Distracted Driving Podcast

Brett Hoffstadt is building a vision for life on the moon. He’s sharing that vision with kids around the world via his book, Goodnight Moon Base. As an added bonus, this episode starts with a review of Goodnight Moon Base by Sean’s daughter, Alyssa. Spoiler: she does not want to live on a Moon base. She’s become accustomed to gravity. Check out Goodnight Moon Base, available anywhere books are sold or http://www.goodnightmoonbase.com.

We live in an age of abundance. It is an age where you can chart your own path and you don’t need someone’s permission to do it. Brett Hoffstadt reflects on these lessons and more; lessons learned thus far as an engineer, entrepreneur, musician, and author. Inspired by Seth Godin and a successful corporate career interrupted by layoffs, Brett overcame his fear of creativity and embodies the idea that consumers are now producers.

Sean completes his conversation with industrial engineering classmates Amanda, Rick, and Eric. The quartet of friends discuss what to look for in a work environment, the importance of work-life balance, and how long to continue the conversation. Speaking of quartets, Eric was in one, and he shares the similarities of singing in a barbershop quartet and working as an engineer.

Part two of the first happy hour edition of the show features four fun, cool cats continuing a discussion of their respective career paths as engineers. If you have ever taken a breath of clean air inside a hospital, walked past an AED in an office building, or driven a car with a blind spot monitor, then their work has impacted your life. Like their careers, the episode starts off slow, but builds character and becomes more entertaining as it matures. If you are an engineer or are perhaps studying to become one, this episode is a great reminder that what you do is important, even if the impact of your contributions isn’t always visible or immediately recognized.

If you are a recent engineering graduate, this is the episode for you. While Rex is on vacation, Sean is joined by three friends–all Cal Poly industrial engineering alumni. On the heels of a recent alumni meetup, and against a backdrop of some college stories and a few cocktails, the group discusses career paths, networking, and the importance of building relationships. It’s the first happy hour edition of the Distracted Driving Podcast.

What did you do during the summer when you were eight years old? Jackson Brooks created his own 3D Printing Universe on YouTube. He has more subscribers than we do. In the third and final installment of our conversation with Brian Brooks, he shares the benefits of a 4/10 work schedule (every Friday off) and how he managed to pry his son away from Roblox. Rex is so gobsmacked by the conversation he forgets how to end the show.

We’d like to welcome you to episode 8–and in fact, we’re going to. Brian Brooks is back to discuss culture, making people feel good, and happiness. He also suggests a few words you should consider eliminating from your vocabulary. Spoiler alert: one of them may be in the title of this show. It’s too late for us, we already bought the domain name. But you should tune in to find out how culture is related to getting the job done.

Are you familiar with the latin phrase Nos Tatus Quo? You will be after listening to this episode. You’ll also be familiar with Brian Brooks, a guy who likes to learn things and get feedback. But what happens if you get feedback you don’t agree with? What happens if it hurts? There’s a barrage of advice in episode 7 and a brand new hashtag movement.

In this episode, envisioneer Michael Erickson explains how to use the artistic skills everybody has (see episode 5) to hold the space in a conversation until coherence is reached. Only then can communication truly occur and you can, in his words, “go forth and be powerful.” It’s more wisdom from “the guy what draws.”

A high school dropout with one year of college created a niche for himself in one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. His name is Michael Erickson and he is a self-proclaimed “envisioneer.” In this episode, he’ll explain why that’s not the same thing as being a Disney “Imagineer.” He’ll also tell some stories about the B-52, Leonardo DaVinci, and the power of a clipboard and a pen. Over three decades ago, he was the temp in the corner of the room sketching out pictures of what he heard people talking about. Today he leads a team of “envisioneers,” helping technical people to see what they say so they can understand what they do. Find out why, if you can draw the alphabet, you are an artist.