Your World of Creativity

Today, we’re welcoming Bob Campana, a California-based serial entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience building businesses across hospitality, travel, real estate, and aviation.
ROBERT's Website
ROBERT on YouTube
From hot tub manufacturing to founding the beloved Redwood Café in Modesto, to leading Redwood Café Tours across Europe, Asia, and Oceania, Bob’s career is a living case study in adaptability, optimism, and grit.
He’s also the author of the book Don’t Look Down! The Improbable Adventures and Battle-Tested Lessons of a Serial Entrepreneur, where he shares candid lessons learned from a lifetime of figuring it out as he went. Bob has his own entrepreneurship podcast, continuing his mission to share what really happens behind the scenes of business building.
1. A Lifetime of Reinvention
Bob, you’ve built businesses in very different industries—from manufacturing to hospitality to aviation. Looking back over 40 years, what allowed you to keep reinventing yourself rather than getting stuck in one version of success?
2. Risk, Fear, and the Title “Don’t Look Down!”
Your book title says a lot. Don’t Look Down! suggests both courage and consequence. How have you learned to take risks without being reckless—and what’s one moment when looking down might have stopped you if you’d let it?
3. Building Places That Connect People
Redwood Café became more than a restaurant—it became a community hub, and now it’s evolved into Redwood Café Tours around the world. What do you think makes an experience or a business truly memorable to people? (Bob recommends two books. “Moments of Truth: How the SAS President and CEO Adapted to the New Customer-Driven Economy” by Jan Carlzon. “Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business” by Danny Meyer.)
4. Lessons Earned the Hard Way
Your book promises “battle-tested lessons,” not theory. What are one or two hard-earned truths about entrepreneurship that you wish more people understood before they start their first venture?
5. What’s Next—and Why Keep Going?
You’re still expanding into real estate and aircraft leasing, writing books, and launching a podcast. What keeps you energized at this stage—and what advice would you give to entrepreneurs who wonder if it’s too late to start something new?
Bob, if you could leave our listeners with one mindset or principle that’s helped you navigate uncertainty over four decades, what would it be?

On Your World of Creativity, we travel around the world talking with creative practitioners who turn ideas into impact. In this special roundtable episode, Mark brings together leaders from film, animation, hospitality, consumer brands, immersive experiences, and big-tech UX to explore one powerful theme:
Teamwork.
When creative outcomes depend on dozens—or even hundreds—of contributors, how do you align vision, manage complexity, and still leave room for magic?
Today’s Panelists
Michael Robinson — Hotel & Hospitality Operations Leader
Diego Pulido — Lead UX Designer, Amazon (formerly Google, Walmart, Adobe, JPMorganChase)
Matt McLean — Organic Consumer Juice Brand Founder
Tom Bairstow — Event, Concert Production & Immersive Visual Experiences
Rich Magallanes — Children’s & Animated Content Producer
Steven Puri — Focus app creator, ex-studio exec/producer Fox, DreamWorks, Sony

Together, they share real-world lessons from film sets, animation studios, hospitality teams, live events, consumer brands, and product design at scale.
In This Episode, We Explore:
Creativity as a Team Sport. What great collaboration actually looks like across industries—and why creativity doesn’t happen in isolation.
Aligning Vision Across Many Contributors. How leaders communicate creative direction clearly when working with writers, designers, engineers, performers, vendors, and operational teams.
Conflict, Constraints & Creative Breakthroughs. How budget limits, timelines, technical requirements, and differing opinions can either block creativity—or unlock it.
Leadership in Collaborative Environments. What it means to lead when you’re not the only decision-maker, how to build trust quickly, and why delegation is essential for scale.
Practical Takeaways for Better Collaboration. From film crews to UX teams, each panelist shares what actually helps teams work better together—and what listeners can apply immediately.

Final Lightning Round
Each panelist shares one simple action listeners can take this week to become a better collaborator.
Huge thanks to our panelists. Be sure to connect with them.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-robinson-a6985735/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/diegopulido/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-mclean-5507733/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tombairstownorthhouse/

Today I’m joined by Leslie Schover, clinical psychologist turned novelist and author of Fission: A Novel of Atomic Heartbreak.
Set during the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Fission explores love, ambition, secrecy, identity, and moral conflict at a moment when the world was being reshaped—both scientifically and emotionally.
Drawing on her parents’ lived experiences and her own deep understanding of relationships, Leslie brings a uniquely human lens to one of history’s most consequential chapters.
From Family Stories to Historical Fiction
Fission is rooted in the stories your parents told about life in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project. When did you first realize these personal memories could become a novel—and what shifted for you in turning family history into fiction?
Atomic Power and Emotional Fission
The title Fission works on so many levels—scientific, emotional, relational. How did you think about the parallel between splitting the atom and the fractures within marriage, identity, and moral responsibility?
Doris Friedman: Ambition, Identity, and Constraint
Doris is such a complex character—a young mother, a frustrated artist, a woman navigating marriage, ambition, antisemitism, and gender expectations in the 1940s. What drew you to tell the story through her eyes, and what does she represent to you?
Psychology, Secrecy, and Relationships Under Pressure
As a clinical psychologist, you’ve spent decades studying relationships, sexuality, and identity under stress. How did that background shape the way you portrayed marriage, desire, betrayal, and resilience in a world defined by secrecy and existential fear?
Moral Ambivalence and Legacy
By the end of the novel, Doris and Rob are left with pride, guilt, love, and doubt—having helped save the world and also put it at risk. What questions do you hope readers sit with after finishing Fission, especially as we think about scientific progress and ethical responsibility today?

As someone who returned to fiction after a long and impactful career in psychology and healthcare, what would you say to creatives who feel it may be ‘too late’ to return to an earlier calling?

Today we’re welcoming T. Christian Helms, Founder and Creative Director of Helms Workshop, an award-winning branding agency known for building brands that truly connect.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tchristianhelms/
T. Christian's Website
Over the past 15 years, Christian has led creative strategy for beloved names like Jack Daniel’s, Hershey, Austin Beerworks, and Howler Brothers—helping them clarify their voice, tell authentic stories, and bring creative visions to life.
But what makes Christian’s creative journey especially powerful is the transformation behind the work. After years struggling with an undiagnosed illness, he rebuilt his life and his business using the same creative tools he teaches—clarity, storytelling, curiosity, and purpose. Today he helps companies and creators alike rediscover their creative spark and turn ideas into meaningful impact.
Rebuilding Through Creativity
Christian, your story includes a long period of illness and recovery—and ultimately a complete personal and creative reset. How did those challenges shape the way you think about creativity, purpose, and your role as a storyteller and brand builder?
The Spark of Curiosity and Play
You often talk about the importance of curiosity and play in breaking out of creative ruts. How do you intentionally bring curiosity into your process, both for yourself and for the brands you help shape?
Storytelling as Strategy
Your agency is known for helping brands find their soul and voice. What’s your approach to uncovering an authentic story—whether you're working with a global brand like Jack Daniel’s or an emerging creative business?
Rebuilding Creativity After Burnout
Many of our listeners have faced burnout, adversity, or seasons where their creative energy felt depleted. From your own journey, what have you learned about restoring creativity when the tank feels empty?
Creating Meaningful Impact
You’ve said that great design connects—and great stories endure. What does “impact” look like to you now? And how can today’s creators translate their ideas into work that actually makes a difference for others?

Christian, for creatives who are listening and may be at a crossroads—professionally, personally, or creatively—what’s one small step they can take today to reconnect with their creative spark?”
Thanks to our sponsor, White Cloud Coffee Roasters, fueling creative conversations everywhere. Listeners, enjoy 10% off your first order with the code CREATIVITY at checkout. Visit whitecloudcoffee.com.
And before you go, download your free e-book A World of Creativity, featuring insights and interviews from the podcast. Visit mark-stinson.com

Today, we welcome Dennis Welch — a lifelong songwriter and creative force who is now experiencing a remarkable musical renaissance in his sixties. Dennis has written more than 500 songs, published two books, played concerts far and wide, and built a body of work anchored in one central identity: storyteller.
Dennis's Website
Dennis on YouTube
@Poo_Welch on Instagram
Dennis's Facebook page
After recording an album in 2000, Dennis continued writing but went 18 years without releasing new music… until a single moment changed everything. When his longtime friend, Little River Band guitarist Rich Herring, heard one of Dennis’s songs, he offered to produce a single — which turned into an album, and then another, all landing on the first Grammy ballot in multiple categories.
His newest album, Strong, released this July, continues this extraordinary creative chapter. Dennis’s message is simple but powerful: Never give up. Keep creating. You never know what’s around the next corner.
A Renaissance at Sixty: Why Now?
Dennis, your story is such a powerful example of perseverance. After releasing an album in 2000, you kept writing but didn’t return to the studio for nearly two decades. What was happening creatively during those years — and what made this the right moment to reemerge?
The Song That Changed Everything
When Rich Herring heard one of your songs and offered to produce a single, it sparked an entire new era of your career. Tell us about that moment. What did you feel when you realized this might be the beginning of something big?
Storytelling as Your Legacy
You’ve said that if you could be remembered for just one word, it would be storyteller. How does storytelling show up in your songwriting today, and how has your perspective evolved across 500+ songs?
Three Albums, Two Grammy Ballots, and a Creative Surge
What Love Makes Us Do and If I Live to Be a Hundred both made the first Grammy ballot in five categories — and now you’ve released Strong. What themes, emotions, or experiences shaped this newest album?
Advice for Creatives Who Feel “It’s Too Late”
Your message is incredibly encouraging: Don’t ever give up. Tune out the naysayers. Do what you’re here for. What do you want other artists — especially those who feel their creative window is closing — to understand from your journey?

Dennis, if you could leave our listeners with one thought about sustaining creativity across a lifetime — what would it be?
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