Uncorking A Story

Today we are going to switch gears a bit as I'd like to share with you the first chapter of my latest book The Ruin of Souls. Now look, I'm not a professional voiceover artist nor am I an audio engineer, so keep both in mind as you listen in. If you like what you hear and want to listen to more, let me know by emailing michael.carlon@uncorkingastory.com. if there's enough interest, I'll release the second and third chapters. As always, thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second part of my interview with my twin brother, Jim Carlon. In it, we discuss his decision to join the Jag Corps at almost 40 years of age and why that marked such a turning point in his life. Buckle in and grab the Kleenex.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have easily interviewed a few thousand people in my career as a moderator and interviewer. I can honestly say that Interviewing my twin brother about his book, Conversation with a Desperate Man, was one of the toughest interviews I’ve ever had to conduct. It isn’t easy hearing someone you love describe the pain they’ve faced in their lives and the darkness that enveloped them. But his story isn’t a tragedy; far from it. It’s actually a love story and you will hear how Jim was able to overcome the challenges he faced. I had to cut it into two parts because, frankly, it’s a lot to take in at once. Also, Jimmy can be a bit long winded, but I didn’t want to cut anything. Look for the second part to be released this Friday. If you know someone who would appreciate listening to this interview, please share it with them. Jim’s book is available for sale now in paperback or ebook formats wherever books are sold online. Why not show a little love to your local independent bookshop and ask if they can order it for

All the news about the surge in GameStop’s share price got me to thinking just how much money is made when institutional investors bet on companies to lose. To me there’s an amorality there and I just don’t like it. I’d rather bet on someone to win. And that got me to thinking about the importance of betting on yourself. Over the years, I’ve interviewed many people who bet on themselves and won big. Two who come to mind are Andy Greenfield and Dave Mezzepelle and I’ve got snippets from those interviews on today’s episode of Uncorking a Story. A few key takeaways you’ll have after listening include: If you have a dream or desire to create something or do something different, bet on you. You have to be the first investor. Your confidence in placing that bet will gain the confidence of others. Remember that ideas are cheap but action takes talent. It’s okay to dream, but the rubber has to hit the road at some point, so eventually you are going to have to stop planning and start doing. Know that your eventu

I had a conversation with an old friend and prospective client last week about a challenge her business is facing—attracting men to use their service. They have a new spokesperson they’ve tapped to help with that effort, but they have no idea what he should be saying to raise interest from guys. So, in the spirit of partnership and wanting to land some new business, I held some Curiosity Conversations with men who wanted to lose weight about their approach to doing so. I call them Curiosity Conversations because I didn’t approach these interviews with a formal discussion guide. Rather, I just followed my nose—my curiosity—to learn all I could from guys who wanted to lose weight. What I found were a number of contradictions: In general, men will first approach weight loss through exercise. They don’t want to talk about diet even though they know it’s a primary component of weight loss. In short, men want to lose weight on their own terms, even if their own terms don’t work effectively. Guys don’t fully und

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow and moved to the United States at eighteen. She is the author of three previous novels, Forty Rooms, The Line and The Dream Life of Sukhanov. Her debut, The Dream Life of Sukhanov, won the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, earned her a place on Granta's once-a-decade Best Young American Novelists list, and was one of The New York Times' Notable Books of the Year. Both it and The Line were among The Washington Post's Ten Best Books of the Year, and Forty Rooms was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of the Year. Grushin writes in English, and her work has been translated into sixteen languages. She lives outside Washington, DC, with her two children. Listen in as we talk about her upbringing in Moscow and Prague and how she knew she wanted to be a writer at the tender age of four. To that end, every year on her mother’s birthday she’d present her with a typed, illustrated, and bound original book—hearing this made me feel bad about always giving my mother an as

When I was a kid, we used to take these road trips from Connecticut to Florida to visit my grandparents. I know that may sound like a huge waste of time when you can just fly there in a little over two hours, but the fact is we remember more about the adventures we had on those car trips than we do about the actual vacations themselves. We truly enjoyed the journey. At some point in time, and I can’t pinpoint when exactly, I started to disregard the journey. My life became a game of what’s next, instead of focusing on what is. When I look back on my kids, I realize that I just couldn’t wait for them to get to the next stage of development from crawling, to walking, to talking, and the next thing I knew I blinked and was dropping them off at college. At some point, I stopped enjoying the journey. I found myself getting distracted by work. I was buried answering emails on my phone when I should have been enjoying whatever movie was on. In short, I didn’t live in the moment. Here’s the thing, as efficient as I

I heard Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt yesterday and it got me thinking about how important it is to reinvent oneself periodically.  We live on a planet that does not stay still. It spins on its axis causing day and night. It circles around a star, moving through time and space, and as it does, seasons change. And that’s not all; fashions change, art changes, culture changes, all because we change.  Whether in business, or in personal relationships, at some point we will find that we have to reinvent ourselves in order to stay relevant with the changing times. All of these thoughts came to me on my morning run and I felt compelled to share them in this episode on reinvention. If you don’t have the time to listen, here are some Cliff’s notes: Reinvention is in our nature. Our world is built around it and reinvention is necessary to stay relevant in our careers and strong in our relationships. You can’t reinvent yourself if you adopt a victim’s mentality. It is a self-limiting belief that wil

I was introduced to the work of Viktor Frankl as an undergraduate student studying psychology. His book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is divided into two parts; the first is a memoir of his experiences living in a concentration camp during World War II and the second details his theory of Logotherapy, which involves identifying a purpose in life to feel positive about and then immersively imagining that outcome. He’s also adamant that, in order to lead a fulfilling life, we must find meaning in three areas: work, love, and in finding courage in the face of danger. In this episode, I uncork stories from three people who have done just that. Fr. Dave Dwyer left a promising career in the entertainment industry behind to become a priest. Author, psychologist, and speaker Gay Hendricks reflects on how he met the love of his life. Emmy award winning filmmaker Jess Stainbrook recounts the time when he exhibited courage in the face of danger after being detained by the KGB. Throughout the episode, I recount my o

While running this morning, I heard the actor Mandy Patinkin being interviewed by Marc Maron on his WTF Podcast. In the conversation, he divulges that one of the ways he prays is by saying, “Help me help you in any way I can, in any way imaginable.” This reminded me of a conversation I had with author Kevin Knight almost two years ago who talked about how running is a spiritual form of exercise for him and how running barefoot makes him feel more connected to the world as well as other people.  Oftentimes, when he runs, Kevin is stopped by neighbors and people passing by because, let’s face it, it’s pretty unique to see someone running on the road barefoot. While this would annoy me to no end, he looks at it as an opportunity to change a moment for that other person in a positive way and I think that is a great sentiment to start the first episode of 2021 on. Let’s all look for ways to positively impact other people this year. An investment in kindness costs nothing and it will pay dividends almost immedia

I can’t think of a year wrought with more challenges than 2020. I certainly wouldn’t blame anyone for being resentful over the missed milestones including graduations, proms, or for having to delay major life events including weddings or even big trips that were planned. Here’s the thing, though, resentment is poisonous. Listen in as I reflect on my own struggles with resentment and how I’ve addressed them. If you also struggle with that emotion, here are four tips for overcoming it: Challenge yourself to focus on the positive things in your life and not the negatives. Don’t go around looking for things to be upset by. Playing the victim is tiring not only for you but for others around you as well. Try to see the world for its beauty, not its scars. Focus on your own self-esteem. I believe there is an inverse relationship between resentment and self-esteem. When my own self-esteem was low, my resentment towards others was high. Some ways to address your own self esteem include finding things you are good

Last night I got a text from my cousin Danny who told me that he was watching It’s a Wonderful Life and that sparked a memory of a piece that I had published in my local paper, The Stamford Advocate, eight years ago which was entitled The Gift of Encouragement.  Listen in as I reflect on how important encouragement is and how we all can do a better job encouraging others. If you do listen in, you will take away the following three points: Look around and see who’s in your corner. If you surround yourself with people who encourage you, you will find the motivation to pursue your interests and, who knows, maybe do great things. Conversely, if you have people in your life who make everything about them, it’s time to make some decisions about the role they will continue to play in your life.  Providing encouragement is a gift that keeps on giving. It doesn’t cost you anything and it can make a tremendous impact on someone's life. I am sure that if you look around, there are people in your life who could use

Last week I spoke with a Bostonian named Mary who took a trip to Jamaica during Covid where she was dubbed The White Oprah. Mary lives with Multiple Sclerosis and my conversation with her reminded me about a few things. Life is about weighing risk and reward. Mary has MS and is considered a higher risk for Covid, but she also decided that the benefits of taking this trip outweighed the risks in her mind. While I wouldn’t necessarily make that decision, it is important to live life on your own terms (and not judge others for doing so). It’s okay to rely on others for help. Due to issues with mobility, and the fact that she was traveling alone, Mary had to have assistance while making her way through the airport as well as navigating the resort at her destination. There’s no shame in being reliant on others. Find your cheerleaders. Whether a limitation is thrust up on you or created in your own mind, it is important to have cheerleaders who can help you overcome it.  This last lesson about limitations rem

Recently, I caught up with my former boss and mentor Shelley Zalis who is probably the most positive person I’ve ever met in my life. In our conversation, she reminded me how important it is to go after what you want, to always get the deal (however the getting the deal is defined), and why complacency is kryptonite for success. My conversation with her reminded me of some self-limiting beliefs I once held and that inspired me to revisit an interview I did with Dr. Colleen Georges, a positive psychology coach and author. Her book, RESCRIPT the Story You're Telling Yourself: The Eight Practices to Quiet Your Inner Antagonist, Amplify Your Inner Advocate, & Author a Limitless Life, was written to help people fight the most dangerous foe they will ever face in their lives—the organ between their ears. You will come away from this episode with the following three takeaways: Even in the age of COVID-19 the deals and yeses are out there, though we may have to define what they are a little differently and work a

This week, while doing some interviews for a travel client, I met a young man named Matthew reminded me that there is joy in service.  My conversation with him got me to thinking about how my mother, the church lady of Stamford, CT, would “volunteer” me and my brother Jimmy for various things and how rumors of our “willingness” reached the ears of a certain French teacher at Stamford/Trinity Catholic High School who capitalized on it for what can best be described as indentured servitude. Looking back, though, I realize that there’s great joy in service and that insight inspired today’s episode.  Happy listening and remember, books make great gifts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week I reconnected with an old college friend, Kevin Savage, who recently wrote a post on his blog that got me to thinking about the things that are really important in life. It also reminded me of some conversations I had with three strangers who reminded me how important it is to see the silver linings in any challenging situation. Hitting curveballs was something I wasn’t very good at and the conversation I had with these guys was a reminder that life won’t always throw you perfect pitches, but with the right attitude you can swing away and hit the ball. I appreciate your listening to another episode in the new format and challenge you to do the following three things this week: Reach out to an old friend and reconnect. It’s actually something I’ve been trying to do regularly since the pandemic began and it’s been great catching up with people. Don’t just rely on social media to keep your relationships alive—I know it’s tempting and it’s a great place to start a conversation, but nothing beats a l

When I was a kid, sometimes TV shows would have the very special episode, which would deal with a difficult or controversial subject. Do you remember these? Topics dealt with things such as AIDS, teen pregnancy, or drug use. Memorable ones include The Bicycle Man on Different Strokes (The Maytag man was a naughty boy) and A, My Name is Alex, on Family Ties when Alex has to confront his emotions after the death of a friend. Well, today we have a very special episode of Uncorking a Story. Normally on this show I interview authors about their lives and give them an opportunity to discuss their latest book with you, but I'm changing course with this one. Last week, for my day job, I interviewed a woman whose story stayed with me as I found it both heartbreaking and inspiring. I walked away from that conversation with a reminder that life can be what we make it. Even when the cards are seemingly stacked against us, we can choose how to frame our situations and what to focus on. Sometimes, it just takes a leap of

Nick Braccia is a Cannes Lions- and Clio-winning writer, director, and producer. In 2018, he co-created and co-executive produced the horror podcast Video Palace for AMC Network's streaming service Shudder. While working at the marketing agency Campfire, he helped to develop immersive, narrative experiences for TV shows like Outcast, Sense8, Watchmen, The Man in the High Castle, Westworld, and The Purge. His new book, Off the Back of a Truck: Unofficial contraband for the Soprano’s Fan, is available for sale now wherever books are sold. In this interview Nick talks about his background and some important people who have had key influences on his career including a third-grade teacher, an ex-uncle, and a professor at the college of the Holy Cross where he earned his undergraduate degree. We also discuss how important real support, encouragement, and acknowledgement are for writers. Additionally, Nick has an interesting take on how the interaction between putting in the work, being in the right place at the ri

Otto Penzler is regarded as the world's foremost authority on crime, mystery and suspense fiction. He founded The Mysterious Press in 1975, which he later sold to Warner Books (1989). He reacquired the imprint in 2010 and it now publishes original books as an imprint at Grove/Atlantic, and both original works and classic crime fiction through MysteriousPress.com (www.mysteriouspress.com), in partnership with Open Road Integrated Media. Penzler is a prolific editor, and has won two Edgar Awards, for Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection in 1977 and The Lineup in 2010. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the prestigious Ellery Queen Award in 1994 and the Raven--the group's highest non-writing award--in 2003. Listen in as Mike and Otto chat about his life and career including his experiences as a young boy emigrating to the US from Germany during the middle of World War II, how he traded in his desire to become a physicist for either the dreams of being a great American novelist or the center fielder fo

There is no doubt that the combination of Covid and what is going on in cities throughout the country has created more than the usual amount of stress in most of us.  Add to that politics – not matter what side of the aisle you are on – and you have a recipe for overwhelming stress. With us today to discuss invisible disabilities – and a way to help you and yours deal with stress – is the Executive Director of the Invisible Disabilities® Association, Jess Stainbrook. Jess is known for building successful media teams and championing significant visual storytelling efforts through innovative programming and strategic business initiatives. In the broadcast television field, Jess has received 8 Emmy Awards and 29 nominations and his clients include MTV, ESPN, PBS, Discovery Channel, A&E and others.  He has produced and directed major sports programming at events such as the Olympics, World Cup Skiing, Formula 1 Grand Prix, NASCAR, and the NFL Super Bowl. In late 2019, Jess launched IDA’s new Video Podcast, The I