A.B.O (Always Be Optimizing): Nir Eyal, NirAndFar.com | Waste No Potential

On his journey through the music industry, Dan Mangan has experienced his fair share of metaphorical doors close in his face. Instead of seeing this in a negative light, he decided to build his own door. After a particularly challenging year in 2015 — artistically, spiritually, personally — Mangan started Sidedoor, a platform for burgeoning musicians to connect with alternative venues and hosts to book shows and tours. All was going well until the covid-19 pandemic hit and the whole premise of Sidedoor, namely in-person gatherings, was shut down overnight.But, as the theme of this episode hints at, for every door that closes another one opens. As a live performer, Mangan is well-known for connecting with his audience in ways most artists can only dream about. But without the option to play live, how does a performer make connections with an audience? After a few underwhelming attempts at putting livestream shows on, Mangan dug into the technical challenge of online concerts and ended up discovering connections that never would have surfaced had he not been forced to look at his career differently.You could easily see how the pandemic was an end to life as we knew it — but what Mangan was able to see was the new opportunities it offered. Hear how he and his team at Sidedoor turned a forced ending into a fresh beginning.

“Sometimes the difference between the unfinished painting and the finished painting is as simple as finding the right frame.” — Rick RubinA plumber knows when a job is complete. Water turns on. Water turns off.But when we plumb the depths of our soul to create an original idea, how do we know when the idea is complete? When do we stop putting the finishing touches on something and let it breathe a life of its own? When did Michelangelo put down his chisel and claim David was perfect enough?For our guest Ken Davenport, his career as a producer of some of the biggest theatre shows on Broadway didn’t start when someone gave him the handbook on how to run a successful production. In fact, he will tell you he often had no idea what he was doing in his early career. But that didn’t stop him from trying.In the theatre world, there are a million things that can go wrong: actors’ lines, costume details, lighting cues, ticket sales. But for Davenport, he wasn’t searching for perfection. He was simply constantly moving toward his goal, using a memorable tennis metaphor to figure out answers along the way. His goal wasn’t to be perfect — his goal was to be done.After all, what is perfectionism good for? Human beings aren’t perfect, so why are we constantly in search of it? When we let go of the idea of being perfect, we make room for something far more important: being one-of-a-kind.

When you have nothing, you appreciate everything.Mark Brand would know. He had everything going for him: successful careers as a DJ and chef, a home, a loving partner. He was living the dream. But when a medical condition dashed his chances of staying in his adopted country of Australia, he was forced to leave everything behind and come back to Canada, the place he was born. It became a rebirth.Even though life had taken a turn, Brand focused on what he knew he was good at — and good things started happening. Accomplished in the food and beverage industry, he opened his first restaurant in Vancouver with humble financial investment but a ton of heart, and proceeded to win accolades ahead of established restaurant empires. Brand was witnessing how good energy begets good energy, like an exponential algorithm of positivity, and that by connecting and contributing he could facilitate change. Soon, it would become his mission.Ignited by the notorious mistreatment of residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Brand’s fiery devotion has made him one of the best examples of how social entrepreneurship can respectfully and effectively lift marginalized communities. He is the founder of A Better Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to using food as a catalyst to enrich, employ and empower people who need it most.Hear how Mark Brand and Michelle Malpass, VP of Community at Traction on Demand, focus on making a habit of doing good to give everyone a chance to nourish their full potential.

Hustle. Rise and grind. Fake it till you make it. Today’s work culture believes the only way to get ahead is to put your nose to the grindstone and maximize the hours in the day. The harder you work, the more successful you become, right?On the flip side, burnout rates are on the rise — people’s bodies are physically revolting in a desperate attempt to tell them to rest. No one knows this better than our guest, author, and digital anthropologist, Rahaf Harfoush. Her concept of “productivity propaganda” highlights how our obsession with working harder is actually making it harder to work. After hustling with her pedal to the metal for years, her body gave out on her and forced her to step back and do something she wasn’t familiar with: slow down and listen.At Waste No Potential, we have a story of an unlikely teacher. Whenever it got busy at our old office and it felt like things were about to go off the rails, an uncanny thing recurred: a ladybug showed up. Crawling on a meeting room wall or across someone’s keyboard, the slow-moving critter made everyone pause and reflect. Being forced to take a second to breathe didn’t affect our work negatively — it improved it. It was then, in a moment of zen, we learned the way of the ladybug.We don’t quote Ferris Bueller very often, but when we do, we say, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Nakuset, Executive Director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, has seen how the stuffy rooms of institutions and officials perpetuate a cycle that discludes the voices of marginalized groups. That’s where she has planted herself. She stands between the forces that would continue the cycle and acts as a beacon for others. Her work — her voice — is creating positive momentum.And it is just the beginning.Nakuset was taken from her Cree family as a toddler during the Sixties Scoop, and adopted by a Jewish family in Montreal. She was taught to disregard her Indigenous roots and assimilate into a new mould. Eventually, she reached her breaking point and began the arduous search for her biological family. But it also led to the discovery of her own voice — and her mission to support Indigenous people in the face of adversity.Like Nakuset, Emily Eakin, VP of Client Engagement at Traction on Demand, understands the importance of surrounding one’s self with supporting voices to face challenges. The world is awfully loud to try and drown out on your own. In this episode, we hear how Eakin believes her biggest wins weren’t achieved on her own — success is always a team effort.Nakuset, driven by her own story, sheds a light on the injustices of the past and present, speaking up to reach her goal of supporting her community.

James Bond has nothing on Sabino Marquez. The latter is stealth. Covert. Marquez works in the shadows. And he intimately understands the minds of the world’s most potentially dangerous criminals: hackers. Bond may be able to ride a motorbike through a wall of flames, but can he penetrate a network firewall to steal a list of client names? Didn’t think so.In the encrypted world of data security, Sabino Marquez is a big deal. Corporations of all sizes depend on people like him to trust their information is kept safe. But what makes Marquez stand out isn’t the fact that he’s seen all sides, positive and nefarious, of data security, but that he recognized the potential value of the oft-misunderstood IT department. His discovery had his sales team giddy with excitement. Suddenly, someone from the depths of the IT room was tossing a grappling hook and scaling a new wall of business revenue. It is the ultimate example of leading from behind.On this episode, we are also joined by Tractionite Joy Asakawa, Regional VP of Retail Consumer Goods, who also approaches leadership from a unique perspective. For Asakawa, leading is just as much about supporting as it is guiding. A leader is only one part of a much larger whole.This episode, Lead from Behind, deconstructs the concept of leadership to expose the fact that a good leader isn’t always the person in the spotlight — the one pulling the strings is often hiding in the shadows.Listen to Lead from Behind — it’s a spine-tingling cliffhanger you won’t soon forget!

Incredible is a word that’s used so often it can lose its meaning. But in the case of our guest, Chris Wilson, his impossible-to-believe story offers insight into the power of resilience, understanding self-worth, and manifesting your own destiny. Your eggs benny isn’t incredible — this story is.We believe there are two ways to move forward with decisions in life: agree and get on with it; or disagree and make it better. Sounds reasonable, right? But at 17 years old, Wilson faced a choice more than dire. Either acquiesce to a life in prison, or overcome inconceivable odds and devise a plan — a “Master Plan” — to convince the powers-that-be that he was better suited for a life beyond bars.Today, Wilson is an entrepreneur, social justice advocate, film producer, and author of “The Master Plan”. His life journey reads like a Hollywood movie. At times it’s hard to listen to — it’s real, gritty, and jaw-dropping. If you ever thought there wasn’t another solution to a problem, take a listen, and witness Wilson face unthinkable atrocities and injustices as he navigates his path from the crack-addled neighbourhoods of his youth to present-day triumphs. He proves there are always two ways forward.We also hear from Manu Varma, Principal Strategist at Traction on Demand, who highlights how innovation for a large company is dependent on working together — and not being afraid to fail — in order to find new ways forward.This episode is an absolute must-listen.You can learn more about Chris Wilson's journey, his book, The Master Plan, and his artwork here. [ https://chriswilson.biz/ ]

Scars. We all have them. But do we see them as reminders of mistakes or marks of progress? At Waste No Potential, we are infinitely curious how people push their limits to find out what they are truly capable of. The thing is, when we push ourselves to the edge sometimes we end up falling off. Good, now we know how far we can go. We pick ourselves up, put on a bandage, and carry on with a new scar — little or big — to add to the collection of lessons learned.Lilian Umurungi-Jung has had plenty of bruises on her path to success. She had “every job on planet Earth” before landing a position that was a great fit. Soon after, Lilian and her husband found out she was pregnant. Life was great. Until an unexpected twist, painful in the moment, caused her to rethink everything — and sent her on a path that would change her life forever.Tractionite Emily Beach can tell her life story through scars. She has some doozies. An extreme sports enthusiast, Beach knows scars are part of the learning process and brings this mindset to her work and personal life. She has experienced more peaks and valleys than most have dreamt of, but one thing Beach has never allowed is a scar to stop her from her true potential.Join us as we hear the stories of these determined individuals who don’t let obstacles stop them forging their unique path to success.

Ever seen a fish in a suit? They don’t fit in — but you sure do notice them.Gavin Armstrong spent university trying to “fit in”. He thought getting a suit-&-tie job in finance was the secret to success — and a way to inflict retribution on his high school bullies. But Armstrong’s career path hit a snag: he was miserable.It took an unexpected and eye-opening trip to Botswana to change his perspective towards his goals. Being a fish-out-of-water made him realize trying to fit in wasn’t working out.Witnessing abject poverty first-hand inspired Armstrong to channel his passion for business in a less selfish direction. Today, as founder and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish Enterprise, Armstrong has become a leader in providing accessible tools to battle global malnutrition, proving that not fitting in can truly change the world.In this episode, we also hear from Zoran Krunic, Customer Success Architect at Traction on Demand, and Aikido Sansei who explains how his approach to the competitive nature of life begins with the mantra “the biggest victory is the one over one’s self.”These two introspective journeys intertwine to prove it is when we don’t fit in that we are best able to envision our true potential.

Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of "Hooked" and "Indistractable," Nir Eyal is fascinated with how companies get us ‘hooked’ on their products and services. From the endless scroll on social media to the fatty foods we love (something Nir says he struggles with himself), how do companies optimize themselves to suck us in? On this episode of Waste No Potential, Nir wonders, “Can we optimize ourselves to take our attention back from those companies?” Join Alexandra Samuel and Traction on Demand’s VP of Engineering, Ernesto Valdes, who discuss Nir’s question, and outline why it’s so important to constantly iterate changes in your business and, perhaps more importantly, yourself.