Getting Work To Work

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...

Earlier this week, I met up with someone who wanted to ask me questions about my podcasting journey. After sharing everything I could possibly think of, even the stuff that people don’t want to hear about, I looked at the clock and saw that we had been talking for almost two and a half hours. As we wrapped up our conversation, I wrote a quick note: “Give it all away—meeting people who...

If you were to learn how to paint where would you start? Maybe you’d go to YouTube and watch some introductory videos, buy some cheap art supplies, and spend an afternoon giving it a shot. The results? A contact high from the paint and a lingering belief that you’re just not talented enough. So, you quit. Fortunately, today’s guest has found a better way. Kevin Murphy is a renown...

When was the last time you sat around, maybe reading a book, definitely looking at the sky, but ultimately, doing nothing productive? Depending on who you are and what you do, that either sounds like heaven or hell. And if you’re tapped into all things tech, downright impossible. I mean, who are we if we aren’t online, am I right? But what if productivity is actually holding us back fr...

What fears are holding you back from the things that truly matter? Does your fear serve you? What could you learn from fear? What small action could you take to go from fearful to fearless? These four questions are a taste of my time with Dr. Benjamin Ritter, leadership and career coach, talent development executive, international speaker, and author of Becoming Fearless: 65 Strategies to Journey...

You ever have one of those moments when the passing of time just hits you right in the stomach? The other day, I was driving home from running an errand, pizza in the trunk, music blasting, a typical northwest summer day. Apart from my sore back, I felt pretty good. Not a care running through my mind as I noticed my surroundings. “Wow, trees really have grown a lot in the past 20 years.&#822...

How do you keep your imagination and productivity going year after year, decade after decade? By challenging yourself, doing your work to the best of your ability, and taking nothing personally. Today’s guest is Jeffrey Konvitz and is no stranger to the world of imagination. He’s worked in film as an entertainment attorney, screenwriter, and producer. He’s also the author of The...

Refilling the creativity and curiosity tanks is easy when life is going as planned. When balance is maintained, money is in the bank, and work is more feast than famine. But what about the other times? When pain keeps you in bed instead of at the desk, depression fuels boredom (or is it the other way around), the lack of money saps all motivation and means to explore new crafts and potential paths...

When you are running a business—no matter how small or large—it’s easy to forget why you are doing it. You look around at what everyone else is doing and question your own success. You read the latest business book about systems and processes of giant corporations and wonder why they didn’t work in your small business. So, what are we to do? Today’s guest has some fresh ideas for...

I wasn’t sure what today’s episode was going to be about until I heard something in an episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. While visiting Sarma, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Somerville, Massachusetts, Phil and his guest mentioned that the chef travels all over the world, eats delicious food, and brings those flavors back to the menu. That got me thinking: What would be the equi...