Dying To Ask

How To Spark Creativity During COVID With Author KJ Dell'Antonia

How's your creativity these days? A lot of us are finding it tough to focus and tap into the creative parts of our brain.

2020 is a creativity killer for a lot of us. But, it doesn't have to be that way.

Author KJ Dell'Antonia is having one of her best years yet as a writer despite the pandemic.

KJ is a host of the popular writing podcast, #AmWriting, and is the former editor of The New York Times' Motherlode blog. Her parenting book "How to be a Happier Parent" is a staple for new parents.

Her fiction debut, "The Chicken Sisters," landed in bookstores this week. And Reese Witherspoon just named it her December book club pick. Witherspoon's literary blessing is like gold in the book world.

How does KJ spark her own creativity each day? She sets a timer. Yes, a timer.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How to use KJ's timer method to spark your own creativity for a big project
• Learn other techniques to eliminate distraction and give your brain the freedom to create
• And what it's like to try to get a book noticed in the world when you can't travel and do book signings

 

How To Stay Motivated With Olympic Athlete Kendall Wesenberg

How's your motivation these days?

What if I told you there are four words that can make an instant difference in how you see your personal and professional challenges?

They're four words Olympian Kendall Wesenberg uses in training and competing as a skeleton athlete. And she was relying on the technique when she joined us while quarantining at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York.

But you don't have to be an Olympic athlete to use this mental hack.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Kendall figured out her "what's next" during a pandemic
• How the four words, "control what you can," can instantly change your outlook and lower your stress
• What it's like quarantining at the Olympic Training Center
• And how Kendall made the decision to come out as a bisexual athlete

 

Vince Thompson On How To Develop A Personal Brand During A Pandemic

What's your personal brand? A personal brand is the modern-day equivalent to a calling card or an elevator pitch. And, if you can't answer the question in a few words, you're selling yourself and your professional and personal possibilities short.

Vince Thompson is the CEO of MELT, a sports marketing company. MELT is one of the largest independent sports and marketing agencies in the country.

Vince has represented companies like Coca-Cola for the last 20 years. And, he's guided companies through sponsorships at events like ESPN College GameDay, The Final Four and the Summer Olympics.

Vince's new book is called "Build Brand You."

On this "Dying to Ask":

• Why Vince says developing a personal brand is a requirement to get ahead.
• How to develop your personal brand and then put it out in the world.
• And how Vince is keeping his creative streak fueled by giving back to others in the pandemic.

A New Season On How To Work Through 2020's Challenges

Season 6 of the "Dying to Ask" podcast is all about how to live a bigger and better life despite the challenges of 2020.

Struggling to be creative? Lost your motivation? Need to reinvent yourself personally or professionally?

These are conversations that will inspire, motivate and entertain while teaching life hacks and skills to make listeners feel some solidarity in the weird times we're living in.

In this episode, Fitz talks about how she's hacking her way through distance learning and remote work and previews some upcoming guests on the "Dying to Ask" podcast.

PODCAST: The Science Behind A Clutter-free Environment And Academic Success

Did you do the quarantine clean? Millions of Americans got obsessed with organizing when quarantine started.

Flash forward five months and we're embarking on a whole new organizational challenge. How do you turn your home into a functioning classroom for kids doing distance learning?

Professional organizer Kim Salisbury of Home Method Co. is back on the podcast this week with some tough talk for families trying to balance school and work at the kitchen table. We'll break down the science behind a clutter-free environment and mental health and find out why your kid's academic success may depend on it.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Learn what "negative space" is and why achieving it in your home can have powerful results.
• The weird organizational trend Kim has seen change every month of the pandemic.
• And why Kim's answer to the question, "How are you doing?" created a moment on the podcast I didn't know was coming.

Shaan Patel's Unlikely Path To SAT Perfection And Life As Millionaire Entrepreneur

What's more important? Being really smart or being really hard working? Shaan Patel will likely say the latter.

One test changed Shaan's life. That test was the SAT and he got a perfect score. Shaan is in the .02% of people who've gotten a perfect score on the test.

How'd he do it? He cracked the code. Is he a genius? Shaan says no. He's just a guy who likes to figure things out, and that drive has propelled him as an entrepreneur who caught the attention of Mark Cuban on "Shark Tank" after he created "Prep Expert," a test prep program to help other kids crack the SAT too. Years later, Shaan is now a dermatologist and "Prep Expert" is his side hustle.

Shaan's secret? He works hard and he's endlessly curious. Those skills are crucial to keeping your sanity and your business going in a pandemic.

Oh, and he's hilarious.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How a kid who grew up in a Las Vegas motel figured out the secrets of the SAT.
• The doors that instantly opened up once Shaan got a perfect score and that continue to open years later.
• What it's like to have Mark Cuban on speed dial since the two went into business together thanks to "Shark Tank."
• And, Shaan's advice on how to keep your sanity and your creativity during the pandemic.

 

Kim Conley On How To Think Like An Olympian During COVID-19

I've had this week circled on the calendar for the last year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics should be starting this week. Instead, athletes and the rest of us are dealing with a pandemic, the repercussions of which we won't fully grasp for a long time.

 

But, in the "now," Olympic hopefuls are reflecting on what would have been if COVID-19 hadn't proven to be such a fierce competitor.

 

This week, I'm catching up with two-time U.S. Olympic distance runner Kim Conley. Kim is a middle- and long-distance runner who represented her country at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She was primed to make her third Olympic Team when coronavirus derailed this summer's Games.

 

Hear more about Kim's background in episode 34 of the podcast.

 

On this Dying to Ask:

• What Kim has been doing since the announcement was made to postpone the Olympics to 2021
• Why Kim is luckier than most Olympic hopefuls in terms of sponsorships and training opportunity
• What Kim discovered about motivation when every single race on her calendar was canceled
• And why we all need to "think like an Olympian" when it comes to living through the pandemic

A Candid Conversation With Joan Lunden

"So what will it be like going back to television as a senior citizen?"

That's the question a reporter asked TV news legend (and KCRA alum) Joan Lunden that launched her latest book.

The book is called "Why Did I Come Into This Room: A Candid Conversation about Aging." It's a frank and funny look at what it means to grow older as a woman.

And it's told with the candor audiences expect from Joan, who spent nearly 20 years hosting "Good Morning America."

Joan got her start in her hometown of Sacramento. Those roots shaped who she is today and the life wisdom she gained living in the public eye that she shares with fans, no matter their age.

Joan is 69 and a mother of seven. Her oldest just turned 40. And she and her husband are raising two sets of teenage twins!

Get ready to laugh and take notes. Joan is HILARIOUS and, clearly, no topic was off limits.

On this Dying to Ask:

• We fire up the time machine and go back to Joan's start as the noon news anchor at KCRA. Find out how asking one simple question got her the gig.
• Why Joan says the age you FEEL is more important than the age you ARE. And the science backs her up on that.
• The odd connection between the aging process and life in quarantine.

PODCAST: Jacqueline Hansen On The Fight For The Right To Run

You likely don't know her by name. But her footprint is all over Olympic Track & Field.

Jacqueline Hansen is a pioneer in the field of Olympic women’s distance running. She set two marathon records. She won the Boston Marathon in 1973. And she was the president of the International Runners Committee. It was in that position that Jacqueline led the legal fight for women to compete in events like the marathon at the Olympics.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why women had to fight to run
• How long and what it took to get the women’s marathon, 10,000m and 5,000m events recognized as Olympic events
• How Jacqueline feels about the fact that she never got to compete as an Olympian despite leading the fight for women to run
• And get ready for some epic stories from a woman as good at storytelling as she was at running

Adrienne Bankert On Why Kindness Is A Superpower

What's your superpower?

Adrienne Bankert's superpower is kindness. She says it fuels everything in her life from personal relationships to her rise as a network news correspondent. Adrienne, or AB as I call her, is also a former colleague, a good friend and someone I've watched grow with kindness for the last 15 years.

Her new book is called "Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone" and its message couldn't be more timely.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How a reputation for being kind led to Adrienne's big break in network TV
• The difference between nice and kind and why your goal should be kindness
• Why you should schedule kindness into your calendar
• And Fitz and AB remember some crazy times on the KCRA news set and reflect on the role mentors have played in both their lives