Podcast appearances and mentions of dana point

Goldman Sachs Vice Chair Robert Kaplan, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, says he expects sluggish growth but not a recession. Speaking with Sonali Basak at the Goldman Sachs Tenth Annual Leveraged Finance and Credit Conference in Dana Point, California, Kaplan also discusses the outlook for Fed monetary policy this year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Steve and Yvonne interview Daniel Callahan, founding partner of Callahan & Blaine (https://www.callahan-law.com/)  and owner of Callahan Consulting (https://callahanconsulting.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Daniel Callahan Throughout his career, Daniel J. Callahan has always been known as one of the top trial attorneys in California.  His notable jury verdicts included a $934,000,000 jury verdict obtained after a three-month jury trial in a complex business dispute entitled Beckman Coulter vs. Flextronics. This unanimous verdict was the largest in California in 2003 and remains the largest in Orange County history. Mr. Callahan also went on to obtain a $50,000,000 settlement in a road design case against the City of Dana Point. Exclusive of large class actions, this continues to be the largest personal injury settlement in United States history. Mr. Callahan also obtained, after a two-month jury trial, a $38 Million settlement on behalf of a class of newspaper delivery drivers against The Orange County Register. This is still the highest employment settlement in Orange County's history. Mr. Callahan grew up in Chicago, Illinois where he went on to receive his BA, magna cum laude, from Western Illinois University in 1976, and graduated with honors from the UC Davis School of Law in 1979, while serving as Editor of the Law Review. He began his career in Hawaii before relocating to Southern California and starting his own firm by opening the doors on St. Patrick's Day, 1984. Mr. Callahan also provides corporate consulting to law firms and lawyers regarding litigation and strategy through Callahan Consulting Group, LLC. Read Full Bio Here   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

In Episode 257, we're doing things a little differently! I was a guest on my friend Keith Yackey's podcast, and we decided to release the episode on both of our platforms as a way to cross-pollinate our audiences and help spread a positive message. I was invited to record an episode of his podcast, Married Game, at his studio in Dana Point, CA. We vibed and had a lot of fun, so we figured it made sense to share it here on the Endless Endeavor platform as well. In today's episode, I get to be the one interviewed as Keith takes the lead and dives into my background and life. If you're a fan of the Endless Endeavor, I think you'll really enjoy this conversation. Check the show notes below for links to Keith's podcast, website, and Instagram — and connect with him if his message resonates with you! Please enjoy Episode 257 of the Endless Endeavor Podcast! Connect with Keith Yackey::  Website: https://www.keithyackey.com Podcast: Married Game Podcast Instagram: @keithyackey Connect with Greg: Instagram: @granderson33 Email: gregandersonpodcast@gmail.com Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/Granderson33 Podcast Apparel: www.theelectricnorth.com Episode Resources:  Cured Nutrition https://www.curednutrition.com coupon ENDLESS 20% Off Bio Pro + https://bioproteintech.com/bioidentical-alternative-to-human-growth-hormone coupon code ENDLESS saves 10% If you enjoy the show, make sure to give the Endless Endeavor Podcast a rating via your favorite audio platform OR on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCieFsr26t9cyPDKMbLQJzXw/featured!

Final Hour Fun Fact. WR Ladd McConkey. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh joins the boys. Quick Goodbye from Dana Point, CA. 

In this reflective and insight-packed episode, we dive into industry shifts, leadership lessons, and mindset breakthroughs. Fresh from the Builder 100 conference in Dana Point, our host shares key takeaways on construction trends, market volatility, and the future of homebuilding. But it doesn't stop at business—this week, we go deeper. From journaling on a plane to discovering the power of presence, this episode explores how gratitude, peace, and purpose aren't distant goals—they're choices we can make right now. Whether you're in real estate, leadership, or just looking to elevate your mindset, this one's for you. 

In this reflective and insight-packed episode, we dive into industry shifts, leadership lessons, and mindset breakthroughs. Fresh from the Builder 100 conference in Dana Point, our host shares key takeaways on construction trends, market volatility, and the future of homebuilding. But it doesn't stop at business—this week, we go deeper. From journaling on a plane to discovering the power of presence, this episode explores how gratitude, peace, and purpose aren't distant goals—they're choices we can make right now. Whether you're in real estate, leadership, or just looking to elevate your mindset, this one's for you. 

News Whip: NBC hires Michael Jordan to cover NBA, A.I.  marketing scam, Imports of animals are on hold over a flesh-eating disease from Mexico, Poptart Ice-Cream coming soon, Mc Donalds is hiring! #MichaelJordan #NBC #Poptart #PoptartIceCream # Mexico #FleshEatingDisease #Hiring #NBA #WNBA //  Mort's Deli robbed. Deadly carjacking at ARCO gas station in Norco/ Thousands donated to online fundraiser after 16-year-old driver killed in Dana Point crash/ Boy killed in shooting at Compton Park #Crime  #DUI #CarChase #CarPursuit // Rollover Chase in Carson; suspect hits pedestrian and then hit big rig and continued driving/ Cher, activists fight for 2 beloved L.A. Zoo elephants -Billy & Tina #LosAngelesZoo #LAZoo #Elephants #Chase #Pursuit #Olympics2025 // Amazon Driver Poops, Pees in Front of at Least 2 L.A. Homes on Mother's Day #Amazon #AmazonDriver #Poop #Feces  

From $350K a year as a realtor to $7M a year wholesaling — Adrian Hernandez shows what's possible when you bet on yourself.

7-Eleven spree, some arrested one still loose. / Toys R US New live action movie / Youtube celebrates 20 years –500 hours of content are loaded every minute. WOW! Top viewed videos are...// ReDo in Dana Point see Angel ... Renting vs. Buying  // Sam's Club no more check outs all AI facial recognition // Talk backs – Harmonica  

In this episode of the Global Medical Device Podcast, host Etienne Nichols sits down with Scott Pantel, CEO and founder of Life Science Intelligence (LSI), to explore how LSI bridges the gap between medtech innovation and commercialization. Scott shares LSI's origin story, the evolution of its events, and the importance of cultivating meaningful relationships within the medtech ecosystem. Learn how LSI's global meetings—from Dana Point to Portugal, London, and Singapore—create spaces where deals happen, ideas flourish, and the future of patient care is shaped. Plus, Scott offers actionable advice for medtech founders preparing for investor pitches and shares inspiring stories of industry impact.Key Timestamps[02:10] – LSI's partnership with Greenlight Guru and the value of ecosystem collaboration[05:30] – Scott Pantel's journey into medtech and how LSI was born[12:20] – Reinventing the investor meeting experience: “There's got to be a better way”[18:45] – The power of unexpected connections: Coffee chats, cab rides, and transformative deals[25:10] – Heartfelt story: How an Edwards Lifesciences valve saved Scott's aunt's life[31:00] – The role of fun and social events in serious deal-making (yes, golf included!)[39:20] – Global expansion: Why LSI is heading to Singapore in 2025[45:50] – What makes a medtech pitch stand out to investors[53:15] – The importance of patient-centered innovation and next-gen leadership[59:00] –

Dear Editor: In the '70s, I lived in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, and there was this restaurant called Momma Rosa's that served the most delicious pizzas. We were always super excited when our parents took us there. I really miss that. My son lives near Los Angeles, and they have this restaurant in Dana Point called aPizza Doho that serves the best pizzas I've ever eaten in my life. It reminds me of what we don't have. Pizza has turned into a mass-produced product hardly recognizable from the pies we enjoyed as kids. Leading off, they “less is more-ed” us....Article Link

Our guest this week is a talented artist that has been creating custom surf trophies and awards since 1988. He also creates custom art, logos, sculptures, resin casting, fine art, furniture, and more. Mostly known for surf trophies for contests and company awards located all over the world! Including WSL, Quiksilver, Verizon, Hawaiian Airlines, Dukes, and many more! Everything from local amateur contests to the World Surf League and even the 2020 Tokyo Olympics! In addition of trophies and award, his surf diorama's are spectacular and was commissioned to build a scale model of Hobie Alter's first surf shop in Dana Point 50 year anniversary and Endless Summer Limited Addition Chest Set which is insane! We welcome the World Champion of Surf Trophy Creations, Mr. Dave “ SURF TROPHY GUY“ Reynolds!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get ready for the IADC 2025 Midyear Meeting Dana Point, CA this February! IADC Speaks Host Rebecca Weinstein Bacon (Bartlit Beck LLP) is joined by guests Convention Chair Chris Drewry (Drewry Simmons Vornehm, LLP) and 2025 Midyear Meeting CLE Steering Committee Chair Stephen Zralek (Spencer Fane LLP) for a day-by-day preview of the event, highlighting the top educational sessions and exciting social events. From networking to professional development, this episode covers everything you need to know about this must-attend gathering. Tune in to learn about the incredible opportunities for growth, connection, and collaboration – and why you won't want to miss out!

AM UPDATE: Despite cold temperatures ... SoCal remains under wild fire threat thru the New Year full 982 Rescue crews are trying to free a whale tangled in fishing line near Dana Point. You COULD be the newest Mega Millions winner on this LUCKY Friday the 13th. Fri, 13 Dec 2024 16:17:01 +0000 T4h6Y1QMw7pb43fRpIN3qRT2fRF3xIeu news The LA Local news AM UPDATE: Despite cold temperatures ... SoCal remains under wild fire threat thru the New Year Your TL;DR for what's happening in SoCal. Get caught up in less than ten minutes every afternoon on The LA Local. From culture to crime to politics to the offbeat, Alex Silverman and the team at KNX News 97.1 FM have you covered. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. News False

In this episode of "Bruin to Bruin," host Aidan Teeger interviews Ava August, a freshman at UCLA and an accomplished singer-songwriter who has already appeared on American Idol and The Voice. The conversation explores August's journey from her beginnings in Dana Point, California, to her current path as a music industry student, while diving into her creative process, recent music releases and how she balances her budding career with college life.

Our guest this week is an incredible talented and stylish Surfer! He has a signature Board Model or 2, called “Uncle Buck” with the Iconic Hobie Surfboards where he also works at their Dana Point location. He has been helping with “Surfers Healing” for 20+ years. It's an organization to show people with Autism the STOKE OF SURFING! We are pumped to hear about surf stories and giving back to the community. We welcome George “BUCK” Barry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

And we're back! Don't Die eulogizes the great Diane Baker of CRI-Help, Paul Hester from Crowded House and laments not being helicopter rich to beat SoCal traffic, Bob makes an on the fly advert for Nicorette gum and the guys are gearing up for Ohana Fest this weekend. Come see us record a live episode, our celebration of the life and music of our dear departed producer Mike Martt on the Storyteller stage, Sunday 5:45 PM at Ohana Fest in Dana Point! See you down there, have fun, don't die!

Miles Free, Carli Kistler-Miller, David Wynn and Renee Merker, Director of Communications and Events give listeners a peek into what to expect from the upcoming Annual Meeting in Dana Point, California!For More Information Visit pmpa.org/podcasts

Dr. Bob Sears is a pediatrician, father of three, grandfather of two, author of The Vaccine Book (newly revised 2019) and seven other books, and creator of The Vaccine Consult online program at DrBobSears.com. Listen to the show to learn more about the vaccine schedule and how you can education yourself on which ones are right for your child.“Dr. Bob,” as he likes to be called by his little patients, earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1995 and did his pediatric internship and residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He continues to practice pediatrics at his office in Dana Point, CA, where he provides a combination of alternative and traditional medical care. He has a passion for healthy natural living and incorporates this knowledge into his style of treatment and prevention by limiting antibiotic use, committing to breastfeeding success for his little patients, using science-based natural treatment approaches whenever possible, and focusing on good nutrition and immune system health. With the new threat of mandatory vaccination laws, Dr. Bob's new mission is to ensure that all families worldwide receive complete, objective, and un-doctored informed consent before they choose vaccination and that people everywhere retain the freedom to make healthcare decisions for themselves and their children.Learn more at DrBobSears.com and check out his new video series,  TheVaccineConversation.com, specifically created to educate new parents about the pros and cons of vaccination so they can make educated decisions….and checkout his podcast “The Vaccine Conversation” on Apple Podcasts and all other podcasting platforms. 

In recognition of August as Vaccine Awareness Month, it's essential to cover the topic of vaccines with a well-informed perspective. I, too, wasn't always aware of the full scope of the vaccine discussion. But when you have a credible guest who has meticulously studied vaccine package inserts, analyzed the science, confronted medical boards, debated state governments, and authored insightful books, you know you're in for an enlightening conversation. Our guest is none other than the esteemed Los Angeles pediatrician, Dr. Bob Sears. In this episode, Dr. Sears shares his journey in pediatrics and his commitment to helping parents navigate the complex landscape of holistic health and conventional medicine, with a particular focus on vaccines. We explore key topics from his book, The Vaccine Book, which offers education and guidance on vaccine choices, as well as his latest book, One Doctor versus the Medical Board, where he recounts his personal experience with the medical board and discusses the implications of raising children without vaccines. Before making any assumptions or reacting emotionally, I urge you to listen closely. Dr. Sears discusses vaccine ingredients, the absence of long-term safety studies, the fear surrounding infections, the importance of medical freedom, and the financial incentives doctors receive for maintaining high vaccination rates.  Affectionately known as “Dr. Bob” by his young patients, Dr. Sears earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1995 and completed his pediatric internship and residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He continues to practice pediatrics in Dana Point, CA, where he integrates alternative and traditional medical care. His passion for natural and healthy living is evident in his approach, which includes limiting antibiotic use, promoting breastfeeding success, employing science-based natural treatments, and emphasizing good nutrition and immune system health.

Mary Mahoney, vice president of the Replacement & Leisure Division at Enterprise Mobility, and Matt Ebert, founder and CEO of Crash Champions, join the CollisionCast to talk about recruiting for the collision repair industry and the Collision Engineering program. The Collision Engineering program will be the primary beneficiary of the upcoming Crash Champions Golf Outing, Dec. 5 at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, California.  In the past year, Crash Champions has hosted more than 25 Collision Engineering students as apprentices in its Skills Training Education Program (STEP) at its repair centers throughout the U.S. For more information on the Collision Engineering program, go to https://www.beacollisionengineer.com. For more information on Crash Champions' STEP, go to https://step.crashchampions.com And for information on how you can join in the golf tournament or be a sponsor, go to https://crashchampions.com/2024-Golf-Outing. Check out more episodes here!  

Recorded live at a poolside cabana, this IADC Speaks episode truly transports you to the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point, California, home of the IADC 2025 Midyear Meeting. The 2025 Planning Team brings you along to soak in the serenity as they share a few meeting plans and what they can't wait for you to experience.Save the date!

In this week's Take Your Power Back Show, “The Real Story From The Eyes of Canada's Warriors -Veterans4Freedom”Eddie Cornell, Andrew MacGillivray, & Jeff Evely are those well decorated Canadian warriors who fought for Canada's freedom and stood for The Citizens of Canada when they were being shut down, shut up, and shut away during the draconian Plandemic lockdowns. These Veterans4Freedom are joining today with the Real Story of what's happening behind the scenes with the Biden and Trudeau agenda. So, stay listen in closely from the words of the wise and get the REAL Story!!  SUBSCRIBE & SHARE!! DONATE AND KEEP FREEDOM ALIVE:https://www.TakeYourPowerBackShow.com VETERANS 4 FREEDOMwww.V4F.CA    Take Our Border Back Summit NY & CANADA 9/28-29North America Alliance CAN, USA, & MEXGo to: https://TakeOurBorderBack.comDonate: https://givesendgo.com/takeourborderback Join The “WE THE PEOPLE CA” Statewide Trump Train AUG 17th & 18thGet connected to a Trump Train in your area and convoy with us to Paso Robleshttps://WeThePeopleCA.com TOBB4TRUMP “Trump-Train San Diego" to Dana Point to Worship and Pray for the Nation with Sean Feucht & off to Paso Robles to meet with all Trump Train Teams from across the State of CAJoin us: https://TOBB4TRUMP.COM

Abigail, (Abby), Stason is all that. Abby grew up in New Jersey and eventually served in a 20-year career with Wall Street firms including Meryl Lynch. She was a sales leader and worked to train and supervise brokers.   Eventually, she decided to leave the financial world and begin her own company, Abigail Stason LLC., to teach people about skill building and authenticity. Today she works with individuals, teams and companies to help them become more authentic and truer to what they do.   Abby and I get to have a good conversation all about authenticity and truth. We discuss the many complexities around truth and authentic behavior that we face today. At one point I ask Abby if she feels that our world regarding truth and being authentic is more complex today than in the past. Her answer is quite interesting. Listen and see what you think.   About the Guest:   Abigail “Abby” Stason (she/her/hers) is a master teacher and skill builder. A former Wall Street executive, in 2010, Abby left a 19-year career to become an entrepreneur. She is passionate about championing equality and human development. Abby uses neuroscience to convert abstract learning concepts into pragmatic practices that apply in our day-to-day world.   Abby equips human beings and leaders with behavioral skills for a modern world and global gig economy. Abby is the author of Evolution Revolution: Conscious Leadership In An Information Age, a handbook of human and leadership development skills that she converted to e-learning programs. Her mission is to be an exceptional partner to the human race and planet and to facilitate global consciousness.   Abby enjoys the outdoors in all forms: hiking, cycling, snowshoeing, and swimming. You will find her strolling through a farmers' market for fresh produce to experiment with new recipes or at a coffee shop enjoying a matcha latte. She also volunteers for her teacher's foundation, the Gangaji Foundation Prison Program.   Ways to connect with Abigail:   https://abigailstason.com https://consciousleadership.online/home https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailstason/   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, welcome once again to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. And from my perspective, the unexpected part is what makes it the most fun. We get to do all sorts of unexpected things from time to time, and we'll see what happens with our guest this week, Abby Stason, who is a master teacher and is very much involved in dealing with the world of humanity and being very concerned about people, and I don't want to give any more away, because I think it'll be a whole lot more fun to hear it from her. So, Abby, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here.   Abby Stason ** 01:57 Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here, and you know, I just lit up. Also when you said unexpected, the unexpected happens when we're inclusive and we don't know what's going to happen, and that's where the interesting stuff happens. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 02:11 that's what makes it the most fun. I love telling a story about one person that was on our podcast a long time ago now, gosh, almost two years ago, he was a software engineer, and he lives in Southern California, in an area called Dana Point loves to swim in the ocean. And he, while we were talking, talked about the fact that he went in the ocean once in the winter, and he decided after that that he was going to swim every every chance he got in the ocean, whether it was winter or summer. And I asked him about being afraid in the in the winter, and he said, Well, it was a little bit daunting. The first time I went into the water, it was 55 degrees. And he said, I noticed that the closer I got to the water, the slower I moved, and I wasn't sure I wanted to do this. And then he finally just said, I'm going to bite the bullet and do it. And he jumped in. He said it was only a couple seconds. He was used to it, and he's been swimming in the water, even in the winter without a wetsuit, ever since, and he swum nose to nose with dolphins and other things like that. So he's had a lot of fun doing it, but then that led to a 10 minute discussion between us on the whole subject of fear, which is not anything that either of us anticipated talking about. So the unexpected is definitely a part of what we   Abby Stason ** 03:34 do. Yeah, and I applaud him. I would need a wetsuit to do that, yeah, to overcome my fear. I need a wet suit. And you know, I appreciate you always in the discussions we've had and how you hold it, this is an inclusion and diversity can be a heavy topic, but I appreciate how you hold it lightly. And you know, let's have some fun, because if we take it all too seriously, that's when we get a little bit in our own ways.   Michael Hingson ** 04:02 Well, yeah, I think the problem also is that people take it, I won't say way too seriously, but they take it in a way where it ends up really being much more divisive or non inclusive, or less diverse. I just had a conversation with someone who is a guest on our podcast, and we were talking about disabilities, and I said the biggest problem that I see is that people with disabilities are not really included in the conversation in so many different ways. We we we don't talk about disabilities, we don't talk about people with disabilities, and we're left out. And I've said, I said to him, one of the things that I've heard from a few people who have been on experts on diversity, is, but disability is it starts with this. It's not you're it is not the same. I. Yeah, and my point is, disability exactly is the same, because every single person on the planet has a disability, and reality is so disability starts with dis, so does disciple, so does discrete, so does discern, and yet we don't regard those in a negative context. So the reality is, we can re evaluate and change how we view some of the words that we use. And as I've indicated to people on this podcast as well, every person on the planet has a disability, and I can make that case very, very well. We won't spend a lot of time on that here, but I could make that case and point out that everyone has a disability of some sort.   Abby Stason ** 05:40 I would echo that. That, yeah, that's, that's well said, Actually, and I'm pretty appreciating what I'm learning already, of course. But yeah, you know, agreed. And can we just see each other as humans? Just we're all humans. Disability   Michael Hingson ** 05:56 really needs to be viewed as not some thing that a few people have that makes them less than us, but disability is a characteristic that manifests itself differently, but for everyone you know, and the argument that I make is most all of you are light dependent, and from my perspective, that makes you awfully disabled compared to me, because I don't have to worry about whether the lights are on and, and the reality is, though, that your disability is covered up by light bulbs and by so many other ways that light on demand is made available today and, and that's fine, but don't knock the rest of us just because We don't happen to have the problem that you do when you think that you're superior, because you can go turn a flashlight on, or start a flashlight on a phone if, if power goes out, that works only if you have the device. And so your devices cover up your disability, but doesn't change the fact that it's there. Yeah, and,   Abby Stason ** 07:00 and, you know, society tries to tell us what ability or disability is. What if we just flip those? Yeah, you know, what if we what if we just flip those? Because that's where we have to get past societal conditioning. Who, who decides who to say, who's disabled or not? I mean, yeah, we're all human beings, if we can look past the surface to see that we have, you know, we're all the same. And, yeah, to get past societal conditioning on who we say is better than less than or what the expectations are, you know, and how we set up our lives and systems around that. I think it's a it's a good inquiry and a good investigation, and something for us all to continue to talk about and to bring to light.   Michael Hingson ** 07:49 Yeah, I think it is something that's very important to do, and hopefully more of us will do it over time. Well,   Abby Stason ** 07:55 that's why you know what you're up to is so important, and you inviting me into this discussion and others into the discussion you're leading away with it. So I appreciate being here, and I'm proud to be sitting here next to you over technology. Well, thank   Michael Hingson ** 08:10 you. It's good to have this opportunity and get a chance to visit. Tell me a little bit about the early Abbey, growing up and all that stuff.   Abby Stason ** 08:18 Yeah, the early Abbey, the early Abbey. That'd   Michael Hingson ** 08:21 be a great TV that's a great title for a TV or radio show, the early Abbey. I was watching on I was watching on TV, looking at a guide, and there was a show, and my wife and I used to watch it, The New Adventures of Old Christine. So we can talk about the early Abbey.   Abby Stason ** 08:40 The early Abby, there's a bit of, you know, it's a bit of excitement, a bit of drama, a bit of sadness, but, you know, I was born and raised, am I going to go through my entire life to end here? Whatever   Michael Hingson ** 08:51 you'd like to Yeah, yeah,   Abby Stason ** 08:53 I was born and raised in New Jersey, and you know, where, very early age, where I knew that, you know, one thing that I always loved is the truth. I loved hearing the truth no matter what it is, whether it's, you know, I'll use these words, good, bad, or whatever. But I love the truth. And I noticed that people around me didn't love the truth. So I at, you know, at times I kind of, you know, I was active, I had a healthy life, and all that. But one thing that in throughout my lifetime, which I'm bringing this up, because it brings me to today, is that I was penalized for telling the truth. It wasn't popular for telling the truth, you know, and and I really struggled with that. I mean, I'm a privileged person, and I always, yeah, I always had an internal disconnect with that. But I love the truth no matter what it is. And I find myself today now just getting very excited about the truth, the truth in myself. You know, when I screw things up to the truth and what's happening anywhere to the truth around inclusion? And diversity? Yeah, so it was pretty, I pretty, pretty much compacted myself and didn't align with who I was, because it wasn't always comfortable to tell the truth. Because, you know, to, you know, I'm LGBTQ, I'm a woman's you know, if you're in a environment where being a female, you're suppressed, and you try to tell the truth about what you want, or if you try to tell the truth that you're in love with someone of the same sex, you know, that was penalized. So I really struggled as a youth trying to tell the truth. And so today we come full circle. I'm just, you know the truth is it for me, I'm, you know, I love the truth. So you know, admitting when I make mistakes, and telling the truth about that to the truth of what's happening in the world, or any of it, and not calling it, any of it, good, bad, right, wrong, you know. And I spent, you know, 20 years on Wall Street, and you can imagine truth telling, talk about truth Yeah, you know, or lack thereof, yeah, right. Truth telling in Wall Street was, was something of a, you know, yeah, kind of like avoiding the truth a little bit the corporate world can be, you know, lifted to an art form, you know what I mean. So that's why I always kind of grappled with that. And, you know, and that's one of the reasons I left was to, you know, really start telling the truth. And what it comes down to is being more conscious. In essence,   Michael Hingson ** 11:27 where in New Jersey are you from?   Abby Stason ** 11:29 I am from, you know, a very small town. Everyone says Now everyone I'm listening on this is probably she doesn't have an accent, although some people will pick up sliced trace, traces of so I can hear a little, yeah, I was just gonna say you're probably picking up on it. I'm from a very small town in Warren County New Jersey called Belvidere. Okay, right on the Delaware River, right? Yeah, okay. I lived   Michael Hingson ** 11:51 in, I lived in Westfield for six years. Oh, great, yeah.   Abby Stason ** 11:54 So Westfield, so, you know, you know, you know Belvedere, and you know some people, it's not like Newark for the viewers listening, and it's the farmland of New Jersey. And, you know, we used to go sleigh riding, and lakes would freeze over. We'd go ice skating and all that. We never locked the doors. Went to the shore every year.   Michael Hingson ** 12:15 What's, what's really funny about Westfield for me is that before we moved there, we had selected property and then chose to build a house, because my wife was in a wheelchair her whole life, and so we chose to build a house, because if you build a house, it really doesn't cost a lot more for access than it does just to build the house. If you buy a house and modify it, it costs a bunch of money. Yeah, the the only, the only extra expense we had was that it had to be a two story house, because that's what the development had. So we did spend 15,000 extra dollars in the construction of the house to put it in elevator. But beyond that, you know, it didn't cost more. But still, when we were once, we selected the property and we were back in California telling people where we were going to live and all that. I had never heard of Westfield before we went there. But I was amazed at the number of people who knew about Westfield New Jersey here in California.   Abby Stason ** 13:12 Well, so I so when it then fast forward. I was working in lower Manhattan, you know, after 911 which, you know, obviously, yeah, so I lived in Summit, New Jersey, Ah, okay, but yeah, so I lived in Summit, took the train to Hoboken and then took the ferry over to the ferry, yeah, her open edge center, yeah. What?   Michael Hingson ** 13:33 What did you do on Wall Street?   Abby Stason ** 13:37 I was in sales leadership, you know, basically in charge of brokers, if you will. You know, help, you know, supporting them, hiring, firing, you know, helping clients with issues, anything you can imagine. So   Michael Hingson ** 13:52 you must have had a lot of fun dealing with people and the truth from time to time.   Abby Stason ** 13:58 Well, you know, yeah, you know was, it was, so you everyone's gonna on the call, will probably stereotype me a little bit, and being on Wall Street, and that's quite all right, because it's, it's the stereotyping is a little bit. But, you know, it's an exciting industry, yeah, it's got a little bit of its warts on it. You know, one of the things that was really tough was being a woman. So I left Wall Street in 2010 so, you know, it was 19 years on Wall Street. It was pretty tough to be consistently the only woman in the room. So I really had to take care of myself. And, you know, meet kind of the challenges that came with that sometimes It'd be my meeting and I'd be asked to get coffee because I'm the female, or I'd be asked to take notes because I'm the female, you know. So that got a little bit tiring, but I never became a victim of that. Victim, any of us in an underrepresented group of any kind. It's easy to go to victim, but I chose not to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 14:58 That's really the issue. Is. And it's a matter of, are you going to be a victim or not? And that's of course, what happens so often, is that that we seem to learn to be a victim, rather than recognizing that we don't need to be. We discover, for all too often, that people just decide to be a victim and they don't need to be a victim.   Abby Stason ** 15:22 Yeah, you know, it's because you, because we, you, we are a little bit victims. But there's, there's an essence of going for victimhood, you know, unnecessarily. So it's, rather than whining about it, it's understanding that this is the reality that I live in. And so how can I meet this. How can I take care of myself? You know, how can I respond with ability versus reacting, you know? And, you know, bringing in other underrepresented groups, I mean, certainly you come across that same type of we just talked about disabled people and, you know, there's black people and, you know, underrepresented groups, it's easy to go to victim but I encourage people, and I never got victim me about it. It's just like this is a reality I live in. What can I do and how can I spark a greater discussion? Are people available for a different discussion around this? If not? Okay, but just keep going.   Michael Hingson ** 16:18 Well, it gets back to the whole thing we talked about earlier, about disabilities and so on, because so many people, like people who are blind, specifically people who become blind later in life, grow up sighted and in an environment that says you're not whole if you can't fully see. And all too often, they end up being victims or view themselves as victims and don't recognize that. Okay? So they're still traveling down the road of life, maybe in a different lane, but you're still going down the road of life, and you can learn to do and choose to do all the things that you could do before. It's very rare that there isn't something that a person who is blind can't do, that a person with eyesight can. Yeah, probably blind people aren't most likely going to be football players. However, being football strategists is another story, yes, and and so sometimes exactly what we do changes. But on the other hand, like I said, the whole issue of light dependence, I'll, I'll put my ability to understand a lot of my surroundings up against what most people can or or don't do in terms of understanding their surroundings, because people don't learn to really observe, whereas it's part of my way of life.   Abby Stason ** 17:47 Yes, and it's an opportunity to to ask, How can I cultivate resilience? You know, if I can use a such any situation to strengthen my resilience, then that's, you know, you know, talk about having fun, you know, it's, you know, I'm not making light of any situation. But if I can cultivate more resilience and learn, it's a you know, I matured really quickly. You know what I mean? You know, I grew up really quickly, which was delightful, right? It was delightful. And, you know, I want to say too, that working on Wall Street as a leader was extremely satisfying from the front. So people are people are people. So one of the things I love doing is human development, so I got to do that a lot on Wall Street. So I was really pleased with my ability to impact people's lives, even on Wall Street well.   Michael Hingson ** 18:40 And the reality is that the people on Wall Street, by and large, were very intelligent, very creative, very bright people, and had some real challenges and pressures to live up to in order to do the things that they do. So I can understand where the environment developed from, although, as you point out, the issue of getting people to grow and recognizing that a female can can do things as well is, is something that some people accept and some people don't. But that's not just Wall Street that, unfortunately, is a guy thing that has to change. Well,   Abby Stason ** 19:19 I think it's, it is, yeah, it's a guy thing, and it's, you know, we all can change to see, you know, we are just human beings. Because actually, gender and race are just social constructs. Actually, a lot of the social conditioning that comes with anything that we stereotype has a lot of baggage to it. Can have baggage, and we're not align with ourselves, and we're trying to fit into society's mold. And conditioning is useful, but if left uninvestigated, yeah, you know, it's, you know, it's not as much fun, no, right? Because, like, we can see this wants to change, but yet we keep doing the same thing, and that's just stuck, stuck. Yes,   Michael Hingson ** 20:00 I was watching a commercial last night about, well, this woman comes on and she's talking about Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, but he was not the first baseball player of color, if you will. And talked about the Negro League and that, there's a whole podcast about that now, which I haven't listened to yet, but I can relate to being different than most people. And also, I'm well aware of the Negro League, which it was called, and and appreciate it and look forward to learning more about it, because I believe talent is talent, wherever it comes from.   Abby Stason ** 20:39 Yeah. And this notion of, you know, can I be true to myself, no matter what? You know, can I be really true to myself, you know, with who I am, and can I be real no matter what? And in some places, to be real means I will scare the heck out of people, you know, again, for the biases, you know, if I show up as a strong female, that's the success, like ability bias is negative for women and positive for men. So then I start scaring people. So then I need to stay conscious to that, to see how I'm being received, and where's the conversation headed, and how can we connect beyond Yeah, how   Michael Hingson ** 21:18 do we help people grow?   Abby Stason ** 21:19 Yeah, that's right, it's an opposite opportunity that's really well said. It's an opportunity to stretch and grow.   Michael Hingson ** 21:24 So what did you do after you left Wall Street?   Abby Stason ** 21:27 Well, so I, you know, and going back to what I was saying, what I love doing was, you know, I got results because you want to, you know, you want to have positive results and disciplined business practices, takes care of the day to day. But what I really loved doing was leading and developing people, mentoring, coaching, developing human beings. You know, I have no problem developing someone younger than me, them going off to be a CEO and work for them. So I decided to follow that passion. I was in the Bay Area. Wanted to stay, so I leapt, you know, took the leap. I leapt off the cliff, then started my own practice of basically teach us more of a teacher than a coach. I basically teach people skills around everything we're talking about. You talked about fear earlier, etc, but that's really satisfying for me, because that's what I love to do. I consider myself a Constant Learner.   Michael Hingson ** 22:22 And where do you live today?   Abby Stason ** 22:24 Now, I live in Oregon. Okay, I'm in Southern Oregon, so that's   Michael Hingson ** 22:29 a little bit away from Wall Street. Yes, it's a long walk, but that's okay. So you and what does your business do today?   Abby Stason ** 22:46 Yeah, so basically, I teach people skills, you know, I do one on one sessions. I do team workshops. I do I help companies with their cultures and team workshops. I have an E learning platform. I have a whole curriculum that I teach people skills, specifically skills to navigate the human condition you were just talking about. And I read, or, excuse me, listen to that podcast about the gentleman at Dana. Point is really interesting. So like him, you know, overcoming his fear? Well, we have fear throughout the day, so fear is a big driver of our behavior. So that's something that I teach, is how to overcome fear. And you know, in short, I'm sharing my journey for my own development, my own human development. Here's what I've learned, here's the skill I've learned, and here's what worked for me. And also I clients kept asking me questions, how do I do this? How do I do that? So finally, one client said, you know, I want, I don't want another catch phrase. I want frameworks. I want skills. I'm like, You got it here. I am well.   Michael Hingson ** 23:46 And the fact is that if you really look at fear, most things that we fear or are afraid of never come to the light of day. They're not they're not real. We are. We're really good at creating fear out of nothing and and it really is nothing, and we we don't step back enough, or we don't learn, as I describe it, how not to be blinded by fear, especially when it's unexpected things that come up that can really be perilous. We really, those are the times that we really need to keep our wits about us. And the reality is, we can do that. Yeah,   Abby Stason ** 24:26 yes, and you're right. Wait the human. You know, humans are wacky, wackiest species on the planet. We are great, and we are the wackiest. I put myself at the top of the list. I mean, we will, you know, this is the mind body connection. We will actually create a fear response in our physiology based on some story we're telling ourselves. Yeah, we we know this scientifically. So it's like, why would we ever do this? Like, I'm looking at you. You're in your home. I'm looking at me. I'm in my home. You know, we're both. Safe. There's no reason for us to be fear. We're to be fearful. You know, we get along great. But you know what we do is we make up stories in our head, and then we go into a real fear response, and then our behavior comes from that. We know why that is. It's exciting. We live in exciting times because we know now I get very excited. As you can tell, is we know now, as opposed to even 1015, 20 years ago, how our brains and our biology impact our behavior like it's it's no more a mystery to us, and we're going to get just continue to get more and more informed about that, including why we exclude people, and why we treat people of different colors or disabled people differently? So I think we're in an exciting time   Michael Hingson ** 25:46 well, and the reality is that a lot of the well, most of the time that we treat people differently is because we don't understand, and to some degree, or for some people, to a large degree, we don't want to understand. We don't want to be as, as people would say, confronted with the facts. Don't confuse me with the facts. That's what I believe. Is what I want to believe. And and there are issues with that that really should allow us to move beyond it and recognize that we all have gifts. As I've said, the thing is, disability does not mean a lack of ability, and disability is truly a characteristic that we all have that manifests itself in different ways for different people.   Abby Stason ** 26:37 Absolutely, and you know when we you know, when you see someone who's disabled, someone who's different than you, we immediately go into us. Our brains go into us versus them, and then we also assign all of the behaviors of those biases that we've been taught, whether they are accurate or not. So I'd love the reframe you were talking about earlier, about, you know, disabled people, they really have abilities, but we have stereotypes about disabled people. We have stereotypes about women, we have stereotypes about men, we have stereotypes from about blacks, any, you know, any of it. And it's all just this old wiring, which is which I find exciting, because we can actually rewire that.   Michael Hingson ** 27:24 Yep, unfortunately, we grow up learning one way to wire, and it is something that we can change and we should change. Yes, it's also a growth issue, because for years, people thought what they did about disability or people who have disabilities. And the fact is that as we evolve, hopefully we recognize that our own views are not really necessarily totally accurate, and we should change them and be a lot more inclusive than we tend to be. Yes,   Abby Stason ** 28:00 and that takes this is where conscious, you know, being conscious and aware of my self as I see someone who's different than me, requires me almost to stop and pause for a split second to interrupt any kind of conditioning that comes In. So this is where we can make more space for humanity, and I'm not. It doesn't mean slowing down. It just means stopping and saying, Okay, I'm looking at this person. What are the stories I have running? What are the biases I have running? And can I let those go and make different associations, or be open to actually get to know this person before I make any judgments about them, yeah, you know. So that interrupts the brain wiring, you know. And I love our brains. If we didn't have conditioning, we wouldn't be able to live, you know, if we didn't have social conditioning, you know, social conditioning is useful. For instance, we have stop signs and street lights and other norms that really help us get through our day to day. We wear uniforms. You know, imagine walking into a hospital and seeing everyone dressed like ranchers. I don't know. You know people. You know cowboys. You mean they're not right. You'd walk into the hospital and need treatment and be like, wait a minute, I'm not in the right place. And you would go into a fear response. That's why we have uniforms and some other norms. But when those norms keep us from really connecting is when it's problematic, and we're seeing that   Michael Hingson ** 29:34 well, this, this concept that you talk about and that you address regularly, about being real. What? What got you started down that road and deciding that that was a really important thing to do?   Abby Stason ** 29:49 Yeah, so it great question, you know this word authentic? I don't think people know what it means to be real or to be authentic. And if. If it's sometimes dangerous to be real or authentic. In some communities, you know, I'm thinking some places where women, if you want to be real and take off, you know, don't, not cover your face, that can be dangerous. You know, that's the extreme horn of it. But really it's aligning your your inner experience with your outer expression. It's knowing what your values are and standing for them. It's allow. It's aligning with your commitments in the world and who you want to be you know. So I don't think people know what it means to be authentic. It means to be, you know, exposed for the truth of who you are, but that, you know, context matters also. It's not in a vacuum. But I think it's helpful to know, really, what it means to be authentic. It means that that I'm not hiding myself from you. You know that I'm transparent. I don't walk up to someone and just say, Here's my life story. But right? You know, I think when we're authentic, we're revealing what, what wants to be revealed. When it wants to be revealed, we're not wearing some persona, some mask, you know, we are aligned with who we are. We know what our values are and stand for that. It's, you know. It's about, you know, being congruent, you know, living and leading or whatever in alignment with what you profess to stand for. So if I stick, you know, yeah, go ahead, are   Michael Hingson ** 31:28 we taught not to be authentic?   Abby Stason ** 31:32 Well, I, you know, I'll say the answer to that, I think, is yes. I mean, are we taught not to be authentic? I think we're taught. We're not taught anything. We kind of grow up and we inherit. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We grow up and inherent crafts and values from our parents. And don't ever when we start to get to adulthood, really ask, Well, who am I? Am I? Are these just values of my parents? And, yeah, there's social pressures to act certain ways, so we adopt those, rather than saying, you know, do I want to adopt these? Am I working in the right place? You know, so are we? We're not taught, really. We're taught to go along, to get along. That's a lot of what we're taught to go along, to get along, at the expense of ourselves. And I'm not saying we should fight against everything, but I think there's an opportunity for us to, you know, be in the truth of who we are and align with our own values and what's true for us. And also, you know, the brain is wired to go along, to get along and lessen so that so it can be very fearful to go against what a group is saying. So that can be challenging for people, even though it might be healthier for whatever's happening.   Michael Hingson ** 32:57 But you know, the reason I asked about being taught it may or may not be volitional, but when I look at well, very frankly, look at politicians and how often they will deny something, they can be caught doing something or having done something, and sometimes that goes to extremes. Nowadays, you could do something 30 years ago and still be chastised for it and drummed out of the core, if you will. But the bottom line is that all too often, politicians will just deny with the hope that, well, if I push back hard enough, then people will believe it didn't really happen. And the result is that, in fact, they did something, and that teaching, or that activity, teaches so many others, especially kids growing up. Well, if they get away with it, why can't I? Yes,   Abby Stason ** 33:51 exactly. That's really well said. You know, politics is a great example of where you rarely hear the truth, you know, and also we're as humans. We're really not wired to speak fact to fact. I mean, we don't. We don't really speak fact to fact. In other words, we don't get on this zoom call and say you have headphones on. I don't, you know we don't. We just don't talk that way, like you have a gold shirt on I have a blue shirt on. That's not how we communicate as humans. The brain is wired to contextualize everything. That's okay, but then understanding that what comes out of my mouth is my opinion. It can be a judgment and intuition, and that's okay too, but we treat some of these things that we see on the news as facts when it's an opinion. So then you can take the opinion in and either agree or disagree with it, but we say that that's the truth well,   Michael Hingson ** 34:57 and sometimes you. We hear something say on TV that is an opinion, or it's not even a good opinion, because it clearly goes counter to reality and to facts, and yet people still say it, and if they don't get caught somehow, then it stands, and a lot of people call it gospel, and that's unfortunate, because what they're really counting on is that most of us don't ever go into an analytical mode where we really look at things and say, is that opinion? Is that true? I should really look into that for myself, right?   Abby Stason ** 35:42 And this is herein lies the suffering and the challenge of being a human being where, you know, to take responsibility for, am I treating that as truth? Am I investigating? Am I doing my own, you know, due diligence? No, I'm not saying we should go and all become scientists or anything like that, but certainly, you can tell an opinion when you hear it. But a lot of people, this is about being unconscious. You know, it's just, I'm not making anything good, bad, right, wrong, but there's consequences to not challenging anyone, and particularly our politicians and leaders, elected officials and anyone, and challenging each other to lift humanity into again, the truth and the facts of the matters and and also inviting people to say, hey, you know, that's not exactly true, but you know. Let's take a look at that. You know. But we consider things as truth, and then we take that and we then what, you know, and you're alluding to that, is that then we we take action based on something we think is true. Or   Michael Hingson ** 36:49 sometimes people will say, Well, you said that, but that's not what I have experienced or what I've observed, but that's but that's fair. It's fair to then have the discussion. Yes, and it may very well be that both sets of experiences are absolutely valid. And if you will, true, although it is so tempting to say you can't handle the truth, but we won't go there. That's that's a different movie.   Abby Stason ** 37:18 That was a good impression.   Michael Hingson ** 37:19 I actually was somewhere I cannot remember when it's been several years. I love, I love movies and lines, and I was talking with someone, and they said, Look, all I want from you is the truth. And I couldn't resist so I said that you can't handle the truth. And it really, it really busted up the whole atmosphere, and people were able to talk a whole lot more more seriously after that. Of course, there was another time I was somewhere and somebody said, Surely that's not the case. I said, Well, yes, it is. And don't call me Shirley, but, as I said, movies, but you know, from   Abby Stason ** 37:59 airplane, that's from airplane I'm tracking. I'm totally tracking.   Michael Hingson ** 38:05 Yeah, what can I say? I love to personally inject humor where I can, and I think that we take things so seriously sometimes. But the reality is, truth is important, and authenticity is important. And I guess I'd ask you, why is that's the case? Why is why should we really be authentic? Well,   Abby Stason ** 38:28 first of all, it's more satisfying on an individual level. So that when I'm aligned with who I am and I'm telling my truth, that is my experience and what's true for me, it's much more satisfying. Here's the other thing, you know, it avoids a lot of drama. You know, it opens up connection. It avoids drama. It takes away the blaming shaming. If we really make truth the primary goal, you know, then actually we have in the time we spend in drama and arguing, we have more time and space to enjoy ourselves. But it's, it's when we, when we don't tell the truth, our self esteem takes a hit. So right, when I'm not telling the truth and align with who I am and I'm not authentic with myself, you know, standing for what I you know, behaving a way that about what I profess to stand for, my self esteem takes a hit. Now, if my self esteem takes a hit, and we're all doing that, our collective self esteem takes a hit.   Michael Hingson ** 39:32 I also would submit that not telling the truth or not being truthful is stressful and it's a lot harder to do. Some people learn to do it very well, unfortunately. But it doesn't change the fact that in general, it's a lot harder to do, because you always have to worry about, am I going to be caught?   Abby Stason ** 39:55 Yep, spot on, and then I'm then, then it's like, okay. I lied, so then I have to cover up the lie, and then I Okay, so then I have to build on the lie. It's, it's a lot of unnecessary suffering, yeah. And the truth can be really inconvenient, you know, that's the other thing. The truth can be absolutely inconvenient. Oh, sure, you know. So. And then that might mean I have to rearrange some things in my life if I tell the truth, or, you know, if I, you know, this is the thing too. So here's the other thing is, society doesn't isn't compassionate. When we make we're all human beings, and we make mistakes, right? We do harm others and we make mistakes, but society is not forgiving or compassionate or doesn't make it cool to like, raise your hand and say, I really screwed this up. Here's what I did. I take responsibility. I want to clean this up, you know, and here's what I've learned. But instead, we blame and shame, and particularly in an era of social media and everything now visible, we just blame and slam anyway, you know, the cancel culture, so we don't make it easy to tell the truth about screwing up and then recovering from that, because I think there's a lot to learn when you know, even these politicians that make mistakes, or any of these high profile people, everybody makes mistakes, but we slam them and just try to blame and shame them and just annihilate them, instead of saying, Well, what, what happened? What was your experience when you were doing that? Or what? What have you learned? You know, where do you think that comes from? It Right? What's coming to mind? I'm going to say it just because it's here. Is the when Will Smith slapped rocket Oscars. And I'm thinking, what an opportunity to sit there and say, Okay, what happened? What did you learn? Instead, it just blew up into a ton of drama, yeah, you know. So we miss out on opportunities to grow our humanity by if anyone wants to tell the truth, it's it's hard because you'll get slammed, you know, literally, you can be canceled. You can lose your job, you know, all that. And sometimes that's appropriate. I mean, there should be consequences. I'm not saying, you know, when you tell the truth, some people, I might have to go to jail, and that's part of their taking responsibility. But overall, what we're talking about is the day to day things that happen that we could really benefit more from learning rather than blaming and shaming. In my opinion,   Michael Hingson ** 42:38 do you think, Well, what do you think society really says or believes about being real?   Abby Stason ** 42:45 Oh, gosh, yes, societies, you know, it's my experience. He says, Be Real, as long as it's what we say you real is go along to get along, you know, if so, you know, you know, look, there's, I'm LGBTQ, I'm happy to be bisexual. There's 300 plus lawsuit law, pieces of legislation against gay people. There's X number against transgender people. Now that's now you're saying that now the society, the government is saying to me, you can't, you shouldn't do that. So we're going to write laws against you. So this is where it gets tough. You know, I want to be real, but this is where intelligence comes in, context comes in. And I also say self care. Yeah, self care. I I'm teaching, especially now the I'm teaching women and underrepresented anyone in an underrepresented group, you know, self care has got to be non negotiable, because you're it's swimming upstream, and I'm not, yeah again and not victimy. But let's get in the reality of that you have to take really good care of yourself.   Michael Hingson ** 43:55 You have to be the first to take responsibility for doing that, because no one else is going to well said   Abby Stason ** 44:00 you should repeat that, and that should podcast if you're listening to this, that's the that's the main message from this repeat, that you   Michael Hingson ** 44:09 have to be the one to do it, because no one else is going to you have to take care of yourself. And that's that's absolutely fair to do. And I would go beyond it to say you need to really learn for you what self care is about. You know, for a person who is blind, let's say who has become blind, who grow, who has grown up with an attitude that blindness is less than being able to see, now you're suddenly confronted with it. What does that mean? Self Care wise, as opposed to say someone who is LGBTQ in terms of their sexual orientation. But the reality is that both do have things that they can do to care for themselves, mentally and physically in order to be able to continue to function. And first. I recognize that they are just as much a part of humanity as anyone else's.   Abby Stason ** 45:05 Yes, I just was quiet because that was well said, Very well said. So I hope everyone listening in, you just go back repeat what he just said and just repeat it, because you'll listen to it over and over. That's, that's the core message of this podcast, right? And I'll add, you know, I'm looking at you. I can see you have gray hair. I'm turning 58 in a few days, you know. So now ageism starts to come in, right? You know, I'm 58 so if I act, society says I should act like a 58 year old. So I have big energy, as you can probably hear in my voice, I'm pretty active and, you know, I'm not really intimidated by getting older, you know, I'm certainly don't act as energetic and athletic as a 25 year old. But society says I should act a certain way in my age, you know. So the, you know, going full circle to your society question, yeah. I think it's a time to examine our societal conditioning and ask what's outdated?   Michael Hingson ** 46:07 Yeah, and the reality is that things become outdated because we learn which we should do, and we recognize that some of our basic core beliefs that we were taught aren't necessarily, really so yes, totally agree, yeah, and it is. It is still something that we do need to and should learn to deal with. It's fair. Again, I talk a lot about blindness, of course, but that's what I tend to know a little bit about anyway. But I know that that the views that people still all too often have are very outmoded. I still hear of people who are losing their Well, let me do it this way. I hear about people who go to ophthalmologists because they don't see as well as they used to, and the doctor says, well, you're going blind. There's nothing I can do. And the doctor just walks out of the room. Or the doctor says, you know, go live in a home because you can't do anything anymore. You're, you're going to be blind. And that's not real. Yeah,   Abby Stason ** 47:16 wow. That's, that's, yeah, that's right there. That's a, oh, that's really, well, I feel offended Just hearing that, you know, I feel offended just hearing that's not inspirational, it's not looking at possibilities, it's not helping anyone. It's and it's not true. Yeah, that's right, because there we can all do things   Michael Hingson ** 47:38 well, the reality is that that we have, having been in the World Trade Center and escaping on September 11. The reality is that proves that anyone can be in an unexpected situation, and it's a question of how we choose to deal with it. Of course, a lot of people tell me, Well, you must have been so afraid or, of course, you didn't know what happened because you couldn't see it. Well, excuse me. You know they couldn't they couldn't see it. One is really easy. I was on the 78th floor on the south side of the building, and the airplane hit on the area between floors 93 and 99 on the north side of the building, basically 18 floors of concrete, steel and everything else between me and where the plane hit, what was there to see. Nobody could see it, and nobody and when we were going down the stairs, none of us knew what had happened. I never really learned what happened until both towers had collapsed, and I called my wife, and she is the first one who told us how two aircraft had been crashed into the towers. Now we knew that something was going on, because one of my colleagues saw fire before we evacuated, so we knew that something happened. And then as we were going down the stairs, we smelled fumes from burning jet fuel, but we had no idea what really had occurred. There was no way to know, but I was the one. But I was the one who observed to people around me, I smelled in the fumes from burning jet fuel. And other people said, Yeah, we were trying to figure out what that is. That's what it is. You're right,   Abby Stason ** 49:12 yeah, you know. And you're hearing, I'm imagining is, is very strong, right? The brain will make up for loss. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 49:22 only if I use it, only if I and that's, it's, that's a good question. But the reality is, only if I learn to use it. Your hearing doesn't become better simply because you lose your eyesight. It's like, you take a person from SEAL Team Six, and you, you take someone from some other profession that doesn't require as much eyesight, they're not going to see the same one will see better than the other because they've learned to use their eyesight. And it's the same thing with hearing.   Abby Stason ** 49:57 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's remarkable. I mean, yeah, I'm just, I notice I'm thinking of you and the towers, and what an experience. And it's a privilege to sit across from you right now and just, you know, yeah, it's amazing that you were there and lived through that. And I have a special, just a special type of feeling for the people of New York. And, you know, I worked in lower Manhattan after it was 2004 to 2006 and that's one of the reasons I went to work in Manhattan. Lower Manhattan is to, I don't know, I felt drawn to go there and just be a part of that. And it was a privilege to work there for two years   Michael Hingson ** 50:41 after, after all that had happened, where were you before then,   Abby Stason ** 50:46 I was in Atlanta, Georgia, okay, yeah, I was in the southeast. And, yeah, I was offered a job, and in same company, Merrill Lynch and I was offered a job in lower Manhattan. I just felt like, you know, I felt called to go and do that. And mostly because of 911 it was like a privilege to work with people who had lived through it, and, you know, like it's a privilege to sit across from you. It's, of course, one of the most recognizable, impactful events in the USF, yeah, you know, I mean, I'm putting that lightly. I'm not even giving it justice,   Michael Hingson ** 51:22 but it is one of the things that that we learn to deal with, and that's okay, but, but the reality is that I think even with that September 11 is, for a lot of people, just history. I mean, you've got a whole generation who never experienced anything relating to it and just reading about it. It's like Pearl Harbor for a lot of us, is just history, unless we take the time to really step back and and think about it and internalize it. Now I love to collect old radio shows as a hobby. So I've heard many radio broadcasts, not only about Pearl Harbor and that day, but other things relating to world war two and so on that make it very real. And have learned to use my imagination, and I hope people will do that regarding September 11 as well, because even though maybe you weren't born yet, or for those of us who were born who were able to remember it, but only saw it as whatever the size of our TV screen or our newspapers were, it's important to internalize that and think about it and decide, what does that really teach us about history? And I don't think it does teach us that Muslims are evil or anything like that. I think it teaches us that there are thugs in the world who want to force us to try to bend to their will. But the reality is that we're stronger if we work together, because after September 11, just the way this country behaved for a while. Then unfortunately, we started to see things like MCI WorldCom and Enron and other things like that, and politicians who really lost all the momentum that we had gained after September 11.   Abby Stason ** 53:18 Yeah, and I'm really appreciating, you know, really you said it really well too. Kind of a summation is we don't internalize our experience, so we skate over our direct experience, whether the experience be astronomically stressful and traumatic, like 911 but you still don't want to skip over your direct experience. You know, we don't internalize our experience. We we interact superficially, and we just say, Oh, that was okay. This was great. That wasn't. This was awful. Rather than really getting into our direct experience, that's where we can build resilience, that's where insight and wisdom comes along. Like you just said, yeah, really well. Said, appreciate the wisdom I'm getting today. I always learn something. I'm like, I wonder what I learned today. Well, here we are. I   Michael Hingson ** 54:15 hear you me too. I figure if I'm not learning at least as much as anybody else, then I'm not doing my job very well, because I I love doing this podcast, because everyone who comes on teaches me a lot, which I value a great deal, and then putting it all together is a lot of fun. So, you know, tell me, tell me a little bit more about what it is you do today, and what's your company and so on.   Abby Stason ** 54:44 Yeah. So my company name is my name, Abigail station LLC, really the nice, creative name, yeah, I know. Well, you know, it's just was easy, easy, and got recommended to me. But, you know, in a nutshell. Yeah, everything we're talking about is coming full circle because people want to show up. People want to be real, they want to be authentic. They want to be pleased with how they show up. They want to know what their values are. So it's it's like navigating the human condition in our modern world, in a global gig economy, requires skill, right? If I have an experience, what does this mean for me? How am I treating people that requires skill? So I basically teach skills on how to navigate the human condition, particularly while relating to others. It's one thing to be skillful when I'm by myself, but you know what it's like when we get we start working as a team and launching a product. You're shaking your head, right? We   Michael Hingson ** 55:44 impress ourselves very easily, don't we?   Abby Stason ** 55:48 That's where so we, you know, and it's important today, as opposed to years ago, when we worked on assembly lines. You know, we're well past that. Yeah, we're working on an assembly line. You didn't, you know, you basically said hi to your neighbor, you didn't have to share ideas and wisdom. You didn't have to collaborate with them. So now, everything in the workforce today in a gig economy, a global gig economy, across cultures, right across languages. So what's required of us is to be skillful human beings. So that's I have a curriculum that centers around that. So I do that in a one on one forum, Team workshops, open workshops, retreats, you name it. Anyone who wants to learn how to be, how to behave, more consciously. And I'm not making it good or bad, right or wrong, right?   Michael Hingson ** 56:34 How do you do that? How do you teach skills?   Abby Stason ** 56:38 Oh, like, literally, you know, so I'll, you know, I have framer. I talked about frameworks. So I have a skill like presence. I teach a framework on what it means to be present. Emotional Intelligence is a skill. And I, you know, it even like I'm laughing, because emotional intelligence is necessary. It's non negotiable for resilience. We know this scientifically. If you're not emotionally fluent, you're you will hurt your immune system. But people don't know actually how to feel their emotions. So I teach people that to notice the sensations in their body, to then capture the wisdom from that. How to Speak the truth, right? We've talked about that, how to listen, how to cultivate self esteem. So I have processes, many processes, if you will, for each skill, it's just like, Look, let me simplify it for you. You know, everybody's got a hobbit hobby of some sort, a hobbit, a hobbit, a hobbit. Covid might have a hobbit. I have five out here in my closet so, but everybody has a hobby of some sort. Well, let's say so I was a run. I used to run. I didn't go out and run a marathon in the first minute. What did I do? I learned how to train, right? So it's just like that, except we don't do strength training for our behaviors. Yeah, so it's, it's repetition, it's, it's a workout, if you will.   Michael Hingson ** 58:10 What kind of suggestions do you have for people who want to, want to get real, who don't necessarily know how to get real, especially people from underrepresented groups.   Abby Stason ** 58:25 Yeah, so, so for that, I mean, you know, I have you look me up at Abigail season.com, and I'm, I, you know, I'm happy to help anyone. But with underrepresented groups, it's particularly more important so that the skills there are, knowing when I'm present, knowing when I'm emotionally intelligent, because you're gonna have you're gonna be especially if you're an underrepresented group because of what we talked about, you'll be criticized for being real. So you have to understand your emotions. You have to know what your values are. You have to know what you stand for. And I will add self care because of what we talked about, because as an underrepresented group, we're swimming upstream, so you have to really understand how to take care of yourself, because we need to be strong as underrepresented groups. And I'll go back to my days on Wall Street. I was, you know, a lot of swimming upstream, you know. So I was okay. How am I doing this week? Am I taking care of myself? Each of those is a skill.   Michael Hingson ** 59:27 How do people do all of that? So, you know, when, when you talk about these are the things that then one needs to do. How do they do that?   Abby Stason ** 59:37 How do they do that, like, so, actually, you know.   Michael Hingson ** 59:42 So how do they learn about self care, for example, and so on. How do they learn about being more competent about themselves? Yeah,   Abby Stason ** 59:51 okay, so, so, you know, you can get, get support. You can, you know, one, I'll say you can buy my book. I mean. Abigail station.com, my book is called evolution, revolution, conscious leadership for an information age. So I have the skills in them that actually teach you how to be you know again, how to learn what your values are, how to thrive. You have five buckets of thriving, spiritually, mental, physical, emotional and financial. And I have a worksheet so you can actually fill out the worksheet to see where you're thriving or not, and what bucket you need to you know correct for, where are you doing in each bucket. So it's, it's again, it's it sounds, it's not abstract. It's just like if you're learning how to play tennis, you pick up a ball, you pick up a rack, and you start hitting it right? Well, just like this, you pick up a worksheet, you fill it out, and you examine what's true for you, and then you put it into practice.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:01 And important to do. And in our cover notes, we have a picture of the book cover and so on. So I do urge people to to look at that and and get your book to really understand a lot of the insights. And I think that that's the issue, is that the ultimate answer I would think to them to my question about how do people do it is you ask questions, you go to people like Abby, who have the information, and listen to them. You figure out what will work for you, but really take the time to figure it out, and then you can put it into practice.   Abby Stason ** 1:01:40 It's a matter of stopping to investigate what's going on with me. How am I doing and where do I need support, and all that and all that. It's just, it's skill we it's my experience, and what I teach is we can be more skillful human beings. It's a complex world now,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:02 do you think it's more complex than it used to be?   Abby Stason ** 1:02:06 I think we make it complex. Okay, that you know, that's what I happen to. Think it's my experience too. And this is what notice, how I'm notice what I'm saying. It's like, it's my experience. Here's what I think, you know, my it's my opinion and my experience. Notice how I'm saying the truth is XYZ. Notice how I'm saying that, right, right? It's my experience. It's my opinion that we make it complex, but yet, the skills that I teach, they're simply said, but they're not easy, right? It's a challenge of a lifetime.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:42 Well, I think there's a lot to be said for all that, that that we make it a complex world. Is it really more complex than it used to be? Maybe not we. We tend to want to think that it is. But is it really of has the real dynamic, have the real basic concepts changed or not, and that's really the issue, and that's why I agree with you that we tend to want to make it more complex. Oh yeah, there is a lot going on, things like social media and other things bring us closer together and so on. And so there's a lot of stuff going on, but we're the ones that have control over that, right?   Abby Stason ** 1:03:27 Well, Said, because we can go back to take a responsibility for our part, right? How am I showing up on social media, etc?   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:34 Well, if people want to reach out to you, how do they do that? Yeah, they can go   Abby Stason ** 1:03:39 to Abigail stason.com,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:41 would you spell that, please? Yeah,   Abby Stason ** 1:03:43 I should just going to say it's A B, I G, A, I L, S T, A, S O N.com, you can email me at Abby, a, b, b, y, at Abigail, stason.com, and I you know if you're interested, if they're if you anyone's interested is listening. In a good place to go is go to my website, Abigail station.com, go to my blogs. It's a good way to pick up a lot of these information. I don't I don't send out it. I don't flood you with emails. Come to my blogs. That's a good place to get some exposure to some of this. Pick up my book, evolution revolution and conscious leadership for an information age. And I have an online course too, a self study course that you can sign up for. It's only $250 that walks you through each chapter. I made it priced at a price point to get the skills in as many hands as possible. Cool,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:38 well, I hope people will do that, I think there's never anything wrong with doing good skill building and growing and stretching. One of the things that I've talked about a lot on this podcast, that I've learned to do over the years, is to spend a little bit of time each day thinking about what happened today. How did it go? Why did. That not work. Why did that work? And even when it worked, could I have done it better? And what can I learn from everything that I do? I just think introspection is a beautiful thing.   Abby Stason ** 1:05:09 Yes, and I want to stress what you said at the end, and what have I learned about myself? That's a great summary. You know your process right there. Listeners follow that process. Absolutely,   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:22 I've learned I used to talk all the time about listening to my speeches because I was I travel and speak. I like to record them, and I've always said I'm my own worst critic. So I listened to speeches because I'm my own worst critic. And I'm going to learn from that. What I realized is how negative is that? And I've learned that what I really should say is I'm my own best teacher, and I will learn from it. And I just think that's I think we need to look at the world in a more positive way, and even the things that aren't necessarily working right, we can be more positive about what we do.   Abby Stason ** 1:05:56 Yes, and notice the reframe of that. Instead of putting yourself on trial. It's simply what, what did I learn, and how can I grow? That's it, and that's   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:06 the way it ought to be, yes, yes, and, and look, you know, it's   Abby Stason ** 1:06:09 way more fun, righ

Our guest this week is a surfer and guru in the tennis industry. He has spent most of his career working in multiple capacities within the sport, from Sales and Marketing to Demos and Social Events, to directing and running tournaments. His goal has always been to share his passion, network with people, and promote the sport. He has been an early adoptor and visionary for an old, but new trendy racquet ball game which is considered to be the fastest-growing sport in the USA, if not the world! For the past 8 years, he has taken all his experience, knowledge, and relationships to help grow this crazy trend called “Pickle Ball”. We welcome the owner of “Pickle Ball Firstt” to the show, Mr. Ronnie Nemchock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special double episode, hear Jennifer Brown discuss her book, How to Be an Inclusive Leader and Marcus Buckingham talk about his book Love + Work. Both thought leaders will deliver keynote sessions at the upcoming Blanchard Leadership Summit to be held October 8-10. 2024 in Dana Point, California. For more information go to blanchard.com/summit2024

 In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to John Arena, co-owner of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas. Arena recently opened a signature pizzeria called Truly Pizza in Dana Point, California, with a group of friends. Together, they've built a concept new to the city that brings in both tourists and locals alike. 

Okuma Fishing Tackle USA: Go to the Okuma store to check out all of their products. #Okuma #OkumaFishing https://okumafishingusa.com/ ------------------------------------------------ Latest SoCal Fish Reports on my app (4000+ members) (iOS) : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/your-saltwater-guide/id1666659346 Latest SoCal Fish Reports on my app (4000+ members) (ANDROID) : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.uscreen.yoursaltwaterguide New Merch: https://store.yoursaltwaterguide.com/ 400+ Fishing How To Videos & Weekly SoCal Game Plans: https://www.yoursaltwaterguide.com/ ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: AFTCO (American Fishing Tackle Company) Family owned and operated, the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) represents unparalleled quality, performance, and reliability when it counts most. Save 15% on your AFTCO order using code “YSWG15” at checkout: https://www.aftco.com/?utm_source=yswg&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=yswg Book Fishing Charters Online with Fishing Booker! Search, book & review charters in 110 countries. #FishingBooker https://fishingbooker.com/#65f5376e4bfdd Okuma Fishing Tackle USA: Go to the Okuma store to check out all of their products. #Okuma #OkumaFishing https://okumafishingusa.com/ Promar & Ahi USA: Since 2002, Promar & Ahi USA have made it their goal to provide anglers with high quality fishing products and accessories under the Promar & Ahi USA brands. #Promar #PromarAhiUSA #PromarAhi Save 10% on your entire order using code “YSWG22” at checkout: https://promarahi.com/?ref_cca=dave_hansen Pacific Sportfishing Alliance: Book Your Dream Fishing Trip With Pacific Sportfishing Alliance! Experience the Ultimate in Sportfishing at Bucket List Destination such as Alaska, San Diego & Baja, Mexico! #pacificsportfishingalliance Get Exclusive Deals & Trip Discounts by mentioning Your Saltwater Guide: https://pacificsportfishingalliance.com/ Deckhand Sports - Fishing Kill Bags, Dry Bags & Gear: Their Bags Don't Leak! Don't let a leaky bag ruin your catch! Get your hands on an industry-leading leak-proof Fish Kill Bag today, made with innovative High-Frequency Welding technology that ensures you'll never have to deal with leaks again. #deckhandsports #ourbagsdontleak Discount code: "YSWG15" (Use for 15% off your entire order) https://deckhandsports.com/ ------------------------------------------------ Submit your fishing videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear and see on the podcast to: yoursaltwaterguide@yahoo.com Call Captain Dave Hansen. (Yes Really): 949-374-0786 ------------------------------------------------ Book an Official Your Saltwater Guide! Call Captain Justin Bottrell on (951) 703-9442 Call Captain Alan Clowers on (619) 800-3474 Call Captain Pablo Fernandez on (619) 431-3070 Call Captain Sonny on (702) 612-1269 ------------------------------------------------ Find Dave: Website: https://www.yoursaltwaterguide.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoursaltwaterguide62/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptainDaveHansen Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/221459955778677 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yoursaltwaterguide Twitter: https://twitter.com/yswgcaptaindave YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@YourSaltwaterGuide ------------------------------------------------ Producer & Marketing: Elliot Andrews/Inside The Byte Marketing https://www.instagram.com/andrewe02/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are living in the after glow of the Finale of Vanderpump Rules!Michaela joins us to chat about it!Join us tonight for our full recap!

Two popular local businesses – Gyu+ sandos and Suzuya Patisserie – are preparing to open new concepts in The Center At Spring Mountain, and Al sits down with restaurateur Luis De Santos to talk about them. Other interviews this week include Bazaar Meat's Frank Medina talking about a new $99 tasting menu being offered on weekdays in their lounge and Nicole Brisson with details of Mother's Day 2024 at Brezza. And Al shares details on the Las Vegas connections to his recent road trip to Southern California, culminating with an interview with Metro Pizza's Chris Decker at Dana Point's Truly Pizza (his California collaboration with Las Vegas' Michael Vakneen and Metro's John Arena). Al and Gemini also discuss recent meals from 00 Pie & Pub, Makers & Finders, Mint Indian Bistro and HaSalon. And they share news on Toasted Gastrobrunch, Cinco De Mayo, Vegas Unstripped, the Revelry Culinary Festival and Chefs For Kids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Decker worked for 26 years under John Arena at Metro in Las Vegas, but now he's the guy in charge at Truly Pizza in Dana Point, CA. They offer two very distinct styles of pizza and both are incredible. Chris and his crew are going to be featured at Pizza City Fest LA this weekend, where they'll be showing off a very unique pie. He previews it for us on this week's show. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pizzacity/support

The best part about running your own show like this is being able to decide who you highlight and have on. In an industry with so many people constantly working hard to deliver great experiences to guests, it is hard to tell every story out there, but I can try. In this episode, my friend Brandon Howard joins me. Brandon is a great bartender and friend, and can be found behind the stick at the ever-popular StillWater Spirits & Sounds in Dana Point, CA. This bar/restaurant/live music venue is a South County staple, and Brandon handles his duties there with some serious skill. We sit down to talk about his time in the industry, day-to-day life at StillWater, and why he is exactly the type of person this podcast was designed to highlight - enjoy!The Best Ceats Podcast brings unprecedented access to the Orange County hospitality industry each and every episode. Bringing you the best stories, and the people behind them with every interview, The Best Ceats Podcast showcases the very best of Southern California's bars, restaurants, and beyond.You can find more information at https://thebestceats.comFollow Host Crawford McCarthy at https://www.instagram.com/thebestceats/To support content like The Best Ceats Podcast, as well as gain access to the exclusive bonus episodes, and more, please consider supporting The Best Ceats, at: https://patreon.com/thebestceats To learn more about Ali Coyle, as well as her debut track “Trust Me,” please see her official website: https://alicoylemusic.com To find out more about our sponsors for this episode, please visit the following:https://www.heirloompotager.com

Doug McHoney (PwC's International Tax Services Global Leader) is at PwC's International Tax Conference in Dana Point, California with Dr. Alexis Crow, PwC's Geopolitical Investing Practice Leader. Doug and Alexis discuss the recession outlook and economic activity, the impact of inflation, central banking policy, including interest rates, commercial real estate and financial stability, currencies and the future of the US Dollar, energy transition, the US election outlook, and outlooks for some significant economies, including Japan, India, Singapore, Brazil, the Middle East, and Europe.

On Today's Menu: John is now The Prolix Purveyor of Palate-Pleasing Opinions Consistency at restaurants Ocean Prime vs. Don's Prime Does Luger's meat still stand out like it did before? Charging for bread service? Hard no. Sam dragged John's reluctant ass to Bavette's… Burgers are recession-proof The Crudo King went on a crudo crawl Croissant bake-off coming soon… John returns to Piero's & actually eats Does nostalgia have a place for why you go to restaurants?  Don't get drunk before you go to a good restaurant This week's micro-aggression… mini Tabasco bottles Food News You Can Use: Esther's Kitchen - March 28, 2024, is ‘James Trees Day' in the City of Las Vegas per Mayor Goodman, who gave him a key to the city this week Yukon Pizza founder & owner, Alex White, declared World Champion Pizza Maker - Non-Traditional category this year at Pizza Expo Fun fact: Traditional Pizza was won by Sergio Balderas of Truly Pizza in Dana Point, which 00 Pie & Pub Mike Vakneen is a co-owner of with John Arena and Chris Decker of Metro Pizza Evel Pie declared #1 Pizza Place in Las Vegas by… drum roll… Trip Advisor Nightmare Cafe closed Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville closing on April 15 Trevi Italian Restaurant closed overnight to make room for retail Emmitt's Vegas opened end of last month but did a VIP Grand Opening on Thursday Rick Bayless to open Tortazo restaurant at Caesars Palace LA VECINDAD Cantina is open! Leños Restaurant to open this year in the historic commercial center Suzuya Patisserie is planned to take over the space where Half Bird was on Spring Mountain Recent Ventures & Spots Mentioned:  Bavette's Steakhouse & Bar Mijo Modern Mexican Esther's Kitchen 1228 Main Las Vegas Esther's Kitchen (Brunch & Dinner) Cafe Breizh The Legends Oyster Bar and Grill Lucky House Seafood Restaurant Piero's Italian Cuisine Mott 32 Las Vegas Ocean Prime Restaurant Peter Luger Steak House Don's Prime Aroma Latin American Cocina The Golden Steer Steakhouse LA Food: Dan Tana's | Italian Restaurant Totoraku (Secret Japanese Steakhouse) Dupars Burger Crawl - Hinano Cafe (Venice) & Heavy Handed (Santa Monica)

The show kicks off with Toby sharing his experience at the ROTH Conference this week in Dana Point, California. We discuss how institutions are beginning to look at cannabis, but it will take federal reform for most to spend more time and resources on due diligence. Jesse and Morgan also talk about things it takes to win in the difficult California market. TerrAscend Executive Chairman Jason Wild and CEO Ziad Ghanem join the show to cover their most recent results. The team provides an overview of the quarter, including a conversation about the cultivation issues in Maryland. Ziad shares his insights on how the wholesale business is evolving, with New Jersey showing significant strength. Toby asks about tax strategies and Jason explains how they are treating past 280E payments and the plan moving forward. The conversation concludes by talking about opportunities in Ohio and whether TerrAscend is considering Florida if adult use ends up on the ballot and ultimately passes. Finally, the show ends with an Ask Grok that you won't want to miss!

Doug McHoney (PwC's International Tax Services Global Leader) is at PwC's International Tax Conference in Dana Point, California with former House Ways & Means Chairman Dave Camp, now senior policy advisor in PwC's Washington National Tax Services. Doug and Chairman Camp discuss his political career, drivers behind US tax policy, how Congress negotiates tax legislation, the expiring provisions in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA), the prospects of Congress implementing Pillar Two in the years ahead, and how companies can get involved in the tax legislative process.

Join us on today's podcast as Christine MacMillan engages in a heartfelt conversation with Vineeta Dhillon, a remarkable woman whose journey from India to the USA in 1986 is a testament to resilience and determination. Currently calling California home, Vineeta has dedicated nearly three decades of her professional life to the esteemed maritime academy, finding immense joy and purpose in her contributions. But Vineeta's impact doesn't stop there—beyond her role at Cal Maritime, she immerses herself in the world of watercolors and has authored and illustrated five captivating children's books. One of her proudest creations, "The Mermaid Who Became a Captain," pays homage to the remarkable alumna Shireen Shipman, with proceeds from its sales supporting a scholarship on campus.Vineeta and Christine delve into the inspiring journey behind the Women in Maritime Leadership Conference at Cal Maritime—a significant annual event now in its 13th year. Stemming from a powerful moment at a Women in Leadership conference in Dana Point in 2011, where the synergy among women addressing workplace gender inequities was palpable, Vineeta recognized the need for a similar empowering environment on their campus. Despite her role as the contracts and risk manager, she took the bold initiative of reaching out to various student groups to understand their unique needs. With unwavering determination, she secured funding directly from the President to create a space for students to experience the same synergy, fostering conversations, inspiration, and mutual support from successful women in their respective fields.Have a Listen & SubscribeThe Women Offshore Podcast is available on Apple, Google Play, and most podcast apps. Remember to subscribe to your favorite app to avoid missing future episodes.**Did you know that all these captivating podcasts are created and managed in-house? Our dedicated team at Women Offshore puts their hearts into bringing you inspiring and valuable stories every episode. None of this would be possible without your generous support throughout the year. Your contributions enable us to continue our mission of empowerment and advocacy for women in the maritime industry. Every donation, no matter the size, makes a significant difference in our ability to amplify voices and create positive change. Join us in making a difference and spreading awareness by donating today. Together, we can chart a brighter future for women offshore. Click the link below to contribute!**https://womenoffshore.org/donation/

Episode 73 with Thomas Campbell, skateboarder and multidisciplinary artist from Bonny Doon, California.Together we discussed his life and career, from him growing up in Dana Point, CA and picking up his first board in the late 70's to shooting photos, making zines, painting, sewing, making full-length skate and surf films and much more through surprise questions from life-long friends of his: Joe Lloyd aka “Xeno”, Max Schaaf, Damon Way, Julian Dykmans, Ed Templeton, Evan Smith, Dave Aron, Tobin Yelland, Sergej Vutuc, Sean Cliver, Eric Swisher, Chris Colbourn, Jaime Owens, Tommy Guerrero, Andre Razo, Andy Jenkins, Skin Phillips, Jai Tanju, Fred Mortagne, Madars Apse, Todd Francis, Benjamin Deberdt and Josh Stewart.(00:13) – Intro(01:25) – Joe Lloyd aka “Xeno”(04:36) – Max Schaaf(08:25) – Damon Way(10:19) – Julian Dykmans(12:57) – Ed Templeton(23:02) – Evan Smith(24:05) – Dave Aron(25:49) – Tobin Yelland(35:29) – Sergej Vutuc(38:52) – Sean Cliver(41:08) – Eric Swisher(41:49) – Chris Colbourn(45:52) – Jaime Owens(48:41) – Tommy Guerrero(50:27) – Andre Razo(54:35) – Andy Jenkins(56:45) – Skin Phillips(01:03:38) – Jai Tanju (01:05:06) – Fred Mortagne(01:11:15) – Madars Apse(01:12:06) – Todd Francis(01:14:23) – Benjamin Deberdt (01:27:32) – Josh Stewart(01:38:00) – ConclusionFor more information and resources: https://linktr.ee/beyondboards

Our guest this time is Danielle Cobo. Danielle began her first entrepreneurial endeavor at the age of seven years of age and never really looked back. Born and raised in Orange County California, Danielle attended college obtaining a BA degree in communication with a minor in psychology. After college she began a career in sales where she proved highly successful. Along the way she managed a low performing team she turned into a highly successful one which earned her the title of “Regional Manager of the Year”. She also has won four Sales Excellence awards. Danielle knows how to work and excel even in highly stressful situations. In 2020 Danielle made the decision to leave her corporate career as she felt it was best for her life as well as the lives of her husband and twin boys. She will tell us about that and discuss her values of how she feels she, and probably in fact many of us, aught to better make use of our time. As you will hear, she has strong family and personal values. At the beginning of 2021 Danielle began to write posts on LinkedIn that soon lead her into a teaching and counselling career she promotes today. She is a coach and a highly knowledgeable leadership and team expert. Danielle is also the author of a book as well as a podcast, Unstoppable Grit. Be sure to check out her podcast and I hope you will purchase her book. It was just released and, even before its release, it has become an Amazon bestseller. The business acumen Danielle projects is well worth your time to explore in this episode. I hope you like what Danielle has to say. About the Guest: Danielle Cobo a former Fortune 500 Senior Sales Manager, is renowned for empowering individuals with the grit, resilience, and courage to thrive professionally and personally. With over 15 years of corporate experience, she knows how to build high-performing teams that increase sales, productivity, and employee retention. She propelled her team to the number one national ranking, even amid the upheaval of downsizing, restructuring, and acquisitions. Her commendable leadership earned her Region Manager of the Year. Her resiliency motivated her to earn four consecutive national Sales Excellence Awards. Danielle is the best-selling author of Unstoppable Grit and hosts the globally top-rated podcast, Unstoppable Grit Podcast with Danielle Cobo. When her husband, a Blackhawk pilot in the Army, was deployed in Iraq for a year, Danielle learned to balance a demanding job while keeping up with her dynamic duo of thrill seeking 1.5-year-old twin boys. From a 7-year-old entrepreneur to a two-time 3-day 60-mile walker—she defines relentless ambition. Danielle has a bachelor's in communication with a minor in psychology from the California State University of Fullerton, Certification in Inclusive and Ethical Leadership from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business, and accreditation in DiSC Human Behavior from Personality Insights. Inc., and Leadership from Boston Breakthrough Academy. Ways to connect with Danielle: Unstoppable Grit Book: https://amzn.to/3tqhr4t Connect with Danielle Cobo https://linktr.ee/DanielleCobo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellecobo/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellecobo/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDanielleCobo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanielleCobo Website: www.DanielleCobo.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daniellecobo Unstoppable Grit YouTube: https://youtube.com/@UnstoppableGritPodcast?si=EeZHgq4cyZ3PbT9Q Unstoppable Grit Podcast with Danielle Cobo on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ROM7ru95TF06XzKhTcO5V?si=M1eyb3ZvS8C_sjlz2EGbGg Unstoppable Grit Podcast with Danielle Cobo on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unstoppable-grit-podcast-with-danielle-cobo/id1571797640 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 also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. 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, and welcome to unstoppable mindset from wherever you may be. I am your host, Mike Hingson. Our guest today is Danielle Cobo, who has been a very top ranked sales professional has won a number of awards. Now she helps people transform lives in a lot of different ways. And I think we're going to learn all about that. I don't want to give it away. So Danielle, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Danielle Cobo ** 01:48 Well, thank you for having me on the podcast. I'm excited to be here. You   Michael Hingson ** 01:52 have your own podcast.   Danielle Cobo ** 01:53 I do very similar to unstoppable grit podcast with Danielle KOBO.   Michael Hingson ** 01:58 Well, we're not sure I have to come on that someday.   02:01 Yes.   Michael Hingson ** 02:02 Well, that would be fun. Well, now that I've done my invitation to be on your podcast anyway, so let's go ahead and and move on. Why don't we start if you would, by you telling us a little bit about the early Danielle growing up and all that sort of thing? Oh,   Danielle Cobo ** 02:16 well, I grew up. I currently live in Tampa, Florida. But I grew up near you in Orange County, California. So I grew up in the beautiful area of Dana Point right near the beach, which is absolutely beautiful. But my childhood was quite unique in the sense of I was, like many people that was raised by a single mother. However, my upbringing kind of really shaped me into who I am today. So when I was two years old, my mom actually kidnapped me from my father. And I didn't know I didn't eventually really meet my father again until I was 15 years old. So in a lot of ways, my upbringing has helped me develop grit, because I saw this role model of my mom, who was a single mom going back to school who climbed the corporate ladder, working in a fortune 500 pharmaceutical company and being a manager in the early 1990s. And I saw her determination and motivation and her grit and tenacity. And she became such a role model to me to show me what is possible. But in a lot of ways, I also eventually found out that she took me from my father, and it didn't create a lot of resentment. So in anger inside as well. So I would say my upbringing, there was a lot of good aspects, there was a lot of negative aspects of it. But ultimately, it did shape me into who I am today. And it's a part of my story and a part of my life and who I am.   Michael Hingson ** 03:53 Well, I don't know whether it's relevant, but how come she could death you? That   Danielle Cobo ** 03:57 is the question of the hour, I would love to know that reason. Fortunately, unfortunately, for the, my mom passed away March 8 of 2020, and we had a 13 year estranged relationship, and I ended up losing my mom to suicide. So it's always going to be a question that I will always wonder and eventually, I hope that I get to have that conversation with her one day in heaven. But until then, I am just going to kind of assume that it may have been related to her own mental health and maybe some disagreements with my father. Gratefully, I do have a really good relationship with my dad now and he's remarried and have a stepmom and they're amazing support system for me. So   Michael Hingson ** 04:46 enjoy that relationship. He and He offers no insights into all of that.   Danielle Cobo ** 04:51 You know, I believe that the pain of him, the pain of me being taken from him is so deep rooted inside that I believe it's hard for him even to have the conversation. I think there's a lot of guilt associated with it as much as I've tried to reassure him that it's just a part of who I am. But he's not very open about it. Most of the information I've kind of heard is through other family members. The only thing that I do know is that one day he showed up at my house, and I was gone, the whole house was empty. And my mom had moved us to another area about an hour and a half away. My earliest childhood memories, though, my my one childhood memory that I have was when I was two years old, and my dad came to pick me up. And I just remember wanting to go to this baseball game with him. And I remember trying to reach for him, but my mom was holding me back. And so I was crying. And I was, I had my arms wrapped around the trunk of her leg. And I was falling this two year old little girl. And she wouldn't let me see him. I never understood the reason why. And so I'm sure that that played a part in whatever was taking place at that time, but I don't know the answer to it.   Michael Hingson ** 06:15 Yeah, people do things, and not a lot you can do about it at this point now, except move forward. And at least you have a good relationship with your dad and his she said, Someday you'll get to talk to your mom about it. And hopefully that will be a better relationship now. But you know, it got so you, you went to school and all that and you went to college? And what did you get a degree in?   Danielle Cobo ** 06:42 I got a degree in marketing and average communications, a bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in advertising and a minor in psychology. So I actually changed my major, probably five different times in college because I was very ambitious and wanted to study a bunch of different subjects, but eventually ended up with a communications degree. Why   Michael Hingson ** 07:05 works, that's okay. And why communication. So I   Danielle Cobo ** 07:10 always knew that I wanted to be in sales, like I had mentioned, my mom was such a role model for me. And I saw her rise through this corporate ladder and the success that she had, and I had such a passion for sales. My first business that I started with when I was seven years old, and I would go with my mom and my stepdad and go cut down mistletoe down from the trees, near Saddleback Church in California, we'd cut the mistletoe down, and I would stand outside the grocery store. And I would sell bundles, and mistletoe. And that's how I would afford the finances to be able to provide gifts for my family members. So I always had that kind of entrepreneurial sales spirit deep inside me. And I loved medicine, and I loved psychology. And so I pursued medical sales.   Michael Hingson ** 07:58 Cool. So you, again, sort of followed in your mom's footsteps by going into medical sales and pharmaceuticals and all that? Absolutely.   Danielle Cobo ** 08:07 Shoot her career was in pharmaceutical sales. Yeah. And my career was in medical equipment and medical device related. Very related. Yep. Same same industry, but different approaches to business. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 08:21 But at the same time sales is, is sales. And the trick is to learn and adapt and figure out how best to be successful at it and whatever you choose to do. Absolutely. So did you start out right after college going into sales, or did you do other things first?   Danielle Cobo ** 08:42 Yeah, so I actually started working full time when I was 16 years old. So I started in retail sales. Then I worked in the restaurant industry and hospitality industry. And then I had a fun stunt doing the working in the mortgage industry doing home loans before getting my foot in the door for outside sales, which I started in copier sales, which carpet copier sales is very difficult. Yes, a lot of cold calling a lot of door to door knocking was not my favorite. I only did it for six months before the doors opened up for me to transition into dental sales. And that's where I spent five and a half years before transitioning into medical esthetics. Yeah, the   Michael Hingson ** 09:26 the copier industry is is a fascinating one. And I don't know what it looks like today. But of course, back years ago was Xerox versus IBM, and then some other people got into it and so on, but that it was a fascinating world. And I guess he got into it. So several people got into it. But yeah, it was definitely an interesting and very commodity ish sort of sale, even though sometimes the machines were extremely expensive. It seems that way from looking at it from the outside, I worked with a company that's was the developer of Omni font optical character recognition, technology. And then eventually Xerox bought the company. And what they wanted was the technology and not the people, which was unfortunate. I've never been a fan of companies that do that, because they lose so much tribal knowledge, if you will, but companies still do it. So, you, you deal with it, and you go on? Well, so, so that makes it kind of fun. Well, so you've been in a number of different kinds of sales, I'm assuming that medical equipment sales is what you liked the best.   Danielle Cobo ** 10:42 I really enjoyed my role, my most recent role, where I was a senior sales manager in the medical and aesthetic industry. So I did do majority of my career, the first half of my career was in capital equipment, sales and dental and medical esthetics. And then I transitioned into the medical esthetics, where I was leading a team for Fortune 500 company throughout the southeast. And I would say that that was probably my favorite role. And the reason being is because the sales approach was very different than other roles that you might find in medical sales. We were helping medical practices in the aesthetic industry, build their business. So we were looking at ways that they could, we would teach them how to market their practice, we would teach them how to recruit new patients, how to retain their patients, how to get one patients from doing one service to another service. And I really believe the principles and the foundations that I learned has helped me in owning my own business, because I used to teach businesses how to be successful. So I really believe that that helped me have the principles and the strategies and tactics when I decided to go out on my own.   Michael Hingson ** 11:54 Did you always think of yourself, even when you were selling as kind of a teacher,   Danielle Cobo ** 11:59 I've always thoroughly enjoyed mentoring. And being able to see something unique in somebody and seeing it flourish, pouring into them and seeing them flourish and grow, whether it was working with a business or whether it was working with an individual when I was a manager. So I always feel like mentoring and teaching has always been something that I've enjoyed. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 12:22 And I think personally, the best salespeople are really mentors and teachers, I mean, you can try to force people to buy stuff, but if they don't want to buy it, you're not going to get anywhere and the ultimate sales experience is one where you can teach and counsel and guide. And then if you do it right, and you have the product that they need, that'll be pretty obvious all the way around.   Danielle Cobo ** 12:51 I agree with you sales is definitely not about selling a particular widget, it's how can you best understand the challenges and the pain points of what the customer is having provide a solution and deliver value. And that's whether you're mentoring someone teaching somebody or you're in sales and you're working with a customer is how can you find a way to bring value to that particular person?   Michael Hingson ** 13:14 Yeah, and a lot of it does have to do with pain or lack of better getting rid of it, but it is all about value. And you need to find out what value a particular individual has or needs, in order to see how you can make what you have fit into that if it's possible. So it makes perfect sense. So you, you did that for a while, and you kind of progress through if you will the the success ladder, you eventually ended up being a very successful sales manager. Yes.   Danielle Cobo ** 13:49 So I was very fortunate when I was in dental sales, the first five years of my career, I earned four consecutive awards for president's clubs. So what that means is when you're a top performer, you get awarded President's Club, which means you get a paid vacation on the company, which I always thoroughly enjoyed. It's what helped me travel some of the world some of my favorite places I've gone to is through the President's Club. And that was when I was an individual contributor. Eventually, when I went into leadership, I was very blessed to have taken a team who was historically one of the poorest performing teams, we were going through a hostile takeover. And I believed through my approach of heart centered leadership and really understanding the values of what my team want was like, what their values were and how it aligned with the company in the organization's value and building a team. We were able to take it to the number one region in our organization. So we were I was awarded region Manager of the Year which I believe is not just much about me being the manager of the year but it was more about our team achieving that number one goal Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 14:58 and usually is about the team, not an individual. And that's what's always so frustrating with companies that have a successful team. And they reward the manager, but it's not the manager, it's the team.   Danielle Cobo ** 15:13 I think it's combination of the team and great leadership, because you can have a phenomenal team, but a poor manager, and you have a great manager and a phenomenal team. And that's the sweet spot of where success lies.   Michael Hingson ** 15:26 Yeah, and the really high end, very successful team often comes about because a leader knows how to guide people, I've always told people when I was managing them, that the most important thing that I can do is to figure out with you individually, how I can add value to what you do and make you successful. And that's what I should do as a manager, trying to make a team work well. Yeah, yeah. So it's always about adding value. So So how long were you in sales professionally, working for companies and so on all along?   Danielle Cobo ** 16:03 So I was in medical sales for about 15 years. So I left in August of 2020.   Michael Hingson ** 16:10 Okay, now, why did you leave   Danielle Cobo ** 16:14 2020, like many of us experienced a year of a lot of transitions. And for me, I felt like transitions was happening professionally. And personally, for me, I started the year off January, early January, my husband was serving a deployment in Iraq. And while he was in Iraq, I remember this distinct moment of being on the phone with him. And over the phone, I hear Incoming, incoming, take cover, take cover, take accountability, take accountability. And for any of our listeners who have served in the military, you probably know that that means that your base is about to be attacked. And early January, while it's at our national sales meeting, my husband's base got attacked by 13 missiles. And by the grace of God, he was able to come home a few weeks later, and be able to come home and be in a position where he was safe. And we were grateful for that. And as we were trying to come together that I would say that it was difficult for him while it was difficult for us while he was deployed, because obviously put, he was in a whole nother country and I was I had my job. But I was also being the primary caretaker to our twin boys, which were two at the time. So it was a very demanding time period. But that transition home was very unique. I didn't really anticipate how different we were when we came back. I was a different person from him being gone. And he was a different person after serving at war. And so we really had put some effort and intention into reconnecting as a family. And right as we started to find our rhythm. March eighth is when I lost my mom and I lost my mom to suicide. And I was devastated. And I could you as you can imagine, probably got brought up at an another array of questions that I have from my mom when that conversation does happen on day. But I didn't get the time or space to really cope and heal with the loss of my mom, because just a week later, the pandemic hit Yeah. And I wasn't able to go back to California and sort through her things and maybe get some answers to some of my questions. In fact, if anything, the time period that that happened just right after that was a lot of uncertainty with the pandemic and and everything had been shut down. And looking at what is this? Is this going to be our new normal. This is what a lot of us I believe were asking ourselves. And just a couple months after the pandemic and shut the world down. The company that I had been with for seven years, had gone through an acquisition, and it was acquired by another company. And it became a very toxic work culture for where I was at. And so a company that I loved and it thoroughly enjoyed the people that I had worked with, had become so toxic that I in the series of events that had just taken place in my life professionally. And personally. I realized that I wasn't happy, and that I needed to leave. And I didn't know what the next step in my life was going to be. But I knew it was time to say goodbye. And that's why I ended up leaving the company that I was with.   Michael Hingson ** 19:34 And so what did you do? Did you take any time off to figure it out? Or what did you What did you end up doing once you left? Because that's a big step. Needless to say, of course to really decide to leave a company. I   Danielle Cobo ** 19:48 didn't have that next job lined up. So for the first time in over two decades, I was unemployed. And at first I was saying I'm going to get a job right away but Then I realized that it was going to be really difficult for me to show up as the best version of myself in my interviews if I wasn't happy, and I was still having anxiety and anxiousness over some of the events that had just taken place, I needed to not only heal from losing my mom, I needed to heal from that toxic work environment. So I decided to give myself to some time off. So I left in August of 2020. And I gave myself until January 1, to really dedicate some time off and I found myself getting into a healing, a healing technique that I get into, in my book, unstoppable grit is talking about getting into the creative flow. And I love the holidays, obviously, I started my entrepreneurial journey when I was when I was selling mistletoe. So during my time off, I spent a lot of my time, you know, spending time with my husband and my kids. But I hand painted all of the Christmas decorations that are outside of my house, that I still use today. And just that process of having something that I'm passionate about without being tied to a particular outcome helped me process my emotions helped me heal from the inside out, and helped me gain clarity on what this next step of my life was going to look like and whether I was going to go back to corporate or not. So I did end up taking some time off. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 21:32 not makes, you know, that makes a lot of sense. It's important to decompress. And it's important to really assess where you are and think about where you want to go. What was your husband doing? What When did he come back from the war.   Danielle Cobo ** 21:45 So he came back in late January, and he was able to take a few months off. So he's now a reservist. So he works the one weekend, a month, two weeks a year, but he's also a Blackhawk pilot. So he does still work quite a bit during the week for as to maintain his aviation hours as flight hours. But right when I right before I left the company, he had been extended a job offer to work as a project manager for an asphalt paving company. So he started to work. So we were very fortunate that we had one income that we were on. With that said, though, I in our relationship, I was the primary breadwinner. So there was a sense of I had tied so much of my identity to my career, and my job title and my paycheck and 401 K and stock options that when all of that was gone. I felt lost and confused. And I believe that that's another reason why I really needed to take some time to identify what success means to me and define my own version of success versus tying it to the outside of what society thinks that success should be.   Michael Hingson ** 22:56 So did your husband still work in asphalt? He   Danielle Cobo ** 23:00 does work in the asphalt industry. However, he does work for a new company. He's a VP of Operations for a milling company. And   Michael Hingson ** 23:06 he also does his black hawk. Yeah, probably not going to use a black hawk to carry asphalt somewhere, though I bet.   Danielle Cobo ** 23:15 No.   Michael Hingson ** 23:18 Well, so let's talk about this idea of success. Because we always hear people talking about what makes them successful, or they want to be successful. And it's such a nebulous term. And people have so many different views of buy, make a bunch of money that makes me successful. And I don't subscribe to that. I don't mind making money, I would like to make more money. But by the same token, I think there's a lot more to success. So what did you end up deciding that success really meant to you?   Danielle Cobo ** 23:52 To me, I so one of the exercises that I did, and I take people in my book, unstoppable grit, I take people through a series of exercises to help them to define to get clear on what their life's goals are, what their professional and life goals are, as well as getting defining what success means for them. So when I thought about how I may not know myself at this point, when I was going through all of those changes, I didn't know who I was, I remember I tied my identity to my career. So one of the activities I did is I went on Facebook, and I went on LinkedIn. And I said if there was three words to describe me, what would it be? And I was flooded with comments of driven, determined motivated, tenacious, gritty, empowering and Stier inspiring. And I said, so interesting because sometimes we don't see the strengths and us that other people see and us and I sort of that's how people are perceiving me. And this is such a strength of mine. How can I lean into this? Yeah, what are some ways that I could utilize this strength that I have where people feel like I'm inspiring and empowering them? And then I looked at, okay, I took all of these words. And the next step that I did was I wrote my own obituary. And I wrote my own obituary from the perspective of a colleague, and the perspective of my kids and my family. And I started to think of thinking about the words of way people were describing me, at the end of the day, when I when it comes time for me to pass, what do I want people to say, at my celebration of life? What? And it's about what type of impact do I want to make? And that in itself is how I started to really define what success means to me. It's not so much about the title, but I think about the impact of how do I get to make positive change in this world? How are people going to feel when I'm in the room? And when I'm out of the room? What impact is it going to make on their emotional and physical well being. So that's kind of what inspired me to pursue. And then the next step was, when I was working on rebuilding my brand, and I went on LinkedIn, and I started to work on rebuilding my brand, I started to share, okay, I'm going to start sharing inspirational quotes. This is something that people feel like I'm inspiring, well, then I'm going to just share my messages on LinkedIn. And eventually, I started to post quite frequently, and people started to reach out to me, and they started to say, You know what, I really enjoy your posts. I was feeling down today. And your post just lifted me up, or, Hey, I noticed that you have experienced as a hiring manager, will you please provide some perspective on how I can show up in the interview because I started to talk about leadership as well. Eventually, it rolled into people asking me to mentor them. And so I started to mentor people. And the continuous feedback that I started to hear from people was, you really should focus on career development. And instead of looking for a job, I believe that you should start speaking, and you should start career consulting. And that's what transpired into what I'm doing today. I had no intentions of starting a job. I mean, starting a business. In fact, I thought that I was going to be going on LinkedIn so that I could be looking for a job. But I ended up transpiring into two and a half years later, I now do speaking full time, I have a podcast, unstoppable grit podcast, and I have a best selling book, unstoppable grit, and I more fulfilled than I ever have been before, because I get to see the transformation in people's lives. And that is fulfilling.   Michael Hingson ** 27:49 What is your business called?   Danielle Cobo ** 27:52 My business is ironically, its first and lasting impressions. It's when I first started the business when I was doing a lot of career coaching, but I never use it. It's just what it says. Most of my focus in is my tagline is ignite transformation lead with grit and resilience. Wow.   Michael Hingson ** 28:08 That's a pretty good mouthful. Well, so you have been doing it and I gather pretty successful. Are you getting a lot of clients? Are they from all over? I assume you mostly from a business standpoint, do virtual work?   Danielle Cobo ** 28:24 From a business standpoint, I actually do a lot of in person speaking. So either company speaking Yeah. Yeah, speaking, I'll come in and I'll, I'll facilitate and lead leadership programs. So I've got a peak performance leadership program that I'll lead, or they'll have me come in and do speaking. And then from the coaching and consulting aspect, most of that is virtual.   Michael Hingson ** 28:44 Yeah, that's what I was thinking all over the world. Cool. And you work with people all over the world.   Danielle Cobo ** 28:50 Yeah, right. That's one of the benefits of technology these days is just like you and I are having a conversation on two different coasts of the US zoom and some of the other technologies that are available out there have really been able to expand our reach of the people that we get to serve.   Michael Hingson ** 29:06 We you have had to balance a lot of things, you know, you lost your mother, your husband came back you you left your job and so on. And you are also being the caregiver for for two twin boys. How did you balance all of that? It   Danielle Cobo ** 29:24 was not easy. So I I believe that that is you know, what we see on Instagram and social media, people have this perception of this is my life and it's I'm smiling in every picture. I'm very transparent and saying that year that he was deployed was very difficult. There were many times that I was exhausted and I felt overwhelmed. But I knew going into that year that I needed to be very intentional about what was important to me. So I knew that the year that he was deployed, there was a couple focuses that I wanted to enjoy sure if I was able to uphold when it came to prioritizing my family, and I knew that even though I needed to travel every single week, I knew that I either wanted to be there to put my kids to bed, or I wanted to be there when they woke up. And sometimes that meant red eye flights. And sometimes that meant getting really creative with my travel schedule. But if there were times where I was going to be doing an overnight, I always at least wanted to be there. For one of those. I was also very intentional. There'll be times where I knew that I had a manager's meeting, I would be gone for one week. So I'd fly my parents out so that they get to spend quality time with their grandkids. And if I was going to be gone for an extended period of time for work, I knew that I intentionally wanted to ensure that the next couple of days that I got home, was one on one quality time with my kids. So I think if anything, when it comes to creating balance in our lives, and I'm not saying balance is an equal share of time of work, and family, because we do spend more time at work than we do with our own family. When I say balances, how is your soul balanced? Where are you balanced in, in, in your energy, and it all comes down to being intentional about how we're spending our time and who we're spending our time with?   Michael Hingson ** 31:19 You know, you've, you've said a whole lot of interesting things to talk about here. In our world today, we have so many people who are so tied up and work and so on, they say well, I really don't have a lot of time to be home with my kids, my wife when she was still alive, talked about being a teacher, and was a teacher for 10 years. And, and a lot of times, she felt that kids were really not paying attention to her. And what she realized eventually is as she described them, they were latchkey kids, they really took care of themselves. The parents were off, she taught it at Irvine High School. And so the kids really took care of themselves, they took care of each other at home, they even did a lot of the cooking and so on. How do you help people to understand that there's really a need to do a little bit more of a balance to spend more time with your kids.   Danielle Cobo ** 32:19 I live by the philosophy, take care of yourself, take care of your family, and then take care of your customers. So in order for us to show up as the best versions of ourselves, whether it be a spouse, a friend, a colleague or parent, we've got to take care of ourselves first. Yeah. And that means mental, emotional, and physical well being. And then it's taking care of our families. I actually just got off a conversation with somebody recently. And they were asking me to be on a board of directors for a particular organization. And I am very intentional that between the hours of five and 730 are my hours with my kids. That is where my phone is often in another room. I am cooking dinner with my kids, my kids do everything with me. So they don't just sit on the couch and play with their tablets. No, they're with me. And they're cooking, and they're learning and that is our quality time together. And, you know, there's going to be times where I may be saying No, and it's not a no, it's uh, not right now, not right now for this phase of life that I'm in. And that's okay. Because eventually there's going to be a phase in life, where my kids are going to want to spend more time with their friends than it is with me. But for right now, I am going to enjoy every moment while they still want to be little latchkey kids to me, and spend that quality time with them and be intentional about it. So I think that's important for us to remember that these you know, as a parent you often hear the days are long, but the years are short. And they do go by quickly. And you know if I do balance a lot running a business and travel and kids and family, but I always look at ensuring that when I'm looking at my calendar ahead, where's my family time first, and then I work everything around that.   Michael Hingson ** 34:11 I had an interesting discussion just this morning with someone about scheduling time and dealing with time and she said that she spends Well, she does a lot of over committing and she's got to learn and she's working on learning how not to be quite so overzealous and accepting so many things. And I talked about my experience a little bit, especially in the last four years. I've been using my Outlook calendar as a way to really define what I do. So I have meetings, as you know, where we talk about doing a podcast and they're a half hour and I have the actual podcast interviews which are roughly an hour and all of that gets scheduled on the calendar. And I've also blocked off certain times that we don't schedule, or can't schedule, or at least Calendly can schedule and I can schedule something in or I use that time to do things like catch up or eat breakfast or visit or whatever. But if I need to, I can schedule a particular appointment. The other part about the Calendly is that when somebody schedules an interview, and this is I think what gelled with and resonated with her this morning, when I schedule an interview, let's say not an interview, but an additional an initial introductory meeting, let's say it's it noon, my time at 1230, roughly speaking, because it could go a little longer, but roughly 1230, the meeting is over. But nothing can be scheduled on the calendar for the next half hour, which also means that that gives me time to reflect catch up, or whatever. And I really think that doing something to make sure that I scheduled time appropriately. And I learn to manage time is such an important thing to do. And I think so many of us don't do that.   Danielle Cobo ** 36:15 I agree the I love the fact that you are looking at your calendar and managing your time so well by our calendar, because we can put parameters in our calendar that are going to help us create a better be intentional about spending time for ourselves as well as our family. I remember when my kids were in VPK, so they were four years old, and they're going to VPK, they would get home at 1215. So I always blocked out time around 1215, it was always blocked out a half hour, so that I would always be the one my nanny would go pick up my kids. But I would always be the one to open the door and open, like with wide arms ready to hug them so that they walked in the door and that I was the first person that they saw. That only takes 15 minutes. But I imagine that that's probably so impactful that they feel like I'm always there for them. Yeah. And then only was just a few minutes throughout the day, just that I blocked off and having those parameters to do that. It's the little things that make the biggest difference. It's not always about the the quantity of time sometimes because they are kids like her own independence, but it's about the quality of time that we're there for our family.   Michael Hingson ** 37:25 Well, in the other part about his Yeah, kids like their own independence, and so on. But at the same time, if you're all communicating, and you learn to understand each other, then not only can you have meaningful conversations, if something needs to change, or a kid wants to change something, and it may not be the right time, but you can talk about it. Because you've learned to really know each other, which is so important. I want to get back to this success thing a little bit. I assume that when you were in the corporate world success was defined in one way, and you would probably define it differently today. How do you define it now as opposed to how you defined it then? And? And how do you how do you deal with that in the corporate world, when success probably isn't necessarily just what the corporate world thinks it is. But it's what it wants you to think it is?   Danielle Cobo ** 38:18 That's a great question. I believe that success is when our core values are aligned with what we do. And so when you talked about money, for example, and you say there's a lot of people will view success as making a lot of money. Well, to me, I'm driven to make money. But what's the why behind it? The more money I make, the more money I get to give and donate and make a positive impact in this world. So to me, my somewhat my somewhat of my success is making money so that I can make a positive impact. And that's part of my core values is impact. So when you think about what does success mean to you? It's how does your core values align with what you do? And do you feel when it is aligned? Do you feel fulfilled? Because that to me is what when you've have found success? Well,   Michael Hingson ** 39:12 I am curious, also, if we could you wrote your own obituary, what did you say?   Danielle Cobo ** 39:24 Oh, I said, from my kids perspective, from a from my kids perspective, is that I was always there for them, that they felt safe to be themselves and that they can come to me for anything, and then I would support them and believe in them. I think that it's so important as a parent and even as an employer that we create a psychologically safe environment for people to show up authentically as themselves and to be vulnerable and to share their challenges and to have open In discussions and whether it's with your kids, whether it's with your employees, but my hope is that when I show up in this world, people feel like they are seen that they're heard that they're supported, that they're acknowledged, and that they believe in themselves. And that's part of the impact and legacy that I want to leave.   Michael Hingson ** 40:24 When you started your business, I mean, clearly, it kind of snuck up on you a little bit, needless to say, but it it was, in a sense, as you discovered your passion, but how did you make sure that what you chose to do, because of your passion really became and would remain a sustainable business? How do you or do you even separate the two? I   Danielle Cobo ** 40:50 always, when I kind of look at where is my business going? And where am I spending time, I look at kind of where what brings me joy. So I thoroughly enjoy coaching. So I still keep that a part of my business, because I enjoy the intimacy of seeing the transformation, and working with somebody for a six month, year, year timeframe and seeing the transformation over time. But I also like to see the reach that I get to make when I'm doing a speaking engagement. And so when I'm thinking about different programs, where I'm thinking about different aspects of my business that I want to focus my time in, I always kind of gut check it with myself and say, Well, how is this aligning with my core values?   Michael Hingson ** 41:38 When you started your business, what kind of challenges did you have to overcome? Or what were some of the challenges? And how did you overcome them?   Danielle Cobo ** 41:47 I believe that one of the biggest challenges that I had, was this self doubt this inner critic, can you be successful? A lot of times it right, right. In the beginning, people started to ask me for career coaching. And I said, Well, who am I to be a career coach? Yeah. And now I laugh about it. Because I said, Where did that even come from? Because I was a hiring manager for seven years, I look at some of the career coaches that are out there. And they don't have the first hand experience of interviewing people of building high performing teams, they don't have that experience you. And so when I think that anytime that you are experiencing self doubt, look back at some of the challenges that you've experienced, what were the steps that you took to overcome them? How has it shaped me shaped you into the person that you have that you are today? What experience have you gained? And are you continuing to uplevel your competencies and skill sets because even though I do have experience as a hiring manager and building high performing teams, I'm constantly reinvesting in myself, so that I can continue to stay on the competitive and cutting edge of where business is today to ensure that I'm aligning value and where we are today, because the world is always changing. How   Michael Hingson ** 43:09 do you keep up with all that? What do you do to keep up with business and new trends? I   Danielle Cobo ** 43:15 focus a lot of time I dedicate time to listening to podcasts, to reading books to reading articles. I spend time on LinkedIn kind of seeing what the market trends are what people are saying, I have a level of awareness of being able to see trends on different platforms, and kind of hearing some of the pain points that are out in the industry. But I think that it's important that to stay to stay relevant. You've got to dedicate a part of your time in your business and in doing research.   Michael Hingson ** 43:49 Otherwise, you're not able to connect with people because they've evolved right or wrong. And if you don't keep up you haven't. When did you write unstoppable grit.   Danielle Cobo ** 44:03 I started writing the book in May of 2022. No 2022. So it took me about a little over a year to write the book. But then of course, it took some time to go through several rounds of copy editing and content editing and oh yeah, cover design.   Michael Hingson ** 44:21 There is all of that. But but it is out there. What kind of lessons did you learn about perseverance from writing the book that you might want to pass on? There   Danielle Cobo ** 44:31 were many times that I wanted to give up because it was exhausting trying to run a business while being a present mom and spouse and writing a book and I was dedicating 20 hours a week to writing the book in addition to everything that I was doing so I was getting up before my family was getting up and writing and then you know after they'd go to bed I would write and throughout the day would write and I believe that any when it comes to perseverance It is really envisioning what you want the end game to look like, and ensuring that you are consistently checking in with yourself and saying, envisioning, how's it going to feel when you achieve your goal? Because that's going to keep the motivation to keep going. So when I think about what is it going to feel like to hold the book in my hands? How was I going to feel when I start to receive those messages of people who have read the book and say, Hey, Chapter Three really resonated with me, I love the exercises that you walk me through. So I started to envision what people were going to respond with. And that's what helped keep the perseverance and motivation going when I would hit those roadblocks when I would want to give up   Michael Hingson ** 45:43 what made you decide initially to write the book? What got you started down that road? Yeah, I   Danielle Cobo ** 45:49 initially, I felt like, I wanted to have a voice. And when I towards the tail end of me working with the organization, and it was a toxic work environment, I didn't feel like I had a voice, I felt like I was very much so kind of pushed down. And I had done so much work, to help me move past some of those challenges that I had throughout my life. And I was like, if I have experienced some of these challenges, and I've found tools that have helped me, I wonder if there's other people out there that it will help them. And that's really what inspired the book. And when I always kind of there was times where I would always gut check myself and say if I can, if I can, if the book can change one person's life, at the end of the day, that will be worth it. And if anything, it was a very healing process to go through. There's a lot that you discover about yourself and the why you do the things that you do when you write a book. Yeah. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 46:52 a lot to be said for that, then writing a book isn't easy. I can say that with experience, but at the same time, it is fun. And especially then once it comes out has sales been good? Has the book been pretty successful? Yeah, the book   Danielle Cobo ** 47:09 hit best seller within its first week. So it hit best seller for job hunting, best seller for women in business, and then top new release for motivational self help. That's on Amazon. That's on Amazon. So and it doesn't actually fit ship until February 21. So we're still in pre launch. Wow,   Michael Hingson ** 47:30 that's pretty exciting. So did the publisher do it? Or did you self publish?   Danielle Cobo ** 47:36 We self published. Okay. Hybrid publishing.   Michael Hingson ** 47:38 Hybrid publishing? Well, that's fair. That's cool. Well, going back to what you did, you left the corporate world, you started your own business that has to have occurred, in part because you've had to probably you had to change some of your your mindsets. What's kind of a big mindset that you shifted, when you went from corporate to being your own entrepreneur,   Danielle Cobo ** 48:04 I believe the biggest mindset shift that took place was refocusing. And seeing seeing the impact do you get to make on like, focusing on the team level, but then how can you create transformation in a shorter period of time, because when you're working with a team, you get to work so closely with them. And however, but when you're doing like a keynote speech, you may get them for you may get to work with them for an hour, so you may get to, and then also, you can continue on with doing workshops. So it's these kind of micro moments within people's lives, and how can you make the biggest impact in those short periods of time? Now, that was a shift for me. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 48:52 Because you were working with teams, and you could either delegate or you all work together, but it became more of just you, as opposed to having the same kind of team. But on the other hand, one of the things that I found and being a public speaker is that learning about the audience as much ahead of time, and doing the things that I did, I also discovered that, in reality, when I'm giving a speech, I'm talking with the audience, they're really part of the team.   Danielle Cobo ** 49:26 Great perspective, they really are,   Michael Hingson ** 49:29 they really are part of the team and, and I value that, that they really need to be so I never believe that I talked to an audience, I need to be able to talk with an audience and I will find ways to interact and give them the opportunity to interact when I speak as well because they are a team. We are a team. Yeah,   Danielle Cobo ** 49:48 no one wants to be talked to right they want to be involved in the conversation. I think those those days of standing on stage and just talking to the audience is probably surpass People want to be, we know from research that when people are in are involved in the process, the learning process, whether they're repeating the information, they're writing it down, they're getting up, they're standing up when they're involved in the process. And they're going to retain that information at a higher level than if they're just sitting and listening and trying to digest it. So I believe I'm in agreeance, with you that getting them involved and having them be part of the team is, is where, where the industry is going at this point, and what is going to best serve the audience. I've   Michael Hingson ** 50:34 also found that, like a lot of times when I'm doing meetings, or when I'm doing a keynote speech, and then when I've observed other people doing speeches, they'll have a bunch of slides, or they may even have material to hand out. And the problem with that, that I see is, slides actually separate you from the team and handout separate you from the team, because people are focusing on the slides on the handouts. And they're not focusing on what you have to say, and there needs to be a better way. Or we really need to be a little bit smarter about finding a way to make sure that when we're speaking with that were really speaking and they're listening, and let the handouts and slides serve a different purpose. Perhaps later.   Danielle Cobo ** 51:22 Yeah, that's an interesting perspective. Because I believe that people learn in various ways. Yeah, I'm one of those people that loves handouts, because I love to take notes. In fact, sometimes when there isn't time where I can't take notes, I get frustrated. So I enjoy handouts. I like to take notes, I like visual presentations. Now I'm in agreeance, with you if a visual presentation is, is if the speaker is relying on the visual presentation to give this speech, then they're not using it for the right way. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yep, exactly. So the presentation is a complement to the keynote to provide a visual representation of the principles that they're teaching. But it is not the speech. So I believe it's important that as speakers, we really understand, like you said, understand your audience, and tailor your approach to the desires that they have and what they're used to. I've worked with some organizations where that's an expectation that there's a PowerPoint presentation to go along with it. And then I've worked with some organizations where they've said, No, we prefer not to have a PowerPoint presentation. So seeking to understand what your audience's needs and wants and desires are is important. As a speaker, I   Michael Hingson ** 52:31 have done a number of PowerPoint presentations, although in a lot of the speaking I've done lately, I haven't. But I like sometimes to do PowerPoint presentations for a different reason, actually. And that is nobody expects a blind person to do a PowerPoint presentation and being able to point to the screen. And what I love to do is when I'm doing a PowerPoint presentation, I will actually in my script, have all the information about where different things show up on the screen, and literally can point over my shoulder to whatever it is that I want to draw people's attention to. But my my best example of how successful that is, for me as a strategy is that I gave a speech once or a presentation once and was doing a PowerPoint show. And somebody came up afterwards and said, We're mad at you. And I said why? And he said, well, because usually when people do the kinds of presentations that you're doing, they're first of all, very boring. Second of all, they focus more on looking at the screen, and they're either reading just from the screen, or they're they're trying to see where they're pointing, and so on. And they're not paying attention to us. And so we fall asleep. You never looked away. We didn't dare fall asleep. We forgot you were blind. Oh,   Danielle Cobo ** 53:44 that's a good compliment. Well, I   Michael Hingson ** 53:46 was. But I also said, well, even if you had it doesn't matter, my dogs down here taking notes. So we would have Gotcha. But but you know, it's it's true. And all too often we rely on visual aids and miss the value of having that greater interaction with audiences. Yeah, which I think is important.   Danielle Cobo ** 54:06 Yeah. I'm glad that the that the way that the industry is moving now, is that more interactive presentations? Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 54:15 What would you advise someone? Or how would you advise someone who's kind of at a career crossroads, and they want to move toward their passion or doing something different kind of advice do you give them one   Danielle Cobo ** 54:26 of the advice that I give them, because I continue to hear through the pandemic, we went through the great resignation. And one of the barrier that I keep continuing to hear from people is I want clarity, I want clarity. So one of the exercises that I take people through in my book is take your resume, and then take a piece of paper and on your resume and look at your resume and write down three aspects of each job that you've had. What did you love about that job, and what did you dislike about that job? And as you're going through each of the roles that you've had throughout your career, you may see a theme that comes out, I really enjoy these aspects. And there's a theme throughout each of the roles that you've had. That might be one way of getting some clarity on understanding what your passions are. Think about when you're at work. When are the times where you enjoy the most like you get energized when doing a particular role, wrap, task or responsibility. That's another way of seeing where your passions lie. Look at where your hobbies are. And then how could you turn those passions, those hobbies, the role, the particular aspects that you currently do in your current job? And what you like about it? How could you possibly find a job that aligns with it? Or start a business that aligns with it?   Michael Hingson ** 55:49 What's next for you? What is your future going to look like? What do you want to do for the next part of your life? Do you want to learn to fly? Or do you want to fly a Blackhawk? But anyway,   Danielle Cobo ** 55:59 I have no desire.   Michael Hingson ** 56:02 Has he ever taken you for a ride?   Danielle Cobo ** 56:05 No, he has not require him in me that would meet require me joining the military and I have no desire. I have the utmost respect for the military. But I I've served enough as a spouse, I do not want to join. Okay, okay. What's next for me is I do see the possibility of writing another book. So I'm working on a workbook that complements the book, I do see that and I just continue to be flexible and seeing what resonates with the readers. And that's going to be the direction of where my business goes.   Michael Hingson ** 56:36 You're going to continue being an entrepreneur doing what you're doing, and you're enjoying it way too much not to. Yes,   Danielle Cobo ** 56:44 I mean, I owe that the thought process does go through my mind of what would it look like to go back to corporate, there's an aspect of missing the steady paycheck and the Commission earnings and 401k and company current stock options. I was very blessed. I had a very lucrative career when I was in corporate. But every time I think about that, I go, am I willing to take that and trade it for something that every single morning even though sometimes it feels like I work more now than I did when I was in corporate, it doesn't feel like work because it feels like I'm just doing my hobby because I'm so passionate about what I do. And and I'm not willing to give that up at this point. And the freedom that I have with my family. You know, now because I'm not tied to a particular company, I get to travel with my kids, I could go to California and my parents could take them for a day while we're out there for a week. And I work that day and I take the rest of the time off during the week. In fact, every time I go to a National Speakers Association Conference The following week, I take my kids out to California for a week and we get quality time as a family. That flexibility I really enjoy at this phase in my life right now. That's cool.   Michael Hingson ** 57:59 Well, if people want to learn more about you, maybe explore letting you or having you coach them and so on. How do they do that?   Danielle Cobo ** 58:05 The best place to find me is to go to my website, Danielle cobo.com. And you can also find me on LinkedIn and then of course pick up the book unstoppable grit on Amazon.   Michael Hingson ** 58:15 And Cobo is C o b o Yeah, think   Danielle Cobo ** 58:18 of the Cobos are going to Cabo. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 58:22 there you go. Oh, an A and when are you going?   Danielle Cobo ** 58:25 No, I wish, you know, think about the military that continues to put some restraints on where he can go. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 58:34 and when Yeah, so that's fair. Well, I want to thank you again for being here. And I want to thank all of you for listening to us. I hope you've enjoyed this. I would really appreciate it if you give us a five star rating wherever you have heard our podcasts wherever you're listening to us. We appreciate your five star ratings and we appreciate your reviews and any comments that you have so please pass them on. If you'd like to reach out to me an email I'd love it. You can reach me at Michaelhi M i c h a e l h i at accessiBe A c c e s s i b e.com. You can also go to our podcast page www dot Michael hingson. That's m i c h  l h i n g s o n.com/podcast. But either way, we'd love to hear from you love your thoughts. And Danielle for you and everyone. If you know anyone who might be in ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. We'd really love to hear from you. We value your your input and your thoughts and appreciate your introductions. So please do it. And again, Daniel, I want to thank you for being here and spending so much time with us. We appreciate it a great deal.   Danielle Cobo ** 59:39 Thank you so much. It was an honor to be on the podcast.   **Michael Hingson ** 59:46 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

We had the honor and privilege to sit down with Hobie Surfshop and help celebrate their 70th Anniversary on Valentine's Day! We popped the bubbly with Kris Carlow, Buck "BUCKZASTER" Barry, Mark Christy, Jake Schwaner, and the most interesting man in the world, the legendary pioneer of Surfshops Dick Metz. Unfortunately we ran out of time but will have another episode soon! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Airbnb hosts in unincorporated L.A. County may soon be barred from renting out homes unless they live in them. L.A. City Council's District 4 race heats up with incumbent Nithya Raman. Mansions in Dana Point are at risk of falling into the ocean after a landslide.  Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.com.  Support the show: https://laist.com

Welcome back to Pizza Quest. On this episode, Peter talks with one of the fastest rising stars in the pizza firmament, Michael Vakneen, co-founder of Truly Pizza in Dana Point, CA (near Laguna Beach), partnering with pizza legends Chris Decker and John Arena. Michael is also making some of the best pizza in Las Vegas at his Double Zero Pie & Pub. He consults and he competes, winning many of the championships he enters (he's a member of the World Pizza Champions team), working at the highest level in nearly every style of pizza. In short, he is a pizza genius, as well a successful businessman and consultant. Hear all about Michael Vakneen and his quest for greatness right here on this episode of Pizza Quest.Click here for the video versions of Pizza Quest. If you count on HRN content, become a monthly sustaining donor at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.Pizza Quest is Powered by Simplecast.

Biggest losers in Newsom's budget plan. 3 Fullerton churches partner to start mini-loan program to prevent people from going homeless. Beachfront living dreams wiping out? Dana Point plan shows building challenges on the coast. U.S and British militaries launch massive retaliatory strike against the Houthis in Yemen. Who are the Houthis?

@taylorawelch kicks off the show from Dana Point, California, where he's pumped about an event with entrepreneur pals. Fielding questions from the flight, he dives into the first one about balancing family and business priorities. Taylor opens up about his own journey, emphasizing the importance of aligning words with actions. As the questions keep coming, he shares insights on spiritual experiences, shifting priorities, and the mindset behind running successful businesses.IF you enjoyed the show please leave us a review to help push this message to more listeners around the world!Please visit Taylorawelch.com to access all of Taylor's socials and content Text Taylor: 615-326-5037Daily Mind Medicine is back!Chapters: (01:16) - The struggle for alignment.(02:04) - Making real decisions.(02:41) - Influencing life perspectives.(03:15) - From a business-focused life to a lifestyle focus.(04:58) - Balancing risks.(05:43) - Shifting mindset.(06:08) - Most counterintuitive lesson.

John TomlinsonBoard MemberFormer City Council member and Mayor of the City of Dana Point. He has served the Southern California Community for the last 15 years by serving on numerous for Profit and Non-Profit Corporations and OrganizationLINKS:https://nonprofitarchitect.org/combat-vet-vision/https://www.facebook.com/iconutilityservices/photos/pcb.3282304212030773/3282304082030786/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqvd5sUEtC9xkm7ejGNK5Zw/featuredhttps://www.facebook.com/aqseiberthttps://www.facebook.com/CombatVetVisionEmail: Aqseibert@yahoo.comThe Warrior Built Foundation - https://warriorbuilt.org/The PTSD Foundation of America - https://ptsdusa.org/Virtual Office(Come see me) Virbella.comSponsorsSitch Radio - https://sitchradio.com/If you would like to become a sponsor or advertiser Call Sitch Radio (714) 643-2500 X 1Be part of the solution or the problem.PTSD FOA Warrior Group Chaptershttps://ptsdusa.org/about-us/chapters/

For the past 14 years, Awakening Code Radio host Michelle Anderson has been hosting private chartered dolphin-boat experiences out of Dana Point, CA. In this show, we talk about our most recent excursion, where over a thousand local dolphins playfully engaged with the boat and everyone on it. This trip was a standout experience full of synchronicity and joy, which we're sure you will feel as we recap the highlights with in-studio guests, Acjachemen Spiritual Elder, Adelia Sandoval, her wife, Mariah and Gary Christmas. Call in guests, Evan Perman, Heather Taylor/Ben D'Amico, Adrian Vallera and Dawn Connelly.

Surfer, artist, and filmmaker Thomas Campbell's unique perspective was informed by upbringing in Dana Point, California, his background as a skateboarder, and his experience serving as editor of Skateboarder magazine in the 1990s. His films The Seedling (1999), Sprout (2004), and The Present (2009), which function loosely as a trilogy, aestheticize surfing on the basis of its inherent capacity for playfulness, beauty, and style, standing in contrast to a society increasingly dominated by industry and consumption. Today, Campbell continues to work as a practicing filmmaker, artist, and producer, and is currently preparing for an upcoming solo exhibition at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. In this episode, Campbell sits down with show host Jamie Brisick to talk about the divergent cultural possibilities between surfing and skating, the importance of having a strong work ethic, being driven by curiosity, the surfing industrial complex, and finding creativity in quietude.

This week, we had an insightful discussion with Michael McLeavy, a renowned singer from Glasgow, Scotland, who shared his musical odyssey, from forming his own rock band to touring extensively. In the journey of life, it's often our passions that guide us towards a fulfilling career path, and his story is one of determination and seizing opportunities, a testament to how impactful inspirations like Elvis Presley can shape our style and vision. Tune in to hear more about how Michael and his ventures brought him into contact with notable personalities within the entertainment industry, further expanding his network. A key takeaway? Be open to new experiences, as they may lead you down unexpected paths filled with potential growth opportunities. In this Episode: The Birth of a StarRocking the WorldLights, Camera, Action!A Beautiful Bond: A Relationship with Sharon TateMeeting an Icon: An Encounter With Elvis PresleyIsland Life and Hustle: Work Experience In HawaiiWisdom Gained Along The Way: Life LessonsAbout Michael:Michael McLeavy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and his journey in the world of music began with the renowned Rock N Roll band "The Fireflies." He Came to the United States to further his career and to meet Elvis Presley in person. His fortune smiled upon him as had the incredible opportunity to spend the day with him on the set of one of his movies “Spinout” and backstage at the International (Hilton) in Las Vegas. Notably, Michael had the privilege of performing the American, Canadian, and British National Anthems at the Highland Games in Dana Point California August 24th and 25th 2013. Also, he had the distinct honor of delivering both the American and British National Anthems at the British American Business Council Orange County on December 2nd, 2016. Michael has lived in Dana Point with his wife Linda since 1989.He is an Entertainer and just released his latest CD "Try A Little Kindness" recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.You can find him here:https://www.facebook.com/michael.mcleavy/Listen to his music on Spotify here:https://open.spotify.com/artist/22Pvk4TXENi60w1RoN3gtvwww.GaryScottThomas.com

Dr. Bob Sears is a father of three, grandfather of two, author, podcast host and practices pediatrics at his office in Dana Point, CA. He discusses when one of his professors at Georgetown told him not to trust pharmaceutical reps, the medical board attacking him for not supporting the child vaccine schedule, how Covid exposed big pharma and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!!     Video Version of show Rumble- https://rumble.com/v32msb0-coffee-and-a-mike-episode-649-with-dr.-bob-sears-talking-child-vaccine-sche.html   Follow Dr. Sears Website-  https://www.drbobsears.org/ Website- https://www.thevaccineconversation.com/ Order Dr. Sears book- https://www.thevaccinebook.com/   Follow Me Twitter- https://twitter.com/CoffeeandaMike Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ Truth Social- https://truthsocial.com/@coffeeandamike Gettr- https://gettr.com/user/coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike   Support My Work Venmo- https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3570365208987017385&created=1658667789.4661531&printed=1 Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com

Episode 2470: The Debate From Dana Point; Joe Kent Live