Ethical Propaganda With Curt Maly

Original Air Date: August 22, 2020

Picture this: 35 of the world’s leading digital marketers step into a room together. 

Each person in that room had successfully run a million dollar launch and is a legend in the marketing, social media, and media buying arena. 

A challenge is presented to this motley crew of marketers: 

Over the next 48 hours, each person is tasked with coming up with a new mind-blowing marketing strategy.

At the end of the 48 hours, everyone will vote on the best strategy. 

The time starts now. Go. 

This is a true story.  

Today’s guest, Curt Maly, was one of the 35 people in that room. 

And at the end of the weekend, he was the one who walked away with the championship belt. 

The marketing system he developed that weekend has since been honed, tested and perfected, and has become Curt’s legendary BELT Method. 

I hope I’ve set the stage for the epicness that is this interview. 

Yes, Curt dropped some serious high level gems on all things marketing, sales, social media, and getting your message across in a crowded digital space – but we also went deep on the importance of mindset, how to overcome adversity, and how to pick yourself up when your entire world crumbles. 

We didn’t just talk about vague ways to artificially fire yourself up. Nah. Curt got tactical and offered practical ways to elevate yourself to peak performance – and how to actually enjoy the process.

At the heart of our time together, though, was something specific: ethical propaganda.

For all of us out here trying to make a difference in the world, whether it's as an activist, coach, nonprofit, or thought leader: you’ve got to hear Curt go all in on the tenets and tactics of ethical propaganda. 

It will be a game changer for you, your organization, your business, and/or your movement. 

I’m serious. This will change your entire outlook, strategy, and therefore your results as well. 

Hit play on this one and then send me your favorite part. 

If you’d like to learn more about Curt and his Belt method program, head to thebelt.live/celebration 

tomearl.me/cma

Listen to "Ethical Propaganda With Curt Maly" on Spreaker.

Drag THINGING!, Belonging, and Honoring Your Anger With CYRO

Original Air Date: November 9, 2020

Honor your anger. Honor your pain.

CYRO’s words resonated deeply with me – like a bell used to awaken your spirit.

This isn’t just an interview.

It’s an awakening. It’s a residence. It’s a healing.

I am so grateful that CYRO took the time to sit down and share their passionate and powerful wisdom with all of us.

Leah Kirby, also known as CYRO, creates theatre that incites change and incorporates non-western techniques in order to explore social, economic, and political issues through a non-traditional format. 

They are an activist, theatre maker, actor, writer, and drag thing named CYRO. 

CYRO is a Queer, Non-Binary, DRAG THING! 

They bring strength, beauty, and awareness to the stage with acts like 'Run Rabbit', exploring the struggles of gang induction and violence within black communities, and 'I am not your', a piece that delves into black masculinity within a non-binary body and shows the beauty it can exude by stripping back the facade. 

They use spoken word, movement, composition, Lip syncing, and storytelling within their work to incite change through artistic calls to action.

I am telling you: this interview is everything you have been looking for in a THE Celebration episode.

Do yourself a favor. 

Hit play.

You can learn more about Cyro through their website, or you can follow them on Instagram.

tomearl.me/cy

Listen to "Drag THINGING!, Belonging, and Honoring Your Anger With CYRO" on Spreaker.

7 Negotiation Strategies (That Build Relationships & Get You Your Yes)

Whenever I play the “what superpower would you pick” game - my answer is always: to speak every language in existence.

If I could choose a superpower it would be to speak every language in existence.

Imagine being able to effectively communicate with every single person on the planet.

This usually sets me up nicely for the joke, “well Tom, you can barely effectively communicate in English, why don’t you start there.”

Cue the laughter. 

Whether you are a marketer, activist, creative, educator or you’re just living your daily life - the ability to communicate with influence has a huge impact on our lives.

Negation is a particular form of communication that carries a lot of stress, and sometimes even baggage.

Usually you’re negotiating in stressful situations, and for many people it may even feel that you are in an unbalanced relationship within the negotiation.

While the ability to negotiate is such a crucial skill, most of us are never given any formal training in negotiation.

At the heart of negotiation is empathy, active listening and relationship building.

This is certainly contrary to the stereotype of what we think of when we think of negotiations.

Another misconception is that the tools of negotiation aren’t particularly complex or tricky.

Like all things they do require practice to hone your skill but the concepts can be grasped fairly quickly.

On this week's episode, we are going to explore 7 core negotiation strategies. 

This episode originally aired a few years ago. 

And so, I can share that I’ve received many emails from folks on how this episode really had a huge impact on their lives.

We’re going to explore ways to use negation beyond business as well as within your personal life and relationships.

I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is! 

Enjoy! 

Listen to "7 Negotiation Strategies (That Build Relationships & Get You Your Yes)" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Drag THINGING!, Belonging, and Honoring Your Anger With CYRO

Honor your anger. Honor your pain.

CYRO’s words resonated deeply with me – like a bell used to awaken your spirit.

This isn’t just an interview.

It’s an awakening. It’s a residence. It’s a healing.

I am so grateful that CYRO took the time to sit down and share their passionate and powerful wisdom with all of us.

Leah Kirby, also known as CYRO, creates theatre that incites change and incorporates non-western techniques in order to explore social, economic, and political issues through a non-traditional format. 

They are an activist, theatre maker, actor, writer and drag thing named CYRO. 

CYRO is a Queer, Non-Binary, DRAG THING! 

They bring strength, beauty and awareness to the stage with acts like 'Run Rabbit', exploring the struggles of gang induction and violence within black communities, and 'I am not your', a piece that delves into black masculinity within a non-binary body and shows the beauty it can exude by stripping back the facade. 

They use spoken word, movement, composition, Lip syncing and storytelling within their work to incite change through artistic calls to action.

I am telling you: this interview is everything you have been looking for in a THE Celebration episode.

Do yourself a favor. 

Hit play.

You can learn more about Cyro through their website, or you can follow them on Instagram @cyrodragthing

Listen to "Drag THINGING!, Belonging, and Honoring Your Anger With CYRO" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan

In 1982, in a speech to Harvard University, Audrey Lorde famously said, “. . .If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

Quotes are inspiring.

And, seeing them put into action is empowering. 

That is why this week’s guests, Alex and Ash Sullivan, are two of my favorite people. 

Despite the pressure of a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, 

They define themselves for themselves every single day. 

As they will share in the episode - that doesn’t mean it is easy. 

I mean - how does one go about living their bold self without being eaten alive? 

Let this interview be a roadmap that can guide you to your own internal answer to that question. 

Oh - and did I mention that this episode is being released on their birthday?  

*Cue the confetti*

For real though - Ash and Alex are the best. 

Alex Sullivan is the Co-Founder of Artists Call to Action.  They are also a dope poet, facilitator, activist, educator and freelance diversity consultant in academia. 

As a mixed agender human being, Alex’s work is often reflective of how the self is presented in the digital world and how current socio-political events can distort that presentation. 

Their creative and academic work is focused on the black queer experience and every aspect of it, frequently tying in themes of womanism, examination of power structures in the United States, and the experience of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora as the communities have spread out all over the world. 

Ashley Sullivan is a counselor-in-training and poet who is currently being considered for licensure, actively publishing, and putting energy into other creative endeavors such as starting their own business. 

Ash is balancing pursuing a career in poetry while also pursuing work in mental health and public health. Currently, they have been published in five or more running publications as well as fulfilling activism work centered around gender, creativity, and community. 

They are a current candidate for their Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University. 

On this week’s episode we go all in on: 

creativity, 

activism,

learning to trust yourself, 

finding your own voice,

the unique relationship Ash and Alex have with each other, 

getting comfortable with your own silence,

getting to know yourself better, and,

Well...you’re gonna need to push play to find that out! 

We could all invite a little more grace, community and courage into our lives. 

And Ash and Alex deliver all of that and more in abundance on this week’s episode. 

Let’s do this. 

Hit play.

And join us. 

Check out their past interviews here

And here

Check out Ash’s LinkedIn here

Check out Ash’s Instagram here

Find out more about the Artist’s Call to Action here

Check out ACTA on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to "Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Ethical Propaganda With Curt Maly

Picture this: 35 of the world’s leading digital marketers step into a room together. 

Each person in that room had successfully run a million dollar launch, and is a legend in the marketing, social media, and media buying arena.

A challenge is presented to this motley crew of marketers: Over the next 48 hours, each person is tasked with coming up with a new mind-blowing marketing strategy.

At the end of the 48 hours, everyone will vote on the best strategy. 

The time starts now. Go. 

This is a true story.  

Today’s guest, Curt Maly, was one of the 35 people in that room. 

And at the end of the weekend, he was the one who walked away with the championship belt. 

The marketing system he developed that weekend has since been honed, tested and perfected, and has become Curt’s legendary BELT Method. 

I hope I’ve set the stage for the epicness that is this interview. 

Yes, Curt dropped some serious high level gems on all things marketing, sales, social media, and getting your message across in a crowded digital space – but we also went deep on the importance of mindset, how to overcome adversity, and how to pick yourself up when your entire world crumbles. 

We didn’t just talk about vague ways to artificially fire yourself up. Nah. Curt got tactical and offered practical ways to elevate yourself to peak performance – and how to actually enjoy the process.

At the heart of our time together, though, was something specific: ethical propaganda.

For all of us out here trying to make a difference in the world, whether it's as an activist, coach, nonprofit, or thought leader: you’ve got to hear Curt go all in on the tenets and tactics of ethical propaganda. 

It will be a game changer for you, your organization, your business, and/or your movement. 

I’m serious. This will change your entire outlook, strategy, and therefore your results as well. 

Hit play on this one and then send me your favorite part. 

If you’d like to learn more about Curt and his Belt method program, head to thebelt.live/celebration. 

Listen to "Ethical Propaganda With Curt Maly" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Black Lives Matter Justice League With Dermot Givens

If you’re a long time listener you’ll know that I rarely share replay episodes but this was one episode I had to share as a replay. 

In 2017, I sat down with social justice activist and lawyer, Dermot Givens. We dug deep on current topics, his life journey, and shared a phenomenal dialogue about issues that are prevalent in society today.

Dermot has been an activist his whole life and is also a member of the Black Lives Matter Justice League. He is the first and only lawyer in CA to win a criminal case defending a Black Lives Matter activist.

Here are some of my favorite questions Dermot answered during his in-depth interview: 

1. Is it possible to have a fair trial? 

2. What is the Black Lives Matter Justice League?

3. What is a person's reaction, when they are serving a life sentence, and they first hear they have been given parole? (Dermot helps people with life sentences receive parole).

4.  What legal advice do you have for activists? 

5.  Do you have any legal advice for entrepreneurs who are getting started? 

6.  What is a plea bargain and what is its relationship to the prison industrial complex? 

Tune in to this very special interview below.

ALSO LISTEN ON ITUNES.

Black Lives Matter Justice League With Dermot Givens

If you’re a long time listener you’ll know that I rarely share replay episodes but this was one episode I had to share as a replay. 

In 2017, I sat down with social justice activist and lawyer, Dermot Givens. We dug deep on current topics, his life journey, and shared a phenomenal dialogue about issues that are prevalent in society today.

Dermot has been an activist his whole life and is also a member of the Black Lives Matter Justice League. He is the first and only lawyer in CA to win a criminal case defending a Black Lives Matter activist.

Here are some of my favorite questions Dermot answered during his in-depth interview: 

1. Is it possible to have a fair trial? 

2. What is the Black Lives Matter Justice League?

3. What is a person's reaction, when they are serving a life sentence, and they first hear they have been given parole? (Dermot helps people with life sentences receive parole).

4.  What legal advice do you have for activists? 

5.  Do you have any legal advice for entrepreneurs who are getting started? 

6.  What is a plea bargain and what is its relationship to the prison industrial complex? 

Tune in to this very special interview below.

Listen to "Black Lives Matter Justice League With Dermot Givens" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Working With Intention With Melissa Denizard

On this week's episode, I talk to Melissa Denizard, a native of Haiti, who is a 20-year-old activist, documentarian, and senior at Babson College.    She shares the challenges of being an activist and an organizer and we talk about vulnerability and feeling comfort in discomfort as well as the loneliness epidemic that is facing so many young people.

As an activist, Melissa uses her many talents, including public speaking, film, and the written word, to bring attention to the intersections of race, gender, and social class in the United States’ political framework. 

Melissa runs a blog that focuses on the intersection of race, gender, and social class in pop culture and politics. In 2018, her YouTube video, Unbraid with Me: Is Hair Political? was featured on Brut Media and Refinery29. Later that year, her blog post, "Don't Tell Me to Smile: A Commentary on Harassment in the Service Industry" was adapted into a TEDx talk for TEDxTarrytown.

As an alumna of the Young People For Fellowship, Melissa had the opportunity to expand upon her technological social venture Voice, which is an online platform for contemporary activists that aims to make digital organizing more accessible and efficient.. Partnered with Babson College, Melissa is also currently creating an initiative that will aim to help Flint, MI's entrepreneurs cultivate entrepreneurial skills to build wealth that will accumulate to help the city eventually emerge out of both the Flint Water Crisis and decades of poverty.

You won't want to miss her honest self-reflection on growth and self-care and her insights on the ways we can use pop culture to analyze race, gender and cultural clashes.

Listen to "Working With Intention with Melissa Denizard" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

South Africa, Service and Birthday Reflections with Shelby Birch

On this week’s episode I interview author, poet and activist Shelby Birch from her Peace Corp assignment in South Africa.

 Shelby shares some of the highlights and surprises of her service. She also reflects  on her activism, and how overcoming challenges, has helped shape her worldview and aided her in becoming her best self. 

 Shelby brazenly tells her story through her writing, and her strong belief in wisdom, artistic freedom, and expressionism shines through. Her most recent published book, ‘Lit’ is a powerful illustration of how she uses poetry as a mirror to examine issues on womanhood, blackness, awkwardness, and heartbreak.

You can follow Shelby Birch on Instagram @shelbybirch

Listen to "South Africa, Service and Birthday Reflections with Shelby Birch" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.