badass: click here Mindvalley: click here  Vishen's 6-Phase Guided Meditation: Vishen Lakhiani SHOW NOTES: This week we're talking about what it means to integrate the power of our spiritual self into our everyday life.  Plus, we'll get you some incredible strategies to help you to do just that. Vishen Lakhiani 's passion and drive to unite humanity and challenge the status quo, he has built a movement of growth-seekers, spanning across 195 countries, engaging more than 15 million followers on social media, and nearly half-a-million Mindvalley students each year. He describes his childhood schooling experience in Malaysia as "forgettable." As a young adult, he envisioned going to school in the United States and fulfilled that dream when he attended the University of Michigan but it just didn't click with the formal concept of education. These experiences, along with finding his passion and purpose, ignited a dream of evolving the way the world does education—and so he created Mindvalley.  Vishen's first book, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, which challenges you to reject the inherited world's rules and expectations that hold you back.  It was released in 2016 and since then many professional athletes, top entrepreneurs and political leaders point to the book as changing their lives and careers.  In June 2020, his second book The Buddha And The Badass became an instant bestseller, debuting at No. 9 on the 'Advice / How To' list, and it quickly hit #1 on the Wall Street Journal's bestseller list.  We talk about both books in the interview… including Vishen's 6 phase meditation process.   Here's the minute-by-minute breakdown of the episode: 0:02 What to expect today 0:34 Meet Vishen Lakhiani 4:40 The value of meditation 8:10 Spirituality is a legitimate business strategy 13:10 Being a spiritual badass 14:30 6 phase meditation 20:00 What does 6 phase meditation look like practically? 21:44 Final thoughts and recognizing human duality   I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What do you think?  What stood out to you from the conversation? I know I'm going to try out the Vishen Lakhiani 's 6 Phase meditation and I'll let you know how it goes.   What do you agree with?  What don't you agree with?  Either way… I want to hear from YOU!  Comment here or you can connect up with me on Facebook or Instagram and let me know.   I can't wait to hear YOUR thoughts! #letsdothis #bestyearyet For more podcasts click here

This episode is for someone who has a big idea but is feeling stuck.  The idea keeps getting bigger in your mind, but that's making it harder and harder to find a place where you can start!  Whether it's writing that book, starting that business, launching that website, or shifting your career… deep down you know it's time but you're feeling like you keep running into a brick wall.  Well… this episode is for you!  I give you 3 simple but powerful strategies in about 15 minutes to help you to get started, get momentum, and get that big idea done!  So, let's get to it!     RESOURCES: Eric Reis and the Lean Startup: theleanstartup.com Mitch's Book: IGNITE! www.ignitethebook.com    MINUTE BY MINUTE SPEED BOATS, NOT CRUISE SHIPS! SHOW NOTES: 0:02 What to expect today 1:01 Thanks for the feedback 3:16 The phrase that will help you get "unstuck" 8:13 Progress over perfection 10:11 Evaluate and adjust 10:30 What Mitch learned from his first book 14:11 What to do on your lunch break   I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What do you think?  What's a "speed boat" you're going to put in the water?  What's a way that you can do something small but significant this week with that awesome… the big idea of yours?   Let me know! Comment here or you can connect up with me on Facebook or Instagram and let me know there!  I can't wait to hear from YOU! Let's kick butt… let's break free of all this pandemic fatigue and make the rest of the year amazing… no matter what.  Who's in?  I'm betting you are! #letsdothis #bestyearyet Read more about our latest Podcasts.  

We're diving into two quick but powerful concepts to help you navigate this wild time.  And hey… if we do this right, we can all turn 2020 into one of our best years yet!  That's no small order but I think we're all up for it.  The key is our willingness to ADAPT and pivot (I'll give you some specific examples of what we've done with the show) and to ASK people what they want.  This episode is short and sweet… AND we wrap up by asking what YOU want me to focus on as we look to finish 2020 strong!  So let's get to this!     "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself.  Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." George Bernard Shaw "Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." Bruce Lee "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." Stephen Hawking "Every success story is a tale of constant adaptation, revision, and change!" Richard Branson EPISODES MENTIONED: DTD INTERVIEW WITH MOVIE CRITIC RUSS MATTHEWS (Mitch's brother): MitchMatthews.com/104    GRATITUDE: We're kicking things off with some celebration and gratitude for YOU… the DREAM THINK DO-er!   We're grateful for each and every download… because each one represents someone who's willing to defy the odds to DREAM bigger, THINK better, and DO more of what they were put on the planet to do!   Recently, we've had downloads from places like China, Russia, and even Kazakhstan!  Who knew? But we also hear from so many awesome DTDers in great places like Iceland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Canada… and of course… my home… the USA!   We're grateful for ALL of you and how you continue to invite others to join us too!    THANK YOU! ADAPT: It's been a crazy year so far.  Heck… I'm betting we can all agree it's one of the wildest any of us has ever experienced.  It's shifted so many things.  How we work, how we shop, how we eat, how we church, how we congregate and gather… heck… even how we do birthdays and weddings! Adapting and pivoting have had to become mainstream. One example is how it's hit the podcast industry.  You may or may not know that many podcasts lost 30 to 50% of their downloads in one week.  The week things REALLY shut down and almost everyone started to work from home.  Why?  Well, as it turns out… most people listened to podcasts while they were commuting and at work.  So… if people aren't driving to work and/or sitting at their work desks… many aren't listening to podcasts.   Boom.  30 to 50% gone.  Overnight. We got hit by that too. But… we adapted. We started to watch the numbers to see where and when people started to listen.  Not surprisingly, more people started to listen on the weekends.  Also… not surprisingly… they started to listen for a shorter period of time. So… we shifted.  (You may have noticed.) Now, instead of releasing on Tuesdays and promoting on Wednesdays.  We're releasing on Thursdays or Fridays and promoting on Fridays or Saturdays.  We also shorted the average episode length from 45 minutes to less than 20 minutes. We pivoted.  You guys responded. So much so that although we took that 50% hit… like the rest of the industry… we're now hitting download numbers higher than what we were experiencing before this virus wildness came on the scene!  #suckitcovid Thanks for helping to make that happen and thanks SO much for continuing to share DREAM THINK DO with your family and friends!  We're so grateful for you! And hey… that's one example of some PIVOTS we've been experimenting with.  How about you?  What are some small (or big) changes you've been making to adapt and thrive in this weird wild season?  We want to hear from YOU!  (Comment below!) ASK: Also, as we adapt and pivot… we also want to ASK. That's right.  I want to hear from YOU! Because I want us all to thrive in the midst of all the curveball...

This week we're talking about overcoming COMPARISON!  Seriously, have you ever opened up your social media app… you scrolled… scrolled… and then WHAM!  It hits you… that wave of COMPARISON. Those feelings of: "I'm behind," or "I've missed it" or "I'm too late" or "I'm not as ________ as them."  Here's the deal.  I think comparison kills more dreams and big ideas than just about anything else.  And THAT is why we're going after it this week.  I'm going to get you a six-word phrase that's helped set me and my coaching clients free from the "comparison trap!"  (Plus, I'll give you the fun story of when and how it hit me!)  So… if you're wanting to bust free from the weariness that comes from comparison… I've got your back!  Let's do this. Listen To The Podcast:   RESOURCES: DREAM THINK DO Episode 213: "Identity Statements," www.mitchmatthews.com/213 Mitch's Success Coaching: www.mitchmatthews.com/success-coaching   MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 1:42 Comparison kills dreams 4:07 When Mitch experienced comparison 6:39 The phrase that ended comparison for Mitch 8:00 the benefits of staying in "learning mode" 9:51 Instead vs. Not 13:18 The foundation of the phrase 14:20 What to do when you are feeling intimidated 17:14 How to get coaching from Mitch   MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE: Recently, I was working with one of my coaching clients.  He's an entrepreneur working on a new project.  It has the potential to be big… really big.  But part of it is going to involve him having more of a social media presence.  This has caused him to look at what other people are doing which sparked a conversation about feeling those pangs of "comparison."     You know those feelings that can sometimes come when you see other people doing something or achieving something that you want to do or experience.  Those feelings of: Do I have what it takes? Did I miss it? Am I too late? I could totally relate.   I can totally relate.  In fact, I had a similar experience when I was asked to be on stage at a big conference.  I knew some of my heroes from the speaking world were going to be there too.  People like Brendon Burchard, Jack Canfield, and Les Brown. Once I was there, I got to see them in action on stage.  Plus, I was able to connect with them backstage too.  I'll admit those inner-voices of comparison started to weasel their way into my thinking. I started to have doubts. What if I wasn't as good as they were? What if I couldn't deliver at the same level? What if my content didn't resonate? But then I got hit with this phrase and it was so freeing.  I think it was a gift from God because you know I was praying… BIG time!  This phrase hit me and as I let it sink it...  I got hit with a sense of calm… this sense of peace.  This phrase helped me to move into a healthier state of mind.  It helped me to start to feel confident.  It helped me to move out of fear and be more open to the awesome things that were happening around me.   It helped me to stay out of comparison and instead… it enabled me to take in the gold the speakers were sharing… as well as take in the full experience and learn from the whole situation.   I can tell you this phrase has helped me so much since too.  Any time when I'm moving into comparison mode.  You know those times when you're: - scrolling through social media - or reading a book or a memoir by someone who's done something YOU want to do - hearing a story of a breakthrough from a friend or a client   If I feel that comparison starts to creep in… I remind myself of the phrase and it makes all the difference.  Are you ready for it? Here's the phrase. "Learn from instead of comparing to." Such a simple phrase but it makes a huge difference. There are three elements to this phrase.  Let's break it down. LEARNING FROM: 

We're talking about what to do AFTER that difficult conversation.  Our first two episodes on the CRITICAL subject of having HARD (but RICH) conversations have been huge!  In fact, it's led to some of our biggest download numbers of the year!  (Thanks for spreading the word!)  That means we're hitting on a topic that people need right now.  That's why we're talking about what to do AFTER the conversation. I offer THREE tenets to live by in about 15 minutes.  Short and sweet. NOTE: The 2nd will help you to know what to do if you think you've offended someone.  (Because that's a hard reality of our current era… right?)  BTW… the strategy might surprise you… but I think it will also help you to feel a sense of freedom too! So let's get to it! Listen To The Podcast:   RESOURCES: www.mitchmatthews.com/273 - Preparing for a HARD conversation www.mitchmatthews.com/274 - MINDSET for hard conversations www.mitchmatthews.com/211 - Finding the Middle Ground with Congressman Ro Khanna   Marianne Williamson quote on honor and respecting each other: "A healthy, vital society is not one in which we all agree.   It is one in which those who disagree can  do so with honor and respect for other people's opinions…  and an appreciation of our shared humanity."   A Masterclass on Hard Conversations: Part 3 SHOW NOTES:  We're going after 3 TENETS in about 15 minutes.  So let's get to it! FIRST TENENT: Love first.  Love last.  Love fully. If you've been listening to DTD for a while… you know I'm a Jesus guy and I love the Bible.   So I do my best to follow what I've learned from the Bible.  I sure don't do that perfectly… but I've found that if I try to understand what's in there… and know that God loves me… a lot… as I do… things seem to work out pretty darn well.  And I have a much better life.   Now I'm going to stop right there and acknowledge the fact that I may have thrown out something we may or may not agree upon… but I wanted to give you some of my own personal foundation for the first strategy.  (How about that for navigating difficult conversations!  HA!) Here's the deal… people were always asking Jesus about the rules… and laws. Sometimes He would offer stories and metaphors… other times He would offer different ways to look at things… sometimes He would raise the stakes and poke a little bit.  But in one particular interaction, someone was trying to set Jesus up… my hope was they were truly trying to learn… but some people think this guy was trying to get Jesus to say something that would get Him in trouble.  The question was: of ALL the commandments… of ALL the rules that we live by… which is the most important?   Can you imagine? It was a rules-based culture.  The rules were everything.  The people who memorized the rules were elevated… they were respected… they were feared.  The more rules you knew… the more power you had.  But Jesus did this wild thing in his response. He said… Okay… of ALL the rules… the TWO most important rules are: Love God with all your heart.  Love your neighbor as yourself. Love. Love. Love. Love God.  Love others.  Love yourself. Now THAT is something I can remember. Now you might be asking, "What does it have to do with difficult conversations?" Well… sometimes they're going to go the way you want them to.  Sometimes they're not. But I've found that if I focus on loving the person… which can mean truly listening… which can mean honoring… which can mean respecting them… even if we don't agree.  If I do THAT… it almost always leads to a much higher chance for a rich relationship… before, during, AND after. Now, here's the thing.  Loving someone doesn't mean acquiesce.  It doesn't mean being a doormat.  It means being humble AND confident. Humble confidence. In fact, I like what Frank Turner from Qurora.com said about humility.   "To be humble is to not make yourself more important than others. 

We're doing an experiment. 3 episodes on the wildly important subject of having HARD but RICH conversations.  This is sooooooo important right now.  Right?  Difficult conversations usually involve a touchy subject but with the right mindset… they can be incredibly RICH and rewarding too.  Also, we're experimenting with our timing.  So each episode will be about 15 minutes long.  Short… sweet and to the point!  So let's get to it!   Listen To The Podcast:     RESOURCES: Give the gift of listening: mitchmatthews.com/249   QUOTES FROM THE SHOW:  "If you know your WHY, your HOW will come." - Mitch Brian Tracy once said, "Think on paper. Every minute you spend in planning can save you five to ten minutes in execution."   Adam Carroll says, "You have to know that the juice is worth the squeeze." The Dalai Lama once said, "When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know.  But if you listen, you may learn something new."  "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." - Winston Churchill  Way back in about 100 AD, the Greek philosopher Epictetus said, "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."   I recorded this one from Silverthorne, Colorado.  I'm on a little trip with my family but I wanted to record the episode with as much of YOUR input as possible.  So yeah… I set up a mobile studio with just about the best view… ever.   So… here's what my view looked like! :)   MINUTE BY MINUTE BREAKDOWN: 0:02 What to expect today 2:37 Six strategies to have hard conversations 2:52 Know you're why 4:07 Giving the gift of "not surprising 5:57 The gift of listening 8:19 W.A.I.T 9:48 Watch your but 11:10 Keep an open mind 12:44 Confident vulnerability     WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!  How about you?  What's a strategy that stood out to you?   What's something YOU are going to try this week? Also, I want to hear from YOU on your favorite strategies for navigating hard conversations.  Comment and let me know.  And hey, if I use your concept I'll give you a shout out in the episode too!  Cool?  Cool.

Welcome to episode 273 of DREAM THINK DO. We're doing an experiment over these next few weeks. 3 episodes on the important topic of having HARD conversations.   Actually, I want to reframe that as how to have RICH conversations.  Because… they really can be both right? Hard conversations usually involve a difficult subject but with the right prep… they can be incredibly RICH conversations too.  Right?  Oh… and each episode will be about 15 minutes long.  YOW… you know me so this is a stretch!  But it's going to be gooooood.  So let's get to it!   Listen To The Podcast:     RESOURCES: Episode 002: Punch Worry in the Face: mitchmatthews.com/punch-worry-in-the-face Episode 246: 2 Minutes to Confidence: mitchmatthews.com/246 3 Buckets Infographic:  Learn more here All right… I'm excited about this. Experiments are always fun.  And I'm feeling stretched to keep this shorter.  A little uncomfortable… and that's good… right? This is going to be PART 1 in a series called a "Masterclass in Hard Conversations." NOTE: This series is not geared towards ONLINE conversations.  Nope.   This is for REAL conversations.    Do you remember REAL conversations?   Face to face.  Eye-ballers.  Real deal conversations.   In our current situation of COVID-19, etc… this may look a little different but what we're going to be talking about is one-on-one conversations.  We might be talking about using something like Zoom or the phone… but it's all about talking to someone that's important to you. They're important to you… because they're: Family member Friend Co-worker Boss Someone you're wanting to get to know better Now… something about them may ping the shiznitz out of you… but you still need or want to have a conversation.  And yes, some of those might be "hard" conversations.  So, let's get you ready!   QUOTES FROM THE SHOW: "You have power over your mind - not outside events.  Realize this and you will find strength." Marcus Aurelius "LET IT GO.  LET IT GO." Queen Elsa  "We are not all in the same boat, but we are in the same storm." Origin of the quote   MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect the next three episodes 2:11 Now is the time to have a rich conversation 5:03 The three-bucket questions 6:57 Create an environment for 'us' 8:32 How fight or flight plays into conversations 10:53  Give yourself a minute 14:00 Mitch asks in a difficult conversation 14:41 Remain respectful   WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! So… one of the things I needed to be reminded of this week has been the importance of "Just giving yourself a minute."  It's a concept I'm REALLY familiar with when it comes to my "typical" workday.  And/or when I'm preparing to take the stage in front of an audience.  But amid all of the wildness that is 2020, I've realized that it's so important to just stop once and a while and take a breath.  To rest.  To be present.  That's critical.  So I appreciated that prompt to just stop, to pause, and to breathe.   How about you?  What's something that stood out to you?   What's something YOU are going to try this week? Also, I want to hear from YOU on your favorite strategies for navigating hard conversations.  Comment and let me know.  And hey, if I use your concept I'll give you a shout out in the episode too!  Cool?  Cool. Leave a comment and let me know!  I can't wait to hear from YOU!

We're talking with Fritzi Horstman.  She's the Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project.  Before that, she was a Grammy Award Winning producer of projects like HBO's "The Defiant Ones" as well as dozens of television projects, documentaries, and several films.  In 2018, Fritzi had the experience of visiting a high-security prison and while she was there her heart broke.  She saw some things she thought needed to change, so she dove in to help.  A video that demonstrates the amazing work of the CPP has gone viral with millions of views.  In fact, that's how I came across Fritzi's story.  After watching the video… I dug into the story and was so impressed I wanted to have her on to share about her journey! She's the example of someone who saw something that needed to be fixed and she came up with a tangible solution to help.  I think it will inspire you.  Let's get to it.     Listen To The Podcast:     RESOURCES: The Compassion Prison Project's Website: compassionprisonproject.org More info from the CDC on childhood trauma and the ACE Score: www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention Facebook: @compassionprisonproject  Instagram: @compassion.prison.project    The CPP Video we talked about: Step Inside the Circle from Fritzi Horstman on Vimeo.   MORE INFORMATION ON THE EPISODE: On February 12… 235 incarcerated men gathered in the yard of a California maximum-security prison to learn something about themselves. These men formed a huge circle… and our guest… Fritzi Horstman… stood in the middle of that circle… alone… with a microphone… guiding them through an incredible process of awareness and healing. Maybe you've seen the viral video that helps to tell the story… a million+ people have watched it… and it's amazing.  (It's featured in the resources section above.) Fritzi reads a series of statements.  Each time… if these men could say yes to the statement… about their childhood… about the environment, they grew up in… about the abuse and trauma they faced… about the incredible challenges, they'd had to deal with… then they were asked to step further into the circle. It's a circle of compassion. It's a circle of no shame. It's a circle of healing. Again… if you've seen the video… you know it's an incredibly powerful and incredibly revealing process that we can all learn from.   And that's just the beginning of the "Compassion Prison Project" started by Fritzi. This week, we're going to talk with her about how she went from being a Grammy Award Winning producer to be the Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project. I hope it inspires you to DREAM and to THINK about the places where you see a problem that needs to be fixed… and to ask… "What can I DO to help?"   MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 2:05 Meet Fritzi Horstman 3:59 The back story of how it got started 4:37 More about the Compassion Prison Project 7:42 How trauma-affected Fritzi 9:30 How extreme poverty affects the brain 12:43 When Fritzi decided to be the change 16:55 The peace that comes with not judging 18:39 Become a problem solver 21:59 The ACE test 25:36 How Fritzi has overcome her own childhood trauma 27:49 How to connect with Fritzi 28:39 Mitch's biggest takeaways   WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! So… I know one of my favorite parts of the conversation was when Fritzi talked about seeing the problem but she looked at it through her experience.   Yes… I loved it when she said, "I'm a producer.  I fix problems!"   She reframed this huge challenge and although she didn't have experience with the prison systems… she gave herself permission to explore possible solutions.  She didn't wait.  She started.  She asked, "What can I do?" and she took action.  That's huge! How about you? What's something that stood out to you from the conversation?   Leave a comment and let me know!

We're talking to Alex Matthews.  Alex's new book is out this week.  It's a 500+ page coming-of-age post-apocalyptic thriller called, "Waking Up: Summer."  Alex is 19 years old… and I'm very proud to say he's also my son.  In the interview, we talk about the book itself and the story behind it.  Plus, we dig into Alex's creative process and some important things he's learned along the way about going after creative dreams.     Listen To The Podcast:     Alex Matthews RESOURCES: Find Alex's Book "Waking Up: Summer" by clicking here. Find Alex's YouTube Channel by clicking here. Find Alex Matthews on Instagram by clicking here.   MORE ON THE BOOK:   Description of the book: Before the bio weapon was created, Timberwolf was simply known as Alex and his home was a safe place.  But when a monstrous sickness was released into the world everything changed. Nothing and no one stayed the same. He would've never predicted that in just one day, all that mattered to him could be shredded by the fangs of those creatures.   Follow Timberwolf as he's forced to engage in a world controlled by leaders who blur the lines between human and monster.   Can he stay true to his values… let alone survive?   Or will all hope be lost in this new place he's forced to call home?  Waking Up: Summer is a dark coming of an age horror novel with an imaginative twist.   If you like stories of dystopian worlds, reimagined sci-fi and plenty of surprises, then you'll love Alex Matthews' end of the world adventure.     MORE ON THE EPISODE: Here's a little more about Alex as we get started. Alex is a full-time student at an acting school in Los Angeles… but he's home for a bit during this weird and wild season.  He had to deal with some tough stuff early in life… but I think that contributed to him being pretty darn creative and incredibly adventurous.  Which led him to be very active in theater, speech, and creative writing.   Plus, he and our older son Ben have made over 30 short films in the last few years.  See their Youtube Link above. I'm excited for you to meet him… so let's get to this.    MORE ON THE EPISODE: 0:02 Who today's episode is for 1:08 Meet Alex 3:22 A look into "Waking Up" 7:06 When Alex decided to turn his old journals into the book 11:09 The hardest part of writing a book 16:09 How to get feedback on sample writing 19:35 How Alex paid for an editor 26:31 How it feels leading up to a book launch 28:65 Alex's advice for future writers 30:47 Where to find Alex's book 32:47 Wisdom of the week 35:11 Mitch's biggest takeaways   WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! So… I know one of my favorite parts of the conversation was when Alex talked about the way he "gradually" started to share the book over time.  That was such a simple way to break through the fear that could potentially shut him down.  I know I might be a little biased but that's dang brilliant. How about you? What's something that stood out to you from the conversation?   Leave a comment and let me know!  I can't wait to hear from YOU! Check other Podcasts here: