Do you like dogs? Of course you do! Dogs are so much better than people, and just about anything else on the planet. First of all, they can be trained to do all sorts of amazing things. Second, they are fiercely loyal and love their owners. Most importantly, they always show you that love and what a good time they’re having with those great wagging tails of theirs. Dogs just seem like nature’s optimists. They’re a constant reminder to not take our lives too seriously, and to be happy with what we have. So what’s it like to forego the traditional 9-5 path and just surround yourself with playing dogs all day? Today’s guest, Miyuki Bierlein, will answer just that question.
Caterer (with Simi Hansen)
James Beard said, “Food is our common ground, a universal experience”. No matter your station in life, or where in the world you live, food is the driving force for bringing people together to share stories and laughter. At most weddings the meal outshines the ceremony and becomes the main event. Every day, business deals go down over the dinner table where people both literally and figuratively break bread to find a common ground. And we just passed the American holiday of Thanksgiving, which does away with ambiguity and completely centers around the idea of coming together for a home cooked meal. Today’s guest, Simi Hansen, is one of the wonderful people enabling us to have our universal experience. Simi started her own successful catering business and brings amazing cuisine to where it is needed. She’ll tell us all about her strange path to becoming a chef and how changing other peoples experiences has changed her life.
Actor & Musician (with Tyler Hilton)
Why do we always seem to limit ourselves? ‘A job that awesome just isn’t going to happen for me.’ ‘That kind of success isn’t meant for me.’ ‘A relationship that great just isn’t in the cards for me.’ How do we know? Who said that we could read the future like that? You never know when something wonderful can be just around the corner. Today’s guest Tyler Hilton followed his heart and never limited himself, and has been paid back in return. He decided to not settle for having one awesome job and by the age of 21 had two. He’ll tell us all about what it’s like to live two awesome lives at once, and explain why you should never assume what tomorrow holds in store for you because it might be more amazing than you could ever imagine.
Psychotherapist (with Emily Anhalt)
The human mind is capable of amazing things. Coming up with the computer I’m typing on, writing MLK’s famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, moving the brush to form van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’, developing every vaccine and medical breakthrough ever. The mind is there, front and center for everything. It is THE cause in the cause and effect relationship. And yet, we have almost no idea what is going on in there. Chemicals this, hormones that, add a dash of heredity and we’re starting to brew a cocktail that no one can help to understand. Yet, some people still try. One such masochist is today’s guest Emily Anhalt. She is currently a psychotherapist and psychological assistant, and is at the very end of a long road to becoming a psychologist where she will continue to better help people understand their relationships to the man (or woman) in the mirror. What does she think about mind? What does she think about thinking? What does she think about thinking about your thinking?
Concert & Festival Producer (with Dawson Ludwig)
Music makes the world go round. It can make you happy when you’re sad, it can make you feel sadness when you’re happy, and, well, just about any emotional shift in between. In no form is music more awesome and appreciated than when being played live. Live music brings masses of people together to feel the energy of a band that just can’t be realized in any other way. But who makes that go around? Who is the man or woman behind the curtain pulling all the strings to make sure that we can see a live act? Who are the people pushing and pulling all of the levers to make sure the crazy festival we went to this past summer actually worked? It’s time to meet Dawson Ludwig, a modern day Oz for the Northern California music scene. We’ll learn all about what happens before we ever hear the first note of the first song.
YouTube Gaming Celebrity (with Datto Does Destiny)
We live in a downright crazy and absolutely amazing time to be alive. Limitless information at our fingertips, gluten free pastries, and snuggies are all a part of our reality. Perhaps more important than any of those innovations (except for the snuggie) is the change of the business and socioeconomic landscape that has happened over the past decade. We now live in a time where there are almost zero barriers to entry to jump headfirst into your own world-facing business. Success is certainly not guaranteed, but the fact that you can even try is a wonderful gift. I, for instance, have a podcast. Do I have a degree in journalism? No. Do I have any idea how to produce a real radio show? I don’t think so. Did I have any idea how to make my own website or podcast all of six months ago? Absolutely not. And yet here I am. Today’s guest has used this new business landscape and in just over two years completely changed his life. Stefan, a.k.a. Datto, went from being a guy that liked playing videogames in his free time to a guy that has a half million YouTube subscribers to his relatively new Datto Does Destiny gaming channel. Stefan now makes a healthy income playing videogames all day, not working for anyone else. So, how did all this work out for him, what lessons has he learned, and what is it really like to live the dream?
Travel Blogger (with Darrell Hartman)
The world is a pretty neat place. The Grand Canyon, the giant sequoia trees of the Sierra Nevadas, the gysers of Yellowstone, Niagra Falls, Crater Lake, the rock formations in Moab. The list goes on and on…and that’s just the US! Kinda makes you wish you could just get paid to travel around and see it all like today’s guest Darrell Hartman and his younger brother Oliver. They are the founders of the incredibly unique and much talked about “travel blog” Jungles in Paris. Jungles in Paris uses a mix of breathtaking photography, videography, and well written articles to really explore the spirit of some of the most beautiful areas, people, animals, and phenomena on the planet. So, how did they make it to the promised land and start living the dream?
Stay At Home Mom (with Brittany Marcotte)
Parenting. Holy crap. I want no part of it. I mean, who needs that sort of responsibility? I can barely take care of myself on a day-to-day basis. Put another human being under my care…that’s just downright negligent. But I do hold out hope that one day I’ll mature, thanks to today’s guest, my wonderful sister Brittany. Brittany is the most awesome, selfless parent you will ever meet, and currently she is a stay at home mom. Watching her has done a pretty good job at swaying me into thinking that maybe, one day, a million years from now, being a parent might actually not be that bad. Today she’ll tell us about what it’s like to go partly crazy from hearing Mickey Mouse songs all day, contemplating running away from home, and definitely not trading any of it for the world.
Musician (with Lucy Graves)
We are a society, for better or for worse, obsessed with stardom. Completely captivated by the bright and shining light. The ensemble cast is all fine and good, but give me a name for god’s sake! Although, what about that ensemble cast? What about the people in the background actually making the play…movie…music come alive? Today’s guest, Lucy Graves, is going to fill us in on what it’s like to live in the background, eschewing recognition in favor of some good old-fashioned life experience. Lucy is the keyboardist for one of the better-known people in the music industry today, CeeLo Green. She is also the keyboardist, backup singer, and co-song writer for Grammy winner Printz Board. What is it like to be so close to stardom, but not a start yet yourself?
Cheesemonger (with Sophie Mosgrove)
If you were stuck on a desert island and you could only eat one food, what would it be? Trick question! The answer is obviously cheese. Not only is it the best tasting thing in the world, it also has protein, fat, and carbohydrates, making it the perfect shipwrecked meal. Today we’ll learn all about this superfood from Sophie Mosgrove, a certified cheesemonger. Sophie spends every workday thinking about and tasting cheese. She’ll let us know what it’s like to have this dream job, and give us all kinds of interesting facts and advice to help us pick out a winner the next time we’re at the grocery store.
Air Traffic Controller (with Gabe Koa)
Have you ever thought about how much we take flying for granted? For one, the fact that we can even get off the ground is borderline miraculous. Something about thrust and lift, but it might as well be witchcraft as far as I’m concerned. Second is the fact that we manage to do so safely. Have you ever been in a plane crash? Do you know anyone that has ever been in a plane crash? Now replace the word plane with car and think of how many stories you can come up with. Would you ever take a long distance vacation if plane crashes were that common? The safety of air travel is pretty amazing, but not an accident or a fluke. It’s due to people like today’s guest, Gabe Koa. Gabe is an air traffic controller and he’ll give us a rundown on what a day in the life is like for one of the most important jobs in existence.
Hostel Owner (with Duncan Graham)
Do you consider yourself an extrovert? Do you thrive off of the energy you get from meeting new people? Have you ever considered starting a hostel right out of your house? I’m gonna go ahead and assume no. But after hearing today’s guest, it might not sound like such a crazy idea. Duncan started a hostel right out of his house, that he still lives in, and in the last 8 months he’s had over 500 people from all over the world stay with him. He’ll tell us all about the effect it has had on his life, and how he turned a home that he is renting into and amazing business and life venture.
Peace Corps Volunteer (with Jeff Palmer)
Have you ever dreamt about leaving your whole life behind and starting a new one somewhere else? Do you ever consider ditching your path to personal gain to go and help the less fortunate? Have you ever been watching a documentary about living in a 3rd world country and almost dropped everything right then and there to join the Peace Corps? I can’t be the only one! Today’s guest, Jeff Palmer, knew from a very young age that he wanted to help people, and while still in high school made up his mind that he would join the Peace Corps. What he didn’t know was how difficult and long the process would be to get there, and what life would be like once he began.
Author / Wine Blogger (with Madeline Puckette)
Just stop right there. I know what you’re thinking. ANOTHER episode about alcohol…that…is…AWESOME! And you’re right, it is awesome. Do you know how many treaties were signed over a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon? All of them. Do you know how many businesses were founded over a carafe of Zinfandel? All of them. Do you know how many statistics I’ve made up while drinking a glass of Sangiovese? None of them, because that would be totally irresponsible. Today’s guest, Madeline Puckette, is the ultimate Renaissance woman. She’s the graphic designer responsible for some of the greatest wine infographcs that have ever been made. She was voted Wine Blogger of the Year at the International Wine and Spirits Competition for her site, Wine Folly. And now, she’s responsible for the #1 selling wine book on Amazon of the same name…and as of my writing this it hasn’t even come out yet! So how, in just a few short years, do you completely take the wine world by storm?
Baker (with Gillian Shaw)
Baking is so awesome. It’s fun and messy. For most people it reminds them of childhood. And you’re left with the greatest of treats when all is said and done. Just writing that series of sentence fragments makes me want to grab some eggs and sugar! Today’s guest was on the path to lawyerdom, and then looked around and said, ‘Forget this, it’s time to start baking!’ Now, years later, she has her own successful baking company whose goods can be found all over the bay area. How’d she do it? What lessons did she learn along the way? Just click play already!
Sommelier (with Sam Bogue)
Wine. The drink of the Gods. The blood or Christ. The Greeks and Romans each had a God dedicated to it and it was the focal point of Jesus’s first miracle and last supper. That’s quite a history for a beverage! So what is it that makes wine so awesome? So revered by man? And how does that reverie translate to today? We’ll speak with Sommelier Sam Bogue to learn all about what makes wine worth obsessing over.
(Award Winning) Bar Owner (with Josh Harris)
Do you remember your first bar experience? I sure don’t remember mine (I’ve heard stories), but my second was truly great! I remember heading into it thinking, ‘why would I pay extra money for drinks just so I can sit at a place less comfortable than my house?’ But I did it anyways, and thus began the multitude of friendships formed and memories made at bars in my life. Today’s guest, Josh Harris, is co-owner of one of the best bars in San Francisco. He and his business partner, Scott, set out to make some of the best drinks and best bar food in the world (nailed it), all to help as many people as possible come together and make their own memories (nailed it). So how do you make alcohol part of your job and open one of the most successful young bars in the world?
Web Design (with Wes McDowell)
Have you ever been on a website before? Has it ever occurred to you that almost every website you go to was designed by a web designer? That fact reminds me a lot of the architecture episode. It’s almost hard to believe that EVERY building we walk by was conceived by an architect, and even harder to believe that EVERY website we visit was conceived in much the same way. Time to take a look into that career and see what this ubiquitous field is all about.
Personal Finance Expert (with Peter the Planner)
Money makes the world go round. Well, gravity too, but mostly money. And yet it’s somehow considered this taboo topic not to be talked about. And it’s partially due to this taboo that millions of people including myself make poor or uniformed financial choices every day. Well, time to talk about it! Today’s guest, Peter Dunn (aka Pete the Planner), devotes his life to helping people make better financial decisions. He uses just about every media format available to answer questions about money, and help people on the path to financial wellness. So let’s have him answer some of our finance questions and learn about the awesome path that Peter has chosen in life.
Professional BMX Rider / Professional Fly Fisher (with KC Badger)
Why have one scoop of ice cream when you can have two? Why have one favorite singer (Rick Astley) when you can have two (William Hung)? Why have one super awesome once in a lifetime job when you can have two? KC Badger knows all about how foolish limiting yourself is, and in today’s episode he shares that divine wisdom with us. The real life most interesting man in the world explains how he made the transition from professional BMX rider to professional fly fisherman, and why if he can double dip on life, you can too.