David Horsager: Welcome to the trusted leader show it’s David Horsager and we have had a lot of great leaders on this show we’ve had some.

David Horsager: Just a whole variety from pro sports teams to to you know all kinds of leaders, but this next guest.

David Horsager: He was a mentor of mine, probably 30 years ago he’s one of the funniest comedians in the world he’s also a guy that is the same onstage and offstage.

David Horsager: He can share a message that isn’t just funny but it’s powerful and he i’ve seen him hold the attention of thousands and thousands of people in packed auditoriums I am just grateful to call him friend and please welcome Bob Stromberg thanks for being here my friend.

Stromberg Robert: Thank you, David I appreciate that and I remember our meeting I was at baker square or.

David Horsager: square Perkins.

Stromberg Robert: or Perkins one of those tubes that’s what I was thinking, yes, and we sat and and you said how did you ever figure out how did you get the job that you have, I would like to do.

Stromberg Robert: What you do, and I remember saying to you what David you’d probably like to do what I do you probably wouldn’t like to have to do what I had to do in order to do what I do you wouldn’t you wouldn’t have enjoyed that so much, but, but you know that road yourself now, after all these years.

David Horsager: Well, I think what was interesting about, that is, you said at least sometime later, maybe you know and your holy would impress me to as you take time with someone like me, I think I was in college at the time.

Stromberg Robert: Like you’re in college.

David Horsager: Time right and what I remember is you know you did mentioned to me later on i’ve done so many of these conversations.

David Horsager: i’ve had so many people come and do this and I I kind of not that you scare them but I tell them some truth and most of them, I mean very few actually kind of move forward into this journey.

David Horsager: Of.

David Horsager: You know, using.

David Horsager: Speaking and being on stage to try to change the world and use our gifting right.

Stromberg Robert: yeah you know you and one other guy Darren struggle, who is a popular comic is so funny and he was just he too was it was a kid he just just out of college and he said hey.

Stromberg Robert: we’re going to be at a banquet where you’re entertaining i’m going to be there could we sit together, just so I could talk and we went through the same kind of conversation that you and I had way back then, and I remember thinking he’ll he’ll never do it.

Stromberg Robert: Well, he did he’s been taking lots of work from me in recent years.

Stromberg Robert: is really good.

David Horsager: he’s really good he is very good.

David Horsager: And, of course, one thing I didn’t do is take work from you, because i’m not funny and you are but.

Stromberg Robert: Oh well.

David Horsager: it’s and we both have a mentor and friend and Ken Davis, and I remember he spoke so highly of you, and I remember seeing you on stage for the first time, and I just.

David Horsager: It moved me in this way that I saw the power of story and the power of comedy and the power of also of.

David Horsager: Not just being a comedian but really moving people toward good and I just said, that is, you know back you know in college I.

David Horsager: First became director of the Youth and family organization or on staff and then later director, but and the first 10 years really my business, I was.

David Horsager: You don’t on stage performing speaking later on, but 100 times a year, so now we have a little different business where i’m still speaking about hard times.

David Horsager: A year but i’m doing a lot of our deeper work is around trust and measuring trust and closing gaps and all that but, but I still I still love.

David Horsager: Being on the platform connecting with the audience.

Stromberg Robert: Oh yeah.

David Horsager: and trying to inspire a shift of thinking in my case around trust, but how did you let’s go back to you, I mean this you you.

David Horsager: You know meant so much to me as far as your example I will say onstage and offstage and you and I both have seen plenty of entertainers and comedians that have been one way onstage and offstage is a whole lot different.

David Horsager: But let’s let’s just hear the journey, a little bit how did you get to where you are because you’re you’re you’re a comedian you have your own show, in fact, I was.

David Horsager: We were talking about this, but you know, last thing we did last public event, my family and I brought some other people with was go to your wonder boy show at the theater in minneapolis.

David Horsager: area, and that was the first last excuse me, live event we were at before coven almost a year ago, and I think you said it was the last public event pretty much that you’ve performed at now you’ve been back in a few but.

David Horsager: You know you’ve got that show you were you know kind of the the triple Espresso was globally.

David Horsager: crazy runaway success and there might be some stories that come out of that but you’ve you you speak and your comedian on your own right you’ve been part of you know productions that are bigger tell us just give us the three minutes of your story.

Stromberg Robert: I could always make my mom and my dad laugh my earliest memories are making my mom and dad left either by making a face, or by saying something or by.

Stromberg Robert: by telling a joke repeatedly if I if I gotta laugh by telling them a joke one time I this is when I was five or six years old, I tell it I would tell it until they weren’t laughing anymore I delighted in making mom and dad laugh i’m the kid who would have been the class clown.

Stromberg Robert: That was one of my highest aspirations unfortunately my my dad was the height was the principal so of my school so consequently.

Stromberg Robert: That wasn’t an opportunity for me an option for me, I could not I couldn’t do that so.

Stromberg Robert: But I always knew that I can make people laugh, and it always delighted me I went to college I majored in art I enjoyed it a lot wasn’t a great student In school I got by.

Stromberg Robert: didn’t even know if college was for me, but I went to college I majored in art, because I thought, well, I might enjoy that but I knew all the time, what I really want to do was perform, but I grew up in this tiny little town.

Stromberg Robert: Certainly, nobody in my town had ever become an actor or performer a speaker a comedian nobody had ever done anything like that my dad and I used to.

Stromberg Robert: used to watch ED Sullivan, on Sunday nights at eight o’clock Eastern time in Pennsylvania, where I grew up and I love to watch the comedians come on on there.

Stromberg Robert: And, and to sit with my dad and look at him and just see him laugh, and it just delighted me and fill me up and I thought I would love to do that someday.

Stromberg Robert: So I went to college came out of college going what am I going to do, I considered the pastor and I consider going into youth ministry which wasn’t really wasn’t a thing back then, but.

Stromberg Robert: I thought I might enjoy doing that it was starting to happen, but I thought i’ve got to give this performing thing.

Stromberg Robert: A chance i’ve got to take up take a shot here, so I decided to take three years I was working with another fellow we went to.

Stromberg Robert: theater school in maine together spent a couple years up there post college.

Stromberg Robert: And decided it would be easier, maybe to try to make something happen as a wet rather than a solo artist.

Stromberg Robert: might be a little more fun working with somebody else, so the two of us work together for three years, we thought three years would be a good amount of time.

Stromberg Robert: A year way too short a year you start if it’s not going well, you can give up so easily at eight or nine months and just say i’ll Why do the summer it’s not going to work two years.

Stromberg Robert: I know know you’re going to start if it’s not going well you’re going to start giving up the second three years you gotta hang in there.

Stromberg Robert: It really only took us about three weeks and we were really busy we were living in New England at the time, going around to schools knocking on doors of schools and saying hey could could we come and perform at your school.

Stromberg Robert: I remember, we started looking at high schools and we were getting.

Stromberg Robert: we’re getting nothing we’re walking in we leave a brochure everywhere that we went and we after three weeks were getting pretty discouraged, because we weren’t getting any bookings.

Stromberg Robert: And then I said was driving by a middle school a sixth, seventh and eighth grades, and I said well let’s just stop in there, you know, and we could we could probably make our.

Stromberg Robert: Material work for six seventh and eighth grade, as well as high school, so we pulled in and walked in and the the the secretary.

Stromberg Robert: said hello, and I said hi we’re stromberg and Cooper we called ourselves and i’m here to.

Stromberg Robert: Where we’d like to just drop off a brochure here where we’re we’re performing and schools and, of course, this is a brochure that we wrote about ourselves because we had never done anything for anybody, and as soon as I said it, I heard a voice in the office behind her say send them in.

Stromberg Robert: We walked in I have no idea why did you say send him in he must have gotten himself into a spot he goes, what do you do and we told them and also it’s it’s comedy is yes, but we introduce.

Stromberg Robert: People to the art and performing we do a little mind and and we teach about theatre art and so on, and he said, what do you charge, and I remember $750 and he goes that’s for two shows right well yeah of course that’s for two.

Stromberg Robert: And, and he said Okay, I need you tomorrow and we said all right we’ll be here, so we went back the next day and guam Massachusetts we did two shows.

Stromberg Robert: In this middle school and it went so well, so what was I 23 years old, maybe, and the kids just went nuts, the teachers went nuts, they absolutely loved it as we’re leaving the school, the principal came up to us, with the gave us a check for 150 bucks and then he said.

Stromberg Robert: Do you have any more brochures well I had about 1000 brochures in the trunk of our car that’s that’s all we made was.

David Horsager: just stop and say.

David Horsager: yeah you can keep middle schoolers that.

David Horsager: Stand what how good you are because you know now you’ve got all these accolades behind you over 5040 years of doing this, but this I mean to be in the third week.

David Horsager: Holding middle school is attention that that’s a that’s a huge accomplishment better than a lot of the awards probably on your list.

Stromberg Robert: And that’s really It really is true what you’re saying is true you, you have to be good to hold hold kids attention because they’re not gonna they’re gonna play around with you, if they don’t like you you’re going to know what.

Stromberg Robert: The principal said I want all thousand of those brochures and i’m thinking I don’t want to give this guy our brochures we you know we don’t have any other bookings we have nothing.

Stromberg Robert: And he said, I am the President of the New England principals association, we have our annual conference this weekend, he said I want a.

Stromberg Robert: A one of your brochures for every seat that these people aren’t going to sit on he said i’m going to talk about you guys from the platform and he did, and the phone started ringing and that first year we did 475 school shows.

Stromberg Robert: And we had to get up early in the morning to drive all around New England to do them but 475 school shows.

Stromberg Robert: And that that was the beginning, so it only took three weeks and we are often and going and we work together for 12 years.

Stromberg Robert: And that’s really where I got a lot of my 10,000 hours, as they say, I got those taken care of in that first 12 years doing all those shows.

Stromberg Robert: And we also we did elementary school shows we did college showcase things I mean we showcase for in we did call it showcases so that we could do college tours which we did and.

Stromberg Robert: I just learned so much about performing and what I always loved about what I did whoever i’ve been working with whether it was my original partner Michael Cooper is still a great friend wonderful performer or whether it’s.

Stromberg Robert: bill Arnold and Michael pierce Johnny with triple Espresso and others folks that i’ve collaborated with i’ve always loved the idea of making people laugh hard and then.

Stromberg Robert: Then, allowing them, helping them to laugh hard at things that they feel good about.

Stromberg Robert: laughing about so that they feel good about their laughter because things can be funny and then afterwards, you go.

Stromberg Robert: boy I don’t feel so good about that, I mean that was funny but I don’t know.

Stromberg Robert: And, and I never wanted to do that I so so i’ve always been a squeaky clean comedian and everything that I do and i’m glad about that because, especially.

Stromberg Robert: As time has gone on over the last 40 years of doing this, things have become crafter and crafter and crafter.

Stromberg Robert: us, so much so that often it’s difficult, you have to you really have to sell yourself to to get a job because people say Oh, we had a comedian here last year and.

Stromberg Robert: didn’t go so well I don’t think I don’t think maybe we can have you and I said well who do you have well he’s from Saturday night live and used to be on 711 i’m.

Stromberg Robert: Why did you hire them, you know you gotta you have to have to think about who your audiences before you hire people but anyway that’s sort of how I guess.

David Horsager: yeah I mean I think there’s all kinds of things here, you had to be an entrepreneur and a leader to get this done and y’all also had to be great at your craft and.

David Horsager: trusted we talked about this framework gap to be competent and it, but you also have to be you know committed to it and you have to have a several different parts of the eight pillars and of trust, but you know, I think.

David Horsager: to jump here it’s just you are so good on the stage you’re so good, with physical comedy with storytelling comedy.

David Horsager: With just plain storytelling that hits people between the eyes i’ve seen people not just laugh but cry and.

David Horsager: Probably i’ve done that myself watching you’re just you’re so brilliant if you haven’t seen Bob stromberg you can see, Bob stromberg calm, you can see, several of his shows that he’s created been a part of.

David Horsager: wonderboy was one of the most recent ones I saw triple espressos amazing but just plain having Bob into speak and share and and be a comedian is.

David Horsager: It just an outstanding treat and i’ve seen a lot of stuff i’ve been this onstage with a lot of people.

David Horsager: you’re also the author of mastering the craft of creativity and so people were going to have this in the show notes, but this is where I want to get to for leaders, today, you know, we have an expert.

David Horsager: In Bob stromberg at creativity and you can find out more mastering the craft of creativity.com we’ll have it all over the show notes at trusted leader show.com but tell us about this, how did you become so creative and give us a little window into that slice of your expertise.

Stromberg Robert: Five or six years ago.

Stromberg Robert: Well, it was September 15 of 2015 I was right here in the basement of this House digging through some boxes of books.

Stromberg Robert: and looking for some books and I found some old work calendars a pile of them about like this and the earliest one went back to 1975.

Stromberg Robert: And I thought to myself, I wonder what I was doing on Sep tember 15th 2015 40 years to the date earlier.

Stromberg Robert: And so I opened it up to 2015 I mean to to to 1975 which was 40 years earlier, and there was my first professional booking with my friend, Michael and I came upstairs I said to my wife Judy Judy This is like a celebration, I mean the anniversary we should be celebrating and she said.

Stromberg Robert: hmm.

Stromberg Robert: And that was the extent of the celebration right there that was.

Stromberg Robert: That was all there was, but that got me thinking when I realized Oh, my goodness, I have done this full time self employed never had a job never had an employer who paid thousands of them, but never, never an employer, that I was working for steadily.

Stromberg Robert: How have I done that, and I realized that I had been utilizing this thing called creativity and I also realized.

Stromberg Robert: I had never given a lot of thought to what it actually is and how it works and I started thinking about all these plays that I had written all recently i’ve been writing screenplays.

Stromberg Robert: And the comedy material and lots and lots of music that i’ve written through the years, all these creative things, what do they have in common, where did they come from, how did they come to be and I realized that.

Stromberg Robert: In this took this took a number of months of thinking about this really working through it, I realized that everything that I have created came from a place.

Stromberg Robert: And through a process and the place that the place that these things came from the songs the plays the comedy routines the bits the one liners.

Stromberg Robert: They came from what I call my creative reservoir which you have as well, and they came through a process and the process is called creativity and I believe that that there are two words, you need two words to really describe what creativity actually is.

Stromberg Robert: And I believe the two words are gift and craft usually we think of creativity, being a gift people say oh I couldn’t be creative my my brother was so crazy he really had a gift to creativity, but I just never had that.

Stromberg Robert: And I say, well, you you, you had something, because when you were a child, you demonstrated that here’s the deal.

Stromberg Robert: I really believe that the gift you’re born with something creativity, but you’re not born creative here’s what I think the gift is David.

Stromberg Robert: The gift that that we are all born with all of us is a a desire and a capacity to experience creativity, so we come out of the womb that way with a desire.

Stromberg Robert: and a capacity to experience it and we open up that gift immediately when we’re born, I mean the first thing that you within weeks you’re you’re learning that you can roll from I don’t know if it’s weeks I can’t remember it’s been so long since my kids my grandkids were that small.

David Horsager: would say it’s been so long since you roll over for the first time that’s right.

Stromberg Robert: But to roll from your back to your front boy that was exciting you couldn’t wait to do that it’s a little scary to do that, you can see, you can see the baby’s eyes just.

Stromberg Robert: Did I just do that that’s experiencing creativity getting up on your knees and rocking back and forth oh boy that’s one and then piling up blocks at some point, and then.

Stromberg Robert: knocking them over it all of this was play or or of taking that krahn and rubbing it across the paper making those marks on the paper was so fun, or is it was the case in my family with our four year old, who is who is now a remarkable artist and was then.

Stromberg Robert: To take that pink magic marker and coloring and all color and all the white flowers on mom and dad’s new couch that was an exciting.

Stromberg Robert: That was exciting day at our our family, all of this was what we refer to, and what psychologists call and child development people call play it was just play, but it was all creativity, it was all creative incredible.

Stromberg Robert: demonstration of creativity, so the question is well, where does that go because so many people say i’m not creative I couldn’t create anything I mean i’m i’m no idea what I would do I can’t create anything you know i’m just not a creative person.

Stromberg Robert: You used to be so where did it go and I believe.

Stromberg Robert: And I believe it gets educated right out of us in the western world, I think it’s just it’s just.

Stromberg Robert: The downside of our educational system, a lot of good things about our educational system, but not in this regard of creativity.

Stromberg Robert: Because in school, we learned very early on, when we’re taking a test or quiz or an exam, we have to write in the right.

Stromberg Robert: word in the fill in the blank it’s got to be the right word or if it’s a multiple choice, you have to you have to circle, the right answer, or if it’s a.

Stromberg Robert: math problem you have to add those numbers all up and divide it and do this and the high pot news of whatever and it’s got to be down to the.

Stromberg Robert: down to the right decimal point and number it’s got to be perfect and if it’s not it gets a big red mark on it and we deal with our feelings about about getting those red marks on our paper, and we very early realize.

Stromberg Robert: That we’re not as creative as we used to be, things are not as fun as they used to be creativity does not work that way creativity is not about finding the right answer.

Stromberg Robert: Creativity is about trying many, many potential answers some of them, which are really not good answers at all, but to try them.

Stromberg Robert: And something else comes out of it, you you almost can’t fail with creativity, because you’re not looking at the outcome you’re looking at the process so to to engage in the process, even if it’s.

Stromberg Robert: To try lots of things, in other words you don’t need to get the one right answer so therefore I think there’s another word this necessary gift, as the first one.

Stromberg Robert: I think the other word to describe what creativity is and how it works, then the other important word.

Stromberg Robert: Is craft creativity is a craft it’s a process that you go through, and as you go through this process you begin to this is a wonderful side benefit you begin to fill up your creative reservoir so there’s.

Stromberg Robert: there’s always something there you don’t need to worry about writer’s block you don’t need to worry about not being able, what am I going to do not it’s all you’ve got lots of stuff ready to go and but you need to understand what the process is.

Stromberg Robert: I heard recently about a sting who has been I just just before we did this interview, I thought, well, I wonder how many.

Stromberg Robert: How many grammys he’s one I went on he’s been nominated 43 times 42 or 43 times for grammys he’s won 17 one of the most popular singers songwriters in the world.

Stromberg Robert: About.

Stromberg Robert: A dozen years ago.

Stromberg Robert: He woke up one morning, and he couldn’t he couldn’t write it he couldn’t write a song he couldn’t write.

Stromberg Robert: And you go how’s that even possible I mean that’s what he does he writes songs he couldn’t write a song and this one on for eight years.

Stromberg Robert: Eight years couldn’t write it couldn’t write a song, can you imagine how devastating that was now we didn’t know that the public didn’t know that because he’s still touring.

Stromberg Robert: All the time he’s playing the songs we want to hear anyway, we don’t particularly want to hear a new song we’re happy to hear the old ones, the ones on the album’s we’ve been listened to it forever.

Stromberg Robert: But he couldn’t write a song and he was desperate and he said he described it this way, he said, I believe it was as if it was as if my muse went away.

Stromberg Robert: And I after going through all this work thinking through creativity for myself, I felt so sad about that because I thought staying.

Stromberg Robert: there’s no there’s no muse there’s there’s no muse you don’t you don’t have a muse you’d you have a process that you had been doing for years, and you don’t understand what the process is, if you understood what the process is you’d be writing a song right away and here’s what he did.

Stromberg Robert: Well, he didn’t know what to do, but here’s what happened to him.

Stromberg Robert: He.

Stromberg Robert: In his mind began to think about growing up in new Castle, and the UK shipbuilding town and he remembered the way.

Stromberg Robert: The old fisherman and the old shipbuilders excuse me, the way they used to talk and he heard their dialect in his head.

Stromberg Robert: And it later occurred to him that he’d never ever written a song in the dialect of these shipbuilders never even occurred to him to do to do that.

Stromberg Robert: But he heard the dialect and heard particular phrases that they would say, for example, one day you’ll wear these dead man’s boots.

Stromberg Robert: that’s what fathers would say to their sons, in other words you’re going to do the same work that I did you know so and he would.

Stromberg Robert: someday we’re these dead man’s roots and he started this and he got a little tune he didn’t consider writing a song, it was just a little ditty in his head little sea shanty kind of thing about wearing these dead man’s boots.

Stromberg Robert: And he wrote it and then he had another phrase in that dialect and he wrote another.

Stromberg Robert: Another little little sea shanty kind of thing in that, and he began to collect them and then he started thinking.

Stromberg Robert: I wonder if I could put them together in some way, I wonder who would sing the song, I wonder if there are characters who would sing them to each other, it eventually ended up being his West end and broadway musical call called the last ship now here Dave here Dave is the important thing.

Stromberg Robert: without knowing it, I believe that sting.

Stromberg Robert: used the creative process that I realized that i’ve been using and everything that I ever wrote and here’s the way it works, there are three things I say you may not, you may not have a.

Stromberg Robert: You may not feel you have a creative spirit or you may not feel that you have a creative reservoir, but you can get one.

Stromberg Robert: didn’t say get I said get gee I T first step in the creative process you grab anything that grabs you emotionally.

Stromberg Robert: So as you’re going through your day, and these are not ideas that you’re grabbing you can’t if.

Stromberg Robert: The eye that’s not how ideas happen the ideas aren’t just waiting out there for you to take them, you have to.

Stromberg Robert: You have to find them, and so you grab you’re not grabbing ideas you’re grabbing thoughts.

Stromberg Robert: So, as you go through your day you remember something you see something something happens in the market, this little kid at the kid in the stroller in the market.

Stromberg Robert: drops a sucker on the floor his mom says something oh boy, that was a little bit harsh or oh boy you write it down, it can be anything that grabs you emotionally things that make you that delight you things that may be upset you things that.

Stromberg Robert: things that make you wonder.

Stromberg Robert: you write them down that’s what it means to grab now when I say write them down, you can speak them into your phone, but you have a file form, you make sure you have somewhere where you can put these.

Stromberg Robert: thoughts they’re not ideas you have no, you have no idea what they could possibly be it’s just a thought and there’s a resistance to doing this because.

Stromberg Robert: People go, why would I write that down it’s not even any it’s just it’s nothing, why would I write it down because the the process that’s just the beginning of the process.

Stromberg Robert: The second thing is, then you go back each day and you look at that list of things that you’ve grabbed and you begin to interrogate them.

Stromberg Robert: If you have if you end up with 20 or 30 things on your grab list and that’ll happen pretty quickly, by the way you begin to as you go through this process you actually begin to to wake up.

Stromberg Robert: Emotionally i’ve had people say to me when they start the exercises in my course mastering the crash creativity, they say why I didn’t grab anything today nothing, nothing grabbed me emotionally, so I didn’t grab it.

Stromberg Robert: I said well keep trying, because I just know that people are not very emotionally alive they’re not in touch with their own emotions.

Stromberg Robert: they’re walking past stuff they’re not looking they’re not observing and then, as you begin to grab it gets easier and easier, in fact, it becomes habitual.

Stromberg Robert: And you’re grabbing things left and right all the time and again, sometimes I grab stuff and I go, you know my I got reams of things now and I go Why am I still doing this well because, as you go back then you interrogate what you grab that’s the eye.

David Horsager: You grab manager, do you use this paper, do you journal it you put it in your phone, how do you how do you grab it like when you’re out and about what’s your little file system.

Stromberg Robert: And I grabbed I grabbed on paper for years, I think, originally it was just anything I could grab but I was just grabbing anything and then pile them in a box and then it was in then it was in a little.

Stromberg Robert: You know I remember getting nice little leather books, at one point, you know.

Stromberg Robert: And it would be some of it would be grabbing others, it would be notes and stuff but then recently in the last actually since I started working on this seven or eight years ago.

Stromberg Robert: i’ve been grabbing on my phone, I just have a file, I have a grab file, I have to actually and I just I just speak them in there it’s just enough to remember what what grabbed you that’s all it’s not usually usually it’s a sentence fragment that you’re grabbing we.

David Horsager: I just it ties back to you know just.

David Horsager: Briefly, someone else that we had on the show that we talked about the value of journaling and how that’s one of the top things to do, and so, in essence.

David Horsager: This is a part of amping up your creativity and and if you if you want to be more creative and everybody, I mean this this really and more innovative.

David Horsager: You got to go to the whole course mastering the craft of creativity calm, but we’re getting a good look behind the kimono here we’re getting we’re getting the get right here, right now, at least.

David Horsager: A good overview and there’s a whole lot more in the whole course but.

David Horsager: He was talking about journaling just the process of journaling you ideas start to come to you start thinking about me start remembering and even on your own without interrogating that night let’s say.

David Horsager: your mind starts to interrogate it starts to build the muscle of interrogating on its own, it seems.

Stromberg Robert: If you if you develop it if you develop a.

Stromberg Robert: habit which, as you know, I mean they always say it takes 21 days to create a habit so it’s three weeks, the truth is, it takes more like two or three months.

Stromberg Robert: You actually can create an A neural pathway in 21 days and it’s it’s there you could you could see it apparently or measure it in some way.

Stromberg Robert: But it’s not very strong and it won’t help you very much, unless you do it for up to two or three months repeat the cycle 234 times.

Stromberg Robert: And then it’s there and it’s working all by itself and that’s where you get people in the middle of the night saying I wrote this song.

Stromberg Robert: I mean it’s like God gave me the song because I just woke up with it well, well, maybe God did give you the song, but he gave it through your through this marvelous thing called your brain and your mind which works, the way that it does so, I just wanted.

Stromberg Robert: If I continue real quickly you you interrogate.

Stromberg Robert: What you grab when you go back to your list, and you look at it so maybe got 2030 things here unless you just kind of read down through them and one or two of them will pop right out at you like oh pay attention to me pay attention to me.

Stromberg Robert: And you go well, what are you, how could I use, you are you an illustration, are you a new kernel of truth for my ad campaign are.

Stromberg Robert: Are you a new marketing plan are you a painting, are you a new chapter in my book, are you a character in my book, what what are you and.

Stromberg Robert: and, eventually, then you have it sounds like a cliche but it’s absolutely true, and every artist every creative knows this.

Stromberg Robert: You have that Aha moment where you go.

Stromberg Robert: There it is there, it is now sometimes this can happen in in three minutes you know this day but it’s like.

Stromberg Robert: It just there I got it this thing happened and I knew exactly I needed I needed that application or that illustration tonight.

Stromberg Robert: And I got it today and I wasn’t even looking for just boom there, it was so it can happen really quickly or it might take 20 years.

Stromberg Robert: I mean literally 20 I have a I have a piece, now that I do on my show where you’ve seen my family pictures thing.

Stromberg Robert: It took me 20 years of that on my list of going down well, maybe someday I cannot figure out what to do with those family pictures and it became this this hysterical routine now.

Stromberg Robert: So, then you grab you interrogate you have that Aha moment, and then you go now I know what it is and you begin to transform it into what it should be that’s what sting did.

Stromberg Robert: He he was grabbed emotionally by memories of his boyhood and anybody our age.

Stromberg Robert: Your age, I know you’re younger than I am, but anybody our ages knows memories of boyhood when they hit you those are powerful emotionally.

Stromberg Robert: And he you know his mom and dad both of them are gone now, but he remembered them he remembered the dead man’s boots he remembered his girlfriend he remember these things.

Stromberg Robert: And he began to grab those and then say what could I do with you what could this is this is this a song Is this a an album is this wow could this be a broadway play.

Stromberg Robert: And and a musical and then he began to transform it into that now how long does it take to from beginning to end, it can be really quick, it can be.

Stromberg Robert: An hour and you got it can be half an hour and you’ve written a song and you could actually be singing it in half an hour, if you want to.

Stromberg Robert: But other things if it’s a new medical device, or if it’s a broadway play it’s going to take years and years and years to develop it to the point where where you can put it on stage so or produce it.

David Horsager: I love it talk more, you know that this is great everybody’s got grab interrogate transform there’s a process for creativity, we can all get better at creativity.

David Horsager: we’ve been maybe a lot of it’s been hammered away because of if we’re listening from the US, right now, from the American.

David Horsager: educational system and actually many others around the world, I mean this educational system came about because of the industrial age right it’s like boom boom boom we do it this way.

David Horsager: But um let’s there is a discipline, it seems to the way you develop routines and and and kind of you know, be consistently creative and I think this is a process for it, but is there anything else you do as a disciplined approach to being creative or to building a.

David Horsager: screenplay.

Stromberg Robert: well.

Stromberg Robert: This is where there are a lot of books like art and fear press feels book.

Stromberg Robert: That is it’s great to read some of these books, because there is a there’s a resist we all have a resistance to this process.

Stromberg Robert: Fears a big part of it, and again I don’t know if this is, if this is part of our of our Western culture or not, I think probably is but we we we all become very.

Stromberg Robert: We look at the.

Stromberg Robert: The outcome we look at the outcome of what of what we’re doing.

Stromberg Robert: That that seems to make sense, a lot of times when you’re thinking about business things where you got to look well, what are you putting in this and what do you hope to get out of this.

Stromberg Robert: But with creativity there’s never any guarantee of.

Stromberg Robert: Certainly, an art there’s never any guarantee that any any of this is going to work and it just there’s no guarantee not.

David Horsager: You have self in that, how do you how do you trust yourself enough to keep at it.

Stromberg Robert: Well, as you have some success, then you you begin to build upon that success, so you look back and I, I know I wrote that wonderboy after we wrote.

Stromberg Robert: bill Arnold and Michael fierstein when I wrote triple Espresso.

Stromberg Robert: I had never written a play before at that point, I hadn’t even been in a play before just always done, the done the solo thing or the the wet stuff with my partner, I had that I started out with.

Stromberg Robert: So i’ve been on stage a lot, but I never been in a play never written anything like that I went to see Michael pure Stanley in forever Plaid back in 1990 and he’d already been in that show.

Stromberg Robert: For two years, or three years, at that point he doing it seven times a week downtown minneapolis and my wife and I went to see him do that I just thought it was great.

Stromberg Robert: And we went out to eat afterwards and my wife and I, and she said to me, you could write something better than that.

Stromberg Robert: Well, the next more and I will yeah what would I do with it, if we How would, I have no idea how to how would you produce it Where would you put it, how would How would you get anybody to come if you did, and what would it be anyway.

Stromberg Robert: I went out to eat with have breakfast with Michael pierce Donnelly and and bill Arnold who I had met in Chicago.

Stromberg Robert: We are on a stage together they’re at a big Convention and I thought he was one of the funniest people he’s a he’s a comic magician as as you were and and.

Stromberg Robert: Maybe still are sometimes David.

David Horsager: know.

David Horsager: long time ago.

David Horsager: The big jam button here is yeah yeah I used to use it to see people for a living now you talk about trust right.

yeah.

Stromberg Robert: But but.

David Horsager: People don’t even know I ever did that.

Stromberg Robert: But i’ll bet you saw bill at some point didn’t yeah I mean even before triple stress or not.

David Horsager: Oh yeah.

David Horsager: And they’re amazing all three of you, I mean that’s.

David Horsager: that’s something that made that trio, you know of triple Espresso just I mean from what Dublin to across the US, I mean it was just.

David Horsager: All three of you so talented and so funny in different ways, but together, I mean you know people talk about that laughing and there’s people that go every year to that.

David Horsager: You know the same show it’s just a you know it’s.

Stromberg Robert: yeah people have been 4050 times it’s amazing they and they want to see the same stuff over no please don’t change anything.

Stromberg Robert: But we went out to eat breakfast and one, and I know I shared about my wife saying we could write something better, or I could write something better.

Stromberg Robert: And and Michael said, well, maybe we should and bill said well i’ll make a call see if I can get anybody who would be interested in having us come and do it well, he he called then.

Stromberg Robert: He gave me a call within a day or two and said i’ve got a booked for for next month when next month.

Stromberg Robert: The third, well, it was like 30 days away and we hadn’t written anything so we just got together and said Okay, well, we have to do this and as it turned out.

Stromberg Robert: 600 people came to that first show at up for a family united church 600 people came.

Stromberg Robert: And we had a we had about an hour show that we have put together and we threw away, about half of it.

Stromberg Robert: Literally half of it, but we kept some nuggets that seemed to work and we kept working on it for another few months and then that led to some other things and somebody said, would you like to come do it on theater.

Stromberg Robert: And it just took off like wildfire flower wild flowers took off like wildfire took off like wild fire and.

Stromberg Robert: We thought we were we got this opportunity to do it for six weeks at a theaters seven times seven or eight times a week, we were going to do it.

Stromberg Robert: And I remember thinking well, that means I can’t work anywhere else for for six weeks we’ll probably going to lose a lot of money on this well.

Stromberg Robert: It took off David it, it was we had people lined up down the street, to get tickets from almost from the from the first week on.

Stromberg Robert: And then it went to San Diego and then we got another cast we kept two cities going and then at one point, there were seven cities gone and then we went to Dublin, we went to the UK we went to the West end of London.

Stromberg Robert: And it went to you know at some cities now it’s been in over 25 years.

Stromberg Robert: It ran it ran without missing a date without missing a week in San Diego for 11 years, I think it was 13 years here without stopping and minneapolis it was a phenomenon, now the reason i’m telling you the story is.

Stromberg Robert: You said, how do you how do you keep, how do you keep doing what you’re doing with are no guarantees and and I think.

Stromberg Robert: You build upon the success, but I did I did that wonderboy thinking well gee I could write another play, and this is going to just take off and go crazy again.

Stromberg Robert: that’s what it felt like to me, I know I can do this, I did it once i’ll do it again and I realized well triple Espresso was a phenomenon, it was truly a phenomenon.

Stromberg Robert: it’s not something that’s going to happen very meant to very many people in a in a generation it’s just one of those very, very odd things are the right right time right place and so on, but.

Stromberg Robert: I had great sexual.

Stromberg Robert: success.

Stromberg Robert: I had great success with.

Stromberg Robert: I had great success with that wonderboy but it wasn’t the same kind of success.

Stromberg Robert: But, but it was it was wonderful nonetheless it just didn’t have I mean.

Stromberg Robert: Yet oh yeah it was it was fantastic in New York and won some big awards there, which was pretty exciting yeah but it wasn’t it didn’t make it didn’t make any money, so if the idea is i’m going to do this, so that I can make some money, and this is going to well, maybe, maybe not.

Stromberg Robert: And there’s no other way to, but if you’re looking at the outcome it’s it’s it’s kind of tough you you’ll you’ll quit pretty quickly, because there are too many reasons to.

Stromberg Robert: not do it there too many reasons to not invest in the creative process because it takes time it takes work, some of it, some of it’s difficult tough.

Stromberg Robert: Work collaboration, for example, if you’re being creative with other people.

Stromberg Robert: boy some collaborations are so fun and they’re just great and other collaborations like oh I can’t believe i’m I have to work with her and again, you know it’s just like I this is going to be tough, but you have you know you you do it because that’s the process.

David Horsager: I think that’s a unique unique trait of you, compared to many you are phenomenal success on your own, and I saw you first most of the time on your own I didn’t see way back to the Cooper times I mean you were.

David Horsager: You had an amazing solo act event show, and yet you’ve collaborated with others to make some this runaway success triple Espresso this even your first 12 years with Mr Cooper whatever so.

Stromberg Robert: yeah I think.

David Horsager: that’s an interesting interesting i’m going to jump here just for a second because you know we talked about the work we’re doing it’s it’s you know you can.

David Horsager: You can be on stage and all these things, and yet everything else can crumble and actually that affects your life, and so I think you know to be a great leader.

David Horsager: be creative we got some tips today with with get you know grabbing and interrogating and transforming we got certainly it’s been an inspiring.

David Horsager: And this is just so fun for me to hear you kind of get behind the scenes from what I saw on stage, that is just and see on stage that it’s just so amazing and inspiring and to get it kind of.

David Horsager: peek back to oh there’s a process to this maybe we can all get a little more creative, but I think another thing about you, that the people at least that listen to this trusted leader show need to hear is this this guy that’s.

David Horsager: The same onstage and offstage in many ways, and what I mean by that is, I still remember, and this was this was quite a few years ago now actually was about.

David Horsager: Maybe 1012 years ago we both got asked to speak at a conference, I believe it was in Atlanta, I think there were 7000 people there and it was one of the bigger ones i’d done until that point, you were on stage also and.

David Horsager: And you probably more of a headliner than me at the time for sure, but we both were were it was a it was a big out of time, a lot of people, and I remember right when I got there senior wife.

David Horsager: And I was just having kids so maybe it was a little more than that, it was you know 15 years ago or 17 years ago.

David Horsager: 18 years ago and I I was just starting to have kids and I was starting to get more you know speaking around the world more and flying more and this kind of thing just a little bit more not not not probably 100 events, a year, yet, but.

David Horsager: I remember you know just asking what, how do you do it, how do you balance family, how do you do well at home well you’re being when I think in our case, a lot of our leaders, you know.

David Horsager: They might not be flying as much but they’re high pressure there in the having to be in the boardroom and I have to put this fire out there having a.

David Horsager: they’re having a lot of lot of being asked to do more with less and a whole lot of weight on their shoulders and yet I remember her saying to me.

David Horsager: You know what my your boys if they weren’t neglected any way they felt like it was like you were there all the time in some way for them, and this is before so much access mobley.

David Horsager: But I guess you know we talked about this if you’re not if you’re not trusted at home, whatever that means to people.

David Horsager: it’s going to be hard if you’re not if you’re not leading yourself, personally, well, it shows up even if people don’t know why publicly.

David Horsager: And I think you know creativity could even go down if our mind is so dealing with other problems at home somehow you lead yourself well at home how did, how did you do it, especially amidst all the flights and gone time you had.

Stromberg Robert: When you were you said creativity King can go down it’s still common that now i’m my wife Judy and our we’re here by ourselves on our homework our kids are grown and gone.

Stromberg Robert: But she’ll often during a meal it’ll be a little quiet for a moment she’ll go.

Stromberg Robert: What are you writing.

Stromberg Robert: Right, what are you writing is it a song, or is it a is it a screenplay or what what are you writing off sorry i’m sorry, you know i’m not not not so engaged I guess the point of even telling you that is, it is not easy it’s never been easy.

Stromberg Robert: i’m not even sure to say you need to balance it i’m not even sure balance is the right word, but you do need to set some priorities about what is most important in life.

Stromberg Robert: And something needs to happen as a result of what you believe is the most important thing, well, it will it will automatically happen.

Stromberg Robert: If you believe that that your work is the most important thing in life if that’s what you believe it will end up being the most important thing in your life and that’s going to affect you.

David Horsager: Did to show that i’m you had all those shows all that travel and somehow I know your kids they love you they do feel like they were not neglect they feel I mean you have a great family life now now grandkids and whatnot.

David Horsager: Is there anything specific you did in those times to to show that priority, even while.

David Horsager: flying out and.

David Horsager: having to be gone.

Stromberg Robert: yeah my schedule during much of the of the time it varied, because when I was working solo work, which I did for.

Stromberg Robert: 1015 years but i’m 10 years probably before triple A special triple A special is a little different I was gone.

Stromberg Robert: Except on Monday, sometimes Tuesday nights but every other day of the week, I was gone in the evenings so my boys would come home from.

Stromberg Robert: from school at three and I would have to head quarter to six at the latest, down to the show and I wouldn’t be home all evening, then so.

Stromberg Robert: or before that time I would I would have to fly away from home usually on Thursday or Friday and I come back on Sunday that’s the kind of traveling that I did speaking and doing comedy at events.

Stromberg Robert: So we did a very intentional thing at the time I was doing my own booking i’ve been with an agency now for 25 years and i’m still happy with my agent he’s doing a great job, but for for.

Stromberg Robert: 15 years or so.

Stromberg Robert: We did it ourselves Judy and I did all the booking ourselves.

Stromberg Robert: And we really did that, because we wanted to treat people, the way we wanted to treat people, and I was, I was terrified of an agent not treating people the way, I would like.

Stromberg Robert: I haven’t had that problem, but that is a problem, sometimes for people, so we would work in the office in our home at that time it was sending out newsletters and it was answering doing correspondence and.

Stromberg Robert: and talking on the phone, but we would be working the boys would go to school at eight we would be in the office at 830 and we would work until 315.

Stromberg Robert: The boys when the boys walked in the door, or maybe it was 330 when the boys walked in the door, from school at quarter to four.

Stromberg Robert: I was at the door that was the commitment I can work for six seven hours here really hard right through lunch, we can be working while we’re eating.

Stromberg Robert: But at 345 when the boys walk in the door i’m waiting at the door for him and we’re playing basketball in the driveway or we’re doing something in the House or we’re we’re.

Stromberg Robert: Cross country skiing or we’re doing something together or i’m working with them on homework or making sure that things get done.

Stromberg Robert: So that was the that was that’s an example of a commitment that I made now, I know that a lot of lot of people can’t do that.

Stromberg Robert: But there are commitments that you can make to say we always do this, and this is something that I have a friend for my director in that wonderboy your name is Rhys her brain and her husband is a a very.

Stromberg Robert: well known and celebrated lighting director for theater all over the all over the country all over the world.

Stromberg Robert: And she is a noted director, and so they have opportunities to go to travel separately, all the time, sometimes together but usually he’s doing a show somewhere she’s somewhere else.

Stromberg Robert: They have had now, for I think they’ve been married for 20 years 22 or 23 years they have this two week agreement, and that is that they.

Stromberg Robert: Every wherever they are, whatever is happening, they will never be away from each other for more than two weeks ever.

Stromberg Robert: And then they will be back, they will even if it, even if it means, and this is and i’ve said to them, have you actually pull it off Oh yes, we have, he has flown from.

Stromberg Robert: Asia to be back so that we can be together or sometimes they fly to the to the same place for a few days now.

Stromberg Robert: once every two weeks that would be that’s not enough for me.

Stromberg Robert: To be with my family, but that was that’s an example of a commitment were from the very beginning, they said, this could be tough on a marriage we’re doing this we’re making a commitment here.

Stromberg Robert: So I so whatever is the most important to you it’s going to it’s going to show in your life and my the way I always understood, I always understood my family was more important.

David Horsager: yeah and the calendar and the checkbook show it, but in some ways it doesn’t always show it in the can’t it’s hard to I remember struggles in those years challenged and men’s flying away and thinking Oh, and I feel called to this trust work and the difference.

Stromberg Robert: That makes and I felt that was my family.

David Horsager: We had we had a few things we did, and I did plenty of things that I, maybe would would would do differently, but one thing.

David Horsager: We did have an amount of dates I would be gone, we also I got in the habit of always flying the family with as a whole, at least once a year, and each kid on their own, at least once a year.

David Horsager: So that they go with you.

Stromberg Robert: At a time they never will forget that.

Stromberg Robert: They will never forget.

David Horsager: You told me that that that I see, and I think now you know our averages up beyond that for sure.

David Horsager: And that’s one of the gifts of this not everybody can do that, but they see there was a time when our kids had spent more time in the Indian Ocean, because of our work in Kenya than they had been in Pacific or Atlantic.

David Horsager: But the The other thing I think, for us, I mean there’s several things I did, but one thing I did I didn’t miss a time where every morning.

David Horsager: I said I want to parent my kids I want to teach them things right so every morning I would shoot a video.

David Horsager: That I was on the road, you know and and Lisa would show it at breakfast something maybe I would share a verse an idea I thought and.

David Horsager: She would she would show it, they would they would look forward to it once they were teenagers that kind of lost its its.

David Horsager: excitement, so I shifted to some other things, but there was at least for three years straight I didn’t miss a morning that I was gone where they had a video through the through the phone for me so.

David Horsager: yeah I know you know still thinking about that as the kids get older how, how do we keep the homefront healthy because we know if i’m thinking about that not being healthy i’ve seen so many leaders fail at home and that causes all the failure everywhere else to.

Stromberg Robert: It really it’s really a question David of how do we live, how do we engage in life, I recognized in my career and sometimes I still do when i’ve had to travel a lot.

Stromberg Robert: i’m so thankful to have this job that I can go do now, and I think to myself i’m so thankful Thank you God that I can do this job today and I fly and do it and I fly out to do it and then.

Stromberg Robert: From the time I get there i’m thinking I wish I was home I wish I was home I wish I I can’t wait to go home I can’t wait to get home and then.

Stromberg Robert: And I go this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be i’m supposed to engage in life, where I am in the present so that I can experience it fully and give fully of my of myself.

Stromberg Robert: But that’s hard to do I you can’t do that if you’re going, I just want to get home, I just want to get to the airport so you’re speaking in front of an audience going.

Stromberg Robert: I just I just want to get to the airport, so I can get home it’s not the way you’re supposed to do it we’re supposed to engage at home fully and we’re supposed to engage on the road fully but we’re supposed to understand how those fit together.

Stromberg Robert: And it’s a challenge, it is a challenge yeah.

David Horsager: It is a challenge, being aware of it is the first step for sure so yeah hey we got to get to the lightning round, but before we do i’m going to jump over the producer Kent you got a question for Bob stromberg today.

David Horsager: hey Bob so I was wondering obviously doing triple Espresso, for you know many, many years, doing so many shows and other shows that you’ve done, how did you keep it kind of fresh.

David Horsager: For you, I mean even just like mentally like if you’re doing something you’re doing it thousands and thousands of thousands of times.

David Horsager: Over and over again, how do you keep it fresh and not feel like stagnant or feel like you’re not being able to be creative because you’re having to kind of stick to a certain way.

Stromberg Robert: yeah I remember seeing when I was 1516 years old, my dad got Newsweek magazine, and I remember, there was a cover of Newsweek magazine with a picture of your Brenner on it.

Stromberg Robert: And in the King and I and the title said you’ll Brenner celebrates his thousandth show on broadway and I remember thinking, how can somebody do a show 1000 times, would you not just be going out of your mind and i’ve now done triple Espresso 3500 times at least I think that’s conservative.

Stromberg Robert: So yeah that’s a good question, how do you keep it fresh.

Stromberg Robert: It can be a challenge, I always found myself, I had I always reminded myself these people who are at the show some of them brought friends who they’ve been just.

Stromberg Robert: dying to bring to this show, and they bought them tickets at 35 or $43 apiece or whatever it wasn’t any particular theater some of the these families out there have have have spent two $300 to be here tonight.

Stromberg Robert: They deserve the very best show that I can give them and that that alone what became a.

Stromberg Robert: Not a difficult challenge, but a wonderful challenge to go i’m going to give them the very best show that I can today because it would be easy when you know, a show.

Stromberg Robert: As the way we know triple Espresso it’d be easy to phone it in.

Stromberg Robert: And we just refused to do that sometimes we would see new actors come into the show.

Stromberg Robert: And hundred or two or 300 shows in if they are in a city if we censor if I was working with somebody and I sense they were phoning it in they weren’t looking into my eyes when I was speak onstage and I speaking to my song kind of gazing off.

Stromberg Robert: I would really go at them because we’re not going to have that in our in our show we’re going to give everything that we have.

Stromberg Robert: can’t that’s what that’s what a professional does.

Stromberg Robert: it’s that simple that’s what a professional does what would you would you ever asked that to a to a heart surgeon.

Stromberg Robert: or a brain surgeon, you know you have to do this brain surgery stuff every day you’ve been doing this for you’ve been doing this almost 50 years now you’ve done thousands of brain surgeries isn’t it just to how do you keep it fresh, how do you keep.

Stromberg Robert: Well, no barrier very true you’re you’re you’re.

Stromberg Robert: you’re so good at it, because you’ve done it that many times, and if you start getting sloppy with your work it’s it’s going to show and brain surgery.

Stromberg Robert: But it’s going to show up on the stage two and i’ve i’ve seen it i’ve seen I saw I saw one time, I went remember, I was it we were living in New England at the time, I went to see.

Stromberg Robert: Richard Harris and Camelot he originally did it I think in the West end and broadway and i’d seen him in the Camelot movie when I was a kid, and I mean this just said, I was so excited.

Stromberg Robert: And Richard Harris, maybe he was having a contract dispute or something I don’t know what was going on his life.

Stromberg Robert: But I have never seen anybody so bored in a performance in my life, and he was the guy that everybody was there to see.

Stromberg Robert: And I remember just being being angry, it was just so evident that he did poorly so.

Stromberg Robert: I mean that’s a long way of answering your question but that’s what a professional does you do you do it over and over and over again, David, I know that you have when you’re.

Stromberg Robert: You speak on the same topic over and over and over again so.

Stromberg Robert: I know that you’re wide open to if something happens if you grab something on the plane you and it works you’re going to use it, because it’s so fresh but lots of times that won’t happen and you’re going to give that talk again.

Stromberg Robert: or you’re going to take pieces of your talks because well usually I do this in three hours but.

Stromberg Robert: I only have 40 minutes but i’m going to, but this is what they want so i’m going to put these pieces of my talks together to make it real clear that the point i’m trying to make but you’ve done those things 1000 times.

Stromberg Robert: But you do it like this is the first time, because it is the first time for those people.

David Horsager: And they live it’s the it’s the you know yo the live audience virtually it’s it’s even harder, these days, and I, the only advice I would add to that with story is, at least in a story is I just tried to put myself there again.

David Horsager: yeah and that daughter was riding the sheep in that rodeo that.

David Horsager: idea of the story of or whatever it is that, like what I get I put myself there and that’s when i’m at my best on a story.

David Horsager: newest research and all that we get you know some keep I keep trying to keep myself fresh so it’s contextualize but you’re right some of that every time for years has been that’s the truth that we give right there and it works and yep.

David Horsager: I tried to be under, so this is.

Stromberg Robert: This is, can I see, can I say something yeah I one of the things that’s.

Stromberg Robert: A benefit or an interesting thing about your work and my work is that traveling on planes a lot we do run into two people who are more famous than us and.

Stromberg Robert: That we recognize right away, and the most one of the most fun ones for me was Mr Rogers flying out of New England, he had gotten a honorary doctorate at Yale The night before and so.

Stromberg Robert: I walked on the plane and I just I just leaned over to him and I said hey Fred thanks so much my boys my kids are little and thanks for.

Stromberg Robert: Just the way that you have blessed our family it’s been it’s been wonderful and he said well tell me about your boys Bob tell me who what are their names and I told him and he goes he goes now listen.

Stromberg Robert: I want you to tell your boys that when I look in that camera lens and I, and I talk i’m talking right to them.

Stromberg Robert: And that’s one of the things during code that that’s come back to me and i’ve gone I can’t hear these people.

Stromberg Robert: i’m trying to do comedy for these people they’re they’re sitting places and they’re not an audience’s.

Stromberg Robert: I like to have an audience that’s been our understanding as as a public speaker so we have an audience, we say something they respond.

Stromberg Robert: facially or physically or audibly and then we know how we’re doing as a result, and we respond and we adjust well we can’t do that virtually.

Stromberg Robert: And so I have found my friends words coming back to me and i’m going I don’t know who this person is out there, but i’m talking to you now work at that yeah.

David Horsager: Well, here we are we’ve had some great time together it’s time for the lightning round we could go all afternoon on this episode and I could ask i’m just so grateful.

David Horsager: For the impact you’ve made in my life but let’s go to the quickfire questions so a sentence each all you get here we go what’s your favorite book or resource right now.

Stromberg Robert: Right now, it is the divine conspiracy by Dallas willard.

David Horsager: Great one conspiracy will put all these answers in the show notes, so you want to reach out check out check out what they’re about I have had that on my nightstand and read it fantastic what’s something you can’t live without bob’s drummer.

Stromberg Robert: pretzels I cannot live without pretzels and that’s been from the time I was a child.

David Horsager: Is that soft ones with cheese or is that crunchy ones like crackers.

Stromberg Robert: it’s any kind but it’s mainly crunchy and it’s mainly fat ones yeah and it’s particular types that I enjoy too, but yeah.

David Horsager: There yo best advice or quote you’ve been given.

Stromberg Robert: Well, oh boy.

Stromberg Robert: gosh, this is the kind of you probably shouldn’t give me this ahead of time I could have because that this is one of these deals, where we get off down with a podcast i’ll go Oh well, there we go.

Stromberg Robert: It should have had them.

David Horsager: How about a piece of advice.

Stromberg Robert: doesn’t that piece of advice.

Stromberg Robert: yeah I, I would say.

Stromberg Robert: My piece of advice would be practice the process.

Stromberg Robert: don’t think about the outcome as much practice the process.

David Horsager: You know it’s a bump talk a lot about outcomes and results and certainly.

David Horsager: Business people do leaders do and pro sports teams, they got to get more wins governments, we got to get this thing passed.

David Horsager: And this is a readily this this hit me today to you know I, we need to get results but practice of spending some time on the practice, maybe even over the outcome, I could see better outcomes coming more creative ones for sure.

David Horsager: Based on what you said, so I love that one thing left to do on Bob stromberg bucket list.

David Horsager: you’ve done.

Stromberg Robert: Well, I tell you i’ve never had i’ve never been much of a bucket list person.

Stromberg Robert: and honest to goodness, a lot of it’s because i’m so grateful for, where I am at the present and lots of times the those have been places where I haven’t particularly wanted to be and uh but i’ve been no i’m going to be thankful for this and.

David Horsager: i’m going to ask it a different way, because I.

David Horsager: Think that’s a good point what’s your what’s a hope for the future.

Stromberg Robert: Well, for my own from my own future personally David, I hope that i’ll i’ll have a another season of.

Stromberg Robert: meaningful work.

Stromberg Robert: I know that we’ve only been out of work now most of us in in the fields that we’re at we’ve only been out of work for 10 months being in front of people that’s not a very long time, I mean.

Stromberg Robert: These things this that type of a delay could have been caused by illness, it could have been caused by anything.

Stromberg Robert: But I do find myself coming and people ask the question is this going to come back what’s going to change, how is it going to be different will, will you be able to stand in front of.

Stromberg Robert: audiences jammed in a small room together laughing hard all over each other, because that was always the point and i’m hoping, there will be another season for me to be able to do that.

Stromberg Robert: I feel I feel like I finally honest to goodness, I feel like I finally gotten good at what I do I finally understand it.

Stromberg Robert: I finally know how to do it, I find myself more confident, all well up until up until March 12 I find myself that I think to myself.

Stromberg Robert: I can be in front of anybody, and I understand what I need to do for those people and and then it’s gone so that’s that’s been disappointing to me and a hope is that I might have another season of that.

David Horsager: love it i’ve got one last question for you.

David Horsager: Before I ask it.

David Horsager: Where can everybody find out more about Bob stromberg and tell us just a little bit about the course.

Stromberg Robert: yeah if you’d like to find out about booking Bob stromberg Bob stromberg calm is the place to do that, and there are there’s some there’s written info there, but there are also several videos that you can watch to get a feel for the kind of work that I could do for you in your setting.

Stromberg Robert: And then also resource resources to to help should use a site to book it so that’s Bob stromberg calm the course is at mastering the craft of creativity.com mastering the craft of creativity.com.

Stromberg Robert: it’s I think there’s 1213 hours of video there, there are exercises to help one develop those neural pathways those habitual patterns, so that this process of grabbing and interrogating and transforming becomes.

Stromberg Robert: Automatic we are creatures of habit, all of us are we don’t even think about this, but when you get up in the morning.

Stromberg Robert: When you get up tomorrow morning you’re going to put the same shoe on first that you put on first this morning that’s you don’t even have to think about it, but.

Stromberg Robert: In fact, try it the other way and it’ll mess up your whole day, so we need that we need to develop those neural pathways a habitual pathways in order to do the process well and David i’ve put a I have put a special code in there.

Stromberg Robert: For those interested in buying the course just trust edge one word if they put trust agenda ignore the code I think it’s one, it says they’re typing made to create to save on the course forget it trust edge will get you a huge savings, I mean almost giving it away so.

David Horsager: You know, huge thanks all of that will be in the show notes trusted leader show.com and we’re going to put it all there and we want to point you to one of the funniest guys in the world, and one of the greatest guys.

Stromberg Robert: In the world before you.

David Horsager: Go a question though it’s the trusted leader show who’s the Leader you trust and why.

Stromberg Robert: well.

Stromberg Robert: I trust Jesus.

Stromberg Robert: and

Stromberg Robert: Why because because I again you trust based upon experience, trust is earned it just doesn’t happen you don’t just walk in and trust somebody because somebody says Oh, you should trust this person or that person.

Stromberg Robert: You, you have to that has to be earned and I have sought to follow Christ, since I was a just a kid.

Stromberg Robert: I mean a young boy, and he has proven to be faithful to me over and over and over and over again, and as that trust builds, of course, it becomes easier to trust, but I will go to him before i’ll go to anybody.

Stromberg Robert: I do go to him yeah.

David Horsager: yeah yeah well there you have it, it is a great example, and it has been a treat to be with you, someone, I trust, a whole lot just as a friend and a leader.

David Horsager: A phenomenal conversation all kinds of tips all kinds of thoughts all kinds of inspiration, you can find out more we’ll put that in the show notes, this has been the trusted leader show with Bob stromberg today, thank you, Bob.

Stromberg Robert: you’re welcome, thank you, David Thank you.

David Horsager: To everybody out there, stay trusted.