Success 2.0

Dr. 'Deji Ayoade shares his story from extreme poverty in Nigeria to becoming the first African immigrant to become a nuclear missile operator in the United States Air Force and serve in three U.S. military branches. He'll walk you through his mindset in the face of extreme obstacles and how he found gratitude along the way.

How do you build a foundation for a happy and joy filled life, regardless of your circumstances? Kristi Nelson, author of Wake Up Grateful will help you understand why living gratefully is so difficult in our world, and how gratitude as a habit - not an occasional trick - will change your life. As always, we'll leave you with simple, proven tools to get you in the right direction. Thanks for letting me be a part of your journey!  What We Discuss in this Episode: Kristi's battle with Stage IV cancer and why such a difficult time moved her to establish a foundation of gratitude (2:00 to 4:15)  Why gratitude is so difficult in our culture and time (4:15 to 10:35)  How to harness comparison to unlock joy (10:35 to 14:10) How to go from understanding gratitude to practicing gratitude (14:10 to 33:17)  The vision behind Grateful Living (33:17 to 36:26)  Mentioned in the Podcast: Wake Up Grateful, by Kristi Nelson (email CJ for a free copy!)  Free Wake Up Grateful Discussion and Study Guide by Kristi Nelson Take The Achiever's Compass

Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman, co-author of the international bestseller of The Molecule of More joins CJ to understand exactly why we believe a Yeti cooler keeps our drink that much colder. Join them to learn the impact of dopamine on your decisions and the tangible ways you can take control from unconscious to conscious. What We Discuss in this Episode: What is dopamine and why don't we talk more about it? Why is it that the people who are most able to afford a beach house are the least able to enjoy it? (6:15 to 12:49) What are the forces influencing the decisions you make and how can we become more aware of them? Why is it that self-development and growth isn't “10 easy steps”? (13:45 to 17:) How do you control your unconscious mind… and why should you care about it? (23:40 to 34:50) Mentioned in the Podcast: Email CJ to receive a complimentary The Molecule of More or Spellbound: Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Unconscious Mind Take The Achiever's Compass

Rebecca Ward is a licensed therapist, executive coach, speaker, and author. Today, CJ and Rebecca will unpack the connection between fear and stress, the impact our thoughts have on our physical well-being, and ways we can start to feel better today.

In the hybrid world, there are more ways to communicate than ever before, but finding true connection and engagement still eludes many of us. Without the ability to effectively engage an audience and inspire action, new ideas struggle to be implemented, adding frustration and failure to the workplace. Richard shares how to develop your skill to speak and communicate with others to get the results you've planned no matter what room – virtual or otherwise – you're in.

Kute Blackson has been called the mindfulness guru that billionaires go to for advice. He's been featured on Larry King Now, Dr. Drew, NPR, Fox and Friends, Mind Body Green, and many more. Listen in as Kute uncovers the possibility that surrender, instead of being passive, is the most courageous act you can do to achieve more joy in your life What We Discuss in this Episode: “None of us has control in life. Our demand that life go the way we want is what causes so much suffering. Know that the degree to which you surrender determines the degree to which you are alive, the degree to which life can use you, the degree to which you can enjoy life.” -Kute Blackson's Mother Understand that the ego is not who you are. It is a process not a thing. Ego is a construct of patterned conditioning. Once we can step back and observe that, we can understand that the ego means well and the mechanisms we've built based on fear start to melt away. We have to be willing to feel the feelings that we learned as children to suppress. Then, we can start to identify who we are and what we believe. Three questions to get to truth: What lies am I telling myself? What am I pretending to not know? What is that lie costing me? When we feel pain, we distract ourselves so that we don't have to deal with it. But the pain is a signal that is showing us a part of ourselves that is out of alignment. Ask yourself, what is the message of this pain? Then, we can course correct and get back in alignment. When you let go, there will be many times that you lose things. But when you follow your soul, you will have the comfort and peace of knowing that you are in integrity of your own self. Mentioned in the Podcast: The Magic of Surrender: Finding the Courage to Let Go by Kute Blackson Boundless Bliss Bali, a 12-Day Bali Event with Kute Blackson The Surrender Summit – Virtual 5-Day Event, July 12-16, 2022 Take The Achiever's Compass

Steve White's path from the housing projects to president of Comcast was punctuated by defining, and often heart-wrenching, moments. Moments that lead him to associating uncompromising with never giving up, always looking to learn and improve, investing in yourself, and maintaining a positive attitude through it all.

Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community. Peter challenges us to get back to the basics of community that will transform how you see your life and purpose. 

Jan Broders went from fast-tracked success in the hospitality industry, to extreme burnout at the age of 27, requiring months of clinical rehabilitation. He then took a journey in exploration of the central question, "How can I live a successful, ambitious and prosperous life without compromising my health and happiness?" Let's dive in.

Fear and uncertainty have been undermining performance and well-being in the workplace for as long as we have had workplaces. Gaurav Bhatnagar and Mark Minukas show you how to reframe your ― and your employees' ― relationship with fear and anxiety to create a learning culture of engaged workers at the top of their game.

What We Discuss in this Episode: Fun in the workplace - how can it be cultivated to retain valuable employees? Fun vs Work: Why the meaning of these two terms are commonly blurred How is ‘fun' defined from the employee perspective, how is it defined from the employer perspective, and how can workplaces achieve a harmonic balance? Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever's Compass Bob Nelson Best-selling Author, Keynote Speaker, Consultant “Dr. Bob” Nelson is the world's leading authority on employee recognition, motivation and engagement. He is president of Nelson Motivation Inc., a management training and consulting company specializing in helping organizations improve management practices, programs and systems. Dr. Bob is a much sought-after Keynote Speaker, Consultant and Executive Coach.  

What We Discuss in this Episode: The BIG THREE life changing habits that ensure business success. Leading a life by design vs. Living a life by default: What's the difference and how does it affect business success? Why are personal visions crucial to entrepreneurship and how to develop a personal vision you can stick to? What does having both the right mindset and skill set have to do with achieving success and doing what matters most? When the fear of failure hinders success, how to circumvent these fears and create a bulletproof plan for steady growth. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever's Compass Rob Shallenberger Bio Rob Shallenberger is one of the world's leading authorities on leadership and execution. He's trained and coached hundreds of companies around the world, to include many Fortune 500 organizations. He attended Utah State University and went on to earn an MBA from Colorado State University. He served as an F-16 Fighter Pilot in the Air Force for 11 years. He was also an Advance Agent for Air Force One and traveled the world working with foreign embassies and the Secret Service.  

What We Discuss in this Episode: Why is emotional intelligence important for professional development and team building? How emotions play a pivotal role in our everyday decisions, daily communications, relationship building, and the essence of basic human drive for success. Can we develop emotional intelligence or is it an intrinsic trait that only a select few understand? How can we determine if we have emotional intelligence or not? What constitutes emotional intelligence and how can we use emotional intelligence for positive outcomes in the workplace? Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever's Compass Robin Hills Business Psychologist, Emotional Intelligence Trainer Robin Hills is the author of two books in The Authority Guide Series - The Authority Guide to Emotional Resilience in Business and The Authority Guide to Behaviour in Business. Ei4Change is a company specializing in training, coaching and personal development focused on emotional intelligence, positive psychology and neuroscience. His experience ranges over 35 years'​ working with small start-ups to large multinationals in commercial areas, in project management and in line management. He works practically with the business applications of emotional intelligence in leadership and management working independently and with teams of business coaches. Hills's specialist interest lies in applying the outputs from personality and behavioral assessments to increase productivity and success at work. These assessments include Myers Briggs Type Indicator (Step I and II), DISC (to an advanced level), and Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i 2.0), which includes a 360 assessment (EQ-i 2.0 360). Robin is also a certified TetraMap facilitator. Since 2013, Robin has delivered keynotes and invited presentations at international conferences on emotional intelligence and neuroscience in the UK, the US, South Africa and India, as well as online. 

What We Discuss in this Episode: One of our society's biggest challenges is our lack of emotional intimacy. We learn to replace emotional intimacy with achievement, and we stay there until we realize it's empty. We live with four emotions: excitement, boredom, fear, and anger. Getting yourself off the achievement treadmill can seem impossible. Try this simple exercise: Rate your calendar on a scale of “I'm really looking forward to this” and “I'm really dreading this.” Then ask yourself, what do the events I'm looking forward to have in common, and vice versa? When you focus on achievement, you're running on adrenaline, and that is a young person's game. When you ask someone how they're doing and they say, “great,” they're usually good. If they say they're doing fine, they're usually not. Mentioned in the Podcast: Goulston's TEDx “What Made You Smile Today?” and #WMYST Challenge Take The Achiever's Compass My Wakeup Call with Chip Conley Daring to Care: How to Build a Heartfelt Company Jason Reid's TEDx, “The most important conversation you will have with your kids” Defeating Self Defeat by Dr. Goulston Dr. Mark Goulston Originally a UCLA professor of psychiatry for over 25 years, and a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer, Dr. Mark Goulston's expertise has been forged and proven in the crucible of real-life, high stakes situations. An influencer who helps influencers become more influential, his unique background has made him an indispensable and sought-after resource and change facilitator to Fortune 500 leaders, entrepreneurs and educators across the nation. He lives with his wife in Los Angeles, California.

What We Discuss in this Episode: The only limits we have are the limits we have set in our minds. The Sedona Method helps you unlock the unlimited nature of your life and let go of the obstacles and baggage that hold us back. Letting go and living simply is natural. Children do it all the time. Holding on is hard. Adults do it all the time. That's why we're so tired at the end of the day. Experiences and stuff aren't going to complete you. You are already whole and complete as you are. We often know what the solution is, but we can't quiet our minds enough to see it. When you let go, you let go of your beliefs of the past that are preventing you from reacting in this moment. When we're wanting to control the outcome, we are looking to the future or the past and not dealing with what we can deal with now. Now, however, is the only time we can do anything. We either imagine a terrible future, stress about what we this is known about the future, or we're rehashing the past. We're not dealing with what is. Responding to uncertainty is something we do all day long. If we handled uncertainty, surprise wouldn't exist. We need to respond appropriately in this moment. Living in the moment is the natural outcome of two things: letting go and recognizing the truth of who and what you are. The mind is all about the past and future. You can describe what just was, but not what is now. The now is faster than the mind. It's more immediate. It's not about getting in the now, you're already there. It's about noticing what is now. You don't need to try to be what you already are. You just need to notice it. Instead of being opposed to the problem, be for the solutions. It's possible to be ecstatically happy, even when you're sitting doing nothing.  Mentioned in the Podcast: Happiness is free and it's easier than you think, by Lestor Levinson and Hale Dwoskin The Sedona Method free resources Take The Achiever's Compass

Contrary to conventional wisdom, a legacy isn’t what’s written in your obituary. It’s what you create every day. And with a dark pandemic driving 51% of us to think more about our mortality, it’s high time we started today. Join CJ McClanahan on Success 2.0 as Alan Weiss, PhD, identifies how to create your legacy – today. What We Discuss in this Episode: Life is not about a search for meaning, it’s creating meaning. It’s not a search that has a destination, it’s happening organically every day. Creating meaning entails identifying why the world is different because you lived in it. Have you led a trusting life, have you planted a garden, have you impacted someone in your circle? The last 30 years have created enormous pressure to compare to ourselves to others. Further, instead of becoming more knowledgeable, we’ve just gotten louder. In focusing on the needs of others, you help yourself. When you teach others, you learn more than they do. The act of helping others builds you as a person. Celebrate when you identify that you’re drowning in stress and information. Isolate the sources that are the most valid to help you become the person you want to be. Whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist will determine how your life plays out that day. We must train our brains to move toward the positive end of the spectrum more frequently. Part of being alive and finding meaning is being in touch with the physical world around you. We don’t focus on the simple, because we’ve convinced ourselves that the simple can’t be true. Mentioned in the Podcast: Email CJ McClanahan for the offering mentioned in the podcast. Your Legacy is Now by Alan Weiss, Ph.D Subscribe to Alan Weiss newsletter and video resources Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment Alan Weiss, PhD Alan Weiss is a consultant, speaker, and bestselling author. Described by the New York Post as “one of the most highly regarded independent consultants in America,” his consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, and more than 500 leading organizations. His new book is Your Legacy Is Now: Life Is Not a Search for Meaning from Others—It's the Creation of Meaning for Yourself (Routledge; March 18, 2021). Learn more at alanweiss.com.

We all struggle with the big question - are you living out your life’s purpose? Dr. Kenneth Haman is Managing Director of the Alliance Bernstein Advisor Institute and has been a practicing psychotherapist for over two decades. Join us as Dr. Haman unpacks your purpose and provide you with simple tactics to live your purpose every day. What We Discuss in this Episode: High performing professionals can get trapped into thinking that if I can achieve (insert goal), then all my problems will disappear. Only then will they consider pursuing their purpose. The problem is, they never get there. The majority of people are filled with regret at the end of their lives. They are stuck reading the narrative of their lives and they hate what they’re reading. You can trust that the universe is bumping into you all the time. Start paying attention to that, and listen to what your natural inclinations draw your toward. Learned helplessness is the thought that I need something outside of myself to make life happen. To be intentional is to stop waiting for things to happen. Navy Seals are trained that when you have hit a wall, and are completely done, you still have 80% in you. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment Alliance Bernstein Advisor Institute Simon Sinek, Find Your Why Mike Rowe, TED Talk: Learning from Dirty Jobs Ability Potentials: Aptitude Testing and Career Guidance Connect with Dr. Kenneth Haman  

Get 20% off Dr. Jud Brewer's Unwinding Anxiety app Sign up for Unwinding Anxiety online (Direct Link: https://app.unwindinganxiety.com/sign_up). Fill out your Account Information (Step 1), and enter coupon code SUCCESS2021 under Step 2. Once your account is set up, download the mobile app from Google Play or the App Store. What We Discuss in this Episode: Anxiety can be perpetuated as a habit. To break this habit, we have to identify the cycle of anxiety. The “first gear” is to map out triggers, behaviors, and results. If we are not even aware of the habit, we’re actually moving in reverse. The “second gear” is identifying the reward hierarchy of the result. Once you have set the reward, you stop thinking about any of it and merely continue in the result. With bad habits, it is critical to identify what you’re gaining from this behavior. Once you do this, you can drop the bad habit’s reward value and step out of the habit. The “third gear” is the bigger, better offer. In this stage, mindfulness can take the place of the bad habit and become the reward. Curiosity feels better in our brain than worry. Mindfulness helps us switch to being curious about our feelings, instead of avoiding. Further, when we observe thoughts, we are not as attached to them. In modern society, science has become a religion. Putting scientific language behind these ancient philosophies helps people give it a chance. Whether it’s a good habit or a bad habit, mindfulness helps us see very clearly what we get out of the results we’ve hardwired. For example, does it help us feel better to be divisive or work together? We can’t logic through this to change our behavior. It must come from experience. Mindfulness unlocks that ability.  Mentioned in the Podcast: Email CJ to access the offer mentioned in the podcast: cj@cjmcclanahan.com Unwinding Anxiety book, by Jud Brewer Unwinding Anxiety app Eat Right Now app Craving to Quit app Jud Brewer, MD, PhD Dr. Jud is a thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” having more 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research therein. Dr. Jud is the director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare, and a research affiliate at MIT. Previously, he held research and teaching positions at Yale University and the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Mindfulness. As an addiction psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for treating addictions, Dr. Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety (Eat Right Now, Unwinding Anxiety and Craving to Quit). Based on the success of these programs in the lab, he co-founded MindSciences, Inc. – acquired by Sharecare in 2020 – to create app-based digital therapeutic versions of these programs for a wider audience, working with individuals, corporations, and hospital systems to put effective, evidence-based behavior change guidance in the hands of people struggling with unwanted behaviors and “everyday addictions.” Modern Science, Ancient Wisdom Dr. Brewer has also studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI and EEG neurofeedback, adding to the understanding of the brain’s “Default Mode Network” and the role of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in self-referential thinking. He regularly gives talks on the intersection of modern science and ancient meditative practices, helping to expose a modern audience to specific techniques and insights first discovered 2,500 years ago. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, trained U.S. Olympic athletes and coaches, foreign government ministers and corporate leaders. His work has been featured on 60 Minutes, TED (4th most viewed talk of 2016), TIME magazine (top 100 new health discoveries of 2013), Forbes, CNN, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera (documentary about his research), The Washington Post, Businessweek and others. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association, among others. He is also the author of The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017). Jud and his wife Mahri live in Massachusetts where they enjoy biking, hiking, and meditating with their two cats, Ananda and Julian of Norwich.

What We Discuss in this Episode: Achieving is an elusive goal. Overachievers thrive on lists, and getting things done. The problem is, we are achieving for an external outcome to validate ourselves, not to fulfill ourselves internally. How much we love ourselves, how secure we are, and how much self-esteem we have is directly correlated to how much we have to augment externally. Most high achievers choose to pursue for one of three reasons: power/authority, desire to win, and drive to be known. The goal is not to stop making the world a better place. The goal is to subtly shift your perspective to change how you fulfill your inner desire and drive. Many of our goals come from what society says we should have or should do. Initiate an internal check, “what is this for?” “What am I trying to create for myself/my business/my family?” “Complacency is the proverbial kryptonite to high achievers.” In other words, ‘satisfaction’ means that I have nothing to do, or accomplish. If I don’t have anything to accomplish, I don’t have a purpose. We create stories of why we behave the way we do. Ask yourself the following questions: “How do I know I am happy? What do I have to observe in my reality?” “How do you want your life to look like going forward personally, with my family?” then, figure out how the business drives that. We spend so much time in our lives that we don’t work on our lives. Mentioned in the Podcast: Chris Yonker News and Events Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment Jim Loehr, The Power of Full Engagement The Greatest Years of your Life Workbook

What We Discuss in this Episode: We are more connected than ever. Even outside of the pandemic, this leads to more stress and anxiety than ever before. We give ourselves the worst pain because the worry and anxiety about the future is worse than the pain of the moment. It starts with acknowledging the problem. We have to admit that we are obsessed with controlling the future. The work-life balance is a myth. The minute you can take work home, you are able to work from home. Don’t respond to or check emails after a certain time. Plan your time off. Whether it’s spending time with family, or reading a book, or watching a movie, but don’t leave it unstructured because you will quickly fall back into glancing at your email or opening your laptop. Instead of using your cell phone as an alarm, spend the $10 and buy a small alarm clock. If your phone is next to your bed, you will check it. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment

What We Discuss in this Episode: Today’s promise: Tonight, I will get caught up. Guess what happens? You don’t. So, then, it becomes Tomorrow’s Promise: Tomorrow, I will get caught up. You can overcome this anxiety and stress. However, these tactics, while simple, take discipline. Embrace the fact that you will never be caught up. This paradigm shift is critical before moving on to the next tactic. Once you recognize that you cannot get everything done, you begin to prioritize your tasks. Identify a small number of particularly important personal and professional goals. Before the week has started, set aside 10 minutes to plan how you will spend your time. Critical questions to answer: How much of your calendar is open? How much of that open time do you control? Resist the urge to plan a 70-hour week. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment Patrick Lencioni, “If everything is important, then nothing is important.”

What We Discuss in this Episode: Take The Achiever’s Compass for a personalized report of how you can start finding joy in the journey. As achievers, we are wired to ‘win.’ There is an upside – more money, more vacations, more opportunities. However, if we don’t stop comparing our success to others, we will never be able to find joy. Comparison forces you to constantly raise to goal. No matter how much you have, there will always be someone else who has more. Social media has aggravated this issue, inundating us with constant reminders of other people who have outachieved you. But you don’t have to let this take control of your life. Consider redefining success this way: Your ability to utilize your unique talents, build meaningful relationships with people you care about, and live in the moment. Embrace your uniqueness. Recognize the fact that there are paths you do want to take, and do not want to take, in light of that uniqueness. Stop and recognize when you do it. Don’t try to stop doing it altogether, because it’s impossible to repress the initial thought. Live gratefully, give generously. It is difficult to compare yourself negatively to others when you are truly grateful for what you have.

What We Discuss in this Mini Episode: In 1992, CJ discovered that he had chronic anxiety after he couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed, or leave his house. That started a lifetime of helping professionals manage stress and anxiety. During this pandemic, stress and anxiety is on the rise. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In Buddhism, stressed and anxious minds are referred to as a “monkey mind.” The thoughts just swing from tree to tree, back and forth, and sometimes it can be absolutely overwhelming. No goal is more important than enjoying the present moment (unless you’re in a survival situation). Fighting anxiety makes it worse. When you are mindful, you are an observer of your thoughts. This practice lessens the pain that your thoughts cause create. It reduces stress, increases happiness and self-esteem, and improves your relationships and immune system. Here’s the secret – stop trying to be mindful. It’s not an award you can win or an item you can check off your list. It’s simply a state of being. Start small. Try driving in silence the next time you go somewhere. Roll down the window and listen to the wind. Count your breathe for 30 seconds. Resist the need to interact with anything while standing in line at the coffee shop. When you struggle to be mindful, forgive yourself. You cannot keep thoughts from coming into your mind. Tell yourself that you are doing your very best, then try to make small improvements every day. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment “Ordinary thoughts course through our mind like a deafening waterfall.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn Lake Odessa, Colorado – totally worth the hike Headspace meditation app

Since founding her consulting firm in 1980, Eileen McDargh has helped organizations and individuals transform the life of their business and the business of their life through conversations that matter and connections that count. She believes that resiliency is a critical life skill and one that requires the energy of connections.  What We Discuss in this Episode: Burnout is “to exhaust one’s resources by attempting to live up to some unrealistic expectation imposed upon you by yourself or society.” – Herbert Freudenberger There are several causes of burnout. One is our own inner voice demanding that we do more, be more, accomplish more. Another is loss of focus we have through constant interruption and distraction with digital devices. Further, the sense of disconnection and loneliness only exacerbates burnout. Amidst the global pandemic, people are working longer and harder at home. We no longer have the space to detox (commute to and from work, for example), and we are worried about proving how hard we are working based on our results. To deal with burnout, you must first recognize it in your life. Expand your understanding of your options by changing your inner voice from, “I have to do this,” to “I choose to do this.” There are some people who are more instantly resilient than others. However, we can be taught to be resilient. Eileen’s definition of resiliency is, “to grow through challenge or opportunity so that you end up wiser, smarter, on the other side.” To build resiliency, start small. Identify small things that are within your control and let go of the things that are not. Understand where your time goes. Doing something kind for someone else expands our resiliency. What are the small ways you can make small improvements to slowly and steadily move yourself in the right direction. “An inch is a cinch. A mile takes a while.” – Eileen McDargh “The only place I have any power, is this moment right now.” – Eileen McDargh Mentioned in the Podcast: Burnout to Breakthrough, by Eileen McDargh Herbert Freudenberger Otter Products Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment   You can reach Eileen at:   Twitter: @macdarling LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileenmcdargh Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professional-Speaker-Eileen-McDargh-CSP-CPAE/405748766188727   Website: https://www.EileenMcDargh.com Email: Eileen@eileenmcdargh.com Telephone:  949-496-8640

What We Discuss in this Episode: In 1970, the person who works the hardest wins. But it’s 2020. Effort and “being busy” no longer equals achievement. Production toward what matters most equals achievement. You must prioritize and plan your week in advance. Can you put your phone away, or does it control your life? Addiction to anything negatively impacts your quality of life. Take your social media apps off your home screen. Don’t take your phone with you everywhere – or, take a small step by turning on airplane mode every once and a while. Get intentional about practicing gratitude. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody Beattie “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn “Life is only about relationships.” – Dr. Greg Sipes However, not every relationship in your life is equally important. Who are the top ten most important people in your life? Seriously. Write down their names. Having hobbies allows you to spend time doing things that are not related to work. Further, it opens you up to sharing time with other people, who might have different backgrounds and perspectives from yours. When you feel connected to others and to a higher purpose, you experience more peace and contentment. Give a community of faithful people a chance. Build some quiet and meditation into your life. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment Melody Beattie Jim Rohn Dr. Greg Sipes When Good Things Happen to Good People, by Dr. Stephen Post

What We Discuss in this Episode: Resist the urge to judge yourself – no one is perfect. Perfection is your enemy. Make it your goal to make small improvements every day. Money is the easiest way to measure success. Because of that, watch your environment – if you’re with people who live lavishly to ‘keep score,’ you will be guilted into spending lavishly. “Comparison is the thief of all joy.” President Theodore Roosevelt Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, we are asking if what we are doing matters. Ask yourself, “Where do I want my career to go?” and “If everything in my life is going perfectly three years from now, what are you making, what are you doing?” The food you put into your body fuels the energy you have in the day. Eat small meals throughout the day of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains. Exercise reduces your stress, increases your endorphins, and changes how you feel. Block one hour in your day for exercise. Keep yourself accountable by signing up for a race, or working out with a friend. Living in the moment is the single greatest factor that impacts our happiness. It is also the most difficult tactic to practice. The less you multi-task, the easier it is to be in the moment. Block time in your day for silence, perhaps meditation. Using silence trains your brain to be in the moment, to still the outside noise. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment

What We Discuss in this Episode: We want to go back to the 2019 economy and keep our business exactly what it was. We crave consistency. But the world has changed. How do we approach the future and capitalize on the upside of updating your business model? Your clients and customers want you to bring the most uncertainty as possible. But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Becoming an expert in your client’s industry will take some time, research, and getting out in front. It will take energy and intentionality on your part - but, be sure - your competition is already doing it. Pivoting is not easy. You will not be able to do it immediately after reading a 250-word article, or, dare I say it, listening to this podcast. But CJ will give you the two critical questions that you need to start playing with to change your anxiety to excitement. Embrace the realization that you are better at change than you think you are. Focus on what you can control in the next 8 hours. That’s all you have to do. Mentioned in the Podcast: Take The Achiever’s Compass Assessment A Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck

What We Discuss in this Episode: In any crisis, we ask, “What am I doing with my life?” and start the process to find meaning and purpose in our lives. The fear that if we stop achieving – for even a moment – that it will hinder our growth. Decreasing stress and anxiety is tied to the chase for perfection. If you don’t stop chasing perfection, you will not discover your true purpose. Why relationships are critical for your success – and happiness. Unfortunately, we don’t live forever. Mental health and physical health are cornerstones to your sense of well-being. The one tactic that will help you increase your awareness of others and increase your sense of purpose.

What We Discuss in this Episode: Who were we before we experienced COVID-19 We want our society and our businesses to get back to winning. How do you win in the second half of COVID-19? How to shift your professional mindset from offense to defense, safely Tactics for shifting your mindset to grow your business and your career The power of your words and how that impacts your professional trajectory Clarifying your value, product, service, so that you can answer questions from customers Shifting your paradigm from big goals to smaller, daily goals

Get real and get vulnerable with CJ McClanahan as we talk about living in the post-COVID-19 era.

In this episode of Success 2.0, CJ McClanahan (@cjmccoach) explores the simple tactics you can practice to thrive and decrease stress, even during times of uncertainty.  Mentioned in this episode:  In a time of stress, the brain screams to ‘go faster.’ Most of us are working from home right now and are pressed to move faster and do more. That constant activity and stress leads to bad decisions which actually increases our stress level. Keeping your routine does not mean keeping it perfectly. Keeping your routine means keeping it as closely as you can. We can behave irrationally and in a reactive fashion during a crisis like COVID-19. Instead, we need to act in a rational and intentional fashion. However, in a crisis it’s hard to be completely rational. Everything seems to be changing right now. Our responsibility is to lay out as many predictable events as possible. In a time of crisis, you might wonder ‘what if my clients don’t value my service anymore and they think they’re going to get value somewhere else?’ or, ‘what if my clients don’t need my service anymore?’ At some level, we are always wondering if I am adding enough value. You can handle uncomfortable situations for one day. If I asked you what is worrying you today, you would probably give me a scenario that is two week, two months, down the road. What can you do about this today? What is the best effort I can do today, based on all the information I have right now?    

In this episode of Success 2.0, CJ (@cjmccoach) explores the concept of “saying no” and how embracing it is a must if you want to grow your business, transform your career, or get greater satisfaction out of life.   Mentioned in this episode: How Apple struggled to find its footing after letting go of Steve Jobs, and how bringing him back on as CEO set the stage for Apple to become one of the most valuable companies of all time. Why having too many options has had a negative impact on how we spend our time and the joy we get from our decisions. What a social media detox can do for your mental health and how to do it effectively. How to shift your paradigm so that your default answer is no, rather than yes, and why people will be grateful for it. How to understand what is most important in your life (a.k.a. “show me your calendar, and I’ll show you what’s most important to you.”) What it means to “create a trap” for yourself that will ensure you succeed.   CJ’s tactics for mastering the art of no Make a paradigm shift  Get clear on what’s most important to you Take back control of your calendar Quit something immediately Forgive yourself when you fall short of your goal   Recommended resources The Overachiever’s Toolkit exercises The Courage to Quit blog A New Definition of Success blog What is the Low Information Diet? blog Tips for Managing Information Overload blog Never Get it All Done podcast podcast

​A former consulting actuary to Fortune 100 companies – such as Sony Music, Proctor & Gamble, and Exxon – David Wood (​@SolutionBox) left his cushy Park Avenue job 20+ years ago to explore both the outer world, and his own inner world. What We Discuss with David Wood: How childhood trauma impacts individuals differently. Why David left the actuarial arts to become a lounge entertainer, then life coach. What he did to become the top-ranked coach on Google (back in the day). Where you can learn to become a coach. And so much more.... Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe to the Podcast Here) (Connect with CJ) (Are you secretly coaching, but not getting paid fo​​r it? from David Wood via YouTube) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Unhappy in his marriage, David and his now ex-wife turned to a personal development program with the hope of learning more about themselves, what they wanted out of life and their marriage. They freaked me out initially. They’re all smiling way too much… I’m going to just get in and out, and I’m not drinking the Kool-aid.” David says. “But what happened is that they cracked my cynicism. I thought they were just out for my money, but I realized they actually cared about people.”  From that point on, David was hooked. Vowing to never another course, David found himself in the second level of the program, where he naturally started to coach people.  If they were stuck, he’d ask ‘what’s it gonna take for you to get unstuck?’ “I think I changed a woman’s life overnight in that course. It was such an amazing feeling to watch her walking on air after 10 years in an unhappy marriage, have her and her husband to have a massive breakthrough, I’m ‘I want more of that!’” Woods says. So he took the third program because it was promised he’d be trained to become a coach. He knew he wanted to move back to Australia (from New York), so he quit his job, giving himself six months to discover if there was anything else he’d like to do. If he didn’t find anything he’d look for a position with a familiar role. During his self-funded sabbatical, he wanted to work as an entertainer, frequenting local restaurants, bars and resorts, while beginning a coaching practice. After six months, he decided to spend all his energy on coaching, and soon realized an opportunity to use his technical capabilities to gain clients through search engine optimization. “I was ranked number 1 4, 7 & 9 on the search engine [for life coaching].” Wood says.  From there, he started creating products to help clients, then moved into helping other coaches build their business and recently has pivoted back to coaching individuals at a high-level. Thanks, David Wood! If you enjoyed this show with Life Coach David Wood, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with David on LinkedIn Like Play For Real on Facebook Visit David's Website Follow David on Instagram Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! Mentioned in This Episode: ​​​​Willis Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin) Landmark Forum Coach MBA Solution Box Brené Brown Play For Real Conscious City Guide Authentic Relating Games Night

Art Barter (@Art_Barter) is the CEO of Datron World Communications, Inc., Founder of the Servant Leadership Institute, and author of the books Farmer Able, The Servant Leadership Journal, and The Art of Servant Leadership II What We Discuss with Art Barter: How Art grew Datron from $10MM to over $200MM in six years. Servant leadership as a business growth strategy that speaks to the heart of an individual and a company. Driving employee giving to the tune of $16MM.  How to implement servant leadership inside an organization. And much more... Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!  (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe to the Podcast Here) (Connect with CJ)   (Art Barter Full Keynote / 2016 Servant Leadership Conference from Servant Leadership Institute via YouTube) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Starting as a “sweeper” at Disneyland in Anaheim, California while studying Business and Finance at Cal State Fullerton, Art moved into character wardrobe and then into the accounting and finance division, which lead to a full-time position after graduating. “Disney was a great place to work, a lot of fun,... but it takes you a long time to get ahead there. I was a young guy out of college and wanted to get ahead real fast.” says Barter. Not long after graduating, Art left Disney and took a job with a company that manufactured check printers. “I fell in love with building things,... and I’ve been in manufacturing ever since.” Barter says. After spending 10 or so years there, Art transitioned to a company that made specialized motors for everything from bonesaws to NASA observatory telescopes to F18 fighter jets for the U.S. military.  After another ten years, Art learned about a defense contractor called Datron that made telecommunications equipment for foreign militaries. Having been exposed to international travel in his previous positions, he was very excited when his first assignment took him to Zimbabwe to help the finance $15MM in high-frequency radios for the local military to support upcoming elections. It took two years to raise the capital, and although the Zimbabwean government was (and is) known for corruption and violence, the country had the lowest levels of election-related violence in its history. “It was an opportunity to help save lives,” Barter says. “All the generals I deal with and all the militaries around the world, they just want to provide sovereignty for their country and security for their citizens… they don’t want to attack anybody, they just want to protect.” In 2004, after a year of intense investigation by the Department of Justice into the company’s relationships with foreign powers, Art learned that it had been triggered by a company that wanted to drive Datron’s value down in order to purchase it at rock-bottom pricing.​ It was then that Art decided to make an offer to buy the company instead. Long story short, he got it, at a purchase price of $4.7MM. With Art’s leadership, he grew the company to over $200MM in just six years. “We decided to run the business a different way - create a great purpose, give people a way to live that purpose.” That difference was servant leadership. Thanks, Art Barter! If you enjoyed this show with Servant Leadership Institute founder Art Barter, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Art on LinkedIn Thank Art on Twitter Like Servant Leadership Inst​itute on Facebook Follow Servant Leadership Institute on Instagram Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! Mentioned in This Episode: ​​​Disneyland Disney jobs Cal State Fullerton Datron World Communications, Inc. Zimbabwe Titan Corporation Foreign Corruption Practices Act Department of Justice Servant Leadership Institute Ken Blanchard Farmer Able The Servant Leadership Journal The Art of Servant Leadership II

​Paul Churchill (@PaulChurchill) is the Founder/Host of Recovery Elevator, an alcohol recovery and sobriety podcast and online community. Since launching the podcast in 2015, ​Recovery Elevator has amassed over 3-million downloads and is in the 95-percentile of all podcasts on iTunes. What We Discuss with Paul Churchill: How Paul’s entrepreneurial spirit put him in a position to develop alcohol dependence. Using a podcast to create accountability and grow a community that values real human connection in sobriety. Why relapses can actually a good thing when someone is dealing with alcohol problems. Thinking about addiction as a byproduct of an increasingly disconnected society. And much more... Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe to the Podcast Here) (Connect with CJ) From the omni-channel marketing and multi-million dollar sponsorships to major sporting events and happy hour, modern society would have you think that alcohol is a harmless beverage that leads to good times, deep connections, and career advancement. Yet, for tens of millions of Americans, and hundreds of millions globally, alcohol has a much darker, life-altering side. In this episode, we talk to Recovery Elevator host Paul Churchill about his path to sobriety and how his personal accountability method created an online recovery community that has since helped thousands of alcoholics across the globe gain the upper-hand on their addiction, get their lives back, find meaning and joy, and much more. Listen, learn, and enjoy! (I've Been Duped by Alcohol from Paul Churchill via YouTube) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show A lot has changed since Paul Churchill got sober and published the first episode of the Recovery Elevator podcast. “When I was in Spain I started DJ-ing clubs, and those were mega clubs,” says Paul. “I was DJ-ing until 7-8am. I’d close my bar at 3am, then go DJ at a club until 7 or 8am.”  “It was the best and worst time of my life. It’s what propelled me forward on what I’m doing now [Recovery Elevator]. Basically what happened is I became addicted to alcohol – I was blacking out 5-7 nights per week. But at the time I was telling myself it was normal. I was 25, 26 years old – that’s what people my age do.” ​“Eventually, I ended up walking away from the bar in Spain. My body was physically shutting down – mentally, physically the signs were there – it got kind of scary there at the end.” ​Shortly thereafter, Paul decided to sell his bar and move back home with his parents, thinking he'd be able to leave the drinking behind him in Spain. He saved up some money, got into grad school, but found the drinking continued to follow him. On January 1, 2010, Paul decided to get sober. Long story short, it only lasted 2.5 years before he was back "field testing" (i.e. relapsed). During this time, Paul was DJ-ing weddings, parties, and school events. By happenstance, he got into operating arcade games at bars and business was booming. "All these businesses just fell into my lap," says Paul, "there were opportunities that if you just walk around life with your eyes open, they will just show up." In mid-late 2014, Paul had gotten sober again, but wasn't interested in joining AA. Instead, he had the idea of starting a podcast focused on sobriety and recovery to help him with his accountability. "I knew if I didn't create accountability, it was going to be rough." On February 12, 2015, Paul uploaded his first podcast to iTunes, where he revealed his struggle with alcohol on the world wide web. In that first show, Paul explains that his motive is selfish–it was his way of creating accountability for himself–and that if he were to relapse, he'd make it known. Thankfully, as of this recording, Paul has uploaded a new episode every week without fail, maintained his sobriety. In the process, he's built a community of people seeking the means to address their issues with alcohol and addiction, culminating in a 700+ member online recovery community and has hosted more than 10 sober travel retreats, with more planned and in the works. Thanks, Paul Churchill! If you enjoyed this show with sobriety advocate and Recovery Elevator podcast Host (and Founder) Paul Churchill, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Paul on LinkedIn Thank Paul on Twitter Like Recovery Elevator on Facebook Follow Paul on Instagram Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! Mentioned in This Episode: ​​Recovery Elevator Big Sky Arcadia Alcoholics Anonymous Cafe RE Sober Travel Sobriety Tracker Free Course: Navigating Your First 5 Days in Sobriety

Lee Caraher (@LeeCaraher) has been in PR and Communications her entire career. She is the founder, President and CEO of San Francisco-based integrated communications company Double Forte and is the author of The Boomerang Principle and Millennials & Management. What We Discuss with Lee Caraher: ​Lee’s rise from graduate to senior executive at North America’s largest PR firm. How Lee launched her own PR firm Why Lee enjoys working with Millennials so much Implementing clear communication strategies within multi-generational workforces Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Lee started Double Forte in 2002 determined to create a culture that fully supports its talent, even when they choose to move on. After failing miserably at retaining Millennials, Double Forte went back to the beginning and created a culture where all generations thrive; as a result, turnover is low, and when employees do leave, overwhelmingly they stay loyal to the firm – sometimes even returning.   With her foundational work, Lee shows leaders how to create the best possible workplace culture so their employees will stay longer than they intend, and when they do leave, advocate for the company, defining a new loyalty contract and a new model of business sustainability. The Come Up After graduating with a degree in Medieval Studies (go figure), she transitioned in communications working for the Weber Group. A few years went by and she took a VP position at The Bohle Company, a small communications firm out of Los Angeles. Another few years there, and she was recruited for a similar role, but at a much larger company called MSLGroup. At MSL, she was in charge of the team working with one of the world’s largest companies in video games, SEGA of America. SEGA liked her so much that within 10 months of being at MSL, she was offered asked to come on as the VP of Corporate & Consumer Communications, overseeing the work of over 700 people. Five years later, just before the launch of the DreamCast, Lee was asked back to Weber Group (now Weber Shandwick), but this time in an Executive Vice President role. Another five years past, and Lee decided it was time to venture out on her own. In September 2002, Double Forte was formed. Now nearly 17 years later, Double Forte has offices in San Francisco, New York and Boston and employs dozens of people full-time. The Shift to a Millennial Workforce When Lee started Double Forte she already had extensive experience recruiting and retain top-talent. At the time, they were looking for senior leaders with 10+ years of experience. However, during the time of the Great Recession (2007-2010), Lee recognized a lack of new talent making their way to the field. Lee realized that there was no way they’d be able to find the perfect candidates to fill the company ranks, so they decided to take inexperienced millennials and give them on-the-job training.  ​Lee’s first millennial was a 22 year old woman named Stephanie. Little did Lee and the rest of the company know, Stephanie was also the owner of an emotional support animal, who would come to work with her under ADA mental health laws.  Despite the added fur to the team, Stephanie was a rockstar, and Lee decided to go all in on hiring millennials. The following year, the company hired six millennials within eight weeks of each other, and after three months, all of them were gone. Lee was flabbergasted. In all her years, never had something like this ever happened. “In my career – hundreds, thousands of people that worked for me – I had never 100% failure… in people,” Lee recounts. “There’s no way, in 25 years of hiring great people, that it was bad here. We didn’t hire people wrong, we kept them wrong. One person could’ve been a bad hire, but all of them couldn’t have been.” It was then that Lee set out to understand what was going on with millennials; where was the disconnect? How do you motivate them? Thanks, Lee Caraher! If you enjoyed this show with communications executive and author Lee Caraher, let her know by clicking on the links below and sending her a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Lee on LinkedIn! Thank Lee on Twitter! Connect with Lee on Facebook! Follow Double Forte on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! If you’d like to ask a question with a chance of having me answer it on the show, please leave me a voicemail by clicking below: This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​ Mentioned in This Episode: ​​The Bohle Company MSLGroup SEGA of America SEGA DreamCast Weber Shandwick Double Forte Emotional Support Animal – registration The Boomerang Principle Millennials & Management LeeCaraher.com​

Bob Dusin (BobDusin) is Partner at HPWP Group, a Georgia-based leadership development and training company, and the co-author of the book Creating the High Performance Workplace: It's Not Complicated to Develop a Culture of Commitment. Bob spent much of his career in engineering, but it wasn’t until he got cherry-picked for a role in Human Resources that he really found his passion. “I was a pretty good engineer, [but] I was probably more miscast as an engineer to begin with, and then I got into what’s more of my true calling” – Bob Dusin What We Discuss with Bob Dusin: How an engineer becomes leadership consultant Identifying the five-percent of employees that cause 95-percent of the headaches Building trust and respect as a leader Creating a work environment that employees enjoy and want to be apart of Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Starting out as a project engineer, every few years Bob made a jump up in the org chart; becoming project manager, then sales manager at Ceco Concrete Construction. In the mid 90s, Bob started his own construction business, but just after two years into business, his old company made him an offer to manage the Human Resources department. It not only meant a significant pay raise and great benefits, he found a passion for recruiting and developing highly effective teams. For 11 years, Bob lead the charge for growing the team that was Kansas City’s largest construction company. During those years, Bob fell in love with building people and elevating their work. After more than a decade at the helm, he decided to take his talents on the road, founding a business management consultancy.​ While guest speaking at a leadership conference, Bob met Ken and Sue Bingham. They had started a leadership training organization called the High Performance Workplace​​, and they thought Bob would be a great fit. It didn’t take long for Bob to get onboard. In 2011, Bob joined Ken and Sue and has since become a prominent speaker, coach, and recently co-authored a book with Sue entitled “Creating the High Performance Workplace” available now on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble marketplaces. Thanks, Bob Dusin! If you enjoyed this show with leadership consultant and engineer Bob Dusin, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Bob on LinkedIn Thank Bob on Twitter! Connect with Bob on Facebook! Follow HPWP Group on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​ Mentioned in This Episode: ​​Ceco Concrete Construction Arthur Andersen WIIFM: What's In It For Me? The Five-Percenter High Performance Workplace​ Creating the High Performance Workplace on Amazon

Michael O'Brien (@RoadieOB) is former pharmaceuticals executive turned leadership consultant and the author of SHIFT: Creating Better Tomorrows. After recovering from a horrific cycling accident involving a speeding SUV and coming within minutes of death, Michael shares with us the process he's gone through to give his life true meaning. "One big thing that came out of it is a greater sense of purpose – why do I want to pursue the things I want to pursue?" – Michael O'Brien. What We Discuss with Michael O'Brien: Michael's career path before his horrific accident. His 'Last Bad Day'. The road he traveled to recover from his injuries. Why he practices meditation to focus on living in the present and being grateful. How he uses his experiences to inspire company leaders. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   (We Go Where Our Eyes Go- TED X Las Vegas from Michael O'Brien​ via YouTube) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Michael was in New Mexico for a big company meeting that would last several days. He had it all planned out. Instead of resorting to the lack-luster hotel gym, he’d bring his bike, and cross a state off his cycling checklist.​ It was July 11, 2001, and Michael discovered a two-mile loop originated at the hotel that he could ride before the day’s meetings began. Three laps went smooth as planned. Michael was enjoying the sunshine and dry roads. On his fourth lap, as he rounded a bend in the road, an SUV going the opposite direction crossed over into his path, hitting Michael head on at 40 mph–himself going around 20 mph. In an instant, his life would forever change. As the SUV made contact with Michael’s body, his momentum hurled him over the hood and face-first into the windshield, then coming down in a thud, while sliding several feet on the asphalt. The accident shattered the bones in face, snapped his scapula, cracked ribs, broke his arms and wrists, and shattered his left femur. As he was being medevaced to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery, he learn he’d severed his femoral artery and was bleeding out. ​He was given 34 units of blood, and spent dozens of hours in surgeries to mend his broken everything. “The doctors told my wife... if I was 10 years older or not in good shape, I would have certainly passed around before he’d gotten to the hospital.” O’Brien recounts. Get Michael O'Brien's book SHIFT: Creating Better Tomorrows. All the profits go to support girls in Africa through World Bicycle Relief. THANKS, Michael O'Brien! If you enjoyed this show with management change leader Michael O'Brien, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Michael on LinkedIn Thank Michael on Twitter! Connect with Michael on Facebook! Follow Michael on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!   This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​ Mentioned in This Episode: ​​Zig Ziglar SHIFT: Creating Better Tomorrows The Pace Line Academy

Dave Neff (@DNeff84) is the Founder and CEO of EDGE Mentoring, a faith-based intergenerational mentoring organization focusing on bridging the professional engagement gap. EDGE spans 40+ states and multiple countries and gathers thousands of professionals annually for its ​EDGE|X leadership conference. “We’ve created a third space that’s outside the home. It’s not where you go to work or church. It’s a third place, like Starbucks, for millennials to engage in whole-life, intergenerational mentor relationships." – Dave Neff What We Discuss with Dave Neff: Dave’s first experience with mentorship and how it developed organically. What is the professional engagement gap and why it impacts most millennials. The philosophy surrounding EDGE Mentoring and how it formed. The balance of work, life, and faith. Can it be managed? The misunderstanding of millennials contributing to their bad rap. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Dave Neff’s career started by working for the Indiana Pacers after graduating from Ball State with a degree in Sports Administration. At first we worked in ticket services, sales, then the sold the suites at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In 2011, Dave switch careers at taking a position in marketing for ExactTarget (now a subsidiary of Salesforce) in downtown Indy. While working for the Pacers, Dave sold a suite to an animal health company called Elanco that operated under Eli Lilly. what started out as a business relationship between Dave, Jeff Simmons and the company he lead turned into a mentoring relationship. In 2009, Dave was asked to join a twice-a-month mentoring call Jeff was starting with 3 other young professionals. But this wasn’t some bible study, it was whole-life, touching on the spiritual, personal habits and discipline, and career. As time went on, they added more mentees with various backgrounds and they quickly became very close, taking trips and networking, even participating in each other’s weddings. After the acquisition of ExactTarget by Salesforce, Dave was faced with a choice – either stay and ride out the transition, or try something different. He looked to his mentors in the company, and nearly all of them were leaving. So he decided to go a different direction too. In 2014, Dave founded EDGE Mentoring, a young professionals mentoring organization aimed at connecting faith-driven professionals with like-minded peers. Dave had a deep upbringing in the Christian faith. He grew up in a very conservative Evangelical household, attended a prestigious private Christian high school in Indy, and was involved in CRU in college.  “While there was a some great merit [to my church], and I learned the Gospel,... you didn’t hear the word grace a lot about grace,” Neff says. “It was sort of this very prideful ‘this is my faith, and if we don’t line up on every jot and tittle, then we aren’t on the same team.’” Instead, leading his faith-based mentoring organization, Dave strives to seek out and surround himself with people that don’t believe exactly what he believes. Now in its fourth year, EDGE is quickly becoming the go-to resource for young professionals of faith to to explore deep connections with like-minded peers and learn from mentors they can look up to. Want to become EDGE Mentor? Click Here to Apply!Interested in being the newest EDGE Mentee? Click Here to Apply! Thanks, Dave Neff! If you enjoyed this show with management change leader Aaron Levy, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Dave on LinkedIn Thank Dave on Twitter! Connect with EDGE on Facebook! Follow EDGE on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! If you’d like to ask a question with a chance of having me answer it on the show, please leave me a message   This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes! Mentioned in This Episode: ​Ball State University Indiana Pacers ExactTarget (Salesforce) Elanco EDGE Mentoring EDGE|X Conference Heritage Christian School CRU Harrison Center For the Arts Shepherd Community Center Lake Institute Morales Group

Chicago-area native, Aaron Levy (@RaiseBarCo) is the Founder and CEO of Raise The Bar, a consulting firm that focuses on creating systems that help companies attract and retain millennial talent in the increasingly competitive workforce. “Before you ask ‘Does this person have the skills to be a manager?,’ you should ask ‘Does this person want to be a manager?’” - Aaron Levy What We Discuss with Aaron Levy: Aaron’s love of hockey and studying filmmaking at University of Texas. The health & well-being coaching company he started with his brother while in college. Why knowledge does not cause movement to taking action toward change. Why upper management believe millennials are entitled, impatient and hard-to-please. How the philosophy of work and paying for hours worked is a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show Before Aaron Levy even started his career, he was asking himself what causes people to do what they do, or not do.    Fascinated by understanding what goes through people’s head, he and his brother, a physician in Chicago, started a health & wellness coaching business. The goal? To help people address and create habits that lead to positive change in their lives.   For the better part of the next decade, Aaron, his brother and their team would try every approach possible to give people the the information the needed to make the changes they wanted in their lives.   But for some reason, only a small percentage of the people would make lasting behavior change. As they spoke with others in the industry, these results were not uncommon. Leaning Into Purpose Aaron took what learned about human behavior from being in the heath & wellness industry, and began applying his teaching to the world of management in business. ​ It was a if a lightbulb went on signaling that his next frontier would involve helping to reform the relationship between nature of work and the people that perform it. ​ In 2016, Aaron founded Raise The Bar Consulting, LLC with the mission to transform the manager role by empowering managers with the tools, skills and training to be better leaders of people. ​ Disrupting the Status Quo Since founding Raise The Bar, Aaron has made it his goal to connect with as many people in the biggest way he can.   Aaron is involved in mentoring for the Heartland Alliance, helping refugee children acclimate to their new environment, and 1871, a Chicago organization at the crossroads on technology and entrepreneurship.​ In addition, Aaron is the Founder of Startup Grind Chicago, a Google-backed entrepreneur community. He's a committee member with the American Heart Association and advisor for the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Aaron writes for Forbes, Entrepreneur and the Harvard Business Review, a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, and is a contributing writing for Thrive Global.​ THANKS, Aaron Levy! If you enjoyed this show with management change leader Aaron Levy, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to connect with Aaron on LinkedIn Thank Aaron on Twitter! Connect with Raise The Bar on Facebook! Follow Raise The Bar on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! If you’d like to ask a question with a chance of having me answer it on the show, please leave me a voicemail by clicking below:   This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​ Mentioned in This Episode: ​Texas Ice Hockey Why Behavior Change Is So Hard via Harvard Medical School The RSA Why Most Managers Are Lousy via Medium Age Discrimination Is Not Only A Problem For Older Professionals via ComplianceX Raise the Bar Consulting Startup Grind Chicago 1871 Mentors Forbes Coaches Council Thrive Global

Ray Hilbert (@RayHilbert) is the Co-Founder of Truth At Work,​​​​​​​​ one of America’s leading and fastest growing marketplace ministries and the host of the faith-based business podcast Bottom Line Faith.  “Part of being created in God's image is being a worker, being a creator - so part of the answer of how this works together is there is no separation between growth and faith in business." – Ray Hilbert What We Discuss with Ray Hilbert: Ray's career trajectory from family-run small business to international conglomerate to becoming an entrepreneur and co-founding a faith-based business. Why Ray was forced to liquidate his businesses in his late 20s. His experience leading a hyper-growth men's ministry. What lead Ray to starting a workplace ministry. Ray's understanding of work as a trait from God. How to get involved in Round Tables for professionals of faith. His book coming out in 2019. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)     ​​​​​​Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. More About the Show​ Ray Hilbert started his career working for a small family-run business in his early 20’s, but he quickly learn there was not much of a career ladder. After a few years, Ray moved into the corporate world, taking a sales and business development position at one of the largest companies in the world at the time. Though he was never asked to do anything illegal, but he was asked to entertain his clients in ways that pushed him well beyond his comfort zone and morals. Going from a place very Biblical in nature, concerned with people to a large, internationally-traded public firm was a very different experience. After a few years there, Ray decided to scratch an entrepreneurial itch. He started a business and had immediate success. That is... until he was approached about a partnership and investing in a second company. He asked his wife, his family, friends and his pastor. They all warned him against it. He was doing so well. Against his better judgment, Ray went into the second business, and both businesses failed. Devastated and deep in debt, Ray was forced to liquidate both companies to pay his creditors. At just 28 years old, he was broke, with a wife and children, and he didn’t know what he was going to do.  Not long after, however, he got a phone call from in a small start-up ministry called Promise Keepers that was looking to expand from its team of a dozen members. After 18 months after Ray was hired, Promise Keepers was holding conferences with over 60,000+ in attendance, and employed over 600 full-time staff.  After having thousands of conversations, many of which resulted in questioning what God wants for His people in their businesses and careers. In 1998, Ray founded Truth At Work which helps business leaders build and lead their companies and organizations on proven biblical principles and practices. If you’re looking to get involved with a faith-based business leaders, consider joining or starting a Round Table through Truth at Work. THANKS, Ray Hilbert! If you enjoyed this show with Christian business leader Ray Hilbert, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Click here to conn​​ect with Ray on LinkedIn Thank Rayon Twitter! Connect with Truth at Work on Facebook! Follow Truth at Work on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!   Mentioned in This Episode: Anderson University Taylor University Promise Keepers Truth at Work Genesis 1:1 What is Faith? Homes of Hope International YWAM San Diego/Baja Youth With A Mission International Bottom Line Faith podcast

CJ McClanahan (@cjmccoach) and Logan Brown (@realloganbrown) field your questions and comments for Mentor Minutes! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming Mentor Minutes episodes, drop us a line at   questions@cjmcclanahan.com. Now, let's dive in! On This Week's Mentor Minutes, We Discuss: What should you consider when deciding whether or not to start a business with your significant other? How can you be a better entrepreneur and business person when you are a perfectionist? How should a CEO of a non-profit approach stepping down and appointing a successor? How do you get introverted employee to open up and express their “why? What challenges have CJ and his wife faced in working together, and what has been the most rewarding part of working together? How can you try to limit the impact of social media has on your children? What can managers or supervisors do to engage and motivate millennial employees? Recommendations of the Week: Give Yourself a Break and Irresistible. Have any questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share with us? Drop us a line at questions@cjmcclanahan.com! Connect with CJ on Twitter at @CJMcCoach and LinkedIn Connect with Logan on Instagram at @logand.brown and on LinkedIn, and check out his blog: The Realationship Project. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) ​(Connect with CJ on Linkedin) The Two Rule Foundation is on a mission to helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, and online video training program for professionals. 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

Bryan Falchuk (@BryanFalchuk) has been an overachiever his whole life. When his life started to crumble, he took a step back, put on his consultant's hat and examined what was holding him back. No long after, Bryan drop a lot of weight, reorganized his daily routine, became a vegan, and developed a life-transformation system he calls "Do A Day." “I felt like an idiot every single day, and that was exactly what I wanted. I grew a lot at Tuck, but the amount of growth I went through during those two years at McKinsey was on a whole other level.” - Bryan Falchuk What We Discuss with Bryan Falchuk: How Bryan escaped the Dot Com bubble just as he was starting his career. Working at McKinsey & Co. as a 20-something who knows nothing. His wife's battle with chronic lyme disease. How Bryan has kept off 100 lbs. of excess weight. The 'Do-A-Day' framework. His current role in the c-suite. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   (Can 3 Simple Numbers Rescue Troubled Relationships? from Bryan Falchuk via TEDxTalks) ​​​​​​Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!   The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation. More About the Show Bryan Falchuk had everything going for him in his career. He avoided the Dot Com bubble bursting by graduating a year early and taking a full-time internal strategy role at Liberty Mutual Insurance. A few years a couple job titles later, Bryan went back to school, earning his MBA in Business from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University. Afterwards, Bryan accepted a consulting position at the McKinsey & Company, where he stayed for nearly three years. Leaning on his experience in the insurance industry, Bryan took himself back into insurance and spent over six yers traveling the globe with UK-based Beazley Group. However, while everything was looking up in his career, life at home wasn't so joyous. For decades, Bryan's wife had suffered terrible, seemingly-unprovoked 24-48hr illnesses. For a day or two at a time, she'd be a sick as she'd ever been, and then it would subside. And in 2011, she suffered another episode, only this time for weeks she wasn't getting better. "It all came to a head on June 30th, when she was down to about 100 lbs. and losing two pounds a day," Falchuk says. "Her doctor called to tell me he was going on vacation for six weeks and he'd check in when he was back. If you do the math on that, she wasn't going to make it six weeks."   Bryan says this was his light bulb moment. THANKS, Bryan Falchuk! If you enjoyed this show with best-selling author, coach, speaker & consulting professional Bryan Falchuk, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.​ Click here to connect with Bryan on LinkedIn Thank Bryan on Twitter! Connect with Bryan on Facebook! Follow Bryan on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! If you’d like to ask a question with a chance of having me answer it on the show, please leave me a voicemail by clicking below: This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​ Mentioned in This Episode: Bowdoin College Internships at Liberty Mutual Insurance Tuck School of Business McKinsey & Company Undergraduate Development Program at Liberty Mutual Chronic Lyme Disease Do A Day Book use coupon code SUCCESS2 at checkout for an exclusive discount NewBodi.es Bryan Falchuk at TEDxSevilleSq

Before joining the faculty at Harvard University, Dr. Matthew T. Lee spent many years as a criminologist, studying and researching the dark side of the human mind and behavior. Today, Dr. Lee studies concepts of love and is the Director of Empirical Research for the Program on Integrative Knowledge and Human Flourishing at Harvard University. “Why would a missionary continue to go out into a dangerous circumstance, putting their life in jeopardy, contracting deadly diseases, when everyone else pulls out? What keeps them going, and what can the rest of us learn from these spiritual exemplars?”​ - Dr. Matthew T. Lee What We Discuss with Dr. Matthew T. Lee: How Dr. Lee landed a position at Harvard University researching love, after spending many years studying the darkside of human nature. The correlation between altruistic service and personal gratification. Dr. Lee’s work with kids in recovery from alcohol, drugs, and various forms of delinquencies. Systems for creating more ‘loving’ environments in the workplace. How compassionate company cultures help businesses to flourish. ​He is the co-author of The Heart of Religion: Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God’s Love, published by Oxford University Press, in addition to 50+ articles/book chapters and four other books. In episode 110, Dr. Lee shares his insights around concepts of benevolence, compassion, volunteering and experiences of divine love in this riveting episode you’ll want to listen to again. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation. More About Dr. Lee ​As an assistant professor researching the dark side of human nature, Matt made a comment to a colleague that he wished to teach a class on love, but because he wasn’t tenured he wasn’t comfortable exploring it with the administration. While he never gave up on his dream, it took him several years of just being grateful for the opportunities that came his way, he was introduced to Dr. Stephen Post, who requested Matt join him at the organization he formed called the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Without hesitation, Matt took the position as and served as Vice President and Project Director for a $2.3M grant called the Flame of Love aimed on fulfilling the “Great Commandment”—loving and knowing God’s love and then reaching out to love others. “It’s interesting that so many people have had experiences of divine love - real meaningful experiences,” Lee says. “Roughly 80-percent of Americans have this experience that increases their compassion for others, makes them want to reach out to somebody in need, whether it’s a friend, a stranger, or perhaps sometimes even an enemy.” Going further into his research, an overwhelming pattern began to appear. Lee would discover scientific evidence that supported the hypothesis that serving others leads to greater levels of perceived happiness. “What people discover… is when they serve others, they begin to appreciate the sacred quality of life and the sacred quality of relationships that they didn’t fully appreciate before,” Lee says. In the recent years, Dr. Lee has been working with kids in recovery from substance abuse and delinquencies and saw that a lot of them came from adverse backgrounds -- they had been neglected or victimized in some way -- and many of them adapted by becoming depressed, self-centered or narcissistic. However, when these same kids are in recovery and start getting involved in the twin virtues of Love and Service, the world shifts for them. “There’s a difference between work that’s interesting and rewarding, and work that is truly significant,” Lee says. “It may be that the work is truly significant is not the work we do for a paycheck, it’s not what we do for the most of our waking hours that give us meaning.” THANKS, Dr. Matthew T. Lee! If you enjoyed this show with Harvard University Director of Empirical Research Dr. Matthew T. Lee, let CJ know by clicking on the link below. Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! Mentioned in This Episode: Program on Integrative Knowledge and Human Flourishing The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love The Hidden Gifts of Helping by Dr. Stephen G. Post The Heart of Religion by Dr. Matthew T. Lee, Margaret Paloma, and Dr. Stephen G. Post​​ Compassion and Healing in Medicine and Society by Dr. Gregory Fricchione​​ The Philosophy and Life of Søren Kierkegaard Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Benson-Henry Institute For Mind Body Medicine The Compassion Lab Heart to Heart On the Promotion of Human Flourish by Harvard School of Public Health

Unlike her siblings, Isabel Hundt (@IsabelKHundt) has always seen things differently, both in the figurative sense, and literally. Isabel has a rare quality called synesthesia. What this means for Isabel is sounds, number and emotions appear to have colors. If you are sad, and are feeling ‘blue’, she can actually see a blue aura around you. Isabel grew up in East Germany during the Cold War, the oldest of five children. As a twelve-year old, she had a vision of speaking on stage in front of thousands of people. However, she wasn’t speaking German -- in her vision she was speaking English. ​"Everything I've done after the age of 18 was always with the goal of coming to the U.S." - Isabel Hundt What We Discuss with Isabel Hundt: How Isabel became enraptured with the English language and the United States. Isabel's battle with depression as a student at the University of Stuttgart. Her experiences working as an au pair during her late teens and twenties. How she became a life coach, then a business coach, then a spiritual coach. What it means to be an empath and how to recognize the signs. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) (Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation. More About This Show After switching universities and changing majors from studying economics to sociology & psychology, Isabel thought she knew exactly how life was supposed to look like. In her mid-twenties, and still without her degree, Isabel was determined to have a normal life. She condensed her studies from four years to three so she could get her career started and make her way back to America. Shortly after graduating, she discovered the whole time she was in school her boyfriend had been cheating on her the whole time they were together, and some of those women harass her and say terrible things. However she didn’t let that stop her. Instead, she dug her heels, asking herself “what is normal?”, and resolving that she would have her own path. Not long after, immigration laws changed in the U.S. and Isabel was once again able to return to work as an au pair. But her struggles didn’t stop there. By this time she was in her late twenties, and she’d be subjected to prejudice from her host families, be kicked out on the street with all her belongings, and forced to move across country to retain her visa. It was only then that a good friend would say something that would change her life forever. “Isabel, when you just look at people, people know that you know something about them that they don’t want you to know. They trust you easily, but they are afraid that you see the real them.” Low and behold, she’d make her way to Indianapolis, Indiana studying to get her master’s in counseling at IUPUI. While at IUPUI she would meet her future husband, get her master’s degree. Later, she would discover her calling as a life transformation coach and learn that she’s an empath. For nearly a decade now, Isabel has been living out her childhood dream, and has been speaking onstage (in English!) and helping highly-sensitive people navigate their inner worlds and become the best version of themselves. Isabel is the author The Power of Faith-Driven Success, creator of The Empath Warrior Program, has appeared on 70+ podcasts including Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas, and is an accomplished motivational speaker. Catch her on social media and check out her Youtube channel. THANKS, Isabel Hundt! If you enjoyed this session with life transformation coach, speaker, & author Isabel Hundt let her know by clicking on the links below and sending her a quick shout out on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Click here to thank Isabel on Twitter! Connect with Isabel on Facebook! Follow Isabel on Instagram! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at podcast@cjmcclanahan.com. Mentioned in This Episode: Find Out If You Have Synesthesia via Business Insider University of Stuttgart Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) ActionCOACH - business coaching ​The Differences Between Highly Sensitive People and Empaths via Psychology Today Four Signs You May Be an Empath-Warrior via HuffPost The Empath-Warrior Coaching Program taught by Isabel Hundt The Power of Faith-Driven Success book by Isabel Hundt The Empowered Warrior ebook by Isabel Hundt Isabel on Entrepreneur On Fire Episode 1823

No matter how much more you do today, you'll never get everything you need to do done. Let's face it, ever since we could take home with our laptops and fast wi-fi connections, we work more than ever. This hasn't lead to getting more things done; rather more things to do and an unhealthy expectation of getting it all done. On this episode, we'll look at ways to take back our freedom from the distractions caused by the very technology we expect to helps us get more done. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) ​(Subscribe in iTunes Here) ​(Connect with CJ on Linkedin) Have any questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share with us? Drop us a line at podcast@cjmcclanahan.com! Connect with CJ on Twitter at @CJMcCoach and on Linkedin On This Week's Episode, We Discuss: Reducing Distractions as a Result of Technology What work-life balance was like before the modern age of the computer and internet. How the printer cut the time it took CJ to do his very first job as a payroll clerk by 90%... How CJ developed a habit of continuing to work at home on nights and weekends. The steps CJ took to overcome an unhealthy obsession with piling more on his plate, so he could find more people to compare himself to. What you can do to reduce amount of noise in your life and its impact. Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation is on a mission to helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, and online video training program for professionals. 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation. More About This Show At the start of his career with Arthur Anderson, his was given a laptop. It was his first, and completely useless by today's standards; nonetheless, that evening, the routine of work would change forever. Later that night, he would pull out his new gadget, wait for the strange noise and a flashy cursor-thingy.  He'd fumble through a clunky user-interface, and with luck, be able to find the 'file' he was supposed to 'open' on his 'hard drive'. At the time, these were all very new terms. And as time passed, CJ's career grew, and the power and breadth of devices to help his work become less location-bound, CJ would find himself stealing time from other important areas of his life to 'get caught up' or 'get ahead' with work. While this allowed his career to seemingly progress faster, when he became a business owner and a father all at the same time, it would take him 4 or 5 years to understand how devastating his obsession with work was becoming. CJ's since learned to practice a much more balance life with firm boundaries between work and everything else.  5 Annoying Things that Keep You From Being Really Productive (And How to Begin Addressing Them) Notifications - Keep them off by default. Emails, texts, pushes, payments, reminders, deals, coupons, alerts...  this goes for your Apple watch or smart watch as well SOLUTION: Turn them off, get a separate alarm clock. Make regular times of checking what is most important to you, rather than to the email list you are on. Time Vampires - one quick question can turn into 10-20 minutes or more, plus another 7-20 minutes to get back in the groove. Two or three questions and you've lost a huge part of your day. SOLUTION: Close your door, turn on and be visibly in 'Do Not Disturb' mode. Schedule regular time for employees to meet with you for anything not absolutely urgent. Leave your laptop at the office - If your office is a table at Starbucks, maybe this isn't for you, but if you have a coworkers you trust, non-sensitive information and otherwise no reason to worry about security issues, you take advantage of the opportunity to free yourself from being shackled to your computer. No computer, not as much work. SOLUTION: Even if you can't physically keep yourself away from your computer, you can turn it off, keep it stashed somewhere inconvenient. But whatever you do, keep it as far away from your bed as possible. Short charging cables - Charging cords for smartphones are just long enough to read your bedside table. And since our phone is the last thing we check before we got to bed, for most of us, it's the very first thing we do in the morning... even before throwing off the covers.  SOLUTION: Plug your charger into an outlet in another room. Make a pledge to not check your phone after a specific time and stick with it. Train the aforementioned Time Vampires not to expect an immediate response or any response during times you've set aside. Digital tasks and note pads - When we think of something, but don't write it down, we create a feedback loop that throws our momentum off. We think that by analyze the thought right then and there, we can determine whether or not it could be beneficial to our present situation to pursue further. However most the time these aren't good ideas or the timing isn't right, so we can't do anything with it. We have no choice but the continue to entertain the ideation process though because some of our ideas are really good and can be capitalized upon. SOLUTION: Get a tiny notepad or journal from the 99¢ store, keep it with you at all times, and jot down the ideas you have. You'll then be able to go back and revisit the idea when you are refreshed and avoid creating a feedback loop that drives you crazy and unfocused. Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at podcast@cjmcclanahan.com.

After more than 40 years in TV broadcasting, Indianapolis NBC nightly news legend John Stehr (@JohnWTHR) announced his retirement. Now pushing 60, John has had some time to reflect on the events in his career & personal life, and how they have shape his entire existence. “There I was sitting in the newsroom and the General Manager came in and said 'well, how about that kid?' I was 21 years old. I would NEVER give a 21 year old that kind of responsibility, but, thankfully, he did." – John Stehr, WTHR Lead Anchor Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) (Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   (Anchor John Stehr announces retirement from WTHR via Youtube) What We Discuss with John: How John got into television broadcasting as a 21 year old in Erie, PA. The development of John's career Creating a #1 show for more than two decades straight. John's strategy for connecting with viewers on a one-to-one level. Advice for the 25 year old looking to get into  journalism & broadcasting. How the loss of his first born has shaped John's perspective in life. What is John going to do with his newfound time in his retirement? Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation. More About This Show John Stehr knew from an early age that he was going to be a TV journalist. Now nearing 60, John has had some time to reflect on the events in his career and personal life and how they have helped shape his entire existence. "The News was very important to my family when I was a kid. We made sure to have dinner before 6 o'clock so we could watch the local news from 6 to 6:30. Then at 6:30 it was Walter Cronkite with the CBS Night News... I knew from 5 years old that that was what I going to do," John says. As a student at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, John studied Communications, and by the time he graduated, he was the 6 and 11 o'clock anchor for the local CBS affiliate. From there, John would go on to work for several other stations throughout the country, eventually settling in at the Indianapolis NBC-affiliate WTHR. At the time, the station struggled with viewership. However, John saw that as an opportunity rather than a challenge. Before long, WTHR's Eyewitness News would become the top-rated program, and held the spot for over 20 years! While his career has been a shining example of what it looks like to do it right, John and his family have not been without trials and have faced some of the most gut-wrenching situations imaginable, including the death of their first born child at the age of 4. Up until recently, John was under close monitoring for an aneurysm in his aorta. After having emergency open-heart surgery in summer 2017, John has made a full recovery, and is excited to enter a new chapter. THANKS, John Stehr! If you enjoyed this session with TV journalist John Stehr, let him know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter: Click here to thank John on Twitter! Click here to connect with John on Facebook! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at podcast@cjmcclanahan.com. Mentioned in This Episode: WTHR Channel 13, NBC affiliate in Indianapolis Walter Cronkite Gannon University Aortic Aneurysm  

Shelley Hunter began working with College Mentors For Kids (@CollegeMentors) as a volunteer. Fast forward 20+ years later and Shelley is the CEO. She’s not the only one in the organization that started at the very bottom rung. COO Amanda Koushyar also started on with College Mentors as a volunteer. With their leadership, College Mentors For Kids has impacted more than 25,000 students on 30+ campuses in 9 states around the U.S. “When they [little buddies] are on campus, they are learning about different careers they can have, what it’s like to be in college; and they get to really experience those firsthand.” – Amanda Koushyar, COO of College Mentors For Kids Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) (Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ)   (College Mentors For Kids Mini Documentary from College Mentors For Kids on Youtube.) What We Discuss with Shelley & Amanda: How Shelley Hunter was drawn away from her job as a grant writer to volunteer at a tiny non-profit from central Indiana. The statistics that support that mentoring students about creating visions for their future from young ages. What it means to be a College Mentor and how the organization chooses campuses and other organizations to partner with. What goes into creating an impactful experience for both Little Buddies and their Mentors, as well as the parents and the effects on the community. The future vision of College Mentors For Kids, how to become a Mentor, and how to start a chapter. Please Scroll down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! Interested in partnering with College Mentors For Kids, becoming a Mentor,  or starting a chapter at your university? Head over to the websites to find out everything you need to know about getting involved. The Two Rule Foundation is on a mission to helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.   More About This Show courtesy of collegementors.org College Mentors For Kids was started over 20 years ago by two college student friends at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. They imagined a community in which young, underserved children would be given the same educational opportunities and experiences as their peers. Believing college students to be a valuable yet untapped resource for children, the friends set out to design a program that would harness the energy, idealism, and resources that college students and a university campus could offer children. By providing children with positive opportunities they might make healthier life choices and achieve: 1) enhanced understanding of new opportunities they would not have otherwise had; 2) a future in which they are financially independent; and 3) a passion for giving back to their communities that lasts into adulthood.College Mentors applied for non-profit status in 1996 and opened its doors as an official 501(c)3 in 1997. Pilot programs at Indiana University and Butler University paired mentors with 33 local children in the fall and spring of 1996. The following summer, College Mentors opened state-wide headquarters in Indiana. In the next few years, the friends, along with other state staff, established four additional chapters, and helped lay the groundwork for two other chapters before their departure in 2000. Today, College Mentors for Kids serves over 2,500 children across the United States through the volunteer efforts of over 2,800 college students with a national office in Indianapolis, Indiana. College Mentors For Kids has partnered with SMARI to conduct research and understand just how big an impact the program has made in the the community and the lives of it’s little buddies and mentors over the years. According to the findings, 81% Of kids in College Mentors report working harder in school. 95% Of former College Mentors participants successfully avoided the justice system...and are more likely to go on to higher education. 80% Of former little buddies graduated high school; 85% did so in 4 years. 75% Of former little buddies followed the path to college or trade school. 84% of college mentors are likely to participate in additional community service programs after college as a result of being in College Mentors for Kids.   THANKS, Shelley Hunter and Amanda Koushyar! If you enjoyed this session with Shelley Hunter, CEO and Amanda Koushyar, COO of College Mentors For Kids, let her know by clicking on the link below and sending her a quick shout out on Twitter: Click here to thank Shelley & Amanda on Twitter! Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode! And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at podcast@cjmcclanahan.com.   Mentioned in This Episode: College Mentors For Kids Wabash College Depauw University Indiana University Purdue University College Mentors on Facebook College Mentors on Instagram College Mentors on Twitter

Do you go to bed before everyone else, or are you person that stays up late? Maybe you stay up late, just to wake up early. You could probably guess that the large portion of Americans at any given moment could use some sleep. Like a several hours more... According to practically every study on sleep behavior, you are absolutely right! Americans continue to hinder their potential, thinking they just need to try harder. That by putting off sleep to hours awake, we are going to get so much more done. Well, on this episode CJ challenges the whole ‘sleep is for the weak’ thing and shares some tricks he uses to get great sleep most every night. [INSERT LIBSYN] (Download Episode Here) (Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ on Linkedin) Have any questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share with us? Drop us a line atpodcast@cjmcclanahan.com! Connect with CJ on Twitter at @cjmccoach and on LinkedIn. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! On This Week’s Episode, We Discuss:  Risks of Bad Sleeping Habits & How to Overcome Them Why CJ gets an abnormally large amount of sleep, compared to his peers (and has for as long as he can remember). The health repercussions of poor sleep . How sleep deprivation is costing the economy over $400B in lost productivity & healthcare expenses. Strategies for improving varying degrees of sleep limiting behaviors Creating feedback loops that ensures getting a great night of sleep, every night. Please Scroll down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources! The Two Rule Foundation is on a mission to helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how. Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.  More About This Show According to the Center for Disease Control, ⅓ Americans is not getting enough sleep. A, false, but way too common notion we have is that if we steal an hour from our sleep, we can apply that to work, and then we will be able to get everything we wanted to do in the day done -- if you’re a go-getter maybe you’re getting ahead of schedule (but that’s rarely the case). And this may have served us back when we were farming or working in a plant with little regulations. However, the act of work in our modern economy rewards those that can maximize productivity. Less Sleep = Less Productivity The old tortoise & the hare story, maybe it doesn’t apply when it comes to day-to-day productivity. So this whole “If I sleep less, I can get more done” lie we tell ourselves is what perpetuates our  disengagement. The Rand Corporation recently released a study that concluded sleep deprivation is costing the U.S. economy some $411B+ every year for attributing directly to employee disengagement and healthcare costs. Do you find yourself becoming irritable or grumpy throughout the day? It could be poor nutrition, or you maybe you just need some more sleep. Health Risks Associated with Poor Sleep Diabetes High blood pressure Heart disease Weight gain/obesity Impaired immunity Increase risk of death How would you describe your sleep quality? What time do you go to bed? On average we spend about ⅓ of our day sleeping. If you’re a really go getter that may be more like ¼, but regardless we spend a very significant amount of time on our backs (unless you’re an astronaut). You don’t have to try very hard to see that the the outcome of the other 60-70% of our waking hours, it's smart to get the best mattress you can afford. Strategies to Improve Quality of Sleep Stick to a sleep schedule, even on the weekends! Relaxing nightly rituals. Something to calm you down before you go to bed. If you have trouble sleeping avoid naps Exercise, get up and move for at least 30 mins Avoid blue light from TVs, Your bedroom’s primarily focus is to sleep. Make sure you are Avoid alcohol, caffeine, heavy meals Read If needed, talk to a sleep professional Do not resort to medication unless everything else fails. Mentioned in This Episode: 5 Hour Energy Center For Disease Control Mattresses by Mail Leesa Helix Sleep Tuft and Needle Nectar Casper  

CJ (@cjmccoach) is back to share some truth and prep us for true success on The Success 2.0 Podcast. If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly episodes, drop us a line at podcast@cjcmcclanahan.com. Now, let’s dive in! "We're having our self-esteem built, molded, tweaked by what we see on social media..." - CJ McClanahan   On This Week’s Episode, We Discuss: Tips to Reduce Stress From Bad Smartphone Usage Habits Don’t keep your phone on your person at all times Turn off notifications. Silence your phone, (not even vibe mode), and get rid of the blinking indicator light.* (some exceptions) Remove social media apps from your home screen. Force yourself to have hunt for them if you want to use them. Limit your smartphone time usage - time...using apps Replace old habits with something else, such as reading, meditation or mindfulness exercises Don’t check your phone within the first 30 minutes of waking up. Use an old-school alarm clock if you need help waking up in the morning. Set after work and leisure time limits. Set expectations with your colleagues and/or employees that you respect your free time and theirs. Share your frustration with someone close to you, and enlist an accountability buddy if needed. Have any questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share with us? Drop us a line at podcast@cjmcclanahan.com! Connect with CJ on Twitter at @cjmccoach and on LinkedIn. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! (Download Episode Here) (Subscribe in iTunes Here) (Connect with CJ on Linkedin) Have you been looking for a better way to give to charitable causes without feeling like you’re money is going to fund another overpaid executive? Check out how different giving is over at the Two Rule Foundation. ThriveMap University is for overachieving professionals who are 100% COMMITTED growing their careers while increasing their tolerance to stress. Learn how to get more fulfillment out of life while continuing to do amazing things in business and the community. Resources from This Episode: Smartphone Compulsion Test by Dr. David Greenfield Scientists Study Nomophobia—Fear of Being without a Mobile Phone via Scientific American Social Media Is 'Ripping Apart' Society - Ex-Facebook Executive Chamath Palihapitiya on CNBC How Facebook Was Designed to Exploit the Vulnerability of the Human Mind - Sean Parker, Chamath Palihapitiya The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous - Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Moment App -  iOS app that limits time usage on distracting apps and social media How to Use Timeboxing via Mindtools What Is An Appropriate Response Time To Email? via FastCompany Waiting For a Reply? Study Explains The Psychology Behind Email Response Time via Forbes Why Every Organization Needs A Standard Response Time Policy via Forbes