The CIA Analyst and (Aspiring) Novelist

05/24/21 • 41 min

Today, Kent and Onnie welcome their college roommate, David McCloskey, onto the podcast. Now, reading that you may be thinking “geez louise. These guys are really scraping the bottom of the barrel for guests these days, aren’t they?” And while you’d be right, we actually have more to talk about with Dave than freshman dorm antics and Will Ferrell quotes from 2005. Specifically, we want to talk about his recent decision to walk away from his high paying corporate job to try his hand at being a novelist.

With his debut book coming out this October (available for pre-order now), and with him being two months removed from the corporate grind, we’re catching Dave at a unique stage in his journey toward his “dream job.” And since he’s a good friend, is (technically) unemployed, and is an easy guest to book, we thought we’d follow along with Dave as he opens this new chapter of his career. (A miserable pun, but it had to be said.)

In this first conversation – part 1 of 2 – we talk to Dave about the five years he spent working at the CIA, his transition into the private sector, when he knew it was time to leave, and how it feels to have “gotten out.” We also talk about the uncertainty of the road ahead and contemplate the possibility that his book might be an abysmal failure.

Give it a listen, and then stay tuned for Part 2 in November when we’ll check back in with Dave to see how things are going. Did anyone buy the book? Have they sold the film rights? Is Collin Ferrell attached? Does he still like writing? Has he gained 30 pounds and a drinking problem? These are questions that need answers, and we’ll get all of them at the end of Season 2.
Pre-Order Dave's Book on Amazon! (out October 5th)

Previous Episode

The Nutritionist & Influencer (@kids.eat.in.color)

When she started the @kids.eat.in.color Instagram account, Jennifer Anderson wasn’t trying to become a social media influencer. In fact, she’d never even used Instagram prior to that. What she had done is witness the undeniable link between poverty and nutrition. She’d also experienced firsthand the frustration and exhaustion that can come from parenting a picky eater. So she started posting pictures of the creative food hacks she used to get her own picky kids to eat veggies. Her posts struck a chord with defeated parents everywhere and her follower count began to rise. Her blog quickly became a business, and Kids Eat In Color - now more than 1 million followers strong - became a community.

Jennifer stops by The Dream Job this week to talk about her early interest in nutrition, the importance of pairing best practices with real life experiences, and why kids are so opposed to eating anything that might actually keep them alive. We also deconstruct the very idea of an influencer and talk about what it feels like to have achieved modern America’s ultimate “merit badge” - 1 million Instagram followers.

If you’ve ever thought your life would be materially better if you had 1,000 more social media followers, this episode is for you. If you’ve ever told a child, “two more bites of broccoli...fine one more bite...fine just give ME the broccoli,” this episode is for you. If you’ve ever doubted whether having a mission-first, message-first, people-first approach is truly the best way to succeed in life, then this episode is definitely for you.

Check it out! And then get #backtowork.

Next Episode

The Tech Founder and CEO (Virtuous.org)

It’s easy to get the impression that tech founders are like Olympians. They work insane hours, they consume biologically impossible amounts of supplements, and if you haven’t made it by the time you’re 25, it’s probably not going to happen for you.

If you’ve ever had that thought. Or if you’ve ever thought that the “big change” you wanted to make in your life needed to happen before you had kids, a mortgage, or a Netflix account...then this week’s episode is for you! We’re joined on the podcast this week by Gabe Cooper, CEO and Founder of Virtuous, a social-good software company committed to using technology to help charities accomplish incredible things.

Gabe founded Virtuous in 2014, when he was well into his mid-thirties with five kids and a successful software consulting practice. Not exactly the life stage or the “risk profile” you envision for a typical startup founder. Gabe shares how he was able to de-risk the early stages of Virtuous and ease his way into his new life as a tech founder. He talks about how his role has changed as Virtuous has grown from five employees to fifty and we contemplate whether or not tech founders are sociopaths.

Gabe and Virtuous are on a mission to do big things, and – whether there’s a startup inside you dying to get out or just a new passion waiting to be pursued – this week’s conversation is a great reminder that it’s never too late. Give it a listen. And then get #BackToWork!