Episodes

This episode explores the new approach to reading books I adopted in July of 2019. Since then I have completed less than five books, a time period during which I would have probably completed twice as many. The goal is to go deeper on a select number of meaningful books and implement the ideas in those books instead of trying to read as many books as possible. Highlights Creating Your Life with Love with Gary Mahler About half way through Gary shares how few books he reads these days and why...

Sometimes the end of one year and the start of a new one is a good time to take stock of things. For 2020 I’m not feeling the need. Highlights Why I’m not seeing the need to “plan the new year” Prompted by the questions What do you want to leave behind in 2019? What do you want to take forward into 2020? January 1st is an arbitrary date Saying “yes” and “no” to make deliberate choices Forgiveness Discarding all of the judgement of Myself Others Judgement about my judgement Planning ...

Here’s what I’ve been up to from August to November 2019 and what I’m learning. Highlights & References Capital One Cafe in Portland, Oregon What I’ve been up to the past few months My 6,800 mile road trip The power of de-cluttering and getting rid of stuff Telling more of my story in two interviews Own Your Clarity with John Poelstra (video) by Anthony Ongaro at Break the Twitch How I Came to Coaching and How it Works hosted by Vinod Jain The power of free writing to get to the bottom o...

Vinod Jain leads this conversation where I share the path that led me to coaching, what I believe about certain things, and how coaching works. Conversation Highlights More about Vinod Jain (Episode #68) A typical day for John Money Coaching at Capital One Early influences and career path Getting clear on personal beliefs and ultimately personal ownership Early career dissatisfaction and overseas travel Seeing a theme of meaning and seeking more of it through coaching Ending unnecessary...

I don’t have a typical work week. However, here’s one I chronicled and reflected on with Mike Vardy as an experiment for his podcast. This is a rebroadcast of 5 Days with John Poelstra which originally aired as Episode #250 on Mike Vardy’s podcast (which I produce): The Productivityist Podcast Detailed episode notes Theme Your Way to Greater Productivity with Mike Vardy (46) — an earlier exploration of Mike’s theme based productivity approach. Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Fun...

Yann Toutant believes companies can be more innovative by creating and working as remote teams. Our conversation explores Yann’s journey and what he’s learning. Highlights Yann Youtant is the CEO of Econocom The main drive for a remote team is innovation Working remote helps you turn the cruise control of your life off Four steps of the remote ladder Be remote in your own office–don’t work from the same desk every day Forces you to digitize everything (no paper) Changes perspectives, neig...

Here are some different ways to prepare and think about your next job interview–as the interviewer or the interviewee. Highlights Block out time to do deep preparation Get clear about the unique strengths and combinations you bring Have a few prepared stories and examples that demonstrate your accomplishments and skills Get clear on your core values Determine how your values would be honored in the new job Be them in the interview Are you running to something or running away from somethi...

Alexis Monville, Michael Doyle and I talk about working effectively with remote teams when meeting in person isn’t possible. This topic came up as we collaborated on version two of Alexis’ book Changing Your Team From the Inside. Highlights Taking individual initiative How to build remote teams when you cannot meet in person As individuals we can do something Choosing (or not) to work together Learning about others to learn about yourself Using prompts to break the ice and get to know eac...

This episode explores the book A Second Chance by Catherine Hoke, my interest in law enforcement and the complexities of incarceration. Highlights & References Marketing Over Coffee podcast My WSCO Citizen’s Academy experience 13th (documentary on Netflix about over incarceration and it’s roots) The difference between jail and prison Ear Hustle podcast (what it’s like to be incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in California) Brad Feld’s experiences at San Quentin with Defy Ventures Un...

This riff explores the power of thoughts on feelings and how asking better questions yields better thoughts. Highlights Considering the idea that our thoughts create our feelings The Life Coach School Podcast John Prendergast on the Coaches Rising Podcast (highly recommended)–Opening to Inner Knowing In Touch: How to Tune In to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself by John Prendergast (quoting from pages 33 and 34) The power of the negative stories we tell ourselves and how to f...

Michael Doyle is back (Ego is the Enemy episode) to interview John on the importance of values. John also leads Michael through a process of deeper values exploration and clarification in a live coaching session. Values Discussion Highlights Our values Clarify decision making Aid life satisfaction Act as an internal GPS Each person has different values They are not “right” or “wrong” People sharing the same values usually prioritize them differently Misalignment of values causes conflic...

Kate Dixon has an extensive human resources background in employee relations and compensation. Her true passion is coaching and leadership development. This conversation explores her discovery of gratitude journaling, all the benefits it has provided and the impact it’s had on John. Conversation Highlights The origins of Kate’s gratitude journaling challenge The mindshift that comes from being thankful for little things Habit stacking when you have an established streak The importance of ce...

This conversation with Michael Doyle (former colleague at Red Hat) explores what we found in Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday and reflect it back on ourselves. Conversation Highlights & References Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday Extended bibliography Primary sections: Aspire, Success, and Failure Relationship between our values and our ego Is ego ever a positive thing? Marie Forleo’s interview with Ryan Holiday What does your ego look like to you/how does it show up? Doing and working ov...

Carolyn Campbell explains the fascinating journey she’s on to understand rural America by listening to the people she’s sent to by others. I met Carolyn as my first coach several years ago. Highlights Carolyn has been on a mission to deeply listen to people in rural America for the past two years Hearing their stories and learning from them instead of trying to immediately help Her project as a result of a community dinner that didn’t happen In her travels she met over 2,000 people and form...

Here are a few things I’ve learned in the past few months. Mentioned Restarting is the key to success Showing up as best you can even when you don’t feel at your best Mindset as a recurring theme in a lot of books I read (and mostly did not finish) Shift Your Mind Shift Your World by Steve Chandler Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt The Serving Mindset by Farnoosh Brock (Interview on Productivityist Podcast) The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha The Path to Personal Power by Napoleo...

This deep conversation with Michael Marvosh explores meaning and life lessons with prompts from nature and our own life experiences. Mentioned in This Episode ConvertKit Conference (where John & Michael met) Stephen Warley of Life Skills That Matter Mike Vardy of Productivityist Michael’s podcast called Deadman’s Forest The exploration of existence and meaning Being intentional about sharing what he has learned from his life instead of letting those things die with him Everyone has unique ...

Here’s a short riff on a section from Time Warrior by Steve Chandler about alleged “time management” problems. Highlights Time Warrior: How to defeat procrastination, people-pleasing, self-doubt, over-commitment, broken promises and chaos by Steve Chandler “Time management” is a misnomer When people say they have difficulty managing their time there’s usually something deeper going on Most people have no problem managing their time to be on a commercial airplane when it leaves When we have...

Vinod Jain works as a technology and management consultant in Northern Virginia. In this conversation we explore how get got to where he is today and the personal journey he is on. Conversation Highlights Bigger Game Live put on by Rick Tamlyn Being a “creator” instead of a “consumer” “Express and receive” The pros/cons of enthusiastic optimism We all have the potential for a great future in our lives Look around and see what you can harness in your surroundings There’s tremendous learni...

Here’s what happened and what I learned in October 2018, a couple of which were the culmination of how the year started. Highlights & References A big month of changes: beginnings and endings Post-it tracking and prioritization system was in full force I officially left Red Hat IBM made a $34 billion offer for Red Hat Offense vs. Defense / Creating vs. controlling by Tim Hildred Ending my co-working space I started a new role at with the Capital One Money Coaching Team The challenges of ne...

It’s easy to get off track and lose focus. Here are some of the ways I have been attempting to sharpen my focus and execution. Highlights Time Warrior: How to defeat procrastination, people-pleasing, self-doubt, over-commitment, broken promises and chaos by Steve Chandler Creating vs. Managing Advanced Client Systems (ACS) program hosted by Steve Chandler The Prosperous Coach: Increase Income and Impact for You and Your Clients by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin Three primary leaks I’m seei...

Stephani Roy McCallum is a leader who helps people have difficult conversations. In this conversation she navigates a deeper of understanding of what leadership really is and how to be an effective leader. Conversation Highlights Bigger Game Live put on by Rick Tamlyn Leadership is needed to move forward after a conflict has been resolved Taking complete ownership is necessary, however to be fully effective you have to go somewhere (lead) “Leadership is an inside job” — Rick Tamlyn Leadersh...

Here’s a recap of the things that happened in September 2018 and what I learned from them. Highlights & References Public accountability and my system for doing the monthly recap worked Great books by Steve Chandler The Story of You (And How to Create a New One) Time Warrior: How to defeat procrastination, people-pleasing, self-doubt, over-commitment, broken promises and chaos Blue Collar productivity The solution to procrastination is starting The Prosperous Coach by Steve Chandler & Ric...

Alexis Monville from the Red Hat Engineering Leadership team joins me to talk about his experiences leading, developing and changing teams. He’s also the author of a new book: Changing Your Team From The Inside. Conversation Highlights Alexis helps engineering teams at Red Hat be more efficient in systematic ways Alexis’ passion for open source software development and how it ties into his work Team members often know something needs to change, but they rarely think it’s them that needs to c...

Summer 2018 was a busy time with lots of trips, continuous learning and new ways to grow. Highlights & Links The importance of systems to maintain consistency No Excuses My process for creating solo episodes Always keep the recording running and fix it later “John, how are you going to fix this process in the future so that these monthly recaps really happen?” Repeating cards in Trello What’s my “why”? What values am I honoring? Attending Conferences Bigger Game Live with Rick Tamlyn ...