#7 - Dissecting the Creative Process and Overcoming Life's Challenges with Executive Producer Phil Lerman
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we learn what makes them flip the switch to achieve great feats, goals, and milestones and a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior.
Today, you’ll hear my conversation with Phil Lerman, a freelance writer and TV executive producer from the Washington DC area, best known for producing the hit TV program America’s Most Wanted and the PBS show Made in Spain. He’s also the author of “Dadditude,” a laugh-out-loud memoir about the joys of being an older dad, and co-author of nine other books, including “Where Have All The Flowers Gone,” a seminal work on the Woodstock Generation, and John Walsh’s book “No Mercy,” which reached The New York Times paperback bestseller list.
His latest book – “When Truth Is All You Have,” coauthored with Jim McCloskey, who has gotten more than 60 innocent people out of prison and who is considered the “father of the Innocence Movement” -- is due out this summer.
In this episode, we examine the role and creative process of being an executive producer for hit TV shows, finding your voice as a writer,
successfully achieving weight loss and overcoming weight loss, and facing the challenges of being an older parent. Of course, these topics were just a few pieces in our far-ranging conversation. So with that being said, let’s jump in!
You can learn more about Phil Lerman on http://www.lermanproductions.com/.
“Finding a way to isolate the thought, challenge the thought, and replace the thought is a process that is not that hard…it is a process that you can learn. And once you do that, it becomes a habit.”
— Phil Lerman, former executive producer of the show “America’s Most Wanted”
