Glenn Harper [00:00:00]:
Hi. I'm Glenn Harper, CPA and owner of Harper and Company, CPAs Plus, and partner in Sewell Consulting. In each episode, my co host Julie Smith, Harper and Company's practice manager and partner in Sewell Consulting, and I will interview a different guest about their entrepreneurial journey. The podcast features interviews with business owners, aka entrepreneurs, who bring intriguing and entertaining clarity to the entire entrepreneurial journey, giving others confidence to build their business. Our goal is to provide actual value to you, the entrepreneur, to help you do business or build a business. Every entrepreneur deserves to enjoy the journey. Learning from others offers valuable insight and inspiration. We want to provide insight on the why, the how, the shortcuts, and the value add that many entrepreneurs wish they would have had identified at the onset of their journey.
Glenn Harper [00:00:46]:
Sit back and enjoy the journey. Hello, everyone. Welcome again to another edition of Powering Entrepreneurs podcast. I'm Glenn Harper.
Julie Smith [00:00:52]:
Julie Smith.
Glenn Harper [00:00:53]:
What's going on, Julie?
Julie Smith [00:00:54]:
You know, I feel like I should ask you that. We're so close to the end of tax season as we record this, and you're just cool, calm, and collected in here doing a episode.
Glenn Harper [00:01:01]:
There's a deadline? What?
Julie Smith [00:01:02]:
I don't someone told me. I don't know. I got I got something.
Glenn Harper [00:01:05]:
It's only taxes. It's nothing important, so we'll be fine with that. Well, it's good to have you on on board again today, Julie. It's been a couple days since we've done one of these, and we've got a special guest today, Marc Scheff, fellow entrepreneur, driving force behind Marc Scheff Coaching and Marc Scheff Illustration. He's helped many wanna be clients to to discover and fulfilling their purpose. Marc, thanks for being on the show.
Marc Scheff [00:01:27]:
Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.
Glenn Harper [00:01:29]:
You bet. I I detect a slight West Virginia accent. Is that where you grew up from?
Marc Scheff [00:01:34]:
You're so good at accents. I've listened I've listened to this before. I I am actually, you mentioned, what did you mention before? I'm from Boston originally. And then, spent some time in San Francisco, and I'm now in Brooklyn.
Glenn Harper [00:01:45]:
Brooklyn. So that home is Boston then?
Marc Scheff [00:01:48]:
Yep. Yep. Gotcha. Where you're raised.
Glenn Harper [00:01:50]:
Is that how you decided to, I think there's a little school up there you went to for college. Is it it's pretty easy to get into and nobody
Marc Scheff [00:01:56]:
Small school in Cambridge. Yeah. Yeah. Is it easy to get into? I don't know. I went to I went to a high school. I was very fortunate to go to a high school that was founded in 16/45 as a, basically, a a school that that was a feeder school for that small school in Boston to, to for ministers or something. I don't know. That is not the path that I took, obviously, but it's a long, rich history there.
Glenn Harper [00:02:26]:
But it was a way to get access and go get it was probably a pretty, pretty amazing place to, cultivate some relationships and, figure out who you wanna be when you grow up, I would imagine.
Marc Scheff [00:02:36]:
Yeah. No. Very fortunate to have grown up there and to have had that opportunity.
Glenn Harper [00:02:40]:
And what made you decide to leave Boston and and go to New York?
Marc Scheff [00:02:46]:
Well, I left Boston for San Francisco. And, honestly, you know, I'm I'm a bit of an introvert, bit of a homebody, and that has not changed in the 46 some odd years I've been around. But, it was actually a friend of mine, who when, you know, when when different companies were coming as I graduated in 1999 from Harvard. We can mention the name of the school. I you know, we they had these recruiters coming then saying, oh, we've got all these tech jobs. I was a computer science major. And, you know, I was saying, oh, no. You know, I'm just gonna stick around here and my friends, you know and they were coming and my friends said, look.
Marc Scheff [00:03:19]:
There's a free trip to San Francisco. Just go on the trip. You don't have to take the job. You know? But I went and I just fell in love with, with San Francisco and, you know, the people that I met out there and the the the people who are getting hired by this company, so I chose to go out there then.
Glenn Harper [00:03:34]:
How long did you stay out there, San Fran?
Marc Scheff [00:03:37]:
Almost 9 years. I was there, and I lived I lived all over. I did, and this is when I sort of went through that transformation from tech and sort of exploring the world of coaching and art, and and that's when I got into a lot. That's really when this this whole thing started. Yeah.
Glenn Harper [00:03:53]:
So it was like a 3 hour tour, and you stayed there for 9 years. That's how that's
Marc Scheff [00:03:57]:
how it works. It was very much Yeah. Yeah. I don't know which character I would be on the show. But but but yeah. We, you know, we we did. We actually went on a boat. That was part of the, that was part of the trip when I went out there.
Marc Scheff [00:04:09]:
We went on yeah. No. We went on a they took us on a, you know, sort of cruise around Sy Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge and everything. And, there was music. I actually got up with the band and sang that night. I was just I was, I was in I was actually I'll I'll brag a little bit. I was the president of my glee club in high school and my singing group in college. So I got up and sang with the band on my I don't think that got me the job, but I don't know if it hurt.
Glenn Harper [00:04:33]:
It anytime you have an opportunity to belt 1 out, you might as well do it. So there's that's a good thing.
Marc Scheff [00:04:39]:
Yeah. And I think I probably I mean, I think it was open bar, so I probably had some liquid courage
Glenn Harper [00:04:44]:
that night. Listen. We all sound better if it's karaoke night. That's a rule. That's just game on. Game on. So, you know, part of the what we love about our podcast is the purpose is try to inspire entrepreneurs and help them as they figure out their journey, and and part of that is trying to share in those things that happen with other entrepreneurs and how they got from a to b and made those decisions. And, you know, it's you know, how did you decide on, you know, the computer science degree and ultimately to the art part because that's a very unique combination because there's like the digital art and then there's, like, regular art art.
Glenn Harper [00:05:17]:
And, you know, I don't think you're a painter painter, but I think you might be a the digital content kinda guy.
Marc Scheff [00:05:23]:
Well, yeah. So in high school and and up until high school, I I I did a lot of art, and I was very committed to that. In fact, my my high school teacher who really was a a mentor in in life for me, mister Buckley, he he took a few of us 1 semester when we didn't have an art option and allowed us to to skip one of our other creative options and do do art because he saw, you know, that we had some proclivities, some interest in talent. And so all the way through high school, that's what I did. And, you know, I grew up, like I said, in Boston with a fair amount of privilege. And with that also comes with great privilege comes great expectations, and those expectations were not to become a starving artist. So, you know, what I decided my 1st year of college, you have to pick your your major, you know, the 1st year, which is a very silly thing, I think.
Glenn Harper [00:06:14]:
Who knows what? Yeah.
Marc Scheff [00:06:15]:
I mean, you know, I kind of I kinda I didn't know, but I did know that I that I didn't really enjoy writing. So I looked at all the majors that didn't require a thesis, I'll be honest. And, you know, and I liked computers. And so, you know, I thought, okay. I'll I'll do this. And, you know, at the time, the tech industry was starting to boom. It was 1995, 90 6. And I saw a future there.
Marc Scheff [00:06:37]:
So I thought, okay. You know, I'll go. I'll get a job. I'll, you know, make some money, and I'll take art classes kind of on the side. So I went out to San Francisco in 99. I, you know, I did that I did that work. I and very, very quickly at my first job, I I moved with a group of us from the more sort of technical development into a little bit more of a creative kind of front end. Basically, what we know as just like a web developer.
Marc Scheff [00:07:02]:
It wasn't really a thing then. There was, like, you know, there was the art people and then the developers just sort of made the website. But this was starting to become a thing in 99. And and then after what was kind of the crash then, I was again sort of fortunate. I kept, you know, there was everything was sort of crashing, but everyone also still thought that there was just tons of money out there because VCs were still, you know, funding lots of places. So I kept sort of getting these jobs and then having these companies kind of crash a couple months later. And, you know, they they gave these big severance packages. So in the middle of all this, I decided, you know, I'm gonna do what I said I was gonna do and I'm gonna take an art class.
Marc Scheff [00:07:38]:
This will be fun. It was a little bit more than fun. I really fell back in love with with the process of of making work. And and, you know, this wasn't like some, you know, advanced, you know, portraiture, making beautiful paintings. This was literally charcoal on newsprint, making, you know, drawing spheres and cubes and like really really basic stuff. But I just I love being there. So it was 2,000 I wanna say 2,002 when I was at a job. And and I actually wrote this woman a thank you note recently, because my my boss at the time kinda called me in and was like, you know, kinda noticed that you're really you're really busy.
Marc Scheff [00:08:18]:
It seems like you're really focused on this art thing. And kinda gave me, unofficially, a heads up. She's like, you know, we've seen a lot of layoffs. Like, if if if layoffs were happening and there were a severance package, like, would that be something that you and, and then, I mean, obviously, this is 20 years ago, so I don't feel like anyone's gonna get in trouble. She wasn't supposed to do that. But I was very, very grateful to to take that opportunity and put essentially a down payment on my art career. From there, I was able to get jobs, you know, like, I was a creative director at a start up at the time. And I went and worked at, video game companies.
Marc Scheff [00:08:54]:
And my tech background and my art background helped me get a foot in the door with with those opportunities.
Julie Smith [00:09:00]:
I wanna take a step back. You talked about mister Buckley and being a mentor. Do you still talk to him to this day? Is he still involved in your life? And what you know, you kind of alluded to what he kinda did for you in regards to, you know, seeing your passion and kinda helping it come out. But can you just elaborate on that a little bit more? Because I that's so important.
Glenn Harper [00:09:18]:
I think what he did is he made him skip math class and go to art class. That's a great teacher right there. I don't know how to I wanna get that guy.
Marc Scheff [00:09:25]:
I actually really liked math too, so I skipped music class.
Glenn Harper [00:09:28]:
Oh, that's even better.
Marc Scheff [00:09:29]:
Funny funny enough was was also, enjoyable. Yeah. Mister Buck, I had 2 art instructors from my my history who I still keep in touch with. Mister Buckley was 1 and, miss Purdy, my 5th grade art teacher, who I I remember really kind of stood up for me in my creative process. But, but Buckley was there from 7th grade to 12th grade. My my school was, was one of those schools that did 7th to 12th. And, frankly, I I have was having having a difficult time as a child. I I had, you know, I had a sort of hard time with my parents at home, and I think that was sort of starting to come out a little bit at school with my behavior.
Marc Scheff [00:10:07]:
And he was one of the teachers who kind of didn't really talk to me directly about it, but really supported me in sinking a lot of that energy into my creative work. So more than just sort of someone who is, like, you know, sort of encouraging. But he was really he was a very honest person. You know, he would not pull any punches if you wanted to you know, if he if he had stuff to say about the way the school was run or what he thought about what was happening, he would tell you. And he trusted us also not to go and spread everything he was saying. I do still keep in touch with him. Actually, he just retired last year, and I went I drove back up to the school, to see him and and get a little bit of time. And, you know, he's still someone that, that that I'll share I'll share, you know, what I'm up to with, share my journey.
Marc Scheff [00:10:55]:
Because I think, you know, one of the things that he one of the things that he sort of instilled in me is is, is a little bit of that entrepreneurship spirit. You know? That that spirit of mentorship, that spirit of coaching, and really meeting people where they are. You know, he didn't he never, you know, made me feel ashamed for whatever it was that I was feeling or making some crappy piece of art. You know? He would encourage me. He would challenge me. And I think I've carried that with me through literally everything that I've done.
Glenn Harper [00:11:28]:
That's kinda cool that you get the, you know, a lot of time, those mentors, you never know when they come into your life. Right? But at 7th grade, that's pretty cool. That started out young, which is kinda great because it kinda puts you on a different mindset, I would think.
Marc Scheff [00:11:42]:
Oh, absolutely. You know, every you know, it was a very like I said, the school was founded in 6 1645. There's a lot of tradition and there's a lot of, you know, sort of expectations and, you know, you you kinda have to fall in line a little bit with with most folks. But with him, I mean, certainly, you know, he didn't he didn't suffer fools. But in a way, they kinda made more sense. It wasn't just about rigor and rules. It was about life. You know? He would he would sit with us and it wouldn't just be about, you know, you you better get in line or you're gonna go to the, you know, the principal's office or the dean's office.
Marc Scheff [00:12:14]:
It was about, you know, hey, when you leave this place, you're not gonna get anywhere with whatever's happening, whatever you're doing. Here's a better way to really think about things. But also not just about blindly following the rules. Again, that entrepreneurship spirit. You know, not not just sort of saying, okay. This is what I'm supposed to do, and I'll do this, and this is what I'm being told. But really, really something that I I use in in my life now, which is that those that sort of creative thinking, that imaginative that imaginative thinking.
Glenn Harper [00:12:43]:
It's hard to put entrepreneurs in a box. We don't do so well there. We're a bit psychic. We we need to have all kinds of good stuff happening. To be able to think clearly and wildly and just do what feels right. I wanna get back to the one of the things, you know, your work experience piece on your LinkedIn read like war and peace. There's a lot going on there. And, I just wanna know how I get in on some of those severance packages.
Glenn Harper [00:13:07]:
Is there a way I can sneak in there? Because that seems like a really cool way to get things to happen. But again, I think that experience just shows your resiliency that again, you didn't say no. You took the opportunities. You made the best of them. You kept learning until you found this calling, to do this thing. And and again, there's 2 things that you do and I'm trying to figure out the coaching and then the else the art side of it. Which one is your really your passion? Which one do you like the best?
Marc Scheff [00:13:35]:
Oh, man. I need to ask that question, and it's such a hard one it's such a hard one to answer. I'll I'll I'll answer it with a little bit of a story. And and I I've been I've been in the world of coaching, in the world of art for almost the same amount of time. You know, I went back to art school in around 2,001, 2,002, and really essentially got introduced to the coaching world through a men's circle that I went to in San Francisco in 2004. And I was I was there every week for 4 years. And over the last 20 years, I've sunk pretty hard into both of those. And it was about 2 years ago, or 3 years ago, we remember something pretty big happened then and a lot changed.
Marc Scheff [00:14:18]:
What changed for me is, we moved upstate from from Brooklyn. We moved we have a little cabin up there and we moved upstate there. And and a lot changed. I didn't I I wasn't in my studio every day. Our kids were home all the time. We have 2 young kids. And my wife's work kind of exploded because she works in the world of and well, her job is you know, she runs, an organization that is working to end mass incarceration. So with with everything that was going on in 2020, she was very busy.
Marc Scheff [00:14:46]:
So kind of a lot stopped. And I and I took the opportunity then to obviously spend more time with my kids. I wouldn't say I took the opportunity. I would say I had to. And and it was very difficult. I mean, I think it was very difficult. Even with everything that we have, it was extremely challenging. And it was around the end of 2020 that I started to put more time into, a project that I was working on upstate.
Marc Scheff [00:15:10]:
All that is to say, when that ended, when I decided to leave that organization, I hadn't really been putting time into my art. I hadn't really been putting myself out there as a coach. So it was, a relative let's call it a low point. It was a very difficult time. And I think you've asked some other guests about kind of what what was that turning point, and I'm and I'm kind of illustrating that now. So with with that kind of with with sort of call it, like, an everything kind of falls apart kind of moment, I had the opportunity. And and I say an opportunity, but I mean, if I'm really honest, like, I was depressed at the time. Like, things did things were pretty bleak.
Marc Scheff [00:15:45]:
Kids were home all the time. You know, things were really challenging. I was having challenge challenges in particular with 1 with 1 kid who weren't really sure what was going on. And, you know, my my wife was busy with work and, you know, everything kinda had to keep moving. So, you know, I I had a really, really difficult time. I was very grateful to have the support of some friends, my wife, people who kind of knew a little bit on the inside of what was going on off social media. What what I did at that time was take some of these creative tools and those coaching tools and and make a new plan. And it wasn't I'm not gonna say it was though.
Marc Scheff [00:16:18]:
I just sort sat down and was like, oh, yeah. Okay. Great. I've got a plan. It was difficult, and I needed time. It took months months, for me to to really come to this place. But but I used one of these creative tools and I sat down and I said, okay. What is let's look at my LinkedIn.
Marc Scheff [00:16:32]:
What is what the hell do you do? You know, you, you know, you run an art gallery. You do illustration. You do digital work. You do, as you call it, regular art, traditional art, stuff with your hands. You know, you teach and you mentor people, and and and you've and you've run organizations. So so let's put all this on paper, and let's sort of figure out let's take a moment here. And instead of just taking sort of the next thing that shows up in front of you and I think this is a little bit of what I work with people I I don't think. This is a little bit of what I work with people on.
Marc Scheff [00:17:00]:
Instead of just sort of saying, okay. What can I get? What's available? If you have time to do this, it was so valuable for me to sit down, kind of put it all on paper. It's a I I kind of call it, like, a little bit of I call it, like, an everything on the table kind of exercise. Just just put your whole LinkedIn on paper in front of you. And then you do a little bit of a Marie Kondo, and you just keep the stuff that sparks joy. Right? Like so so I looked at it. I was like, what are these things really gives me energy? What really feeds me and feels like is part of my purpose here on this earth. And, that gets a little bit woo woo, but I feel like that's, you know, that's that's where I live.
Marc Scheff [00:17:36]:
So with that, I kind of looked at all that. And, yes, it's art, but it's a little bit more about creativity. And the thing that really I noticed lights me up the most is when I am using my creative skills, using my creative talents, my coaching talents, my, you know, my conversation to inspire other people. You know, when I looked at at this list and I could see that I've had an impact on people's lives who had then gone on and had an impact on others' lives, that was just an amazing feeling. Like, my heart was full. And so I started to look around at what that might look like. And in fact, I I I didn't go right to coaching even though that's the world I'd been in. I actually applied to school for art therapy.
Marc Scheff [00:18:18]:
When I decided that the deadlines were about a week away, so I I, you know, I'm I I I went to Harvard, so I'm very used to, you know, waiting until the last minute to do things. That's that's how we write papers there. And so I scrambled. I got my recommendations. I got my applications in. But in the meantime, I also signed up for a coach training program to really see what other skills were out there. Not just from what I had learned and what I had been doing, but see if there was just to understand I you know, I'm I'm a lifelong learner. So I was like, okay.
Marc Scheff [00:18:46]:
Let's I've got some time. Let's let's let's do this. And I fell in love. I really fell in love with what I was seeing out there and really kind of exploded my world, and I've been on that path, really ever since.
Glenn Harper [00:18:58]:
So that was kind of your moment right then?
Marc Scheff [00:19:01]:
That that was an moment, and and it was a series of moments. You know, I I think I think sometimes people maybe who are listening are like, okay, well, I'm waiting for that one moment where, like, it all becomes clear. My moment was a year and, you know, and it's still happening. It's still happening, you know, now that I'm open to it.
Julie Smith [00:19:19]:
And I think we talk a lot about you talked about the highs and the lows. We talk about the peaks and the valleys.
Marc Scheff [00:19:24]:
Oh my god. Yeah.
Julie Smith [00:19:25]:
And as you you've been through them, you know, do you feel like even though the valley was tough and you, you know, you kind of elaborated on that, Do you feel like you needed that valley to kinda get to the peak?
Marc Scheff [00:19:38]:
I I I wish the answer was no, but absolutely. You know, I absolutely did. I can think of a few other times where where things were where things really seemed pretty bleak. I mean, this was really the big one in my life, but I did need that. You know, and I I hate to say I'm grateful for it, but now having having looked for that support I think one of the things that that really helped me in that moment, a, is that I had some of these coaching tools from from my work. So I'm sort of, like, I sort of knew that this was happening in a way and it wasn't you know, I knew that there was another side because I'd already kind of worked with people on this even though didn't feel like there was another side. But I absolutely needed that, and I needed to actually look at look at that as an opportunity. And it again, it wasn't like it happened.
Marc Scheff [00:20:27]:
I was like, oh, great. An opportunity. Like, no. It was terrible. And it was terrible for a while.
Glenn Harper [00:20:32]:
Well, one of the things that you kinda mentioned I think is is really important is, you know, when you are, you know, is you're just a normal individual and you have a real job and and you just kinda struggle and you just kinda do your grind, you do your routine, and you're just there and you just accept that as the norm. When you're trying to break out from that and be an entrepreneur, those struggles that one has and and those things, it's it's trained us by society, whatever, that's a personal private thing. Well, you were very fortunate that you had a little support around you to while you're being challenged with those struggles to try to figure that out. And, again, we only grow in the valleys. Right? Right? The peaks are like, those are cake. We're just skiing there going downhill. But the valleys is the hard part. So having those people to be able to share that struggle with a lot of entrepreneurs don't recognize that there are people out there that can help them with that.
Glenn Harper [00:21:20]:
That just hey. Just find the mentor, find somebody that you can lament a little bit with, and most entrepreneurs wanna help everybody. And while you were doing that, that I think the other point that you made is, we we call it the manifesto, and it's basically write down, you know, who it is you are, what do you wanna be, get all that crap in your head on a piece of paper, and then you start tweaking that. And next thing you know, it kinda just jumps off the page. But until you do that, it's so mumbled in your brain, nobody can kinda figure that out. You kinda have to have to write it down. And again, another success story is somebody writing things down. Julie, see that? It works every time.
Glenn Harper [00:21:56]:
100% of the time, 60%, yes. Do you have a, when you decided to kinda go on your own and do this coaching thing, is it something you're just were like, you know, look, enough of these real jobs, enough of these severance package, enough of traveling around, like, this is who I wanna be and what I wanna do. Did you just do a gradual transition in that, or are you forced to just say, well, look. I'm doing this now. This is where it is.
Marc Scheff [00:22:24]:
Well, I've done this a couple times in my life, and I've done it 2 different ways. Uh-huh. I would I would to I would I I don't think that I would ever say to somebody, oh, just, you know, give up your job and and and good luck. You know, one of the things that I've done for for years is mentor and coach artists who are looking to do that. I don't like I don't like this thing that I'm doing. I wanna make art full time. And my if I were to give you sort of my vanilla advice, you know, it is to start doing that work kind of in your spare time, which is what I did. You know? And this was in 2,000 8 or 9 when I moved to New York, because of the woman that I was dating, who I am now married to and have 2 kids with.
Marc Scheff [00:23:07]:
So
Glenn Harper [00:23:07]:
It happened. My dad.
Marc Scheff [00:23:08]:
It was a good it was a good move. It was a good move. You know, but then in 2010, we had our, you know, we had our first kid. And we realized how expensive those kids are. And so I did go back I did go back and, I went back and I found a job. I found a job, you know, because because I need you know, I needed to find that support. But I but I looked for a job that I could do that, you know, wasn't gonna take up a lot of brain space that I could do pretty easily that would make me, you know, enough money that I could come home and do my creative work. And and that's really that's really what I did.
Marc Scheff [00:23:43]:
As I came home, I did my creative work. I continued to build up a freelance practice. I actually went on and worked for a different company after that in video games. But then but then about 9 or so months later, I I went full time freelance. But I but I spent that extra time building up, that that work so that I wasn't sort of jumping out and saying, okay. I'm available. Like, I hope clients show up. I made sure that I had those clients before I left in a little bit of a runway so that, you know, I I I could, you know, I could pay my bills.
Marc Scheff [00:24:12]:
And I'll be honest, you know, I also have a second income in the house. So I knew that if things got thin, which they did at times, I had that support. And so I've been doing that since about 2,000 10. And, and then and, you know, when when COVID hit, obviously, you know, I don't have any there was that there was that moment, but it was, like, a little bit of a forced one for a lot of a lot of people as well.
Glenn Harper [00:24:39]:
You know, it's, a funny, as a, accountant entrepreneur, like, I don't know what side of the brain I use most. Is it right side, left side if you're think about
Julie Smith [00:24:50]:
It's not the side he uses.
Glenn Harper [00:24:51]:
Right. So what I what I my my point was is that, you know, that one side of my brain really is kinda like most of my brain, right? Well, you distinctly have these 2 halves. 1 is the excessive creative side, where even when you tapped into the other side, the real job working side, it didn't even affect your other side. So you literally were working on both sides of your brain and doing just fine where for somebody like me, it's like one thing and that's all I can do. Right? So you were able to do I
Marc Scheff [00:25:19]:
can attest
Julie Smith [00:25:20]:
to that.
Glenn Harper [00:25:20]:
Yeah. It's a true statement. So having the ability to be able to shut off the creative side to go do this thing and kinda rest that side, then shut that one off and go on the other side, that's pretty cool. Not many people can do that. So that was kind of a neat opportunity that you had. Because when you said it took a job that didn't hurt your one side of the brain, I thought that was that was a neat statement.
Marc Scheff [00:25:38]:
Well, I would I would I would push back on that a little
Glenn Harper [00:25:40]:
bit. Okay.
Marc Scheff [00:25:40]:
Yeah. This is actually this is this is actually where I work with people, a lot of the time, people who are sort of ready to hear this. I I I don't believe that we that we don't have those sides of the brain. I think that's a limiting belief that our society has kind of put on us is that, oh, I, you know, I'm just a I'm just a numbers guy. I'm not creative.
Glenn Harper [00:25:57]:
This is crazy talk. That's all I'm saying. This is just all crazy talk.
Julie Smith [00:26:00]:
I don't know, Marc. I I've known him for a long time, and I'm
Glenn Harper [00:26:03]:
I'm very uncomfortable.
Julie Smith [00:26:04]:
But you can convince me. Convince me. Okay.
Glenn Harper [00:26:06]:
Keep going. Let's hear it.
Marc Scheff [00:26:07]:
There's a there's a great book, if if you like words in reading called master and commander, about this. It's it's sort of a a sum I would say a much it's a different different kind of movie. It's not Russell Crowe did not write the book.
Glenn Harper [00:26:21]:
Okay.
Marc Scheff [00:26:22]:
Yeah. So so but but I feel you. But it talks about this sort of, you know, this sort of myth that we are we are sort of run by 1 or other side of the brain. And without getting too deep into the the research there, there is plenty. It's a little bit of a science book, by by somebody who is really kind of at the top of the game there. But this is where I work with people, especially when people are kind of ready or or or fed up or frustrated or just really even sense that there's something more that they that more potential, more impact that they wanna have in the world. That does take creative thinking. But through many different exercises, including lots of writing exercises, lots of exercises that we do in conversation, This is a muscle that you can build.
Marc Scheff [00:27:08]:
It's not one that we are trained to. Even, like, look at look at me. I went and studied computer science because I thought, you know, I thought that wasn't that wasn't really the muscle that, you know, I was trying to build this creative muscle. But through, thankfully, the experiences that I had early on, I got to see that, you know, the people who are truly successful, truly have a fulfilled life, whether you're an entrepreneur or not or, you know, a business owner or, you know, multimillion, $1,000,000,000 business owner. It's the that it's that kind of creative thinking that we actually do use all the time. If you're a manager leading teams, the kind of you know, I know that you've talked about this on the podcast, the kind of listening and openness and vulnerability that you have to have while being a business owner, while being a manager, while being a professional. This does take creative thinking. And I think the best people, the people who are best at that kind of listening are the ones who are who are open to that or who understand that at least a little bit and are willing to to work with that.
Glenn Harper [00:28:06]:
Is that so is it another way of saying that would would be is that some people are scared by whatever society puts on them or their own fears that they have that it's hard for them to tap into that greatness that they have to make the decision to get out of their comfort zone and go do something that's way outside their their their box. Right? And I think that's what you're saying is to recognize that because I think that's most people just need to push to just get started, and then all of a sudden, it just opens up a whole another, you know, we call that another window of opportunity, I guess, or a whole another zone, another dimension, I guess you'd call it, and most people didn't even know they have that in them until they start looking and they're like, wow, I didn't know I could even do that, which is kinda rewarding. Right?
Marc Scheff [00:28:52]:
Kind of rewarding. It's it's life, man.
Glenn Harper [00:28:54]:
It's everything.
Marc Scheff [00:28:54]:
It's amazing. No. I I I you're absolutely right, and I think you put it really well. I would I would add to that that, you know, sort of cutting everything off and being like, okay. I'm a totally different person. I'm doing this other thing. I hope it goes well. What we what I call it, at least what what we call it in our world is leaning into your edge.
Marc Scheff [00:29:14]:
So the way I kind of think about this, and I've written about this on my, on my coaching blog is is that imagine if you will, that you, your your taste, the thing you like, the thing you do, who you are is like a piece of a puzzle. And and you fit in that puzzle with your family, with your community, with your coworkers, with society. And so you're in a kind of comfortable place. In order to grow, in order to take on new challenges, you have to kind of lean into the edge of that shape that you are. And so what a great coach does is give you the support that you need to kind of push on that edge and change that shape. And the reason that's challenging is because imagine that you're a piece in a puzzle. Well, if you change your shape, well, it's not gonna really fit anymore. And you're gonna have pressure from your family, from your coworkers, from your friends, from, you know, society at large to to kind of go back into that shape that you were.
Marc Scheff [00:30:06]:
You know, maybe you go and have a great session with a coach. Maybe you, you know, maybe go to have a great really opening weekend somewhere where you really learned a lot about yourself and who you really are and who you wanna be. And then you come back and everyone's like, I don't know. You're being weird. Please go back to to kind of who you were. It's very easy to fall back into old habits. Again, I mean, not yeah. This this is where this is where coaching this is where I really fell in love with it is that sort of ongoing support where, you know, I'll work with people, and then I'll I'll I'll talk to them again a week later, a month later, and they go, okay.
Marc Scheff [00:30:37]:
That felt really great. And then I heard of things kinda got back to normal. You can imagine, like, you know, you make a new year's resolution. You know? I'm gonna I'm gonna get in shape and you really go for it. And then suddenly, the life
Glenn Harper [00:30:48]:
The second of January, you give up. Right?
Marc Scheff [00:30:50]:
The sec the second or the third of January. Yeah. Exactly.
Glenn Harper [00:30:54]:
But I think what you're saying is like, the, the taste. Once you taste it, it's really hard to go back, but it's real comfortable.
Julie Smith [00:31:04]:
Well, and I kept I kept thinking about that uncomfortable feeling. You know, I think we grow from being uncomfortable, which is exactly what you're talking about.
Marc Scheff [00:31:11]:
100%.
Julie Smith [00:31:11]:
That is hard, especially when you're surrounded by people who like that comfort. Right? And so as you see you know, as you coach people and you talk about, you know, the puzzle piece, do you find that sometimes they have to find new people?
Marc Scheff [00:31:26]:
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I I mean, I was working with someone who, works at a pretty high level in, in she's been working in government and and nonprofit. She was actually a senior adviser to the president and on his campaign. And, and she's written on my LinkedIn, so I I don't feel like I'm I'm breaking confidentiality. You can you can go read her testimonial. But, you know, when I was working when I was working with her, there there there was a lot of self discovery that caused her to sort of examine her relationships and who she wanted to work with without getting into real really too many specifics there.
Marc Scheff [00:32:02]:
But, you know, I'll tell people, like, don't be afraid that you're gonna come find a coach and suddenly have to find all new friends and quit your job and all these things. And, again, I'm never gonna recommend that you just sort of jump off a a bridge and hope it goes well. But it's about these kinds of gradual shifts. One of the things that I work with people on the way that I work through this change is is through the idea of and I I think this is probably you know, we've talked about this. We've talked about this a lot. It's this idea of a very small first step. If you read James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, which is I think, an absolute must read for any entrepreneur or or human, honestly. It's just such a brilliant book.
Marc Scheff [00:32:38]:
But he really hammers in the idea. And there's a ton of research behind this that he had that he that he talks about in his book about this idea of taking small steps. And if you take those small steps consistently or even one small step and do it consistently, that change has has exponential impact over time. And I think he gives this example in the book, but if you can imagine, you know, you're you're shooting a rocket to the moon or something. You're flying a rocket to the moon. Now if you were to shift that rocket half a degree from from earth, you would go, you know, aft after the same amount of time, you'd be millions of miles off into into some new space. Now, obviously, if if you're flying a rocket, you you probably wanna get to where you're going. But when it comes to coaching, you can guide these small steps to shift who you are, to change your relationships.
Marc Scheff [00:33:27]:
You don't have to change all of these relationships overnight. You will discover and people do discover. And and I've worked with other people who, you know, came back to me and said, you know, I did the writing exercises. I did, you know, I did the energy exercises you talked about. And, god, I really I feel like I need to actually find some new friends. These friends that I have aren't serving me. They're holding me back. And I go, okay.
Marc Scheff [00:33:47]:
Well, let's let's support you. Let's support you on doing that in a way that that you do it in a healthy way and not in a way that that takes you too, you know, too far too far down. Let's get you the support that you need.
Glenn Harper [00:33:58]:
That that's the craziest thing is that, people in our lives, you know, it it could be anybody, friends, family, colleague, whatever. They either they want you, support you to get to be your best version, or they like you the way you are because it serves them. It's the damnedest thing of how do you how do you get I can't understand why people don't want you to be the best you can be. It doesn't make sense to me. But that's the way life is. Right? So just recognizing that, you know, you've gotta push the limits. You gotta get overcome your fear. You gotta get that taste, and then all of a sudden, you will transform yourself into somebody who you really wanna be, which is, again, the craziest thing that it's hard to get the support from people.
Glenn Harper [00:34:40]:
You gotta move out, move to do those things. I I don't know the answer.
Julie Smith [00:34:44]:
I just think it's such an when you said it, it was such an important thing that I just think people need to hear. You know, I think we kind of hear little bits and pieces of it, but just to be blunt and hear it directly of, like, it's gonna be okay. And sometimes that has to happen, I just think was was really important. So thanks for sharing that.
Glenn Harper [00:35:01]:
If you were gonna have your dream client besides besides me, who who would that be that he would
Julie Smith [00:35:07]:
He didn't say he would take
Marc Scheff [00:35:08]:
you on.
Glenn Harper [00:35:08]:
That's not I'm just I don't wanna put the pressure on me. Like, he's gotta
Marc Scheff [00:35:11]:
ask me. You took my you took my answer. Now I
Glenn Harper [00:35:13]:
I didn't. Well, besides me, who out there would you be like, man, if I could just get that dude or that chick on the and I could just coach them, they would be amazing. I can see their potential. Do you have somebody like that that that you were just it's in your crosshairs that you would just love to go after?
Julie Smith [00:35:29]:
Or have you had them?
Marc Scheff [00:35:31]:
Have I had them? I well, I I think, well, thank you for that. Because I have I have had, at least one client, that that is really, you know, my dream. And I'll just sort of describe them, and then I can I can maybe even give you a specific person my you know, who who my who who would be my my dream client? The the the client that I worked with that really, really filled me up, and I have I have a few. So if you're listening out there, like, I'm not, you know, I'm not I'm not necessarily picking favorites, but I you know, you're asking me to pick 1. No discrimination here. Yeah. But it's it's the idea of, what I wanna do with my work is I wanna have a ripple effect. It's not just about, okay, like, you you wanna make a change in your life and I wanna charge you money, so let's work together.
Marc Scheff [00:36:12]:
And that's that's not how I I work. I actually I offer a free discovery session. In fact, I offer 2 basically sessions so that I can work with people so that I can understand what it is that they wanna do in the world. What is that purpose? Let's do some writing. Let's do some conversation. Let's really see what shows up. When we have these conversations, you know, does it does it open you up? Are you able to to really look at and have this conversation with your with yourself, with your inner self, and really be vulnerable and open and say what that looks like? And the second part of that is, am I excited by that? You know, I've definitely met with people who, you know, who say, oh, you know, I just I really wanna make a lot more money or, you know, I I wanna find this or I wanna find that. And if we can't get underneath that and find a deeper purpose and impact, that's not that's not my client.
Marc Scheff [00:36:58]:
So so the dream client is someone who is is really seeking to make a big impact in the world. I think I work really well with people who, like we said before, kind of understand that you have to be a little bit comfortable with discomfort. So if you're coming in with all your defenses up and I really I think I'm doing everything fine. I just wanted to go better. I'm like, you know, well, I was on Peter Shankman's podcast, and I love what he says about, you know, in order to live a life you haven't lived, you have to do things you haven't done. So if you're if you're if you're if you're not just lip service about that, if you're someone like that and you're willing to use creative tools. And like I said, I'm a little bit woo woo. So if you're willing to kind of look at your inner purpose, if you're willing to look at yourself and have these conversations, that would be a dream client.
Marc Scheff [00:37:46]:
I'm working with someone right now who's in the creative world and looking to make a bigger impact. So, I can't the truth is I don't work with a specific profession. So, you know, would it be a celebrity? Would it be, you know, someone who's running a a very large business? Is it, you know, is it Joe Biden? I can't say. I probably wouldn't say no if he asked, but just just for the record if he's listening. But, but I'm looking for people who really have heart, who really, like, are coming at this with more than just more than just, okay, I wanna, you know, I I wanna be I wanna be successful. I wanna have tons of money. I wanna be you know, even I just wanna be able to give money. It's about I had a really interesting conversation with an artist who, who I haven't who I have worked with for the last 6 months or so.
Marc Scheff [00:38:32]:
And one of the things that really kind of, caught my ear when we were talking is when we were talking about kind of that bigger vision and purpose. And I do ask people to push themselves in this conversation. What's what's bigger than making more money? What's what do you what do you get? What do you want? How how are you gonna impact people? She really had a vision around, for for herself, it was around animal, wildlife preservation. And we explored that, and we got into that, and we got to see some small steps towards creating a life that was that that that she could start doing that even in small ways and start to build that part of her life before, you know, she made her millions or anything else. Because people often, like you said, they think that they need to they need to I need to get to this place and then I can kind of relax. I need to get to this place and then I can kind of have what I want or do what I want. I work with people to show them and and and what I open up for them a lot of the times is, well, maybe there's ways that you can do that now. And maybe that would actually make this other stuff easier.
Marc Scheff [00:39:30]:
It would make those decisions easier about what you what it is that you should be doing.
Glenn Harper [00:39:35]:
I think the the again, I love stereotypes because they make me laugh, and they're and they're mostly true. But it's when you look at somebody who is more creative, they don't really do things for the money. They do it because they have a passion in something and then we got to try to figure out how to help them make money with that creative side because they got to make a living. We look at the people that do the other side that are all about making money and systems and process and building something. They really don't know their why other than they make money. So I think a typical client that you would have could be on either side of that spectrum and you gotta figure out how to extract, you know, just because I wanna make more money. Well, that's probably not what they wanna do. They probably wanna find their purpose, and the person who's not making any money to be creative, they probably will need to make some money.
Julie Smith [00:40:19]:
I I think I just listened to a podcast this morning and I actually sent it to Glenn because I was like, this podcast was amazing and you're saying all the same things. So kudos to you. It It's funny. I was like having deja vu sitting over here. But I think oftentimes when people can't find their passion and purpose, they're not fulfilled. And so they're just they keep chasing that. You kept talking about chasing that next thing because they get there. Right? They get to the next thing and they that that moment was nothing to them.
Julie Smith [00:40:50]:
Right? Because that didn't actually fulfill whatever passion, purpose, mission, vision, whatever you wanna define it as. It just was the next thing and the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. They're chasing that dollar. Whatever it is, they're never going to be fulfilled until they can define exactly what's going to fulfill them, essentially.
Marc Scheff [00:41:10]:
Yeah. The so what what I'm curious that can I ask you a question? Is that allowed? Sure.
Glenn Harper [00:41:14]:
Sure. It's America. You got anything you want.
Marc Scheff [00:41:18]:
I'm I'm curious if you were to, you know, if you were to say, what's the what's the impact that that you have with these conversations? What's the impact and and who benefits from all this, this great, you know, all these episodes of your podcast?
Julie Smith [00:41:30]:
So I think Glenn and I are gonna have a little bit of a different answer. So this all came from, you know, at the CPA firm, it's like we have these entrepreneurs that come in and it seemed like such a lonely world. And and I think both of us kind of live that as well of, like, who do you talk to? Right? You have all these things in your head and all these ideas and whatever that is. And it's like there's no one to kinda go through those peaks and valleys with or to learn or be like, oh, my gosh. I went through that too. Right? And so we really just wanted for me, the purpose of was to really bring a sense of community. I love that sense of community around something, you know, all the same things. And so, if we could give one piece of advice to one person and they use that to change their life, I think the podcast idea is done.
Julie Smith [00:42:17]:
Right? I walked into Glenn's office one day and was like, I have this idea. And he was like, okay, sit down. Like, I've had, you know, 400 of them, you know.
Glenn Harper [00:42:23]:
That day. Right.
Julie Smith [00:42:25]:
And he's like, okay. So how how do we do this? You know? And so it just came from making again, you talk about impact. And if it's just one person, then I feel like we've done what we set out
Glenn Harper [00:42:36]:
to do. Yeah. For me,
Marc Scheff [00:42:37]:
it's a So, Glenn Yeah. So Glenn, are you saying that are you saying that she came in with a creative idea to do something that, you know, and and and that you were open to that? Is that
Glenn Harper [00:42:47]:
Let let's be crystal clear. It's actually my idea. And I soft played it, like, 10 years earlier, and then she finally executed on it. It took her a long time.
Marc Scheff [00:42:55]:
It sounds like you had a great coach in
Glenn Harper [00:42:57]:
your career
Marc Scheff [00:42:58]:
to push you over that. Yeah.
Glenn Harper [00:42:59]:
You know, it's a funny thing. I do have
Julie Smith [00:43:02]:
an affinity for saying that every single time I have an idea, by the way.
Glenn Harper [00:43:07]:
Well, I think I do have a little bit of creative side just because of just the life experience that I had and what I deal with on a daily basis with clients. I and I do a ton of reading. I just can look at things in a different perspective because in my role, I have to look at a different perspective. I can't keep everybody in the box. We have to look at different things to solve different problems. So I I do have a creative side. Definitely not art. I can draw like a 3 d cube thing.
Glenn Harper [00:43:30]:
I can do that pretty good, but I really can't draw anything else other than that. But for for me, the podcast thing was I just recognize that back in the day, like you said, your your high school you went to that was formed way back when, you know, there's certain things that people teach in school and certain things that we wish they would teach. And those are either you're gonna be you're either gonna work for a job or you're gonna work for, something that you find passion in. And and I just think with the access to information in today's world, there's more and more opportunity to be an entrepreneur because the access and information is readily available. Before you had to go to school and and to learn it all yourself, And if you didn't go there, you're working on it, and nobody's gonna tell you the secret. Today, the information is out there. So for me, the inspiration is I just think entrepreneurialism the coolest thing ever. Again, some people are programmed that way, some people aren't.
Glenn Harper [00:44:22]:
That's okay. But the ones that are programmed that way and they don't know it, the inspiration to just say, hey, you're not by yourself. You can do this. Here's what you're gonna probably face. And you're never gonna know it till you go through it. But at least if you have some sort of operating manual that says, this is probably what's gonna happen if you do these things, that was kind of my why and to just inspire people to say, hey. You you could be more than just doing this task in a job. And and that's really why I wanted to do it.
Julie Smith [00:44:50]:
Two different perspectives.
Marc Scheff [00:44:53]:
Well, it sounds to me like you're both saying kind of what what you said at the beginning is you're you're making an impact on people. And you're you're you're changing you're changing lives even if that's just I love what you said about a perspective shift. I think that's that's a really important thing to understand as even just a first step. You know, you again, you don't you don't someone doesn't listen to podcast and go, I'm quitting my job. We're done. Like, I mean, maybe. I I don't think we hear those stories. But but shifting perspective is so important because if if you, you know, again, if you if you hear it enough over time, podcasts are great for this.
Marc Scheff [00:45:27]:
Right? If you hear it enough over time, it starts to sink in. We have society telling us all these other things, but if you have another voice in your head going, well, maybe maybe there's another way you could think about it. Just even thinking about it or writing about it is is is something that can shift a perspective. And that could be that one degree change that over time gets people to start to move in a direction that is more aligned with purpose and fulfillment.
Glenn Harper [00:45:49]:
I mean, if you don't if you make that degree shift on your rocket ship, you you might have land on the moon. If not, you're gonna be seeing a Tesla finder out in outer space somewhere. So you gotta be real careful with that. So I think, one cool thing that we like to ask is, you know, everybody, whether they know it or not, and if they hadn't looked at it or not, but, you know, we all have a a superpower. Do you have a superpower besides,
Marc Scheff [00:46:26]:
we were to have dinner together at my house and there was food leftover, I can tell you exactly which Tupperware will fit the leftovers perfectly every time.
Julie Smith [00:46:37]:
That is a skill set. Where the lid is?
Marc Scheff [00:46:40]:
Most of it. But that's not that's not part of that's not part of it. I but I can tell you which one will fit, as it relates to entrepreneurship. You know, I think, you know, again, I I I mentioned this and and I think I think it's okay to talk about mental health stuff. Growing up, I it was was not the easiest for me. And one of the things that I had to do as call it a survival technique. And I say survival technique. I mean, we always had food on the table.
Marc Scheff [00:47:08]:
I went to a private school. Like, if, you know, there's you could look at my life and say there wasn't suffering, but it wasn't it wasn't always easy. And one of the things that I had to do is to become very sensitive to the people around me and whatever mood shifts was going on for them. Through therapy and coaching and and other tools, what I've discovered is how to use that, call it sensitivity, as as a superpower. Now I use that. Obviously, I use it in my coaching and my work with people and starting to really have a real what what we call kind of a third level listening for or global listening for, you know, a little bit of what's under the surface for people. And being able to gently and with support say, okay. I'm sort of I'm sort of noticing something here for you.
Marc Scheff [00:47:52]:
You're saying you're saying this, but I'm also noticing something shift for you. Can we talk about what you're feeling? Again, this this gets into a little bit of the woo woo work. You know, I'm not I'm not gonna sit here and be a business. I mean, we work on people's businesses, but I don't work on it with by looking at their numbers and, you know, telling them how to manage their teams. I certainly don't tell somebody, you know, like like the I have clients who do things that are very, very different from my background, not just creative people. I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna coach you and tell you how to, you know, how to be a CPA. But but one of the things that, I think is again, it's, it's it's a it was a difficult experience that I'm now in many ways grateful for because it gave me the tools to understand a, what it's like to to to be a sensitive person and, but also what it's like to work with that sensitivity as as a deeper level of listening. So when I work with people, you know, I will I will talk about okay.
Marc Scheff [00:48:47]:
So so what is it that you're that you're feeling right now? Let's let's examine what's happening for you as you talk about these things, and let's see where maybe there's some discomfort. Because discomfort is a it's a feeling. Right? Like, you know, and and oftentimes, we're taught to sort of cover it up or just find a solution. And and I do. I you know, I call myself in in some in some worlds, I call myself a solutions focused coach because that's what we do. You know, I've done I've done lots of therapy, which is the sort of, like, looking at what happened and really trying to process and integrate that so you feel, you know, better. And then coaching is a lot about is about looking at the future. It's about, okay, let's let's start with with where you are, but let's not ignore those things.
Marc Scheff [00:49:24]:
Let's not pretend those things don't exist. How can you work with this just as I have with these various adverse experiences? How could you possibly work with that as as a tool?
Glenn Harper [00:49:34]:
I think the the the premise, I think that's part of another thing about this podcast that we hope is that, you know, every single person on the planet is is certifiable crazy. Right? We all have issues. You know, what not only just the way we're programmed, but what things shaped us and all those things that happened to us for our life. Everybody has a struggle. Everybody has a story and when you can finally just say, how the heck do I get out of my own way? Because it's only up to you as an individual and nobody else is gonna do it for you. And so we find that when somebody, the mentor, the inspiration, whatever those things are that can get somebody just go, wait a minute. If I look at it from this perspective, those things don't matter anymore because tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life. Let's make that happen.
Glenn Harper [00:50:22]:
I think that's probably your your superpower is is getting people to get out of their own way, which I think is probably the coolest thing that we do all the time because that really is what it's about. People just do get so into your zone, you can't think outside the box. And when you can step back and look over, you're like, oh, that's all I gotta do? Easy. And then you can put all that stuff in the back and think about it later.
Julie Smith [00:50:42]:
I like how he says easy.
Glenn Harper [00:50:44]:
Right. It's easy, Pete. How hard can it be? 1,000,000,000,000 of people do it.
Julie Smith [00:50:48]:
So I think we have one more question. What is your end game? Where does your journey go and where do you
Marc Scheff [00:50:55]:
get it? That's a good, that's a great question. The way that I think about that and I do think and write about this is, is, you know, what would the world be like if my purpose was fulfilled? You know, if I if I were to if I were to live my purpose and my vision for the world, which is what which is what I think and what I hope we're all kind of working towards and get to work towards. And this is like we said with, you know, with clients who are maybe maybe stuck in a job or maybe they've, you know, they're at the end of their, you know, they've they've run a start up, they've run a company, they're ready to exit, whatever it is. There's there's time to think about what is the deep and meaningful impact you wanna have in the world. So when you ask about endgame, that's what I think about. What does the world look like when when that future is created? So my my purpose, if I were to state it in 2 words, is to unleash creativity. And that's how I work with people is to is to work with people to I work I use creative tools, and it's a little bit of a Tardis if if you if you get the reference. It's, it's the doctor who? No? Okay.
Marc Scheff [00:51:57]:
Yeah. So there's the yeah. So okay. So there's a phone booth and it looks like a phone booth, but you go in and it's like a whole universe in there. It's a lot bigger on the inside. And I I think that's what that's how I work with people on purpose. You might be able to say, you know, it's to do this. But the world will look different if you actually full fulfill that.
Marc Scheff [00:52:13]:
If you take all these small steps. So to get to the answer to your question, you know, I think I think if we lived in a world where people really had access to creative tools, I think that a lot would change. I think that people would be just much more at ease. People would know that that they have the creative tools to get through adverse experiences. They would not be as much or maybe at all acting out of fear. So many of our decisions are out of fear. Fear of scarcity, fear of losing friendships, fear of losing resources. And and for many people that fear is real.
Marc Scheff [00:52:52]:
You know, that's a real outcome that's possible. So it's not it's I mean, I'm not saying fear isn't real. I'm not saying that that these outcomes aren't possible, and I'm not saying it's easy. The work that I do with people is often not easy just as you you said earlier. So so if that purpose will were fulfilled, if that end game were fulfilled, I would be working with people who are who would be making these deep and meaningful impacts on the world to change people's lives so that I mean, if we're really gonna paint a picture, I want everyone to have everything. I want everyone to have the resources they need. I want everyone to have food, housing, health care, You know? And I wanna work with with people who are bought into that vision. You don't have to run a health care company to work with me.
Marc Scheff [00:53:33]:
Although I have worked with people who who who essentially do. But, you know, if if that's part of your vision, whether you're, you know, an actor or or an artist or somebody who does work in health care or or any of these things, if that's part of your vision, I believe that we can all make small steps towards that vision. You might say, oh, you know, I I just do this kind of creative work or I'm just, you know, I'm just working, you know, I run a production company. I'm not I'm not I'm not doing that. But there are always small ways that you can do that. Even if that's just work that you do as a volunteer or donating money, there's always ways that we can contribute to this world where everyone has what they need. There's there's a wonderful book by, Maria I I hope I get it right. Mariam Kaba, called We Do This till We Free Us.
Marc Scheff [00:54:20]:
And it's about that kind of world that we're working towards where every every everyone has what they need. And people can, you know, people can live in a world where there a lot of the fear is gone because because the the scarcity is gone. People people have what they need and they and because, again, if I'm working with people using these creative exercises, you start to build that muscle where an adverse situation comes up. Maybe, you know, the company folds, you lose a job, whatever it is, and you can have that resource as I was lucky enough to have to say, okay. This sucks. This is terrible. You know, this feels awful. And I know that I maybe need time to mourn, to grieve, whatever it is.
Marc Scheff [00:55:04]:
And I can still do a little bit of writing and a little bit of work to start to to start to work myself out so that when I'm done feeling sad, I can I can be on the path to to to contributing to this better
Glenn Harper [00:55:15]:
world? Yeah. I think that's the, the greatest country here in the United States where the equality or the the opportunity is there for all. All you have to do is seek it. Now, you may not get the outcome you want because of whatever those conditions are, but the opportunities are there. And all you have to do is open the door and go seize 1 and see what happens. And if you if you chose the right one, you got the right team, you do it right, you will be successful at it. And if not, guess what? Go back and grab another one. That's the coolest thing about here.
Glenn Harper [00:55:46]:
There's just so many opportunities for everybody and that I think dovetails into your point. Marc, do you wanna give a little plug of your companies or whatever like that so our listeners, if they wanna reach out to you, they can do so?
Marc Scheff [00:55:57]:
I'll try to keep it simple because, again, you look at my LinkedIn, there's a few different things there. But, right now, I'm very, very much focused on the coaching work. That's where I feel like I have the most impact. When I work with people 1 on 1, when I work with people in in groups, and through the writing I do. And you can find links to basically all of that work at markchefcoaching.com. I'm sure you'll post a link in the notes. It's Marc with a c. It's chef with 2 f's and an s at the beginning.
Marc Scheff [00:56:23]:
Sounds good.
Glenn Harper [00:56:24]:
Well, Marc, really appreciate you coming on the show today. I hope our listeners found some value in that. I'm sure they did. I always learned something on all these, so appreciate your time today. Julie, always good seeing you. Talk to you soon.
Marc Scheff [00:56:37]:
Thanks so much for having me.
Glenn Harper [00:56:38]:
Take care.
Marc Scheff [00:56:39]:
Bye bye.
Julie Smith [00:56:39]:
Bye.
Voice [00:56:40]:
At Harper and Company CPA Plus, we just don't care about the numbers. We care about helping you tap into the greatness of your entrepreneurial journey. You deserve a partner who has helped hundreds of businesses go from paying the bills to building the business and lifestyle of their dreams. Go to our website and download our free guide entitled entrepreneurial success formula, How to avoid managing your business from your bank account. The link is in this episode's show notes.