Meet Brandon Violette

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Violette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Hi Brandon, so happy to have you on the platform with us today and excited to chat about your lessons and insights. Our ability to make good decisions can massively impact our lives, careers and relationships and so it would be very helpful to hear about how you built your decision-making skills.

One of the biggest turning points for me came when I moved overseas after college. I was awarded a scholarship to study at the Beijing Film Academy in China – an incredible opportunity, but also a deeply personal one. I got sober while I was out there, and that forced me to reexamine my relationship with myself.

It might sound strange, but learning to make better decisions started with learning to trust myself… to get honest about what I wanted, and to chase it even when it felt uncomfortable. Especially when it felt uncomfortable.

I’ve since learned that the ability to make meaningful decisions doesn’t come from knowing everything – it comes from knowing yourself.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a screenwriter. I Co-Created CoComelon Lane for Netflix and have written on shows like T.O.T.S., Pupstruction, Thomas & Friends: All Engines GO. Most recently, I served as Head Writer on RoboGobo for Disney Junior. What excites me most is the challenge – no matter how many scripts you write, you always start with nothing, a nugget of an idea that evolves into (hopefully) something special. The next week, you start anew. It’s like being an “expert beginner” over and over again.

Lately, I’ve expanded into podcasting. I host The Story Series Podcast, where I sit down with artists, outsiders, and originals from a range of industries to explore how they work, create, and live. I believe creativity is seeded in a kind of disruption or rebellion… so a common theme I explore with guests is risk-taking and rules in their respective industries that they don’t follow or believe in. It’s about 20 episodes deep, and one of the most fulfilling things I’ve taken on.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Curiosity. Resilience. And Authenticity.

Curiosity because you’re learning. The best writers, artists, and entrepreneurs I know are endlessly curious… about the world, about people, about ideas. Curiosity is a path. It’s how I ended up living in China. It’s what helped me get sober. It’s why I started a podcast. Every meaningful leap I’ve made started with following a question, not chasing a result.

Resilience because life is a long game. You have to be able to stay inspired amidst all the “no’s” – because in any creative pursuit you’re going to be hearing that word a lot. In my early days, I remember long stretches where “no” was all I heard. But what kept me on track was always that next thing. That next screenplay idea. That if this last idea didn’t knock ‘em dead, this next one surely will.

Authenticity because that’s what people remember. Whether you’re writing a script, delivering a presentation, or even hosting a podcast – your voice is your signature. Early on, I tried to write what I thought the industry wanted to read. But gradually, my style shifted (or, in actuality, began developing) once I let go, loosened up and started writing the way I think. The sooner you can imbue whatever you’re working on with your own voice – your flawed, messy voice – the more resonance it will have.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

One of the most impactful books I’ve read is I Came As A Shadow, the autobiography of John Thompson — the legendary Georgetown basketball coach, written with Jesse Washington. Oddly, I’m not a sports person. But I picked it up on a whim and couldn’t put it down.

What stayed with me wasn’t just his story, but his philosophy. Coach Thompson kept a deflated basketball in his office as a quiet but powerful reminder to his players that their worth wasn’t tied to their sport. “You never want the sum total of your value to be the eight or nine pounds of air inside a basketball.” That hit me hard.

In the animation industry, Burbank (just outside of Los Angeles) is often treated as the center of the universe. Our industry capital. And rightly so. But that quote was a warning: not to spend the rest of my life waiting for people in Burbank to answer my emails. Tom Petty sang The Waiting Is The Hardest Part for a reason. While you’re refreshing your inbox, build something of your own. Start a podcast. Take strange detours.

I Came As A Shadow isn’t just a sports memoir. It’s a blueprint for how to live with purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.storyseriespodcast.com
• Other: The Story Series Podcast on Apple
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-story-series-podcast-with-brandon-violette/id1799336043