Ep 5: Bringing Happiness into the World with Rick Garman
- Author
- Arteen Arabshahi
- Published
- Mon 08 Feb 2021
- Episode Link
- https://the-on-ramp.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-5-bringing-happiness-into-the-world-with-rick-garman-imBphFMi
Continuing our journey into the theme of being laid off, today we talk with writer Rick Garman. Rick has written more than 24 films, four novels, and a dozen travel books. Most recently, he Executive Produced Mix Up in the Mediterranean, which airs on the Hallmark Channel February 20, 2021 at 9/8c.
Our conversation unpacks his winding career, in which he was laid off four times, with Rick explaining the most impactful of these and why. Prior to his final lay off by Disney, Rick was immersed in the worlds of entertainment and technology, industries that he reminds us are rife with layoffs and uncertainty. We hear about the health issues Rick has dealt with and their direct connection to losing work and a healthcare plan. Rick successfully overcame esophageal cancer, a statistically difficult battle, and underlines the importance of becoming an advocate for your own health. We also discuss Rick’s decision to change career paths into a creative one after his success as an executive. More than anything, Rick's story illustrates how curveballs can be turned into home-runs. At this point in his career, Rick finds meaning in creating stories and films that bring happiness into people's lives. His own powerful story is a great reminder of the ways we can react to adversity in our own journeys.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Why Savannah, Georgia is Rick's favorite city in the world!
- The experiences of being laid off that Rick has had across his career.
- Rick's memories of losing his job at Disney in 2011, and the way this impacted him.
- The cancer diagnosis that Rick received and its relation to losing his healthcare plan.
- A reminder about the preventable nature of some diseases, like Rick's esophageal cancer.
- An update on Rick's health currently and over the last ten years.
- The responses that Rick prefers when he shares his cancer story.
- Taking responsibility for your own health — it can save your life!
- Rick's move into professional writing and the conditions that gave rise to this change.
- The momentum that Rick gained quickly after getting his first movie produced.
- How getting things done and solving problems motivates Rick!
- Why making films that bring happiness into people's lives is a point of pride for Rick.
Tweetables:
“If you want to work in the internet world, you are going to get laid off, it's just how it works.” — @rickgarmanink [0:21:40]
“I could never be the person who would go and wait tables at night and then spend all day writing. I needed a foundation.” — @rickgarmanink [0:23:57]
“I was miserable in that job and I didn't want to be miserable anymore. Cancer made me realize that life is way to fricking short to do things that make you miserable.” — @rickgarmanink [0:26:52]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
