Meet Marvin Stockwell

We were lucky to catch up with Marvin Stockwell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marvin, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
From my mom. Here’s a guest column I wrote about it: https://dailymemphian.com/article/13794/mothers-day-marvin-stockwell

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the host of the Champions of the Lost Causes podcast, and working to finish a book of the same name. Both the podcast and book seek to answer the questions, “Why do people champion causes? What sustains them? What helps them succeed?” My curiosity stems from my nine years championing the cause of saving and reopening the shuttered Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis mid-1960’s midsized arena. I got curious about why I had the fire in the gut to champion a cause that many saw as a lost cause. Noticing my own curiosity and thinking through my own mix of motivations, I thought, “Why does anyone champion any cause?” I realized that I didn’t want my book to only reflect my own Champion’s journey, but I wanted a wider set of input. I started the podcast in 2019 and have been interviewing people who champion other causes ever since. Each Champion’s journey is different, but there are also common signposts of a Champion’s journey. Willingness to play the long game and work through difficulties is a hallmark strenghth Champions all share, for instance. This past summer (2023), my kids and I embarked on the first-ever Champions of the Lost Causes podcast summer road trip. We went west, covered 17 states in five weeks and got home to Memphis with 20 new episodes recorded. We figured people championed causes all over the world, and I had done non-Memphis episodes via Zoom interviews, but to travel the country and meet people in person and see their work first-hand was special. It was a great trip and we returned with our hearts full with optimism. Goodness abides in America.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
A career journey like mine would be impossible without first developing a love of words and wordplay. Because my family — especially my mom and her mom — took the time to read to me, make up rhymes on the spot, sing simple songs to me and with me, I learned to love words and their potential to move people and bring people together around ideas. No surprise I became a writer, a journalist, a songwriter and, later on, a PR pro. Whatever is at a person’s core… the thing they gravitate toward for sheer love of it… is the path they should follow… be it direct or meandering. Follow it where it goes and place more of a value on joy in your work than on a career that others want you to pursue.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield was a life-changing book for me. In it, Pressfield identifies what he calls Resistance, that voice of inner doubt that keeps us from doing what were put on this planet to do. It uses any means necessary to derail us. It lies to us, flatters us, cajoles us and distracts us from doing our work. The work that we and only we can do in the way the world needs done. The book helped me see how Resistance was holding me back, and while the battle must be fought each day (Resistance is crafty!), I know the signs of Resistance’s presence and have learned to act in the face of the fears it tries to scare me with.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Pictures my Cormac and Emilia Stockwell

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