When I first moved to San Francisco, I worked as a personal trainer in gyms. It was intense. Everyone was trying to sell something — memberships, packages, personal training sessions. I landed at World’s Gym in Potrero. Bodybuilders oiling up at 5 AM, me teaching step aerobics,

We assume fear is something to be avoided. But actually that’s backwards… Thanksgiving Day, a few years ago, I went surfing. The sun was out, but the water was colder than any day I’d surfed before. I chose the southern edge of Pacifica, a spot I rarely visit. A strong

The weeks between considering opening Robin’s Cafe and serving our first customers were frantic. I was weighing whether to buy the assets and start my own restaurant. Late nights blurred together — drafting the lease over half-empty bottles of wine I was supposed to be sampling,

What’s it like to live a life in movement? For Melissa Painter, it all started as a child with creative movement and folk dance—a love of moving with others and forming community through shared rhythm. “Moving in sync with others is incredibly empowering,” she reflects. Her

I first heard the term “self-experimentation” as an undergrad in behavioral psychology. My professor shared a few of his own experiments — a month without sugar, sleeping with his head lower than his feet — some miserable, some strangely enlightening. He didn’t give us a seminar.

How do you make a co-founder relationship work? For Shannon, the key is putting the human relationship first. She and her co-founder, Kevin, approach their partnership with intention, self-awareness, and a shared commitment to staying friends above all else. “We were able to

To celebrate my 30th birthday in 2017, I spent five weeks traveling through Morocco with my family. I’d been fascinated by the country ever since seeing Lawrence of Arabia at eleven — T.E. Lawrence’s charisma, the mysticism of the Berber tribes, the desert’s raw ferocity. I

You’ve probably heard the advice: focus on a specific type of customer or client. I’ve always struggled with that. I like a lot of people. I want my business to serve a variety of clients, not just one type. In 2020, my creative agency, Zander Media, took off. We grew from one

2016 was an eventful year. In February, I had the idea to run a big event. By September, having sold 250 tickets and raised sponsorship from companies like Microsoft and Accenture, I put on the first annual Responsive Conference. Somewhere in the middle, I also opened a café.

In 1917, T.E. Lawrence did what every military strategist thought impossible. Aqaba was locked tight from the sea – cannons, fortifications, heavy defense. Anyone who tried to attack that way would be crushed. So Lawrence didn’t. He crossed the Nefud Desert instead – 600 miles

What story does your brand really tell – and whom does it invite in? Shannon Deep and Kevan Lee, co-founders of Bonfire, shared how storytelling is more than just messaging. Every story a brand tells is also selling something: community, belonging, a sense that someone out there

@Responsive_Con Tickets are available here:

We’re headed into @Responsive_Con 2026 with a question that feels more urgent every year: What are we actually paying for with our attention? Most of us spend our days working hard, but without the focus we need to do our best work. We jump between priorities, try to stay on

How would your workday change if recovery was always within reach? Melissa Painter walked us through what Breakthru looks like in real life. Most people use it right inside the tools they already live in: Slack, Teams, Chrome. No extra app to open. No calendar block to schedule.

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“Not everyone can bring fun, joy, and warmth to database work—but they can.” When Boulder JCC needed to tell their story of partnership with OpenTent, Zander Media stepped in to help find the narrative. OpenTent isn’t just another technology vendor. As Boulder JCC puts it,

“Thinking is the process of asking and answering questions.” -Tony Robbins In last week’s “How To Sell Yourself workshop,” one participant admitted he sometimes asks too many questions. He gets so caught up in curiosity that he “gives away all his marbles” before ever making the

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Most people hate selling. I did too. Not because I wasn’t good at it, but because it always felt like I was supposed to be someone else. The Snafu Conference is for the opposite of that. It’s for people who want to sell without selling out. For people who have something to say

If you want to follow more of my journey, check out this video!