405: What Can Standing in Awe of the Natural World Teach Us?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Release Date: 03/10/2026
426 - Serendipity: The Art and Science of Creating Smart Luck
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Today on Getting Unstuck Hi, I’m Jeff Ikler, host of the Cultivating Curiosity podcast. This summer, I’m periodically releasing mini-episodes of “Cultivating Curiosity.” In about 10 minutes, I’ll dive deeper into a key point from a previously broadcast evergreen episode. The content in these mini-episodes is designed to be readily applicable to your life or work. Summary This mini-episode revisits Jeff Ikler's conversation with Dr. Christian Busch, author of Connect the Dots: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck, to explore why serendipity is far more than simple luck. Dr....
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425: What is Your Default Thinking Pattern Under Pressure?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Dr. Melissa Hughes is a keynote speaker, author, and Human Potential Alchemist who helps people understand how the brain works so they can work, lead, and live better. With a doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction and decades of experience translating neuroscience into practical strategies, Melissa has become a trusted voice for organizations looking to improve leadership, communication, performance, and culture. She is the creator of the Cognitive Blueprint™, a neuroscience-based assessment that reveals how your brain naturally processes information, makes decisions, solves...
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424: Telling the Story You Can't Forget
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
The story behind this episode The story I relate in this episode emerged when, in September 2019, I walked some of the World War I battlefields in Belgium and France with my guide, Iain McHenry. As we walked along where a trench had existed during the war, Iain told me the story of an archaeological dig that recovered and eventually identified the remains of a British soldier who was killed there in November 1914 in a German mortar attack. The story has stayed with me because of how the soldier, Richard Lancaster, was finally identified and because there are literally thousands of other...
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423 - Giving an "A"
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Today on Getting Unstuck Hi, I’m Jeff Ikler, host of the Cultivating Curiosity podcast. This summer, I’m periodically releasing mini-episodes of “Cultivating Curiosity.” In about 10 minutes, I’ll dive deeper into a key point from a previously broadcast evergreen episode. The content in these mini-episodes is designed to be readily applicable to your life or work. At some point during the summer of 2019, I was walking in our nearby forest preserve, listening to a podcast with Tim Ferriss in conversation with Seth Godin. Tim Ferriss always asks his guests during the wrap-up what...
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422: Is It Possible to Reinvent Oneself Without Having All the Answers? Pt 2
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest JoAnne Duncan has had a varied career, from Alaskan fly-fishing guide to elementary teacher and principal, always focused on valuing the strengths of every student and staff member. Though she’s stepped away from her career in public education, she continues to learn, grow, and inspire others. A lifelong learner, she finds joy and insight outdoors, exploring nature and discovering new ideas, always growing, always learning, and always curious. Summary In Part 1 of this episode, JoAnne reflected on her unconventional path into education, her transition into school...
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421: How Can You Learn to Love Life's Unanswered Questions?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Elizabeth Weingarten is a journalist and applied behavioral scientist who works at the intersection of science and storytelling. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has worked on the editorial staffs of The Atlantic, Slate, and Qatar Today, and was Managing Editor of Behavioral Scientist. Her writing has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, Slate, CNN, The Financial Times, Quartz, Harvard Business Review, and Time. She has led research programs at the think tank New America, the consultancy ideas42, and at tech companies Torch and...
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420 Avoiding Groupthink? A Leadership Practice Demonstrated on the Way to Pluto
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Hi, I’m Jeff Ikler, host of the Cultivating Curiosity podcast. This summer, I’m periodically releasing mini-episodes of “Cultivating Curiosity.” In about 10 minutes, I’ll dive deeper into a key point from a previously broadcast evergreen episode. The content in these mini-episodes is designed to be readily applicable to your life or work. This week’s mini-episode comes from a May 2023 interview with Dr. Alan Stern. Today, Dr. Stern is an aerospace executive and remains a planetary scientist. In 2015, he was the Principal Investigator on the historic New Horizons mission to Pluto....
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419: What is the Priority?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Hi, I’m Jeff Ikler, host of the Getting Unstuck - Cultivating Curiosity podcast. This summer, I’m periodically releasing mini-episodes that, in under 10 minutes, dive into an evergreen idea from a previously broadcast episode. The content in these mini episodes is designed to be readily applicable to your life or work. This week’s episode was inspired by a conversation with educator Dr. Deb Gustafson in December 2019, when she explained how, as a principal, she had applied Jim Collins’ flywheel principle from Good to Great in her elementary school. The idea The flywheel is an...
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418: How Can Leaders Create the Conditions for Staff to Succeed?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Guest Rich Gassen has worked at UW-Madison for over 15 years as Production Manager and, more recently, as Director at Digital Publishing and Printing Services. He focuses on empowerment, autonomy, and process improvements with his team. His work mantra has always been “Show Up and Participate,” which continues to guide him in his lifelong learning. He also leads a community of practice for supervisors at UW-Madison, focusing on training and development. Summary In this episode, Rich discusses his leadership journey and the principles that guide his work. Drawing on more than 35 years in...
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417: What's One Question You Can Ask to Build Capacity?
Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity
Hi, I’m Jeff Ikler, host of the Cultivating Curiosity podcast. It’s summer, and our thoughts naturally turn to making the most of longer days and warmer weather. We’re desperate to be outside. With that in mind, I’m periodically releasing mini episodes of “Cultivating Curiosity.” In about 10 minutes, I’ll dive deeper into a key point from a previously broadcast evergreen episode. The content in these mini episodes is designed to be readily applicable to your life or work. The idea This week’s mini episode was inspired by a July 2021 interview with Dr. Melissa “Missie”...
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Tom Reed studied photography at Rutgers while studying Geography. Ansel Adams, Edgar Payne, and the Hudson River School are major influencers. Zen sensibilities profoundly influence his compositions and writings, as he is a student of Japanese martial arts and aesthetics (chado). His photographs and writing center on the experience of awe at the sight of a landscape. He hopes this leads to considering nature itself divine and sacred, and that stewardship, rather than the dominant utilitarian view, is the only sane attitude.
Summary
In this episode, Jeff speaks with photographer, writer, adventurer, and wellness coach Tom Reed about a life shaped not by financial ambition, but by a deep desire for experience, nature, and meaning. Reed traces this orientation back to formative childhood moments that helped him value independence and authenticity over conventional success. His path led him through geography studies, wilderness work in Alaska, whitewater guiding, sailing, martial arts, and ultimately photography.
Reed’s artistic philosophy blends influences from Ansel Adams with Japanese aesthetic traditions. His black-and-white landscape photography—especially from Patagonia—aims not to comfort but to evoke awe: the kind of beauty that shocks us into awareness of something greater than ourselves.
The conversation explores how skill and serendipity intersect in creative work, the role of mindfulness in perceiving opportunities, and the thread of vitality that connects Reed’s diverse pursuits. The discussion also turns to climate change and environmental degradation, with Reed emphasizing acceptance without apathy—a stance rooted in spiritual maturity and non-judgment.
Ultimately, Reed’s work invites us to reconsider why certain landscapes move us so profoundly—and what that says about our relationship to the natural world.
A key reflection
Awe is a powerful emotional and spiritual experience that can dissolve ego and reconnect us to something greater.
References / Links
Photo website: www.tomreed.com Books: https://tomreedbooks.com/
TEDx: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8L5a-P6NM
blog: http://tomreedphotography.wordpress.com/
MBAM audiobook: https://mrtomreed.gumroad.com/l/moved-by-a-mountain-audiobook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrtomreed/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TomReedsPhotos