Seanwes Podcast

You're not alone in feeling overwhelmed. You want to work on your goals, you want to make progress, but everything just ends up feeling like "more", and you can't do MORE right now. You're at capacity and you've reached your limits. There's simply no more time for anything whatsoever. Every moment is accounted for, and it's not like you can just get rid of things: everything seems immovable. Responsibilities, tasks, and demands pile up. So many things rely upon you and you alone. You have to be there. You have to show up. There's no time for "more". It doesn't matter how nice it would be to pursue something new—you simply can't add anything to your plate. The frustrating thing is the same goals for your goals. Your goals and ambitions have to take a back seat, because you're simply surviving right now. You're just trying to get by from day to day. To say nothing of your energy! Rather, your lack of energy. There's simply not a single drop of energy left by the time you reach the end of your day. If you'

My name is Sean McCabe. I am the founder of seanwes, and I’m a recovered workaholic. For 10 years, I worked 16-hour days, 7 days a week. “But I love what I do!” As if loving my work meant it was any less of an addiction. It was an addiction. I buried myself in my work. In this podcast, I read my sabbatical.blog post ("Confessions of a Recovered Workaholic") and also share excerpts from an interview with Matthew Walker on the Joe Rogan podcast which changed my thinking on sleep forever. If you read the sabbatical.blog post already, I would still recommend listening to the podcast as it includes some extra material.

Download: MP3 (83.6 MB) Bad news: Ben was feeling sick the day before we were set to record and couldn't make it. Good news: You get a special treat as a result: Today's episode is a clip from our member-exclusive show, Fired Up Mondays. Lucky you! Even though Ben wasn't able to record the seanwes  Continue Reading »

Some months ago, I pre-ordered some new cameras (the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k). Today, as we record this episode, they finally arrived! While I'll primarily use these cameras for studio work (seanwes tv videos, filming of the podcast, etc.), they are technically cinema cameras. In the months leading up to their delivery, I spent many hours researching and learning about the new cameras, and really got engrossed in filmmaking. I've always been inspired by film and enjoy the idea of shooting, scripting, recording, and editing my own cinematic films. I also want to travel. I plan to travel a lot during my sabbatical year in 2020. It seems like this could be a good fit. But all of this is an idea right now. I don't actually know what it's like to make cinematic videos. I have friends that do, and I subscribe to plenty of YouTube channels with such videos, but I haven't actually done it. Meanwhile, I have many gigabytes of footage from a conference where we shot 5 awesome interviews. The footage is

No, we're not actually talking about being drunk... Today's episode is about that slump you get into during the holidays. You sort of check out for the year around Thanksgiving in November, only to try to shock things back to life with a New Year's Resolution in January. Is this good? Should you give into the hangover, and just relax until the new year, or should you start setting up next year for success now?

Has your work changed in any way the past few years? Consider your home office. At one point, you arranged your space for the type of work you're doing. Over time, the work you do changes. Priorities change, but your environment stays the same. This means your office space is no longer ideal for the work you do. You're not as productive as you could be. Join us today for a journey of reevaluating your office space. We'll talk about how to better organizer your environment (both physically and digitally) for maximum productivity.

You need dedicated time to think. The actual work you do is only part of the process. What work you do, how you do it, and when you do it, are all determined in your thinking time. You don't want to work hard on the wrong things. Clarity is everything. Thinking time helps you solve problems and clear your mind. Today, we talk about why you need thinking time, how to find time to think, how to get mental clarity, two kinds of thinking times, and more.

Before we record the podcast, we stream a live “Pre Show” to the seanwes members in the Community. It’s a casual and fun segment where we catch up with what’s going on in each other’s lives, share behind the scenes stuff, and have a good time. Coffee With Sean and Ben has the same casual vibe. It’s like a longer, public Pre Show where you can see the kinds of things you miss each week by not tuning in live. With our topical shows, there’s not much time to share what’s going on or what’s on our minds. The "coffee" format gives us time to share more of what we’re thinking about as well as respond to things like listener feedback (should you send any via seanwes.com/contact). This week, we cover: • Gratitude • Ben's new AirPods • My nearly starting an electrical fire in my office • Sabbatical and holiday recap • Updates on my months-long Learning Paths project • Updates on how seanwes is doing and my outlook • My excitement for the two Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4K Cameras I pre-ordered • Plans to ramp up cont

I like efficiency. I want all of the information I can get fast, fast, FAST! I pride myself on digesting loads of information quickly. For this reason, I'm a big fan of writing. Written words are easy to skim and take in quickly. If I want to find something specific, I just search for a key word. You can't scrub through (or gloss over) videos or podcast audio content as easily. So writing wins, right? Reading is best because it's faster, right? Well, not so fast (heh). Faster doesn't always mean better. Here's a thought: what if all the information and wisdom you ever needed in life you've already heard? What if you didn't need *more* information, but instead to reflect on, meditate on, and APPLY the information you've already consumed? It's likely you've already consumed more information than most people did in their entire lives just a few hundred years ago. I'm not saying we'd be better off in the dark ages. Information is a wonderful thing! But while we're often in constant pursuit of more, more,

I started taking off every seventh week in 2014 as a sabbatical. The only reason I followed through with it is because I told people I was going to do it. I was public about the fact that I was going to try out this sabbatical idea I had. Committing publicly is actually what got me to follow through with taking a sabbatical (I might not have otherwise). Sabbaticals are the topic of my next book. My next book is called Seventh Week Sabbatical. I was writing the book offline, but I thought, "You know what? If I get hit by a bus, I want at least part of these ideas to be out there." So I decided to write the book in public on a new website at sabbatical.blog (there's also a separate email newsletter there if you want to get notified of updates). My mission: By 2047, I want every company in the world to pay their employees to take off every seventh week as a sabbatical. In today's episode, I share a clip of an interview I did with Brent Weaver on his podcast, The Digital Agency Show, where we talked more ab

You have stuff around your house you're no longer using. You could turn it into money by selling it. "But it's such a hassle." I hear you. I've procrastinated on getting rid of things I haven't used in months or years because I don't want to go to the trouble of selling it. Maybe you've used eBay before. Maybe you used eBay back in the day. I've been selling on eBay for 17 years. A decade ago, it was a hassle, I'll be honest. What a lot of people don't know is just how easy it's become to sell things on eBay. It's practically as easy as posting on social media now. eBay autofills all of the details about the product you're selling. You can sell right from your phone. Just snap a few pictures, and tap to select the photos you want to include from your camera roll. In fact, eBay has gone so far out of their way to make it insanely easy to sell, a lot of the advanced options are nearly impossible to find (unless you know where to look). Their idea is to get the complicated stuff out of your way so it becom

So you want to read more books but you just can't find the time. How did I know, right?! Okay, so it's not an uncommon problem. You've probably bought some new books as a way to kickstart your new reading habit. Surely if you stack more books on your nightstand, you'll eventually read them. But somehow, you keep going to the phone. "What's new on social media?" You look for bit-sized content you can consume in seconds. You don't have time to read a book right now, but you can get a few scrolls of your feeds. Next thing you know, it's time to sleep. Another busy day ahead tomorrow. The books remain unread, and now you start to feel bad. Your books start to represent guilt itself. Where do you find time to read? How can you stick with a reading habit consistently? Can you ever overcome the guilt of buying books and not reading them? We'll answer all of these and more.

We're introducing a new show type we might continue doing periodically called, "Coffee With Sean and Ben". Before we record the podcast, we start streaming a live "Pre Show" to the seanwes members in the Community. It's a casual and fun segment where we catch up with what's going on in each other's lives, share behind the scenes stuff, and have a good time. Coffee With Sean and Ben will be in that same spirit. It's like a longer, public Pre Show where you can see the kinds of things you miss each week by not tuning in live. With our topical shows, there's not much time to share what's going on or what's on our minds. We're thinking this format will give us time to share more of what we're thinking about as well as respond to things like listener feedback (should you send any). In fact, we're hoping you do send in feedback. We'd love to hear what you think of this occasional show format and if you have any questions you'd like us to answer: https://seanwes.com/contact Since Ben will be out of town, we dec

We're introducing a new show type we might continue doing periodically called, "Coffee With Sean and Ben". Before we record the podcast, we start streaming a live "Pre Show" to the seanwes members in the Community. It's a casual and fun segment where we catch up with what's going on in each other's lives, share behind the scenes stuff, and have a good time. Coffee With Sean and Ben will be in that same spirit. It's like a longer, public Pre Show where you can see the kinds of things you miss each week by not tuning in live. With our topical shows, there's not much time to share what's going on or what's on our minds. We're thinking this format will give us time to share more of what we're thinking about as well as respond to things like listener feedback (should you send any). In fact, we're hoping you do send in feedback. We'd love to hear what you think of this occasional show format and if you have any questions you'd like us to answer: https://seanwes.com/contact Since Ben will be out of town, we dec

Having problems changing your habits? According to one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, James Clear, the problem isn't you, it's your system. Bad habits repeat themselves not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. My friend, James Clear, has a new book out called Atomic Habits (https://amzn.to/2C7ZTgK), and it is fantastic. I've been looking forward to this book for a long time, as it has been years in the making. I was given an early copy of the book, and in today's episode, I want to give you a sense of what's inside. We'll only have enough time to cover some of the concepts in the first 25% of the book, but I'm confident you'll get so many takeaways, you'll pre-order the book before the show ends so you can read the whole thing. Today's title is derived from the tagline of the book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. If you're not already subscribed to James Clear's newsletter (at https://jamesclear

Today's show is a companion to the prior "How To Start" episode. It's often said that starting is the hardest part. While that may be true, finishing is far from easy. Procrastination, distractions, lack of motivation, and many other things can keep us from completing tasks and projects. Unfinished side projects pile high and we feel a lack of satisfaction and accomplishment. How do you buckle down and finish something? What does it take? Should you finish everything? Is there such a thing as "starters" and "finishers", or is that just an excuse for underdeveloped skill? We cover all this and much more!

Last week, we had a show called, How To Start. Next week, we have a show for you called, How To Finish. But what about in between? How do you keep going when you've lost steam? The first half of a project tends to be the most exciting. Once you're in the middle of a project, things can start to feel like a drag. I want to talk about finding the motivation and drive to persevere in the middle of a project when you feel like you've lost steam.

Starting is the hardest part. You'd think doing the actual work would be hardest, but it's not as hard as starting. Why do we feel such resistance to starting? Why is it so difficult to begin? • We feel like we need to start the right way. • We feel like we don't have the right tools. • We feel like we're not ready to start yet. What if you start and the first results you see are less than perfect? What does that mean? What does it say about you? Once you start, there's also some expectation that you'll continue; that you'll see this thing through to completion. Maybe you're scared of that kind of commitment. In today's show, we explore what keeps you from starting and what's holding you back right now.

You're a creative professional. Why exercise? I put off exercise too, for most of my 20s. "I'll get active at some point, I'm not too worried." Exercising isn't just for athletes. Last year, around the holidays, I spoke to some family members who were in their 40s and 50s. I asked them what advice they'd give to their younger self? I'm about to turn 30, and I asked them what they'd do differently if they could go back. First, they said their 30s were a great decade. It's a good age. That made me happy to hear. I'm looking forward to my 30s. But they also they wished they were more active. They put off exercising for too long, and it only gets more difficult. It's never too late to start, and it's not impossible, but they all said they wished they started sooner and made a habit out of it! I realized I needed to make a change. It was time to start prioritizing my personal health. This was no longer something I could continue to put off. You can't sit at a desk all day and remain inactive without repercu

Today's show topic is intense. If you're looking for a light and fun show, you'll probably want to skip this one. I was depressed. It was bad. I'm talking about it for the first time. On last week's show, we talked about how difficult it is to open up about the real things that might be going on in your life. The *unpleasant* things. Where's the place to do that? Social media doesn't seem to be the answer. I talked about feeling like I need to wait until I can wrap the story up in a neat "Hero's Journey" bow. Because people are conditioned to expect the Hero's Journey format. "Okay, yeah, sure, things were bad, but then what happened, *next*?" "No... things were just bad, and then they got worse. And that's it. I don't have a happy ending to this story for you right now." "Oh." I didn't want that. But I didn't know how to share something that wasn't good and positive. The stages I went through were: • Push, push, push (push forward with work, push down the feelings). • Reach a breaking point where my