The Work Ethic

The audio is hard to hear with some of the audience questions but most of it seemed decent enough. I was happy to find this old archive!

Dirk is the Director for the Center of Entrepreneurship and the University of South Florida's Muma College of Business. He is passionate about connecting students with both theorists and practitioners as they build their own solutions. This discussion offers a really great look into the ways that universities are building environments incubation and acceleration of the entrepreneurial spirit and enterprises. 

Mauro Costa is the founder and CEO of Bulkitrade, a B2B international trade marketplace focused on connecting emerging brands with international retailers. This is an incredible conversation with Mauro and he shares about the many moves that have led him to where he is today. -enjoy 

Mark E. Leib is, among other things, a playwright that has been producing plays that have been on stages throughout the nation since the 1980. Leib's plays and adaptations have been produced at the Players Theatre in Greenwich Village (Art People), the Manhattan Punch Line (Terry by Terry), the American Repertory Theatre (Terry by Terry and adaptations of The Marriage of Figaro, and Platonov) and at the Edinburgh and Singapore Theatre Festivals. His play The Return to Zion was chosen for a staged reading at the Southern New Plays Festival at New Orleans’ Southern Rep, and his play Tongue was a winner in the short play festival at Florida Studio Theatre. Leib was the first playwriting lecturer at the Institute for Advanced Theatre Study at Harvard University, and taught playwriting and various drama survey courses for Harvard Extension School from 1981-1990. He received his BA in Government magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he was president and poetry editor of the literary magazine The Harvard Advocate, and his MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, where he won the CBS Foundation Prize in Playwriting. He now teaches playwriting, screenwriting, and fiction at the University of South Florida. Mark also worked as a theater critic for Creative Loafing in Tampa Bay and Sarasota for more than a decade beginning in 1998. His criticism won six awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including two first-place statewide Sunshine State Awards for Critical Writing.

This year Mark has a new play and a novel both coming out. Jon and Mark discuss both the play and the novel, among so many other fascinating topics in this conversation. Please enjoy!

I was so excited to have David Dennis (the 2nd most listened to episode) back to siduss his new book, Gameness. 

Gameness | Land on Your Feet, Not on Your Feelings

What's gameness? We often hear the cryptic question, “Got game?” But gameness isn’t just about sports . . . it’s about life. It’s a person’s ability to live beyond the inevitable problems and pains that threaten to derail us from our fullest potential. It’s realizing that God didn’t put us on earth merely to survive . . . but to take charge of our lives! Gameness means living each day with a never-quit mindset, resoluteness to a purpose, a fighting spirit, and the will required to act beyond our feelings. What is it about those who face life’s biggest heartaches and find a way to bounce back and turn setbacks into breakthroughs? They’ve found the secret of making life work, and in this book, David Dennis explains the secret to all of us. These aren’t academic concepts to David. He has lived them, refined them, and now, he’s imparting his wisdom to the rest of us. Buckle up, hold on tight, and be ready to be challenged like never before.

This was a great conversation to kick of 2023! I had the opportunity to join Mark Gesner the President of Community Engagement & Communications at St Leo at his office on campus where he was hosting Isaac McCoy, who among many other things is Dean of Stillman College School of Business. Since Mark assured me that he would be willing to do another episode to dig into his own story and relationship to work, we focused this conversation of Isaac's and  you are in for a treat! -Enjoy

We've discussed doing this for a long time and Ben and I finally got around to recording an episode where he steps in to interview me as a way to add my own story to the cannon of episodes on The Work Ethic Podcast!

Another show I did this year that I wanted to share with ya here. Enjoy

This is an interview I did back in April that I don't believe I ever shared here. So here ya go!

Dr. Kelly Page is a social design ethnographer, social and digital innovator, and learning entrepreneur committed to developing truly social cultures, people, and organizations with emerging and social technology.

Kelly has a Ph.D. in the Psychology of Web (Hypermedia) Knowledge and an obsession with learning innovation, evaluation, and social storytelling. She has over 18 years of experience working at the intersection of social innovation, social design, and learning of mediated social experiences for Startups, Universities, Schools, and School Districts, to Fortune 500 companies. She believes that innovative and entrepreneurial thinking is at the heart of creating truly social cultures, organizations, and leaders.

Rafael is a husband, father, and visionary. He is the Chief Impact Officer at The Norstar Group and as his daughter as his 3 year old daughter would put it Daddy be's nice for work." Rafael is a kindred spirit that has found himself in an enviable role at the intersection of web3, venture capital, community impact, building a better future for all. This was such an enjoyable conversation and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! 

Enjoy this conversation with Bryan Cardwell, owner & operator of 2 Paddy Wagon Irish Pub's here in Tampa. 

This is a talk I gave at Waters Avenue Church on August 7, 2022.  

The passages for the day were:

Isaiah 1:1,10-20 

Psalm 33:12-22 

Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16

Greg is the founder and CEO at OneWork, where they are working to connect talent with meaningful careers. Jon was really excited to sit down with Greg after reading the following on their website: 

"We believe work is an unrivaled vehicle for opportunity and fulfillment. Work has the power to touch lives, drive innovation, enable change, and inspire others. But work without purpose, without a mission, is empty. We envision a community capable of facing the most pressing challenges and opportunities of our generation."

Greg and Jon had an awesome conversation as they compared notes on our relationship with work, vocation, purpose, and employment. 

https://onework.co/about

https://www.instagram.com/joinonework

-enjoy

Jim Schaefer is the owner and operator of Quality Title in Indianapolis. In this  conversation we discuss the impending impact of blockchain, funning a family business, kindness and happiness as a measure of success, and action as an antidote to despair. Jim's energy is contagious and his outlook on life and work is inspiring. -enjoy

https://www.tiktok.com/@jimschaefer5

https://qualitytitle.com

This episode stands apart from the other but it is definitely a story of hustle. An old friend has been selling cannabis forever. His tenacity and commitment to build a business regardless of it's legal standing has recently led to he and his partner being highlighted by the New York Times! They have build up a substantial business that has done really well pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the legal grey areas of the emerging cannabis industry. For Tarzan, its an issue of access. He is determined to make quality cannabis accessible in safe and fun settings. His story is insane so buckle up for one of our wildest interviews yet!  

Danielle is an Applied Behavioral Scientist. Her background is in human development - human growth and evolution over time, what humans need to thrive, social sciences, with a heavy focus on psychology and what drives behavior, including the often overlooked things like socioeconomic status, geography, and politics. She applied those principles to the workplace and built departments and teams, specializing in higher education before quitting my job a little over a year ago to explore her own interests and development.  Building a tiny house, learning drums, a patent pending, and diving down the Web3 rabbit hole have been just a few of the activities that have filled her time since the departure.  Dannielle is always an engaging and fun partner to dialogue with and I was so grateful to have this time to explore some of her thoughts on vocation, human development, as well as dig into her excitement about the implications of a #Web3 world.  -enjoy

Liz Peralta is Co-founder + Vice President of Impact with Feed Forward. She is also a fellow Sorcerer Scholarship recipient with the VeeFriends community.  Liz has deep roots within the food and community development scene. She previously served as the Executive Director of the National Supermarket Association (NSA), where she served to protect the interest of over 500 supermarket owners in the tri-state area. She helped establish White House contact that supported bills being passed to help the most vulnerable New Yorkers, leading her to be selected as one of “city and state's NY power 100 list”. Liz has an incredible passion and mind and this conversation explores her love for food, community, history and so much more. Enjoy  

https://twitter.com/lperrr 

https://feedfwd.com/about

William Cook is co-founder with lemonGRAFT a digital marketplace for buying local, homegrown food. They are empowering growers and shoppers to connect in their own neighborhood, making the most fresh, ethical, and nutritious foods on the market readily accessible. This conversation is a fascinating tale of how an architect turned to food systems to get at the deeper build he wanted to work on.

Learn more at lemongraft.com

Adam Mangana is the Executive Director of Optima Classical Academy VR school and is also the cohost of Ready Teacher One, a podcast about the furute of technology and education. He is absolutely brilliant and a joy to go deep with. Please enjoy this conversation with my brother Adam. 

Optima Classical Academy VR School is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 school year.

https://www.optimaclassical.org/

https://www.facebook.com/OptimaClassical

https://www.instagram.com/optimaclassical

https://open.spotify.com/show/54jkoFKKUSO4ttue3rmc6t?si=cd87b2a795c94bf3

This is such an engaging conversation with AJ Keller, Co-Founder and CEO at Neurosity. Neurosity is reimagining brain-computer interfaces and neuro-powered applications. I was so interested in the overlap of tech, entrepreneurship, and neuroscience in this conversation that I was tempted to just selfishly geek out with AJ the whole time. He did a really good job of speaking to the place of work in his life and I am sure there will be a round 2 in the not so distant future as I look forward to following their work. 

#ShiftIntoFocus with Neurosity

https://twitter.com/neurosity

Buy or Rent a Crown at https://neurosity.co

Please subscribe to Word on the Streets, Tampa's weekly newsletter aimed at helping you stay up to date, engaged, informed, and connected with your neighbors as we work together to see our city shine as a #WellBuiltCity

www.WordOnTheStreets.xyz

2021 was an incredible year and I had the privilege of sitting down for 12 interviews that captured so many amazing experiences and stories from the year. This episode has a brief clip from each and every interview from 2021. It is both a time capsule for future review as well as an introduction to each and every guest from the year. I hope it helps to know which episodes/guests you want to go back and listen to.

Please visit TheWorkEthicPodcast.com and click on "Join the Conversation" to share some of your own highlights from the year, ask questions, or just let me know about a particular show or thought that has been valuable to you.

Also, please go to WordOnTheStreets.xyz, especially if you are in the Tampa Bay area. There is so much that happens in our city and world each week that is really hard to keep up with it all. This newsletter and site is intended to offer a set of valuable and high level updates on things that we find relevant, actionable, interesting, or necessary for neighbors that share our dream for a #WellBuiltCity

Each week we will send our subscribers an email that contains a handful of curated information, updates, links, etc. Our goal is to help develop our community's love for the city, sense of connection, civic engagement, and general love of neighbors. We hope you find this effort valuable and we invite you to contribute content, suggestions, and finances as you are able.

Here's to an awesome 2022!

Max the Miata is a comic character created by independent artist David Hu (@max.the.miata). Max is David’s first-ever self-created fictional character.

David brings to the world of Max a decade of graphic design experience, a deep enthusiasm for car culture, and his lifelong love for American comics, Japanese anime and manga, toys, and cartoons. All these things gave David an emotional and mental safe space during his childhood, which was split between the United States and Taiwan.

Through his art and his interaction with the community, David hopes to bring positive, empowering life lessons to others—in particular young people and new artists in the NFT world.

David is active on Instagram (@max.the.miata) and Twitter (@max_the_miata).

I had the opportunity to join the crew at the Sustainable Living show on WMNF on 11/29. I wanted to share the episode with everybody tuned in here as well. 

You can learn more about WMNF here: https://www.wmnf.org

If you would like to listen to other episodes of the Sustainable Living show you can find them here: https://feeds.feedburner.com/sustainable_living

Praba is a neuroscientist that is working in IP with Moffitt Cancer Center after years of work as a researcher. This move was made out of his determination to see solutions actually hit the market and be made available to those who need them. He is also a Recommended Children's Book Author with the National Science Teaching Association. Praba has become a Social Entrepreneur that is the Founder & CEO Boon-dah Books which has developed a platform which includes a physical story/workbooks, hands-on DIY kits, and a complete digital interactive platform that supports the stories. Praba is a wealth of wisdom and this episode is packed with an engaging back and forth as Praba and I dug into so many aspects of his story, his work, and his deep knowledge of the brain. enjoy

Learn more about Boon-Dah at https://www.boon-dah.com/

This is an audio reading of the brilliant essay "Why Work?" by Dorothy Sayers. This has been such a meaningful essay to me and my own understanding of work and our relationship with it. The essay was written during the 2nd world war and offers such a powerful challenge to the concept of work in light of the changes made in our country during the war. While this episode is not like the others in that it is a reading of her material rather than an interview format, I think this might be one of the most important of all episodes in terms of an explicit articulation of some of the most basic premises of the show. I hope you find it as powerful and impactful as I have. 

For those who would like to read the essay, it can be found here:

https://tnl.org/wp-content/uploads/Why-Work-Dorothy-Sayers.pdf

Jeeyoon was such a joy to sit down with. She is an award winning concert pianist and host of the Journey Through Classical Piano Podcast. She recently added 'author' to her list of titles as she just published "Whenever You're Ready" which is an incredible book about the many lessons learned from a lifetime of developing her craft as a pianist. It is not a book about being a piano player though as the lessons and wisdom found in it transcend any specific pursuit and offer incredible tools and encouragement for all of you to take on any challenge "whenever you're ready!"   

Visit www.jeeyoonkim.com to learn more

About the book:

Jeeyoon Kim is a professional concert pianist who has performed in venues like Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society in San Francisco, and the Stradivari Society in Chicago. As an accomplished performing artist and award-winning music educator, she credits her success to key disciplines, practices, and mindsets that she lives out every day. In Whenever You’re Ready: How to Compose the Life of Your Dreams (Greenleaf Book Group, Aug. 24, 2021), Kim gives readers a personal glimpse into her life, shares wisdom and insights she’s gained from her experiences, and shows people how to achieve their own personal and professional success.

Structured like one of the concerts she performs, this self-help book starts with a prelude and contains five movements, each focused on a different theme, such as forming habits and boosting creativity. Each movement is followed by a quick intermission that takes readers through a mini master class to help them gain an appreciation of classical music.

This book is about helping readers prepare themselves mentally, emotionally, and physically for their own performances. Whether they are hoping to land a job, practicing for a speech, training for a marathon, or trying to accomplish a goal, Jeeyoon’s book will offer them advice, encouragement, and practical exercises they can use to help them perform at their best and achieve their dreams. With warmth, honesty, and compassion, Jeeyoon speaks to readers who are in their own green rooms and invites them to live the life they hope for.

Praise for Whenever You’re Ready

“Like the succinct distillation of human emotion she creates in her powerful piano performances, Jeeyoon shares with us in these pages her personal ‘tool kit for life.’ A beautifully articulated, rare glimpse into the inner mind of a consummate musician and human being.”

—Susan Kitterman, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of the New World Youth Orchestra

“Whenever You’re Ready is the perfect resource guide for anyone who wants to improve upon their long-term professional or personal goals. For musicians and non-musicians alike, Jeeyoon’s well-thought-out musical structure and beautifully crafted narrative give you the lift you need to improve your mindset and perhaps appreciate some beautiful music in the process.”

—Tommy Phillips, President and Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County

Jay Hein serves as President at Sagamore Institute and is also the Managing Director of Commonwealth Impact Investing where he is continuing the work of a life long vocation. From the grassroots initiatives to the White House where he worked as Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States, Jay has spent his life building bridges between worlds that are all too often alien to one another. In doing so, he been helping develop policy as well as modeling and highlighting the principals and practices that make for effective compassion in general. I have so appreciated this brothers work and am always inspired after interacting with him. I couldn't be more excited to be able to introduce you to my brother Jay. Enjoy. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Hein

https://sagamoreinstitute.org

https://commonwealthimpact.org

I am so excited to share this episode of my conversation with Jaime! She is a new friend that I connected with while sharing groceries at a local community garden. She was there with a bunch of kids as part of their education with her Service Learning Micro-School. In this episode we dig into her relationship with work, her faith, the origins of the school, and some of our shared dreams for the future of both education as well as society itself. Her and I share a love for big ideas and a conviction about local concrete actions and I think that kindredness shines through in our conversation. This was a life giving conversation for both of us and we are planning to get together soon with a few others in the space to see where this all might be able to go. 

You can learn more about her schools by visiting www.servicelearningschool.com OR www.servicelearningmicroschools.org

This was such an enjoyable conversation with Walter. Walter Balser is the founder and the Open Partnership Education Network (OPEN) learnopen.org and the co-founder of RadSchools.org, both of which are platforms designed to help reimagine learning for the world ahead of us. He is also a college professor and an author who has been working to articulate new models of open governance in Education. Walter and I seem to share a lot of similar values and both cling to what seems to be a fairly shared vision for the future of our cities and our society. In this conversation we cover a bunch a bases and I hope this conversation serves as a great introduction to Walter, his work, and his vision for tomorrow. I hope many of you will decide to reach out to Walter and find ways to contribute to the education network as I think the man is really onto something and I pray this show helps connect some of you to the Open Partnership Education Network. 

This is an episode of Jason Sowell's Boldly Going Podcast (Jason was the guest on Ep 34 here) that Jon was on about a year ago. 

"An encouraging episode with Jon Dengler, Executive Director of The Well Incorporated and Host of The Work Ethic Podcast. Get some insight on his philosophy of shared work, how he defines freedom, and the wealth of the poor."

If you enjoy this episode and want to hear more from Jason then go to

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/boldly-going-with-jason-sowell/id1077453407

Shannon is Associate Managing Director and the Wellness Coordinator at The Moore Agency, Founder of BadAss Fitness, Regional VP with Arbonne, an 8 on the enneagram, and she has also adopted two sons and 4 rescue dogs. This was my first conversation with Shannon as we were put in contact by Melanie Hicks (of Ep. 44) who went on and on about Shannon's passion and work ethic. I was not let down and I am excited to share this conversation with you here. Turn's out Shannon and I are both 8's on the Enneagram and we had a great time connecting on that commonality that is probably at the heart of so much that she and I have in common. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!  

Leo Rodgers is many things; He's an amputee, a mechanic, a father, a paralympics athlete, a gravel race competitor, and a really really good dude. The man radiates happiness and is an absolute joy and inspiration to be around. He recently left his gig at City Bike, in Tampa to make the move out west, to San Diego where he is continuing his incredible journey... or should I say "Leo's Big Adventure" which is what he plans on calling his YouTube channel that we are all eager to tune in for. I was really grateful to have a few minutes to connect with Leo and talk through a bit of his story, his relationship with work, his hope for his children, his experience riding around Tampa after the Super Bowl, and so much more. Enjoy this conversation with Leo Rodgers!

This is a segment from a conversation that Ryan, Joo, & I recorded at the beginning of 2018. Ryan, who had moved away from Tampa a few years earlier, came to town and recorded a series of conversations with locals and had a handful of topics that he wanted to discuss with everyone. This segment of our conversation touches on two of those topics that he had in mind; Hurricane Irma and The Seminole Heights Killer. I just got the recording from him and as I listened to our conversation, I thought this segment seemed the most relevant to some of the experiences we have been facing over the last year or so with COVID 19. Ultimately, I think it's a conversation about facing chaos and what it reveals in us. I'm excited to share this conversation with you and am hoping to work with Ryan on getting all of the amazing conversations that he recorded in 2018 out and available to those of us that want to give them a listen. Stay tuned for more!

Sarah is an old friend that I was excited to sit down with. She is an artist, an adventurer, a designer, visual strategist, muralist, etc. In sum, she's really gifted! We cover everything from how she has used from hula hoops to paint brushes to inspire and create beauty in our world. She is committed to using her gifts to help us all take responsibility for the condition of our planet as well as our communities. This was an awesome conversation that dug into lessons from improve, flow state, the communal mandates of success and so much more. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

2020 was an insane year and I had the privilege of sitting down for 22 interviews that captured so many amazing experiences and stories from the year. This episode has a brief clip from each and every interview from 2020. It is both a time capsule for future review as well as an introduction to each and every guest from the year. I hope it helps to know which episodes/guests you want to go back and listen to. 

Also, please visit TheWorkEthicPodcast.com and click on "Join the Conversation" to share some of your own highlights from the year, ask questions, or just let me know about a particular show or thought that has been valuable to you. 

Here's to an awesome 2021!

Dhalia is a founding member and CEO of The WellFed Community, a new initiative that is partnering with the Well to help build healthy communities using sustainable food systems. She is a brilliant young leader with an incredible story. In this episode we discuss how her family, all the way back to great Grandma have invested in her and how that legacy plays into the work and mission she is investing herself in today. This was a great episode and if you are a fan of food, your gonna love this conversation at the intersection of food and work. -enjoy

You can find The WellFed community on Instagram at @WellFedCommunity 

TheWellFedCommunity.org

This is a recording from another round with the Social Entrepreneurship class at the University of Tampa. I had the privilege of doing this one with Dr. Sheron Brown of the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative (TBHC). This was an awesome discussion and I hope you enjoy