Getting Work To Work

How far am I willing to go? How much work am I willing to do? Two powerful questions today’s guest asked herself at the start of her writing journey as she considered what it meant to be a writer. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is a writer, podcaster, teacher, and publisher on the show to talk about writing, podcasting, and her latest book, Pool Fishing , a collection of stories connected by place...

I’ve heard this phrase way too often in the past 25 years: “If you’re ignoring [enter the trending or disrupting technology], then you’re already behind.” While the phrase may be technically true, it does require a major assumption: equality. It assumes that every person has equal access to the technology, responds with openness and trust instead of skepticism and cau...

How do you push creative boundaries and embrace opportunities as they come? You solve problems and focus on the people around you. Today’s guest on Getting Work To Work , Josh Simons, is no stranger to the creative business world. According to his bio, “he ran a record label, publishing function, film production company and was the lead singer of Australian indie rock band Buchanan.&#8...

“Can I pick your brain?” Of course, you absolutely can. But I’ve noticed a lot more professionals expressing disdain for people reaching out and wanting to ask a few questions. But before I dive into a rant based upon passing comments and not a lot of data, I’m going to speak about the type of creative industry I want to be part of, one that is built upon the sharing of kno...

Their mission may be simple—”We Tell Makers’ Stories”—but hidden in every photo, interaction, page, and podcast is an unquenchable fire to build a global community. Kate and Jack Lennie are the visionaries behind We Are Makers , an independent print publication and podcast featuring makers all over the world. In our conversation, we talk about the power of storytelling and what m...

How do you get better at your craft? Sounds like a potential start to a not so funny joke, but I’m serious: How do you get better at your craft? With skills that rely upon your hands and time—like woodworking or pottery or painting—you just have to do the work, go through the process, and see what comes out the other end. Is it good or is it crap? Probably. But in the digital world, it&#8217...

There is often a moment in every interview on Getting Work To Work that stops me in my tracks. In today’s interview with Kimberly Lau and Linda Young, they dropped the mic twice with these two mind-blowing moments: “We have enough clothing on the planet to clothe the next six generations” and “Since we opened nine months ago, we have saved 2,500 pounds in textile waste from...

What did Arthur C. Clarke have to say in 1968 about communication in the distant future? Buried in the middle of a single page in 2001: A Space Odyssey , on a trip to the moon, is an interesting description of Clarke’s imagined future and our realized present. It’s always uncanny when science fiction gets something right, but that’s not why I’m bringing this up. Instead, I&...

As much as I love imagining dystopian and doomsday scenarios of AI overtaking humanity, talking with experts about positive implementation strategies is a better use of my time (and mental health). Building upon an education in Data Science and Analytics and AI ethics, Ben Tasker currently “leads a Data & AI Academy that upskills and reskills more than 36,000 employees in the public util...

Hey there, you’re listening to Getting Work To Work on this fine day in late September 2025. I’m your host, Chris Martin, and I’m glad you’re here. What’s going on? Oh, not much? Head in the sand or just ignoring willfully the dumpster fire that is consuming everything everywhere? I pay attention, then I do my best to get to work. I had a good start to my day. I dropp...

What is the connection between photography and memory? What are the stories beyond the frame of our most cherished family photos? What will we wish we had known about our loved ones? Profound questions and thoughtful answers with today’s guest, Stacy Bass, photographer and author of Lightkeeper: A Memoir Through the Lens of Love and Loss . Fulfilling her curiosity for behind the scenes stori...

Who will you become in 12 months time? This question stood out in my recent conversation with Georgee Darling, because change takes time, even though I want it to happen immediately. Often this question leads us to action steps we can take daily to become who we want to be—and yes, I’ll share several of my own action steps in this episode—but sometimes it keeps us stuck in our imagination, l...

If there’s a quote from today’s interview that sums it all up, it’s this: “What’s the point in building a business if you’re not gonna build one that you really love?” Georgie Darling is a freelance writer and coach who helps woman build businesses that lead to freedom. In our conversation, she shares her journey from the world of journalism and branded co...

I’ve had a hard time coming up with new podcast episodes lately. It’s not that I lack things to talk about, my mind is just in a million different places. Fortunately, a minute on Threads provided me with enough kindling to get my creative blaze started. Have you ever read something so hilariously ludicrous that you just couldn’t stop laughing? According to an article in The Holl...

Have you ever listened to a song that completely changed your life? What about hearing a sax solo so intense, you end up moving across the country and changing careers? This is but one example of the power of art and music shared by today’s guest, Alex Woodard, writer, musician, observer, and storyteller. In our conversation, he shares his origin story of becoming an observational artist in...

I’m trying to reimagine a new reality. Why? Because the one we’ve got right now has a few problems. But instead of a lengthy preamble, laying out the problems and having a healthy rant for fifteen minutes, I’m just going to dive into some solutions. But don’t worry, I’m still going to rant because this is infuriating, the problems are systematized, incentivized, and h...

How do you know the person you just met is who they say they are? A family member just called asking uncharacteristically to be bailed out of jail, what do you do? What do you say to someone whose offer to help is too good to be true? These are the questions at the core of today’s conversation with Johnathan Walton, author of the must-read book, Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to S...

As I was lying in bed, my friend sent me a link to a conference and said, “Not seeing you on the speaker list.” I clicked to see if I recognized anyone and after scrolling through three days of talks and speakers, I recognized two names, no one else. Times—yes, they change—but so do we. It’s been at least eight years since I actively participated in that particular industry—web d...

Have you ever met a Fear Technician? Well, in this episode of Getting Work To Work , you’re going to meet Guryan Tighe, a fear technician who works with people to unmask their fears. Her company was founded “on the belief that understanding and working with our fears, rather than trying to conquer them, yields more professional success and personal fulfillment.” In this conversat...

As a podcaster, I get a lot of emails about podcasting from podcast producers, thought leaders, and consultants. The emails are usually not about MY show—although I do get those emails that cold pitch their services—but about the podcasting industrial complex in general. The latest is about Amazon restructuring and cutting staff from Wondery, a premium podcasting studio and network famous for (I&#...

I love it when people come on the show with deep curiosities about life and what it’s all about. Why? Because that depth of exploration shows up not just in the conversation, but also throughout their creative journey. And today’s episode with writer Tom Epperson is one of those moments. Tom shares countless tales from his life including his creative origin story when he learned he wan...

Greetings fellow dinosaurs! Did you know that we are living in the prehistoric age of technology and artificial intelligence? That kids born today “will never be smarter than AI,” according to Sam Altman, CEO and cofounder of OpenAI? When I first saw this headline repeated ad nauseam on social media, I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. Surely, we aren’t heading toward human de...

The best part of podcasting is meeting people who look at the world in ways that rewire your own vision. Today’s guest is Dr. Neri Karra Sillaman, author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs , speaker, entrepreneur, and former child refugee. Our conversation begins with a poem Neri wrote putting us right into a single moment of her life. From there, we...

For those new to Getting Work To Work , today’s guest is gough, a legally blind filmmaker from Australia. He’s also a comedic genius, raconteur, shameless self-promoter, and holds the distinction of being on this show 23 times. His latest film—available now at BeernutsProductions.com —is a dark comedy called MR. X about a blind hitman who falls in love. In our conversation, we talk abo...

When you’re faced with challenges or struggles in your life and work, what do you do to get unstuck? Maybe you vent to a friend, go to therapy, or even hire a coach, but today’s guests—Tim Preston & Jonathan Thomas—have a tool that can help you to uncover your own solutions through a process they call CoreSelf Mapping . Through eight steps, the CoreSelf Map Process moves individual...