Podcasts about chairman emeritus

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I have known Skip Vaccarello for more than 12 years. When we first met both Skip and I lived in Northern California. Neither of us seem to remember the event at which we met, but we both discovered that we were people of faith. Over the years we lost touch until early January 2025 when I received a bulk email from Skip and reached out to see if we could get him to come on Unstoppable Mindset. He accepted and today's episode is the result.   Skip has over 40 years of experience leading Silicon Valley high tech companies. One of his first efforts was leading VisiCorp, the creator of the industry's first pc-based spreadsheet VisiCalc. What? You never heard of VisiCalc? Look it up. VisiCalc was one of those products that revolutionized so many endeavors.   In addition to leading and working with many Silicon Valley ventures Skip is a man of faith with a deep belief in Christianity. We talk about Skip's fait journey and why he believes faith makes a big difference in the lives of so many people especially in the high-tech world of Silicon Valley.   We talk a bit about Skip's retirement years and what he would advise anyone when they ask him about retirement. His answer may well surprise you, but his response is spot on and quite thought provoking.   I believe you will find Skip's insights fascinating and well worth the listen.       About the Guest:   Skip offers podcasts on faith and business topics at SkipVaccarello.com, and is a Partner with 1Flourish Capital, a venture firm investing in technology-based start-up companies led by entrepreneurs of character who understand that corporate culture is vital to success. He is also the author of Finding God in Silicon Valley:  Spiritual Journeys in a High-Tech World. From 2005 through 2021, Skip led  Connect Silicon Valley, a non-profit organization offering speaking events featuring high-profile leaders encouraging conversations about faith and life. In addition, he has served on corporate and non-profit boards and speaks at various organizations on leadership and organizational health.   Skip has over 40 years of experience in leadership positions for Silicon Valley technology companies, including VisiCorp, the provider of VisiCalc, the industry's first spreadsheet. In addition, he served as President and CEO of Applied Weather Technology, a global company providing software and services to the maritime industry. His other experience includes CEO of Communications Solutions, Inc., a communications software company; division general manager of 3Com, a networking product and solutions company; and co-founder and CEO of The Saratoga Group, an Internet-based training company. In addition, Skip has served as an executive coach, a merger and acquisition consultant, and for three years, taught a course on Principled Leadership and Ethics as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at William Jessup University.   He earned an A.B. with honors in economics from Harvard College and an MBA with honors from the Boston University School of Management. Skip has been married for over 44 years and has two daughters and six grandchildren. Skip and his wife reside in Bristol, NH and have a home in Chapel Hill, NC. Ways to connect Skip:   Website, Skip Vaccarello -- https://skipvaccarello.com/ Podcasts -- https://skipvaccarello.com/podcasts/ Podcasts on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@skipvaccarello Podcasts on Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-do-you-want-to-become/id1737471615 LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/skip-vaccarello-50114/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/skipvaccarello Book (Amazon) -- https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Silicon-Valley-Spiritual-Journeys-High-Tech/dp/0996371923/ref=sr_1_1?crid=CYTLPJWTA4EA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XlOGN69ci4cxDNHGjoi-JuD6ISwr4bFCY65xSabhw59got9YrjbPWyBlSgWLjuFi6IlTA5ZOM3PI6YIg7LMkVFA3-yicQ-VXc1rBHHgDi3xyo7FeIiH80ZEm9FOEUglAwOtKx3OhnXkJc3uSq4YGINJzgGTpHsoyAA1-awAGK0-BdSo8l8c9KgO7rkwwqftSaRDi9H2bQjMrgMvEHYQcjq7cHTZn0cthcSjrexplqk4.IyefTEA2Au7cl-nPpjb6_CBqiRn5kgQnZ-eUCT4qJWE&dib_tag=se&keywords=finding+god+in+silicon+valley&qid=1737478219&sprefix=finding+God+in+sil%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today is a fun day for me, because I get to talk with a gentleman who I met many years ago. His name is Skip, Vaccarello and Skip and I we were just trying to remember where we met. It was at some event in San Francisco, and I am now not remembering what it was, but anyway, we met and got to know each other pretty well, and we've talked over the years about faith in God and a variety of things like that. Skip wrote a book entitled finding God in Silicon Valley. We'll have to talk about that. Skip, because Ray Kurzweil keeps talking about the fact that at some point the singularity is going to hit and we're going to marry computer chips in people's brains. I'm not convinced about that. I'm not sure, but Skip, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here. Well,   Skip Vaccarello ** 02:16 Michael, it's such a pleasure to be with you, and I'm glad that we were able to make the acquaintance again after many years. Thank you. Thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 02:24 And now you're not in California anymore. You're back in New Hampshire.   Skip Vaccarello ** 02:28 No. Oh, well, I split my time between New Hampshire and North Carolina. Yeah, yeah. So I'm in North Carolina now. We were in I lived in Silicon Valley for 42 years, I think, is what it was, and but we moved grandchildren left, or my daughters and grandchildren left, one to the state of Washington and one to North Carolina. So we decided to go to go to North Carolina. So we live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and and a lake in New Hampshire. What lake? It's called newfound lake. It's close to Lake Winnipesaukee. It's less lesser known than some of those. Yeah, we've had a house there for many years, and love it.   Michael Hingson ** 03:06 I spent time in and around Lake wind and Pesach. That was a lot of fun.   Skip Vaccarello ** 03:10 Oh, yeah, yeah, the lakes are just beautiful, crystal clear water and and it's a real, real nice area. I had   Michael Hingson ** 03:17 a friend who had a summer home on an island out in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee. And I remember that when we first went there, you had to go out to the to the home by boat. And it was so nice, because at night time there was absolutely no sound. It was so quiet. I loved it. Yeah,   Skip Vaccarello ** 03:35 yeah. In the sky was you probably could see all the stars in the sky too. I would imagine,   Michael Hingson ** 03:39 oh yeah, I'm sure, yeah.   Skip Vaccarello ** 03:43 But beautiful, beautiful place, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 03:46 I'd love to get back there. At some point, we'll have to do that and and go visit it. Well, tell us, tell us a little bit about the early skip, growing up and all that sort of stuff, if you would, sure.   Skip Vaccarello ** 03:57 Well, I grew up in the in the Boston area. You probably, people will probably detect a little bit of my Boston accents, a little bit. So I grew up there. I grew up, grew up just outside of Boston. And where did you grow up? I grew up in Waltham. Was the time in Waltham, okay, grew up in Waltham, and I went to school there. I went to undergraduate school at Harvard and graduate school at Boston University and, and you love, love the area. So that's, anyway, that's where I grew up. I was, we have family of there are four of us. I was the first boy, and pretty involved in sports and, you know, as a reasonable student. But enjoy the area. And it's, it's nice, you know, coming back when I have the chance, you know, going to New Hampshire, I still enjoy the city of Boston. It's a wonderful   Michael Hingson ** 04:42 city. Do you ever go by and visit the Harvard coop?   Skip Vaccarello ** 04:47 Oh yeah, oh yeah. And especially if I'm at a reunion, I'll go there and pick up some paraphernalia, that's for sure.   Michael Hingson ** 04:57 Well, I there was another place in. Are there that I like to go to, because I collect old records, cheapo records, and so I went there to got a lot of vinyl records and and things like that. I'm not sure if it's still around or not. I heard somewhere it wasn't, but then somebody else said it was still around.   Skip Vaccarello ** 05:13 Interesting. Your vinyl records? I mean, there are collectors item now,   Michael Hingson ** 05:16 oh yeah, well, I have a whole bunch here. So they're, they're fun.   Skip Vaccarello ** 05:23 Oh yeah, yeah. Well, I remember collecting some as a kid, but if you have some, you're probably worth a lot of money. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 05:30 I do. I even have a few. I bought duplicates of and they're still sealed. So they're probably worth, they probably are. They're definitely worth something, absolutely well, so you went to Harvard and all that. And then what did you do?   Skip Vaccarello ** 05:44 Well for my career? Yeah, I went, I went to Harvard. I was there in the in the late 60s and early 70s. And your listeners may recall from history that was a time of real turmoil. Oh, yeah, yeah. The war in Vietnam was going on. 1968 was sort of a pivotal year that there was a war in Vietnam. There were racial riots in the city. There was the rise of feminism. You know, drugs were rampant on the college campuses, so I went to school in the midst of that, and I'll have to say it really was not a fun time to be in school, although I made good friends, and we've maintained the friendship for for quite a long time, but, but anyway, so I was there, and when I graduated, I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. And it was, it was interesting, because there had been a study done of my class at Harvard, and many people, you know, didn't know what to do. Some immediately went on to medical school or law school or something. But then there were a group of us that were, you know, just kind of wandering around and did various things. But anyway, I finally got my my first job. Well, one thing I should say is that I always felt an inclination for business, but business and capitalism at that time was, was kind of on the outs. It was bad words, bad word, bad word. But I kind of I enjoyed business anyway, I took a job. My first job was in a nonprofit organization helping mentally handicapped adults, and I was doing the sort of the business activities. And so I was doing what I want and doing something that I felt was socially useful. And I ended up staying in that that area for around seven years one of them was with a sort of a bigger organization. I ended up being the Assistant Executive Director. Then I was asked to start one, and I refer to her as my very first startup. We had taken over an old school building and renovated it and and began a program for these for the mentally handicapped people. It was a lot of fun to do that. So I did that. And then what happened is we would get contract work to help employ people. And one of the pieces of work we got was from a software companies. This was in 1978 1979 and personal computers were just cut out then. I mean, there are games and nothing much very useful. But anyway, we got a little job to package some games. And some of your listeners may not, may not remember this. Michael, you probably do. But software then on personal computers came on audio cassettes. Hard to believe you'd have to load this cassette into the computer and run it so that. So we, we had the job of kind of packaging these with the manual. And the night is I got to know the founder of the company and one of the founders of the company. He showed something that was in the works, which was a spreadsheet that eventually became known as VisiCalc, the very first spreadsheet in the industry. And then he asked me to join him and the other co founder, who was from the Toronto area, and we moved to Silicon Valley. And during that time I was I was really ready to make a change. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I was fascinated with personal computers. So went to Silicon Valley, and it was an amazing place. During the whole personal computer revolution, small industry, traveled around the country, you know, giving out, you know, demonstrating what a spreadsheet could do. And people were fascinated with that we had, I remember one day we had this sort of nerdy kid came into the office. It was Bill Gates. We had about five employees, and the whole industry was really small then, so it's fun to be part of that. And then for from there is sort of the what happens in in Silicon Valley and technology business, visit Corp was a really hot commodity, and then competition came in. They made some mistakes. They bought a company that specialized in network and communications, and I went over as the as the CEO and president of that we eventually spun it out as visit Corp eventually went out of business, but this little company we had, and we were successful and grew it, and in fact, sold that three different times, and, you know, continue to grow the company. And then I left that to have what I'd call my second startup, and this was to do computer based training to try to teach people. Of technical subjects on a computer, and that ended up morphing into one of the first e learning companies. So we did that, and that was that was a lot of fun, eventually sold that I did a little bit of executive coaching and mentoring. And one of the CEOs that I was mentoring asked me to join his organization, which was called applied weather technology. And I should say, I knew, in most cases, I really knew very little about the domain that I was going into, but I think pretty good business sense. So in this case, the company had software and services for the maritime industry, so we would help captains have the safest, most fuel efficient route to take around the world. So it was, it was really an interesting business. So I did that. I said I'd do it for a year. We ended up doing it for four years, and it was exciting and fun to be part of that. And they had a chance to travel around the world. We had offices around the world. So enjoyed that experience. And then then I left and to write the book that you mentioned finding God in Silicon Valley and and so anyway, that's what I ended up leaving that eventually got involved to help start a venture capital firm, a faith based venture capital firm called one flourish capital. So anyway, so that's a little bit of the background. There's a lot more I could talk about that, but that but that kind of gives your audience a little bit of an overview. I hadn't   Michael Hingson ** 11:26 thought about it for a while, but you mentioned the software back in 1979 80 and so on, all being put on audio cassettes. I remember the original Kurzweil Reading Machine for the blind used a Data General Nova three, so a small micro computer, well, kind of more like a mini computer, but it had a cassette recorder in the front of it, and every time you turn the reading machine on, you had to run the cassette to reload the Software, because there was no disk storage or anything available yet, right? And, okay, continue. I'm just saying so it was, it was kind of fun. It didn't take too long, and it and it really did work. I think once or twice there was some sort of a load error, and you had to start it over again. But really that didn't happen very often. It was, it was pretty good. Yeah,   Skip Vaccarello ** 12:22 it was really interesting. I just threw one sort of funny story we had. Remember, we had a product that was returned to us and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. I forget what it was. Was probably one of the games we had, the best selling game, which was called micro chest anyway, decided to just put it into a an audio player. So he put the cassette in, and what we heard was a sermon by, I think it was a Baptist preacher, and so, and it was labeled, I think it was labeled micro chess. So anyway, the duplicator had, had messed it up. And so this, this pastor probably got our little beeps and beeps instead of his instead of his sermon. So it was kind of it was kind of   Michael Hingson ** 13:07 comical. I remember once I took one of the program cassettes and put it in my cassette recorder because I was really curious to to hear what it sounded like. And I had heard military teletypes and so on in the past. And when I heard this, I went, Ah, those teletypes are really slow compared to the code speed on these cassettes. But it was, it was a lot of fun,   Skip Vaccarello ** 13:31 yeah. Well, it's fun for me to be involved in all the changes. Their changes was so rapid in Silicon Valley. So I really appreciated my opportunity to be involved in all of that for the 40 some odd years that I was,   Michael Hingson ** 13:46 well, yeah, and, and it, and it certainly was rewarding. You were pretty successful at it, and it all worked really, really worked out well. And so, you know, can't complain about that. What, what got you into the whole idea of doing more faith based things? Was that going back to childhood? Or how did all that come? Yeah,   Skip Vaccarello ** 14:10 I'll give you maybe a little bit of my my faith and story. So I grew up in a Christian home. We were I was raised as a Catholic, and as I said, when I went to college, though, there was all sorts of turmoil, and many of us rejected all sorts of things, including in faith. So it became and I can't say that I rejected it, but it just didn't. Wasn't very meaningful to me. I didn't think about it, I didn't pray, I didn't read the Bible. But if you were to ask me, I would have called myself a Christian, but certainly wasn't, wasn't practicing any of that. And then I when I was, I'm, this is maybe so that was that went on for about 15 years, or then I remember there was, we had, then children, a couple of children. And I remember I was in a business trip. I was in Paris, and I called home and I asked. My wife, Jackie, I said, Well, what did you do for the weekend? And she said, Well, I went to church. I said, You did what? That wasn't even in our conversation, and I was just so surprised that that's what she did. She said, Yeah, and she found it really helpful. And so anyway, when I came back, I followed her along and went to church. And I also found the messages really, meaningful. And anyway, I started to go, and then I decided this, I have to figure out if this stuff is really true or not. So I spent a fair amount of time, you know, listening to the sermons, but also looking at the evidence for Christian faith. And I became convinced that that Jesus is who He says He is. And so that at that point, I committed my, you know, my life to Him, and it became the most important thing in my life. And really, God, put two things on my heart once I made that and this was mid 80s by 1985 1986 two things on my heart. One was to do the best job I could, to try to live out my faith in business. And the second thing was to help people know who Jesus is. I was convinced that was this sort of the key to life, and so I enjoyed getting involved in in one on one conversations. And anyway, that ended up leading to starting with a group of people, what we eventually called the Silicon Valley prayer breakfast, and now it's called Connect Silicon Valley, feeling that, especially in Silicon Valley, you know, people may not go to go to a church. They may for a variety of reasons, you know, not want to even consider faith. But if there were a speaking event in which there was some celebrity, especially celebrities from the computer industry talking about their business, but also about their faith that might attract people. So that was the sort of the premise with which we started the Silicon Valley prayer breakfast, specifically for people who not were not necessarily your faith, but maybe curious about it. So we had series of great, great speakers. And it grew from, I think our first event was about 150 people, and in the last event, which I and then I the pandemic came, and we had about 1000 people at the at the last event. So it really grew. In fact, the people at there was one, it was at the Santa Clara Convention Center. They said it was the biggest event that they had at that time of the morning would start the event at 730 in the morning. So anyway, that's that was really helpful. And we and we just did that help open up conversations about faith and and it was, is, I think it was pretty successful doing that. So anyway, that was a little bit of of my background. And maybe one thing I didn't say, but I had this sense, you know, as I grew up, my family, we didn't have very much money, and but as I began to achieve some success and some financial success, I realized that it seemed like there was something missing in my life, and and later on, I learned, and I didn't know this at the time, Blaise Pascal called that a God shaped vacuum, or void that's in each one of us, and most people try to fill it with success or money or whatever else. But as Pascal says, and I agree, the only thing that can adequately fill that void is God. And I didn't know it, but that was ended up being, being true for me. I felt that there was that there was something missing, and life wasn't all about, you know, success and finances and and anyway, I'm glad that I took that journey. I'm glad for the people that helped me along in that journey to become a follower of Jesus. I   Michael Hingson ** 18:39 hear you. I know for me, I've, I've always had, I think, a pretty strong faith. My father and I talked a lot about God and religion and so on as I was growing up, and he read things to me, so I was, was pretty used to the whole concept right from the outset and and one of the things that I learned along the way, and I think it fits in fits into what you just said, is, as you said, people try to fill that, that void with so many different things. And the thing we never do is we never listen. And the thing that frustrates me most about prayer is that people are so busy praying to God about what they want that they forget God already knows. The issue is, are we really willing and and are we? Are we ready to take the time to listen, to get the answers?   Skip Vaccarello ** 19:38 And that is such a good point. Michael, I absolutely no, that's the issue. Go ahead. No, as I say, I agree with you that, you know that a lot of us and I do this time to time, I just pray, okay, that's it, but taking the time to then listen, and then, if you really are aware of it, you know, you'll see various things along the way where God is is communicating. Creating with you, either through other people and things that your opportunities, you're presented with, and so on. So it's that whole idea, I think in the Bible, it talks about praying continually, and in my own myself, I kind of have an ongoing, just a dialog in my head. Well, God, what do I do in this situation or or thank him for something I see, or whatever, but, but, yeah, that whole idea of just being aware and listening is a very important one. Yes, very good point. Thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 20:29 Well, and one of the things that we talked a lot about as I was growing up was the fact that, yes, we believe in God, we believe in Jesus and so on. But there are other religions that really, when you analyze them, come essentially to the same place. They're peaceful, they're loving. And unfortunately, we have all too many people who say there's only one religion that works, and that just isn't so either. Well, I I think that there, there there are issues, but the fact is that there are a lot of people who believe in God, and come at it from a different point of view, but still believe in God.   Skip Vaccarello ** 21:10 When I agree, I think that there is there the lot of there's a lot of commonality among all the world religions, and there's a most of them all have a moral code to them. In fact, the Golden Rule, do unto others, as you would have them do unto you, is common to all religions, but at the same time, there are also some real differences. And you know, it's interesting where you know what you said, and many other people say that, that there are many different paths to God. But typically, if you were to ask anyone in any one of those religions, they would say, know that if it's a Muslim, I think that we have the path or Jewish person, right? You know, you know, and so on. And so I would encourage people to, I mean, you may not like this idea, but, you know, I would, I would, I believe that really, I mean, I'm covering this in an upcoming podcast, that that Jesus is, is, is the way. I mean, he's the only, the only one in a in any of these world religions, most, or most world religions, you know, say that, that we have to sort of earn our way. You know, to salvation. Am I a good enough person to earn eternal life? Whereas with Jesus, the other way around, he wants us. He's very, very inclusive and and offers his love and His forgiveness to everyone. And you know, he says, you know, in John 14 six, I am the I Am the Truth or way in the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. So it's a that is an exclusive statement, but it also Christian faith is inclusive anyone who wants to come. It's not, you know, is is ready to come. So we probably don't want to get into that too much. But, no,   Michael Hingson ** 23:01 I don't, not too much. But by the same token, I take it in a little bit different slant. Not I don't I agree with what you said, but I also know that I am goes beyond what we're talking about. God in in Exodus And Moses said, Who do I say? Is Sending me? Says I am, that I am, thou shalt say I am, has sent me to you. And I think we I think a lot of people miss that, and they miss the fact that I am is, is God,   Skip Vaccarello ** 23:33 yeah. However, where is your way? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 23:38 yeah. And I think that that's the thing, and I think that that was what Jesus was saying as well. Because Jesus also said, I am my father. Are One. And all the works that I do, greater works you can do as well. I think we, what we, what we really need to do is to recognize that, in fact, from a mindset standpoint, it's ultimately believing in God. And if you're an atheist, that's fine. Sorry if we're offending you, but that, that's a different story. But I but I do know that that in reality, we all need to recognize that if we listen, if we really work at it. We can be better people than than we probably think we are.   Skip Vaccarello ** 24:24 Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that that is the you know. The point of it is, is, you know, to be, you know, the, you know, the message of Jesus is one of love. I mean, he loves everyone, and we're called, you know, to love everyone. That that means not just fellow Christians, but no matter what faith you're part of, or whatever you know you may have done or do or whatever. Yeah, we're called to love everyone. You think how different the world would be if we all really acted that way?   Michael Hingson ** 24:53 Gee, wouldn't that be something, especially today, right? And it's absolutely, yeah. Yeah, absolutely crazy. So the prayer breakfast and so on, kind of, I assume, ended when the pandemic began. Well,   Skip Vaccarello ** 25:08 it did for a while, yeah, but there is a group that that's that's restarted it, and we, by the way, we changed the name from Silicon Valley prayer breakfast, and a few years ago, we changed to connect Silicon Valley, and we did that because we really wanted to be open to people. It's not an event just for Christians, but for anybody that was interested in in attending. So it is active, and in fact, it's, it's now had a I'm only minimally involved, and they've made me Chairman Emeritus, but, but there's, there's a new group that's running it, and they've had several different events. So it is, is going on, if any of your listeners are in and around Silicon Valley, it's called Connect Silicon Valley, and I'd encourage them to go. I think they have a speaker that we had earlier. It's coming up in March. I think it's promote. Hawk. Promote is a one of the top venture capitalists in the world. He's with Norwest ventures, and I think he's, he's a speaker at an event that's coming up in a few weeks.   Michael Hingson ** 26:10 I may end up being in San Francisco, but not till May. I'll have to find out when they meet and see if there's a way to get down there. Be kind of fun.   26:17 Yeah, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 26:19 But it's, I think faith in and having beliefs as extremely important to do. And one of the things that I always quote when I am giving speeches is something Jimmy Carter once said, which is, we must adjust to changing times while holding to unwavering principles. And I think that all too often we we miss the principles part.   Skip Vaccarello ** 26:45 Yeah, that's right, I agree, Yep, yeah, absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 26:51 It is something that we need to do. Well, I'm glad that connect Silicon Valley is is still continuing to function. That's really a pretty important thing to do. Well, when did your   Skip Vaccarello ** 27:04 I think it is especially in, you know, in Silicon Valley, which is a pretty secular place, yeah, you know. And I think it's a secular place because, you know, it's, it attracts a lot of people with Type A personalities, people that are feeling very self sufficient. And why do I need, why do I need God? But, but it's been interesting. I really feel that there's a movement of God going on in Silicon Valley, and it has been for a while. And you know, what's kind of motivated us, our vision with Connect Silicon Valley was that if Silicon Valley ever could be known as a place not just of technology and innovation and wealth creation, but a place of God, the world would take notice, and to me, there's lots of evidence that that's beginning to happen.   Michael Hingson ** 27:48 Yeah, well, I think that's true. And sometimes we're not necessarily hearing a loud voice, but the voice is still there, and more and more people are going to get drawn to it, I'm sure.   Skip Vaccarello ** 28:01 Well, I think so. I mean, ultimately, as we said earlier, I think each one of us has a sense of a need for something beyond ourselves, and people might call it a force or a god or whatever else, and, and so I think there is that need and and, and hopefully, I would encourage your listeners, you know, to explore the evidence for faith to, you know, take a risk. And, you know, people might have been turned off by religious people, and I can understand that. But, you know, take look at it. And I would specifically say, Look at what, what Jesus has to say. And take, take the time to look at the evidence, because there's plenty of evidence out there for Christian faith.   Michael Hingson ** 28:41 I participated in a number of programs. It's a Methodist program, but it's ecumenical, called the walk to Emmaus. And have you heard of that? No, I haven't. It's It's actually called a short course in Christianity. It's not intended to convince people what they should believe, but rather it's to develop leadership within the church. Whatever church it doesn't, it doesn't, although it was started by the Methodist. Actually, that's an outgrowth of a Catholic program called crusio, but it's the same thing. And when I was lay director of one of the walks to Emmaus, and we could talk about the history, but walk to Emmaus is basically based on after Jesus was crucified and Rose. That day, there were people walking to a town called Emmaus, and he joined them, and they didn't know who he was, and they talked, and they all went to to Emmaus, and they sat down and they had dinner. And it was a dinner that He revealed Himself to them, and then he disappeared. But the whole idea is, it's a way to bring a little bit more enlightenment to leaders. But one of the things that, as the lay director, I had to do was to give a talk on perseverance and so on. And of course. Thought that has always struck with me, and I think it goes beyond Christianity, Christianity, but Tolstoy once said The biggest problem with Christianity is a lot of people don't practice it. There's truth to that. And what you you know you said earlier that so many people and are not necessarily the best Christians, and there's so much of that we really need to go back to basics and everything that we do.   Skip Vaccarello ** 30:28 Yeah, I think that a lot of people get turned off to faith, or in Christian faith, because they look at the some of the behavior of people who claim to be Christians. And the fact is that every one of us is flawed in some ways, in one way or another. What I like to do is, is look at people who what was their life before they you know, they had Jesus in their life, and what's their life after that? And, and you can often see the difference. But people are we're all. We all make mistakes. We're all imperfect people, and, and, and in faith, the church is not for it's not for perfect people. It's for sinners, people that are imperfect. And that's that's really why, why? You know why Jesus came to us? So to why would you add encourage your listeners to try not to get turned off by some of the behavior of Christians, because some of it is, is certainly not good, but to really look at what Jesus says, and, you know, engage people who who are believers, and I think they admit that what's what's right and what's at fault and so on, the basic principles are the basic principles,   Michael Hingson ** 31:35 and they hold no matter where you come from and what you do. And it's important to really deal with that. Although I'm with Mark Twain, I wonder if God had written man because he was disappointed in the monkeys, but that's another story   31:49 I had heard that crook.   Michael Hingson ** 31:52 So, so you wrote the book finding God in Silicon Valley. When did you write that?   Skip Vaccarello ** 31:56 It was, it was published in 2015   Michael Hingson ** 32:00 Okay, and   Skip Vaccarello ** 32:02 it's been, yeah, it really was an outgrowth of some of the talks people gave at the Silicon Valley prayer breakfast. And I felt that it really the reason for writing. It was to encourage people to to consider faith, because in the book, they'd read about Silicon Valley leaders who in their faith story, how they came to faith, what they went through. Some, you know, some stories were a little bit like mine, where they found the evidence, but others, you know, went through personal tragedy and found faith that way. And then the stories are also about how they're trying to live out their faith, day to day, and whatever, whatever business they're involved with. So they're a variety of people. There are nonprofit leaders, companies, CEOs, venture capitalists and so on. And you know, it's, I think we all like to hear stories, and that was what was attractive about the Silicon Valley prayer breakfast. I know that sometimes when I'm sitting in church on a Sunday morning, and I may not quite remember what the pastor said, but I usually remember the stories that he tells. And so I think stories are an effective way to communicate things. In fact, I'd call Jesus the Greatest storyteller of all time. He told his stories often in parables. And those are things that we, you know, that we that we remember. So yeah, the the book was I what I enjoyed it. I just enjoyed is I just enjoyed sitting down with people and hearing their stories and interviewing them, and I did the best I could to compile those stories. There were 26 of them in the book, and yeah, it's it's available on on Amazon, so I encourage people to to pick it up and take a look. And you can go through with a person you know, or one story, or, you know, that seemed to attract your attention. So it was a, it was quite a, quite a project to undertake, but I'm glad that I did it. And let me just maybe the I'll tell you the way I got the idea is I went back to a Harvard reunion. This might have been in the mid 1990s and there was, they had a little sometimes at these reunions, they have little groups that get together. And there was one that I was as part of a Christian cohort, and even though I wasn't a Christian in college anyway, as part of this group. And we're all, we're given a book called Finding God at Harvard. And you know, although Harvard was founded as a, you know, as a, as a Christian college, it's certainly not thought of that these days. And so the writer Kelly Monroe, and she's now, her name is Kelly Monroe Kohlberg, had put together stories of Harvard graduates in how they came to faith and what they were doing. So I thought was a great book, and I so that's what planted the idea in my mind. I said, well, people don't think of Harvard as a place of of faith. They certainly don't think of Silicon Valley as that. So I had the idea, and this was in the mid 1990s but as I said, it wasn't published until 2015 because I found it was really difficult for me to work full time and write the book. So after I left my last full time position is when I had the time to write the book.   Michael Hingson ** 34:59 Well. Well, and I assume it's been pretty successful.   Skip Vaccarello ** 35:03 That's beyond, I think. So it's, I mean, I get some, you know, to me, successful is, if people have read it and they say, Yeah, you know, and you know, I'm considering faith. And to me, that's, that's the success of it. So it's, anyway, it was a, it was really quite an experience. And and happy to do it. And I'm still in the process. I'm looking at a couple of other books now, maybe following up with and writing.   Michael Hingson ** 35:30 Writing is fun, as you know, I've written, yeah, now three books, and I haven't figured out what to write next, but I'm sure something is going to come along. I haven't written fiction yet, and I haven't really come up with a a hot idea yet, but we'll see. It's kind of fun to think about,   Skip Vaccarello ** 35:50 sure, absolutely,   Michael Hingson ** 35:52 but, but, you know, we we we do what we can, and we keep moving forward, and that's what it's really about. But it is a lot of fun. And meanwhile, I do get to travel and speak, and I'm working with accessibe and helping to make internet websites more usable and inclusive. That's something that VisiCalc never did, was to make an accessible version of the product. But that's okay. That's okay. It took it took Excel and and other products a while before they became accessible, too. So not a problem. We, we, we all grow, which is what it's really about. But so what? What is your Well, let me ask it this way. So you wrote the book. You've retired and so on. What kind of projects do you have coming up, other than thinking about other books?   Skip Vaccarello ** 36:46 Well, a few things you know that I'm doing right now. As I mentioned, I was part of a startup venture capital coming company called one flourish capital, and I'm still a little bit involved, but not as involved as I was there on a second fund. And I was very involved in the first fund, so I spent a little bit of time with that, but I'm more engaged with things like, I love mentoring. I mentor some students, and mentor some entrepreneurs and and enjoy those those opportunities I've and as I said, I'm putting together a series of podcasts, not as active as you are in it, but I did a series last year, and I titled it, who do you want to become, encouraging people to put together a personal strategic plan. You know, when we're involved in business, is often the company does a strategic plan. Of you know, what's our vision, our mission, our values, our goals and so on. And something that I've practiced for many years is putting together a personal strategic plan. So some of that podcast series is just encouraging people to consider doing that, which again, give a clearer direction for where, where you want your life to go, where God wants your life life to go. So anyway, that was a podcast series, and right now I'm in the midst of of putting together series that I'm calling why I believe, exploring the critical questions about Christian faith. And so I'm going around interviewing experts on, you know, some of the tougher questions you know, you've we talked about one earlier, is Jesus the only way? Other questions, you know, what about what about heaven? How? Another question is, how could a loving God, you know, allow innocent people to suffer? So question, questions like that, that that are often stumbling blocks for people. And I know, question answering, questions like that was very helpful for me in my faith journey. So anyway, I'm in the process of of putting that podcast series, which I expect will be ready in April, and if your listeners are are interested, it'll be on, it's on skip, vacarello.com, so that's where you can find the first podcast series. The last name is V, A, C, C, A, R, E, L, L, O. So anyway, it's there. It's also it'll be on Spotify and Apple and YouTube. So anyway, so I'm involved in that, but I should also say that one of the important things that I do is we moved here to be close to her daughter and grandchildren. So I love spending the time, you know, with my grandchildren. And we just traveled out to Spokane, Washington to see the other family and and that's just, that's just so enjoyable. So while I'm actively involved in in doing things like that, I I, you know, love, you know, spending time with the grandchildren, and also I try to stay, you know, physically active. Still play some tennis and golf and pickleball, and, you know, it's so, you know it's and anyway, I'm involved in a lot of different things, and enjoy them. You   Michael Hingson ** 39:53 know, it's interesting. You were talking about the issue of, how could a loving God let any. And suffer. My reaction to that question, and I've heard it a lot, my reaction to that has always been, how could God not it's really an issue of we listen to God, and what did we miss along the way that would have prevented us from suffering, but God gave us free will and free choice.   Skip Vaccarello ** 40:18 That's exactly right. And so that is the crux of the issue. We have free choice. And you know, when some of those choices aren't good ones that we make, and grad doesn't force anything on any of us, and that was probably one of the things he gave us, was that we're free, free to choose, and we can choose bad or we can choose good,   Michael Hingson ** 40:37 yeah. And the question is, it's always the question, do we learn from mistakes that we made? And, you know, I have rejected the concept of failure. I think that failure is such a horrible thing to say. I think that there are things that don't work out. But did we fail that means we can't ever deal with it or do anything about it? Or can we take the time to analyze what didn't work right? And even when we did something and it worked out, could we do it better? That's one of the basic cruxes of live like a guide dog. My latest book, which is all about teaching people how to control fear, and the whole idea is that we don't take nearly enough time at the end of the day, or at some point in the day, to do more introspection and self analysis to understand why whatever happens to us happens to us, and what could we have done to make it have a better outcome, or even a or did we come up with The best outcome possible?   Skip Vaccarello ** 41:41 Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I absolutely agree. What did we learn from it? I mean, you would see that time and time again. Some of the most successful people had many failures along the way, and you know, hopefully you're going to learn from that failure, and you're going to try something else, you're going to fail, and you're going to try something else and, and that's, I think that's just what goes on in life   Michael Hingson ** 42:02 well, and that's why I say that it isn't really a failure. It is a mistake, perhaps, right? We didn't intend for it to be a mistake, but, but if it, if it was a mistake, and we acknowledge that, why and what do we do about it? And I think that's one of the important things that so many of us could do a better job of thinking about was, why did this happen? What was I afraid of, or what could I have done differently? And the fact is that if we open our minds to those questions, we'll get the answers, yep, yep, I agree, which is, I think, really important.   Skip Vaccarello ** 42:41 I was listening to, I don't remember the I wish I could remember it, but I was watching something on television the other night, and there was a quote that kind of stuck with me, and it's in the quote we're doing something like this, is it was an encouragement of, I think it was a mother to a son. He said, Don't, don't think of what life has done to you. Think of what life has done for you. What we're talking about is you might have run into some difficulty, some okay, but maybe that's an opportunity to learn from it, and to go on and to do something else and and, you know, I think life, life is like that. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 43:15 you know, people talk to me a lot about the World Trade Center, and don't you have guilt of surviving while other people didn't, right? And and I tell people, no, I don't have any guilt about that, because the fact is, I did survive. Why others did not is is really, in part, possibly an issue of what choices they made. But the bottom line is, it isn't whether I feel guilty or not about surviving because I had no control over the World Trade Center happening. What I do have control over the though is how I deal with it and how I move forward, and that's the choice that I get to make.   Skip Vaccarello ** 43:56 Yeah, very good point,   Michael Hingson ** 43:59 which I think is really important. And someone asked me that just the other day, and then that was in this is the response that I gave, is, the reality is, it's we have no control over a lot of things that that may happen to us, but we do have total control over how we deal with it, no matter what it is, yeah,   Skip Vaccarello ** 44:19 and you think of it, the, you know, I'm sure, the lives that you've changed, you know, writing about that and talking about that with your speaking appearances, and it was such a tragedy that, you know, the 1000s of what was 1700 or 18, I don't remember the number, the number of people that died in that, and they're all 200 Yeah, 3200. Was all the people that were affected by it. You know, on the other hand, I mean stories like yours came out of that, and you've been an encouragement to many, many other people so that you know, you've, you know, taken advantage of that opportunity, and you've affected the lives of many, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 44:56 tell me more about what you're doing today with mentoring students and so on. More. How do you do that? Or how do they find you? How does that all work?   Skip Vaccarello ** 45:03 Well, I one of the things is I mentioned earlier that there's a whole bunch of things that have gone on in Silicon Valley where I where I really feel that that God is at work. And there was a guy that I got to know that I actually mentored him a little bit, and he founded an organization called scholars of finance. And it started in a and it's not a quote a Christian base, but it's a, it's sort of an ethics based organization. And his idea was to to go to college campuses and encourage people who were in finance, accounting, finance of some sort or another, to look at the ethical side of business. So he put together this thing called scholars of finance, and then they were started on maybe a couple of universities in the Bay Area. I think they now want maybe 70 campuses around the US and and he's so I've had the opportunity to speak at a number of those campuses, some in person, most of them virtually. And the idea is that they have people like me that come and speak and try to, you know, we tell stories, encourage people about, maybe the ethical issues that we ran across and, and how you can kind of navigate some of those issues and, and, and part of that whole program is, if you want to put yourself up to mentoring, you know you can have the opportunity to mentor some students. So I have, and I've had the opportunity, and I have the opportunity to mentor some students and and I really, I really love it. And what are the differences I find? I think that, you know, sometimes there are negative things that people say about college students these days, but one of the things that I find encouraging is that they're really open to to mentoring, to getting advice from an from an older generation. I remember when I was in school was what was the mantra that you don't trust anyone over 30, you know they don't know what they're talking about, but, but I find students these days are really looking for that for that advice and guidance and and so I enjoy when I have those opportunities to speak to people. And I would say also that a lot of these students are incredibly motivated and driven. And it's, it's just, it's interesting to see. It was, I think it was even different than than when I was in when I was in college. But anyway, that's that's kind of a fun thing to do. And then I also have entrepreneurs, people that either find me or, you know, that may be a company that we've invested in, that have an opportunity to help those, those entrepreneurs, with their business plans. And one of the, one of the areas I like to focus on is helping them develop the right culture. I think, to have a successful business, you have a successful business is you need a culture, you know, a positive culture that's encouraging to people. So, you know, I do that. I try to encourage them to start out and build the right culture. You know, in your organization, doesn't mean that business will succeed, you know, but that's one of the things I like to to help entrepreneurs consider as they're building a business. So it's not just about the product. Certainly, you need a product, and you need to market that product, and often you need technology to make a success. But ultimately, it's the people in that organization and how you deal with them, and how you deal with your customers, and how you deal with your vendors and so on that can can help make or break a business. So anyway, those are the the mentoring opportunities that I have, and as I say and do, enjoy   Michael Hingson ** 48:31 them. What are some of the typical questions that students ask that you find to be sort of common among a lot of students?   Skip Vaccarello ** 48:40 Well, they'll, they'll, you know, they'll sometimes ask me about, you know, ethical situations that I've come across. Often, they'll ask, since I've been involved in the in the venture capital business, is, you know, what is it? What is, what does a venture capitalist look like? You know, how can I get, get get funded? And that, that's sort of an ongoing topic of of conversation, and it's in that environment, you know, it certainly changes a lot over time, but that's a that's a common, a common side of it. You know, occasionally there'll be discussions on technology, and I'm not, even though I've been involved in Silicon Valley for a long time, not a technologist, and they're real, usually, typically very far advanced in that, in that side of things. But, you know, get questions on, you know, what's a go to market strategy? How do I, if I have this product, what do I, what do I do with it? And often, you know, just, you know, I get presented a business plan, what do you think about this, and you know, where can I make changes? And sometimes, you know, often they're very well done, but sometimes there might be some, some blind spots, things that they don't, that they don't see. And interestingly enough, and this is not, you know, something that that I push for, but some of the students then they, you know, they pick me up. Ask because they they've seen my bio, and I've had a number of students who were weren't brought up with any faith background, that asked me about faith and what was my story, and in what should I do to consider faith? So I, you know, I find that very interesting, and I'm very happy to answer any questions that they may have. So that's that's enjoyable when those opportunities come.   Michael Hingson ** 50:22 Yeah, it's kind of cool to be able to enter into those discussions and just talk a little bit about faith and what what they're looking for, and what you're looking for and so on. And getting a chance to in a in a non confrontive way, help people understand the value of faith, whatever that may end up being for them, I think is important to do, yeah,   Skip Vaccarello ** 50:50 and often, you know, I end up, well, I, well, I, you know, I'll offer things if they ask. But I usually what I like to do is just ask lots of questions to them. And I think it's very helpful, you know, where are they coming from? What are they considered? What are their experiences been? You know, especially if it's in the, in the faith environment. And I think it really helps open up conversations, when, when, when you end up not just being there as the, you know, as the advisor that knows everything, because certainly I don't, but it's very helpful, I think, as a method, as a mentor, is to ask lots of questions.   Michael Hingson ** 51:29 I love to have question time when I speak, because I find every so often I'll get a new question. It doesn't happen as often as it used to, but every so often, something new comes along and and or people ask questions in a different way. And what I really love about it is it helps me learn, because it makes me think, and I think that's as important as anything else. And as I tell people when I'm talking about speaking or doing these podcasts, if I'm not learning at least as much as anyone else on the podcast, or when I'm speaking, I'm not doing my job, right, right? Yeah,   Skip Vaccarello ** 52:05 I agree with you. Yeah. I think I learned more. You know, occasionally I'm asked to give a sermon at a church or a speak at a at a public place, and I think that I learned when you're I think I learned more than anything else when I'm when I'm gonna have to prepare for these, these opportunities, isn't it fun? Oh, it is. It certainly is.   Michael Hingson ** 52:26 Well, so you've been retired for a while. What kind of advice would you give to somebody who may be thinking about retiring?   Skip Vaccarello ** 52:34 Good question, you know, and it's funny sometimes people ask me that question, and I think that, well, I'm retired from making money, but I'm still pretty busy doing things. And that would be my encouragement to people, is to, you know, don't, don't just think you're going to go sit on a beach or or whatever else. I mean, I think that that can get boring pretty quickly. But, you know, and if I would say, continue to do what you're doing if you love it, you know. But consider what your maybe your spouse has to say, your children or grandchildren have to say, and and, you know, make sure you spend, spend time with with them. But my encouragement would be just is to keep busy, find activities. If it's in your case, or my case, has been doing some writing or podcasts, or, you know, whatever it is that you're passionate about, just just you have an opportunity now to do it, but also to take time for relationships. And one thing I didn't mention that is one thing I encouraged students to think about, it's really a question of life. Is life is about relationships. And you know, you want to hopefully along the way, people haven't sacrificed relationships. So you see that sometimes in business, where they sacrifice, you know, their family or other relationships for success in business. But you know, when you're retired is a time to eat, to deepen those those relationships, to really spend some time, you know, with with other people, so and and, as I say, to do things that you love. The other thing I'd say is, is to keep moving. You might I had a chance to visit my mom about a few weeks ago. She's in she's in Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, and she's 103 103 and a half. And three and a half and and people ask her, What's your key to longevity? And she says, Just keep moving. And although she's not physically as active, she tries to get up and keep moving. And she's also one that's and always keeps alert. She volunteered she's not, she hasn't, doesn't have the capacity to do that now, but up till about 9998 she was, she had volunteer activities going on. So, you know, stay engaged, keep keep moving, keep doing things and and anyway, that's my encouragement. Don't, you know, don't just think that it's going to be, you know, time at the beach, or certainly not time in front of the. Television, you know, keep moving, if you can, and keep keep mentally stimulated.   Michael Hingson ** 55:06 That's the real key. Is mental stimulation, I think is extremely important. Just I think retirement is, is overrated in terms of what it really or what people think it is. And I think mental stimulation is is an important thing. And when you're stopped working at a job full time, because it's time to not do that anymore, you should have more time to be able to develop the relationships stimulate your brain, keep your brain thinking, and maybe go off and look at doing things in a different direction. That always is a great challenge. Absolutely,   Skip Vaccarello ** 55:40 yeah, absolutely. It's a, it's a very, it's a neat time of life now. I mean, I enjoyed the time that I had while I was working, but, you know, when you retire, you have a little bit more freedom you had before. So, you know, but use it wisely. It's really true with anything we all, we all are given, you know, resources of various sorts, and time is one of the most valuable resources that we have. And you know, we're, you know, invested. Invest it wisely. Because, you know, life is life is short, and as I get older, realize how short life is, so invest that time wisely and and invest in relationships, as I say, is probably the most important   Michael Hingson ** 56:24 thing. Yeah, I think that's extremely crucial, and makes a lot of sense. And you'll meet people and find things that you never knew before, and you continue to learn, which is what it's all about. Yep, absolutely. Well, I want to thank you for spending an hour with us today, and in doing this, we'll have to do it again, and I think it'll be a lot of fun, but I really enjoy you being here and appreciate you taking the time   Skip Vaccarello ** 56:48 Well, Michael, thank you so much. I've enjoyed it. It's fun for us to to reappoint, yeah, yeah. And it's a it's a great conversation, and hopefully listeners will get some benefit from it, but I've enjoyed the time that I've that I've spent with you today again. Thanks. Thank you so much for having me.   Michael Hingson ** 57:06 Well, I hope all of you have enjoyed listening and watching us, and that you'll give us a five star rating wherever you're watching or hearing the podcast. We really appreciate five star ratings a lot. And just your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts about today's episode, please email me. I'm easy to reach. It's Michael H I M, I C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S i b, e.com, and if you want to subscribe to the podcast, do it wherever you're listening, or you can always go to Michael hingson, M, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o n.com/podcast, and I, and I hope you'll do that, but also skip for you and all, all people out there who are encountering our episode today, if you know of someone, including yourself, who might want to be or you think ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, I'd love you to reach out to me. We're always looking for more people to have on and talk about various things, and like I said, for me, in part, I get to learn what we do that. So we really appreciate you finding other guests for us. So don't ever hesitate to reach out and let us know if people we ought to interact with. But again, skip. I just want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun, and we really appreciate your time.   Skip Vaccarello ** 58:24 Michael, thank you again. Enjoy the rest of the day. Appreciate it.   Michael Hingson ** 58:32 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Hear from Dr. Mark Lebwohl, MD, Dean for Clinical Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, and Dr. Jason Hawkes, M.D., M.S., co-owner, CSO, and principal investigator at the Oregon Medical Research Center, discuss the intersection of obesity, psoriasis, and GLP-1s. This podcast was brought to you by Lilly.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about a potential homeowner property tax rebate this year, and we discuss the extended legislative session to finalize the state budget. We visit with Vice President of Landmark Legal Foundation Michael O'Neill about the Los Angeles riots, and we discuss the judicial lawfare against Trump's agenda. Boo Mortenson and I discuss war and developments in kinetic warfare equipment. We also visit Linda Harden about some health evaluations that are not based on true science. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

This episode is a replay of special podcast hosted by PRWeek about the 2025 USC Relevance Report. This special PRWeek podcast, "AI Activated," brought together three PR industry leaders and PRWeek Hall of Famers to discuss AI's impact on public relations. Hosted by Steve Barrett, Editorial Director of PR Week, the conversation featured:Frank X. Shaw, Chief Communications Officer at MicrosoftMelissa Waggener Zorkin, Global CEO of We. CommunicationsFred Cook, Director of USC Center for Public Relations and Chairman Emeritus at GolinThe discussion centered on research from Microsoft, We. and USC about AI's transformative effects on PR practices. AI's Impact on PR and the Role of Humanity 0:02Balancing AI and Humanity in Storytelling 2:31Fostering an AI-Ready Culture 5:49Challenges and Opportunities in AI Adoption 12:48AI in Media Relations and Measurement 16:21Preparing the Next Generation of PR Pros 22:17The Future of AI in PR 27:34Key insights include:AI as a Tool, Not a ReplacementThe panel emphasizes that AI should enhance human storytelling and relationships rather than replace them. Frank Shaw compared current AI adoption to the early days of personal computers, suggesting we're just beginning to understand its potential.Creating an AI-Ready CultureMelissa Waggener Zorkin highlights the importance of employer encouragement in AI adoption, noting that organizations should empower employees to experiment with AI tools and celebrate early adopters who can share knowledge across teams.Education and Skill DevelopmentFred Cook shares his experience incorporating AI into USC student projects, revealing how prompt engineering skills significantly impact results. He notes that students who crafted detailed prompts received better AI outputs than those using basic instructions.Practical ApplicationsThe conversation covers AI applications in content creation, data analysis, media relations, and measurement. Frank Shaw discusses using AI for strategic planning and information capture, while Melissa emphasizes AI's democratizing effect, allowing professionals at all levels to contribute innovative approaches.Future OutlookThe panel agrees that AI will make PR more exciting for young professionals by automating routine tasks and allowing them to focus on more strategic and creative work. The podcast referenced two reports for further reading: "Energized by AI" and "The Relevance Report."The USC Relevance Report of 40+ forward-looking essays about the current and future use of AI in public relations is available for free download at annenberg.usc.edu/relevance. A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.Host, Fred CookExecutive Producer, Ron AntonetteSeason 6 Producers, Javiera Contreras, Anahita Mehra, Joe Carreon, Marshall WinfieldCreated by ZaZu Lippert LINKSFollow the USC Center for PR (@usccenterforpr) on Instagram and LinkedIn. Follow Fred Cook on LinkedIn. Find all our reports at annenberg.usc.edu/cpr.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! A pod today that starts with a bit of time travel. We're going back to the Ontario of 1985, but not for the sake of a melancholy stroll down memory lane. I want to explore how a new (at the time) Liberal government came to power and immediately enacted a series of major reforms and initiatives that still reverberate in the province today. And that's the lens I want to use to focus this conversation. The lessons in this story of innovation and political will, we can use to meet the challenges of today.With me, is the principal of the remarkable transformation, and 2 of his principal secretaries: The Honourable David Peterson, 20th Premier of Ontario, Vince Borg and Hershell Ezrin.40 years ago this month, David Peterson became the first Liberal to lead the province since Harry Nixon, ending a 42-year PC dynasty. He served as Premier from 1985 to 1990. Today, he's Chairman Emeritus of the law firm of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. and Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. Vince Borg was Principal Secretary to Premier Peterson and is a past President of the Ontario Liberal Party. His long career took him from the backrooms of Queen's Park to the boardrooms of corporate Canada.Hershell Ezrin also served as Principal Secretary and deputy minister to Premier Peterson. He had a long and distinguished career in public service and is now a Senior Fellow at Global Public Affairs.Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the current extended legislative session to finalize the state budget. We visit with economics and political columnist Patrick Carroll about questions raised concerning the tariff agreement between the United State and the U.K about food standards. Boo Mortenson and I discuss the threat of “AI” to college education and the return to “blue book” exams. We also visit Linda Harden about the evidence of health hazards created by “5G.” Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

171: Melba J. Duncan is the Founder and President of The Duncan Group Inc., a retained search and consulting firm. Since 1985, the firm has been advising CEOs and other corporate leaders regarding specialized senior management support resources. Ms. Duncan was Assistant to The Hon. Peter G. Peterson, Founder of The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Chairman Emeritus and Co-Founder of The Blackstone Group, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb Incorporated, and former Secretary of Commerce. In her prior position, she was Assistant to Sanford C. Bernstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., a New York Stock Exchange member firm, where she was elected Corporate Secretary and became a stockholder. Ms. Duncan is an experienced public speaker. She has served as keynote speaker at the American Management Association's Annual Conference for Executive Secretaries & Administrative Assistants. Ms. Duncan has served as chairperson for the Marcus Evans Executaries Forums, held in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Toronto, and Montreal. Ms. Duncan has delivered the keynote address to the EA&PA Congress Series in Sydney, Australia, and Adelaide, Australia, respectively and served as Keynote for the EA/PA Congress in Melbourne, Australia. Ms. Duncan has served as Keynote and Conference Host for the Bermuda Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals and has served as a presenter at the World Bank, Washington DC, responding to the topic “Shaping your future: Maintaining Your Competitiveness.”   Articles and Video:​ Indispensability and Legacy: Interview – Melba Duncan and Lucy Brazier OBE: https://lnkd.in/eQigh3iU Harvard Business Review: The Secret Weapon of Great Leaders (HBR Video): https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-secret-weapon-of-great-lea The Essential Assistant: Secretariado Master Class (São Paulo, Brazil) (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCgs2yFxyyg Harvard Business Review: What Executive Assistants Know About Managing Up: https://hbr.org/2014/12/what-executive-assistants-know-about-managing-up Harvard Business Review: May 2011: The Case for Executive Assistants: https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-case-for-executive-assistants   Books by Melba J. Duncan: - Indispensability: Administrative Intelligence - The Importance of the Other AI (Centenary University Press, June 2025) - EQ/IQ Developing Emotional Intelligence for Effective Executive Support (Open Hand Press, 2021) - The New Executive Assistant: Advice for Succeeding as an Executive or Administrative Assistant (McGraw Hill, 1997) - How To Succeed in Business As An Executive Assistant (Collier Books, 1990) More about the podcast: Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-brandl/ Executive Office Insights Newsletter: https://the-socialista-projects.com/#newsletter Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@the-socialista-projects Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qBSDjTfYOG2x6qos7dKkS Podcast on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-future-assistant/id1493106661

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the extension of the legislative session and the barriers to finalizing the state budget. We visit with author Lew Paper about his latest book about the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, “Legacy of Lies.” Boo Mortenson and I discuss new tests and attempts to slow the aging process. We also visit Linda Harden about James Comey, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, Latitia James, and other “political elite” who behave as though they are above the law. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the differences among the House, Senate and Governor on finalizing the state budget. We visit with economics and political columnist Patrick Carroll about tariffs and the Presidency of William McKinley. Boo Mortenson and I discuss the threat of “AI” to our youth. We also visit Linda Harden about Trump's visit to the Middle East, the reduction of pharmaceutical costs by Trump's Executive Orders, and the importance of “making America heathy again.” Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

In this powerful conversation, Garry Ridge, Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 Company and author of Any Dumb Ass Can Do It, shares timeless leadership lessons, the truth about culture, and why servant leadership isn't soft—it's strong. From the roots of WD-40's success to building a workplace people escape to, not from, this episode is packed with actionable insights.00:40 - About Garry RidgeGarry is the Chairman Emeritus of the WD 40 company. He's also called the culture coach.He's the author of a book titled Any Dumb Ass Can Do It.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with economics and political columnist Patrick Carroll about Rhode Island's attempt to block affordable housing development by Eminent Domain. We also visit Linda Harden about Trump's domination of the news cycle, polling and the false narrative created about Trump in the legacy press; we also discuss Trump's executive orders and news on tariffs. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

In this episode of 'The Wisdom Of' Show, host Simon Bowen speaks with Garry Ridge, Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 Company and founder of The Learning Moment. From transforming a single-product company into a global powerhouse to achieving remarkable employee engagement, Garry shares his philosophy of human-centered leadership that drives both business success and personal fulfillment. Discover his insights on creating a "tribe of learning," the power of reframing mistakes, practicing servant leadership, and building organizational cultures where people can truly thrive, learn, and contribute to something greater.Ready to elevate your leadership approach? Join Simon's exclusive masterclass on The Models Method. Learn how to articulate your unique value and create scalable impact: https://thesimonbowen.com/masterclassEpisode Breakdown00:00 Introduction and Garry's leadership philosophy05:18 The concept of "learning moments" instead of mistakes12:36 Creating a tribe of belonging through shared purpose18:52 Servant leadership principles in action at WD-4025:44 Measuring success through employee engagement33:29 Values as effective decision-making tools38:22 Translating cultural principles into business results45:36 Building human-centered systems that support growth52:12 The future of leadership and continuous learning58:43 Legacy and creating a sustainable impact beyond oneselfAbout Garry RidgeGarry Ridge is the Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 Company and founder of The Learning Moment. During his 25-year tenure as CEO, Garry transformed WD-40 from a single-product company into a global powerhouse, growing its market value from $250 million to $2.5 billion while achieving an extraordinary 93% employee engagement rate.Passionate about creating workplace cultures where people can thrive, Garry has developed and refined a leadership approach centered on learning, belonging, and purpose. His expertise in building human-centered organizations has made him a sought-after advisor for forward-thinking companies worldwide.As a dynamic global keynote speaker and educator, Garry teaches "Culture at Work: Putting Principles into Practice" in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership program at the University of San Diego. His mission is to make the world a happier place by fostering environments where people feel valued, connected, and inspired to contribute their best.Garry's forthcoming book, "Any Dumbass Can Do It", distills his leadership wisdom into actionable principles that any leader can implement to create extraordinary organizational cultures.Connect with Garry LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garryridge/X: https://x.com/LearningMomentYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPogAomneEkNNFKJ_PLaX3gWebsite: https://thelearningmoment.net/About Simon BowenSimon has spent over two decades working with influential leaders across complex industries. His focus is on elevating thinking in organizations, recognizing that success is directly proportional to the quality of thinking and ideas within a business. Simon leads the renaissance of thinking through his work with global leaders and organizations.Connect with SimonLinkedIn:

Ted Oakley, Managing Partner and Founder of Oxbow Advisors, joins Julia La Roche on episode 253 to discuss the economy and markets.Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Monetary Metals. https://monetary-metals.com/julia In this episode, Ted discusses the concerning deterioration in economic indicators despite ongoing investor complacency, warning that earnings expectations are too optimistic while market multiples remain elevated. He shares his approach to maintaining significant liquidity (currently 55%) while selectively investing in value opportunities like consumer staples. Ted also explains his gold strategy, with bullion as a permanent currency hedge and miners as tradable assets. The conversation concludes with insights from his new book "Second Generation Wealth," where he emphasizes the importance of letting children experience financial independence and adversity before introducing them to family wealth.With more than forty years of experience in advising high-net-worth clients in the investment industry, Oakley implements the firm's proprietary investment strategies and the “Oxbow Principles” to provide a unique investment perspective. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News, Bloomberg Radio, KITCO News, Cheddar TV, Yahoo Finance, and many more. Oakley is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He is a member of the Austin Society of Financial Analysts. He is also a Partner of Herndon Plant Oakley Ltd., an investment company. He is a Board Member of Texas State Aquarium, American Bank, and American Bank Holding Company. Mr. Oakley is a United States Army Veteran. Oakley began his career in Dallas, Texas, over 35 years ago. He is the author of nine books: You Sold Your Company, $20 Million and Broke, Rich Kids Broke Kids – The Failure of Traditional Estate Planning, Crazy Time – Surviving the First 12 Months after Selling Your Company, Wall Street Lies, Danger Time, My Story, The Psychology of Staying Rich, and Your Money Mentality. Oakley's primary philanthropic interest is helping children. He is Chairman Emeritus and Founder of the Foster Angels of South Texas, the largest foster child foundation in South Texas, as well as Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Austin, Texas-based Foster Angels of Central Texas. Also, President and Founder of Advocates for Foster Children Foundation.Links:Oxbow Advisors: https://oxbowadvisors.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OxbowAdvisorsX: https://x.com/Oxbow_AdvisorsBook: https://www.amazon.com/Second-Generation-Wealth-What-Want/dp/1966629168Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction and welcome0:32 Big picture macro view - deterioration and complacency 2:05 Explaining market complacency despite bearish sentiment 3:21 Liquidity and portfolio positioning 4:45 Appropriate liquidity levels by age group 7:42 Boomers' over-allocation to stocks 8:47 Value Line Investment Survey as a market indicator 10:52 Scaling into investments during market downturns 11:55 Fully invested vs. current 55% liquid strategy 14:09 Market risks: shrinking corporate margins and multiples 16:05 Market decline without recession possibility 17:05 Recent market movement - another chance for liquidity 18:35 Q1 GDP insights and market end-of-month action 19:48 Preparing for potential market scenarios 21:26 Retail buyers and leverage in current market recovery 22:35 Current investment opportunities - consumer staples and value24:48 Gold strategy - bullion as currency hedge vs. miners as trades27:45 Gold's purchasing power preservation over time 30:10 Treasury strategy - staying under two years to maintain control31:36 US fiscal situation and future outlook 33:58 Second Generation Wealth - inheritance and teaching kids about money 36:17 Helping children develop self-esteem and independence 39:16 The importance of adversity and work ethic for children 41:37 Setting an example - treating everyone equally 44:13 Parting thoughts

Emad AlTurk is a retired engineering executive, philanthropist, and cultural advocate with over 45 years of leadership experience across the business, nonprofit, and technology sectors. He is the Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures—the first Islamic history and culture museum in the United States—dedicated to fostering interfaith understanding and global awareness.  A lifelong champion for marginalized communities, Emad's advocacy spans humanitarian relief, education, sustainability, and the Palestinian struggle for justice. He is the founder of Mississippi for a Just World (MS4JW), an organization devoted to dismantling inequality and advancing global human rights. Most recently, Emad became a major supporter of $YAFA, the first Palestinian cryptocurrency—an innovative initiative designed to promote economic self-sufficiency and cultural resilience through blockchain technology. Emad holds degrees in Civil Engineering and an MBA, and lives in Mississippi with his wife Karen, their two daughters, and four grandchildren. PLEASE SUPPORT THE MAD MAMLUKS: Please support us on https://Patreon.com/themadmamluks You can also support us on PayPal https://themadmamluks.com/donate VISIT OUR SOCIALS FOR MORE DISCUSSIONS: Twitter https://twitter.com/TheMadMamluks Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themadmamluks/ Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@themadmamluks SIM: https://x.com/ImranMuneerTMM  MORT: https://www.tiktok.com/@morttmm Harry: https://x.com/MrHarry198 Twitter: ----------- #palestine #palestineisrael #gaza #genocide #themadmamluks #podcast #honesty #oppression #israel #oud #syria #syriancivilwar

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about this week's Florida Legislative session. We visit with author Jim McTague about DOGE and the dearth of information provided on their web site. Boo Mortenson and I discuss “AI,” and the negative influence it's having through social media on children and their development. We also visit Linda Harden about polling and the false narrative they create about Trump; we also discuss Tucker Carlson's latest shocking interview with Catherine Austin Fitts about the Bank of International Settlements and secret underground bases across the U.S. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Fred Cook kicks off a timely conversation on the future of public relations—through the lens of generational differences and shared experiences. The episode unpacks key insights from the USC Center for PR's 2025 Global Communication Report: Mind The Gap, which examines how four major forces—AI, hybrid work, media evolution, and polarization—are reshaping the industry and impacting the four generations working within it.Moderated by Barby K. Siegel, Global CEO of Zeno Group, the panel explores questions like:How do different generations view AI's role in the future of PR?What does true collaboration across age groups look like?How can organizations foster flexibility without sacrificing culture?How should communicators approach purpose-driven work amid growing polarization and risk aversion?Key Discussion Highlights:AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement: AI is seen as a career-enhancing tool that frees up time for creativity and strategic thinking — but panelists caution against using it as a crutch, emphasizing the need to maintain strong writing and critical thinking skills.Hybrid Work Expectations: Younger generations value autonomy and flexibility, with many willing to take pay cuts for remote options. But panelists stress that trust, clear expectations, and intentional relationship-building remain critical in hybrid settings.Media Consumption Gaps: Gen Z leans into social and influencer-driven media, while older generations still prioritize traditional outlets like The New York Times and CNN. The takeaway? Successful communicators must be media-fluid and audience-focused.The Purpose Divide: Younger employees (especially Gen Z) expect companies to take stands on social issues, even as overall industry willingness to engage has dropped sharply—from 89% in 2023 to 52% in 2025.Soft Skills Still Reign: From phone calls to peer reviews, interpersonal communication, empathy, and networking remain essential soft skills for all generations.Call for Collaboration: Panelists advocate for breaking down hierarchies by bringing younger professionals into leadership conversations early and often. Generational gaps should be "galvanized," not just "minded."Reports: 2025 Global Communication Report: https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relations/global-communication-reportFeaturing:    •    Fred Cook (USC Annenberg Center for PR)    •    Kelly McGinnis (Levi Strauss & Co.)    •    Sona Iliffe-Moon (Yahoo)    •    Bill Imada (IW Group)    •    Kyndall L. Echols (fashion & brand communications consultant)Host: Fred Cook (@fredcook),Chairman Emeritus of Golin, Director of the USC Center for Public Relations,Author of Improvise: Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEOExecutive Producer: Ron AntonetteProducers: Joe Carreon and Javiera ContrerasFollow us: @USCCenterforPR on X, Instagram, and FacebookSubscribe to our newsletter: News from the USC Center for Public RelationsLearn more: https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relationsThis episode was recorded live at USC Annenberg. A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about week eight of the Florida Legislative session, including updates on the state budget and the various tax cut proposals by the Governor, the House, and the Senate. We visit with economics columnist Patrick Carroll about misunderstood political concepts contributing to divisiveness in America. Boo Mortenson and I discuss polls showing who benefits and who doesn't from the Trump presidency. We also visit Linda Harden about Tucker Carlson's latest interview with Dr. Mary Bowden revealing problems with COVID vaccines. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Join us for a compelling conversation with Bruce Temkin, a true pioneer in the world of customer experience (CX) and the co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), the founder of the XM Institute at Qualtrics, and now, head of Humanity at Scale. In this episode, Bruce shares his journey from shaping the foundations of CX to launching a bold new initiative focused on helping leaders drive sustainable success by putting people first. We dive into Bruce's unique approach to making “squishy” concepts like customer experience concrete and actionable, including the creation of the Temkin Experience Ratings and the importance of accessible, meaningful data. Bruce offers candid insights on the evolution of CX metrics, the limitations of traditional surveys and NPS, and why emotion is the most powerful driver of loyalty. Discover how Humanity at Scale expands the conversation beyond CX, challenging leaders to rethink the false tradeoff between business success and human-centric leadership. Whether you're a CX professional, business leader, or simply passionate about making organizations more people-focused, this episode is packed with practical wisdom and inspiration from one of the industry's true thought leaders. Meet Bruce Bruce Temkin is an Experience Management (XM) visionary and is often referred to as the “Godfather of Customer Experience.” He leads Humanity at Scale and hosts the Humanity at Scale podcast.  He most recently founded the Qualtrics XM Institute, which provides thought leadership and training to help organizations around the world and is also building a global community of XM professionals who are radically changing the human experience.  Prior to Qualtrics, Bruce led Temkin Group, which provided research, advisory, and training that helped many of the world's leading brands build customer loyalty by engaging the hearts and minds of their customers, employees, and partners. He is also the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Customer Experience Professionals Association. Prior to Temkin Group, Bruce spent 12 years with Forrester Research during which time he led the company's B2B, financial services, eBusiness, and customer experience practices and was the most-read analyst for 13 consecutive quarters. Bruce has a mechanical engineering degree from Union College and a master's in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Burghardt Tenderich,  Professor of Professional Practice at USC, speaks to Chantelle Darby, VP of Communications for the global Venture Capital firm, Accel. Chantelle started her career on the agency side before leading Yelp through an IPO and working with Sheryl Sandberg on Lean In. Chantelle covers these roles and offers crucial advice for students and young professionals starting out in the industry.Featuring: Chantelle Darby,  VP Communications, AccelHost: Fred Cook (@fredcook), Chairman Emeritus of Golin. Author of “Improvise - Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO” and Director of the USC Center for Public Relations Executive Producer: Ron Antonette Producers: Marshall Winfield, Follow us: @USCCenterforPR (X, Facebook and Instagram) Newsletter: News from the USC Center for Public Relations Visit our website: https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relations A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California. A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about week seven of the Florida Legislative session, including updates on the state budget and the various tax cut proposals by the Governor, the House, and the Senate. We visit with CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young about “optimal” tariffs and the strength of the U.S. economy. We also visit Linda Harden about Tucker Carlson's interview of former Congressman Curt Weldon and the flawed 9-11 report as well as the directionless Democrat party. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Police In Texas When The Shooting Stops, His Story. When the shooting stops, the silence can be deafening, especially for someone who has spent a lifetime running toward danger. That’s the reality Kevin Foster, a decorated law enforcement veteran in Texas, knows all too well. After 45 years on the job, Foster’s story is not just about service and sacrifice, but about survival in the aftermath of violence. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast episode is available for free on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most major podcast platforms. In a compelling new podcast making waves on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website plus platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, Foster opens up about the traumatic events that shaped his life and career. “There’s a cost to every call, every shot fired, all the friends you lose,” Foster shares. “When it gets quiet, that’s when the real battle starts can start in your mind.” Follow the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Newsbreak, Medium and most all social media platforms Foster’s experience reads like a history of Fort Worth policing. He spent 29 years with the Fort Worth Police Department, followed by over a decade with the TCU Police Department, and time with the local Sheriff’s office. Throughout his service in Texas, he saw more than his fair share of violence. Two incidents stand out, both etched into his memory, both life-altering. Look for supporting stories about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium, Newsbreak and Blogspot. The first was a deadly encounter in which Foster and his partner were involved in a shootout. “It was a fight for our lives,” he recalls. “One suspect tried to take my weapon. My partner and I had no choice, we shot to survive.” Tragically, another suspect opened fire, injuring Foster’s partner in the chaos. The gunfight was brutal and long, with emotional consequences that followed Foster for years. Police In Texas When The Shooting Stops, His Story. In another harrowing moment, Foster, then a sergeant, responded to an active shooter call in Fort Worth. “The radio was alive with screams. Officers were yelling for backup, and the killer was on a rampage,” Foster remembers. The suspect, involved in a violent domestic dispute, was believed to have committed multiple heinous crimes before the shooting. The stress of that day, like many others, compounded the trauma Foster was already carrying. Follow the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and podcast on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Newsbreak, Medium and most all social media platforms Diagnosed with CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), Foster has become a strong voice for mental health awareness in law enforcement. “We don’t talk enough about what happens to police when the shooting stops,” he said in a recent interview posted on LinkedIn and shared across Facebook, Instagram, and X. “The shooting might end, but the echoes stay with you.” Despite the trauma, Foster has remained a pillar in his community. He served as Chairman Emeritus of the Fort Worth Police and Firefighters Memorial, where he also acted as Research Director for over 23 years. In 2009, Fort Worth unveiled a million-dollar memorial commemorating its fallen heroes, an effort that meant a great deal to Foster. The interview is available as a free podcast on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and podcast website, also available on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most major podcast outlets. As an author, Foster co-wrote Written in Blood: The History of Fort Worth’s Fallen Lawmen (Volumes 1 and 2) with historian Richard F. Selcer. These deeply researched books chronicle the stories of police officers, sheriffs, and other lawmen who died in the line of duty from 1861 to 1928. The books are both a tribute and a history lesson, shedding light on the brutal realities faced by those who chose the badge. Police In Texas When The Shooting Stops, His Story. Foster also co-authored Fort Worth Cops – The Inside Stories, a gripping collection of over 100 real-life stories from the 1950s to the present. These accounts dive into gang violence, serial killers, and vice operations, but also explore the faith and resolve that keep officers going. “Our job isn’t just about enforcing the law, it’s about protecting people, even when it breaks us,” Foster said. His most recent work, End of Watch – Fort Worth’s Fallen Officers 1873–2024, continues that mission, documenting the ultimate sacrifices made by officers across generations. Check out the show on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Newsbreak, Medium and most all social media platforms Today, Foster speaks openly about his journey toward recovery. Therapy, faith, writing, and community engagement are all part of his path forward. “It’s a daily fight,” he says. “But I’ve come a long way, and I want other officers to know they’re not alone.” In an era when public trust and the role of law enforcement are under constant scrutiny, Foster offers a nuanced, honest perspective, one grounded in experience, pain, and hope. His voice is one of many in a growing movement that asks: What happens to the police in Texas, or anywhere, when the shooting stops? Police In Texas When The Shooting Stops, His Story. For more insights, the free episode of the "Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast", is available on their website for free in addition to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as through other podcast platforms. Kevin Foster’s story is a powerful reminder that behind every badge is a human being, one who carries the weight of every gunfight, every loss, every life saved, and every life taken. You can find more of Kevin Foster’s work and insights in a free Podcast available on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show Website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most major podcast platforms. You can also find more information about the episode featuring Kevin on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and more. His books are available wherever major books are sold, offering a deeper look into the high-stakes world of law enforcement in Texas and across the United States. Time is running out to secure the Medicare coverage you deserve! Whether you're enrolling for the first time or looking for a better plan, our experts help you compare options to get more benefits, lower costs, and keep your doctors, all for free! Visit LetHealthy.com, that's LetHealthy.com or call (866) 427-1225, (866) 427-1222 to learn more. You can help contribute money to make the Gunrunner Movie. The film that Hollywood won't touch. It is about a now Retired Police Officer that was shot 6 times while investigating Gunrunning. He died 3 times during Medical treatment and was resuscitated. You can join the fight by giving a monetary "gift" to help ensure the making of his film at agunrunnerfilm.com. Your golden years are supposed to be easy and worry free, at least in regards to finances. If you are over 70, you can turn your life insurance policy into cash. Visit LetSavings.com, LetSavings.com or call (866) 480-4252, (866) 480-4252, again that's (866) 480 4252 to see if you qualify. Learn useful tips and strategies to increase your Facebook Success with John Jay Wiley. Both free and paid content are available on this Patreon page. Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page, look for the one with the bright green logo. Be sure to check out our website. Be sure to follow us on MeWe, X, Instagram, Facebook,Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Background song Hurricane is used with permission from the band Dark Horse Flyer. You can contact John J. "Jay" Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com, or learn more about him on their website. Get the latest news articles, without all the bias and spin, from the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on the Newsbreak app, which is free. Police In Texas When The Shooting Stops, His Story. Attributions Fort Worth Police Department Amazon Texas A & M University Press AmazonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 14 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about week six of the Florida Legislative session, including updates on the state budget and the various tax cut proposals by the Governor, the House, and the Senate. We visit with Boo Mortenson about surprising average ages for marriage, having children, buying a home and retiring in the United States. We visit with Vice President of Landmark Legal Foundation Michael O'Neill about the “lawfare” against Trump's agenda. We also visit Linda Harden about the need to “follow the money” when it comes to corruption among the political elite. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

What happens when an organization fails to define its core values, allowing them to become mere decorative words on a wall rather than the guiding principles they are meant to be? Join me as I draw inspiration from my recent conversation with Garry Ridge, the Chairman Emeritus and former CEO of the iconic WD-40 Company. While the terms are often used interchangeably, I talk about the crucial distinction between values and beliefs and use real-world scenarios where lack of clarity leads to confusion and inconsistency. Together, we'll explore how to translate values into actionable behaviors that serve as anchors and navigational compasses for individuals and teams alike. Last but not least, we examine why organizations benefit from having a values hierarchy. What You'll Learn:• How to transform organizational values into actionable strategies.• The impact of core values on effective decision-making.• Ways to enhance integrity within the organization.• Strategies to improve team cohesion through shared values.• The power of a values hierarchy.Podcast Timestamps:(00:00) The Power of Organizational Values(12:37) Prioritizing Organizational Values for Clarity(19:30) Maximizing Values Alignment: The Role of IntentionKey Topics Discussed:Organizational Values, Translating Values Into Action Garry Ridge, WD-40 Company, Prioritizing Values, Maximizing Clarity, Ensuring Alignment, Values-Based Decision-Making, Increasing Trust, Creating A Culture of Integrity, Building Cohesion, Doing the Right Thing, Fostering Empowerment, Positive Team Dynamics, CEO SuccessMore of Do Good to Lead Well:Website: https://craigdowden.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigdowden/

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about week four of the Florida Legislative session. We visit with Boo Mortenson about the impact of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. We visit with the Editor-at-Large for the Foundation for Economic Education Patrick Carroll about Trump's desire to expand international control and influence. We also visit Linda Harden about the pursuit of peace in in Middle-East and Russia/ Ukraine by U.S. diplomat Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Faryar Borhani, Sona-Iliffe Moon, Jeff Beringer, Christina Bellantoni, and Michael Kittilson join Fred Cook to discuss the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations' latest Relevance Report: AI Activated. The conversation covers governance, training and up-skilling, augmentation and more as we delve into how global institutions are handling the increased presence of AI, embracing change, and utilising the tools available.Featuring:Faryar Borhani: Faryar is the Chief Communications Officer at Encore Capital Group and has been a USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations Board Member since June 2024.Sona Iliffe-Moon: Sona is currently the Chief Communications Officer at Yahoo. Prior to this, Sona was at Facebook and Lyft among other companies. Sona is also a USC alum having completed an MA in Strategic Public Relations at USC Annenberg.Jeff Beringer: Jeff has been with Golin for over two decades and currently serves as their first Chief AI Officer. Jeff previously led marketing and transformation teams at IPG and web relations at Weber Shandwick.Christina Bellantoni: Currently director of the Media Center at USC Annenberg, Christina was previously the Assistant Managing Editor of the LA Times and Editor-in-Chief at Roll Call.Michael Kittilson: Michael is a USC Graduate student in Annenberg's PRA program. He leads multiple collaboration efforts with the PR Center's partners and is a Senior Research Associate at USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.Host: Fred Cook (@fredcook), Chairman Emeritus of Golin. Author of “Improvise - Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO” and Director of the USC Center for Public RelationsReports: USC 2025 Relevance ReportExecutive Producer: Ron Antonette Producers: Marshall Winfield, Joseph Carreon, Anahita Mehra, Javiera ContrerasFollow us: @USCCenterforPR (X, Facebook and Instagram) Newsletter: News from the USC Center for Public Relations Visit our website: https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relations A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California. A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.

A conversation with Richard Louv - author of ten books and co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network.Listen Tuesdays at 2 on KCBX

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about planned rural renewal in Florida, and we discuss the Florida “DOGE” program. We visit with Boo Mortenson about concerns for students using “AI” to complete their school assignments. We visit with author Lew Paper about his historical thriller about Jimmy Hoffa released today, “Legacy of Lies.” We also visit Linda Harden about the SpaceX return from the Space Station today, and we discuss the war in Ukraine. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the controversy over eliminating real estate taxes, and we discuss legislation to improve the process for amending the Florida State Constitution. We visit with Boo Mortenson about the many great ideas emerging from yesterday's “Imagine Solutions” conference in Naples. We discuss Trump's agenda and leadership with CEO of Unify Us, Timothy Head. We also visit Linda Harden about the annoying and unhelpful time changes twice a year, and we discuss the continuing efforts of the legacy media to push a narrative rather than report the news. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with the President of American Commitment Phil Kerpen about the wisdom of shuttering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about today's start of the Legislative session and about the possible candidacy of Casey DeSantis for Governor. We visit with Boo Mortenson about Chat GBT and the power of artificial intelligence. We also visit Linda Harden about the Epstein files, Trump's presentation tonight to the joint session of Congress, and the left's continued “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

In this episode of The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Garry Ridge, former CEO and Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 Company and author of the newly released book, Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It. Garry spent 25 years leading WD-40, turning it into a globally recognized company with a legendary workplace culture. Now, through his work at The Learning Moment, he's helping leaders build thriving organizations rooted in trust, learning, and purpose.During our conversation, Garry shares insights from his book and leadership philosophy, challenging the traditional notion that leadership is reserved for a select few. We dive into the importance of psychological safety, how to create a tribal workplace culture, and why great leadership is about learning, not knowing. Garry also opens up about some of his biggest leadership lessons, including mistakes that turned into "Learning Moments" and how vulnerability can be a superpower in leadership.If you're a leader—or aspire to be one—this episode is packed with actionable insights on how to create a culture of trust, empower your team, and rethink leadership in a modern world. Don't miss it! Now on The Kara Goldin Show. Are you interested in sponsoring and advertising on The Kara Goldin Show, which is now in the Top 1% of Entrepreneur podcasts in the world? Let me know by contacting me at karagoldin@gmail.com. You can also find me @‌KaraGoldin on all networks. To learn more about Garry Ridge and Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It:https://www.instagram.com/auzridge/https://www.linkedin.com/in/garryridgehttps://www.thelearningmoment.net/ Sponsored By:Nutrafol - For a limited time get ten dollars off your first month's subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code KARAGOLDINStrawberry.me - Visit Strawberry.me/Kara for 20% off your first month's membershipAncient Nutrition - Get 25% off your first order at AncientNutrition.com/KARAGOLDINOpen Phone - OpenPhone is offering 20% off your first 6 months! Just go to OpenPhone.com/KaraGoldin Check out our website to view this episode's show notes: https://karagoldin.com/podcast/656

This podcast features Jack Brennan (Founding Chair, CIS and Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group) and Joseph H. Davis, Ph.D. (Global Chief Economist and Global Head of the Investment Strategy Group, The Vanguard Group), as they provide insights on the macro and micro outlook for the new year, capital market trends, investment challenges, risks, and best practices for institutional investing. Highlights Discussion on AI's impact on the global economy. Tariffs and their economic implications. Immigration's impact on labor force and economy. Concerns over structural deficits and bond yields. The value of diversification in global portfolios. Potential productivity growth from AI. The transformative potential of AI in various sectors. Predicted economic outcomes of AI integration.   Episode Resources Connect with Catholic Investment Services https://catholicinvest.org/about-us/ https://catholicinvest.org/about-us/#board-of-trustees https://catholicinvest.org/contact-us/ https://catholicinvest.org/cis-institute/ 

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the Governor's proposal to implement a Florida DOGE program and his proposed reduction of residential real estate taxes. Senior economist from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Ryan Young, and I discuss DOGE's efforts to eliminate unlawful regulations. Vice President Michael O'Neill of the Landmark Legal Foundation and I discuss the legal challenges to DOGE and Trump's Executive orders. We also visit Linda Harden about Trump, government waste, DOGE, and the obstruction of the “Deep State.” Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

In this episode in our Lessons with Legends series, on The Unlimited Podcast, we welcome David Kassie, Chairman of Outcome Asset Management and Chairman Emeritus of Canaccord Genuity. Brian and David discuss David's journey to becoming Chairman and CEO of CIBC World Markets, the founding of Genuity, some of his most significant deals, and more.David Kassie has held key leadership roles in the financial industry for decades. He served as Chairman or Executive Chairman of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. since May 2010 and was Chairman and CEO from April to October 2015. Previously, he was Principal, Chairman, and CEO of Genuity Capital Markets from November 2004 to May 2010, leading the firm until its acquisition by Canaccord Financial. Before that, he served as Chairman and CEO of CIBC World Markets and Vice Chairman of CIBC from 1979 to 2004.With extensive experience as an advisor, underwriter, and principal, David has played a crucial role in major financial transactions and serves on multiple corporate boards. Beyond finance, he is deeply committed to community and charitable initiatives. He is a Director and former Chairman of Baycrest Health Sciences, where he also led its commercialization efforts. He has previously served on the boards of the Toronto International Film Festival Group, the Hospital for Sick Children, and Ivey Business School.David holds a B.Comm. (Honours) in Economics from McGill University (1977) and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario (1979).Timestamps0:00 Disclaimer and Intro3:43 Investment Banking & Merchant Banks10:28 Outcome's history & performance15:55 Banking in the 80s and 90s20:14 Leading bankers26:46 Building the team at Genuity34:13 Markers of success in interviews37:33 David's transformative deals41:01 David's angel investing44:04 Thoughts on Canadian leadership & trade49:11 David's best career advice51:36 If David could do anything, what would it be?53:48 Outro

Dr. Kenneth Cooper is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees that oversees The Cooper Institute's strategic direction and educational and research initiatives. He founded The Cooper Institute, a nonprofit foundation, in 1970 and later established the Cooper Clinic, Cooper Fitness Center, Cooper Hotel & Conference Center, Cooper Spa, Cooper Wellness, Cooper Consulting Partners, and Cooper Complete. Dr. Cooper is the author of the best-selling book, Aerobics and has written several subsequent health and fitness books.  Dr. Cooper  joins me on the Wow Factor to share how the work and research that the Cooper Clinic does helps people to live longer, more active lives and square off the curve in terms of physical capacity and longevity. He discusses the importance of eating a balanced diet and taking the appropriate vitamins in addition to exercising to protect your future health. Dr. Cooper also gives his perspective on the health benefits of living a generous life and focusing on others.  "Preventive medicine is the Cinderella of the medical specialties because there's no profit in health.”  - Kenneth Cooper “People that are coming back to us regularly are living these longer lives. And they're not just living longer lives, but they're squaring off the curve, living a long life to the fullest.” - Kenneth Cooper “Our whole goal here with our research is to look at things physiologically. What can we do for ourselves that can prolong lives?” - Kenneth Cooper This Week on The Wow Factor: Why Dr. Cooper is still working 10-12 hours a day and seeing patients at the age of 90 How Dr. Cooper spent his 13 years in the military  The moment that Dr. Cooper realized he was out of shape and desperately needed to do something about it What the research at the Cooper Clinic focuses on Dr. Cooper's opinion on the COVID-19 vaccination The problems of the worldwide obesity epidemic Dr. Cooper's relationship with God and why he wrote Faith Based Fitness Dr. Kenneth Cooper's Words of Wisdom: You don't solve problems by changing the government. You solve problems by changing the people. Connect with Dr. Kenneth Cooper: The Cooper Institute Website The Cooper Institute on Facebook The Cooper Institute on Instagram The Cooper Institute on X (formerly Twitter) Connect with The Wow Factor: WOW Factor Website   Brad Formsma on LinkedIn    Brad Formsma on Instagram    Brad Formsma on Facebook    X (formerly Twitter)   

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about dealing with illegal immigration in Florida, Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General, and Byron Donalds as possibly the next Governor of Florida. Senior economist from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Ryan Young, and I discuss tariffs, inflation and the economy. Dr. Susan Wilson, Founder and CEO of Tumaini Fund USA, and I discuss the incredible success of her work in Tanzania of supporting and raising 200,000 orphans. We also visit Linda Harden about Trump, government waste, DOGE, and the obstruction of the “Deep State.” Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about results from the Special Legislative Session and fallout from actions by the Collier County Republican Executive Committee. Optima Foundation CEO Erika Donalds and I discuss school choice and Trump's plan to downsize or eliminate the Department of Education. Former Secret Service Special Agent and author Tom Sloan and I discuss his latest book, “Bratva's Revenge.” We also visit Linda Harden about Trump, government waste, and FEMA diverting $59 million from the needs of North Carolina to fund housing for illegal immigrants at luxury hotels in NYC. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Award-winning wine expert Karen MacNeil discusses her book, “The Wine Bible: 3rd Edition,” which offers the ultimate education in wine with expanded content. Karen MacNeil is the only American to have won every major wine award given in the English language. TIME magazine has called her, “America's Missionary of the Vine.” She is the author of the award-winning book, The Wine Bible, the only best selling wine book in the United States, and is the creator and editor of Wine Speed, the top digital newsletter on wine in the United States. She was the former wine correspondent for the Today Show on NBC, and was also the host of the PBS series Wine, Food & Friends with Karen MacNeil, for which she won an Emmy. Karen is also the creator and Chairman Emeritus of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America, which has been called the “Harvard of wine education.” Originally published in November 2022. Watch this episode at youtube.com/TalksAtGoogle.  

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo, about the “dust up” between the Governor and the Florida Legislators over the Special Legislative Session. Senior Economist with the Competitive Enterprise Institute Ryan Young and I discuss tariffs, trade deficits, and the proposed U. S. Sovereign Wealth Fund. We discuss problems with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with John Berlau with CEI. We also visit Linda Harden about Trump, government waste, tariffs, and the velocity of the news cycle. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with author and former Secret Service Agent Tom Sloan about his book, Bratva's Revenge" and the appointment of Sean Curran as the head of Secret Service. We discuss anti-Semitism and the Holocaust with Boo Mortenson. We also visit Linda Harden about Trump, taxes, tariffs, and the velocity of the news cycle. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Evercore Chairman Emeritus Ralph Schlosstein discusses how the markets may perform under the Trump administration, and Trump's use of tariffs as a negotiation tool. He speaks with Bloomberg's Alix Steel and Romaine Bostick.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ted Oakley, Managing Partner and Founder of Oxbow Advisors, joins Julia La Roche on episode 226 to share his perspective on the biggest challenges facing investors in 2025. Oakley discusses the potential collision between high government debt levels and rising interest rates. He expresses concerns about the new administration's economic plans sparking inflation, and the difficulties in refinancing government debt given budget shortfalls. Oakley also shares his market outlook, highlighting risks around investor complacency, the popularity of passive investing, and the importance of maintaining liquidity. He provides insights from his decades of investing experience, including how he navigated previous turbulent markets. Oakley also previews his upcoming book on generational wealth and the lessons learned from his own upbringing. With more than forty years of experience in advising high-net-worth clients in the investment industry, Oakley implements the firm's proprietary investment strategies and the “Oxbow Principles” to provide a unique investment perspective. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News, Bloomberg Radio, KITCO News, Cheddar TV, Yahoo Finance, and many more. Oakley is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He is a member of the Austin Society of Financial Analysts. He is also a Partner of Herndon Plant Oakley Ltd., an investment company. He is a Board Member of Texas State Aquarium, American Bank, and American Bank Holding Company. Mr. Oakley is a United States Army Veteran. Oakley began his career in Dallas, Texas, over 35 years ago. He is the author of nine books: You Sold Your Company, $20 Million and Broke, Rich Kids Broke Kids – The Failure of Traditional Estate Planning, Crazy Time – Surviving the First 12 Months after Selling Your Company, Wall Street Lies, Danger Time, My Story, The Psychology of Staying Rich, and Your Money Mentality. Oakley's primary philanthropic interest is helping children. He is Chairman Emeritus and Founder of the Foster Angels of South Texas, the largest foster child foundation in South Texas, as well as Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Austin, Texas-based Foster Angels of Central Texas. Also, President and Founder of Advocates for Foster Children Foundation. 00:00 Introduction and welcome 01:52 Macro outlook: debt vs interest rates 04:42 Inflation concerns with new administration 06:30 Challenges refinancing government debt 09:17 Markets driven by rumors over fundamentals 11:12 Government's economic impact; recession risks 15:54 Oakley's past performance in turbulent markets 19:11 Risks of passive investing given demographics 22:05 Market complacency and emotional investing 25:23 Finding value in stable dividend stocks 28:04 Views on Bitcoin as speculation 31:47 Fed's interest rate dilemma 34:12 Potential paths out of US debt problem 37:29 Recession risks from spending cuts 39:16 Maintaining high liquidity given risks 42:10 Upcoming book on generational wealth 46:40 Instilling work ethic despite wealth 49:41 Closing thoughts on balance and liquidity

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the special legislative session called by Governor DeSantis in January, and we get her thoughts on yesterday's Inauguration. We discuss our fondness of “the good old days” with Boo Mortenson. We also visit Linda Harden about highlights from Trump's Inauguration and the introduction of the “Golden Age” of America. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Let's get outside! This episode explores the positive impact that nature can have on our kids - from physical and emotional health, to sensory development, to understanding risk.  We'll “dig in” with one of the foremost experts in the field, Richard Louv, author of the renowned book “Last Child in the Woods,” who shares nature's benefits and provides practical tips for getting out into the living world no matter where you live. Plus, a special segment about Trees for the Future, an organization helping families through sustainable farming. We'll hear from the organization's representative Lindsay Cobb, and also from Jean d'Arc Sambou, a mother in Senegal whose forest garden changed her children's lives. You can also watch this podcast on YouTube and reach us at podcast@munchkin.com.  Richard Louv / IG / FB / Linkedin Louv is an Audubon Medal recipient, journalist and author of ten books, including “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder” which introduced the concept of nature-deficit disorder and on the need for environmental protection and preservation for greater access to nature and the health of the Earth. His books have been translated and published in 24 countries, and helped launch an international movement to connect children, families and communities to the natural world. He is co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network, an organization continuing to build on that movement. Trees for the Future / FB / X / IG / Linkedin Trains farmers in agroforestry and sustainable land use - so that they can grow vibrant regional economies, thriving food systems, and a healthier planet. Trees is currently working with thousands of farming families across five countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Over their 30+ year history, they've worked around the globe and in 2014, focused their work in select African countries, where the climatic and economic challenges were most pressing and we could make the greatest impact. Since 2016, Munchkin has partnered with Trees of the Future to plant trees in inner cities, developing countries, and rainforests. This work helps counter carbon emissions and support environmentally devastated communities worldwide. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast is created by Munchkin Inc., the most loved baby lifestyle brand in the world.  You can find all your favorite Munchkin products – including the Vibration Swing including the new Vibration Swing featured in this episode (coming soon!) at Munchkin.com & WildLove https://www.munchkin.com/wildlove Use the code STROLLERCOASTER15 for 15% off regular-price items!  Follow Munchkin on Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest   International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) 

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about the special legislative session called by Governor DeSantis in January. We continue our conversation with Boo Mortenson about the concept of creating a “Premortem” as substitution for unproductive New Year's resolutions. The President of Less Government Seton Motley and I discuss the Fed and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We also visit Linda Harden about California's response to the wildfires as well as the plans for Trump's Inauguration. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our Florida State Senator Kathleen Passidomo about her planned meetings for constituent feedback before the next legislative session. We visit with Boo Mortenson about the concept of creating a “Premortem” as substitution for unproductive New Year's resolutions. We also visit Linda Harden about Meta's big change in censorship and moderation rules for 2025. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

This week on Here's What We Know, join us for an insightful conversation with Raymond Watt, a remarkable leader balancing multiple roles as Chairman at Rimar.ai, Co-founder and CEO of Omnislash Inc., and Chairman Emeritus of YPO. Discover Raymond Watt's incredible journey from his roots in South Africa to leading global businesses in the heart of Silicon Valley. His story is one of gratitude, strong family values, and an unwavering passion for helping others thrive.In This Episode:Follow Raymond's transformative journey and the powerful lessons he picked up along the way.Discover how his unique upbringing shaped his leadership style and parenting philosophies.Go behind the scenes of YPO's mission to build better leaders and create lasting impact in businesses, families, and communities.Raymond shares practical tips for raising kids grounded in integrity and empathy—no matter how much success surrounds them.Learn why exposing kids to diverse cultures is one of the greatest gifts you can give.Raymond's unexpected journey into the entertainment world as a member of the Television Academy will leave you inspired and curious!This episode is sponsored by:Winchester Western Wear (Be sure to tell them Gary sent you so you can save 20%!)Dignity MemorialBio:Raymond Watt is the Chairman of Rimar.ai, a big data analytics company that develops quantitative models for its own hedge funds and managed accounts, and Co-founder and CEO of Omnislash, Inc., a data-aggregation platform transforming the esports and gaming space, and is the Chairman Emeritus of YPO. Raymond received his B.Sc. in Computer Science from NorthWest University and an MBA in Information Technology from Bond University in Australia.Website: https://www.ypo.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondwatt/Connect with Gary: Gary's Website Follow Gary on Instagram Gary's Tiktok Gary's Facebook Watch the episodes on YouTube Advertise on the Podcast Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Peter Dickstein is a 35-year business leader (Founder, CEO, CFO, and strategy advisor). He is Founder of ShadyPower Technologies, developer of a proprietary, patent-pending IOT technology platform for climate-sustainable, enhanced comfort outdoor work and living. He is Co-Founder of TAPS, a machine-learning consultancy focused on sales lead optimization and churn prevention. He is Chairman (Emeritus) and Co-Founder of Solful (www.solful.com), a California-based branded destination cannabis dispensary company and a guest lecturer at universities including the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He has served in CEO, Chairman, and other C-Suite roles for IOT, SAAS, cleantech, and travel insurance companies. In 1999 Peter founded and served as CEO of eProsper, Inc. (ultimately acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2018 for $900MM) whose patented, SAAS capitalization management system (“CapMx”) became the industry gold standard in the early 2000s and is used today by more than 6,000 venture-funded companies and their corporate law firms. Peter served as CFO for several medical device and technology companies including TruMed Systems, Inc., EndoTex Interventional Systems (acquired by Boston Scientific) and Atrionix (acquired by Johnson & Johnson). He was an EIR at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he identified and helped commercialize technology including Acoustic Cytometry Systems (acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific) and architected the Los Alamos Venture Acceleration Fund. In the early 90s Peter negotiated a $500MM vendor financing facility for Pyxis Corporation (ultimately acquired by Becton Dickinson for $12BB) with GE Capital that rapidly accelerated Pyxis' market penetration and provided non-dilutive growth capital in lieu of equity. In addition to his general management roles, Peter has initiated, organized, negotiated, and completed numerous equity, debt, and M&A transactions with angel, institutional and strategic investors, and lenders. He has managed functional areas including product development and engineering, sales, service, finance and administration, and external relationships with investors, contract manufacturers, investment bankers, banks, attorneys, and auditors. Peter has served on the boards of Friends of the Urban Forest, the San Francisco Day School, and multiple companies. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Germany. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.B.A. from The Wharton School.

From medicine to technology, our world is run by science. In this episode of the Marketing Speak podcast, join our dive into technology and its impact as we sit down with Brad Templeton to unravel the intricacies of our tech-driven world. Brad is the founding faculty for Computing & Networks at Singularity University and is Chairman Emeritus of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a leading cyberspace civil rights foundation.  Brad has used his extensive background in futurism to advise Google's self-driving car team and to share his insights on robocars at robocars.com and Forbes.com. He's also a guiding force in developing delivery robots and LIDAR technology and is a pioneer in micro-mobility and e-VTOL (flying car) solutions. Brad also founded ClariNet Communications Corp, the world's first dot-com company, and even holds the distinction of creating the legendary rec.humor.funny and www.netfunny.com. Don't miss out on this incredible discussion on the challenges and promises of technology, the delicate balance between convenience and privacy, and the future that awaits us in this rapidly evolving digital age. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or simply curious about the forces shaping our world, this episode is an absolute must-listen. Tune in! The show notes, including the transcript and checklist for this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/476.

In November 2014, Isha Yoga Center and Sadhguru Academy had the privilege of hosting Shri Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, as the keynote speaker for the third edition of INSIGHT: The DNA of Success. During his conversation with Sadhguru, Shri Tata spoke about a range of subjects including leadership, innovation, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, his association with JRD Tata, Elon Musk, and more. Set the context for a joyful, exuberant day with a short, powerful message from Sadhguru. Explore a range of subjects with Sadhguru, discover how every aspect of life can be a stepping stone, and learn to make the most of the potential that a human being embodies.  Conscious Planet: https://www.consciousplanet.org Sadhguru App (Download): https://onelink.to/sadhguru__app Official Sadhguru Website: https://isha.sadhguru.org Sadhguru Exclusive: https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/sadhguru-exclusive Inner Engineering Link: isha.co/ieo-podcast Yogi, mystic and visionary, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serves as a reminder that yoga is a contemporary science, vitally relevant to our times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices