The Futur Podcast is a show that explores the interesting overlap between design, marketing, and business. Our host (and CEO of The Futur), Chris Do, hold candid conversations with inspirational people from the worlds of design, technology, marketing, business, philosophy and personal development. These conversations go deep. With the aim of understanding who these incredible people are, what drives them to do what they do, and what can we--the listener--learn from it all. Visit thefutur.com/podcast for show notes and additional information from each episode.
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Every service business hits the same wall: finite units of time and energy. Chris Do’s fix is not working harder, it is moving units of time off his own plate to someone less expensive, starting with the work that needs no taste. Filing receipts, categorizing expenses, production. Judgment and taste stay with him until the person he hired can make his decisions for him. He walks through the hire that earned him a three month sabbatical, why he stopped trusting resumes and name brand credentials, and the failed hire who came from a company of hundreds and could not function in a team of five. If you’ve been putting off a first hire, or a first firing, this one’s for you.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:37) - What to Delegate First
(01:02) - Hold On to Taste and Judgment
(01:18) - The Hire That Bought Back His Time
(02:25) - Referrals Over Job Boards
(03:22) - Resumes Are Fiction
(03:58) - The Name Brand Hire That Failed
(05:21) - How to Fire Without Cornering Someone
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
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You're Not Underpaid, You're Afraid w/ Nidhi Tewari | Ep 456
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 • Duration 34:36
Most creatives think their pricing problem is a pricing problem. Nidhi Tewari, LCSW and author of Working Well, says it starts much earlier, in the messages you absorbed about whether this career was ever going to pay. She and Chris trace how old rejection turns into shame, and how shame quietly shows up in the way you pitch, negotiate, and discount. From there it gets practical: the three traps in a sales conversation, fixers, avoiders, and connectors, what an explorer does instead, and the four domains of attunement she calls FRSC. Chris pushes back hard on the word relational, and the disagreement is the best part. If you keep saying yes to a lower fee, this one's for you.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:24) - Where Limiting Beliefs Start
(03:00) - Social Expectations and Career Limiting Beliefs
(03:57) - Proving Yourself to Your Parents
(04:48) - Why a No Hurts So Much
(08:43) - Rejection and Shame Are Cousins
(10:57) - Avoidance Is the Real Blocker
(15:27) - Relational Selling vs. Transactional Selling
(16:01) - Connection Gaps in Sales Calls
(18:37) - Fixers, Avoiders, and Connectors
(20:34) - Maintaining Your Fee and Boundaries
(22:00) - What a Relational Approach Really Means
(26:21) - Be an Explorer Instead
(27:19) - Shifting From Friendly to Business
(29:00) - Attunement Through Tone and Body Language
(31:00) - The Four Domains of Attunement
(33:00) - What to Say When They Hesitate
Sign up and save $400 on a full pass to Adobe MAX 2026: https://max.adobe.com/?cgen=VG52K3YP&mv=other
Check out today's guest, Nidhi Tewari:
Nidhi's Website: https://www.nidhitewari.com/
Nidhi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nidhitewarilcsw
Working Well: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788782/working-well-by-nidhi-tewari-msw-lcsw-foreword-by-amy-cuddy/
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
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Positive Thinking Never Sticks w/ Dr. John Demartini | Ep 455
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 • Duration 23:41
At twenty-eight, Dr. John Demartini took 300 best-selling books on positive thinking, underlined every positive word, compiled 2,000 index cards, then chanted them 108 times a day for two years while monitoring seven areas of his life four times a day. At the end he ran the numbers. It came out zero. In the second half of his conversation with Chris, he makes the case that negativity is a signal to read, not a defect to delete: hedonic adaptation, moral licensing, why insomnia tracks both resentment and infatuation, and the fifteen unrealistic expectations that produce almost all of it. There is also a 500-page list of questions he watched a prince and princess work through over dinner at the Ritz. If you have been trying to think your way to a one-sided life, this one takes the illusion off you.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:51) - Why the Mind Goes Negative
(01:16) - Told He Would Never Read
(02:32) - The Father of Positive Thinking Confesses
(05:04) - 300 Books and 2,000 Index Cards
(06:19) - Two Years of Monitoring, Result Zero
(06:45) - Hedonic Adaptation and Moral Licensing
(07:35) - What Negativity Is Actually For
(09:42) - The 15 Reasons We Go Negative
(11:39) - Half Full, Half Empty, or Both at Once
(13:06) - The Ritz, 1991, and 500 Pages of Questions
(15:14) - Quality of Life, Quality of Questions
(18:12) - 9,378 Pages of Journals
(19:52) - Passion Means to Suffer
If you haven't listened to part 1 of this episode go to:
Spotify:
Apple Podcasts:
Check out today's guest, Dr. John Demartini:
Dr. Demartini's Website: https://drdemartini.com/
Dr. Demartini's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohndemartini
Dr. Demartini's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohndemartini/
Dr. Demartini's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/drdemartini
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
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Your Betrayal Works for You w/ Dr. John Demartini | Ep 454
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 • Duration 43:45
A woman still resents the friend who broke her trust years ago. The story she tells about it is that people tear you down when you shine too bright. Chris Do hands the room to Dr. John Demartini, who runs his method on her live and in front of everyone: narrow the story to one specific act, find where she has done the same thing herself, then account for what that act actually gave her across career, money, family, friendships, health, and identity. Twelve minutes later she is not forgiving as a favor, she is thanking the friend, and she means it. Dr. Demartini has spent fifty-two years on these questions. If someone owes you an apology you are still waiting on, start here.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:41) - What the Demartini Method Is
(02:06) - Quality of Life, Quality of Questions
(05:31) - The Fear of Shining Too Bright
(06:46) - The Friend Who Told the Husband
(10:11) - Whatever You Judge in Others, You Have Done
(12:18) - Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Stored Shame
(16:33) - Producer Break and What Is Coming Next
(17:23) - Finding the Benefits in Seven Areas
(24:33) - Who Filled the Roles That Went Missing
(27:05) - The Moment He Asked Point Blank
(28:21) - You Never Attract a Betrayer Without a Loyal
(30:01) - Thank You, Deborah
Check out today's guest, Dr. John Demartini:
Dr. Demartini's Website: https://drdemartini.com/
Dr. Demartini's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohndemartini
Dr. Demartini's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjohndemartini/
Dr. Demartini's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/drdemartini
Register to secure your Adobe MAX pass: https://max.adobe.com/?cgen=VG52K3YP&mv=other
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
Produced by UNFLTR
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Going Viral Won't Build Your Brand w/ Chris Do | Ep 453
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 • Duration 04:03
There's a version of Hawk Tuah Girl in every algorithm feed: one clip, one accident, one viral moment that turns into an identity overnight. Chris Do says that's not a strategy, it's luck, and luck runs out. What actually holds up over years comes from solving the same problem for the same person long enough that your name becomes the answer.
Chris explains his own 90-day blueprint for finding that thread: a month to experiment, a month to narrow in, and a month to commit fully. He ties it to Seth Godin's "The Dip," the flat, unrewarding stretch where most people quit right before the payoff kicks in, and makes the case for why staying past that point is the whole game.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:22) - The Hawk Tuah Girl Story
(01:09) - Lean Into Your Gift
(01:52) - The 90-Day Content Framework
(02:36) - Seth Godin's The Dip
(03:24) - Pushing Through the Dip
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
Produced by UNFLTR
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The Truth Behind Scroll-Stopping Thumbnails w/ Brittney Carlini | Ep 452
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 • Duration 28:39
Brittney Carlini taught herself Photoshop to make thumbnails for her husband's YouTube channel because they couldn't afford to hire anyone. Now she builds tension into every frame she designs, a bar of soap forged from steel, a jet-powered go-kart racing a closing railroad crossing, the eye of a man about to swallow a pill. Chris compares the work to movie poster marketing, the cracked egg on the Alien poster, the shark in Jaws, neither of which appears in the actual film. The two land on where exaggeration turns into a lie, and whether AI tools now generating thumbnails in seconds will ever learn that difference.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:36) - Brittney’s Path to Thumbnail Design
(01:56) - Learning Thumbnails Through Reps
(03:13) - The Steel Soap Story
(06:15) - Chris Do's Thumbnail Concept Test
(08:58) - Finding the Moment of Tension
(10:24) - The Thumbnail Style Spectrum
(13:03) - Clickbait vs. Movie Poster Marketing
(16:53) - The Movie Poster Analogy: Alien and Jaws
(19:45) - AI and the Future of Thumbnail Design
(24:52) - Advice for New Thumbnail Designers
(26:23) - Where to Find Brittney Carlini
Register for Adobe MAX and get $400 off on a full pass here
Check out today's guest, Brittney Carlini:
Brittney's X: https://x.com/BrittCarlini
The Thumbnail Blueprint Waitlist: https://carlinithumbnails.com/
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
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Why Your Copy Isn't Converting w/ Joanna Wiebe | Ep 451
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 • Duration 30:12
Joanna Wiebe invented conversion copywriting, and after eight years of barely-there YouTube growth, she grew her channel 3,000% in three months. She demonstrates the problem-agitate-solution and desire-obstacle-solution frameworks live with Chris, argues that voice of customer data beats clever taglines every time, and outlines the three-part moat she's building against AI: a book, YouTube, and stages. She also names the mistake founders make when they hire someone to fix a problem they should be solving themselves, and makes the case for personality over polish in a world where AI can summarize anything.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:20) - Who Is Joanna Wiebe
(03:13) - Conversion vs Direct Response Copywriting
(04:07) - Problem, Agitate, Solution (PAS) Framework
(08:16) - Desire, Obstacle, Solution (DOS) Framework
(10:16) - YouTube Channel Turnaround Story
(16:00) - 3000% YouTube Growth in 3 Months
(19:44) - Building a Content Moat Against AI
(22:15) - Personality as an AI-Proof Moat
(26:36) - Quality Over Frequency Content Strategy
Check out today's guest, Joanna Wiebe:
CopyHackers' website: https://copyhackers.com/
Joanna's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joanna-wiebe
Joanna's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealjoannawiebe/
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
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Why AI Can't Teach Taste w/ Brooke Hopper | Ep 450
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 • Duration 25:45
Brooke Hopper is Adobe’s first Senior Principal Designer, and one of the people building Firefly from the inside. She tells Chris why Adobe licenses every image it trains on and pays the artists behind it, why she still gets bad results out of the tool she helped build, and why she's skeptical anyone should learn taste from a machine. She makes the case for designing for "intentional friction" instead of removing it, defines what agentic AI means past the buzzword, and names what she wants gen AI to do for designers: less content generated for its own sake, more time spent on the ideas they're genuinely excited about.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:33) - Brooke Hopper's Path at Adobe
(03:26) - The Firefly Love-Hate Relationship
(04:58) - Where AI Helps the Creative Process
(09:55) - Intentional Friction in Creative Tools
(14:41) - AI Patterns and Breaking the Rules
(16:27) - Can AI Teach You Design Taste
(20:51) - What Is Agentic AI
(23:18) - Adobe's Five-Year AI Vision
Check out today's guest, Brooke Hopper:
Brooke's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookehopper/
Adobe Firefly: https://firefly.adobe.com/
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
Produced by UNFLTR
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Know When to Quit w/ John Lee | Ep 449
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 • Duration 27:22
John Lee went from selling prawn crackers and used game cartridges as a teenager to closing property deals with none of his own money, and eventually building a career across real estate, sales training, social media, and AI. In this conversation, Chris Do and John break down WIIFT (What's In It For Them), a mentor lesson that reframed John's failing investor pitches by moving the ask from "do you have the money" to "here's what's in it for you," turning years of rejection into funded deals. They also get into how to tell a real pivot from quitting too early, why doubt (not lack of skill) is what actually blocks people from making money, and John's case for AI as an amplifier of human wisdom rather than a replacement for it.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(00:40) - Who Is John Lee
(02:32) - Money Unlocked Book
(03:15) - Childhood Hustle Story
(05:00) - CGI Animator to Real Estate
(09:24) - The WIIFT Pitch
(11:09) - No-Money Property Deals
(12:28) - Multi-Passionate Career Philosophy
(17:25) - Demand, Joy, Money, Mission Matrix
(19:00) - AI and Job Displacement
(21:23) - Core Three Branding Framework
(24:28) - Doubt Is the Enemy
Check out today's guest, John Lee:
Order Money Unlocked: https://a.co/d/02P9smPQ
John's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_lee_official/
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
Produced by UNFLTR
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Scaling A Solo Creative Business w/ Matt Essam | Ep 448
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 • Duration 44:18
Matt Essam, author of The Creative Studio Roadmap, joins Chris Do for a live episode recorded in front of a studio audience to break down the pillars of turning a solo creative business into one that scales: differentiation, communication, and delivery. Chris and Matt pull audience members into the hot seat to work through real pricing blocks, story-driven positioning, and the shift from selling yourself to selling your process, live and in real time.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:02) - Freelancer vs Business Owner
(03:10) - Charging By The Job
(05:37) - What Are Phantom Loops
(09:14) - Coaching Ray On Pricing
(13:49) - Differentiate Through Your Story
(15:25) - The River Of Life Exercise
(18:27) - Hector's Hot Seat Story
(25:39) - Sell Symptoms Not Services
(35:13) - Selling Process Not People
Check out today's guest, Matt Essam:
Matt's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt_essam/?hl=en
Matt's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mattessam
Matt's Book The Creative Studio Roadmap: https://a.co/d/0cqv7qwK
Check out The Futur:
Website: https://www.thefutur.com/
Courses: https://www.thefutur.com/shop
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/
Podcasts: https://thefutur.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/
X : https://x.com/thefuturishere
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere
Check out Chris Do:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/
X: https://x.com/thechrisdo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo
Behance: https://www.behance.net/chrisdo
Produced by UNFLTR
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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