Sam and Jacob discuss starting from scratch, finding your creativity, and finding the courage to try. It's really late when I write this so I'm going to do a proper bio tomorrow when I have slept.Jacob Nordby is the author of The Devine Arsonist and Blessed Are The Weird, and is also the founder of the Creative Unbootcamp.To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Jacob:Website: http://blessedaretheweird.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlessedAreTheWeird/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobnordby/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobNordbyBooks: https://www.amazon.com/Jacob-Nordby/e/B00771YBZK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1533888749&sr=8-1For more of us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/Sam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samlamott/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coAnd if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

Every artist—no, every human—needs to listen to this episode. Sam sits down with Julia Cameron, author, playwright, filmmaker, composer, and teacher. Julia’s book The Artist’s Way has changed countless people’s lives. Julia teaches us all to give ourselves the permission to create. If you’ve ever doubted your work or doubted its value, please listen to this conversation. To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of julia:Website: http://juliacameronlive.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliacameronlive/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliacameronlive/Twitter: https://twitter.com/J_CameronLiveTodays Shoutouts!Mercy Bell's music: https://mercybell.bandcamp.com/Torri Horness Poetry: http://notesontheway.com/For more of us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coAnd if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

Sam and Katie discuss the nature of reality and where pain and suffering fit in. They talk about living in the moment, free from your painful thoughts and beliefs, and do Byron Katie's The Work around Sam's recent heartbreak.more about Byron Katie via www.thework.comByron Katie became severely depressed in her early thirties. For almost a decade she spiraled down into rage, self-loathing, and constant thoughts of suicide. For the last two years she was often unable to leave her bedroom. Then one morning in February 1986, she experienced a life-changing realization. There are various names for an experience like this. Katie calls it “waking up to reality.”In that instant, she says,I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn't believe them, I didn't suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional. I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment. That joy is in everyone, always.She realized that what had been causing her depression was not the world around her, but the beliefs she'd had about the world. Instead of hopelessly trying to change the world to match her thoughts about how it should be, she could question these thoughts and, by meeting reality as it is, experience unimaginable freedom and joy. As a result, a bedridden, suicidal woman was instantly filled with love for everything life brings.The Work, Katie's process of self-inquiry, didn't develop from this experience; she says that it woke up with her, as her, that February morning in 1986. The first people who did The Work reported that it had transformed their lives, and she soon began receiving invitations to teach the process publicly.Since 1986, she has brought The Work to millions of people across the world, at free public events, in prisons, hospitals, churches, corporations, universities, schools, at weekend workshops, at her amazing nine-day School for The Work, and through the Institute for The Work of Byron Katie.To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Byron:Website: www.thework.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theworkofbyronkatie/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byron.katie/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ByronKatieBooks: https://www.storeforthework.com/collections/byron-katie-booksFor more of us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coAnd if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

Sam sat down with Mandy Stadtmiller, a freelance writer and author of the new memoir Unwifeable, in LA at a time when he was in a deep depression. What came out of this conversation is a beautiful reminder of the importance of mental health awareness, laughter at the misery of it all, and hope for more creative work. Mandy’s book (available now!) details her experiences as a young gossip and dating columnist first at the New York Post, and then on to places like New York Magazine and The Daily Beast. Mandy gets honest about everything— getting sober, details of her sex life, and eventually finding a partner.The suicide prevention lifeline is a resource anyone who has struggled with suicidal thoughts or attempts should be aware of. The have a free 24/7 phone number and online chat.https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/1-800-273-8255To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Mandy:Buy the book: https://tinyurl.com/ycvrxchgWebsite: mandystadtmiller.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandystadtTwitter: https://twitter.com/mandystadtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandystadt/For more of us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coAnd if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount. 

Matt Weinstein is the nation’s foremost authority on the use of fun and humor in team building. Matt is the founder and “Emperor” of Playfair, Inc., an international consulting firm based in Northern California. He was elected to the Professional Speaker’s Hall of Fame by the National Speaker’s Association, and was honored by Successful Meetings Magazine as one of the “21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century.”Matt Weinstein’s television special “Fun Works!: The Power of Humor in the Workplace” was broadcast nationally on PBS. Matt’s book, Dogs Don't Bite When A Growl Will Do: What Your Dog Can Teach You About Living A Happy Life was the #3 bestseller on the nationwide bestseller list, “What CEOs Are Reading.”To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Matt:Website: http://www.playfair.com/Books: https://tinyurl.com/ydae5f2oTED Talks: https://tinyurl.com/ycptxostTodays Shoutouts!Artist Lindsay Falsone: www.etsy.com/shop/FalsoneIllustrations?ref=pr_shop_moreSelf Esteem Rising: https://www.selfesteemrising.org/For more of us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coAnd if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount. 

Giorgia Lupi is an information designer, artist, and author of the book Dear Data. She owns Accurat, a data analysis and visualization agency based in Brooklyn. How Giorgia looks at data and what she chooses to analyze, is what fascinated us about her. Through her research, Giorgia discovered innately human things; such as how she interacts on a daily basis with her family, friends, and complete strangers, and what that means for her relationships. Her work will set a spark in you to really look at how you behave and react every day and how that impacts your relationships with those you love.To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Giorgia:Website: http://giorgialupi.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/giorgialupiInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/giorgia_lupi/For more of us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coAnd if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

Melba Pattillo Beals bolted into the spotlight as a teenager in 1957 when she, a black girl, enrolled at Central High School, an all white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. As a part of the Little Rock Nine, Melba quickly became a leader in the Civil Rights movement; and later, an accomplished journalist and author. We had the honor of sitting down with Melba where she talked about her sense of belonging, growing up fast, how society today has regressed in civil rights, and finding the strength to march forward.To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Melba:Website: http://melbapattillobeals.com/Her two latest books:March Forward GirlI Will Not FearFor more of us:Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/And if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

You may have seen her on the HBO comedy Crashing, Comedy Central’s new hit Corporate, or her Netflix special on The Standups, but Aparna Nancherla is also a master of addressing depression and mental health in her comedy. I sat down with her in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York to talk about how she got to where she is now.To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Aparna:Website: https://aparnacomedy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aparnapkin/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aparna.nancherla/Twitter: https://twitter.com/aparnapkinFor more of us:Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/And if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

Recently labeled a “Thought Leader” by Oprah, Tracey Jackson went from being an actress, the one thing in life she was the most prepared for and the one she truly failed at, to being a successful screenwriter with a twenty- year career writing movies like The Guru and Confessions of Shopaholic among many, many others.At fifty, she found herself aged out of Hollywood, so she pivoted and became a documentary filmmaker, producing, writing, directing and starring in the acclaimed documentary Lucky Ducks. She then pivoted again and wrote her first book, Between a Rock and A Hot Place: Why Fifty is Not the New Thirty. Along with Academy Award-winning songwriter Paul Williams, yes, that Paul Williams, she wrote her second book, New York Times Bestseller Gratitude and Trust: Six Affirmations That Will Save Your Life.To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount.For more of Tracey:Websites:www.gratitideandtrust.com & www.balanceandbeam.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/traceydjackson/For more of us:Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/And if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.

You probably know Mari Andrew by her Instagram handle @bymariandrew, creating astonishingly simple illustrations that convey exactly what you’re feeling. Mari is also a fabulous writer. Her new book Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood combines her drawings with her poignant words.  Sam and Mari talk about the journey of being a creative, and dissect all the little things we as creatives hang on to, and need to let go of.  To become a patron and help this program continue producing Mood Altering Substance, go to www.patreon.com/hellohuman and pledge any amount. For more of Mari:Website: http://bymariandrew.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bymariandrew/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bymariandrewFor more of us:Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloHumans_coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellohumans.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohumans.co/And if you’d like to buy us a coffee (or burrito) once a month to help us keep going, you can become a patron by going to https://www.patreon.com/hellohuman and making a pledge of any amount.