by Darren Cooper | Jul 28, 2026 | Podcast
The Day a Professor Told Me My Work Was Not Art I grew up as the artist kid in a black and white house. My dad was a cop, so his world ran on right and wrong. My mom was a math teacher, and even though she felt things deeply, she still lived where numbers equaled...
by Darren Cooper | Jul 21, 2026 | Podcast
Creative Collaboration Is the Missing Commodity I told my in-laws I was going to leave my job. That is what came out of my mouth. What I was actually saying, in my spirit and my body, was something closer to a confession. I am not going to be able to provide for your...
by Darren Cooper | Jul 14, 2026 | Podcast
The Fear That Keeps Your Best Work Hidden There is a moment most experts never say out loud. It is the moment you decide to charge for the work that sits closest to your heart. Not the skill you are simply good at. The one you would do for free, and probably have done...
by Darren Cooper | Jul 7, 2026 | Podcast
The Confession I Wanted Someone to Argue With I made a confession out loud while I was sitting across from Christine Hakkola, and she refused to let me keep it as a joke. I told her I am the number one culprit of believing that one more thing will finally make me...
by Darren Cooper | Jun 30, 2026 | Podcast
The Week I Almost Did Not Show Up The week I sat down with Dustin, I almost did not want to talk to anyone. It was one of those heavy weeks where the honest thing to admit is that part of you wants to lie down in the ditch, pull the dirt over the top, and call it. If...
by Darren Cooper | Jun 23, 2026 | Podcast
The Asset Most Experts Forget They Already Have I watched my business partner lose twenty years of work on a single Friday. For about a week, Dustin let himself grieve, the way a person should. Then a Monday came, the way Mondays do, and the math came with it. A wife....
