Chris Deals With It
On Chris Deals With It, I talk about the frameworks & methods I use to clear personal, creative, and professional roadblocks. My goal is to help others bridge the gaps between where they’re at now and what they want to achieve.
Episodes
6 days ago
EP 58 - Virality Is Temporary
6 days ago
6 days ago
In addition to the podcast, I put out a monthly e-mail newsletter. Back in March, I experimented with a personal reflection about virality, algorithms, and social media. The response was overwhelmingly positive, so on today’s episode I want to share it on the podcast.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Friday Apr 12, 2024
EP 57 - 3 Tips For Evading Travel Exhaustion
Friday Apr 12, 2024
Friday Apr 12, 2024
I recently completed a trip out to the west coast. The trip involved long flights, time changes, a lot of meetings, traffic jams, catching up with friends & family, before ending with a red-eye flight. On today’s episode, I talk about the decisions and mentality that went into my crazy schedule. And I provide 3 tips that helped maximize my trip while managing its physical and mental demands.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Wednesday Mar 13, 2024
EP 56 - On Birthday Systems and Our Loneliness Epidemic
Wednesday Mar 13, 2024
Wednesday Mar 13, 2024
On today’s episode, I explore my birthday & anniversary reminder system. Why I created it, the nuts & bolts of how it works, and the benefits it has for our relationships, soft ties, and society on a larger scale.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
EP 55 - We’re All Dizzy Being Busy
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
I’ve been struggling to wrap my head around busyness. It seems unavoidable in our current culture. Everyone overworked, stressed out, to the point where they’re virtue signaling about how much is on their plates.
This is a problem, and one that I can likely only solve for myself. Busyness fractures my focus, prevents me from achieving greater heights with my thoughts and actions.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
EP 54 - A Duality Mentality
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
I’ve been a regular guest on the Code Play Culture podcast. On a recent episode about navigating ideas, around the 39 minute mark, we touched on what it means to consider our current work the last time we would get to create.
On my last episode, #53, I unpacked the mentality of “This is the last…”. On today’s, I’m exploring its opposite: Looking at what creativity, and life more generally, look like with a mentality of “This is the first…”
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
EP 53 - A Finality Mentality
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
I’ve been a regular guest on the Code Play Culture podcast. On a recent episode about navigating ideas, around the 39 minute mark, we touched on what it means to consider our current work the last time we would get to create.
On today's show, I want to unpack the mentality we discussed: “This is the last…”.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Sunday Jan 14, 2024
EP 52 - Grandma’s Wishing Nobody’s Phishing
Sunday Jan 14, 2024
Sunday Jan 14, 2024
Today’s question:
My mother-in-law recently reacted to a shady text message that was a clear phishing attempt. We cancelled her credit card in time, but I worry this won’t be the last time, because she’s not great with tech. Do you have any advice on how I can help her better recognize and understand these threats, while also limiting her exposure to them?
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
EP 51 - 2023 Reading Review
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
It’s been another fantastic year of reading. On today’s episode, I’ll recap my 2023 reads, in case anything piques your interest. You can view the complete list, with links to each book in the show notes.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
EP 50 - Shamatuerism
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Recently, I read “Klondikers: Dawson City's Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey” by Tim Falconer. It’s a hockey history book about the 1905 Stanley Cup challengers from Dawson City, the small, gold rush outpost-turned-capital city of Canada’s Yukon Province. After traveling for nearly a month across Canada, the Nuggets got absolutely obliterated by the defending champions in Ottawa.
While it’s a great hockey book about the early days of organized hockey, it also provides perspective on that period of Canadian history. Through the turn of the 20th century, the British colony of Canada was transitioning out of the Victorian era. This was an era when many held tightly to Victorian ideals regarding amateurism in sport. Getting paid in any sense got you labelled as a professional; an affront to the prevailing ethics of sport itself. This debate continued for many decades after in Olympic sports, and still plays out today with college athletes here in North America.
And what constituted being labelled a professional back then? Simply getting paid to play. Sometimes it didn’t matter if you got paid in a different sport. Hockey, and especially the Stanley Cup, were quickly gaining coverage and prominence. The desire to claim the trophy by any means necessary, and more importantly enjoying greater profits from growing audiences, brought money into the equation. Shouldn’t the players, often battling through grueling, bloody matches, get a cut of the action too?
Klondikers was a wonderful, well-researched book. Within it, I heard some amazing phrases from that era, including Shamateurism. In the context of this history, it described arrangements for players where they weren’t outright and obvious about getting paid to play. Instead, they might receive benefits for joining a particular team on the sly. This might be expensive gold baubles, or cushy jobs with employers with a financial stake in the teams and/or rinks.
But this term shamateurism got me thinking:
What are the modern differences between amateurs and professionals?
How have these perceptions changed over the past century?
How has modern technology changed the definitions and attainment of professionalism?
On today’s episode, I share my thoughts stemming from this curiously fun phrase.
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
EP 49 - Quit My Job or Show More Grit?
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Today’s question:
I’m in my mid-twenties and a professional in the medical field. I love what I do and its importance to society. But it’s an incredibly demanding field. I’m currently dealing with a short-staffed organization, exhausting shifts, and a manager who emotionally drains me. During a recent vacation, they went so far as to call me just to make me feel guilty for taking time off.My qualifications are in high demand, and by all rights I should quit to take advantage of the current job market. Yet I feel guilty about the impact that would have on my co-workers and the clients I care for. What advice do you have on dealing with the anguish & anxiety that I’m feeling?
Nobody should feel anguish or animosity at work. At least not on a daily basis. But you are right to check yourself, especially when it can lead to a career & lifestyle altering decision. Is what you’re experiencing a case of organizational toxicity you should leave, or a sign you might lack the grit the job requires?
For more info and to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksbulletin
About The Host
Chris Kreuter is a science fiction author with five novels, one novella, and several short stories. He holds a degree in Ocean Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, then has spent over fifteen years in the public transit industry, with a focus on bus & rail vehicles.
You can learn more about him & his work at www.ChrisKreuter.com