Making Elephants Fly | Conversations with High Octane Leaders, Dreamers, & Creatives

On this episode of “Making Elephants Fly,” Terry sits down with Mike Brennan. Mike is a New Jersey-based designer and illustrator. His artistic journey began as a boy in New York, where he would construct heartwarming greeting cards which lit up the faces of his family and friends. From an early age, he understood the importance of serving others through his art and bringing them value, an ethos still evident in his creative practice today. Mike’s portfolio showcases his versatility and creativity. He is known for his custom ‘Rockstar’ pet portraits, pop culture art, yoga art, live event sketching, and graphic design. He is also the author and illustrator of three self-published books: “Dear Snow: One Man’s Angry Rant Against Winter,” “Dear Human: What Your Dog Is Really Thinking” and “The Art of Yoga.” Mike helps fellow creatives and content creators leverage simple, practical steps for establishing a daily creative habit. He does this via public speaking and his course “Your Artist Journey” where he shares key methods and principles from his own daily art-making practice that spans over seven consecutive years and counting (over 2,555 works of art). He studied in New York City and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and The School of Visual Arts. Mike has enjoyed working with a range of clients in the past, from major brands including Mobile, Heineken, Chase Manhattan Bank, to independent agencies serving boutique businesses. His pop culture art was spotlighted on AMC’s Talking Dead, and featured on Syfy.com. His yoga art appeared in ‘The Art of Healthy Living’ exhibit at the I.D.E.A. Museum, Mesa, Arizona. On this episode, we discover how Creativity is a habit, the power of showing up, and the bravery that it takes to actually make your creative dreams a reality. Find out more at http://terryweaver.com and join Terry and Mike at the Thing at http://thething.live .

On this episode of Making Elephants Fly, Terry sits down with Stephen M Shapiro. Steve Shapiro started his innovation journey by founding and leading a 20,000-person process and innovation practice during his 15-year tenure at Accenture. Since leaving the consulting firm, he has authored six books on the topic, including Best Practices Are Stupid, and has become a regular columnist for Inc.com. He has also developed Personality Poker, a powerful card game that helps create high-performing teams. He has presented his groundbreaking innovation work to audiences in 50 countries, and in 2015, he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame. In his spare time, he geeks out on magic. He has been featured in Newsweek, Entrepreneur Magazine, SUCCESS Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, and CNBC. Clients include 3M, P&G, Nike, Marriott, Honda, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, NASA, USAA, Fidelity Investments, and GE. Terry and Stephen talk about his new book, Invisible Solutions: 25 Lenses that Reframe and Help Solve Difficult Business Problems. Join Steve and Terry as they talk about how seeing through a different lens will help reignite innovating and help you solve the most difficult problems in business. Find out more at http://terryweaver.com and join Terry at the Thing at http://thething.live and use the code PODCAST for a discount.

On this episode of Making Elephants Fly, Terry sits down for the third time with Leigh Holt. This time the conversation focuses on the high cost of success and why saying no to poorly timed amazing opportunities is what opens the doors to perfectly timed life and career-changing opportunities. Terry and Leigh unpack what happens when opportunities are met with an abundance mindset and you really believe that the best is yet to come. With an impressive array of professional experience, Leigh Holt continually draws from her entertainment, sports, music, marketing and sponsorship backgrounds in her current role as an artist manager and founder & owner of maddjett. When working with Leigh, partners find a strong focus on strategy. Leigh is unafraid to ask questions to best understand the culture of the business and the project at hand. By pushing the envelope and building strong relationships, Leigh creates win-win scenarios for her clients and connections. An entrepreneur at heart, Leigh is never satisfied with a sub-par performance. She is most energized when developing an experience or “moment” that resonates in the consumer’s mind and drives revenue for her clients. After 10 years in the music industry helping others to achieve success, Leigh decided to take her fate into her own hands. In October of 2013, Leigh left her role as the VP of Strategic Partnerships with Warner Music Nashville to launch maddjett (named after her sons, Maddox and Jett.) Her past clients have included Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour, Hunter Hayes, Oprah’s The Life You Want Weekend, Pepsi MidAmerica, PixMob, Harper Collins Christian Publishers, Sony Music Nashville, the Museum of the Bible and more. She leads the maddjett team that manages two time Grammy Award-winning artist Lauren Daigle, and handles marketing and consulting services for top entertainers. Apart from business, those who know Leigh recognize her undeniable love (in no particular order) for: her husband, her two sweet boys - Jett & Maddox and the Georgia Bulldogs. Join Leigh and Terry as they talk about what happens when you say no and make the things that matter most be the rudder that guides your decisions. Find out more at http://terryweaver.com and join Terry and Leigh at the Thing at http://thething.live .

On this episode of Making Elephants Fly, Terry sits down with Nick Unsworth. Nick is the Founder of Life on Fire.com is an internationally known seasoned speaker & author with deep expertise on Business Coaching & Facebook marketing. He has spoken to audiences from 30 to 1,500 around the world. With his authentic charisma, unique ability to make learning fun, and ability to deliver result generating content, Nick is frequently one of the top-rated speakers at major conferences both online and offline. Nick’s ability to connect with the audience and content delivery style leaves the audience feeling empowered and ready to take action. His mission isn’t just about teaching...it’s about creating success stories. Nick sold his first business by the age of 30 and knows what it takes be successful and live a life on fire. Most importantly, Nick has a burning desire to help YOU be the success story you were put here on this earth to be. It’s his greatest obsession and you’ll leave IGNITE empowered knowing exactly how to get your business to 7 figures. His writing has gotten the attention of publications Huff Post, Entrepreneur and leaders like Tony Robbins and Russell Brunson. Join Nick and Terry as they talking about why Passion really does matter and what happens when we discover why we are on this planet. Find out more at http://terryweaver.com and join Terry at the Thing at http://thething.live and use the code PODCAST for a discount.

On this episode of Making Elephants Fly, Terry sits with Laura Quick. Laura grew up in a small town just outside of Savannah, Georgia. She attended college at Florida State University where she discovered her passion for people. With this knowledge, she pursued a fruitful career in sales and marketing for nearly 10 years, finishing her career as an international sales and marketing director before deciding to scratch the entrepreneurship itch. Laura started her first business in 2013 in Mountain Brook, Alabama, as a business consultant specializing in business development strategy. She has always been a woman in business who doesn’t mind standing in the gaps and teaching others to do the same. So, when she read an article in The New York Times in June of 2014 written about the South, she saw a big gap in the Southern Magazine industry. She went to work building a business plan for what is now known as Good Grit Magazine. Laura has grown accustomed to hearing, “the magazine industry is dying,” “paper is going away,” and “digital is taking over,” but that just isn’t true when it comes to Good Grit. Laura believes that people are hungry for gritty and relatable content that fills the gap in the magazine industry for authentic inspiration. Since Good Grit’s inaugural issue in July of 2015, the Good Grit team has produced 23 issues, grown to over 300,000 readers, and they are distributed in 42 states in over 2500 retailers. She firmly believes that the print industry is in fact very much alive and well, especially when you have a firm understanding of WHY your brand exists and who your audience is. Join Laura and Terry as they talk about everything from starting a magazine with magazines are shutting down, telling stories that get attention, and leading with GRIT. Find out more at http://terryweaver.com and join Terry at the Thing at http://thething.live and use the code PODCAST for a discount.