For years, I've been connecting with interesting people and documenting insights that might help my clients and myself. What was once private is now (mostly) public.

People often ask: "How do you know all these people?" and "How do you connect these (re: random) ideas?" The answer is simple: consistent relationship cultivation and thoughtful note taking. My north star is trusting my instincts, my maps are the constellations in these reflections.

This approach to multidisciplinary networking has helped dozens of clients, colleagues, and friends strengthen their networks and unlock new opportunities. Feel free to steal these ideas directly - that's what they're for! I can't promise you'll learn FROM me, but I guarantee you can learn something WITH me. Let's go. Count it off: 1-2-3-4!

Introducing... Bobby K!

Do you know Bobby K? Aka Bobby Keller (even if he’s always going to be Bobby K to me)? He's Scranton Wilkes-Barre's Red Devil’d Baron of independent film and horror culture, the founder and organizer of the NEPA Horror Film Festival - now in its 11th year.

If not, allow me to introduce you. Bobby has been bringing the outside world into Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2015, creating spaces where independent filmmakers, musicians, artists, and horror fans can gather and experience something most people in our area would never see otherwise. I wanted to connect with him because he embodies something I value deeply: the commitment to showing local communities that creative work happens everywhere, not just in Hollywood or major cities.

Our conversation is LIVE now on the Just Press Record YouTube channel (and this Cultish Creative Playlist). Listen and you'll hear how Bobby has built something special at the Circle Drive-In, why he measures success by community experience rather than revenue, and what keeps him coming back year after year despite the challenges.

HEY! The 11th Annual NEPA Horror Film Festival is THIS SATURDAY, October 11th at Circle Drive-In, starting at 5 PM. Kids 12 and under free. This is your chance to see independent films from around the world on a massive drive-in screen - including four local filmmakers. You coming?

THREE: That's The Magic Number of Lessons

In the meantime, I wanted to pull THREE KEY LESSONS from my time with Bobby K to share with you (and drop into my Personal Archive).

Read on and you'll find a quote with a lesson and a reflection you can Take to work with you, Bring home with you, and Leave behind with your legacy.

WORK: Success Isn't Always Measured In Numbers

Key Concept: Bobby shifted his definition of success from financial metrics and attendance numbers to the actual experience people have at his events. After a year that was financially challenging but experientially successful, he realized he was focusing on the wrong measures.

When you're building something meaningful, especially in creative or community-focused work, the traditional business metrics can obscure what actually matters. Sometimes the most valuable work you do won't show up on a spreadsheet, but it will show up in text messages, social media posts, and people telling you how much fun they had. The question isn't always "Did this make money?" but "Did this create value that matters?"

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: When I was a kid I knew money wasn't the only measuring stick. Then survival mode hit - bills, grown-up problems - and money became the ruler. It took me years to escape that tunnel vision, which is why Bobby's story hit so hard.

Sometimes, money is the wrong measuring stick to use. When Bobby relayed the financial stress last year’s fest put him through, I felt this mismatch. Partly because I know missteps like this - where the money you sunk in dwarfs your return. If money is your only measuring stick, the judgements fall neatly into black, white, and red ink - and that clarity might easily turn out to be a false clarity.

Because once he realized the value of the fest was bigger than financial, he reconnected with his purpose for putting the event together in the first place.

Work question for you: What project or initiative are you currently measuring only by traditional metrics when you should be evaluating its real-world impact on people's experiences?

LIFE: Bringing The Outside World In Is How We Grow

Key Concept: Growing up in a valley - literally and metaphorically - means you need someone to bring new ideas, new art, and new possibilities to you before you realize you can go create those things yourself. Bobby's festival does exactly this by showing independent films from around the world, introducing local audiences to work from Dubai, Australia, Japan, and Iceland.

This exposure is transformative because it breaks down the invisible walls that make people think creative work only happens "somewhere else." When you see that someone made something incredible without Hollywood's backing, you start to believe you could do it too. This principle applies beyond film festivals - it's about creating opportunities for people to see what's possible.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: As much as I learned from friends, mentors, and teachers growing up, I learned the most from us experiencing weird stuff from outside of our area. That’s what ultimately inspired me. That’s what ultimately gave me a sense of what I wanted to chase as I grew up.

So, until Bobby was telling the story of the filmmaker from Dubai coming all the way to Scranton, PA - I hadn’t precisely placed why this event mattered so much.

As adults in our area, we owe this to each other. We have a responsibility to bring the outside world in. There's only so much we can learn from each other in isolation.

All the bands and movies and other weird stuff that traveled through our town when I was younger got me to where I am today. They pushed me out into the world. Bobby is literally putting local all-ages events on to keep this theme alive. I’m figuring out how to connect people like Bobby to my audience on YouTube now too and - I’ve been playing a part, but he just turned my awareness up to 11.

Life Question For You: Who brought the "outside world" into your life when you were younger, and how can you do that for someone in your community now?

LEGACY: Go Back To Your Roots When Things Get Complex

Key Concept: After years of growing the festival - adding celebrities, extending to full weekends, increasing complexity - Bobby recognized that bigger isn't always better. When the event became overwhelming and financially challenging, he returned to the core mission: showing independent films and creating a gathering place for the indie scene. This wasn't about giving up or scaling back in defeat; it was about remembering why he started in the first place.

The original vision was pure and powerful: give people in Northeastern Pennsylvania access to the same experiences available in bigger cities. Sometimes the most impactful work you can leave behind is the work that stays true to its original purpose, even when there's pressure to expand or complicate it.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: If Bobby learned anything from going to punk rock shows in this area as kids, it was that bigger did not equal better. 20 kids in a room with a killer band could mean everything. There are shows like that we still talk about to this day.

So when he got tempted - as we all do - to take his successful festival and tag on more and more, at some point he was always going to have to reflectively ask, “Is this helping?”

It hurts to realize your ambitions are part of the problem. But once you accept it, you get the gift of refocusing your efforts. Bobby knows most people from our valley won't travel to see these festivals, even if they want to.

And they won’t get there for good reasons. Money is tight. Life is busy. But just because they can’t get to a major festival doesn’t mean we can’t bring a festival to their backyar… local drive-in. All it takes is somebody like Bobby willing to do it.

Willing to commit to it, raise the money, risk his own money. Willing to learn some painful lessons along the way, but also learn the kind of good lessons that keep him showing up with a new fest, every year, for over a decade.

These are the gateway experiences that move our entire region forward. Somebody has to step up to put them on. Cheers, Bobby (I raise this glass to you, with a Murphy’s Law song playing in the background).

Legacy question for you: What project or mission have you complicated over time that needs to return to its roots to be truly sustainable and impactful?

BEFORE YOU GO: Be sure to…

• Connect with Bobby K and learn more about the NEPA Horror Film Festival at nepahorror.com

• Check out the 11th Annual NEPA Horror Film Festival on Saturday, October 11th at Circle Drive-In starting at 5 PM

• Support independent film festivals, drive-in theaters, and community events in your area

• Take a moment to reflect on how you measure success in your own creative or community work

You have a Personal Network and a Personal Archive just waiting for you to build them up stronger. Look at your work, look at your life, and look at your legacy - and then, start small in each category. Today it's one person and one reflection. Tomorrow? Who knows what connections you'll create.

Don't forget to click reply/click here and tell me who you're adding to your network and why! Plus, if you already have your own Personal Archive too, let me know, I'm creating a database.

Want more? Find my Personal Archive on CultishCreative.com, watch me build a better Personal Network on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel, and listen to Just Press Record on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and follow me on social media (LinkedIn and X) - now distributed by Epsilon Theory.

You can also check out my work as Managing Director at Sunpointe, as a host on top investment YouTube channel Excess Returns, and as Senior Editor at Perscient.