We recently connected with Tyler Chrestman and have shared our conversation below.

Tyler, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

An unfortunate aspect of working in the online space, is that you are always going to be subject to the worst interpretation anytime you open your mouth. You quickly learn how to spot the difference between people that are there to engage in meaningful dialog and people who are just there to be mad. I love to engage with people, especially people who disagree with me, but unfortunately in today’s society most people just attribute malice to the other side and write them off completely.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began The Chrestman Conversation in 2015. Originally it was just a blog where I would post any of my writings on politics or philosophy, but that changed as the world of political podcasts exploded. The transition to do a podcast was a natural one. When the show started, I knew nothing about the logistics of recording, editing, and uploading, but in the past five years I have learned plenty. The Chrestman Conversation has changed a lot since its inception, from the set, to the quality, to the format. In some ways, the show is completely different than it was at the beginning, but I believe the heart is still the same. There are still more things in the future I want to implement. I would like to get more guests and really jump into the interview space. That was always the goal, and maybe 2025 will be the year.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think a lesson that most people need to unlearn is this idea that you need the approval of people on the internet to be happy. We have evolved this social idea that we have to look to other people for validation, but that just is not true. If you cannot stand and look in the mirror and be proud of the person that you are, then no amount of external praise is going to make you feel whole. You have to be yourself, which means being honest about what you believe, and standing up for your principals. Do not fall into the trap of trying to be a person you think people want you to be. Just be whoever you are and people will gravitate to you.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Whatever you are doing in life, the goal should never be to be famous. Fame used to be something that happened to people with talent or skill. You were an artist, musician, or athlete and because of your accomplishments fame came with it. Young people today, because of social media, they do not look to develop themselves into anything of substance. They do not strive to be skillful, they just want to be influencers. My goal was never to be famous, that has very little appeal to me, but if you want to get a message out you have to amass a following. The goal was always an attempt to bring hard conversations to a wider arrange of topics than you traditionally see from the corporate media. Long form conversation is the only real way to learn and grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tylerchrestman.org
• Instagram: tylerchrestman
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChrestmanConversation
• Twitter: tylerchrestman
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheChrestmanConversation