Dreams can't be caught unless they are chased, and eccentricity is but a symptom of brilliance.
I interview extraordinary people who forge their own path, make their own rules, and live outside the norms of society. Together, we can learn from each other. Remember, foolish people keep making the same mistakes, smart people learn from their mistakes and successes, and extraordinary people learn from the mistakes and successes of both themselves and of others. That is what Dream Chasers and Eccentrics is all about!
Below, you will find all the episodes and show notes.
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You can also support the show by buying one of my books. Find them all here.
All books recommended on the show, and my own list of recommendations, can be found here.
Ep. 95, Author Anthony Horowitz, Marble Hall Murders
Anthony Horowitz is a best-selling author of over 50 books, including the recent "Marble Hall Murders," which I read and loved. His teen spy series Alex Rider has sold over 21 million copies. His books have been made into TV and film series, and he's been commissioned to write Sherlock Holmes and James Bond novels. He is one of the UK's most successful and prolific authors, and is a master of writing novels.
We talk about making a films from his books, writing a book within a book, writing a murder mystery, hiding anagrams in books, his writing process and schedule, the disipline to write (or to not write), Dickens' Great Expectations, his school years, learning to write, research for books, creating characters, writing spy novels, technique, cultivating creativity, and much more.
Ep. 94, John Brink, from Nazi-Occupied Holland to BC Canada
John Brink was born in Nazi-occupied Holland at the beginning of the Second World War. His early chilhood consisted of foraging for food with his brother and sister. His mother was left to raise the three kids alone when their father was drafted into the Dutch Army. They wouldn’t know if he was alive until the liberation of their village, by Canadian soldiers, on April 12, 1945. This was the exact moment John determined he would make his life in Canada … the land of his heroes.
He moved to Canada with with only $25.47 in his pocket. Ten years later, in 1975, he realized another lifelong ambition by founding Brink Forest Products. Over the decades, his company grew to become North America’s leading secondary manufacturer of value-added wood products. Today, at 84 years old, John continues to thrive as the President and CEO of the Brink Group of Companies, overseeing more than 10 additional enterprises. Beyond his business accomplishments, John is a passionate advocate for raising awareness about ADHD, a condition he has lived with his entire life. He is also a prolific author of four books and the host of the ON THE BRINK podcast, where he shares stories of resilience, innovation, and leadership.
We talk about growing up during WWII in Nazi-occupied Holland, childhood memories, living with PTSD and ADHD, moving to Canada with only $24, starting a lumber business, living a healthy and active life into old age, pills and whether or not to take them, communication skills, how ADHD can be beneficial, and much more.
Ep. 93, Katie Chambers, Editing Literature and Nonfiction Writing
Katie Chambers owns and runs the editing agency Beacon Point, is an organizational expert, and is a former English teacher. In addition to editing and leading a team of editors, she teaches the craft of writing.
We talk about teaching, starting an editing business, training and education, proofreading, what's to love about grammar, copy editing and line editing, writing techniques, character interiority, free indirect speech, info-dumping, craft-writing book recommendations, spelling, artificial intelligence and Grammarly, why AI won't replace writers or editors, what makes a great book, writing good endings, common mistakes writers make, and more.
Ep. 92, Mark Synnott, Big-Wall First Ascents
Mark Synnott is a climber best known for pioneering big-wall first-ascents. His expeditions have taken him to places like Alaska, Baffin Island, Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, Patagonia, Guyana, Venezuela, Pakistan, Nepal, India, China, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Russia, Cameroon, Chad, Borneo, Oman and Pitcairn Island. Closer to home, Mark has climbed Yosemite’s El Capitan 24 times, including several one-day ascents. He is also the author of the book "Into the Ice," about his 2022 Northwest Passage adventure.
We talk about climbing, his book "Into the Ice," the Northwest Passage, living nomadically on a boat, the paralels between mountaineering and climbing, climbing in the arctic, close calls, spending 29 nights on a porta-ledge, serendipity and synchronicity with the Inuit, and more!
Great Trango Tower, Pakistan
Polar Sun Spire, Baffin Island
Shipton Spire, Pakistan
Ennedi Desert, Chad
Ep. 91, Anonymous Andrew, Cults, Online Dating, and Sobriety
Anonymous Andrew is the host of the podcasts Cultimatum, the Culture of Cults; Digital Dating with Anonymous Andrew; and The Weekend Rant.
We talk about cults, what they are and how they attract members, how they maintain power over their members, how they abuse their members (some of this might be disturbing), narcissism, escaping from cults, how to avoid cults, how to recognize cults, and more.
We also talk about online dating, dating apps, scams, how to use dating apps, what to avoid, etc.
And we talk about sobriety, drugs, alcoholism, AA, vaping, and more.
Ep. 90, The Cocaine Chef: The Story of the Mix Master, Stacey Harper
Stacey Harper was a cocaine dealer in the 1980's in Los Angeles. He built the business into an small empire, but got arrested. In prison, he studied everything he could and bettered himself. When he got out, he stayed clean and started his own legitimate businesses. He is the author of "The Cocaine Chef: The Story of the Mix Master," and other books. He also coaches people in Financial Empowerment, Personal Growth, Career Development, and Life Transformation.
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We talk about growing up in Los Angeles, Nation of Islam, getting into the drug-dealing business, taking over his boss' operation, the differences between powder cocaine and crack cocaine, the cocaine epidemic, where the word "crack" came from, the connection with the Medellin Cartel, getting arrested, the racist drug laws regarding cocaine, cooking crack, spending ten years in prison, maintaining hope in prison, stae vs federal prison, how to survive in prison, writing, history, the moors, algebra, the dark ages, Mansa Musa, the Olmec statues, the origin of the separation of the races, writing the book, helping others, and more.
Ep. 89, Finding Your Path and Optimizing Performance, Brian Hite
Brian Hite, Ph.D., is "The High-Stakes Performance Whisperer," blending over 30 years as a professional stuntman with advanced expertise in performance psychology. With a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology and a Master’s in Sport Psychology, Brian helps leaders, athletes, first responders, and creatives see through the illusions of stress and pressure to unlock clarity and achieve extraordinary results.
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Brian’s career includes over 100 film and television credits, a Screen Actors Guild Award for 24, and a decade coaching soldiers as a Master Resilience Trainer for the U.S. Army. Today, he shares his expertise through programs like PressureX, PhaseX, and FACTs; his podcast Flow Under Fire; and keynotes that inspire audiences to rethink their potential.
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We talk about goals, creating our futures, recognizing opportunity, overcoming fear and anxiety, being a stuntman, avoiding injury, getting hit by cars, stretching and flexibility, seeing the good in the bad, finding motivation for self-employed people, eliminating pressure, visualization, focusing on the moment to maximize success, and more.
"Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
Ep. 88, Tales from the Crypt Writer Alan Katz
Alan Katz is a writer and producer of film and TV. Over the course of his career, he has written movies and TV shows like HBO's iconic Tales From The Crypt and Showtime's Outer Limits. He now produces four podcasts. Entertainment Weekly called the first season of his "The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast" the "Best Film Podcast of 2022."
We talk about making film and TV shows, writing scripts, HBO, difficult camera shots, creating the Crypt Keeper on Tales from the Crypt, improvisation, Whoopi Goldberg, how a bad movie can turn your career, podcasting, being traumatized as a child, letting the secret out, becoming a storyteller, Dads from the Crypt, getting into podcasting, a sperm-donor story, the downfall of American Government, the cultural value of creative people, and more.
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Ep. 87, Brian Hathaway, Sailing, Addiction, and Recovery
Brian Hathaway is a documentary filmmaker and a sailor, currently circumnavigating. He is also a recovering addict. We talk about sailing, the community of cruising sailors, rehab, being diagnosed bipolar, lithium, self-medicating, burning his house down while on meth, living with the social consequences of sobriety, lightning, solo sailing, and more.
Ep. 86, Anger Elimination, Dr. Mort Orman
Dr. Mort Orman, M.D. is an internal medicine physician and a 40-year anger elimination and stress elimination expert. He has written 23 books on how to eliminate anger and stress without using drugs, relaxation exercises, or other traditional management techniques. He is the creator of the 10-session Angry No More anger elimination program, the Anger Internal Causes Framework, and The Ultimate Anger Elimination System. Dr. Orman has led more than 100 anger and stress elimination workshops for doctors, nurses, lawyers, business owners, entrepreneurs, other professionals, the clergy, and even the F.B.I. He has also been the official sponsor of National Stress Awareness Month in the U.S. every April since 1992. His newest book is “Dr. Orman’s Life-Changing Anger Cure.”
We talk about the effects of anger on the body, mind, and emotions, his past anger issue (which he compares to John McEnroe), how the brain deals with anger, how we interpret situations that lead to our anger, how to get past this and eliminate anger, the difference between anger management and anger elimination, how the media makes us angry, his book, his anger elimination course, the two truths (whenever we are angry, we are either wrong about something - or we have an incorrect life philosophy), meditation, and more.
Ep. 85, Author Heather O'Neill, The Capital of Dreams
Heather O'Neill is a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. Her work includes When We Lost Our Heads, a #1 national bestseller and a finalist for the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal, The Lonely Hearts Hotel, which won the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and CBC’s Canada Reads, and Lullabies for Little Criminals, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, and Daydreams of Angels, which were shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Scotiabank Giller Prize two years in a row. O’Neill has also won CBC’s Canada Reads and the Danuta Gleed Award. The Capital of Dreams is her most recent novel. Born and raised in Montreal, O'Neill lives there today.
We talk about her childhood, reading and writing, books, The Capital of Dreams, breaking into traditional publishing, the craft of writing a novel, cultivating creativity, poetry and prose, simile and metaphor and more. I also read passages I highlighted from the book and we discuss them.
