3 Years of Crazy Good Turns [What I’ve Learned]

Here's a quote that's been on my mind recently:

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."

It's a line Anais Nin wrote in 1961, but which has been attributed to many others. (Here's a long and colorful history of the quote.)

Whoever said it first, there are splashes of that idea covering every episode of Crazy Good Turns.

People who see sadness could walk away, grow bitter, or go numb and be unaffected. But instead, upon seeing that sadness, they engage. They do so with energy, care and infectious optimism.

When they do, they help us see what they see.

How I've Changed In 3 Years of Crazy Good Turns

Brad Shaw and I started Crazy Good Turns in August 2016, three years ago. When we started, I told Brad that I'd be ok if we had only eight listeners — so long as we were proud of the content.

As of today we've done 63 episodes (and counting). We are proud of them, and we hope you have enjoyed listening to them. With the help of our production team at Pen Name, particularly Brian Sabin, we continue to add more listeners, many thousands more than I would have thought.

Seen from the traditional media lens, where the goal was to try and reach as many people as possible, this is odd content. It's not about politics or celebrities. The individuals we feature, for the most part, are not household names. But I end each episode thinking:

Why aren't they famous?

Why don't more people know about them, and what they are doing?

The problems they wrestle with are often profound and complex. But if there's a common theme among our guests, it's that they don't think of themselves as people who wrestle with profound and complex problems.

They think of themselves as people who help other people, one at a time.

When we started the podcast, I thought: This will be interesting to try.

Now, three years in, I view it as one of the great privileges of my life to be able to be in contact with so many inspiring people.

They see the world differently. I've learned from them in every episode.

A Challenge For You

Try this out when you listen to any of our shows, like the podcast we posted last week on NPX Advisors.

Listen to Lindsay Beck's story of how she overcame cancer (hear it here) — then fixed a clear wrong in our medical system. Notice Catarina Schwab's energy and optimism.

Then try to borrow their sight for a few minutes.

Imagine if, rather than hopelessness, you saw hope.

If you notice something broken, ask yourself: How might I fix this?

When you shift your perspective, and try to see the world as the guests on our show see it, the result is amazing.

Thank you for listening to Crazy Good Turns. Please let me know your thoughts (you can email them to me directly) and how we can do better in the years ahead.

-Frank

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