Getting Work To Work – Details, episodes & analysis

How do you grapple with resistance when writing about personal stories from your past? As today’s guest learned, “When you get to the pain, slow down.” Darls Centola is a psychotherapist, educator, and author of Finding Truth with Michael: A Memoir of Friendship, Faith, and First Love.” In our conversation, Darls shares stories from her book including what it was like growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness in 1970s Los Angeles, being friends with Michael Jackson, and how her sister got them enrolled in a prestigious private school where they met the Jacksons. She also talks about her curiosity with neurobiology, the many paths she took to discover her calling, seeing people as they are, how doubt was the beginning of how to think, learning to listen to herself, and healing her relationship with her mother. Darls also provides practical advice on writing, discovering her adult voice, and how she worked on her craft in workshops and with coaches.

• Darls Centola, LCSW
• Finding Truth with Michael: A Memoir of Friendship, Faith, and First Love by Darls Centola
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
• Somatic Experiencing
• Internal Family Systems
• The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy of Personal Transformation by Dennis William Hauck
• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Fresh Lemons Pattern Background. Copy space. Top view.

Have you ever wondered what a crime novelist can teach you about your own creativity? It turns out, a lot—and not just about weird crimes and sketchy people. Today’s guest is Tod Goldberg, the bestselling author of sixteen books, including the Gangsterland quartet and his latest, Only Way Out. Tod is also a professor of creative writing and the founder and director of the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Riverside. We start our conversation with Tod stating why intellectual curiosity is essential for writers to connect with people. We then talk about what it was like to grow up in a family of writers, the movies we watched as kids that we probably shouldn’t have seen, a snapshot into his writing and professional life, the importance of doing your job and letting your brain breathe, why true crime is popular in chaotic times, why he created a writing graduate program and how it’s different than other MFAs, and his love for the democratization of art.

• Tod Goldberg
• The Story Behind The Stories – Tod Goldberg
• The Gangsterland Series by Tod Goldberg
• Only Way Out by Tod Goldberg
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Lee Goldberg
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The Godfather (1972)
• Red Dawn (1984)
• The Outsiders (1983)
• C. Thomas Howell
• Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
• Escape from New York (1981)
• Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
• Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Todd Marinovich
• Linda Woods Artworks
• Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos and Altered Books by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino
• The Jesus and Mary Chain
• Tod Goldberg, author of ONLY WAY OUT
• Marty Supreme (2025)
• Home – Harris Ranch Beef Company
• Ben Folds Five – Brick – YouTube
• Joe Loya
• Dead Man Walking (1995)
• Premier Low-Residency MFA | UC Riverside Palm Desert Creative Writing | Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA
• John Cheever
• John Updike
• Martin Scorsese
• Jane Campion
• Taxi Driver (1976)
• Lee Strasberg
• Office Chairs | La-Z-Boy
• Alta Journal: Stories of California and the West
• At the Knee by Tod Goldberg
• Sacrament by Susan Straight
• Jason Isbell – Official Website
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: The sun sets on the horizon as cattle graze in the field

Rejection is on my mind today. Yes, it’s because I got rejected for something I actually wanted. But there’s also a deeper reason: Somewhere along my creative journey, I learned to minimize rejection by playing-it-safe, making my dreams small, and maximizing my chameleon tendencies. Recently, Shae Omonijo shared a short video on Substack about her plan for 2026: “Collect 1K rejections.” A lot ran through my mind after seeing the video, “1,000 rejections? One hurt enough! Are you a glutton for punishment?” I think my brain short-circuited when I watched it, but it didn’t take long for the truth to be revealed: I’m a chicken and I’m tired of being scared. If you are someone who has big dreams, but shove them aside because you have an unhealthy relationship with rejection, then this episode’s for you. Oh, and don’t worry, I’m preaching to the choir here because this is the work I need to do for myself as well.

1. Know what you actually want.
2. Adopt a rejection mindset.
3. Stop waiting and start moving.
4. Dream bigger and share often.
5. Allow yourself to change.
6. Learn to separate rejection from failure.
7. Become an advocate for yourself, your wants, and needs.

• Shae O. – “Collect 1K Rejections” video
• Finding Mastery
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
• Episode photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash

How do you respond when moments of disruption happen in your life? Do you shake your fist at the sky, bemoaning, “Why me?” Or do you get curious and ask, “What’s around the next corner?” During every pivotal moment in the life of today’s guest, he learned what it would take to not only escape the assembly line, but to build a life worth living. auGi Garred is a storyteller, former comedian, multi-instrumentalist, beacon of fun on the horizon, and founder of Molting Men, a place for Gen-X creatives to reimagine their futures. In this conversation, auGi tells powerful stories centered around three key areas: Rush, the power of humor, and staying open to what is around the next corner. He talks about why you should always choose best friends over young love, the challenges of collaborating with a college grad who thought he was the next Ira Gershwin, how he earned the equivalent of a business school education by speaking with over 70,000 people at the world’s largest telecom company, and the power of excavating your origin story to shape your future. Most importantly, he shares how what he calls “luvity,” the fusion of love and levity, can make the lives of those around you better.

• auGi Garred on LinkedIn
• Molting Men (Running Naked)
• OGGOMATiC on YouTube
• Rush
• Caress of Steel by Rush
• Signals by Rush
• Permanent Waves by Rush
• Moving Pictures by Rush
• Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage
• Star Wars Trash Compactor Scene (A New Hope)
• Binary sunset… from A New Hope, Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection
• Welcome to Ingham County
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Wikipedia
• History of Oldsmobile – Oldsmobile Club of America
• Goodyear Tires
• Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s Death Scene – Star Wars: A New Hope [4k UltraHD]
• Goblin Claudio Simonetti
• REO Speedwagon
• 3209 W Barnes Rd, Mason, MI 48854
• UFO (band)
• Le Studio
• Whitesnake
• Foreigner – Hot Blooded (Official Live Video)
• Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue – Full Album
• Tears For Fears – Sowing The Seeds Of Love
• Guns N’ Roses – Welcome To The Jungle
• van-halen.com – The Official Van Halen Web Site
• ABBA -– Dancing Queen (Official Music Video)
• Nazareth – Hair of the Dog (Official Audio)
• Foo Fighters – Breakout (Official HD Video)
• Michelangelo’s Non-finito Sculptures Beyond the Notes
• Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
• Episode photo by Noah Klimpel on Unsplash

When you cross paths with someone whose mission is incredibly clear, it’s hard not to want that clarity for yourself. Scott Proposki is a photographer, entrepreneur, and author; his mission is to help photographers all around the world to build a business to last a lifetime. In our conversation, Scott shares stories from his journey living the photography dream—National Geographic, events at the White House, corporate client shoots, millions in sales—then losing it all in 2020, and rebuilding from nothing. We talk about the role of listening in storytelling, the importance of self-awareness, crafting a 25-year plan, doing one thing instead of 20, why photographers aren’t screwed, and why photography is more relevant than ever before.

• Scott Proposki
• Camera Focus: What Photography Teaches About Business, Life, and Success by Scott Proposki
• We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Making Something by Amie McNee
• New England Patriots
• Bill Belichick on Instagram
• Watch Mr. Polaroid on PBS
• Wall Street Journal Podcasts
• Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Snow covered mountain peaks, Monte Rosa Piedmont, Italy

2026 is upon us and it’s not just a new year thrusting us toward change, it’s everything: society, culture, technology, relationships, work, life—it’s all dynamic, frenetic. Some of us start the year clutching our resolutions tightly, convinced that this is the year we actually live up to them. Others rely on the thesaurus to shift the psychological burden from resolution to something else, anything else, in order to trick our brains into actually accomplishing the things that matter most: “I don’t have resolutions, I have goals.” But it’s going to take more than hacks and tricks to comprehend the amount of change we need in our daily lives. It’s about introducing system-wide curiosity that shifts change from being the end result of an enormous task with a binary value—yes or no—to a daily process that gives us time to explore and open our minds to new realities.

• Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard
• The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn by Richard W. Hamming
• Pearl Jam – Do the Evolution (Single Video Theory)
• Photo by Nikoline Arns on Unsplash

When was the last time you got permission to have fun in your business? For me, it’s been too long, so I’m grateful for today’s guest. Dawn Andrews is a business strategist, executive leadership coach, and podcaster who approaches her business as a playground to explore new tools and technologies that not only help herself, but also her clients. In this conversation, Dawn softens the fear around AI through an exploration of how she uses tools to boost her curiosity and creativity. She shares insights into the ways her brain and business work, how creativity can help us manage the world, the important mindset shift we need to make, how beginners can start using AI with a single piece of paper, and actual examples of AI in action.

• Dawn Andrews
• 12 Day AI Quick Wins Series – Dawn Andrews
• Is Your Business Killing You? (GWTW865)
• Jasper
• POSCA Markers
• iA Writer
• Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka
• On algorithmic anxiety – Kyle Chayka Industries
• Airtable
• Make
• MindPal
• Microsoft Copilot
• Claude
• ChatGPT
• Google Gemini
• The Five Minute Journal®
• I am Shae Omonijo
• The Art of Gathering Book: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Glasses With Landscape View On City Background. Vision Concept. 3D Rendering

Have you ever wondered what gough would do? I do, too. Fresh from his birthday celebration, gough is back on Getting Work To Work, again, to talk about his year-ending projects: a short documentary about a blind man traveling to see the greatest rock band in the world, an audio drama about the seedy underbelly of the podcasting world—sounds about right—and the Beernuts Productions podcast. We talk seriously about the reality of discrimination against people with disabilities, why gough uses silly t-shirts and humor to disarm people, his love for onion rings, the worst gym session ever in his life, jokes so old they can vote, how he found the most annoying voices for his podcasting audio drama, how he makes up the most important statistics to satisfy guests who only go on popular podcasts, the death of radio in Australia, and the weirdest podcast he went on to promote his work.

• Beernuts Productions
  • The Seedy Underbelly of Podcasting
  • The Beernuts Productions Podcast
  • The Advertising Meeting
  • Trick or Treat
  • Mr. X.
  • Melbourne Trip – Documentary
  • Gold Coast News Clip
• Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow
• Oasis
• Oasis – Wonderwall (Official Video)
• dadsaysjokes on Instagram
• Rush
• I Love You, Man (2009)
• Jason Segel & Paul Rudd Meet Rush
• Apple iPhone
• Virgin Atlantic
• Marvel (Docklands) Stadium
• Alcotraz – Immersive Cocktail Experience
• Simpsons – Like, You Know, Whatever… (from “Summer of 4 ft 2”)
• Recording Room
• Airplane! (1980)
• John Cleese Packs It In (2025)
• The Naked Gun (2025)
• The Running Man (2025)
• Zambian kwacha
• Tim Berners-Lee

Sprinkled throughout today’s conversation is a phrase I absolutely love. No matter the situation or the statement, the response is simple, “Let’s talk about it.” Chanda Coston is a Navy Veteran, PMP, and Business Strategist who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs—especially women over 40—turn chaos into clarity and grow businesses that make sense (and money). In our time together, we talk about the need for clarity, the importance in telling our stories, and having people in our corner. Chanda also talks about her life as a professional pivoter, the reality that nothing happens overnight, trusting yourself, starting over and carving new paths, and systems as self-care. If you’re looking to make some changes, let this sink in: If Chanda can do it, so can you.

• Chanda Co. Strategist
• Chanda Co. on Instagram
• Free Ebook: Barriers to Breakthru
• 1:1 Tiny Challenge ($21)
• The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P Moran and Michael Lennington
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Study Of Patterns And Lines

I’ve been slowly waking up to the reality that I’ve been running my business and living my life on autopilot for far too long. It’s been six years since I really felt like I was in control and not operating by the whims of others and the seat of my pants. But here I am, staring at 2026 off in the distance, ready to shake the sleep from my eyes and do something completely different. In this episode, I’m going to share why I’m ready to shake things up, how I’m reconnecting with my vision, passion, and action, and how you can, too.

Before I go any further, I have some reflection questions for you. It might be useful to open your notes app or get a journal and pen out to write down your thoughts to these four questions:

1. How loud is your fear?
2. What is your fear saying to you?
3. Do you know where you’re going?
4. How long has your autopilot been engaged?

Okay, before I dive into what these three words mean for me and my future, take a few moments in your notes app or journal and write down some initial thoughts to these three questions:

1. What is my vision?
2. How does my passion help bring that vision to life?
3. What actions am I taking to make sure that my vision and passion become a reality?

Now that I’ve shared a little about my own vision, passion, and action, I want you to return to your notes app or journal and go deeper with these questions:

1. What really is my vision?
2. What are my passion levels teaching me?
3. What is the next action I need to take?

• Airplane! (1980)
• This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
• Innovators of Vancouver
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: No people in empty captain cabin with dashboard navigation