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Author: Jesse Kiefer

Episode 007: Why Can’t We Be Friends?

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode 007: Why Can’t We Be Friends?

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Hey Hey Hey It’s a new episode and it’s my Birthday?! I hope you are having some fun today! This week I discuss some interpersonal relationship related topics such as a discussion about our friends.

In this Solo Format Show I discuss:

  • Airplane Mode: Discovering I was accidentally creating a toxic situation
  • Listing some characteristics of great friendships.

 

This week’s Show is brought to you by Ben Kruger and Lost No Longer Productions you can find his work:

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benkruger1978/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lost-No-Longer-Productions-280084185347437

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/realbenkruger

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RussellPrestol

also

THE GRAWLIX PODCAST: http://grawlixpodcast.com

 

Resources:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/10-ways-better-friend.html

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/25-ways-to-be-a-true-friend/

http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/inspiration-motivation/be-good-friend

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Friend

 

 

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

Episode 006: A Little Headspace (Round Table Discussion)

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode 006: A Little Headspace (Round Table Discussion)

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HUGE Thank yous to anyone who has left an iTunes review lately how much are they helping?! earlier this week we reached the #1 slot on iTunes New and Noteworthy “Hobbies” Category! and #16 in the Games and Hobbies category! WOOO! That’s the highest we’ve ranked so far! Thank you so much and keep those good vibes coming I really appreciate the feedback!

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In this Round Table Discussion Format Show I’m joined by Geoff Semrad and Holly Kiefer as we discuss:

  • Mindfulness Meditation
  • The Popular Headspace app

 

Other topics mentioned:

Rolf Sovik’s Meditation at Yoga International

Tara Brach 

Holly Kiefer: http://finding-serenity.com/

Geoff Semrad: https://www.facebook.com/geoffrey.lee.39

 

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

Episode 005: No Predictor of Fun

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode #5 No Predictor of Fun

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Thank you to everyone who has left an iTunes review lately they are really helping! Just this morning I checked and found that we had risen to the #16 slot on itunes New and Noteworthy “Hobbies” Category! Thank you so much and keep those good vibes coming I really appreciate the feedback!

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Also Thank you to Brandon Lipani who recently had myself and Randal Silvey on his show The Technology Geek it was a blast and I encourage you to check out that episode

In this Solo Format Show we discuss:

  • We touch on introversion and really look at how fun is individualized
  • How I went to a Toga Murder Mystery Party
  • We talk about how describing meditation to others (who don’t already meditate) can be tricky

Other stuff I mention:

Global Advertising in a Global Culture by Thomas H. P. Gould

Know Your Meme: “It will be fun,” they said

000 it will be fun

This episode is brought to you by ZombieOaksComic.com created by the incredible Axton Kahler. If you like zombies but don’t always want them so much scary as hilarious then you NEED to read Zombie Oaks. 

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

Episode 004: The Evil Puppy

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode #4 The Evil Puppy

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  • In this episode we return to the solo show format and Jesse talks about:
  • We review the mission of the show
  • I talk about my motivations for starting the show “the why”
  • I talk about some of the awesome creations that 2nd grade artists come up with
  • I detail one 2nd grade project in particular which features an “Evil Puppy”

 

Other stuff I mention:

Six Degrees of Separation

This episode is brought to you by Finding Serenity the internet hub of last episode’s guest Holly Kiefer. Contact Holly to help you uncover YOUR core desired feelings.

 

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

5 ways I deal with my Social Anxiety as a cartoonist

Social Anxiety is not so good for networking:

I’m an introvert. I’m not just sorta an introvert, I’m a holy crap introvert. In college I was required to take the Myer’s Briggs test and on the Introvert/Extrovert spectrum I’m about as far as you can get from being an extrovert. So you might be thinking  “Introvert? No problem I know lots of introverts, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re shy.” Hey guess what?! I’m a SHY introvert too. (aka social anxiety)

I’m functional. I’m not a hermit hiding away in a cave.  I go to work everyday (as an elementary art teacher) and interact with teachers, principals, and students in two schools and I even pass through two more buildings teaching classes in order to round out my scheduled week. That’s four buildings full of people in a week!

I interact with a ridiculous number of people, well for the kind of introvert that I am. I feel strongly about the work I do so that helps.  However at around 4pm every day I start needing a recharge. Teachers don’t always get to go home at 4pm though, sometimes teachers have staff meetings, department meetings, professional learning communities, professional organization meetings, social gatherings, after school programs, and PTA nights. There are all sorts of things that keep teachers after the scheduled day should end.

It wears on me, makes me twitchy, certainly makes me owly, and sometimes it shows up in weird ways.

One of the weird ways that it likes to crop up is when I’m driving.

introvert-blogA real life example: On a particularly bad day I thought “Today sucked! I’d like to treat myself to dinner out.”

I immediately think of my favorite restaurantSavannakhet AsianGrill. It’s a no brainer, I hop in the car and start heading there. As I approach I realize that it’s a “weird time” and I’ll likely be the only one there… I love the people that run Savannakhet but that’d be too weird. No, even though I’m almost there I’ve just talked myself out of it. My second choice for Chinese is a place across town so I start driving that direction. I’m fine until I realize they are running a buffet right now and it’s going to be packed. I won’t be comfortable if it’s super packed… so now that one is out too. Maybe my third choice (again across town) will work, at this point I’m pretty hungry so it’s likely going to win out, except when I get there it happens to be closed. Rather than go to any of the places that I actually wanted to go, I settle for “imperial palace express” at the mall. It’s fine, it’s not what I wanted but it’s okay, and I’m comfortable there. It’s at about this point that I start to realize how I toured the town talking myself out of the food I wanted without a good reason. I let social anxiety dictate crappy mall chinese food as my final answer.

That’s some pretty crazy self talk I get going on… so how do I make it work as a cartoonist where networking and conventions, where lots of people attend, happen to be the best way to get brand  and name recognition?

1)The  Buddy system. I love my friends. By now you can probably see that I am pretty awkward so I really cherish the friends I have. My friends are often more extroverted than I am and they can challenge me to get out and do the things I need to do. It’s so much harder for me to self-talk myself out of something if I have someone in my corner actively cheering me on, telling me I can full well do this, or just telling me to suck it up already.

2) Prepare in advance of a big gathering.  I can be social, outgoing even; but It doesn’t happen automatically. I practice things until I’m comfortable with them, I have imaginary conversations. I anticipate potential responses and how I might need to react. (I think Winston Churchill did something like this with his speeches and conference appearances to control his stuttering) This active planning really applies to long weekends where I’m going to sit behind a table and have to initiate the conversations and flat out pitch myself.

3) Give myself a break (figuratively and literally). I’m my own worst critic about this kind of behavior but getting down on myself doesn’t help me loosen up any it actually makes it worse. So first I gotta forgive myself, then I have to recognize when I need a break and then go take a quick walk, find a quiet corner, or even sit in my car and read for a few minutes. Giving myself even a quick moment can bring me back and help me feel more comfortable in an environment.

4) Social Media. It seems like an oxymoron but facebook and twitter offer me the chance to think out my responses I can have my opinion firmly established before I ever put myself out there. Cartooning seems to be a pretty solitary endeavor as it is so I find that when I’m commiserating with other creators, writers, artists, and cartoonists; they tend to get where I’m coming from.

5) Talk about my passions. This is probably the biggest thing because here’s the weirdest bit about my introversion… I actually really like to talk. My good friend Josh H. once said in High school something to the effect of… “We tried to get Kiefer to talk for 2 years… now we can’t get him to shut up.” That was no lie. I can talk at length, in fact if it’s something I’m passionate about you could have a hard time getting a word in edgewise. If I could skip talking about the weather, or how the last college football game came out, I’d always choose to skip it. But if we can dive into a conversation about popular X-men or Spider-man story arcs? Fuggetaboutit! I can talk till 2am!  If someone tells me they liked my book or they liked my art, I don’t handle compliments all that well (again it’s awkward)… “Thank you,” and  “I really appreciate it,” no matter how genuine start to feel like canned responses after a while… but if they say something like “I really love Tank-monkey” I can talk at length about who tank-monkey is and his origins and where those ideas came from. If they say these strips really remind me of_________. Awesome! because regardless of whether I know what “blank” is now we’ve got a conversation and likely it’s  one I’m going to be interested in. So how to MAKE that happen is a little trickier but I find if I can find a way to ask a question, someone eyes a sketch I’ve done of Adventure Time… “Do you like Adventure time? Awesome! What’s your favorite episode?!” Or… I love Tree Trunks!  who’s your favorite character?”

There’s so many great books out there about being awkward. I’m sure I’ve heavily referenced ideas from Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and Devora Zack’s book Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed, and the Underconnected. If you’re interested in this topic more I highly recommend both  of those books.

I’m working on getting ready for Free Comic Book Day at Krypton Comics in Omaha, NE so I’m going to be really putting some of these practices to the test in the weeks to come. If you’d like to get more inside info on events I might be at as they happen sign up for the Vorpal Arrows Newsletter in the quick form below! Hey if you have tips for cons or presentations please let me know about them in the comments! I’d love to hear em!

This article was originally posted on tankmonkeycomic.com

Episode 003: Holly Kiefer and the Desire Map

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode #3 Holly Kiefer and the Desire Map

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In this episode Jesse chats with Holly Kiefer (yes that’s his wife who is AWESOME!)

We talk about new year’s resolutions and goal setting specifically we speak at length about the Desire Map find out more by visiting Holly’s website http://finding-serenity.com or using her affiliate link http://www.daniellelaporte.com/DML/holly-kiefer/

Stuff we mention:

http://www.marieforleo.com/2014/04/change-your-life-todd-herman/

http://www.daniellelaporte.com/DML/holly-kiefer/#shop

DREDD Lip

Holly Dredd Lip 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Holly:

This episode is brought to you by The Grawlix Podcast the awesome comic book podcast where the content is determined by audience polls!:http://grawlixpodcast.com

 

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

Episode 002: The ART of Fun

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode #2 The ART of Fun

turningcartwheelsitunes

In this episode Jesse chats with 5th-6th grade art teacher Geoff Semrad about how challenging, rewarding, and fun being an art teacher can be. Also…. PROBLEM SOLVING!

Couldn’t find the Kylie Scaring video but I DID find this video of Geoff impersonating Robert Goulet: https://youtu.be/wg0F8Tjkxm8 

This episode is brought to you by the Electronic Media Collective Podcast Network. Turning Cart Wheels is a proud member of the EMC network along side several incredible shows, check out all the great content they have to offer at: http://electronicmediacollective.com 

 

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

Episode 001: Off to a Wheel Good Start

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast:

Episode #1 Off to a Wheel Good Start

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In this first episode I introduce the basic premise of the show. Which is we spend most of our day at work, we should enjoy our jobs we should have a little fun while we’re at it. While Hobbies ARE fun a lot of hobbies take a good amount of work. How do we have fun at work and work hard at having fun? I’m bound and determined to figure it out.

INTRO

00:00:00 – Opener and Theme Music

00:00:51 – Welcome and intro roll

 

This episode is brought to you by Vorpal Arrow Studios. Vorpal Arrow Studios is the production company that I use to make awesome things… like this podcast 🙂 visit me on the web at: http://vorpalarrow.com

 

What’s Turning Cart Wheels?

00:02:05 – What IS The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast about?!

00:02:36 – It’s about fun but… what IS fun?

00:04:55 – Hey Kiefer! What do YOU do for a living?!

00:06:20 – The Mystery of the Podcast name is SOLVED!

00:07:22 – Hey Kiefer! What do you do for FUN?!

 

MID ROLL

 

00:08:57 – The Grawlix Podcast: http://grawlixpodcast.com

 

Arriving in Airplane Mode

 

00:09:32 – Arriving in Airplane Mode

00:11:38 – How Jesse uses Airplane Mode (Meditation)

00:12:36 – A Story about Jesse’s Dogs… wait… WHAT?!

 

OUTRO

00:19:29 – What’s coming soon on Turning Cart Wheels?

00:19:55 – Find and subscribe to the podcast on http://cartwheelspodcast.com

00:20:35 – How to contact the show!

 

00:21:50- Outro Theme Music

Read more at http://www.cartwheelspodcast.com

The Turning Cart Wheels Podcast

Welcome to the Turning Cart Wheels Podcast homepage!

I teach art off of a cart, I literally turn cart wheels. I also teach martial arts, I literally turn cartwheels. I have fun at my work, and my idea of fun comes with a fair share of work. The Turning Cart Wheels blog and podcast are about people, like myself, who have fun at work and work hard at fun.

We’ll be releasing our inaugural show in a few months and you’ll be able to find all of our episodes on Stitcher and iTunes!

Watch as this space grows and if you have any questions/comments/suggestions please feel free to include those in a comment below this post! Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon for updates, episodes and more!

Thanks,

Jesse Kiefer