I met today’s American a few years back in connection with an animation project for AmEx.  Nils put together a great piece and we’ve since gone on to work together numerous times, in fact, he designed the King Media Group logo.  

Growing up on a farm Nils learned early the value of hard work.  He went on to a successful design career and as a letterforms instructor at Art Center.

Here, the conversation goes from thinning sugar beets and jumping in the river, to the value of a work ethic and aesthetic design.  That's Nils, a man of many (type) faces.

 Quote to watch for when asked why he didn't flee the farm:  “You grew up knowing you were an essential part of the livelihood.  It had to be done."

Today we’re going to hear a story from what I call the waterway interviews.  A few years ago I went on a documentary expedition in a small boat, from Norfolk to Boston up the Intercoastal waterway.  The goal was to search for the American Spirit.

Meet Trina Sobotka.  Being a little behind schedule we docked unannounced in a little marina at Cole’s Point, Virginia.   A little town tucked into a sheltered bay off the Potomac River.  (It's rumored that Blackbeard's famous treasure may be somewhere in the area.)

 We were put up for free by Trina in a large many-roomed cabin on the water, and hosted that night at the local bar and grill, where there was music, good food, and the weekly dart match.

Here, Trina talks a little about Cole’s Point and the people that live and visit there.

Today’s guest reached out to me, (which by the way, I’d love to see more of you do)!  
As a nation we’re obsessed with New Year’s resolutions.  Are we not?  We go crazy with them even knowing that we’ll fail.  It’s almost as if the tradition is to make resolutions, then not do them.  

John Hopper has a different approach.  He calls it "Living in the How."  He has a planner where there’s no time limit, there’s no calendar, just three columns:  "what I want," " why I want it," and "how am I going to get it?"

It’s a simple format that changed his life.  Can it change yours?  Listen in and see.