The Zack Arnold Podcast

The holidays are the time of year we’re all meant to slow down and recognize all the things in our lives that we are grateful for, but unfortunately with the crazy speed that life moves nowadays, the holiday season is most likely the most stressful time of the year. All most people (including myself) are often focused on is rushing to get projects done before the year ends, making travel plans, fighting the mad rush of holiday shoppers and traffic, and if there’s any spare time left in the day...maybe getting some sleep.

Where in the world is there any time to slow down and be grateful?

My guest today is Humberto Gurmilan, an Emmy award-winning producer, author, speaker, podcaster, and all-around inspiring guy. He is the founder of the Gurmilan Foundation which empowers individuals with disabilities in challenged communities, and until recently he was the sports anchor for Telemundo in San Diego where he also teaches communications at San Diego City College. But despite his many accomplishments, I didn’t invite Humberto on the show with me to discuss how he became successful.

In this interview Humberto and I talk about the tragedy he experienced as a teenager when due to a freak surfing accident he became paralyzed from the chest down. Rather than thinking about what was taken away from him, instead Humberto decided to rise to the challenge and instead develop gratitude in the face of adversity and use his experience to inspire others to do the same.

For those listening today who are frustrated with your present circumstances, I hope this interview allows you to reframe where you are in your life right now and take even a few minutes to be grateful for what you do have before embarking upon the madness of the holiday season.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• Humberto's early life surfing in Tijuana
• Processing a traumatic injury and the changes that come with becoming paralyzed
• The healing love of family in the face of depression
• The power of seeing yourself within your own comeback story
• Transitioning your perspective from "Why me?" to "Why not me?"
• Taking responsibility for your attitude towards the world
• Humberto's pursuit of sports broadcasting and discovering his gift for public speaking
• Taking stock of the strengths you have so you can categorize your obstacles
• Learning that you have way more talents than you think you do
• The Three A's: Attitude, Accountability, Action
• Write down your goals. Once you do, you will be exponentially more likely to achieve that goal.

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Gurmilan Foundation

Overcome Podcast

Overcome TV series

GO FAR

Rewiring Your Brain to Be Happier | with Shane Burcaw

Our Generous Sponsors:

This episode is made possible by Ergodriven, the makers of the Topo Mat, my #1 recommendation for anyone interested in moving more at their height-adjustable workstation. Listen, standing desks are only great if you’re standing well, otherwise you’re constantly fighting fatigue and chronic pain. Not like any other anti-fatigue mat, the Topo is scientifically proven to help you move more throughout the day which helps reduce discomfort and also increase your focus and productivity. And they’re really fun and a great conversation starter.

Guest Bio:Facebook|YouTube

Humberto ("Beto") is an Emmy award winning Journalist and Producer with 13 years of experience in the media. He hosts the Overcome Podcast and Overcome TV series on Youtube. His life mission is to help others by shar...

As of this week’s episode I have now recorded over 130 interviews with people all over the planet in many different industries with their own unique stories. But with all due respect to every single person I’ve ever interviewed, I can confidently say that talking today with Shane Burcaw was one of the highlights of my life. Rarely do you come across a human being that radiates such positivity, clarity, and confidence. If you don’t walk away from this interview feeling like you can overcome more than you thought you could, and if you don’t feel like you have a clear set of tools to make yourself happier without having to change the circumstances in your life at all, I recommend getting your ears checked because clearly you weren’t listening closely enough.

Shane Burcaw is a co-founder of Laughing At My Nightmare, Inc., an organization dedicated to teaching people how humor can help them overcome their challenges, while also providing vital equipment to people living with muscular dystrophy. Shane is an award-winning author, Emmy-winning producer, and writer of a blog with over 600,000 followers. His nonprofit is responsible for over $60,000 in equipment provided to people living with muscular dystrophy. Shane and his business partner, Sarah, travel the country sharing the powerful idea that a positive mindset and a sense of humor can help anyone effectively overcome their challenges!

And in case I haven’t mentioned it yet, Shane has lived with spinal muscular atrophy since shortly after birth and he’s quadriplegic. For those that don’t know what this means, we’ll talk about it more in today’s episode, but in short...Shane has little to no control of any of his four limbs and he has never walked.

For my listeners that know my history, it’s probably no surprise that I’m so excited about having Shane on my show because I dedicated eight years of my life directing and producing the documentary film GO FAR: The Christopher Rush Story (narrated by Mark Hamill) about the first quadriplegic to become a certified scuba diver who was also one of the national poster children for the Muscular Dystrophy Association alongside Jerry Lewis back in the days of the Labor Day telethons. Christopher was not only the subject of this documentary, but he was also one of my closest friends who stood next to me at my wedding which unfortunately was the last time I saw him alive. But chatting today with Shane brought back so many memories of conversations I used to have with Christopher.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• The power of a willful mindset in the face of adversity
• "Everybody has a disability"
• How Shane uses humor to overcome difficult circumstances
• Enabling yourself to realize when you are creating your own obstacles
• Shane's successful and occasionally unsuccessful athletic stories
• Processing hurtful media portrayals of physically handicapped individuals
• Recognizing when you have the power to improve your own situations
• Accepting circumstances you can't control, so they don't end up controlling you
• Learning to ask yourself, "Is this going to matter in ten years?"
• "Why not spend time loving as much as we can and exploring our passions? It's a hell of a better time to try and do good in the world."
• You don't have to feel guilty for not saving the world.
• What one thing made you smile today? When you are mindful of your joy, it will show up everywhere.

Useful Resources Mentioned:

GOFAR Movie

Shane Burcaw: Laughing at My Nightmare

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Our Generous Sponsors:

This episode is made possible by Ergodriven, the makers of the Topo Mat, my #1 recommendation for anyone interested in moving more at their height-adjustable workstation. Listen, standing desks are only great if you’re standing well, otherwise you’re constantly fighting fatigue and chronic pain. Not like any other anti-fatigue mat, the Topo is scientifically proven to help you move more throughout the day which helps reduce discomfort and also increase y...

“How can I break into Hollywood or advance in my creative career if I don’t know anybody?” is a common question I receive via e-mail, when I speak at events, or when I teach at USC or online. Whenever someone sends me an email or Facebook message and asks, “Can I buy you coffee and pick your brain?” this is inevitably their reason for reaching out.

Unlike doctors or lawyers, the path to being a successful film editor, writer, visual effects artist, animator, actor, or any other creative career is not a linear path, but here’s the secret nobody tells you: There are very specific steps you can follow to be successful, but you have to be willing to put in the time and take action consistently. The key is not discovering the path and following it, the key is learning the proper steps to forge your own unique path.

In this episode I dive deep into the topic of networking and what it looks like to do it right. My guest today is my assistant editor Chris Visser whom I met at a networking event a little over two years ago, and since then he has said all the right things and taken all the right steps to slowly build a relationship with me over time. And when the time was right he got “lucky” and ended up becoming a part of my team. But if you know me at all, you know I don’t believe in luck and think it’s simply when hard work intersects with opportunity.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself “It’s all about who you know, and I don’t know anybody, so I just give up!” then this episode is great place to start because Chris and I break down the key steps to networking the right way so you don’t waste your time and end up walking in circles wishing you just magically knew people. It’s time to get out there and build your network.

When you’re done listening to this episode, if you haven’t already I highly recommend checking out episode eleven, my two hour marathon interview with Norman Hollyn, former head of the editing track at USC.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• How Chris made it to Hollywood
• Eliminating excuses and finding your own path to success
• How to make an impression at your industry internship
• Processing and evaluating big career risks
• How a brat and cheese gift basket got Chris a job in Hollywood
• Building a post-studio from the ground up
• When Chris met Zack at EditFest LA
• Asking the right questions to the people that matter
• How to network without embracing the "sycophant rush"
• Knowing the mindset of the people you approach
• Breaking your career goals down into bite-sized action steps
• Chris' involvement with Blue Collar Post Collective (BCPC)

Useful Resources Mentioned:

EditFest Los Angeles

Blue Collar Post Collective

Our Generous Sponsors:

This episode is made possible by Ergodriven, the makers of the Topo Mat, my #1 recommendation for anyone interested in moving more at their height-adjustable workstation. Listen, standing desks are only great if you’re standing well, otherwise you’re constantly fighting fatigue and chronic pain. Not like any other anti-fatigue mat, the Topo is scientifically proven to help you move more throughout the day which helps reduce discomfort and also increase your focus and productivity. And they’re really fun and a great conversation starter.

Guest Bio:Facebook|Twitter

Born and raised in the land of Beer and Brats (aka Wisconsin), Chris has loved the craft of filmmaking since taking a movie-making class his freshman year of high school. While attending Marquette University, Chris was lucky enough to earn the 2011 Post-Production Internship with the Emmys Foundation. He graduated in May 2012, and moved to Los Angeles just weeks after to pursue a career in the film industry.

His first few years were spent as an assistant editor at several post houses before becoming an online editor/colorist in January of 2015. After a year and a half of online-ing shows like Nellyville (BET) and Greatest Party Story Ever (MTV)...