We were lucky to catch up with David Shaft recently and have shared our conversation below.
David , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
A risk I took recently is going to the American Beauty Show in Chicago as press. I went in order to meet more business owners and learn about a industry I was unfamiliar with so that I could share that information with my podcast listeners.
What made this a risky endeavor is that I am unfamiliar with the industry. This means the only way for me to find high quality people to interview/work with would have to take place over that weekend. It was outside of my comfort zone as well since many of the people I interview are in finance, tech or AI.
The result was fantastic however! I found that business is business and met people who are extremely passionate about what they do. This also gave me more ideas on how to get more creative in the work that I do as well.
David , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a podcast host and am a part of the Mission Matters Podcast Network.
One of my biggest focuses of last year was how can I grow as a professional, human, mentor and mentee. I thought that as I go on this adventure I want to take as many people with me and what better way than a podcast.
I brought the idea to a really good friend of mine named Adam Torres who has made a lot of impacts with his own podcast. He thought the idea was great and decided to bring me into his podcast network.
Being a podcast host has forced me to become even more accountable as I need to make sure every episode is not only fantastic for myself but for any of my guests as well.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Something I have done recently for my podcast is instead of interviewing people virtually I am interviewing them in person. This is at times more challenging as not only do we need to find a time that works for us both but a location that works.
The pivot so far has had a great result as it seems to make the guests more comfortable as well as provide higher video quality content.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Focus on the problem. Growing up I was always shown focus on the problem and keep talking about it until we figure it out.
I think it is important to understand the problem as long as you don’t dwell on the problem. Once the problem is understood every thought needs to be devoted to finding a solution.
Unlearning to focus on the problem and learning to focus on solutions is really the game changer. No matter how big the problem is there is always a solution for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://missionmatters.com/author/david-shaft/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidshaftofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djshaft12/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-shaft/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fl.instagram.com%2F
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC
- Other: Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conversations-that-count/id1690415359 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3clS7DTG8loz9LpYwDjK02?si=17fe18c0e24d4be9