E89: Be Inspired By Many, But Influenced by Few (July 2026)

Why podcasting is still the best medium for authentic connection

Embracing the parts of work that suck

Humanizing even offenders

Secret behind dyslexia transformation

Optimal state of stress

Staying disciplined in work and life

Less of tasks, more of who you were meant to be

Your "X-factor"

Want to be a guest on Work Sucks, But I Like It? Send Tony Tenaglier a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/worksucksbutlikeit

Transcript

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July 2026 was an awesome month for a couple of reasons. So, first off, we hit, you know, the 5,000 download uh from BuzzSprout, which was amazing to kind of hit. And not that it's about the downloads, right? I'm learning that social media and downloads and podcasting have two different kinds of like metrics and levels, but it just shows that, you know, I love just continuing to think about why I'm doing this podcast. And, you know, today as I share, you know, my reflection on July 2026 guests on the show, I'm really starting to hone in more and more on what really what should work feel like? Right. I think that's why I started this podcast, right? Work sucks, but I like it. So then how should work be? What should it feel like? What should we be thinking about when we're, you know, doing a project that is good and has parts that suck? And the other thing that was also amazing in July was that we celebrated the one year mark. And so I started this podcast July, I think believe it's the 15th of 2025. And before that, I never knew what a podcast was. So here we are. We made it one year and over 5,000 downloads and actually coming in on close to a hundred episodes already. So super excited. Thanks for being here. Let's jump right into be inspired by many, but influenced by few. So the kickoff the month of July was pretty awesome. It was wisdom. I was on a couple of his podcasts, and you know, I said, hey man, you got to come on my podcast because what you're doing, the work that you're doing is amazing. And we talked about podcasting, and we both sort of agreed that the podcasting medium, the podcasting space is so great because it allows people to be themselves, right? We have so many things that are just AI generated. I was scrolling on LinkedIn and I just see all these like ads coming up and events of like you can tell they're AI generated, and it puts me off. I'm not gonna lie. Like it looks like it's like you don't care. And I know that's not what they're they mean. That's not their intent, but it's just like, where is that sort of human element, that human sort of spirit within the work? I think it's becoming too sort of digital, too transactional. And wisdom and I were just going off that, you know, yeah, we're just sharing behind the scenes of what it takes, right, to do a podcast, the amount of hours, right, that we spend, you know, prior to and after. Now, right, one thing I want to say that with a podcast, it's like anything, right? Where you the more you do it, the more efficient you become. And but when you first get going, there's a lot of things that you have to learn, the different platforms. The other day I was recording and I forgot to hit one little button and it kind of screwed up, you know, the the way it recorded on the other side. And fortunately, I have a platform like Riverside that can help me out when I make those kind of dumb mistakes. But Wisdom was just an awesome, you know, guest because he reminded me too that we don't have to be perfect, right? We don't have to have all the answers, we don't have to have all the solutions. We just need to keep showing up. And I think that's just a story anyone could really just resonate with. And then we moved to to Shiloh Creed. And, you know, basically what was cool about her, right? She was an author as well, mostly fiction, um, even though, you know, I don't read a lot of fiction, but I can still appreciate, right, the the whole act, the whole process of writing a book. And what was so fascinating was that, you know, at one point she loved writing, and not that she doesn't now, but she even admitted, like, oh yeah, now I'm getting fixated on sort of the business. It's becoming that transactional thing again, right? And it was kind of fun to see on the show for her to kind of let loose of that, oh, I have to, you know, sell so many books and hit my deadlines and dah, dah, dah. And that those are important, right? Those are important metrics. I'm not saying just go off into the world and do whatever you want, right? We have to have some sort of rules and guidelines to kind of steer our vessels around. But, you know, she's kind of learning, discovering. She even admitted she had multiple pen names, right, to just get her work out there. And I just found that very interesting, you know, because I talk a lot about on the show that your identity is, you know, who you are. It doesn't matter what you're doing, right? If you're an engineer, if you're a mother, a father, a golfer, excuse me, or whatever it may be, right? There's the part that sucks right there, clearing my throat. And I guess what was really, you know, the end of the day, what she was trying to kind of share, trying to convey, is that regardless of the, you know, whatever name you want to call yourself, you know, when you're publishing your work or doing your work, it's really the idea of storytelling. And I know that it's come up, you know, a lot for me, you know, as I try to market my upcoming book, you know, in a rush to go nowhere, finding Shravasana. And it's all about this idea of storytelling because people, yes, they want to see the results. They want to, you know, learn that you sold millions of copies. But let's face it, that's like looking at an Olympic athlete and being like, okay, yay, they made it. I see it, they're on TV, but what did they do? Right. So Shila was kind of breaking down the behind the scenes of what she actually did, you know. And I really liked how her best writing, right, was in the car. You know, I don't know how I could ever do that. But I just, you know, things like that, right? Those are the elements that I love to hear from guests on the show that that's what makes up their work. It's the things that we don't always see. We see the published book, we see the finished product, we see them smiling at the finish line. But this show is all about, again, what does work feel like? What should it feel like in all moments, right? At the beginning, the middle, and the end. Talk about this next guest, right? So, Eric, he, Eric Robinson, he was a pastor and then became an FBI agent. Now, that in itself, that's incredible. He's got a book coming out, that's why he's been podcasting so much. I signed up to be on his subscriber list to check it out when his book debuts. And I guess like all I could think of was, you know, I guess I had a lot of different thoughts, but the first one that comes to mind is that he did the pastor work to kind of see the good in people. I don't think he really framed it this way we're on the show, but I was reflecting on it after. And, you know, he he wanted to see sort of the level of how in which people that could be good in the world. And then he was like, okay, now that I have this baseline, this sort of foundation, let me go be the guy that enforces it, right? Not that and a pastor kind of does that in their own way, right? The people come in and you know, they, they, they um, you know, share the the Bible and these things, you know, to the people to inspire them to act in good ways, to act in ways to be, you know, fulfilled, to live a good life, to do good to others. And then as an FBI agent agent, that's like kind of what he's doing too, right? But he's like, oh, you've had your chance now. Now the law's kicked in and we got to do something about you because you can't be doing this. And I like how he said it, right? You have to humanize even these offenders, right? You know that, you know, it might have struck a nerve that they did something that's really against your values. You know, maybe they were, whatever, I hate to say, just kind of like sexual abusers. And you have to say, well, they're humans. And what it made me think, not that it makes it right, but what I'm going with this point is that in How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, he indicates that the opening chapter, right, that people, you know, like, you know, Al Capone and these robbers, gangsters are always quick to blame everyone but themselves. And the whole trick of being able to influence people to do the work that we need to do is to see them for who they are, right? If we were in Al Capone's shoes, we would obviously be him because we were subjected to all the stimuli. So Erica sort of reminded me that when he was confronting people walking into, you know, his church, or he was breaking into an apartment or whatever, tend to break up this bust, he saw people for who they were. Right. Now, obviously, you know, people in those different contexts have different values, different things that led him to that point. But the thing to take away is that see people for who they are. And then talk about seeing people for who they are. Then we had Russell Van Brockland, and he works with students who really struggle in traditional classrooms. And he indicates that they're not lacking, you know, this um intelligence if they have, you know, dyslexia. It's that they really need different approaches. And it's about focusing on the strengths and not necessarily the weaknesses. Now, I mean, that in itself, that's it right there, folks. I mean, we always talk about, you know, especially in manufacturing, that, oh, you did, you know, it's 5% scrap. Well, what about the 95% we did right? Our culture is so loaded with looking at things from a negative perspective, from a perspective of, well, you're weak, it's stronger. That's how we'd be better, right? Work on your weaknesses. Take a strengths finder test and work on your weaknesses. And yes, there's an element to when you want to be your best that you have to assess the things that might be holding you back. But I don't think so much at the cost of, you know, remembering what made you strong in the first place. And I think that needs to come to the forefront more than ever. And what he talks about as he works with kids, it's it's exactly that. He's tapping into the basic things that they do very well, right? If you're very, you know, attention to detail, you know, he talked about one thing with, you know, the uh taking a word and defining it. And just that kind of level of detail for a person like that is going to help them build up their vocabulary, right? So the strength is, okay, yes, it's overwhelming to read this whole page, but let's just start with one word, right? And let's just go to the next word, and let's go to the next word. And I think we can all take a lesson from that. Then we had Amy Grimm, and she talked about this idea of this sort of optimal stress, if you will, and that does the Yerkes Dotson curve. Hopefully I said that right and still have yet to look that up. I need to. And basically it's a bell-shaped curve. And I've definitely referenced it before. It's actually in my third book. I think it's in my second. I don't remember. That's terrible. But anyway, she talks about how the perception of stress is usually a bad thing. Oh, I'm stressed out and yada yada. But we need stress, right? We need some sort of force to kick us into gear. And not all stress is bad. And that was the kind of the depiction of the Yerkes Dotson curve is that with this bell-shaped curve, if you can find that optimal state, optimal level of stress, you're going to do your best work. Imagine this goes, this fits right into the flow channel, right? We talk a lot about, you know, Mihai, chick sent me highs, antecedents to flow. We have clear goals, challenge skills, ratio balance, and then immediate feedback. And if you don't have enough challenge, you're going to be bored. You're going to, you're not, there's not enough stress on the system to want to activate the skills within you. So we need that perfect level of stress. And then talk about stress with Brandon Lynette. She has forget how many kids, six plus kids with all the cats and dogs and everything else, with, you know, in her household. And her husband, you know, does work. He's not always there throughout the week. He's got a job that travels, and she's got multiple podcasts. I was on her podcast, you know, listen, bitch. You know, that was a fun time there. You can check out that episode. And it just makes me think, or maybe thought still makes me think, of this concept again of work-life balance. We talk about it on the show. You've heard me ask about, you know, what people think in terms of that statement. And she breaks down, her and I resonate in the sense that work and life is sort of this blur. And I don't have, you know, six kids and, you know, a house full of cats and dogs and everything else, and running, I guess I am running multiple podcasts, but it's about this idea that it goes back to who you are, how you do anything is how you do everything. That sort of concept that I learned from T. Harvecker years and years ago from his millionaire mind intensive, where he said, how you do anything is how you do everything. So how you do podcasting is how you're going to be a parent. How you treat your cat is how you're going to treat your daughter. And to apply this to your situation, don't be so quick to compartmentalize work in life. Yes, there's distinct times when, you know, you have, okay, job starts at nine and you end at five, but don't say, okay, the work doesn't stop there, right? Remember Joe LaRusa, he talks about some of the more important work is actually in the home front as well. And I think Brandon really reminded me of that in terms of, yes, you know, we can have a lot of different things. And the reason why we can do a lot of these different things is because we're being ourselves throughout all of them. And then Desi Bolin. So she had reached out to me on LinkedIn and asked me to be on her, you know, podcast. And it was interesting because, you know, sometimes I'm going to be honest, and maybe she's doing this, and no offense to Desi, because I get it. You know, people are friending me on LinkedIn and they want, they think that I'm a good candidate, right? For their their marketing, you know, funnel and they want to get me into their program, and which I appreciate. And I guess it was a fun conversation in the sense that what sold me with her and why I wanted her to be on my show was that she said that, okay, if you're late, one minute late, we're done with this conversation. And what I loved is that it's accountability. And I imagine that, you know, if we got into an accident, obviously something happened like that, she'd say, okay, well, life happens. But she reminded me throughout the conversation and our interactions, and that when we say, goes back to say what you do, do what you say. If you say you're going to show up at five o'clock, you're going to show up at five o'clock. And that's what needs to happen today. People are forgetting that we need to, again, show up for the things that we're saying. And one of the things, too, that Desi made me think about was that catalyst conversations, right? I remember asking her, you know, on the show kind of why, you know, you came up with that name. And we all have this sort of catalyst moment. And she likes talking to people. She likes hearing what they have to say. And she's a coach and she likes to guide them towards their goals and their dreams. And for me, what I realized is that I've had multiple catalysts. I still have multiple things that kind of kick me in the gear, those good stresses sometimes. And my biggest one that really kind of started all of this work, it goes back again to that first book, The Impression of a Good Life, Finding Your Song and Dance, when I had these catalyst moments where I got fired from a job. I, you know, did not marry the woman I was dating. Everyone told me I had to marry. And, you know, I dropped out of grad school. And you would think that, you know, my life from a societal standpoint was a complete shit show. And yeah, I wasn't following the traditional song and dance, but that was a catalyst. It was a conversation that happened with me and my world around me that made me see things the way they were. And it took me down this path where I'm at today. And the last thing, I think this is perfect because Paul Comfort talks about we all find, we're all trying to find like our purpose. It's like an X on a treasure map, right? We're trying to X marks the spot and we're trying to find and dig up the treasure that's buried within ourselves. And Paul Comfort's book, you know, the X Factor, basically is the intersection of interests, abilities, experiences, and you know, your purpose. And when you find that sweet spot, I remember taking his assessment, said, I found mine, whatever that means. I guess I'm still trying to, you know, not to say again, I guess my point with that is like I joke, I joke because yes, I know what I want, but at the same time, I don't know. So that's just an interesting work that I need to continue to do. But for those that are trying to ask the question of what is there meaning beyond the paycheck? Is there more to the work that I'm doing? And there is, right? I mean, Paul was an amazing guest because he has a 95, 9 to 5. He also has a YouTube travel channel. You know, he's a father and a husband. And he's just, he's the type of guest that I really love to have on the show because they break down this sort of imagery of that, okay, I either have to be a person of nine to five to be successful. I have to be the CEO or whatever. And, you know, he he was a CEO and president of these companies. And but then other people say, well, no, I want to own my time and I want to be an entrepreneur. Well, he's also an entrepreneur. But the way he does that is he blends his love for talking about travel. I mean, that that is just like I'm talking about an X factor right there. And so that pretty much sums up July 2026. I just want to say that thank you so much for tuning in. Remember, success is not a matter of good luck. It's good skills. And I guess the skill that I've been thinking about today that I want to reflect on for July's guests is it really goes back to Shiloh Creed's storytelling. And I know I've mentioned it before in the past on different episodes in various ways. Storytelling is everything. The stories you tell yourself, the story you tell others. I think, again, writing it out is very critical. Get a pen and paper and just start journaling your thoughts. And I just go back to saying this because I'm finding more and more in the space of being online and communities, people are having a hard time sitting with themselves. We have this feeling of going nowhere, right? This rush to go nowhere, if you will. And I think the way we're going to start combating that is to slow down. And before you get freaked out on why you need to slow down, remember that when you find stillness in your life and you slow down, it allows you to see how to find your way through the chaos. And with that, I'll see you next time. Thank you.