Playing With Networking (Weekly Recap 4/26/2025)

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On to the recap…

Sunday Music: Catbite Goes Pop!

Philly's modern ska outfit Catbite is evolving their sound with zero apologies, showing what happens when niche creators fully embrace ALL their influences, even the ones they might have been embarrassed about. Their new pop-infused direction isn't selling out, but it is a masterclass in artistic maturity. If you're creating in any subgenre or niche, there's a powerful lesson here about owning your aesthetic completely and drawing from your full range of inspirations, whether that's Ashlee Simpson or traditional ska pick-it-up, pick-it-up chord progressions.

Quote from the (Personal) Archive: "All great work starts with accepting who we are, all the way down into the cracks between our flaws, and creating from a place of expressive one-ness with our freaky weird selves. Catbite is figuring out how to do it."

From Consumer to Creator: Building a Personal Archive

We're all drowning in consumption mode. Our devices know it, our media channels know it, even our muscle memory knows it. But what if the path to creativity isn't abolishing consumption, but transforming it? We have to explore the critical space between tension and resolution that turns passive consuming into active creating. The journey from frustrated finance professional to someone with a daily Personal Archive practice shows how capturing "one complete thought" daily can break the endless consumption cycle and reconnect us with our innate creative impulses.

Quote from the (Personal) Archive: "Don't let the world steal creativity from you. Balance what you consume with something you create. No matter how small, and you'll start to connect that network in-between your ears with the network across the rest of your life, and the world."

Transform Your Personal Archive into a Networking Powerhouse

What started as private note-taking has evolved into a powerful professional tool. By documenting insights from others and sharing them publicly with proper attribution, I've built relationships with over 50 remarkable people in just 12 months. This practice of turning private learning into public appreciation creates a visible web of connections that others find impressive and valuable. The new "Grow Your Network" series/tag shows exactly how to implement this approach through direct connections, professional applications, personal growth insights, legacy-building ideas, and guided implementation steps.

Quote from the (Personal) Archive: "In a digital landscape rarely characterized by genuine appreciation, thoughtful attribution stands out. Dramatically. One sincere acknowledgment can open unexpected doors, and you'll never know until you try."

Beyond The First Summit: Finding Your Second Mountain

What happens when we've climbed the corporate ladder only to discover "all the trophies felt like atrophy"? The recent Just Press Record conversation with Greg Larkin and Mishka Shubaly explores that critical junction where success by external metrics collides with inner emptiness. While many successful people simply climb the same mountain again and again, Greg explains there's a "second mountain" waiting, one without external signposts, where the only job is to open the "miracle window" of authentic purpose. That window appears when connecting people and ideas, creating opportunities never imagined possible.

Quote from the (Personal) Archive: "The success of the second mountain, the reason we're on it, is because we survived the first mountain and we ain't never going back. If you put the time in, and you've gone up and down the first mountain at least once, you've got the option to get off and start up the second mountain."

Grow Your Network: Greg Larkin Is A Second Mountain Pioneer

Greg Larkin has built a remarkable career at the intersection of corporate finance and authentic self-expression, from predicting the 2008 financial crisis to creating Punks and Pinstripes, a community for executives seeking meaning beyond traditional achievement. Here are three powerful insights from our conversation: First, embrace your "business punk" identity to solve problems when conventional approaches fail. Second, focus on "opening the miracle window" rather than controlling outcomes. Third, recognize when it's time to climb your "second mountain" where you pursue meaningful work aligned with your authentic self, beyond hollow external accolades. Brilliant stuff. Greg’s awesome, you’ll love knowing him.

Quote from the (Personal) Archive: "At a certain point, like all the trophies felt like atrophy. I am diminishing my soul. The more I stay here and become who they want me to be, the more damage I incur... You're climbing the second mountain where you still have fire in the belly, but it's really important for you to do the best work of your life as the truest version of yourself."

Grow Your Network: Mishka Shubaly Is A Resilient Writer

From addiction to becoming a bestselling author, Mishka Shubaly has transformed personal struggles into powerful creative work while helping others tell their stories. Three essential insights from our conversation: First, our most difficult experiences can become our most valuable creative assets. Mishka turned sobriety into a series of successful Kindle mini-memoirs that resonated deeply with readers. Second, find authentic connection without artificial means. His goal is to "go through life as if I had two drinks in me without taking two drinks." Third, make happiness a practice rather than a goal by identifying what genuinely brings joy and intentionally incorporating those elements into daily life. I sing the body electric (relaxation) because people like Mishka showed me it’s possible. Now you know him too.

Quote from the (Personal) Archive: "For probably the last year or year and a half, I've been trying to make my project to enjoy where I am... I had it on my job list of like, 'be happier' and that's so self-defeating. And so what I did instead was my job list became, make a list of the things that make you happy and then just do those things."

Where Else I Showed Up This Week

Two features to flag for you -

Jessica Yarmey (previous Just Press Record guest and Sizzle Society founder) had me on her show to talk about, “Fueling Creativity & Pursuing and Multidisciplinary Passions.” We had a ball, and I defended my love and lack of fear for AI well I think.

Julia Duthie (future Just Press Record guest!) has me on her show People are Everything to talk about 5 of the people who made me who I am and… this might be one of the most important interviews I’ve ever given. I’ll be writing more about this experience, it’s really gotten to me, deeply.

Personal Archive Prompts (for you):

• How could you transform your consumption habits into creative output through a Personal Archive practice?

• What insights from others have you appreciated but not yet acknowledged publicly?

• Which mountain are you climbing in your career, and is it time to seek your second?

• Where in your organization could a "business punk" approach solve persistent problems?

• What painful experiences might you transform into creative fuel or connections?

• How might you practice authentic happiness rather than pursuing it as a goal?

As always, I did my part, now it's your turn to write some reflections in your own Personal Archive.

(then, be sure to let me know where you're keeping it, I'm in search of the others too)

PS: Don't forget to check out my conversations with Greg Larkin and Mishka Shubaly on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel!