Most books close a chapter. This one keeps reinventing itself.
What happens when the map runs out?
As the host of B-Side Tales, a new monthly podcast series, I sit down with quiet renegades who left conventional success behind to build a life more in keeping with who they actually are.
My original B-Siders were David and Yair, the nonconformist heroes of Little Giant. The subject turned out to be bigger than one book or one island.
In each B-Side episode, you’ll hear from makers, founders, artists, and curious pathfinders choosing to live in sync with their values and innate talents: why they made the leap, what they gave up, and what was waiting on the other side.
Where to start
Watch the Trailer: A freaky ER awakening
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my fascination with the B-Side started when I was rushed to hospital with a relatively rare case of transient global amnesia. That low point, when I temporarily lost my marbles, convinced me to do something that looked foolish on paper: I quit my fancy corporate job, gave up a steady paycheck, and started over, conventional wisdom be damned. What happened turned out far better than anything I could have planned.
Watch Episode 01
A Cartoonist’s Midlife Leap from Ink to Fire
“I felt I was the stupidest man on the planet.”
David Jacobson, a New Yorker cartoonist turned glassblower, opens up about how he wrestled the inner demons that held him back as an artist and small business owner.
Find out what came of his “stupid” decision to quit his prestigious New York career and start over in rural Maine. Dispelling the starving artist myth, David’s story reminds us creativity and financial security aren’t mutually exclusive. He made his leap to glassblowing at 51. Now 74, he is amazed at where he’s ended up and believes the best is yet to come.
Check out Episode 02
Tokyo Celebrity to Manhattan Therapist
“I had to unstitch myself from my family of origin.“
Right after college, Sally Schwager booked a one-way ticket to Japan, speaking not a single word of Japanese. Remarkably, she stayed twelve years, training in Noh theater and hosting a national radio show.
But the more fluent and famous she became, the more she felt like a “celebrity freak.” So she booked another one-way flight back to Manhattan, where she fell into a deep depression.
Watch the episode to find out how she dealt with that identity crisis.
In a world that rewards conformity, B-Side Tales explores the unruly richness a single life can hold.
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At a crossroads?
It helps to think small and simple.
