Born To Create

Looking for a creative boost in your writing? Join us for the Daily Writer Retreat on May 2-4 in historic St. Charles, Missouri! Space is limited so act fast! * * * Most of our podcast guests come from a background of writing or creative work. I'm excited today to feature a conversation with a renowned business leader who recently wrote his first book and is on a mission to help others experience purpose and growth. Mark A. Mears is a #1 bestselling author, keynote speaker, consultant, and visionary business leader. He has a significant track record of building shareholder value. He has driven innovation and profitable growth among world-class, high-profile brands such as PepsiCo/Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Frito-Lay, JCPenney, NBCUniversal, and The Cheesecake Factory. Today, Mark serves as Chief Growth Officer for LEAF Growth Ventures, LLC—a consulting firm helping individuals, teams, and organizations find purpose in fulfilling their true growth potential while making a positive, lasting difference in the world.

Here in Daily Writer world, we frequently talk about ways to build a business as a writer. The sooner you can get comfortable thinking of yourself as an author AND a business owner, the better. One of the best business decisions you can ever make is building multiple streams of income with your book. My guest today is here to teach us how to create one of the best income streams: creating courses. Dr. Lucas Marino is the founder and owner of Marino Consulting Services and his two training companies, Marino Training and EAST Partnership. He is also co-founder of the Empire Builders Masterclass, a training resource for creative entrepreneurs. Lucas helps entrepreneurs and authors launch and sustain online training products. He is a Certified Thinkific Expert and host of the Conversations with Course Creators podcast. A military engineer by experience, he spent 21 years as a naval engineer in the United States Coast Guard. He then founded Marino Consulting Services, and worked in several senior Logistics Engine

Today’s episode is very special because I have been a fan of my guest’s creative work since I was in college. And now I’m honored to talk to her for the first time in this interview! My guest is Marabeth Quin. She has been working in the arts in Nashville, TN for over 35 years. It was music that originally brought her to Nashville as a professional studio vocalist in 1987 and gave her a decades-long career. In 2007, she expanded her artistic endeavors into painting when she began selling her colorful works of art. Now with art collectors spanning the globe, she continues to explore a wide variety of subject matter, materials, and platforms, never really satiating her fascination with art’s instructive influence in shaping her spirit.  When Marabeth paints, it is an exercise of letting go—a sort of meditative process in which she notices the impulse to control, to dictate, to have an agenda. These cues gently redirect her thoughts and aims to that of simply loving and honoring the work and being a co-creator,