When was the last time you made something?

A drawing, a photo, a collage, a doodle in the margin of a notebook. Something you made with your hands because something in you wanted to.

Most of us have to think about it. And the longer we think, the further back the answer goes.

Somewhere along the way, we handed our creative lives back. Not all at once, and not on purpose. Just gradually, between the jobs and the responsibilities and the screens and the schedules, the things we used to make got quietly set aside. And we told ourselves we'd get back to them. And then we didn't. And eventually we stopped telling ourselves that too.

My guest today has a lot to say about that.

Maria Gatling is one of the most genuinely creative people I know. She gives herself creative assignments every single week. She runs a weekly creativity group. She builds her own notebooks. She teaches short workshops and helps people start creativity clubs in their own communities. And the way she talks about creativity, not as a talent you either have or don't, but as a practice you simply show up for, is something I think every single one of you needs to hear.

This conversation is a first for this podcast. Maria is the first guest I've ever had sitting right here in my studio. Same room, same table, no Zoom, and no screens between us. Just two people who love this topic, finally talking about it the way it was meant to be done. You can hear the difference.

Let's get into it.

More About the Guest

Maria Gatling's life experiences across publishing, advertising, art, and raising four children have shaped everything she creates and teaches. She's the author of two creativity workbooks, Coffee Break Creativity - Grande! and Project 52, and she facilitates small-group mini-workshops and short classes designed to help people reignite their creative lives. She also helps others start their own creativity clubs. Whether you consider yourself an artist or have never picked up a paintbrush in your life, Maria meets you exactly where you are.

Ripple with Maria:

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More About the Host

Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

Ripple with Steve Harper:

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Here's a question I want you to think about before you hit play.

When was the last time you felt like the work you were doing actually mattered? Not mattered as in the numbers went up or the boss was happy. Mattered in that way where you finished a day and felt genuinely full rather than just done.

Most of us have forgotten what that feels like. Or maybe we never had it to begin with.

This conversation goes deep on that. My guest Joe Fusco and I got into what actually makes a company great, why people don't fit in a spreadsheet no matter how hard we try to make them, and what it really means to lead in a way that brings out the best in the people around you. We talked about AI coming for the people business, why capitalism is at an inflection point, and an analogy involving Newtonian versus quantum physics that completely reframed the way I think about connection and networking.

And then we got into retirement, which in Joe's world looks nothing like what most people picture. It's less about slowing down and more about finally having the freedom to point everything you've built toward something that actually matters to you.

This one's a slow burn in the best possible way. Stay with it.

More About the Guest

For 28 years until his retirement in 2022, Joe Fusco was a senior executive with a publicly-traded mid-cap company, where he served as an advisor to the chairman and CEO.

Joe has spoken frequently to companies and organizations on leadership, organizational culture, business and cultural trends, and business strategy and sustainability. He's been engaged as a speaker by groups and companies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Credit Union National Association, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Telecommunications Association of the Southeast.

He is currently the co-host of "Retirement Unscripted," a regular series of conversations exploring the design of that next stage of life through a lens of freedom, creativity, wisdom, and identity.

Joe is on the board of Internality, a non-profit corporation dedicated to engaging an expanding coalition of business leaders, academics, and other key stakeholders in catalyzing a systemic rework of how business is conducted and how the economy works.

He is also an advisor and teacher in the University of Vermont's top-ranked Sustainable Innovation MBA program, and advises senior executives on leadership, culture, and strategy in an array of industries from hospitality to clean energy.

Joe lives in Chittenden, Vermont with his wife, Renae. They are the parents of five grown children.

Ripple with Joe Fusco
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Tune in to Retirement Unscripted

Catch Joe Fusco's Graduation Ripple sessions in The Pond community.

More About the Host

Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships.

He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

Ripple with Steve Harper:
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