Ep. 55 - The First Assorted Guest Update Show

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Don't forget to hit subscribe or follow wherever you're listening to this podcast now.
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That way you don't miss any of the great conversations I have coming up.
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Thanks, and here's this week's episode.
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Everyday people following their passions.
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That's probably like one of the highlights of my life so far.
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Just being able to be creative like that.
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I'm able to.
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And then I decided to get another hive, and that turned into a lot of hives.
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As long as I can do that, I want to be a good citizen.
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Help people out.
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Putting themselves out there, taking chances, and navigating challenges along the way.
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I I absolutely identified with having stage ride because, you know, anytime I went on stage, I just felt like I was having a hot attack.
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Very first lap, very first practice session, I crashed, turned the car upside down, made a spectacle of myself, and I got back on that horse and started riding again.
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As they pursue what makes them happy and brings them joy.
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As long as people are having a good time and I have the opportunity to put smiles on people's faces, I love what I do.
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I have done things that I never thought I could do.
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To have somebody tell me how real it looks and how, you know, from their actual memory.
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Because that's telling me I captured what I was trying to get.
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Welcome to a started conversation.
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I'm your host, Helen.
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Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you are.
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This week I got to take a stroll down memory lane and revisit three guests who have continued being everyday people doing extraordinary things since we first chatted with them four years ago.
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I catch up with our youngest guest, our man of international mystery guest, and the second most downloaded guest on Assorted Conversations.
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Yeah, I know what you're thinking.
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Why not the most downloaded guest?
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Well, because we couldn't get our schedules to line up.
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But rest assured, he'll be on the next assorted guest update show.
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Sit back, relax, enjoy this week's episode, and I'll see you on the other side.
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We met this guest back in 2021 during episode 14, the film blogger conversation.
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We discussed how it sick.
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She created a film blogging website, recruited other Cinephiles to contribute to the site, and was beginning to create a community dedicated to a mutual love of all things cinema and theater.
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She was a senior in high school back then, and at this time she is now getting ready to graduate from Ithaca College in 2026.
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I am so happy to welcome back Rua Faye.
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Hi, Rua.
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Hi, thank you for having me back.
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How are you?
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I'm great.
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I've got about a month left of school, and then it's I'm moving to Los Angeles and it's off to the big leagues.
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Oh, fantastic.
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So let's get caught up on what you've been doing over the past four years.
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So in 2024, I was lucky enough to attend my first film festival as an intern.
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I interned at the Cannes Film Festival, and then a few months later, I attended my first film festival as press.
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I did the Toronto International Film Festival, also known as TIFF.
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And then I just kept applying and applying to other ones.
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I've done South by Southwest, Tribeca.
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Oh, I just got back from my first sun dance.
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My school set, I asked my school to pay for my accommodation, and that, you know, was a huge help.
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This year around, since I'm graduating, I won't be going to Cannes this year, but I've become, I think, one of the youngest people to get approved for press at Cannes.
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And I'm sending one of my writers.
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And in the fall, I will be pursuing my master's degree at the American Film Institute.
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Oh my gosh, that's fantastic.
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Holy cow.
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So you attended all of those film festivals.
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And assuming that Cinemasters benefited from that, were you able to write and review and and share synopsis of the movies that you were seeing?
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Yeah, I think it helps going there because not everyone, I mean, like when a movie comes out on Netflix, everyone can watch it, but before a movie's had a theatrical release, there's a mysticism around it.
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And, you know, you people are eager to see what the very few who've already seen it think.
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So that was yeah, you know, it it's been a big help.
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And I would also say like the best part about the film festivals is how educational they are.
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Like as a film student, I've learned more in just a year of going to a few film festivals than I have at any single singular class I've had in undergrad.
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Really?
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In terms of in terms of not not not film as a medium, but in terms of the industry and how to network with people.
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There really is nothing like it.
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Experience is the best teacher, and that's what these film puzzles have taught me.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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A lot of the things I know that you've been involved in have required a bunch of networking.
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And you are out there where we're hooked up on LinkedIn.
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You're out there multiple times a week with with different posts of what you've gotten involved with.
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Well, who are some or what are some of the important connections you've made that have really opened your eyes up to film and other possibilities within the medium?
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Well, I think one of my I think my funniest story I have networking.
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I I use this story to tell people that networking can really happen anywhere.
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I was at the 2025 anniversary screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at Cannes.
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And they had one of the producers up there, Paul Zance, who came to talk about what the film means and how it's about anti-fascism.
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And he's like, Listen, I'm a filmmaker from the US and we're in a bit of a crisis right now in terms of that.
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And he just had a lot of really inspiring words, I thought.
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And I went up to him after the show and I said, Oh, thank you for your for your words.
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This movie means a lot to me.
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Have a great night.
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And then I went to the bathroom and there was like this older woman there, like this beautiful, like older woman, definitely former model.
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And I said, Oh my god, I love your dress.
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And she said, Thank you.
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And thank you for those nice words you said to my boy, to my boyfriend.
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And I was like, Your boyfriend.
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And next thing you know, I'm interviewing them both the next day.
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She sends me a free copy of her book.
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He's a he's produced like three Oscar-winning films.
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He was amazing.
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So wow, that was fantastic.
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That was a great connection, and it came out of literally nowhere.
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The bathroom.
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Yeah, literally just telling someone you like their dress in the bathroom.
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Yeah.
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Oh, that's funny.
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What are have you had any wow moments, you know, that have kind of blown your mind as to you know what you've been able to experience?
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Yeah, I mean, I got to interview my favorite screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman.
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He won the Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
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He has also directed some really great films that I love, like Anomaly, Stuff Thinking of Ending Things, Synecdoche, New York.
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I think he's just adaptation.
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No, that was Spike Jones, but he wrote that.
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I think like it was so surreal interviewing him because he had a he had a short film at AFI Fest that he directed, and it was so cool just like being freshly 21 and getting to talk to someone I've admired for so long like that.
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Like that was crazy.
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Yeah.
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I also got to meet he's a bit of a Massachusetts legend, his name is Frederick Wiseman, and back in the day he directed a film at Bridgewater State Asylum called Titty Cut Follies, and it was about sort of the treatment of the criminally, not criminally people who were deemed insane back then, and like a talent show they had in a mental institution, and it catalyzed a lot of change.
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He died, I believe, in his late 90s, like two months ago.
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Yeah.
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Great.
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Have you been starstruck at any point?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Oh my god, I have like yeah, I I point to two people in particular that I have I haven't worked with them.
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I've just been in the same room as them and I've talked to them briefly.
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And they could not be more different.
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I have only been starstruck by Tim Robinson, comedian Tim Robinson, and Jaffer Panahi, who is a he's a Jaffer Panahi.
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He is an Iranian filmmaker who just won the Palmda Orat Cannes.
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He is very well known for making films critical of the Persian government, and he's done prison time for his film.
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So I got to see him give a talk at AFI in the fall, and it was just like it was so insane.
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Actually, I do I do have one more.
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I'm forgetting one.
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And this has nothing to do with work.
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This was a chance encounter in LA.
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I was working on Sunset Boulevard for like six months, and one day my my roommate who usually came to pick me up from work was at like a live taping of like the price is right or something.
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So I decided I was like, you know what?
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I'm gonna just gonna I'm just gonna take a walk down Sunset Boulevard.
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It's a beautiful warm night.
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I'll just like see what's up.
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And I walk into this bookstore called Book Soup and I walk in and I run into my childhood hero, Baz Lerman.
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And we're we're in a bookstore together, and I look at him and I just go, I'm sorry, are you Baz Luhrmann?
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He goes, Am I in trouble?
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And I go, No, you're like the reason I'm here.
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Like, and he was with his wife, and I went, is that Oscar winning costume designer Catherine Martin?
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He went, Yeah, it is.
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And I was like, He was like, Do you want a picture with me?
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I was like, I would love to.
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And I just talked to him about like how strictly ballroom, like I watched that with my mom all the time, and how Moulin Rouge was like my first favorite movie.
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Like it was just it was insane.
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And that happened literally in a random chance encounter at a bookstore on Sunset Boulevard.
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Oh, that's funny.
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That's gotta be wild.
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You are very well versed in your writers and directors, and I mean, I'm lucky if I can remember the actors in some of my favorite movies.
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Let's talk about Cinemasters for a little bit.
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You found out that one of your articles or one of your reviews was posted in a museum.
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Did I get that right?
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Yeah, so that same that same woman that I I complimented her dress and I interviewed her husband, the producer, he his family, he's part of a very illustrious filmmaking legacy.
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His uncle was extraordinary producer Saul Zance, and his name's Paul Zance, it's hilarious.
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But I believe Paul donated quite a bit of his film collection to the Academy Museum, and his his girlfriend texted me on WhatsApp and she said, Oh my god, like they have a press section, and because yours is like the most recent interview he's done, it's in the museum.
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And so that interview is now in the archive for the Academy Museum, and you can look it up if you want to go to the archive, and it's insane.
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Yeah, well, that's amazing to me.
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So, how has Cinemasters grown over the past four years?
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It's grown not only in terms of numbers, but I think in terms of scope.
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I remember like for a while I was just writing about any movie I found interesting, but now we've turned into a lot more of a film news publication where we exclusively cover, not exclusively, but we mostly cover new films like you'd see at like Hollywood, Hollywood Reporter, Indie Wire when back then I was just any movie that I saw I would review even if it had been out for like 20 years, and I find that kind of silly.
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Like I know I've seen people who have like like movie review Instagram accounts will they'll review like The Little Mermaid from like the 80s.
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I'm like, what are you doing?
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Yeah.
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We've seen this.
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That movie's like almost 40 years old.
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No one's like, oh, I wonder if I should watch its Disney classic.
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Let me see what this random film student in college thinks.
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Like, no.
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So I decided to really make a pivot towards new movies that are coming out because it's in a lot of ways I consider myself a product reviewer.
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Um because you know, if people, if you're asking people to spend their hard-earned money, you need to give them a product that's worth that money and they're worth their time and worth their attention.
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And I'd like to think that a review of mine has convinced someone to see a movie they maybe wouldn't have seen or discouraged them to see a movie I think they would have regretted seeing, like that kind of thing.
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Right, right.
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Oh, great.
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How many, how many writers do you have?
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I have probably including myself, I think three probably four regular writers.
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We do have guest writers, guest contributors, festival correspondents, that kind of thing.
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Yeah, I've had a few people just write one-off articles for me, but the majority of write-ups are by myself, Eric Hardman, and Zachary Zanato.
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That's great.
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That's great.
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And and you know, you you originally started Cinemasters to kind of create a community of folks that enjoyed cinema just like you did.
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And you all you also mentioned that you know you you had kind of coached or mentored some of the younger folks in high school as as you were coming up, you know, through theater and drama and things like that.
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Have you continued your mentorship?
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I think I have.
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I've been I've been teaching workshops on film journalism and criticism at school.
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I got asked by my professor last week if I could speak for 30 minutes during our big lecture because the topic happened to be film festivals and networking.
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So I gave some people like a little bit of advice.
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I I brought some of my badges so they could see what they look like and the terms on the backs of them.
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And yeah.
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Yeah, I think I think I have.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, you you sound like you have.
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You sound like you have.
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Over the past four years, are there any projects that you've worked on for school that you are particularly proud of?
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I can't help but I'm in the middle of my thesis right now, where we're just editing, but I can't help but think of this one I helped on in freshman year called The Pisser, which was essentially like literally just like a call-out because all my friends and I had lived in the same building, and then this one guy moved in, and all of a sudden there was like pee all over our communal toilet seats.
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So we made a a neo-noir crime film about this old-timey detective and it's shot in black and white, and it's about this guy trying to find like the mythic pisser, like who keeps leaving the toilet seat wet, and like I like it is shot insanely well.
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Yeah, I still think it's really good.
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I was I was only a production assistant on it.
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My friends really did the heavy lifting, but that it's a funny concept.
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Yeah, we we my friends they promoted like Instagram ads and held up posters just saying who's the pisser?
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Find out in the auditorium on this day.
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And we had like a packed house of people trying to find out who the pisser was, and like the whole twist was that oh, the it was the detective's alternate personality.
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Like I still think it's great.
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I think it's one of the better things I've worked on in college.
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That's funny.
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What's next for you?
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You said you're moving out to LA.
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Yeah, so next month of my life is gonna be full of a lot of changes.
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I'm graduating with my bachelor's in film, my BFA in film, and then I'm getting my MFA in film producing from the American Film Institute in in Los Angeles, which has been a dream of mine since I was a kid.
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I can't believe I got in right out of undergrad.
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All my classmates are like 35 and have kids, and I've been working in the industry for a long time, so I have a lot to learn from them.
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And I've always gotten along better with older people.
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So I think it'll be a great opportunity to learn from the best of the best and make some really great connections and some amazing films.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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So after AFI, what do you hope to do with your bachelor's and your master's?
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I hopefully I want to be a career producer.
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What's great about producing is that you work for a studio most of the time.
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So it's basically the creative equivalent of having a stable office job.
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So, like you have an office, you have regular income, but you're making movies.
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So it's not really the gig-based thing that you would get if you were a camera person or an actor.
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Exactly.
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So hopefully I I become part of a really good studio and get to make some great projects.
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Oh, I am so excited for you.
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I mean, getting into AFI, your first shot, coming right out of undergrad is is amazing.
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So congratulations on that.
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And again, I cannot wait to see where you go.
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When we first spoke, I I kept telling Maureen, my my partner at the time, I love being at the beginning of a story.
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And even though we're four years later, I still feel like we're at the beginning of a story with you, and I'm so happy.
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Thank you.
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Thank you very much.
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Well, best of luck, and we will definitely stay in touch.
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Of course.
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Thanks, Rua.
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Yeah, bye.
00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:33.839
Thank you.
00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:48.400
And I'm back with an update from a guest who is the most internationally downloaded episode, sort of the James Bond of Assorted Conversations.
00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:56.960
We met him in episode 17, the Gambling Writer Conversation, and I am so happy to welcome back Josh O'Connell.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:57.920
Hey, Josh.
00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.000
Hey, Helen, so good to talk to you again.
00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:02.160
It is so good to see you again.
00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:03.119
How are you?
00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:04.319
I'm doing wonderful.
00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:05.599
It's always good to chat.
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:07.200
Yes, yes, definitely.
00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:33.119
Now, last we left you, you were writing content and managing all of your content, which was a repository of content for the casino gaming arena from travel experiences to debunking casino and slot machine myths to explaining in layman's terms how to get the most out of rewards programs.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.319
And that whole entity was known as know your slots.
00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:41.440
And I know it helped me out so much back when I was visiting the casino a lot more.
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:53.279
So know your slots reached 1,350 articles with daily posting throughout the entire cycle from May 2019 through to the end of February 2023.
00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.519
At the time, it was a side hobby for me.
00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.839
So I was doing that alongside a full time job and you know putting in some time on the side on now.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:00.880
And weekends.
00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:02.960
I was hit an inflection point.
00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:09.920
It was one of those things where it was definitely going somewhere, but I didn't know how far it would go.
00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:15.359
And to really push it would have required a lot more time and resources.
00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.000
And I wasn't sure that I was ready for that commitment.
00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:18.480
Right.
00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:28.160
Interestingly, though, at the same time, I had outreach from a friend of mine who we both know, Brian Christopher, who is of Brian Christopher Slots on YouTube Fame.
00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:31.680
And he sort of this was at one of the conferences.
00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:37.519
We spoke about this in the last conversation, T2E, which is the biggest industry converse convention every year.
00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:43.200
And he basically took me out to dinner, and within two minutes, I realized it was a job interview.
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:45.920
He started asking me questions about my life and my work.
00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:54.000
And what ultimately came to be was this idea for a project which became a website that we launched together called Flip the Switch.
00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:04.720
And so Flip the Switch has elements of what I've been writing about all along the casino myths, the best practices for you know keeping it fun and not blowing money you can't afford.
00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:08.319
You know, responsible gaming's always been part of what I do and what Brian does too, honestly.
00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:10.240
So that's that's a nice match.
00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.519
But also we ventured into areas I had not been writing about before.
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:22.799
So for instance, iGaming and sportsbooks really have exploded over the past few years, in particular with sports books, and iGaming's kind of falling slowly behind.
00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:26.160
But that's like another element of what has come into the picture.
00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:39.279
And so having resources to help people understand how that works and how that differs from being inside a casino and you know how to manage things that way versus, you know, the ATM trick doesn't work anymore when you can just deposit more money from your computer, right?
00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:42.079
So all the differences that that now happened there.
00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:48.799
So that was sort of part one of what's become, you know, a really interesting arc that's led to me moving across the country.
00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:55.759
I was living in Connecticut, not too far from you in New England when we when we spoke the first time, and now I'm in Palm Springs, California.
00:23:56.079 --> 00:23:58.319
And I'm doing other things than the website.
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:07.279
So I'm doing content marketing, which is something I've done throughout my whole career, and you know, and with writing in terms in terms of that, it's always been an element to what I do.
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:23.359
But then also paid marketing, which has also been a part of what I do, working on ways to evolve things like our shop, which is you know, merch driven around the casino, some theme to Brian, some theme to the casino more broadly, um, and helping to continue to evolve that.
00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:26.559
And I have a I did some e-commerce work when I was younger.
00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:37.599
So it's taken every piece of my life and the work that I've done over a 25-year career and sort of put it all together into this job that I will honestly say was somewhat crafted for me.
00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:40.480
And I'm very lucky that that's that's the scenario that happened.
00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.079
But it was sort of a it was an answer to my my question, right?
00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:48.559
Like, how do I do what I do, but do it in a way that's more sustainable?
00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:53.839
And one way is to find a job at a place that not only wants that, but other things that I can provide.
00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:00.799
And and so it's been sort of a really nice match between BC Ventures, which is the company that it all lives in, and and the work that I'm doing.
00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:01.359
Yeah.
00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:03.200
Oh, that that is amazing.
00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.480
I love how everything came full circle for you.
00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:11.279
Every aspect of your life, every experience that you had, the path that you were on.
00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:16.640
Little did you know it was gonna lead you to something that, you know, kind of brought it all together.
00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.440
And I think that is just so, so cool.
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:20.319
It's true.
00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:22.720
And, you know, sometimes you know you're ready for something different.
00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:27.839
I had been talking with my partner for over a year that, you know, maybe we don't want to live in Connecticut anymore.
00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:29.839
I'd hit, I was about to hit 30 years there.
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:32.400
And then, you know, I'd lived on the East Coast my entire life.
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:43.680
So the job kind of offered a change of scenery, it offered something new to work on, it lets my hobby become my day-to-day work, which is really fun and sort of lets me delve even deeper.
00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:55.680
Like, you know, the other benefit is which is of course exciting for what I do, is that I have even more people that I know have made relationships worth working here that I've learned so much about what's going on and how things work.
00:25:55.759 --> 00:26:00.799
And, you know, those answers that I was getting sort of incidentally and here and there now flow more freely.
00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:06.720
And, you know, we talked about, for instance, players' cards and how people are afraid of players' cards because they might take away money.
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:19.599
And I had an industry person say on the record for me a year ago, you know, there's no way that a slot can even respond to the player's card in terms of like changing anything because it's not designed with that capability in mind.
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:22.400
So you know, if it doesn't exist, it can't happen.
00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.559
And so that's kind of great for me because it's it's no longer just trust me at my word.
00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:27.839
I spoke to someone who said this.
00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:32.160
It's now like, you know, here's this person at this company confirming that this doesn't exist.
00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:38.640
And so it just takes what I was doing before and really levels it up to a to a new place, which is awesome.
00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:45.599
Now, with all the change that's gone on, and it was funny before we got on Mike, you pointed out it's been like four and a half years since we last spoke.
00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:49.279
And I was like, whoa, I can't believe it's been that long.
00:26:49.599 --> 00:27:00.559
As the change happened, even though it was even though it was a good thing, as the change happened, did you ever struggle with like really following through on that change and and moving forward?
00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:04.559
Were there any was there any hesitation about leaving the comfort?
00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:07.839
So I don't think so.
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:13.599
You know, I was I I was my last job was really great, and I and so there's there's something to be said about that.
00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:19.119
And when you're in a good place with a good job, it's sometimes hard to sort of envision what the other side will look like.
00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:22.240
But I've always had a bit of a calculated risk taking.
00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:25.519
I guess that's probably why the gambling writer works for me.
00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:32.559
And I sort of looked at it and, you know, is it scary moving across the country when my my family is still back in New England?
00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:33.519
Yeah, a little bit.
00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:37.440
And I missed them, but I've gotten to see them, I've gotten out home and they've come back here.
00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:39.519
So that's been solved through that.
00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:44.880
And, you know, I I I also knew and trusted the person I was going to work for, and that means a lot.
00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:50.720
Most of the jobs I've had in my lifetime have come out of connections I've made before getting that job.
00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:54.240
Uh the guy I worked for before this, we built three companies together.
00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:56.400
So like we knew each other since we were teenagers.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:28:02.640
And so and I still speak to him a couple times a week, and we we regularly communicate and joke around and so forth.
00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:08.160
So, you know, I I I feel very lucky from that perspective that that's the trajectory of my career to date.
00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:10.079
And so this was no exception.
00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.400
It was, it was, it felt like the right move.
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:18.480
I was ready to do something new, and it's pushed me in in in ways that I felt like I was ready to be pushed.
00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:19.839
So that was also the other thing, too.
00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:22.799
It's like you want to continue to evolve and grow your skills, right?
00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:24.400
You want to continue to learn new things.
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:28.720
As you were as we were talking before getting on here, you were talking about some new skills you were working on yourself, right?
00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:34.000
So I think that's that's what keeps you energized and keeps you excited to go into work every day.
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:37.200
And yeah, so this has been great for me from that perspective.
00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:38.079
Yeah, yeah.
00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:51.200
Yeah, uh, you know, your story is a little similar to the story that's in progress for me, which I'm I'm moving from a learning and development career into the podcasting, broadcasting, voiceover world.
00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:54.160
And I've started my own podcast network.
00:28:54.400 --> 00:29:05.839
I have this podcast, and there will be another one coming up pretty soon about it's a complete departure from this, has nothing to do with the sorted conversations, but it is something I live with every day.
00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:16.400
And I want others who who live that journey the same as I do to have to have a comfortable place to come listen, learn, and feel seen.
00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:22.079
So I'm I'm I'm kind of in the middle of my my story change.
00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:29.200
So I know I I know I've got a good mentor in you if I ever get stuck or get nervous and go, hey Josh, what do you think about this?
00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:30.960
Or did you experience that?
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:34.319
So so that so very cool.
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:47.680
How how do you how do you see yourself continuing to evolve with with the gambling with with the writing and with the marketing and some of the other things that you've worked on for Brian?
00:29:48.160 --> 00:30:04.480
Well, what's been really great about this job is not only am I leveraging things that I learned from previous jobs, but also that it allows me to go back to decision making that I did in my past and sort of look at what's changed since those decisions.
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:06.640
So I'll just give it, I'll give one simple example.
00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:10.880
Most businesses that you work for, you might have a newsletter, right?
00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:12.400
And you need newsletter software.
00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:20.960
And so I you I've used different platforms at different points in my career when I helped companies build websites for their e-commerce businesses.
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:22.240
I helped them with some of those things.
00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:29.279
And so I got exposure to many platforms, and some of those platforms still exist, you know, five, ten plus years later, and some of them don't.
00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:36.079
And some new ones have come out, and so you get this opportunity to sort of look at things again and take a new swing at things that you've done in the past.
00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:39.680
So and then you also get to look at it from different uh perspectives, right?
00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:46.160
What we need here may not be what the business last time that I was working with needed a few years ago, but you get this chance to look at it.
00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:47.920
So that's kind of fun.
00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:54.960
I always like exploring and seeing sort of how tech evolves and how tech hasn't evolved sometimes and the same little problems that I had still exist.
00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:57.599
And so that's great from my perspective.
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:02.480
That's another way that I kind of keep things fresh and and don't get too stale and stuck in certain things.
00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:05.759
And then sometimes you realize the tool you've been using all along is still the right one.
00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:10.079
And you know, something you've invested a lot of time and effort into still gets the job done.
00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:19.920
The site we built, uh, flip the tech we built flip the switch on is very similar to the tech I built and know your slots on, which is very similar to the tech I built other websites on when I was building websites.
00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:23.759
So some of that kind of gets reinvested and some of that gets reset.
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:32.880
So I think that's one of the things that's been wonderful about this job is that I get to do some of that resetting and relearning and seeing how we can do things better than we used to.
00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:34.400
That is awesome.
00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:42.160
So speaking of uh speaking of uh website building, how can folks follow along with you?
00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:43.920
Where can they find you?
00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:47.519
Flip the switch, Brian Christopher, BC Ventures Online.
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:52.960
You're gonna be sorry you asked that question because we have a lot of ways to follow along with us.
00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:56.160
But I'll start with Flip the Switch, which is one of the projects that I work on.
00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:58.480
So flipthswitch.com is the URL.
00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:04.400
That site has had a faster content pace than what Know Your Slots could, which is sort of one of the things that I'm excited about.
00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:08.960
We're already over 1,500 articles and we may hit 2,000 this year depending on our pacing.
00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:15.359
So that site in half the time already surpassed what we did, what I did, you know, mostly solo know your slots.
00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:19.359
We also have a contributor team now, which is another thing that I love because you get different perspectives.
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.240
People, uh one of the things that's most important to me is you're getting perspectives from players.
00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:29.200
A lot of times when people are writing about casino stuff, it's for the industry, right?
00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:33.519
Other casinos, game makers, you know, those types of things.
00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:38.160
Whereas everything we're working on is designed to talk to other casino players.
00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:40.960
So, you know, we have John, we have Courtney, we have Robin.
00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:47.599
Robin, you might know if you're if you're a New England listener because Robin used to have a website called Anytime Gambling, and he decided to shut it down when he was retiring.
00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:50.319
And I said, Hey, do you want to come be a voice on our site?
00:32:50.400 --> 00:32:55.839
And so now he's been writing for us, and I just I love that we get to have to keep his perspective in in the mix for the players.
00:32:56.240 --> 00:32:58.000
Um that's a flipthe switch.com.
00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:00.160
We also do have our Facebook and Instagram.
00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:04.240
The handle on Facebook is flip the switch, but the handle on Instagram is flip the switch gaming.
00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:06.240
We had to find one that was open.
00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:14.799
And then for BC Slots, which is Brian's main channel, BC slots pretty much across the board Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok.
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:19.200
I feel like I'm forgetting one in there, but pretty much all the core social media platforms.
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:21.200
And then there's some satellite channels.
00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:28.480
We have BC Bets, which is focused on the iGaming, which is the topic I mentioned is one of the things I came to help with, but we also have a video version.
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:35.359
And then we have BC Spins, which currently is focused on some of our greatest hits, but something new usually pops up there from time to time.
00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:37.279
The channel sort of has an evolution.
00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:40.960
Over the last six or seven years has existed, it's been a few different things.
00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:42.640
So I imagine that evolution will continue.
00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:52.640
Right now you'll find some of our clips from from some of the biggest wins through the history of the channel, which is important because Brian just, as we're recording this, celebrated 10 years doing this this month.
00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:54.400
I know, I know.
00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.319
It's funny, I've been following him.
00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:59.759
I think I'm due to get my eight-year chip.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:00.799
Hmm, great.
00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:02.160
In in September.
00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:03.839
It doesn't make me an OG.
00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:07.119
I do have my nine.
00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:12.239
I did get that with the because the nine-year anniversary of the fan club, the Rudy's, just was celebrated this month as well.
00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:12.719
So yeah.
00:34:13.039 --> 00:34:13.519
Oh wow.
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:17.760
Yeah, I remember when he celebrated like five, and that was a big deal.
00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:18.639
So funny.
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:28.079
So funny to see how much he's grown and so exciting to see how much you have grown from a very similar passion, and now you're able to collaborate.
00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:29.280
It's just so cool.
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:34.239
I couldn't be happier for everything that's going on for you, Josh.
00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:37.039
So please let's stay in touch.
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:40.400
Thank you so much for taking the time to get caught up.
00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:41.599
Absolutely.
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:45.199
And one last thing, because I think it's I want to I want to document this.
00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:51.440
When we last spoke, we were talking about how to win at the casino, and you and I both really hadn't had particularly good luck.
00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:58.880
But I think it's really fascinating that both of us had a little bit of a streak at different points over the past couple of years.
00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:04.559
And it was just a wonderful moment when you had yours, and I just literally had mine last week.
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:15.519
So um I just think it's cool, you know, because you don't go, you shouldn't go anyway, with the expectation to win, but when you do have that moment, it is just lovely because it adds a little something extra.
00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:16.800
It is, it is.
00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:19.199
It's it's like a shot of adrenaline.
00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:20.000
Yes.
00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:22.159
It is a shot of adrenaline.
00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:26.960
Yep, we definitely have both had our share of fun in the casinos.
00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:33.920
So hopefully I'll get back someday soon and I'll be able to play right next to you in the high limit room.
00:35:34.159 --> 00:35:35.199
There you go.
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.800
That sounds like a plan.
00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:38.400
I'll definitely make it back to New England.
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:39.440
I'll let you know when I do.
00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.480
Yeah, definitely.
00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:43.039
Josh, thanks so much for all your time.
00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:43.840
Same.
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:45.360
Good to talk with you.
00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:56.960
I'm now catching up with a guest who's made it a lifelong quest to understand how and why people can push others' buttons.
00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:11.679
We first met her in 2022 as we were all starting to emerge from the isolation the COVID pandemic caused, and we saw new interpersonal challenges begin to appear because of it.
00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:25.599
The topic struck a chord with listeners near and far because her episode number 37, the Reset Your Buttons conversation, is the second most downloaded episode of all time.
00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:29.679
I am thrilled to welcome back Mary Elizabeth Murphy.
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:30.800
Hi, Mary Elizabeth.
00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:32.000
Hi, Helen.
00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:34.079
Thank you so much for having me back.
00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:39.760
And for everyone who's listened to the episode 37 podcast, that's exciting.
00:36:39.840 --> 00:36:41.519
It's fun and a huge compliment.
00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:45.199
Yeah, well, and again, what you do is so, so important.
00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:56.000
Four years ago, like I said, we were just emerging from the pandemic, and people were just starting to get used to being back amongst other folks.
00:36:56.400 --> 00:37:00.719
How in the last four years have things changed?
00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:02.880
Well, uh a lot, right?
00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:08.000
As we know, we were getting, I like to use the term getting our legs back under us, right?
00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:14.000
Um and being feeling solid on our ground, grounded.
00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:18.320
And I think that we're not there yet.
00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:24.159
I think there's a lot of challenges going on right now in in the world, as we know.
00:37:24.559 --> 00:37:30.800
I just was part of a conversation about what's happening in the world of training and development within organizations.
00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:35.920
There's a lot of challenges that people continue to want to have learning.
00:37:36.159 --> 00:37:41.840
Companies want to continue to train people and offer them talent development opportunities.
00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:48.880
And unfortunately, budgets are frozen right now because people are a little bit paralyzed.
00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:51.760
They're not sure which way to move or what to do.
00:37:52.079 --> 00:38:12.400
And I think when it comes to reset, I think that we really do need to be paying more attention to when our buttons get pushed and learning how to reset them so that we can have healthy and productive conversations and continue to work closer together.
00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:13.679
Yeah.
00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:18.960
So it sounds like one of the things that you're seeing is it's just more of the same.
00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:24.400
We just have different challenges right now that are still pushing people to the limit.
00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:26.639
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:39.440
I think that some of the different challenges right now are uh it's funny you say that because I watched a program recently about 2012, and I said to my husband, I'm like, I the I can't watch this right now.
00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:44.000
There was a lot of things similar in 2012, too.
00:38:44.239 --> 00:39:04.079
So it really does come down to if we learn how to manage to reset our buttons, to recognize when a button gets pushed, to think about our expectations in the moment, and I'll talk about the rest of it in a minute, but it's all there in episode 37.
00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:07.840
We build better relationships.
00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:21.599
And at the end of the day, whether it's 2012 or 2020 or 2024, it's always gonna come down to how are you and I interacting with each other?
00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:32.000
And what positive, what constructive way can we help each other and then in that help the world be a better place?
00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:32.880
Right.
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:41.519
And I know that's you know, some people may be rolling their eyes listening to this, which by the way is a contempt move, so don't be rolling your eyes out there.
00:39:43.199 --> 00:40:10.480
But it it it is that because it pushes buttons, it is that understanding that a button gets pushed, my amygdala goes off, and and back to this overwhelm or frozen state feeling right now is that our amygdala, as we talked about again in episode 37, we talk about it in reset your buttons, is on high alert and and it's its job, right, to keep us safe.
00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:12.559
So it's always scanning.
00:40:12.719 --> 00:40:15.440
Is it, you know, do I need to fight, flight, or freeze?
00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:18.880
And then you know, someone added in fun somewhere along the way.
00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:26.159
And and using the moment to, and I just read about this, so this isn't mine, but I loved it.
00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:33.199
Literally, like you can put your hands over your heart and say to yourself, I'm okay.
00:40:33.840 --> 00:40:35.360
It's safe right now.
00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:41.280
And the reason for that is you need to tell your amygdala it's okay.
00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:43.199
It's like soothing a child, right?
00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:46.000
Or soothing your pet when they're nervous.
00:40:46.239 --> 00:40:59.119
And so if you can start by just that moment, like I'm safe in this moment, and then proceed from there, what expectations aren't getting met, what sense of self, right?
00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:03.440
What um how to emphasize your core values, take stock, disarm.
00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:16.000
But it starts with I've got to slow that down because what we know more today than when I wrote the book is not only is the amygdala getting activated, but then the cortisol is just getting released, right?
00:41:16.079 --> 00:41:18.639
Because it's back to our fight, flight, or freeze.
00:41:18.880 --> 00:41:19.280
Right.
00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:25.599
And those are the you know, those too much of that becomes very dangerous in our in our systems.
00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:26.480
Yeah.
00:41:26.800 --> 00:41:38.880
So uh I guess, you know, to your point, regardless of what year it is and what's going on, we owe it to ourselves to be able to reset our own buttons.
00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:43.440
So since last we spoke, what have you done with your reset model?
00:41:43.599 --> 00:41:44.559
How have you shared that?
00:41:44.719 --> 00:41:49.280
Because it sounds like the need has not changed, the need is still there.
00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:50.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:41:50.800 --> 00:41:54.000
So we I think we were oh, I know we were doing this in 22.
00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:59.039
We were doing a lot of leadership training that included and incorporated the reset model.
00:41:59.519 --> 00:42:04.800
And now, and I also had even before that, it started a podcast.
00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:09.440
Nothing is as wonderful as your podcast.
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:15.599
And and and I say that it in honoring of you, but also sincerely, like I was terrified.
00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:16.880
It was only on our website.
00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:23.119
I'm like, we cannot put it out in public because I was too afraid of what people might say about it, right?
00:42:23.199 --> 00:42:24.800
So I was very insecure about it.
00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:28.000
Since I'm surprised, I know, right?
00:42:28.159 --> 00:42:35.360
But yeah, I can stand in front of people and talk all day long, but like don't have me out there and have people be able to listen to a podcast.
00:42:35.440 --> 00:42:36.239
How silly, right?
00:42:36.320 --> 00:42:45.360
I can even interview on a podcast, but it there was just something, there was a there was a there was a button that needed to be pushed.
00:42:45.599 --> 00:42:59.679
And so what I found was we have found a studio that is run here in town, and the folks that run that studio, and it's called Focal Groove and Groove Studio, are fabulous people.
00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:04.800
And they are they've helped me to get over the edge, right?
00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:14.960
We talk about the edge, and and so they've they and they did it very gently, they didn't shove me, but you know, because fears I had were I'm gonna be, you want to videotape me?
00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:16.239
What are you kidding me?
00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:19.280
So I'm right there with you on that one, right?
00:43:19.599 --> 00:43:31.280
And so now we have a YouTube channel and we have four or five episodes up, and we get to listen to other people's career journeys almost.
00:43:31.679 --> 00:43:37.440
And and I get to listen to what did they recognize, what where were where were their expectations.
00:43:37.599 --> 00:43:45.679
So we apply the model to the some of those stories, and I'm looking to apply the model to some other other places as well.
00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:54.159
So there's the personal use of reset your buttons, and then there's the life planning use or career planning use.
00:43:54.320 --> 00:43:59.760
And so along those lines, we also launched a 90 day reset sprint.
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:01.280
We just relaunched it.
00:44:01.360 --> 00:44:02.480
We're finishing it up.
00:44:02.719 --> 00:44:06.159
And the theme of it was should I stay or should I go?
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:10.320
For people who are trying to decide if they stay in, you know, do I want to stay in my job?
00:44:10.480 --> 00:44:11.199
Do I want to leave?
00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:13.199
If I want to stay, what do I need to do?
00:44:13.440 --> 00:44:13.840
Right.
00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:17.199
So so what is a sprint exactly?
00:44:17.599 --> 00:44:26.239
So a sprint is a 90-day commitment working with me live as well as a community of people, a cohort.
00:44:26.480 --> 00:44:28.719
We limit it to about 12 people.
00:44:29.199 --> 00:44:36.559
And we walk through the reset model and then we walk through a version of uh of a smart goal model.
00:44:36.639 --> 00:44:44.159
So I've I've triggered I've tweaked the SMART goal model to align better with the reset model.
00:44:44.559 --> 00:44:49.760
And so there's education, there's classes with it, like what does it mean to reset your buttons?
00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:52.960
What does it mean to have measurable goals?
00:44:53.280 --> 00:45:00.320
And and through that, we're looking at what is the thing in my life that I want to reset.
00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:11.760
The other thing we offer with it, which is even more popular, and I'm thinking about just sometimes offering this as a standalone, is something we created called the pop-up productivity session.
00:45:11.840 --> 00:45:16.000
And those run anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours and 15 minutes.
00:45:16.239 --> 00:45:29.280
We use the Pomodoro method, but again, because it's a group of people working together to get something done, uh we take breaks every at the end of 25 minutes, we take a five-minute break and check in.
00:45:29.519 --> 00:45:42.719
And one of my favorite things that we've learned through it is, and you you may or may not have ever done this, but if you've gone to do something, and as you go to do it in your head, you hear, well, but before that, I need to do this.
00:45:43.280 --> 00:45:43.760
Yes.
00:45:43.920 --> 00:45:44.960
Yes, right?
00:45:45.280 --> 00:46:00.800
Like, like one of my favorites is you know, in in in our cohorts, we're gonna start, we're gonna work on something, but first I'm gonna get a cup of coffee, and then I go down in the kitchen to get the cup of coffee and I get the cream out of the refrigerator, and I see that oh, the vegetables are starting to go.
00:46:01.039 --> 00:46:04.159
So, well, maybe I'll start the vegetable soup.
00:46:04.480 --> 00:46:13.840
And before you know it, the thing that we needed to do or said we were gonna do that we really didn't want to do anyway, we let all the butt first get in front of it.
00:46:14.079 --> 00:46:17.280
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, I am so guilty of that.
00:46:17.519 --> 00:46:20.400
Yeah, so it's part of its menoprange brain.
00:46:20.639 --> 00:46:22.880
Oh yeah, yeah, and there's that too.
00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:44.079
And then all the like I realize that I really do have to turn off my other windows when I'm working on emails because it's just too easy to have like, oh, something on LinkedIn, and then I go over to LinkedIn, and then from LinkedIn, something in there I have to read, and I never get back to finishing the email or you know, it's hours later.
00:46:44.320 --> 00:46:44.480
Right.
00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:54.239
So pop-up productivities are really fun and a critical part for our teams to be, and it's individuals.
00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:57.920
We do also we've done it with in-tack teams and organizations.
00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:01.119
I was gonna ask, is it open to the general public?
00:47:01.280 --> 00:47:05.360
Like, can they go to your website and sign up for a 90-day sprint if they want to?
00:47:05.679 --> 00:47:06.239
Yeah, yeah.
00:47:06.320 --> 00:47:08.239
So we like I said, we just finished this one.
00:47:08.320 --> 00:47:14.960
We're gonna look at the calendar and see we're looking at launching the next one in August so that people have the summer off.
00:47:15.119 --> 00:47:22.719
Um but I may run some pop-up productivities or just you know, some 30-day challenges between now and August.
00:47:22.880 --> 00:47:28.960
But our August one will start the end of August and run August, September, October, and then the first two weeks of November.
00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:29.599
Okay.
00:47:29.760 --> 00:47:35.760
And then you one thing you mentioned, and uh I I know what it is, but I'm not sure everybody else does.
00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:38.079
You mentioned the Pomodoro method.
00:47:38.239 --> 00:47:39.599
Can you explain that?
00:47:40.079 --> 00:47:41.199
Absolutely.
00:47:41.519 --> 00:47:57.920
So the the story I read about how did it get why is it called the Pomodoro method, is because the gentleman who created it was a college student and he was trying to work on his thesis or something, and then he had to get turned in.
00:47:58.000 --> 00:48:01.440
And he recognized he probably had his own butt first.
00:48:01.519 --> 00:48:04.719
I don't think he called it that, but he would get distracted.
00:48:05.039 --> 00:48:14.239
So he would set a timer and work 25-minute segments and take a five to 15 minute break, or he'd work an hour.
00:48:14.320 --> 00:48:24.400
And in the idea is that you are working a concentrated set of time, you take a break and then you come back to it and turn everything else off.
00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:27.679
That's really critical, is that you have to turn the other pieces off.
00:48:27.840 --> 00:48:47.280
But the reason it's called Pomodoro, and you'll appreciate this, this is kind of fun, is his timer was a little pomodoro tomato, like a shape like a pomodoro tomato, because he was in Italy and he was that's what he had for his timer, and so he called it the Pomodoro method.
00:48:47.519 --> 00:48:49.039
Oh, that's so funny.
00:48:49.280 --> 00:48:50.400
That's so funny.
00:48:50.639 --> 00:48:59.280
So it sounds like, yeah, maybe you haven't expanded, but maybe you're offering with more frequency using reset.
00:48:59.360 --> 00:49:06.800
I'm so excited that you've you've got your podcast revamped and you now you've beaten me, you're in video.
00:49:06.960 --> 00:49:09.519
I'm still I'm still in audio.
00:49:09.760 --> 00:49:11.039
I think that's fantastic.
00:49:11.199 --> 00:49:18.880
And then running some of these programs, you know, outside of your team clients that that you have.
00:49:19.199 --> 00:49:19.519
Yeah.
00:49:19.760 --> 00:49:20.800
Is is great.
00:49:21.039 --> 00:49:35.280
Are you finding anything new about what folks are struggling with right now and how the reset model can help them navigate some of the the current day challenges?
00:49:35.679 --> 00:49:37.360
I think it's the overwhelm.
00:49:37.599 --> 00:49:52.000
So what's different between four years ago and coming out of the pandemic, that was anxiety, that was nervousness, that was anxiousness, it was uh, you know, what's happening, what's next, how do I stay healthy, how do I keep my family healthy?
00:49:52.320 --> 00:49:56.960
We knew what the problems were that we needed to put our attention on.
00:49:57.199 --> 00:50:09.760
And so when I talk about our current state of the headwinds, there's there's so much happening that we are in a in a freeze state when we talk about fight, flight, or freeze, right?
00:50:10.079 --> 00:50:11.360
We're in a freeze state.
00:50:11.599 --> 00:50:19.920
So if I'm working in an organization, I don't know if I should leave or not right now or stay within the security of it.
00:50:20.079 --> 00:50:25.119
But in a if I stay in the security of my job, how secure am I actually?
00:50:25.280 --> 00:50:25.519
Right?
00:50:25.760 --> 00:50:26.239
Right.
00:50:26.639 --> 00:50:32.639
Because again, budgets are frozen, AI is here, pick up pick an issue.
00:50:32.719 --> 00:50:46.559
There's all kinds of challenges that that the people that are trying to even make decisions can't make right now because we're in this place of uncertainty, which brings overwhelm.
00:50:46.719 --> 00:50:51.440
So, what the overwhelm looks like is we need to do more with less.
00:50:51.599 --> 00:51:01.599
So, for example, we I was just on a call recently for our industry, training budgets are being cut, long-term projects are not being funded the way they used to be.
00:51:01.920 --> 00:51:06.079
We're moving back to what's called one and done, right?
00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:14.400
And people are just being asked because they also don't have time to commit to a long-term leadership program.
00:51:14.880 --> 00:51:29.519
They can grab two hours and say, okay, let's let's you know, let's teach them something in those two hours, which is fine, except you and I both know the retention on that is just not going to be there if you can't continue to support it as you go forward.
00:51:29.840 --> 00:51:40.079
Yeah, you don't you don't learn to execute in class, you learn concepts and theories, then you go back on the job and practice and and experience is the teacher.
00:51:40.559 --> 00:51:41.280
There you go.
00:51:41.440 --> 00:51:42.719
That you said it beautifully.
00:51:42.800 --> 00:51:43.599
I couldn't have said it.
00:51:43.679 --> 00:51:46.800
I truly I could not have said it as eloquently as you just did.
00:51:46.880 --> 00:51:47.280
That's it.
00:51:47.440 --> 00:51:50.159
That's I I have screamed it from the mountaintops.
00:51:50.400 --> 00:51:51.280
Yeah, yeah.
00:51:51.519 --> 00:52:00.559
But it and and the challenge is you and I both know that, and and those who are controlling the budgets know it as well.
00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:05.679
But you only have so much money to do so many things with sometimes.
00:52:05.920 --> 00:52:16.320
And the bottom line is, and I've said this recently a few times, and people get a little taken aback by it, but businesses are in business to make money.
00:52:16.719 --> 00:52:17.199
Right.
00:52:18.000 --> 00:52:24.239
I mean, if they don't make money, they can't pay their employees, they can't have training, they can't offer benefits, they can't.
00:52:24.400 --> 00:52:35.679
So at the end of the day, we as employees, as vendors, as strategic partners, our job is to help the business to make money.
00:52:35.920 --> 00:52:42.639
And I know that's gonna open up a lot of there's that statement alone just pushed a lot of buttons for some people who are listening, right?
00:52:43.039 --> 00:52:44.079
Including my own.
00:52:44.320 --> 00:52:48.000
But at the end of the day, that's that truly is the bottom line.
00:52:48.239 --> 00:53:00.960
If the company or the organization is not profitable, or if they're nonprofit but they're meeting their their obligations, then we we can't keep the doors open.
00:53:01.280 --> 00:53:01.599
Right.
00:53:01.760 --> 00:53:08.719
And and so you know, aside from salaries and who's getting paid more and who's getting paid less, I completely get it.
00:53:08.880 --> 00:53:11.679
I understand I'm this is not a political statement.
00:53:11.840 --> 00:53:15.519
It's just this is the state of where we're at right now.
00:53:15.840 --> 00:53:16.239
Right.
00:53:16.480 --> 00:53:48.639
So and all the all the more reason why the work that you do with the productivity sprints, the should I stay or should I go 90-day sprint, and again, reinforcing the reset your buttons model is so important for folks professional relationships, personal relationships, and just to give themselves peace of mind and be able to be their safe harbor within a sea of of uh of chaos.
00:53:48.960 --> 00:53:49.599
Yeah, yeah.
00:53:50.079 --> 00:53:51.679
It's just a different type of chaos.
00:53:51.760 --> 00:53:53.679
We're not putting COVID to the name anymore.
00:53:54.079 --> 00:53:55.840
Right, it's it's the uncertainty.
00:53:56.400 --> 00:54:02.400
Yeah, really, because when we put the name COVID, like, oh, this is what's happening, right?
00:54:02.639 --> 00:54:07.440
Once you can name it, you put a plan to resolve it to solve the problem.
00:54:07.920 --> 00:54:10.159
Yeah, and this is a little nebulous.
00:54:10.559 --> 00:54:11.599
Exactly, exactly.
00:54:11.760 --> 00:54:27.920
Yeah, well, Mary Elizabeth, thank you so much for the important work that you continue to do with your reset your buttons model and helping folks, you know, helping to enrich folks' lives as they navigate, you know, the choppy waters.
00:54:28.239 --> 00:54:36.159
Where can folks find you to learn more about your sprints and and some of the other things that you're offering?
00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:38.079
So check out your podcast.
00:54:38.400 --> 00:54:39.599
Yeah, thank you.
00:54:39.840 --> 00:54:45.199
So we have our star resources website, which is starresources.net.
00:54:46.400 --> 00:55:00.719
And then we also have uh resetyourbuttons.com website and our YouTube channel that has the podcast in both video and well, it's pushed out.
00:55:01.039 --> 00:55:04.239
This is my technology knowledge, so limited.
00:55:04.559 --> 00:55:11.840
It's being pushed out on the through the podcast channels, so it should be on your favorite podcast channel.
00:55:11.920 --> 00:55:24.079
And then if you want to watch the video or listen to it through YouTube, it's Star Resources, all lowercase, all one one long words, S-T-A-R-R-E-S-O-U-R-C-E-S.
00:55:24.480 --> 00:55:27.280
And they are the Reset Your Buttons podcasts.
00:55:27.519 --> 00:55:27.840
Okay.
00:55:28.239 --> 00:55:40.000
I will make sure those links are in the show description for anybody that wants to revisit, or if they're listening to this for the first time, can check out your website, check out your tools.
00:55:40.159 --> 00:55:48.559
I'll make sure there's a link to the book because without the book and the whole model itself, you know, we we've got nothing to work with.
00:55:48.639 --> 00:55:50.800
So I'll make sure there's a link for that as well.
00:55:51.119 --> 00:55:51.920
Thank you, Helen.
00:55:52.079 --> 00:55:53.119
I appreciate it.
00:55:53.360 --> 00:56:06.159
I I if I could just say one more thing that came to me while we were talking is that the reason the model, the method, and the mindset works is because it can help you individually.
00:56:06.320 --> 00:56:10.000
Individually, we can help organizationally or team or relationally.
00:56:10.079 --> 00:56:12.559
That's why it's called create relationships that work.
00:56:12.960 --> 00:56:26.000
But what I thought about with what you were just saying a few minutes ago is again, in in this state of uncertainty and overwhelm, the only thing you can control is how you respond when a button is pushed.
00:56:26.400 --> 00:56:27.360
Exactly.
00:56:27.760 --> 00:56:28.719
Exactly.
00:56:28.960 --> 00:56:33.360
And on that note, thank you so much for your time this morning.
00:56:33.440 --> 00:56:37.360
I really appreciate it and appreciate it, and I love catching up with you.
00:56:38.719 --> 00:56:39.920
Thank you for inviting me back.
00:56:44.320 --> 00:56:50.239
I still can't believe it's been four years since we last met these folks.
00:56:50.559 --> 00:56:52.320
Time has flown.
00:56:52.880 --> 00:57:04.639
So much exciting stuff going on for them, and they continue to follow their passions, which are taking them on incredible journeys, new experiences, and expanding their capacities.
00:57:05.280 --> 00:57:13.599
My little nugget of inspiration from Rua, the youngest assorted conversations guest, is to never stop networking.
00:57:13.920 --> 00:57:16.400
She could seriously teach a class on it.
00:57:16.559 --> 00:57:24.480
Her networking skills have led her to some pretty incredible encounters and the beginning of some really great relationships.
00:57:25.360 --> 00:57:31.679
Josh O'Connell's inspiration for me is not being afraid to take a leap of faith.
00:57:31.840 --> 00:57:54.400
Leaving a job, moving cross-country, all in the name of following his love of writing about all things casino, has turned into a magnificent blend of passion and the benefit of all his previous work skills, putting him on the cutting edge with one of the top YouTube creators and casino gaming influencers.
00:57:55.039 --> 00:58:12.400
And then there's Mary Elizabeth Murphy and her work continuing to make the reset model more accessible through new channels so we can develop ourselves into being our calmest oasis in the midst of the chaos harbor that life can sometimes be.
00:58:19.599 --> 00:58:28.079
Jump down to the show notes for links to their original episodes as well as new or updated links that they mentioned in their little update.
00:58:28.320 --> 00:58:32.239
And while you're there, don't forget to connect with me.
00:58:32.559 --> 00:58:35.039
All my socials are linked there as well.
00:58:36.079 --> 00:58:40.400
As always, thanks for listening, and I'll see you in two weeks.