Appreciation Nation

Michael Arterberry is a "Master Encourager," who spends his days working to help other people use their personal struggles to become their best selves. He's touched the lives of countless youth and adults through his programs. He challenges us all to Live Consciously. Be Encouraged!

Greg and Dave meet up with Jason Todd of Thinker Ventures to learn about getting unstuck in life and in business. Jason challenges us to look at the five people closest to us and make sure there's a dissenting voice among them to help us grow.

Drs. Tiffany Mullen and Alex Yampolsky founded Vytal Health to bring back personalized medicine where patients can genuinely be heard and understood. They're doing this virtually and meeting the needs of people even while the world is living through the COVID-19 pandemic.

We dedicated this week's episode to some thoughts about the initial period of COVID-19 changes in the U.S. Much more will change over the coming weeks and months, but we offer some ideas and a bit of lightness for consideration and (hopefully) a little entertainment.

Lisa Caesar is the Chief Operating Officer of No Studios in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She and her brother John Ridley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, founded this community space for artists and art-lovers in 2018. In this episode we explore what it's like to curate an environment that works for creatives, finding fulfillment by giving back, and working with family.

Alec and the team at Forward make all-natural dry ciders in a barn up in Myra, Wisconsin. It's a small, humble beginning, with Alec as the primary cidermaker and a co-founder who works on marketing and branding. We talk about pressing apples, village zoning and his dog Otis' role at the company.

B-1 Yoga and B-1 Hemp are two of the wellness brands built by Cally Burkle. In this episode we talk about the changing age of health and wellness, holding compassion for small business owners, and the challenges of operating a CBD business in a state where it isn't legal.

Convivium Urban Farmstead in Dubuque, Iowa shared the inner workings of a non-profit business focused on creating a stronger sense of local community around food. There's way more that unites us than divides us, we're all more capable than we think, and everyone deserves free tomatoes.

AN visits Reyna Hoerdeman of Studio Fit Chicago, a women's-only journey-based fitness studio in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. We talk about the difficulty of working with a business partner and the challenge of broadening your community to include new demographics. This was one of our most challenging episodes yet, and we learned a lot through this one!

Appreciation Nation takes time out on a drive back from a weekend of interviews, pausing to reflect a little on what's been challenging, surprising and interesting about getting the 'cast started.

Greg and Dave catch up with Kailey Donewald, Founder of a plant-based gelato company with its home in the heart of Chicago's Back of the Yard neighborhood. Topics include creative inspiration from travel, an NBA financial backer and the power of elimination diets.

AN visits a rural technology incubator in Traverse City, MI and talks with Andy Cole, the non-profit's Executive Director, about celebrating success, making proposals and winter snow sports.

Greg and Dave visit with Kris and Jason Spaulding in Kentwood, MI, where they learn about starting a new business while keeping an existing business running, sustainable business practices in a brewery and how to build a Rube Goldberg machine.

AN visits Natasha Martinez, Creative Proprietor of Savior World, in Woodstock, Illinois. Themes of environmental sustainability, stability vs. creative inspiration, and dreams of a '73 Winnebago Indian. Greg and Dave challenge the kula to start with one small thing.

Welcome to Appreciation Nation. Explore growth, gratitude and getting started with Greg and Dave York.