Follow Your Different
061 Happy Money w/ Ken Honda 8 Million Bestselling Author
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Ken Honda has authored over 50 books and sold over 8 million of them. Today, he joins Lochhead in a riveting conversation about his latest book, Happy Money and how you can have a powerful relationship with it.
“Next time you have a hard time feeling happy about writing checks, just say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me the opportunity to bless people with my money.’” – Ken Honda
Happy Money Defined
Ken exemplifies happy money through the news he watched prior to coming on the call with Lochhead. Someone delivered a speech about taking care of all the student loans of hundreds of college graduates. Without getting anything out of it, the person was lifting this particular burden, which kills lots of people, off of these graduates’ shoulders.
“Happy money is money that makes you smile when you receive it. And also, it gives you joy when you spend it.” – Ken Honda
This is a fascinating way of thinking about money. After all, most people and authors espouse how-tos of making, saving, budgeting and other money mechanics.
Money Healer Ken Honda
Often called the money healer, Ken not only teaches financial independence. His focus also lies on how to heal one’s relationship with money. People tend to worry about it too much that they cannot have a healthy life.
We have become so restricted because of money issues. Ken took up the mission to help people be free of these constraints.
Everyone Has Money Wounds
In Happy Money, Ken writes about money wounds. This less than positive relationship with money stems from the simple truth that we all are frustrated with money in one way or another. And by all, he means not just the financially challenged people who have a hard time making ends meet.
Middle class people manage to make ends meet, but barely. Meanwhile, those in upper middle class feel disadvantaged and feel the need to work hard to graduate, land a job and pay back their loans. And the wealthy people feel some kind of guilt about sitting at the top.
“If you can somehow heal your money wounds and transform your relationship with money, you can then be happy forever. It takes a little practice, but not too much.” – Ken Honda
To hear more about bettering your relationship with money from Ken, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Ken Honda is a bestselling author of self-development books in Japan, where he has sold more than eight million books since 2001.
While his financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses, his writings bridge the topics of finance and self-help, focusing on creating and generating personal wealth and happiness through deeper self-honesty.
He is the first person from Japan to be voted into the Transformational Leadership Council.
Fluent in Japanese and English, he has lived in Boston and currently resides in Tokyo.
Links:
Simon and Shuster – Happy Money
We hope you enjoyed Ken Honda on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
060 Cards Against Humanity Co-Creator Max Temkin
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Living legendary designer Max Temkin, co-creator of Cards Against Humanity (“a party game for horrible people”) talks about his ideas on design, company building, his work ethic—or lack thereof—and so much more.
Max’s Non-Existent Work Ethic
Max proclaims himself as a horrible procrastinator with no work ethic. He can never decide to do something and sit down to actually do it. Because of this, he has developed coping mechanisms to get him through last-minute clutch work.
This ties up with the philosophy of necessary and sufficient conditions that he personally believes in.
Working hard is necessary to keep a business running but it is never sufficient. Hard work needs to be coupled with critical thinking, team play and good energy to make legendary things possible.
“No one is successful just because they killed themselves with work.“ – Max Temkin
The Wild Medium: Design
Max says that it is incredibly difficult to break down what it means to be a designer.
After all, so many skills go into design.
There is design thinking, organization and empathy for the user, and then there are the technical skills like typography and color theory.
Because of the many skills that a designer can sink their teeth into, no designer is excellent at everything. It would take more than one lifetime to master them.
For example, Max has never understood color theory, so he stuck to black and white, which eventually became his brand.
“I’ve definitely come to suspect that for many people, what you might call their style is like the coping mechanisms they’ve developed to cover those holes in their skill set.” – Max Temkin
Building Small Things
Max says that people usually build things from the desire to make them just because it would be neat to do so. Some people would put up their creations for the people to decide their fate.
Some would build a company with the mindset of growing its worth into a billion dollars. Max believes that these ideas, however, are rarely delightful and rarely work. In contrast, allowing yourself to think small and unconstrained would help your ideas grow into huge phenomena.
“Very rarely does someone go, ‘I’m gonna change the world with this huge idea’ and then it works exactly as intended.” – Max Temkin
To hear more about design, gaming and the Do By Friday podcast from Max, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Max Temkin is a designer.
He is best known for co-creating of the #1 selling, category creating “adult party game” Cards Against Humanity.
He also co-created, Secret Hitler, and Humans vs. Zombies.
Max is also co-host of the popular podcast, “Do By Friday”.
Links:
Cards Against Humanity – Wikipedia
The Sun UK – Cards Against Humanity set to be a shocking quiz show on Comedy Central
PR Week – Cards Against Humanity Gorilla Black Friday Marketing!
The New York Times – Letter of Complaint: Cards Against Humanity
Do By Friday Podcast – Overcast
We hope you enjoyed Max Temkin on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
059 Bill Walton NBA Legend, The Power of A Positive Life
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In celebration of the NBA finals, we’re releasing a special re-issue of an episode with the legendary Bill Walton. Originally aired in February 2018, let us revisit this conversation full of Bill’s enthusiastic view of life through its many ups and downs.
“When you wanna get someplace, you have to have the dream. And then you have to have a teacher, somebody who has been where you wanna go because the surest way to find out how get there first is to talk to somebody who’s on their way back.” – Bill Walton
More Failures than Greatness
A lot of life’s greatest lessons come mostly from failures, Bill says. Sure, he has lived more than 60 years and has been part of some true greatness. Even then, he still felt cursed with his lifelong speech impediment and eventual injury.
“My life has been defined by meteoric rises to the top from [when I was] really young and then incredible crashes to the bottom all caused by orthopedic health crises.” – Bill Walton
In the course of those 60 and some years, Bill has completely changed as a human being.
Enjoying Life Including Change
After reading Lochhead’s Play Bigger, he came to realize the importance of willingness to embrace change. It is, after all, one of the things that athletics prepares you for. In life, things go wrong and things collapse and we need to get ready when they do.
To aid in his positivity-driven life, Bill lives by Coach John Wooden’s 2 sets of 3. Never lie, never cheat, never steal; don’t whine, don’t complain, don’t make excuses. Embracing change means embracing and working around what life serves you.
“When I see these guys whining, when I see these guys complaining and making excuses, I always tell them, ‘Look, I’ll listen to your problems one time. But from here on out, I wanna hear a plan on your path forward.’” – Bill Walton
Secrets to Get Someplace
Bill shares that he always tries to be a dreamer to get somewhere in life. He has learned to keep dreaming from the greatest influences in his life. In a world that tries to send him in other directions, he always turns to those who love to read, who dare to dream.
The second key ingredient? A teacher who can show him the way.
To hear more about Bill’s secrets to positivity and its fruits, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
In 1997, Bill Walton was selected as one of the NBA’s Fifty Greatest Players of all Time.
He’s an Emmy award-winning broadcaster and Forbes calls him one of the top 10 pundits in America.
In 2009, Walton was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association.
In June 21, 2001, Bill was named as the inaugural inductee into the Grateful Dead Hall of Honor.
Bill is the bestselling author of “Back From The Dead” and a highly entertaining and engaging keynote speaker.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed Bill Walton on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
058 1 Life Fully Lived w/ Tim Rhode
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Tim Rhode, founder of the non-profit 1 Life Fully Lived, has helped thousands of people turn their lives around. On this episode, this favorite buddy of Lochhead’s talks about life design, going from entrepreneur to non-profit founder and more.
“Are you living in what we call the one life fulfillment triangle? Where do your passions meet your talents where there’s opportunity in the marketplace?” – Tim Rhode
Transitioning from Entrepreneurship to Non-Profit
Tim did not get a ton of non-profit experience prior to founding 1 Life Fully Lived. He was like any realtor who eventually became a mini-tycoon and founded the organization in a most unconventional way. He did not merely dump his cash in a foundation but was actually very involved in it.
The transition has been an amazing journey. Tim says that he owes it to the many talented people who know who they are and believe in 1 Life Fully Lived. With them, he is able to live every day in a state of flow, always seeking improvement.
“The journey has been getting to know who could most use all of this and how can we best serve—and what’s the real estate term—the highest and best use of 1 Life Fully Lived to help make a difference in a world that can certainly use a 1 Life movement now.” – Tim Rhode
Why People Struggle
Tim points out some of the reasons why people are constantly struggling on top of the economic uncertainties that bog them down.
“They’re struggling because they’re basically being taught to struggle by people who are struggling, not having quite figured it out themselves.” – Tim Rhode
This ecosystem knows nothing but struggle and people can get used to being part of it. Christopher concurs with this. When you grow up in such an environment, it is all you are going to think life is about.
Designing a Best Life
To overcome the ceaseless struggle, people need to be exposed to new ideas, thought processes and good role models. These models will then spark the question of what-could-be in those who are stuck and have yet to find their footing.
Most schools teach us that getting a degree and doing well on SATs is the only way to become successful in life. However, 1 Life Fully Lived seeks to shake up that system and teach people valuable entrepreneurial skills. And in so doing, they hope these people would have not only financial freedom by the time they’re old and gray but also the health and vitality to still “get the goods in the woods.”
To hear about people doing great things alongside with Tim and how to create a diverse, mission-driven network of people, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Tim Rhode sold over 2,500 homes when from 1986 to 2000. He bought and sold over 100 properties and coached more than 200 investing students for foreclosures.com.
Today, Tim is the founder of non-profit, 1 Life Fully Lived and co-founder of men’s mastermind group GoBundance where he helps thousands live their best lives.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed Tim Rhode on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
057 Connected Strategy w/ Christian Terwiesch
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Professor Christian Terwiesch gets in touch with Lochhead for a remarkable conversation about connected opportunities in the customer journey. They dig into his new book, Connected Strategy, which looks into new forms of connectivity that can build legendary interactions with customers.
“What would it take that you blow this tradeoff away and you can have a higher efficiency, low fulfillment cost interaction with the customer and still delight the customer?” – Professor Christian Terwiesch
First Things First: Customer’s Perspective
In order for connected strategies to happen, business leaders should first think about the customer’s perspective. It is important to know the product and service that you want to provide them. And even more important is knowing the customer’s motivations for availing of your product.
For example, a shoe designer can spend tons of money on R&D and marketing to build relationships with retail stores. And even then, they could fail miserably at understanding their customers’ pain points. After all, the company that focuses on just the shoe itself will not be able to deliver quality customer journey.
“The customer’s pain points are not about just buying the shoe and having a great shoe. There’s a much bigger aspiration that this runner potentially has—feeling good, running their first marathon.” – Professor Christian Terwiesch
Connected Customer Journeys
A term that Professor Terwiesch is particularly fond of is “consumption shame”, called “customer journey” in his book. This reminds us that people do not wake up in the morning and say they want our product.
They first have to realize the need, which may be initially latent, for a product. From there, they can make the choice and finally buy the product. This journey, a form of engagement and experience, is made of weaved and repeated interactions.
“It’s weaving those disjoint experiences together, so that you and I—my firm and you—will have a relationship that goes much longer than one episode.” – Professor Christian Terwiesch
Recognize, Request, Respond, Repeat
Lochhead also shared his own experience after a recent purchase of podcasting equipment. A representative rang him up, asked some questions about his purchase, and then offered to help him directly should he have concerns. Christopher also received an email containing links to the shop’s FAQs page, which completely blew him away.
A company’s personal touch shows the embeddedness of the moment of purchase in a longer customer journey. There could also be a similar experience for other customers before they make the purchase. Four stages in the journey that could use such connected strategies are the moments when customers recognize, request, respond and repeat their interaction with the product.
To hear more about connected strategies from Professor Terwiesch and how you can utilize them, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Christian Terwiesch is a professor of Operations and Information Management at Wharton and co-directs Penn’s Mack Institute for Innovation Management.
With extensive experience in MBA teaching, online courses, and executive education.
Professor Terwiesch has authored several books, and published in many of today’s leading academic journals, from Management Science to The New England Journal of Medicine.
He also hosts the national Sirius XM radio show Work of Tomorrow. He holds a doctoral degree from INSEAD and a Diploma from the University of Mannheim.
Links:
OID, Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania Profile
Executive Education, Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania Profile
Speaker Booking Agency Profile
We hope you enjoyed Professor Christian Terwiesch on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
056 It’s The Manager w/ Jim Harter
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According to Gallup’s management practice Chief Scientist Jim Harter, the productivity of people at work has been increasing… but at a declining rate. More concerning is how only 34% of American workers and two-thirds of managers are engaged at work.
On this episode, he touches on the topic of bosses versus coaches, workplace engagement, people efficiency, and a lot more.
“I want my job to kind of reflect who I am, match my identity… I don’t want my manager to just be an expert on my weakness, I want them to be an expert on my strengths.” – Jim Harter
Changes in Workplace Productivity
The numbers Jim and his teammates have tracked for a while hint on how workplace productivity trends upward, albeit slowly. The figures clearly tell of a room for growth for most organizations.
Workplaces are changing tremendously, and this creates an even bigger burden on leaders. These changes include the massive increases in diversity, technology, remote work, among other things. Needless to say, all these factors affect productivity.
Theory and Practice of Management
There is also the dissonance between the science and practice of management. Leveraging the science is one area for improvement of working environments, and more so its application in practice.
“We’ve seen that the practice of management hasn’t kept up with the science of management. The science of management has advanced significantly in recent decades but the practice of management hasn’t.” – Jim Harter
One such example is how the new workforce has evolved and now ask for a coach, not a boss. Therefore, one of the more critical things organizations need to be thinking about is moving from a culture of boss to coach. This ultimately relates to leaders asking for a change of culture to match the changing workforce.
People Efficiency is the Future
Jim says leaders need to keep up with the changes to both the workforce and the science of management. That is, they need to shift the focus from process efficiency to people efficiency.
“People efficiency is getting people into roles where they know what’s expected of them, where they have clear expectations, where they’re coached on an ongoing basis to do what they do best, to use their strengths.” – Jim Harter
In flexible and remote working environments that are more common nowadays, it becomes even more important to be purposeful about three things. First, there is setting expectations, and then continually touching base with people. Lastly, a workplace needs to be of high trust and accountability.
To hear more about strength-based environments, extrinsic versus intrinsic motivations and more from Jim, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Jim Harter, Ph.D., is Chief Scientist for Gallup’s workplace management practice.
He is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller 12: The Elements of Great Managing, an exploration of the 12 crucial elements for creating and harnessing employee engagement.
Dr. Harter’s book, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements, is based on a global study of what differentiates people who are thriving from those who are not.
His research is featured in First, Break All the Rules, and he contributed the foreword to Gallup’s new edition of this groundbreaking bestseller.
Dr. Harter is the primary researcher and author of the first large-scale, multi-organization study to investigate the relationships between work-unit employee engagement and business results.
Updated periodically, this study currently covers 82,000 business units and includes 1.8 million employees in 230 organizations, across 49 industries and in 73 countries.
His work has appeared in many publications, including Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and TIME Magazine, and in academic articles and book chapters.
Dr. Harter received his doctorate in psychological and cultural studies in quantitative and qualitative methods from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
Book Overview:
Today’s decline in global productivity has every business leader scrambling to break through with one failed strategy after another.
But the real strategy is already right in front of them. It’s the manager.
In fact, there is no better investment a company can make in its future growth than updating their management playbook to align with today’s very different values and realities.
Based on the largest study of its kind (37.2 million people surveyed) as well as Gallup data from more than 30 years of U.S. and global workplace tracking, including interviews of employees and managers across 160 countries, IT’S THE MANAGER (Gallup Press; May 7, 2019; ISBN: 9781595622242; $34.00) by Chief Scientist for Gallup’s workplace management practice, Jim Harter, Ph.D. with Chairman and CEO of Gallup, Jim Clifton, and is the definitive up-to-date guide to what really works in management today.
IT’S THE MANAGER explores 52 game-changing insights including how to:
- Adapt organizations and cultures to rapid change and new workplace demands
- Meet the challenges of managing remote employees, a diverse workforce, gig workers and the rise of artificial intelligence
- Attract, hire, onboard and retain the best employees to make your organization one of the most desired places to work for current and future stars.
- Transform your managers into coaches who inspire, communicate frequently and develop employee strengths.
The manager has been brushed aside as a middleman that is no longer needed in business today, but Gallup’s data supports a radical claim: that managers should be the cornerstone of every company strategy.
When you build great managers you will experience organic revenue and profit growth, and you will give every employee what they most want today: a great job and a great life.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed Jim Harter on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
055 Beware the Fraudcast — Podcasts that Charge Guests
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Lochhead rants about a topic for a raging debate within part of the podcast community. He puts in his two cents on the subject of the fraudcast — podcasts that charge their guests to come on.
“We have never once been paid by a guest to come on this podcast and I think when podcasters do that, they break what you might think of as the social contract with their audience.” – Christopher Lochhead
The Conversation on Fraudcasts
Recently, Christopher’s buddy and fellow podcaster Eric Hunley, host of Unstructured, invited him over for a discussion with another award-winning podcaster Super Joe Pardo. The topic of the conversation? There are certain podcasts like Super Joe’s that for a while now have started the practice of charging guests who come on the podcast.
“I call these podcasts, fraudcasts. And to put it mildly, I think it’s bullshit for a podcaster to charge the guest to come on.” – Christopher Lochhead
Christopher’s Personal Guest Criteria
Every single guest that comes on Christopher’s podcast is someone he is dying to have a conversation with. And all of them, he hopes, are people the listeners would love to listen to. This is the very criteria that he uses, and he does not care whether the guests are big celebrities or not.
“We have many legends whose names you don’t know and these are just people who I think are doing legendary shit that’s different, that’s courageous, and that’s fundamentally interesting, and I’m dying to have a conversation with them.” – Christopher Lochhead
The criteria that he does not use is how much they paid him.
Gray Areas in the Fraudcast Discourse
Of course, there are some gray areas in this discussion. One is that it is fine for guests to pay you as long as you disclose it to your audience.
It is no podcast Christopher would personally listen to. But there are people who would willingly sit through hours of O Shopping Network’s infomercials. To each their own, after all.
To hear more about this hot topic of fraudcasts and relevant information from Christopher, download and listen to the episode.
Links:
Eric Hunley’s Unstructured Podcast: Should Podcast Guests Pay?
Payola: Influencing the Charts
A Brief History of American Payola
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
054 Claude VonStroke Legendary DJ & Music Entrepreneur
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Hailed as the best DJ in America, Claude VonStroke regularly performs for five to ten thousand people and even more.
He shares his origin story, how his truly genius and original plan to learn from the best DJs made him America’s #1 DJ and how worked for 15 long years to make his dreams come true.
“I’m trying to tell you that going after the golden goose isn’t always the best path to success… only a few can get lucky so we don’t even try to go that route. We just try to be legit. We just try to be who we are, and because we do that, it works.“ – Claude VonStroke
Claude’s Early Foray into Music
In an industry that celebrates mostly teenage geniuses, Claude stands out as someone who did gain music production until he was about 32. He grew up in a realm where a youngster could not just find anything on the Internet. Nobody in the neighborhood played the music he wanted to create so he had to forge an unusual path.
“There’s no generational group of artists, every six years flipping over, that’s showing another group of younger people that, ‘Oh, you can be a huge techno DJ from Milwaukee.’” – Claude VonStroke
Cleveland-born, Claude’s musical influences evolved after moving to Detroit. From listening to Uncle Vic playing Journey in Cleveland, he went on and began listening to The Electrifying Mojo’s playlist of Prince and Run-DMC. As the kind of kid who was obsessed with listening to the radio every night, these artists shaped his music taste.
Fifteen Years in the Making
Claude didn’t always want to make music. In the past, he also wanted to be a film director. He took a solid fifteen years to realize that he “sucked” at the project and people management aspect of filmmaking.
“The path is just totally different. It’s like you need to be a real manager of personalities to be a great filmmaker. But to be a musician, you just kinda have to learn to manage yourself.” – Claude VonStroke
Music remained in the closet for years.
Claude knew he was good at it but he didn’t want to admit it and didn’t see that DJing could be a job. He didn’t start going to underground raves until he was 23.
A Genius Plan to Learn
To overcome the fact that he did not know anybody in the music industry, Claude put to use his filmmaking talent. He decided to make a documentary about some techno music and every music DJ who came to San Francisco after moving from Detroit.
In a fascinating turn of events, his inability to license songs forced him to make music that sounded like his interviewee’s. By the end of it, he not only got every single piece of information about these DJs. He learned to make the songs that they made, and the rest is history.
“My first record was big because I’ve been bottled up for 20 years waiting to release a huge record.” – Claude VonStroke
To hear more about Claude’s story of creativity, entrepreneurship and massive risk-taking, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Barclay Crenshaw (a.k.a. Claude VonStroke)
- DJ Magazine says he is the best DJ In America
- Billboard Magazine says his label, Dirty Bird is one of the top 5 Independence Dance Labels
- Mix Magazine named Dirty Bird the label of the decade
- He’s also got a critically acclaimed Radio Show and podcast called “The Birdhouse”
In this day and age of music cross-pollination, Claude VonStroke sits at the forefront of all that is good, proper and most importantly, fun.
VonStroke is just as relaxed in his home studio building beats as he is dropping massive underground records in a room filled by thousands.
DJ-wise, his relentless touring of every major city, festival and basement after-party around the world has only enriched his unique perspective on music.
As the owner of the record label, DIRTYBIRD, Claude also built an impeccable A&R roster signing acts like Justin Martin, Julio Bashmore, Catz n Dogz, Riva Starr, Tim Green, Breach, Eats Everything, Shadow Child and Shiba San, well before they broke out of their hometown scenes. (And even naming a few of these artists.)
Today, DIRTYBIRD continues to surprise and innovate in the underground dance scene, releasing an enigmatic combination of house, funk, dirty-bass and electronica.
Sonically, VonStroke has released three original artist albums, a remix album and several high profile mix and remix compilations.
Highlights include working with and on records for Bootsy Collins, Rihanna, Disclosure and Green Velvet as well as a few number #1 & #2 hits on Beatport.
Most importantly, VonStroke has kept it original, fun and funky.
A lot of his success can be attributed to a good attitude. Claude does not scowl and look mean while he DJs.
He does not pretend to know everything and he truly loves his fans.
He is grateful to be curating, creating and performing music for a living and he knows that the reason people go to parties is to shake their booty and have fun.
Catch him play at numerous festivals, clubs or even better at his legendary DIRTYBIRD BBQ series of outdoor events.
Links:
10 MOMENTS THAT DEFINED CLAUDE VONSTROKE
Meet the Women Running One of Electronic Music’s Biggest Labels
The 5 Best Independent Dance Labels of 2017
#1 Label of the Decade, Mix Mag
We hope you enjoyed Claude VonStroke on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
053 The Difference Between Fact & Stories w/ Dushka Zapata
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Dushka Zapata joins us for another fun and life-affirming conversation. Dushka and Christopher talk about the origins of her soon-to-be-released book, how recounting something differently is valid, and how stories differ from facts.
Recounting Things Uniquely
Dushka is very aware of her unique thought process that translates into her writing. Oftentimes, her recollection of shared experiences differs from that of other people.
She finds this fascinating. Regardless of what other people say, these instances remind her that she has the license to say things in a different way in order to tell a story. She knows it is not some conscious effort but her recounting of things as exactly as she can.
“I’ve known for a long time that I look at things differently than other people. I think that’s what makes me worth reading—because it’s less about what happened but more of my perspective about it.” – Dushka Zapata
Different is Valid
She will soon be releasing a book about stories from her childhood and her family. She shared some of these stories to her siblings and as expected, they were surprised with the way she saw things. And for such a book, what title can be more fitting other than, This is How I Remember It?
Her book not only celebrates the uniqueness of each individual’s perspective but also nullifies the notion that one point of view is superior to another. The memory of a loved one’s passing is generally painful, but for some people like Dushka, it can also be beautiful.
“I feel really strongly about the way I remember things. It matters to me about how other people claim that I’m not recounting something right… I think that’s a gift. I’m so happy that the way I remember things is like that.” – Dushka Zapata
A Thin Line Between Facts and Stories
Dushka puts simply the difference between facts and stories through an answer to a Quora question. We often make assumptions about people’s behaviors that seem out of the ordinary. And these assumptions, those add-ons, are usually the stories that embellish facts.
Failure to see the difference between the two results in struggles for most people.
“It’s a wonder we understand each other at all because we look at the world through our assumptions and our insecurities, but I also think that we look at the world through a lot of things that never actually take place.” – Dushka Zapata
To hear more about Dushka’s powerful answers to Quora questions, her deeper take on stories and facts, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Dushka Zapata is one of the most prolific and popular writers working today.
On question and answer site Quora her work has been viewed over 135 million times.
She’s the author of eight best-selling books.
Dushka has over 20 years of experience as a senior communications executive in Silicon Valley.
When she’s not writing, she serves as a communications executive at tech juggernaut Zendesk.
Links:
New Book – You Belong Everywhere: and Other Things You’ll Have to See for Yourself
Quora Answers:
- Is there an age where it no longer makes any sense to take ballet lessons?
- My boyfriend doesn’t text me first. I have to text him first, and after that, he often doesn’t text me back. Why?
We hope you enjoyed Dushka Zapata on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
