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Career Blindspot

Career Blindspot

Written by: Juan Kingsbury
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Frustrated even though you "did everything right"? That is why we started a podcast for Career Blindspot to talk about what work nuance, triggers, clichés, and most importantly, how to do better for ourselves. 200 episodes in and counting. 🎙️ Tune in, share, and put it to use—because 40 plus hours/week may not be your whole life, but it is still your life.© 2025 Careers Economics Personal Success Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • Reflecting on Career Influences: My Top 5

    Reflecting on Career Influences: My Top 5
    Jun 30 2026
    Top Five Career Influences: Mentors, Coaches, and Unexpected Teachers Juan talks about his five key career influences and urges all of you to do the same and reach out to someone you haven't thanked in a while. He credits Louise, a Glendale Community College fitness center boss and health/wellness faculty member, for building confidence and telling him at 19 he'd be paid to speak. Mike D., a City of Glendale Parks and Recreation supervisor, made him feel valued, reliable, and modeled accountability through a sincere apology after overreacting. Brad and Debbie Harper introduced Juan to DISC, motivators, assessments, and health, with Debbie remembered as a generous community connector. Executive coach Rico Pena helped unlock growth with kind, nonjudgmental coaching. Actor Kevin Pollak (and friend Jamie Foxx) influenced through Pollak's early podcast, modeling creative networking, integrity, and long-term career building. 00:00 Top Five Influences Setup 01:02 Louise Sees Your Potential 03:16 Mike and Being Reliable 06:15 Brad and Debbie Assessment World 09:30 Rico Pena Coaching Breakthrough 12:29 Kevin Pollak Creative Networking 15:01 Wrap Up and Call Someone
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    16 mins
  • Nice Is Not A Skill

    Nice Is Not A Skill
    Jun 22 2026
    Why "Nice" Isn't a Compliment at Work Juan argues that being described as "nice" is rarely a real compliment in the workplace and often signals a lack of meaningful contribution, unlike respect earned through skill or expertise. Using an example from teaching gymnastics at The Little Gym, he explains that vague praise like "good job" provides no useful feedback, similar to calling someone "nice" without specifics. Juan contrasts being merely polite with being kind and assert that aiming to be nice can become an insecurity-driven restraint that prevents honest opinions and skill-building. He observes that difficult coworkers may still be respected for competence, while "nice" can mask low value. Lastly, Juan reflects on regretting times they stayed "nice" instead of calling out racism or sexism, concluding with a call to action to stop prioritizing niceness over values and honesty. 00:00 Is Nice a Compliment 00:40 Nice at Work Means Nothing 01:41 The Empty Praise Problem 02:40 Specific Feedback Wins 03:39 What Kids Really Remember 04:53 Nice Versus Kind 05:41 Respect Beats Niceness 07:17 When Niceness Creates Regret 07:50 Calling Out Bias 08:46 Stop Being Nice
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    9 mins
  • Why Am I Stuck?

    Why Am I Stuck?
    Jun 15 2026
    Smart + Kind But Stuck: The Missing Ingredient Is Experimentation In this episode, Juan explores why smart, kind people still feel stuck, arguing it often comes from avoiding risk and clinging to perceived safety, security, and responsibility. He notes that loud voices frame empathy as weakness, but for people trying to live well and care for others, empathy is an advantage; the real problem is not experimenting beyond what's familiar. Drawing on personal ruts despite past leaps (entrepreneurship, podcasting, writing), the speaker reframes risk as playful experimentation, like solving puzzles in Zelda, and suggests that misery signals there's more to learn about oneself. They cite pandemic-driven innovation such as telemedicine—possible before but adopted when forced—as evidence people can change without crisis. The call to action is to get curious and try small new experiments in work, health, or daily routines. 00:00 Why You Feel Stuck 01:03 Smart Kind But Safe 03:19 Experiment Over Risk 05:29 Miserable Means Learning 06:20 Opportunity In Uncertainty 07:05 Small Risks Daily 08:43 Pandemic Innovation Lesson 10:27 Whats Up Danger 10:41 Your Call To Experiment
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    12 mins
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