Podcasts about Defy Ventures

Send us a textLevi Belnap is the CEO of Merlyn Mind, where he has been instrumental in driving the company's vision and growth since joining in 2019. Before assuming his current role, Levi served as Chief Strategy Officer for nearly four years and later as Chief Revenue Officer. Prior to Merlyn Mind, Levi built an impressive career in business development and entrepreneurship. He worked for Defy Ventures, served as Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wyzant, and co-founded FindIt, where he served as CEO. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a BA in Political Science and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently resides in Houston, Texas, where he continues to lead Merlyn Mind in transforming educational technology.

What do you do when you have a conflict at your company?  How do you handle that difficult conversation? Or should I ask, do you handle it? Our guest today is Daniel Tocchini, and he is a leadership and culture expert, and he shares with us some best practices for having those difficult conversations. TODAY'S WIN-WIN:Have difficult conversations as soon as you are able.LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:You can visit our guest's website at: https://takenewground.com/#challengesAttend our Franchise Sales Training Workshop:  https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/franchisesalestraining/If you are ready to franchise your business or take it to the next level: CLICK HERE.Connect with our guest on social:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_tocchiniLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantocchini/ABOUT OUR GUEST:Dan Tocchini has been helping leaders bring some more magic onto their teams for over 35 years. He has worked with executive teams from Interstate Batteries and ESPN, to Smarty Pants Vitamins and Impulse Space, as well as with non-profits like Homeboy Industries and Defy Ventures. Dan gives a no-fluff approach by helping transform leadership teams without any pixie dust - just courageous leadership, creative conflict resolution, and relevant restructuring. No conversation is too difficult, no situation too conflicted because a leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history. ABOUT BIG SKY FRANCHISE TEAM:This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team. If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/.The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any business decisions. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Big Sky Franchise Team, or our affiliates. Additionally, this podcast may feature sponsors or advertisers, but any mention of products or services does not constitute an endorsement. Please do your own research before making any purchasing or business decisions.

In this powerful episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Melissa O'Dell, the Illinois Executive Director of Defy Ventures, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping currently and formerly incarcerated individuals build pathways to financial independence. With over 20 years in this work and a decade at Defy, Melissa shares her journey from law school aspirations to leading transformative reentry programs that empower individuals to become the CEOs of their own lives.Melissa dives deep into the importance of personal responsibility, mindset shifts, and second chances, highlighting the real impact of Defy's work— from career readiness to entrepreneurship training. She shares inspiring stories of resilience, misconceptions about the justice-involved community, and the ripple effect of responsible influence in helping individuals reclaim their futures.Join us for this insightful conversation on redemption, opportunity, and the power of human connection. Learn how you can support fair chance hiring, mentorship, and community reintegration.

It's Dental A-Team's last book club episode of 2024! December's book is Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Kiera dives deep (heh) into what it means to work with such intensity in a world overrun with distractions, including layers of cognitive focus, an increase in the ability to master topics, the power of routine and ritual, and more. Episode resources: Find the full book club rundown here! Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01.124) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and welcome to the book club. This is the last book club of 2024. Can you believe it? We are to the last book club of the year. And just as a fun little book club, let's do a year in review of all the book clubs that we've done together this year. So in case you didn't read these books or you need a book or you need to remember the book clubs we did, January, we did the Go Giver. February, we did Crucial Conversations. March, the Noticer.   April, buy back your time. May, high output management. June, come up for air. July, you can heal your life. August, your next five moves. September, die with zero. October, the power of fun. November, who, how. And December, deep work. This is our last one. And like talk about a really fun year that you guys have actually gone through of all these different books. And I hope you've enjoyed them. I hope you've read them. I hope you've enjoyed the book club. I'm excited to...   like, you know, we're doing in 2026, it's still TBD or excuse me, 2025 still TBD. But talk about how many incredible books that you guys have read this year. and just think like that's so much wisdom brought into your life. And I hope you're implementing these ideas. Like I think back to, as we look back, the go-giver remembering to do those simple acts of kindness for people and to notice and to give more value than people expect. Crucial conversations, saying what needs to be said, not like dodging and beating around the book.   or the Bush. Wow. the noticer just noticing people. remember the, the, was either the beach. He was sitting on a beach and eating seafood and was like, I'm on this crummy beach eating this like day old food. And the noticer said like, I am eating surf and turf with a view and just looking at things differently. thought was it such a cool perspective, April, buy back your time. You guys know, I'm obsessed with this. What's your dollar per hour? how can we buy back more of our time and do more of what we absolutely love?   High output management, figuring out how we can actually maximize and be high output consistently within our management team. Really lovely book. Come Up for Air. You guys know I love this one. This was like leveraging systems and teams. I made my leadership team. I didn't make, I had our leadership team read this book. There was so much goodness with Come Up for Air that I loved. Systems and tools, we've implemented so many of the things from that book. Definitely is gonna be on my consistent books to read here over here.   Kiera Dent (02:23.552) The next one, you can heal your life. This one was such a unique one of diving deep into our own personal lives and how can we heal ourselves and heal from the past and letting go of things that are holding us back. Your next five moves, looking at the business strategy and thinking of what do we need to do next and what are the next five moves in our business. Really incredible. Die with zero. I loved Die with Zero. Another book where you literally like live life now.   And it's such a controversial book compared to Profit First. I love the controversy. I love thinking of it, but really die with zero and how can we have more fun in life? The power of fun. you know, remember how to feel alive again and the different areas of how we can make fun and play more a part of our daily life. Who, not how. It's going back to buy back your time. Thinking of who can do this, not how can we do this? Who can we leverage? Consultants, team members.   Delegating collaborating all those different pieces and now today deep work This book to me is such an incredible Like I love it. I love it so much It was recommended to me by a doctor that I'm obsessed with and their team and he's just someone this doctor I feel is able to get so much done and I was like, what do you do? And he said deep work is one of my biggest things and he goes and hides in the library and he Will consistently like this doctor is someone that I feel is such a high   output constantly and just keeps doing it. like his secrets are he's great with time management. He has none of the apps on his phone. So there's no Slack, there's no text messages or excuse me, there's no emails. It's literally just used as a phone. And then he has, he blocks his time. He's very disciplined. He's disciplined with his spiritual life. He's disciplined with his kids life. He's disciplined with his physical life. He's disciplined with his work life. And I'm just so impressed by who he is. And he said deep work was one of his pieces.   So getting into deep work, are four rules. number one is work deeply. Number two is embrace the boredom. Three is quit social media and four is drain the shallows. And what I loved about this book is he really talks about like he, this guy, he was like in his room and he realized when he like locked himself in this room, he was able to like exponentially grow in his career and like what he was learning and realized.   Kiera Dent (04:41.464) that the reason we don't grow as much as we could is because we're constantly distracted. so within Deep Work, it talks about, we blocking time? And you can call this CEO time, you can call this Deep Work time, but like, we blocking time, distraction free, to work on the biggest projects of our organization? And so Deep Work, like I said, you will see in every one of my calendars, blocking out two to four hours per week is what I recommend for doctors. And I'm really big on blocking it during your production time. So that way you actually...   are super focused and super intentional with no distractions. That does not mean you have to be in the office. I actually sometimes recommend not being in the office so you're not distracted, but it's really awesome. There's actually some really cool apps that you can do that lock everything. So when I go into deep work time, you can literally lock everything. So no email, you could set up the apps or the browsers that you're allowed to do. And then literally your whole computer locks out of everything else. So when we get bored, we want to go scroll social media. You can't do that.   And that's where it's like the embracing the boredom that I thought was so critical and so incredible is we embrace the boredom. We embrace these different things because when you embrace the boredom, you push through versus being distracted and wasting away our time. so during it, like literally you want to go check your email and it's shocking because you'll see how often you check your email, check your social media, do all these different things. But the answer is like, we're here to have deep work with no distractions and we're training ourselves.   to become so effective with our time when we're working on these projects that we actually move the needle forward exponentially. And I love this. I love this so much because we are in such a distracted society that we don't get deep work done. So many dentists are like, Kiera, like, I just can't get this done. I'm like, block the deep work, block the CEO time, office manager, same thing. Like this is, and it's not for us to do the little tasks, like the payroll that we know is going to get done or to check. It's like, no, we need to make a operations manual. We need to get that done.   We need to build out new job descriptions and tiers for our employees to move up from one position to the next. We need to go and figure out like it could be CE. For me, a lot of times it's like projections for the next year. It's looking at my PNLs. It's building out for us. Like I've been working, my deep work time has been so focused on building out content for next year's in-person events for our doctors that I hope that you're coming to. If you have not, please sign up. Prices do go up in January. We have promoted the prices through end of year for you guys.   Kiera Dent (07:04.42) giving you, want people to have this be a no brainer. So you actually save exponentially thousands and it is a complete tax write off. You get to come be with us in person. You get to network with peers, but we're going to do, like I said, a strip down from top to bottom of your business. And you're going to have a plan every quarter of what to do plus one-on-one calls with the consultant. And you also get us to help with team implementation. So we're working with the doctor and the team. It's doctors and OMS in person. This has been my deep work. This is what I'm working on every single week. This is what's pushing the needle forward. This is how   as a CEO who's busy, I pushed the most important things forward. And it's crazy because this is, one of my favorite quotes from Jaco Willings is discipline equals freedom. And so having the discipline to do this deep work that Cal Newport talks about in there is just so incredible to me. because really we've got to be digging in, we've got to be working on the pieces that move us forward. We have to be able to focus without the distractions on these tasks. And so like,   It literally allows you to focus and to work without distractions. And they talk about in their like shallow work versus deep work and shallow work is non-cognitively demanding logistical style work often performed while distracted. So think about like how often we submitted payroll while distracted, how often we've answered emails while distracted. We've been slacking like in our company, I make it to where we're in meetings. We have no new standard that...   We are present and that means Slack is closed, phones are shut off, all of our emails are closed and we are present here because it's so easy to be distracted. Whereas Deep Work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive 21st century economy. And so really it's like, in order to produce our absolute best stuff, we have to commit to Deep Work. This is where we have the creative spaces, this is where we have the very Deep Work. Like this doctor I was telling you about who recommended this to me, they have...   Six practices they have grown their practices exponentially their practices are producing Multi-millions they have a leadership team the doctors been able to remove themselves from the practice and it's because I believe this doctor has been working on deep work for years Also in deep work It's the ability to quickly master hard things and the ability to produce at an elite level for quality and speed two core abilities for thriving in today's economy because when we When we teach ourselves not to be distracted when we teach ourselves that we're here to work   Kiera Dent (09:22.99) There's no distractions. Like it's literally incredible. If you guys didn't listen to my podcast with John Jackson from Defy Ventures, who was a prisoner. I hope you guys listened to that. He is someone who has inspired me in 2024, like top people that I've met this year. And I remember him saying like when he was in prison, there was nothing there for him to do other than learn. He was sitting in cinder block walls. There were no distractions he could have.   And he learned and he learned a lot. He learned how to run businesses. He taught himself that and that's why they do this for prisoners, but like, let's not be in prison to teach ourselves how to work without distraction. and in the book, one of the quotes is to learn hard things quickly. must focus intensely without distraction. So if you don't know how to do your numbers, well, are you spending the deep work time to learn how to read a PNL to learn how to do cashflow to learn and listen to different podcasts or books or have a coach or a mentor with you doing this with you.   But really it's there. And then they said, your work is craft. And if you hone your ability and apply it with respect and care, then like the skilled will write, you can generate meaning in the daily efforts of your professional life. So, and then I love, say the key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intention and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimize the amount of your limited willpower. Nessa Nessa. Wow. Necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration.   And when you can master deep work, and I'm not going to say that I'm the best at it. I'm not here to tell you like, I'm incredible. I'm here to say like, I have learned a lot of this. have taken this on and it's true. Like we are so distracted. It's so easy to be distracted. There's even a company called The Brick. And what you do is you can literally brick your phone where like you can tap it and your whole phone shuts off. And it's just a phone like that you can call with. That's the only thing you can do with it. But just think of how much more in life you can achieve, how much more in life you can.   accomplish, how much further your business could grow, how much more you could invest in your relationships if we weren't distracted. And that's not to say there's not a place in time for social media and different things. Like, of course there is, but let's do that intentionally, not distractedly. Let's do that because we choose to, not because it's a habit that we haven't been able to break. Let's work on the big frogs of our business, right? They talk about eat the frog first in the morning, the thing you don't want to do. To me, that's the deep work. Like so much of what I put on deep work, I literally dread.   Kiera Dent (11:46.264) But now with the use of chat GPT and other things, like you can actually move things in deep work so much faster than we've ever been able to do. And so really maximizing this. So like I allow it to be open, but like it's wild. When I lock everything out, I feel annoyed actually. I'm like, but I also am shocked at how fast my mind gets distracted. so to be able, it's like meditation, to be able to help ourselves be so like to me, deep work.   and meditation are training our minds rather than being like, I don't know, it's not manipulated, but guided by a wandering mind. Like I wanna focus and be intentional with my thoughts and with my life. And I'm creating it rather than being managed by it. And I think that that's deep work does is that to me, deep work is exercise for the mind. Meditation is exercise for the mind. It is being able to be this like pristine top performer.   for two to four hours a week and to get the big projects done. And just, want you to think about, let's just think about a practice, a doctor and an office manager who do deep work. I guarantee you like bonuses for your hygiene. So hygiene production and bonuses could get done. Operations manuals could get done. Protocols and reviews of the company could get done. The financial piece could get learned in one year's time doing deep work. It probably would be less than that. You could really go through and write protocols and...   have better onboarding systems. Think about an associate onboarding process. Think about being able to figure out a billing system and process. I mean, yes, of course you can hire us and we have most of that already for you, but just think of all the things you can move forward. Think of the new ideas you could create. Think of the ability to onboard an associate doctor better. Think of the ability to go and look through all of your exams that you did and figure out where did I not do as strong and how can I refine my presentation style.   Think about being able to go and observe your practice and see it in this zone. Like all these projects, think of everything that's big on your list. To be able to set aside two hours a week is just like mind boggling. And then to think if we're doing this consistently, how much more will you actually be able to get done? How much more time will you be able to have? Because you're gonna like check off your checklist pretty quickly and then you're gonna start to go into like new lessons. Like think if you spent two hours a week on chat GPT.   Kiera Dent (14:06.378) learning it and how to use AI better in your practice. How much further ahead would that send you? This is the type of deep work and learning new skills and learning new insights that I think could be absolutely masterful for you. So I loved this book. I love helping offices set this into their schedules. I love helping office managers realize the practice will not burn down with you being gone for two hours. I love doctors realizing this is your CEO time. This is where you review your P &Ls. This is where you look at the numbers of your business. This is where you do your projections for the next year. This is where you do all the different pieces.   is during this deep work time, undistracted, very focused. So I hope you read it and I hope you love it. And I hope that you had a really fun year advancing yourself with professional development of reading these books and expanding your minds and expanding what you believe is possible and turning the impossible into possible. And I really hope that you've just realized how much you've invested in yourself and how beautiful it is to keep   growing and creating and evolving. Life is a journey. These things take time. Mastery is not done overnight. And so I just implore you as you go into 2025 that you truly, truly, truly set aside deep work time. Commit right now that you're going to do it you're going to see how much your practice will flourish. And I promise you will be life changing for you.   I hope that you choose to join us in person in 2025. I hope that you choose to not to keep thinking about consulting, but to execute on it. I hope that you decide to invest in yourself and your team this next year and that you just truly have the best year of your life. I will be getting you guys books to read and I just hope that you know your life is yours to create, not to manage. So let's start creating it through our deep work time. And I hope you guys loved it. I loved reading this, if you can't tell.   And as always, for all of you listening, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.

In this powerful episode, Kiera is joined by John Jackson, executive director of Defy Ventures, Utah. John shares his history as a criminal, the time he spent incarcerated for his crimes, and how he found the power to change. Kiera and John met through a Tony Robbins' Business Mastery earlier this year, and Defy Ventures is one of the nonprofits the Dental A-Team is donating to through its Live to Give program this year. About John: Correctional officials once labeled John “the worst of the worst.” As he served 18 years in prison, John rose through the ranks of his gang by honing his leadership skills. After four years in solitary confinement, John realized that building his criminal resume would only lead him to life—and death—in prison. He made the dangerous and unpopular decision to step away from criminal activity while incarcerated at Pelican Bay, a notorious supermax prison in California. Since his release from prison in 2019, John served as the director of sales and fundraising at Hustle 2.0, helping to scale the organization from two prisons in California to 700+ jails and prisons in 47 states, serving 13,000+ incarcerated men, women, and youth. He co-authored 11 books. The curriculum provides holistic rehabilitation and healing for people in America's most dangerous prisons, offering a pathway to college. John delivered a TEDx at Cornell University about ending the generation cycles of incarceration.   Today, John serves as the executive director of Defy Ventures, Utah, leveraging entrepreneurship to help incarcerated people transform their lives. He uses his story of courage and transformation to create hope for those who have been written off and forgotten by society. Episode resources: Learn more about Defy Ventures Reach out to Kiera Tune Into DAT's Monthly Webinar Practice Momentum Group Consulting Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00.234) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. if you don't know, Dental A Team has a portion of our company called Live to Give. And every single year, our company goes and looks for organizations or places that I believe in that I feel can give a greater impact in this world. We've done a Make-A-Wish for a child who had stomach cancer one year. We have done Stuff for Santa within our communities. We have done   scholarships for people. And every single year we did a coat drive with all of our clients and we were able to give so many coats to cold families. And this year I met an incredible man named John from Defy Ventures. And John was an incarcerated criminal for 17 years. He was at maximum security. He was in solitary confinement for four years and he was sent to Pelican Prison, which is the number one like federal prison in California where it literally is like a resume builder for prisoners, but that is like the top of the top.   He was in gangs and he has actually come out of prison and his five years since his release date. And he has a company called the Five Ventures where literally they help incarcerated criminals turn their skills that they've learned in prison into something good and to build businesses. And it's such an incredible company. It's probably not the one that I ever imagined that I'd be recommending or talking to you about, but.   I'm bringing John on the podcast. John is a dear friend. met him and I just was so inspired by him of who he is as a person. And then also if you want no affiliation with our company with them, but just a cause of Live To Give where we donated as well. But you are able to sponsor an incarcerated criminal if you want to be able to give them the entrepreneurship skills and you're able to give back to an organization that I believe is trying to stop generational crime. The US has actually more in cart.   our 5 % of the world's population and yet we have 25 % of the world's crime. And just watching how our world is going, if there are people like John who were incarcerated themselves and have been able to turn and become a force for good and to be able to do incredible things for this world, it might be something incredible for you. I am literally so excited to bring you guys today's guest. This is someone that I met a couple of months ago at Tony Robbins Business Mastery.   The Dental A Team (02:19.04) little plug we did freaking win john so we are the winners will show you our trophies. Yeah, bring the trophies up. But john was actually the reason that we won and we were helping support his company which is defy ventures. But john has such an interesting story. And literally I had the most life changing experience talking to john and so I'm so excited to welcome john I there's like so much more I want to say about your intro but I'm let you tell your story more than me enjoying you. But welcome to the show john how are you today?   I'm doing awesome. I have a huge smile on my face because I'm really excited. First is good to see you and second to be on your podcast to get to share with you. Getting to share that win on stage at Tony Robbins was definitely a highlight of my life. So thank you for supporting us and all in pushing us to promote while we were there as well. And I think you're back to back. You're on the back to back winning team, I think, two years in a row now. We're technically three for three, John, but   our win this time was the first one I got the trophy for. So thanks for making the trophy happen. Like I won them all the times, but, and it's funny because my friend that I had first, which some of the podcast listeners may have heard Pierce, Pierce had said trophy and we took a picture and he's like, here, I'm just going to take it home and then I'm going to ship it to you. And I was like, okay, Pierce, that's great. Cause Pierce is like freaking seven feet tall. So of course when Tony brought out the trophies, he like grabbed one. I'm not quite as tall.   And so I was like, no problem, Piers. And then Piers did a freaking podcast with me a little while ago. And those of you who watched it, Piers has his trophy right behind us on the podcast. And I was like, I remember that trophy, Piers. John, like this was like, and this we're talking, that was 2019. So this was five years in the beginning. But John, okay, Defy Ventures, you guys, we're gonna go into prison talk. John, I need you to tell your story. I'm gonna let you tell it. I'm gonna ask you like a thousand questions.   I literally felt like I interviewed you before the win. didn't know we were going to win at business mastery. For those of who don't know business master is an event that Tony Robbins puts on and you go to this event. This is actually in 2019. I went there literally skyrocketed Dental A Team to where we are today. but I learned so much about business and what you're doing is you're at this conference. It's running from like, gosh, 10 AM until 2 AM in the morning. Like it's insane. And while you're there learning content, you're also supposed to be building a business within. It is like the most exhausting thing that you've ever done.   The Dental A Team (04:38.688) And John's business was the one that we did this year of DeFi Ventures. And it was so cool. But John, tell your story because I'm not going to do you justice other than the fact that like this man came from one of the craziest prisons and I'm just beyond blown away of who you are as a person and the background story that you have. So John, tell us all like your little history, not little. It's like nuts. And now we're sitting here. You're a free man today on a podcast with me. Like literally the irony and the magic of your life is just inspiring to me.   Thank you. Thank you. I just reiterate, I really am so grateful that we got to share that experience and Business Mastery has been, it has been a force accelerator for me as well. And whether it's through fundraising or just growing the impact that I want to have. So I'm really grateful that I get to do that and get to be a part of that experience. But yes, I'd love to share a part of my story. And I just start from, you're to have some highs and some lows here, but I promise we'll get to the end of it and it's a happy ending.   but it started, like the most striking memories for me, start when I was 11 and it's, you know, from my mom kissing me, tucking me in a bed, kissing me good night and her going to work. she was a waitress at Denny's. worked the graveyard shift. So I get up the next morning and I'm on my way to school and on my way to school, I see my mom's car parked on the side of the road and I go look in and it was her murder scene. So that was.   I was 11 years old. I never knew who my father was. So after my mom was murdered, I went to live with my aunt. And my aunt was a drug dealer. She was an entrepreneur. And she was a really good entrepreneur. She just used her skills in the wrong way. But when I was 17 years old, I was in the car with her. And we both get pulled over. She's got drugs in the car. And I can remember the cop.   walking up and my aunt leaning over and telling me, if the cops find the drugs, tell them they're yours. She was already on probation. So her getting caught with drugs again was going to send her to prison. So I already lost my mom, right? I didn't have a father. I didn't want to lose my aunt too on top of that. So when the cops found the drugs, I lied and I said they were mine. And my aunt watched as I was handcuffed and put in back of a cop car. Now's my first time being arrested.   The Dental A Team (07:06.285) got to jail, 17 years old slap on the wrist, right? If my first time being arrested, I get released about two weeks later, but something that my aunt did was she praised me. She's like, good job. This is what you do for your family and you protect your family. And looking back now, I know like it's the opposite. She's supposed to protect me. First. not, I'm not, I'm not bashing her for selling drugs or doing anything like that, but having me take the drug charge. was, that was something very different.   but I knew at that time, I'm all in like a criminal lifestyle. This is what I'm going to do. And before the end of that year, I'd committed four armed robberies and I've been convicted of seven families. at 17, I was sent to a maximum security prison in California. So that's, that's kind of like, that's another like pivotal moment in my life is going to prison at 17. Yeah. Okay. There's more that comes and John like sitting here, I remember, so I meet you.   Yeah, I had some like biases. You were we're at Tony Robbins, our mutual friend told us about you. And you just told me some things that Tony Robbins you're like curious like K cradle the grave. Like that's the prison lifestyle. So at 17, had you graduated high school? Or were you still a senior in high school? Or school? I dropped out of school. Seventh grade is the last grade I completed. Stop for real. You see your mom. You're like I'm out your aunt probably different lifestyle.   Okay, so 17, you're starting to do all these things. So how does this work? Tell me from 17 to basically like, how what happens next? You like you get involved? I'm guessing criminal lifestyle? Like, how did you decide to go from like, Johnny from the block? was like literally like going to school. Now you're like in full blown criminal, but I might you're gonna take care of your family have no father, have no mother like this is the family. So you're going to adapt to family life. What happens after you're sent to like, how long are you in prison?   And by the way, you guys, I did ask John of anything that, cause I would, I'm so nosy. I'm so curious about this. And when we were talking at Tony Robbins before we ended up winning, I thought it was actually really awesome. Cause I got to hear your entire story even more so. And then we go on stage and we win. And it even more of a magical moment of like, I didn't feel like we won the conference. I feel like we won your life and like to see you have a very different life than like the path that you were on is why I wanted you on the podcast. Because I remember when we were talking, John,   The Dental A Team (09:33.453) like I had actually had a really rough summer. and I had had like some really hard times. And I remember looking at you and I'm like, John loves himself so much. And you have told me some stories and I'm like, if this man can learn to love himself, like you're such an example for all of us of like, you don't have to be on the path that you were set on. No matter what we've done in life, like we can still have these happy lives.   And I just wanted to bring you on for like hope for people, but also like to learn from your stamina and your grit. And then we are also talking about how the prison and the mob, you're like freaking brilliant at systems. Like the businesses they run are freaking genius, just a little bit on the wrong side. okay. 17. have a question real quick though. have a question. You said you had some biases. can you share, are you comfortable sharing what some of those were? Like what do you envision of a person who's formerly incarcerated or gang member or any of things? What pops up in your mind?   I mean, it's a great question, John. And like, it's slightly embarrassing, but I think it's real. You're a male, I'm a female. I'm told that you're coming here and you just came out of maximum prison. How long has it been? Like what? Two years? Five years. Year two, five years. But there's a question of like, has this man really changed? Or is he going to, and like, especially as a female, like I'm very cautious of who I spend time with. And at certain conferences, full transparency, I have had men.   approach me in ways that are just not appropriate. And I felt uncomfortable around men at even some of the conferences we go to, which I think is just a female's life. And I think a lot of female would probably feel that way. So when our mutual friend Casey told us that he's bringing you to this conference, John, I'm not gonna lie to you. I was like, I'm gonna have my like guard up of like, I'm sure he's a changed man. But at the same time, I also don't want to be dumb and naive, especially as a female and like you came from maximum prison security. And so   I know we can have these honest conversations. And then I met you and who you are as a person. And I was like, this guy deserves everything in the entire world. And that's actually freaking what Defy Adventures is about is like helping incarcerated criminals have a life that's real. like, John, like it is scary because some people like the world is manipulative. The world. want to say about that. me say it's embarrassing. I don't think I hope you don't feel that way because I think what I what I see in that is or what I hear from that. That's   The Dental A Team (11:51.501) That's much of what society paints with it. They just take a brush and they just paint it movies and TV and politics and anything else. They're really good at othering and saying, this is just who everybody is, right? Every single one of them are this terrifying, scary human being. And that's just not the case. But we've been so conditioned to believe that. And then you also just to like...   just to affirm your experiences, that is true. As a female, you go to these conferences and men are, put you in uncomfortable situations and that's a nice way to put it. Just total sleazeballs, I guess, can be unprofessional and not nice. And you think, well, if that's a business person, if that's a CEO, if that's this person, what's this person coming out of prison gonna be like? I mean, it's not wrong. It's accurate.   And it's also scary. How do you know to trust them? Right? Because criminals are literally built upon lies. They're built upon conniving. mean, criminals are like the best salespeople you'll ever meet. And so it's like, how do you trust that this person's truly genuine and that they are changed and that they're not going to like rob me or rape me or steal from me or like find out where I live and send a gang after me. Like I think those are real things, but I also think, like you said, a lot of it's the media.   And I also think that that's why it's hard for incarcerated people when they come out to even have a chance in a shot at life, which is why I think it really is cradle to grave, like you said, because society just throws you right back into that. And like there's stories that you hear of people that are in their hometowns, they leave and they become these incredible people, they come back to the hometown and people put them right back into the shadows that they were in before they left. And they never amount to anything. And I actually feel like that's very similar for you, but like,   How do we trust in society of like, are you a good person? Like, are you good or are you not good? I wanna give you the benefit of the doubt, but I also don't want to like be burned and regret my decisions. I think there's ways to do that, right? I think if we imagine like who would wanna be known for the worst decisions they ever made, like if all of our stuff was ever laid bare, I doubt we would ever trust, there would be very little trust in this world if every decision that you had ever made, you, myself or anyone.   The Dental A Team (14:14.829) every lie you ever told, everything you ever was just like, hey, before we start having a conversation, I just want you to read this extended list of all the bad choices I've made. And then let's see if you're to invest in me as a person or you can get to know me. People would probably kick us out. It wouldn't. But it's our judgment, right? And we can protect ourselves. We don't need to give people our addresses and invite them to our homes or anything like that. It's not.   But it does mean that like as an entrepreneur or people who can hire and who own companies, you can interview people. We have processes for that to check background checks and ways to check and see where people are at and see about their transformation and test them before we bring them closer into our fold. No, absolutely. I think it's brilliant. And that's honestly why I brought you on because I think sometimes the biggest critic is ourselves too. so yes, we can be judgmental of other people, but like you said,   I mean, we all have laundry lists that we wouldn't be proud of. I just think criminals are painted in such a bad light. And I mean, for good reason, right? Like there are things that are done that shouldn't be done. But I also think that like you said something so paramount when we were talking in Florida and you said like, because I remember I asked you point blank, was like, John, how can you love yourself with everything that's happened? And maybe you can answer that question for people because this hit me to my core. And I was like, we're gonna have the podcast once so can re listen to this over and over.   But two, think so many people feel this way. I mean, you've done some pretty heinous things in your life, and yet you still love who you are, and you're still one of the happiest people. The light and life that you exude is just contagious. So how did you come to that? How did you come to that realization of, yeah, I've done all these things, but I still love me as John, and I love who I am, and I'm proud of who I am? Yeah. So two things. can have remorse over the things that I've done. I have done.   bad things in my life that have hurt a lot of people and caused a lot of harm and destruction. And first it starts with ownership. But yes, I did those things. It doesn't matter that I was a kid, right? was a dangerous kid. So full radical ownership. But yes, I committed robberies, I hurt people, and I continued that pattern and that behavior while I was incarcerated. The second part is I wouldn't be who I am today had I not done those things. Had I not spent 18 years in prison, had I not done   The Dental A Team (16:38.347) had I not lived that life, I wouldn't be able to use my experiences to serve other people, to help you, Kiera, see that, not all formerly incarcerated people are bad. Like we are, like, please don't paint us all with the same brush. So I love myself. I get to use my story. get to use my experiences to show other people, hey, you can make it to the other side of this. There is a way out. It won't be easy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. And I get to show other people who have never experienced that world, look.   Not everyone is that way. If we give them a chance and we invest in people, can be great. Is that some word on the lines with my answer? Yeah, exactly. I also love like, John, I'm curious, Kay, so you're incarcerated at 17. Is that when you were sent in? How long was your sentence at 17? It was 16 years originally. 16 years originally. Did you get out?   And then back in, because you said you were 18 years in prison, how did this work out? Or did you like just get more time extended to you? I got more time added to my sentence. So when I was originally incarcerated, it was for a 16 year prison sentence. And from the start, when I got to prison, I think you can imagine, actually, so incarcerated 17, made it to prison at 18. And like, it was a consecutive sentence. But when I got there, I engaged in violence, I joined a gang, I did all the things that I shouldn't have been doing.   And that got time added onto my sentence, which was like getting, I four years of solitary confinement for my gang involvement. And it just kept piling up and piling up. But I didn't at the time, I don't have that long term, that foresight to see like, I'm 17, 18 years old. It's 17, 18 years from now, I'm still going to be in prison. That doesn't make any sense. That doesn't register for a 17 or 18 year old at the time.   So basically your life of crime was pretty much just a year of your life. Like if we like really boil it all down, I mean, and it was probably a pretty wild year of your life. And I think getting into the prison, it's like perfect. And then like you and I talked about games. I was getting in trouble. That's somewhat accurate. I got sent to prison because of what happened in that short time period. But I committed more crimes, although I was committing crimes all the way up until my last conviction was actually in 2014.   The Dental A Team (19:00.589) where I felt the conviction. And that's while I was incarcerated. like, I hadn't changed. I was still doing the same things all the way up until 2017 is when I made a pretty radical change in my life. Interesting. Okay. Like I said, I brought John on here. I'm so curious because it's so fascinating to me. Like, I think people just assume that they're going to be how it is.   Like, so when you got put into prison, did you plan like, got it, I'm gonna be here for 18 years, I'm gonna get out and be back in here. Or like, what was the thought process of you're being incarcerated? You've sentenced, you had four years of solitary confinement, and you're still doing things like, is it just like life? that like the job? Is that like the status within the That's what you said right there, it's life. Like, it's like, you know what you signed up for. It's like what you signed up for, it's part, it's just part of the deal, right? Like going to solitary confinement.   Like, so basically when you go to prison and you join the gang, the expectation is like, well, blood in, blood out, you know, until the casket drops. And that is taken literally. It's like, you're in. There is no, there usually is no way out. It is until the casket drops that you die. You like you're born. And for many people, this is an inheritance. They're, you know, they're third or fourth generation gang members. And it's like, I'm going to die in prison one day. That is just, this is what it is. like, Hey, like.   You know what you signed up for. Right. Like that's the compelling feature. This is where I'm at. There's really nothing I can do to change it. So let's have like the best ride. And also like within gangs, like you're being praised for doing these things. So you're getting the reinforcement. You're getting the kudos. Like your aunt told you after you come out for being drugs, like that's what you do for your family. it's like, and I mean, we're raised, we're raised by society. We're raised by what people teach us. And so I'm curious. Okay. So now you're there for your school.   Tell me about solitary confinement. Like, is that awful? I just need to know. Like, how is It is awful. It's awful practice that we use in the United States and we use it on children as young as 13, 14 years old. And it's been deemed by, it's been deemed human torture to put someone in an eight by 12 concrete cell and like no human contact. It's hard to explain. It's hard for people to imagine. They think that,   The Dental A Team (21:22.039) TVs or something will show you that, it's 23 hours a day. That's not true. It's 24 hours a day. And even when you go out to recreational yard outdoor activities, it's just another cell outside of your cell. It's not like a real yard. You don't really go out to see the sun or the grass. It's another concrete cell, but it's just a little bit bigger. that's also...   like the grit and the determination and resilience that like, it becomes a challenge for most people who are back there. It's like, well, you're not going to freaking break knees. Like, so like we used to learn, we learned it's the cell faces. If you just imagine that like right now you're in a cell, there's a wall, there's a small window that faces a wall, maybe like four or five feet away. And that's what you look at for years. And that's really all you can see.   but there are seven other people in a unit with you that all face the wall. So you can talk to people. We learned to play chess. We play chess by memory. Like we have chess boards and we can play by memory, playing chess with each other. We play games and you find ways to, reading, working out, cleaning. It's where you, I really learned a lot of the discipline that I have today was learned in prison, in solitary confinement.   reading, writing book reports, working out every day, getting up on time, having a routine and discipline. I learned all of that in prison through the gang. you feel like, okay, tell me more about this. Do you feel like that routine and all the things you learned from that, like you just said, there was the discipline, getting up, like you had to basically probably build your own routine. I'm guessing the prison, like you're in confinement. No, we have one built for us. So the gang has one built for you. You get up, you have a roll call in the morning. It's like, hey everybody, good morning, time to get up.   And you have a workout, I clean my cell, I get a towel every day, a little shampoo, clean my cell down, make sure my cell is really clean, practice good hygiene, shower, brush my bird bath in there. You have a sink with water, so you just bird bath in your cell and read, study, workout. These things are mandatory every day. These aren't options. Okay. So then it like, which is probably good, it instills it.   The Dental A Team (23:38.173) a routine for you, which I think is really paramount in life. like John, you said, like, where did your shift happen? Were you in solitary confinement? Or when you're in confinement? Are you just planning your next crime? Because like within the prison, that's where crimes a lot of times happen. You and I were talking like, I was like, the mafia and prison, like if it could be used for good, honestly, the criminal mind if it can be used for good is beyond brilliant.   they have SOPs, they have a pecking order, like they've got an org chart, like you and I were talking like, yep, you get a handbook when you show up to the gang, like it's wild to me how they run it. They they're profitable. They know their margins. They know what they need to do. They send people out there. They praise them for work well done. And I'm like, if we can just take that and apply it to business, like it's absolutely brilliant. It's just unfortunately done in a way that's not like great outcomes. So how did you change? Like, was it in solitary confinement? Was it like you said you had a radical shift in 2017?   you're still committing crimes from within prison. Like how did you change John? Because so many people I think would argue like you don't really change. But I remember I attended, I'm very fascinated by addictions. I'm fascinated by the way the mind works. And I actually went to this addiction course for a while and they said you don't change until you're like rock bottom. Like everybody will hit a rock bottom and it's oftentimes not for family. It's not for life. Like, but everybody has a rock bottom that you hit. And when you hit it, you actually change. like,   A lot of people don't even get there. So how did you change? Do you agree with that? Do you disagree with that? I do disagree with that. Somebody has to hit a rock bottom. There's a quote by a homo-incredible guy named Chris Wilson. says, rock bottom isn't a place, it's a state of mind. Interesting. Like you can't go find this place anywhere. But it's in me. It's a state of mind. And it's a decision that I don't want to be in this place anymore. But there's also a really good book that I encourage people to read. called The Stages of Change.   in the trans theoretical model is how change actually happens. And there's different stages of it. There's like, I won't go through the whole thing, but there's like, I'm to, I'm blanking on it right now, but there's like, I'm not, there is no problem. I'm not the problem. And actually you're the problem. That's like the first stage of change. And the next one is like, you have awareness, like, there's a problem, but I'm not willing to do anything about it. I like what's happening right now.   The Dental A Team (25:56.749) So there's these different stages of change. I subscribe more to that model that people will make. We make changes in our life in stages. And for me, had started making, I made a radical shift, but that shift didn't happen overnight. But there was like that spark for me. And it was right after, was when I got sent to Pelican Bay State Prison. And after I out of solitary confinement, I was supposed to be going home.   but it was, it was the day before my birthday, was supposed to be going home. And instead of going home, I was starting another four year consecutive sentence for a crime I committed. And that was the day when I decided I was like, all right, something has to change, in my life. But also like I've been doing, I've been living this life for 15 years. I don't know what else to do. But what did happen was I sat, I stayed back from yard, which is in prison.   You typically don't do that. Yard is mandatory. Just in case a riot or something kicks off, we need everybody on the yard. But I stayed in and that was the first time that I remember ever crying in prison for 15 years. I'd never cried. I lost my uncle, I lost my brother, lost so many people throughout my, and never cried. But I cried that day and that was the first time that I remember really wanting to go home. I was like, this is it. If I don't make a change in my life, I'm gonna die in here. And I believe that I...   I had belief that I was meant for more than dying in prison. And that was the big shift for me was I just believe me that I was meant for more than in prison. Insane. And I think it's so incredible. like, okay, so we talk about it it sounds very fairy tale, right? Like we have this moment where we're meant for more, which John, I'm so glad you said that because I think so many other people have that. And that's why I wanted you on the podcast. This is I love talking to you. Because I'm like, gosh, if John can do all these things and realize he's meant for more.   Like so many other people were so hard on ourselves and like know we're all meant for more. So tell me like, how did you process it? Also being in a gang. I remember when I met you, I was like, I don't even know how you're out in your life because like leaving a gang is usually death. Like there's no way and you're in a very prominent gang. Like how did you, how do you change? How do you get out from a gang where you're like usually killed if you leave a gang? That's why people don't love gangs.   The Dental A Team (28:17.805) But they're so prompt, like they're good businesses, they're good recruiters, like and young boys and like, it's all the things that young, it's all the things that boys and like men want war money, like it's all, it's all there. It's all there. meets the needs, it meets those needs. do a good job. Those needs. We were talking and you're like, they're great at recruiting. Like they literally list off everything you want. They recruit you when you're young and you're not making like intelligent decisions and then you're in it for life. So   You go through this moment where you realize you're meant for more. How do you change? how do you change? How do you get out of a gang? Because I think so many people, you were facing probably one of the biggest uphill battles of any person I have ever met, John. Like, I'm probably gonna write a book about you. Like, I've never written a book, but gosh, like your story is just so fascinating to me because I think so many people would just feel like there's no hope and yet you found hope when there was no hope. Like, I would say that most people would be able to find. So walk me through, how do you transform into the man you are today?   So it was more action than it was anything else. was like, to me, it was coming out and letting my homeboys know. First, giving up positions that I had in prison. I gave up, I was an entrepreneur in prison. I used to run every single business you could imagine. I ran gambling pools, I sold alcohol, I sold drugs, I sold cell phones. I created markets where there wasn't one. That was how I all my money in prison. And I stopped doing that. That was- is also so wild. Can we just pause there? I remember I was talking and it's like-   How do you even do this? And you're like, well, you get to know people. It's like freaking sales in prison. You get to know all the guards. You notice they're having a bad day. You get them to bring this up in. Like it is wild. And I remember we were talking, there was someone else in the group with us and they're like, well, all this happens in prison. I'm like, yeah, I even know this. Like they're freaking run businesses within the prison. And it is like multimillion billion. Like it is a very thriving business. They're very large. They're very scalable businesses. And like I was small time. I made good money, but I, I,   For example, I would run gambling pools. It was on football, baseball, basketball. I even ran gambling pools on the Oscars and what's that? I forgot the name of show, but the Bachelor. I used to run gambling pools in the Bachelor. They would pick who's gonna win and all I would do is take a cut of the money. And I was just a facilitator for people to be able to gamble. But when I would get to a new facility or a new yard, I would undercut whoever was already running, whoever was running these pools.   The Dental A Team (30:43.917) I would just undercut them and I would over deliver. They're charging $2 for a ticket. I charge $1 for a ticket. They take 15%. I take 10%. And I put them out of business and then I come back and hire them. And I hire them as like a kind of like a franchise. It's like, okay, now you're gonna do it for me in your building and I'm gonna give you 2 % of the cut. All you gotta do is pass out the football tickets and collect the money and give it to me and I'm gonna pay you. Okay, but how do you do that? Now I get killed in prison. Like that's not a joke.   Like I feel like you come in, there's a top dog and you take them down. They usually take you out. is it just because you- There's rules. That's where the rules come in. There's so many rules. Yeah. There's like, don't just get to go out and fight people whenever you want. You don't just get to go out and assault people whenever you want. Like it doesn't work. Like it does not. That's movies. And also that's also California. California is very organized, very structured. So it's like, Hey, you just got put out of business. Like too bad for you. Like nobody's gonna like-   They can get upset whatever they want, like that's not going to, that's violence is violence is always 99.9 % of the time is always predetermined. It's not random. Even when it's against an officer, it is not random. There is a high likelihood that that officer came in. I'm not justifying why that happens. not saying there's any reason why anyone should ever be assaulted. but when you're living in that life, there are   in that criminal mindset, there are justifications. And I've seen officers come in and take someone's family photos and throw them in the toilet and tear them up. And it's like, well, you just destroyed something that meant really a lot to that person. And they believe that their only way of justifying that, rectifying that is by going out and assaulting them. So it doesn't happen. No one wakes up one morning and be like, I feel like going out and stabbing someone. That doesn't happen.   Because it's a business. It's a plan like and as gross as that is you and I were talking about this and I'm like, I'm fascinated by business and I'm fascinated by criminal minds. Because like, it is a business and it is a livelihood. It's a lifestyle. Like this is how you get like all of us do things for money for our lives. And if that's all you've ever been taught, it's very hard to know different case. So you're the entrepreneur in there, you're undercutting all the other businesses. Like how do you change and also how do you even tell the gang that you're not going to be a part of it? That's like so   The Dental A Team (33:03.957) a foreign, you must be really good at sales or something, John, because I feel like, like that's just not heard of. So it's a couple of things. So first, like some of the, the, some of my older own boys who are in prison, who are internet men in prison for a very long time and have a lot of influence, they were my mentors. They, and with proximity is power, right? So like I was around people who have a lot of power and, they believed in me.   And eventually, I let people know, like, hey, I'm not doing that anymore. And it was right around that time that Defy Ventures came to Pelican Bay as well, which is an entrepreneurship program. And it really came in at just the right time because I didn't know what to supplement. There's a huge gap in my life, and I don't know what else to put, but then Defy came and was like, okay, well, here's how you can start to use these skills in a positive way. And that was really what helped to self-solidify my change was I was able to help guys. I graduated from the program.   I became a facilitator and a leader within the program. And now guys, instead of coming to me for alcohol and phones and everything else, they're coming to me for resume feedback, business ideation feedback. They're coming to me for positive things and how can they get involved in programs? So it's like I was taking myself out of the negative conversations around the gang and taking myself out of anything that had to do with the gang and putting myself into positive, into more positive things. And people saw that.   And yeah, people called me all kinds of names when I first started making changes in my life. Names I won't repeat, but you can imagine what they are. But what I realized was it takes a lot more courage to step away and not be involved. is the easy thing to do is get involved in rides and sell drugs. That's easy to do because everybody else is doing it. But eventually one of the top guys in my game,   He eventually asked me, it, he pulled me over on the yard and was like, John, is this really what you want? Like, you really want to leave? I was like, yeah. Well, I didn't answer that quickly because I was terrified. He's like, yeah, this is really what I want. And he's like, good, because you're too smart to be in here and you could do more than die in prison. So mind your own business, go home. We love you. Go home. And he was, he's been down, he's been in prison for almost 40 years. did 32 consecutive years in solitary confinement.   The Dental A Team (35:27.213) He was first arrested when he was four years old. Four? He was four years old and he was arrested. I didn't know they could even arrest four year olds. I didn't know that. Yes. it's kind of, I say this, in the land of the free, we have handcuffs that are small and lifted around the wrist of a four year old child. Wow. Insane. What were his chances that he was going to go to college? What were the chances that he was in a   do anything, but he's one of the most charismatic CEOs you'll ever meet. That's incredible. So you change. I think it's what I love. And I'm curious, do you feel like your solitary confinement and the grit and the mental stamina you built up there possibly could have influenced your decisions to leave and to have a different life? Like, feel like that solitary confinement, if you will allow it, which I think so many things in our lives could allow.   For me, John, listening to your story, I'm curious if you learned mental stamina, mental grit. You'd already done probably some of the hardest things. I think that actually was probably harder than telling people that you want to have a different life. Do you feel like there was any mental stamina that you learned or grit or lessons you learned that maybe made it easier for you, even though easy is like with massive air quotes? Because I don't think any of what you did was easy. But do you think any of that played into it for you? Definitely. It also helped that I've been to that stuff because that's a resume builder in prison that you put in words.   Bender the shoe. This shoe is a solitary housing. It's called solitary housing unit. So then the shoe, you found these things and then when you get to Pelican Bay, which is like the white house or like, it's like where you want to go. If you get to, when you get to Pelican Bay, you're like, yeah, I made it. It's like, that's your like stamp. That's like your stamp of approval. Is that just cause it's the hardest prison? Like why is Pelican Bay? Okay. They're the hardest prison. It was, it's one of the, it's the only super max in California. And I think it's changed now. They're there. Hopefully they shut it down, but it was known for.   All the top game leaders are put in solitary confinement there. And it's where like, there's a few prisons in California and Pelican Bay is one. Pelican Bay was one of them. So like I had the mental grid and determination. I was still terrified. It's like at the end of the day, like I'm just one, just one person, but I really, what I was more afraid of dying in prison than like, because I'm not dying in prison anyways. Like, what are you guys going to do to Right. No, it's a Stupid slash am, like stupid slash arrogant.   The Dental A Team (37:51.329) which works out, which works out sometimes and right. Yeah. For entrepreneurs, think it works out sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't. It worked out this time. Interesting. Okay. So the five entries is such a cool company and such an amazing thing because it really does help these. I feel like it's almost like the redirect. So you're taking these criminals that have had like amazing, brilliant, you just redirect them into something good because I do believe, and I don't know, you've been in prison, you've seen probably the darker side of life. John, I believe   that people are inherently good. Do you believe that after seeing the dark side of life? you believe that sentiment as well? Yes, I do. And I've seen it. Even the guys that I talk about who have been incarcerated for 30, 40 years and have done, made terrible choices. I've made terrible choices too. There's like when you tap into a softer part of them, when they have hope, hope, when they have hope, right? It makes such a huge difference in someone's life when someone has hope versus   Like you're an animal and you're a monster and you're dying in prison, right? Then when you have hope, some of that good starts to come out. The good, I can see it, I can point to it because I'm right here today. The goodness in them said, John, go home, do good. I still talk to them to this day and they love seeing me win. They love what I get to They love seeing me succeed and do great things, even though they will never, they'll never get out of prison. But they love seeing other people succeed.   Which is incredible to me because you would think like, can criminals really be kind and have kind hearts? Cause you see the evil side of it. I think John, okay, I have a few more questions. I know we're coming up, but like, okay. Question one is tell me about what it was like. Well, actually I'm going to ask this question first. Cause then I want to hear like a happier side. I think there's a preconceived notion about people that who are criminals and then they change that like,   Well, yeah, but is this like a long thing? And like, do you ever get tempted to go, I don't know, do all the things you used to do? Like there was status, there was power. Like, how do you navigate? It's almost like you've tasted of that fruit. How do you not go back to that? As human natures, right? Human nature is easy. like, riddle me on that one. How do people trust him believe that these incarcerated criminals really have like truly changed and are just going to like flip a switch one day or they'll go back to their old roots? Like,   The Dental A Team (40:18.733) Can you answer anything on that? Because I think that that's a misconception across the board. that takes work. These are patterns for whether someone's in any patterns. It's like addiction. It's a pattern in our life. There's a pathway in our brain, whether it's violence, aggression, whatever it is that we're engaging in. That's a pathway that's been created in our brain and it can become a go-to just like that. So it takes years of work to start undoing those patterns and learning new patterns.   And we can all learn new patterns. Our brains are very, that plasticity, right? Our brains can learn. We're forever learning. So for myself, ask about like, what, do I have criminal thoughts? Yeah, I have them all the time. But I know that I don't want to do, I don't want to do that. Number one is I don't want to create more victims. Number two, I never want to go back to prison. I never want to give up my, I'll never give up my freedom again. There's nothing in this world that will make me give up my freedom again. And I can get my needs met in other ways.   Right? Like whether it's significance, whether it's contribution, whatever those needs are, I can get them, I can meet them now in a legitimate way because I have the skills and the tools to get to meet them. Whereas before, the people who we serve in prison, they didn't have, no one sent them to school. No one sent, like when I dropped, when I got kicked out of school in seventh grade, nobody came to look for me. The school, the school didn't, the school never called my family and asked about me.   No truant officer ever came searching for me. Right? Like that to me, that's why, because there's multiple factors. It could be the neighbor that you grew up in, how much money you have, and the color of your skin. Determines the opportunities and the ways that we were raised. So many of the people who come to prison with us, the volunteers, the CEOs and executives, we ask a series of questions and we ask like, how many of you have more than 50 books in your house growing up? Your parents pay for you to attend private school.   Your parents tucked you into bed every night, right? At least one parent tucked you into bed. Like I heard gunshots in my neighborhood growing up. Like these, and you see the stark contrast between the opportunities that we had. So is it expected that there, that people who are incarcerated have these patterns in their life that have, that have gone on for years. But at Defy, we can teach them and start to give them new patterns of, you used to do this in prison for the gang. Well, you can convert that.   The Dental A Team (42:46.573) over it, this is a, it's called a transferable skill. You can transfer that skill set over here and use it this way. That's incredible. I love it. And that's ultimately what Defy is for. And that's what like changed your life is this company that you guys are a part of comes in and they teach the curriculum. They give like, you guys have your little SOPs. You've got all your manuals. They go through class. How long do people usually   participate in DeFi before they are. So it's not easy. This is the curriculum they're going through. This is a lot of curriculum that they are going through and reading. And if you have everything in here from self-limiting beliefs to building out your business model to running an MVP, they have everything through that. And it's a lot. It takes around six months for them. It takes about six months for them to get through the curriculum. That's awesome.   And that's like really what your passion is now. So, okay, I'm going to ask the question and then we're going to talk about Defy and how you even got to Defy. But okay, I need to know. So it was probably what 2017 and you were released in 2019? Yeah, got on June 19th, 2019. June 19th. I bet you'll never forget that day. Well, actually I think the greatest thing happened this year I did forget and Casey texted me and was like, congratulations. What for? It's your five years. I forgot that I did forget. That actually felt really good to forget that.   It felt good to forget that. That's amazing. I, that makes me actually so happy because then it's not a stamp of remembering who you were, but who you are today is what you're actually living. So basically two years from the time like you made this decision, two years, you build up a business plan, you're learning all these skills, you're released. I need to know like, and I don't even know if you can put into words, like what did it feel like to have freedom back after 17 years?   of not having freedom, of being in solitary confinement, of feeling like you're gonna be in this for the rest of your life, to then changing and realizing, I want a different life. Can you just explain to the listeners and to me, what does that even feel like? Because I think we take for granted our life, our love, our happiness, all the things that we have on a daily basis, and you had all that stripped away from you for years, for good reason, right? There were consequences associated, but what did that even feel like when you were released? So my release was a bit of a journey.   The Dental A Team (45:04.129) There was a typo in my transcripts, in my transcripts that I was supposed to, I had committed crimes in Texas where I was originally born. I went back to court, I served my time, I did everything. The transcriber forgot to check a box that I had been incarcerated for 18 years. So I had the federal marshals come pick me up from prison and fly me out to Texas. And they held me against my will for 10 days before they released me.   it took lawyers, I had volunteers or mentors of mine who I met through defy who got me an attorney and fought for me and eventually fought for my eventually won my release after 10 days. but even up until that moment, they called me out and like Jackson, it's called RC or RCO one. Like you're going home. and then I'm like, you're going home. I'm like, I didn't believe them. I felt like I had been screwed over by the system so many times and I.   They're like, give us your social security number forward, give us your social security number backwards, what address you used to live at when you were 13. And I don't remember any of this stuff. And then I get in front of a glass door and they're just waiting for it to open. just didn't believe it was gonna open.   But I finally did and I was able to walk back and I got the hell out of there as fast as I could because I was scared they would come back and take me away and tell me like, we're just screwing with you. Like it's a joke. not really letting you go. And finally made my way back to California. So they flew me out to Texas. I had no idea or nothing. I had to find my way back to California within 72 hours to go over my parole meeting.   So, but I got on a flight. I was able to fly with no ID. How did you do that? That's impressive. So I started working for another organization called 2.0 and we printed up a fake IP. Our business manager printed up a fake IP for me, printed it up, sent it to Kinko's and I went and got it and I got in the plane.   The Dental A Team (47:17.485) It's fine. We gave away crime. just smelt like it's just a little like we're fine. I had to get back to California to violate my parole. Yeah. All right. So you get back. Go on. was like it's taken. It has taken time to it's very trying. It is re-entering society after 18 years of that. It's very traumatizing. I had a hard time sleeping. didn't sleep. Casey being a   Going to Casey's was actually the first time I fell asleep. I fell asleep at his house. I hadn't slept in close to like five days. I hadn't slept. Just because I couldn't like be in a room with doors and windows and large spaces. I was not used to that. I was used to being in a small cell that, you know, I know everything that's going on in that cell. then it's, it's, it's taken a lot of time, a lot of healing and a lot of therapy to be able to like sleep with my bedroom door open now. Yeah.   That's incredible. It's amazing. John, like it was thank you for sharing because it touches me too, because I can only imagine and I felt it. I think at a very small level because I'll never know what that felt like. To hear because I agree, I it was so like, this even real life? And well, I mean, I've got all the hopes and aspirations, but will I actually be able to achieve everything that I know I'm meant to do? And then now five years later, you're married, you have a house, you you've got this happy life. Like   I just remember watching you at Tony Robbins and I think so many people love being there. And I feel like you're experiencing life like for the first time. It's almost like watching a child experience life, not that you're a child, but just the joy and the love and like you're experiencing life I feel firsthand for the first time right now. And I think to be able to watch you do that was so magical for me because like I take these things for granted. I mean, I get to go to these events and I get to have these and like, yes, it's amazing, but.   Like watching you just, feels like every day you live, you live to the fullest. And I don't know if you want to comment on that. And then I want to talk about Defy and help you. I try to, I still like, I have hard days. I have days like, I, that, that days that suck, days that are like not the best, right? But trying to practice gratitude and I can, I can forget that sometimes. can forget, but I actually like thinking about it, I'm actually grateful that sometimes I can have those days because I'm that far away from where I used to be that I can be like,   The Dental A Team (49:39.949) crap, I'm stuck in traffic. I'm not in solitary confinement. This traffic, I mean, 80 is really bad. I'll give it Five years ago, like, I would have done anything to just be able to sit in traffic, right? And sitting at cell. But I look at it as like, but it's a good reminder to be like, yeah, could have, I could, my life could be much, much worse. But today I get to use my life for to do great. I get to live what I believe is my purpose and why God put me on this earth. So I love that.   I love that you just said that because I think maybe that was like the piece I wanted people to hear. There's so many pieces I wanted people to hear from you, but to hear like today I get to live my life on purpose. I get to live what I was meant to be here for. And I think like hearing someone like John, I don't think so many of us listening will ever understand what it feels like to be in prison for 18 years. Like I hope so many people don't have that. And I think just like you really bring me back to gratitude every time I talk to you of just like how blessed I am to have the life I have and to   like live those days and to live the purpose that I was meant to be and like we're all created for more. And so tell me a little bit about Kay, here's John five years. You have to five ventures kind of tell us a little bit about what the five ventures are because I think it's incredible that entrepreneurs like most of the listeners here were able to go in and give you the gift of entrepreneurship. And now you're doing that for more incarcerated criminals. And when Casey talked on stage, he said like,   The US is not as big of a population and yet we house the most criminals within the US. Like you probably know those stats way better than I do. We have about 5 % of the world's population, but we incarcerate 25%. We have 25 % of the world's incarcerated population. The vast majority of them are black and brown people. That's just the reality. We have one of the highest recidivism rates in the world. All of these things that show that we have a broken system, a system that does not work.   And I know what you went to me when I heard that I was like staggering statistics. And just thinking like what you guys are trying to do is stop generational crime and stop like the path of cradle to grave and like, I don't know you said blood to casket, like crazy to me that that's how but you're like, this is my life. That's all you know. And it's like, well, think about where we raise and like, my parents went to college. So I went to college and   The Dental A Team (51:57.229) Like, yes, we can break away from it, but breaking away from the mold, I do think is hard. And so kind of tell us a little about about five ventures. And if people are interested, this is our live to give this year of like having a way to give back. was so incredible to see how many people were able to help through this program at Tony Robbins. And then also for me and all the listeners know every year we do live to give and something that just really is a bigger impact than ourselves. Cause I believe we're so blessed as entrepreneurs, let's give back and serve more. So kind of tell us a little about.   what DeFi Ventures does and how people can get a part of that if they want to. Yeah, so DeFi, we leverage entrepreneurship. We want to, it's we call it transforming their hustle, right? It's taking all those skills that they've learned through the criminal and gang life and using them to apply to start their own business. And they don't have to start a business. They can also do that, like being what's called an entrepreneur, where you are using that creativity, using all your skills as an employee. So we leverage that. And what we do is we   also recruit CEOs, executives and business leaders to come into prison with us for our events. They're very similar to what we get to do at Tony Robbins. People jumping around, having a great time, getting people in state and giving feedback on their business pitches. Because we're going to get them all the way to writing a business pitch and post it after they get out of prison. We help them get them all the way to seed funding as well. If they're doing, if they're meeting certain benchmarks, we'll put them in front of investors to help them start their business.   but they have to have a job, have to have stable housing, which we help them do after they get out. We're building character and leadership development in them as well. Because as you know, as entrepreneurs, it's not just about making money. Like that's not what defines an entrepreneur. There's a lot that goes into it. Like you can make a boat ton of money and ruin your life, ruin your marriage, ruin a whole lot of things if you don't have great coping skills. So we take a holistic approach to the healing and...   That's a big part of what we get to do at Defy is yes, we want you to start a business, but more than that, we want you to develop you as leaders and develop your character. So to date, we've helped launch over 600 businesses for people who are formerly incarcerated. One of the guys you can look up, he's a rock star, name is Cos Marte. He founded a company called ConBody. I he's got over 75,000 customers and he does prison style workouts for people. So if you want a good workout, you can go to ConBody.   The Dental A Team (54:15.469) and we'll partner you up with somebody who's formerly incarcerated and they'll get your butt working out. We have lot of things by 90 % employment rate, 90 days post release for our EITs. We call it EITs. That stands for Entrepreneurs in Training. And so when they get out, we help them get jobs. We have partnership with Google, Apple, LegalZoom to help them get on their feet, them get a laptop, start their business, incorporate their business. And the ways to get involved are one,   We're a 501c3 nonprofit, so it costs us $1,700 per person to put someone through the CEO of your New Life program. So you can sponsor someone. Even in your chapter, we have multiple chapters. We're a nationwide organization. So if you're in Utah, California, Washington, the tri-state area, Pennsylvania, Illinois, can search for defy.org and support a chapter near you. Or you can...   We go to volunteer as well. love bringing people into prison, business coaches and mentors to come in and invest in our entrepreneurs and training and give them the feedback that they desperately need. And it makes a huge difference when you come to prison with us and invest in people for people who have been incarcerated 20, 25, 30 years that people actually care. And it also starts like what happened for you, Kiera, it starts to break those stereotypes or those beliefs that you have about what someone is from there, who someone is.   that has committed a crime or someone who's incarcerated. Yeah, I love it. Dental A Team does live to give every single year. this is just something when I met you, John, and yes, we won the trophy. But like I said, I feel like we won life. you've just taught me to, like I said, you can love yourself even in spite of everything that's happened. And you see yourself as, I'm John. Yes, I've done those things. But like, I love me as a person. And I can feel sad for those things. And I can have remorse. And I can do all the things to repair.   but it doesn't define you either. And I feel like you just have this love and this sparkle of life, which makes me so happy. And then to be able to give that to other people, I think is just an incredible cause that you guys are doing and excited. I'll be there January 17th. I'll see you guys. And am I scared out of my mind? I'm like, John, are you sure I'll be safe? Like, how do know these people aren't going to like grab my hair and hold me by my throat with a knife? Like, do I fear that? John. can address that right now. And I could just share with people who might think that prison is a...   The Dental A Team (56:40.941) So these are rules that are in prison from gangs, right? That like, not saying that I agree with them, but like, if you have a sex offense, you rape or child molestation, those types of crimes are severely frowned upon and actually violence is committed against people who come in with those crimes. And I brought hundreds and thousands of hundreds, literally hundreds, and over the 10 years that we've been doing this organization, we brought thousands of women to prison. Never once have we had any incident. It is one of the most   The men there that you will meet will be the most respectful kind. One of the safest places you can be is actually in a maximum security prison, especially for women. respect that the men have in there for you all coming in there to support us and care about us. We know why you're there. It's to serve and I want to learn from you. I'm not there trying to do anything else. I want to learn from you. That's really what it's about.   That's amazing. And thank you for speaking to that because I do like those are the fears that's media and but I think it's such an incredible cause to give people a second chance in life and to put them through programs like yourself where you are coming as the product of this program and looking what you can do for all these people. So John, I just appreciate you in my life. I appreciate learning from you. I appreciate that you let me ask all of my questions and your story.   You're a great question asker. That's why we want to talk about it. I was not here asking questions. You're a great interv

Can a teenager, who commits a murder, find redemption and purpose back in society 28 years later? In this episode of Nightmare Success, host Brent Cassity interviews Jason Holland, who shares his harrowing journey from a life of crime to serving 28 years in prison for a murder that he would give anything to be able to take back that night. Jason's story became a national story covered by Rolling Stone Magazine, a Documentary titled "Reckless Indifference," and Actor Charles Grodin wrote and directed a play about the teenagers convictions in Malibu. Jason reflects on his childhood, the incident that changed his life which was a drunk drug induced teenage backyard brawl where teenager Jimmy Farris lost his life. He discusses the dark place he went in his mind for years after he received the life sentence without parole. Jason literally grew up in prison. He discusses his transformation, the importance of finding purpose, and how he now helps others reintegrate into society with his work at Defy Ventures. Jason emphasizes the value of hope, community support, and the continuous journey of personal growth and redemption. Show sponsors: White Collar Support Group prisonist.org, register for the white collar conference Saturday October 19 whitecollarconference.com, Online Reputation Solutions discount coupon code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS, Autoplazadirect.com "Your Personal Car Concierge." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brent-cassity/support

About Dan Tocchini:Dan Tocchini has been helping leaders bring some magic to their teams for over 35 years. He has worked with executive teams from Interstate Batteries and ESPN, to Smarty Pants Vitamins and Impulse Space, as well as with non-profits like Homeboy Industries and Defy Ventures. Dan gives a no-fluff approach by helping transform leadership teams without any pixie dust - just courageous leadership, creative conflict resolution, and relevant restructuring. No conversation is too difficult, and no situation too conflicted because a leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history. In this episode, Dean Newlund and Dan Tocchini discuss:The impact of language, perception, and intuition on business cultures and crisesThe distinctions between wisdom and intuitionThe training of the mind for better leadershipThe transformative journey from victimization to empowermentThe responsibility of leaders to inspire and support their teams through challenges and the necessary paradigm shifts for meaningful change Key Takeaways:Language and perception significantly shape decision-making, highlighting the transformative influence a well-crafted vision has on leadership effectiveness.Valuing intuitive thinking alongside analytical reasoning becomes increasingly important, particularly in crisis situations where conventional logic might fall short.Understanding the nuances between wisdom and intuition is imperative for leaders, as this insight guides executive decisions and strategic direction.Intuition enhancement within an organization's leadership can be achieved through specialized training that focuses on conflict monitoring, emotional processing, and bodily awareness, leading to more adept and conscious decision-making.Personal accountability and facing one's challenges are vital steps in leadership development, with a focus on embracing subconscious reactions and harnessing the power of language to transform present behavior and inspire team motivation. "A leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history.” — Dan Tocchini Connect with Dan Tocchini:  Website URL: https://takenewground.com/https://wearerevenant.com/  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-naked-leadership-podcast/id1495058489Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/73ZuLDaxdfhCNYXlmIQy01?si=9a5b25f227f64ae1Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_tocchini/?hl=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantocchini   See Dean's TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I Connect with Dean:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkwWebsite: https://www.mfileadership.com/The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlundFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/Email: dean.newlund@mfileadership.comPhone: 1-800-926-7370 Show notes by Podcastologist: Hanz Jimuel AlvarezAudio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

The school-to-prison pipeline is a complex and damaging system that disproportionately affects marginalized communities, particularly people of color. This pipeline refers to the policies and practices that push students out of school and into the criminal justice system, creating long-term impacts on individuals and communities. Quan Huynh, Executive Director of Southern California at Defy Ventures, exemplifies the power of second chances. While in prison, he discovered his entrepreneurial spirit and started Jade Janitors after his release from a 22-year prison sentence in 2015. Formerly incarcerated individuals face overwhelming challenges in education, employment, and housing, making fair chance hiring practices essential for their reintegration into society. By giving second chances, companies can help break the cycle of recidivism and create paths to stability and success.   Engage with us: LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook: @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: ewdpulse.com Visit: PCC EWD website   More from Quan Huynh:  Visit https://quanxhuynh.com/ LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, & X: @quanxhuynh   More from Defy Ventures:  Visit https://www.defyventures.org/ LinkedIn: @defy-ventures Instagram: @defy_ventures Facebook & X: @DefyVentures   Partner with us! Contact our host Salvatrice Cummo directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Want to be a guest on the show? Click HERE to inquire about booking    Find the transcript of this episode here

Special Guest: Dan Tocchini: Change Agent, Catalyst, Consultant, Coach Dan Tocchini has been helping leaders bring some more magic onto their teams for over 35 years. He has worked with executive teams from Interstate Batteries and ESPN, to Smarty Pants Vitamins and Impulse Space, as well as with non-profits like Homeboy Industries and Defy Ventures. Dan gives a no-fluff approach by helping transform leadership teams without any pixie dust – just courageous leadership, creative conflict resolution, and relevant restructuring. No conversation is too difficult, no situation too conflicted because a leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history. Join us as we discuss the number one reason why cultures don't change. Host: TBC

Lauren Yoder, Married to husband Chris for 17 years, together they have 2 children, Laney, 16, and Oliver, 12. She has been employed with MH Equipment for almost 10 years, and in current position of Warranty Manager for the last 3 1/2. Also does photography, mainly family, senior and sports action shots. She is an author of 4 books, From the Weeds, 100 Days Sober, Another 100 Days Sober, and co-author with her daughter of My Mommy is an Alcoholic. She is a recovering alcoholic/addict with 10 years of sobriety. Currently leads AA meetings at Woodford Co Jail. Is involved in entrepreneurial mentoring those incarcerated in prison with Defy Ventures. And most recently joined forces with Prison Fellowship in seeking justice that restores. She is also involved with a group, Women In Leadership and is always seeking to improve leadership skills and networking.

Special Guest: Dan Tocchini: Change Agent, Catalyst, Consultant, Coach Dan Tocchini has been helping leaders bring some more magic onto their teams for over 35 years. He has worked with executive teams from Interstate Batteries and ESPN, to Smarty Pants Vitamins and Impulse Space, as well as with non-profits like Homeboy Industries and Defy Ventures. Dan gives a no-fluff approach by helping transform leadership teams without any pixie dust – just courageous leadership, creative conflict resolution, and relevant restructuring. No conversation is too difficult, no situation too conflicted because a leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history. Join us as we discuss the number one reason why cultures don't change. Listen Live (Archive Available) Host: TBC

Atif is the author of Decision Sprint The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action, Atif Rafiq has blazed trails in Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500 for over 25 years. After rising through digital native companies like Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL, Atif held C-suite roles at McDonald's, Volvo, and MGM Resorts. He oversaw thousands of employees as a global P&L, transformation, and innovation leader. Rafiq was the first Chief Digital Officer in the history of the Fortune 500, a pioneering role he held at McDonalds, and he rose to the president level in the Fortune 300. He currently sits on the Boards of Flutter / Fanduel ($25bn public company); Clearcover (a fintech provider, ranked on the Fast 500); and KINS Capital ($300mm SPAC). Previously, he's served on the client council for Snapchat (SNAP), as advisor to Slack (acquired by Salesforce for $20bn) and national board member of Defy Ventures (non-profit serving the formerly incarcerated). While leading business units, teams, and growth for companies, Atif has built a large following as one of today's top management thinkers. Over half a million people follow his ideas about management and leadership on LinkedIn, where he is a Top Voice, and his newsletter Rewire has over 100,000 subscribers. He's advised and invested in over 30 startups including Headspace, SpaceX, 23&me, Callisto Media, Bullet Proof Nutrition, CONBODY, Byte Mobile and Salad & Go. He is an active speaker at conferences including MIT Artificial Intelligence Summit, Fortune Reinvent, Cannes Lion, SXSW, CES, Google I/O, Twitter Flight, Web Summit, and more. His work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Mashable, Forbes, CNET, Tech Crunch, and Fast Company. Atif is passionate about helping companies push boldly into the future. He accomplishes this through Ritual, a software app revolutionizing how teams innovate and problem-solve, and through his work as keynote speaker, Board member, and CEO advisor.

Sinikka Waugh and Dan Tocchini discuss 6 Steps to Prepare for Conflict.   Dan Tocchini Sr. Partner Take New Ground, Founder   Dan Tocchini III is a business and social entrepreneur, a published author, a master trainer, executive coach, leadership whisperer and culture development specialist. He is the Founder and Senior Partner at Take New Ground of Take New Ground a subsidiary of Human Performance Unlimited, Inc, where he champions founders & executives to scale their organizations. After 30 years of transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from their current state to a desired future state of fulfilling their vision, Dan's passion for leaders makes no question too dangerous and no conversation too difficult in delivering meaningful long-term results. Clients include Disney, ESPN, Microsoft, Interstate Batteries, Nike, Virgin Hyperloop-One, Seigel & Gale, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Gavin de Becker, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Smarty Pants Vitamins, World Vision, Homeboy Industries, Defy Ventures and many others. After 40 years of marriage Dan and his wife Aileen live in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho near their two children and 5 grandkids.  

It's Powerful Collaboration for Extraordinary Results week!Our lives are complex and fast-moving. Thus, conflict happens, even when everyone has the best of intentions.Want to know how to deal with conflict effectively and proactively? Dan Tocchini III is here to tell us how. Dan's a business and social entrepreneur, published author, master trainer, executive coach, leadership whisperer, and culture development specialist, he'll have you thinking about and approaching conflict much differently.This is not an episode to miss! You'll get practical and transformational advice you can immediately apply. About the Guest:Dan Tocchini III is a business and social entrepreneur, a published author, a master trainer, executive coach, leadership whisperer and culture development specialist. He is the Founder and Senior Partner at Take New Ground of Take New Ground a subsidiary of Human Performance Unlimited, Inc, where he champions founders and executives to scale their organizations.After 30 years of transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from their current state to a desired future state of fulfilling their vision, Dan's passion for leaders makes no question too dangerous and no conversation too difficult in delivering meaningful long-term results. Clients include Disney, ESPN, Microsoft, Interstate Batteries, Nike, Virgin Hyperloop-One, Seigel & Gale, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Gavin de Becker, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Smarty Pants Vitamins, World Vision, Homeboy Industries, Defy Ventures and many others. The best way to reach Dan is through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantocchini About the Host:Amy L. Riley is an internationally renowned speaker, author and consultant. She has over 2 decades of experience developing leaders at all levels. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Deloitte and Barclays.As a trusted leadership coach and consultant, Amy has worked with hundreds of leaders one-on-one, and thousands more as part of a group, to fully step into their leadership, create amazing teams and achieve extraordinary results. Amy's most popular keynote speeches are:The Courage of a Leader: The Power of a Leadership LegacyThe Courage of a Leader: Create a Competitive Advantage with Sustainable, Results-Producing Cross-System CollaborationThe Courage of a Leader: Accelerate Trust with Your Team, Customers and CommunityThe Courage of a Leader: How to Build a Happy and Successful Hybrid Team Her new book is a #1 international best-seller and is entitled, The Courage of a Leader: How to Inspire, Engage and Get Extraordinary Results.www.courageofaleader.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshoopriley/Resources mentioned in the podcastThe Inspire Your Team assessment (the courage assessment): https://courageofaleader.com/inspireyourteam/ Thanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to The Courage of a Leader podcast! If you got inspired and/or got valuable leadership techniques you can use from this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have questions or feedback about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the...

I'm thrilled to welcome leadership expert Dan Tocchini to explore some transformative ideas about leadership. We dive deep into what it really means to lead effectively, going beyond traditional notions and tackling the concept of turning to genuine leadership. Dan shares insights from his decades of experience in coaching and leadership development, revealing how true leaders are made by putting something at stake and embracing vulnerability. Whether you're a seasoned leader or aspiring to be one, this conversation will challenge you to rethink how you lead and provide practical tips for enhancing your leadership skills.#RickJordan #Podcast #LeadershipWe Meet: Dan Tocchini III, Episode References: Connect:Connect with Rick: https://linktr.ee/mrrickjordanConnect with Dan: https://takenewground.com/Universal Rate & Review: https://lovethepodcast.com/allinwithrickjordanSubscribe & Review to ALL IN with Rick Jordan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RickJordanALLINAbout Dan: Dan Tocchini III is a business and social entrepreneur, a published author, a master trainer, an executive coach, a leadership whisperer and a culture development specialist. He is the Founder and Senior Partner at Take New Ground of Take New Ground a subsidiary of Human Performance Unlimited, Inc., where he champions founders & executives to scale their organizations. After 30 years of transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from their current state to a desired future state of fulfilling their vision, Dan's passion for leaders makes no question too dangerous and no conversation too difficult in delivering meaningful long-term results. Clients include Disney, ESPN, Microsoft, Interstate Batteries, Nike, Virgin Hyperloop-One, Seigel & Gale, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Gavin de Becker, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Smarty Pants Vitamins, World Vision, Homeboy Industries, Defy Ventures and many others. After 40 years of marriage, Dan and his wife Aileen live in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho near their two children and 5 grandkids.

Atif is the author of Decision Sprint The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action, Atif Rafiq has blazed trails in Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500 for over 25 years. After rising through digital native companies like Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL, Atif held C-suite roles at McDonald's, Volvo, and MGM Resorts. He oversaw thousands of employees as a global P&L, transformation, and innovation leader. Rafiq was the first Chief Digital Officer in the history of the Fortune 500, a pioneering role he held at McDonalds, and he rose to the president level in the Fortune 300. He currently sits on the Boards of Flutter / Fanduel ($25bn public company); Clearcover (a fintech provider, ranked on the Fast 500); and KINS Capital ($300mm SPAC). Previously, he's served on the client council for Snapchat (SNAP), as advisor to Slack (acquired by Salesforce for $20bn) and national board member of Defy Ventures (non-profit serving the formerly incarcerated). While leading business units, teams, and growth for companies, Atif has built a large following as one of today's top management thinkers. Over half a million people follow his ideas about management and leadership on LinkedIn, where he is a Top Voice, and his newsletter Rewire has over 100,000 subscribers. He's advised and invested in over 30 startups including Headspace, SpaceX, 23&me, Callisto Media, Bullet Proof Nutrition, CONBODY, Byte Mobile and Salad & Go. He is an active speaker at conferences including MIT Artificial Intelligence Summit, Fortune Reinvent, Cannes Lion, SXSW, CES, Google I/O, Twitter Flight, Web Summit, and more. His work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Mashable, Forbes, CNET, Tech Crunch, and Fast Company. Atif is passionate about helping companies push boldly into the future. He accomplishes this through Ritual, a software app revolutionizing how teams innovate and problem-solve, and through his work as keynote speaker, Board member, and CEO advisor.

In August, 2023 I had the opportunity to meet through LinkedIn Iris Yuning Ye. Iris spent the first 20 years of her life growing up in Northern China. She came to the U.S. to spend her junior college year at the University of California at Berkley. She also spent her senior year here and interned to help make that happen.   After returning to China for a bit she came back to the States to work toward her Master's degree at the University of Michigan.   This episode was especially fun for me and I hope it will be the same for you because of Iris' fervent attitude about being curious and always wanting to learn. Her reoccurring theme through our time on this episode is that people should work to be more curious and understanding of others. Iris will tell you about how she became involved with the Prisoners Literature Project and how that has opened her mind to so many things she never thought about before.   Iris is quite engaging, and her words are very thought provoking. I hope you enjoy this episode. Please let me know what you think. Also, feel free to reach out to Iris.   About the Guest:   Iris Yuning Ye advocates for education inequity for marginalized communities. She had been actively led and involved in marginalized communities education, ranging from post-release inmates data science bootcamp instructor to adaptive and inclusive strength training. Born and raised in the northern part of China, she experienced the life-changing impact education brought to her. With a pure passion and curiosity of exploring different education systems, she moved from Beijing to Berkeley in college, where she started to be involved in Prisoners Literature Project and Defy Ventures. It was through those years Iris was affirmed with the passion in helping others to achieve more through education. She is now pursuing her Master degree at University of Michigan, focusing on Human-Computer Interaction and pursuing Graduate Teaching Certificate.   As a Project Leader at Prisoners Literature Project and Community Instructor at Defy Ventures, she was fortunate and privileged to have worked with amazing inmates who had much passion in learning new knowledge. She founded data bootcamp that focuses on equipping post-release inmates with data skills that can secure rewarding and recognizing jobs for them. In 2020, she also developed a family education program for Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan that engaged 50+ families during Covid. She expanded education horizon to college during graduate school, and she is now a Graduate Student Instructor at University of Michigan. In the Enriching Scholarship 2023 Conference, she was invited as a speaker talking about “bridging the gap between college and career”. Iris also believes in the power of physical education. She is an NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) Certified Personal Trainer. AdaptX-Certified Inclusive and Adaptive coach.   ** ** Ways to connect with Iris:   LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irisyn-ye/        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 ** 01:20 Time once again for unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. What a great way to start a podcast. I'd like to thank you all for listening. I'm Michael Hingson, your host. Today our guest is Iris Yuning Ye who started out life in China and then came to the United States went to Berkeley, which which we can't complain about since I live in California. But now she's at the University of Michigan. So we can have a great discussion about football teams, I suppose. But we'll see. Yeah, but Iris, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. Thank you for taking the time to be here with us.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 02:01 Thank you so much. Well, Ohio State and we'll be super happy if you discuss football with us. Right?   Michael Hingson ** 02:07 Well, that's fine. Let them suffer. That's okay. My wife was did her master's work at USC. So oh, we have all sorts of different diverging challenges with football, don't we? Right.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 02:22 Yeah. We had all of the his enemies are coming together. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 02:28 makes life fun. Well, yeah. USC has been doing pretty well this year. So far. And Michigan has been doing pretty well.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 02:36 We we now know that you're following up on a news. Happy to hear that.   Michael Hingson ** 02:43 Well, that is great. Well, tell us a little bit about you growing up and, and all of that and how you ended up over in the US and such love to hear about your growing up in China and all that.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 02:56 Sure. Well, I spent 20 years of my life in China. So basically all of my education previously, I started my I live I'm from the northern part of China, which is a city next to Beijing is called tanjun. So I grew up there and I did all of my education there from kindergarten all the way to college. And then in junior year, I got the chance to come to UC Berkeley to study abroad. So I take that I took that I came to UC Berkeley during my junior year. And then after one year in Berkeley, I was fortunate I found a internship which I wanted to figure out if I was the one to stay in my finance major, which is what I did when I was a college. So I stayed at one more year after that study abroad year for a year of internship in the area. And then several, I went back to my home country, I worked there for two years. And then now here I am, I'm currently a graduate student at U mish so this is the whole journey of me in a nutshell. And   Michael Hingson ** 04:05 what was your major on your undergraduate major?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 04:08 In undergrad I did a pure business pure finance now I'm currently in information science, so user research and software related.   Michael Hingson ** 04:19 Ah, that's quite a quite a change, it seems to be going from from one to the other.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 04:29 That was and in last a whole story of how the changes came. The finance major was was popular, you know, back into that and 17 and everybody thinks, Oh, if you go to Finance if you go business, you will make a lot of money you will have a well up life. So that was why I chose it. And then from sophomore year, I tried to figure out is that the right thing for me? It turned out to be not really I'm not too happy doing the financial analysis work I did. So I got involved in a startup system in Berkeley utilize that. And then I pivoted to the product software field. And there was what I felt more comfortable than previously. So that was the journey in Oslo in a really short form, you're   Michael Hingson ** 05:22 sure you have a really good command of English? Did you learn that in China? Do they emphasize that at all? Or how does that work? Well,   Iris Yuning Ye ** 05:32 yeah, I, I would say, I'm personally pretty lucky that I grew up in a city and grew up in a system that is not too demanding of the study the amount of homework you have to do, it was still pretty demanding. But it was a great combination of you explore your interest versus what you have to do to complete in school. So the English classes I took, I took all of the local education system, so I did not go to international school, I did not go to any international such as bootcamp, the local classes of English is basically teacher teaching you what is from textbook, but I try to learn by myself more outside of class. So I try to listen to some materials, ABC News, CNN news, that helped me a lot in getting a foundation of speaking, or just communication, English and mindset in English. I think this is part partially helpful for me, to me, the other part has been beneficial for me is definitely coming to us and to talk to people here and to pick up the dragons or pick up the colloquial expressions, right?   Michael Hingson ** 06:53 Well, clearly, overall, you value education very highly. How would you describe your opinion of education? And why do you value it so highly?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 07:05 Well, I'm really thankful that you asked this question. I think education as I already introduced my experience a little bit. That means opportunity to me, because of the education and because of the choices I had from a local education system, in where I grew up in China, all the way to Berkeley, and I came back and then come back. So the back and forth is opening a lot of doors for me to explore such as, is finance a great thing for me, is product a great thing for me, and how can I navigate through each of the education stage. And also, I started as a student, and I got the chance to kind of do a graduate student instructor position right now in my school. So from the two aspects coming, it's both is a lifelong learning experience, because it's all stoppable that was what we're discussing right now. And on the other hand, as an instructor, I feel opportunity is asked the unstoppable for those who are benefiting from the education that we can give to them.   Michael Hingson ** 08:19 So unstoppable is definitely a term that you would use to describe education and the need for education. Well,   Iris Yuning Ye ** 08:29 I totally feel that, and especially when I saw your podcast, the theme as the unstoppable I was like, this is the this is the key word for education, therefore opportunity for students and instructors. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 08:50 Well, I, I think that the person who stops learning was just not going to go anywhere, we should always try to learn and continue to learn and explore new things and be adventurous. Life's adventure. And all too often, we don't ever view it that way. And we should. It   Iris Yuning Ye ** 09:10 is, and education if we, if I personally will think about it really broadly. It's not only about what I learned from class, but what I learned from my graduate school. It's from all aspects of life, such as I'm learning by listening to your podcasts or by talking with you and learning how you can figure it out, such as text reading screen, and I learned by talking to my parents of some life tricks, how you can do your luggage in a faster way. All of those are learnings to me.   Michael Hingson ** 09:48 Oh my god, it's an adventure. How? How do you? Well see how do I want to ask this? How would you view education in China as opposed to and the beliefs about education And then China as opposed to what we see in the United States, does that something that's easy to compare or talk about?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 10:09 Yeah, I think I can probably talk about it for the whole day. But just pick several pointers currently on the top of my mind. Because I took the first 20 years, almost 20 years of my education in China, I felt I had a wonderful foundation of science and also logical thinking, both from school and both from my family. What probably what we heard from the media and what what we heard from the publication The the education system in Asia is quite demanding, that has a lot of assignments, homework, you have to finish. But on the other side, when I'm looking back to the education on the math methodology, it helped me to building up the repetitive matters and practice a lot. So I still have clear and crystal clear memory of such as what is how to calculate the area of a square. Though all of those math foundation, I can still do it really well. So I think this is really helpful for me, for me in the long term of my, my career or for my science field. And for the American education. I definitely cannot summarize in one or two sentences, but encouraged more in asking questions. This is the first observation I had when it came. asking question is everywhere in the class, when you're sitting there, the teacher will instructor will encourage you to ask questions, they will always check back with the students. Do you have any questions? And what are the what are your thoughts right now? So the encouragement of asking question is also stimulating a sense of discussion in class, which is also unique in the American education system, which I definitely did not try any other countries. But just comparing these two, I think this is unique.   Michael Hingson ** 12:17 Interesting, do you think that the educational system in general is more demanding in China than in the US in terms of learning and the work that needs to be done, or that is done?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 12:29 It is demanding in different ways. The American education system is also really demanding. I think the China education system is demanding in the repetitive this, you have to work on assignments and is pretty long hours work is after you get back from school such as 5pm you get from school, back from school, you have three to four hours of assignments, you probably need to spend the time on it, because it's due tomorrow. So that is the demanding aspect of the China's education system, versus the US education system is also really demanding. I did have Depression period when I was in junior year, when I was at UC Berkeley, because I was not able to deal well of my classes and the credits. It was demanding because it was hard, it was progressing fast. And it was more independent, you have to figure out all of the questions by yourself, even though the instructor is their office hours there. You need to find your own way to study and to make it through. So it's also super easy to do Monday.   Michael Hingson ** 13:46 So it's more structured in a sense in China. But here, what I'm hearing you say is that the demand was that you had to to figure out more things rather than it being in a structured way given to you.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 14:02 I agree, this is a great summary and a great, a great summary of the differences. If we take a step back, when I what I what we what I see what I observe in Asia or in China in general, is there's always a expectation on you. After you graduate from college, you have to have a white collar job. This is the expectation that is already a default setting versus in the US is more freestyle. If you go to some career tracks that is not perceived as white collar or just high end is okay. Nobody will judge you. So I think if we take a step back is to is true for the different system and societal expectations.   Michael Hingson ** 14:58 Yeah, and I'm not at all saying If one is better or worse than the other, they're different. Same,   Iris Yuning Ye ** 15:02 they're just different in different and a society.   Michael Hingson ** 15:07 And that's okay.   Michael Hingson ** 15:10 Ultimately, the final thing that we need to do is to learn and hopefully people do that.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 15:17 Yeah. And what I tried to do and what I realized during my college was that instead of being a student, I can probably be a teacher to some extent. So that was a, that was a moment, a silver lining shining on me that I realized that instead of being a being in the education system, on the side of students, I can also be on the side of teacher. So in junior year, I decided to volunteer in the local community to be an instructor of a inmates reentry bootcamp. That was also a different aspect that I was able to learn from my experience.   Michael Hingson ** 16:06 Tell me more about that. That's fascinating. And inmates boot camp, our introductory boot camp. Tell me more about that, if you would,   Iris Yuning Ye ** 16:15 for sure. Oh, in my junior year, when I was at Berkeley, I heard there was a organization that was called prisoners literature project, where they in that project, the volunteers tried to gather the books and send back to the balloon mates in the prison based on what they're requesting, so such as some inmates will write letters to us say, I would love to read some fiction books, I will love to read novels. And we will pick the book from our database and from our donation and mail it back to them. So that was how I started to get involved in this community. I also saw several prisoners after they get get out of prison, they came back to our PLP prisoners literature project to help us to do the volunteer. So at that moment, I was thinking, okay, what are the ways can I get involved in this, and I, at that moment, I only need data analysis. So I started a data analysis class for them. And there were about 11 Ma's coming in and learn it, it was super rewarding at the end, because at the beginning, I did not realize the minimum wage issue in the whole image system, the because of the lack of skill sets, and because of the societal pressure on reentry inmates. In 2020, I remember the data, about 60% of them don't even have a job where the employment or in employment rate of us was about 15%. So that was a huge contrast. And because of the program, we started for the re entry and for the data analysis, education, eight out of them were able to get the job in a really decent environment run really decent job setting. So that was when I started in the instructor row on the other side of education. That was the very beginning of my journey.   Michael Hingson ** 18:29 Why is the unemployment rates so high? And what do we do to bring it down?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 18:35 That's such a great question. I hope that I can be a precedent sometime which is have their problem. Lost Long story short, just several several things I personally observed is first of all, the school says, after prison happened that after the prisoners and inmates have been in prison for some of them 15 years, some of them five years, the world is changing too fast for people to catch up. Even though I'm not in the prison. I'm currently in outside I'm able to access to information, I still feel lagging behind, left behind 1000s of times a day, people talking about how have you used check GPT people talk about have you used any other AI tool before, it's just changing too fast for people to catch up. So the skill sets that are in demand right now are not caught up by the image. So this is the first reason and the second reason is still the stigma and a stereotype on inmates who the employer is my thing. They're not safe to employ or feel they're not a reliable to employ. So they're filtered out from a lot of opportunities. And lastly, is as soon as they're out of the prison or as As they're out of and facing with reentry, it's so overwhelming. Just imagine that you're out, you need to deal with your utilities you need to deal with your family needs to deal with your housing. Everything comes together, a job seeking is not even the priority at the moment. And they need the help to review their lives. So these are the three reasons I personally can see from the data.   Michael Hingson ** 20:26 And there aren't really a culturalization classes in the prisons to help it and great people back into society or there just is too much to learn that they just don't have time to do at all.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 20:41 What I see in, in California, when I was volunteering in the five ventures and volunteering in the PLP, first of all, is prison in, in a sense of preserving their safety and security. They're still trying to cut down a lot of connections, prisoners through what the outside world, such as they are only when I was mailing back the books, there were certain books not not allowed. So certain genres are not allowed by certain prisons depends on the region and depends on the city, the prison or facility is in. And also they are not allowed to have such as pens in certain prisons, because it's considered as a Yeah, sharp instrument, a weapon potential weapon. Well, that was only a small fraction of all of the restrictions from their life there. So we can only imagine how many other restrictions they have, that is limiting the connections with the world. And also, just as the defy ventures I volunteer for or the PLP, there were nonprofits working on that. It's not scalable, just imagining that we only have six volunteers there. And we can just cover as much as 30 reentry people. Imagine how many people are coming out every single day. The scalability requires more, a second thought or just a reimagining of the current system. How can you   Michael Hingson ** 22:30 teach those of us on the outside about all of this and help us become more sensitized to trying to help?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 22:40 This is what I've been thinking a lot about these days. So several things I can do right now. So first of all, is there was another nonprofit I got involved with these days, or in the last year it was called impartial, so impartial what we did was, we collected the art work from the previous prison prisoners or inmates, and we sell it to others. So we try to utilize this way to help them to make money. And a lot of the inmates post release inmates, they lie dry, they like writing, they have a lot of creativity, that is not known by others. So utilize this and also it transform their labor or transform their creativity into something profitable is a great way, as far as I see a great way to give them back for their labor for their devotion into the society and also into this world. And the other way I think can be helpful is just voice out as, as for me, I have been an instructor there, I have been an activist there, I can talk with you and that the more audience listening to this podcast will know this issue. And the whenever they see people from the background, they're willing to help are willing to get involved in more instructions, and a more education program that will be wonderful.   Michael Hingson ** 24:18 We get so locked into prejudices and so locked into specific ideas that we really don't take it further. I've said for a long time, for example, about people with disabilities that we're not brought into or involved in the conversation, but I can see where what you're talking about with people in the prisons and so on is very much the same way. We we don't really involve them or we don't really choose to have conversations about all that, which limits our knowledge all the more.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 24:53 Yeah, I'm also curious about in your community. So what kind of limitations Did you see in the disabled community are able in different ways community that the limitations of how you can voice out and the conversations that you were not able to participate in? Well,   Michael Hingson ** 25:13 first of all, I would would reject the concept of Abel in different ways. Ability is ability, we may use different tools or different techniques to accomplish the task. But our abilities are the same, our knowledge is the same. So it's, it's when people talk about different abilities, or differently abled, I think that's such a misnomer and an inappropriate, inappropriate thing, because it isn't true. As I said, it's different techniques, perhaps in different tools than you use. And for you, your disability has been covered up pretty well. That is to say, your light dependent, which I love to talk to people about, every person on this planet has a disability and the disability for most people is that they're light dependent, you don't do well, if suddenly, the power goes out, and you're left in the dark. But with Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb, and we spending so much time to make sure that people have access to light, pretty much all the time your disability is covered up. But make no mistake, that disability is still there. Does that make you differently abled than than I am? Who is light independent? I think the answer is no. It says that you have different techniques that you use to have access to information like monitors, and light that allows you to see what's going on where I get the information in other ways. But we don't tend to have conversations about a lot of these things. And the prisons and prisoners are in the same situation. Because we fear and we we get very uncomfortable about things that are different than people who are different than we are. And sometimes we build up images that aren't true. And sometimes we just create these fears that we we can't deal with them, because they're not the same as us. And we are better than they are.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 27:13 Well, this is the new education I just had today, right? That concept of disabled versus able and with different abilities. This is these are the two ways I heard about people describing this community before. But now it makes totally sense about how we are disability disabled in different ways. I last week, when I was walking in dark, I was not able even able to get my key and my door lock. I was there for five minutes cannot touch it cannot be alone. How can I hit survivor like this?   Michael Hingson ** 27:51 Exactly. And the reality is that it's a matter of learning the techniques. And it's a matter of learning how to do it. So you could learn how to find the appropriate place to put your key in the lock. And you could learn to do that by touch. But it's a it's a process. And since that's not normally the way you do it, it becomes a little bit different situation for you.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 28:20 Do you feel that we are just educated we just we are just educated or we require different learnings in our life. So such as the prisoners, they might learn a rig require a type of learning every entry, which is currently what I don't need to our what you don't need to such as you need to learn about how to navigate through dark environments from way earlier than I do. So we are just navigating through different learnings and education. And we're Riley moments of our lives.   Michael Hingson ** 28:55 I think our learning is something that comes based on our experiences and our environments. So as a blind person, I don't tend to learn how to do things, using light as the main vehicle to give me access to information. I do it in other ways. Now, at the same time, I think it's important that I understand what eyesight is to you and why it's important. And I have no problem with that. Where I think the breakdown comes is when most people have eyesight and they believe that unless you can see, you're less than we are. That's where I think the problem comes. Because most people think that eyesight is the only game in town and if you don't have eyesight, you can't possibly be as good as we are. And And likewise, if you're a person who There's been a prisoner, then clearly there's something wrong with you otherwise, you'd never have been a prisoner. And it, it doesn't make sense to it necessarily have to be that way.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 30:11 It connects back to the questions we talked about earlier, that how can we? How can we encourage more people to get involved in this initiative, such as reentry for inmates, helping them to learn the life skills coming back to society? The everybody has a blind spot in their life, such as my blind spot is probably I if I don't talk with you before, I have never got a chance to talk with you, I will never learn that. What is the difference visibility's and the learnings versus people with eyesight versus not. So that was I don't have the empathy for that. And it's the same idea for an education and a prisoners scenario, because people don't try to understand what is the life scenario of the inmates who are currently in the reentry process. So they don't have the empathy and they don't have the ability to comprehend their situation?   Michael Hingson ** 31:15 Well, you're right. I would say, though, that the difference is, say between you and any number of other people is, you're open to learning and gaining that empathy. And although you may start out with a particular belief, you are willing to explore alternatives. Whereas there are so many people who aren't. And that's where the challenge comes. I have I've been in situations where someone where a child has come up to me and wanting to talk to me, and the parents have just grabbed the child and take and said, No, don't talk to them. And he might not like it, or, you know, they come up with all sorts of excuses. Or, I'm walking with my guide dog, I remember one time I was in a hotel, and I was walking from the desk, I had to turn down a long corridor, and then go up a little ways and then make another left turn to get to my room. And there were people who are behind me and and they kept saying, how does that dog know where he wants to go? Because the presumption is, I can't possibly know it, since I can't see it. The reality is, the last thing I want is the dog to know, I have to give the dog commands, the dogs job is to make sure that we walk safely. And you know, they said well, how does the dog know when to turn. And here I am giving hand signals and saying left, left Left. And they don't even acknowledge that error. They ignore it. Because that doesn't fit their image of what a blind person is. So the answer is, it's all about more education. It's more discussions, which is why I chose 22 years ago after September 11. To travel around and speak and talk about blindness and talk about lessons we should learn about September 11, and other such things. So that people will learn that we are all on the same planet. And we need to all learn to be a little bit more accepting of those who are different than we are.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 33:21 Right, and education. The key one of the keys for education I see is curiosity. As we talked about EuroCity comes in, when there's some contradictory information coming in, how can you piece together? And when there's something against you what you're believing in? Can you be open minded? The Curiosity is taking people a long way. Learning learning is not only about what we are taught right now in class, but also such as I learned that from you that you get your guide dog, a hen hen sign up at turning labs are turning right, well and verbal commands as well. Right, yeah, so all of the commands coming together.   Michael Hingson ** 34:09 But the but the issue is that a lot of people don't notice that. They just think it's amazing what this dog does to lead this blind man around. Dogs don't leave a guide. Because it's not the dog's job. The dog's job is to make sure that we walk safe. It's my job to give direction. And there are so many different kinds of situations like that, where we just lock ourselves into one point of view. And don't argue with the facts or don't don't confuse me with the facts. That's not what what I'm used to. And so I'm not going to accept that. And it's it's so unfortunate when that happens, because there's so many people who operate in so many different ways that we just tend not to want to pay attention to that. And that's where getting back into the conversation. So things like this podcast, hopefully people learn something from it in so many different things that you do and so on up, I think we're all teachers. And I know you said earlier, you never thought of yourself being really a teacher, but clearly you are. And you're very much involved in the education field in so many ways. The fact is, I think all of us can and ought to, in some ways, view ourselves as teachers, and that's a good thing.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 35:32 I can relate a lot to your September 11th. So after that, you decided to the realization that we are on the same planet, and that we need to learn from each other more. I think that was the same point for me the moment of my life, that because of prisoners literature project, and because of the first ever instructional experience I had, I decided to get involved more of the education field, because I see the opportunity. And I see the unstoppable side from the students learning and also from the teachers aspect. The this will be a much better place if we share the knowledge and the other side is willing to take in.   Michael Hingson ** 36:22 How do you think   Michael Hingson ** 36:25 most people in the United States would view the educational system and the whole world of China?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 36:35 I cannot speak to anyone else. But last time I watched a YouTube video, I saw the comments. I read through the comments there. The comments were i There is pathetic. It's they are losing their childhood, they will be a robot after they get off school. I think everything is depends on how you take it and how you utilize it. So yes, it is pathetic in some way. Because we have to put in longer hours in the study in this single item of life. But on the other hand, the perseverance comes up. And the foundation of science and the foundation of math knowledge comes up. So highly depends on how we take it. So I would say based on what I see from the YouTube comments is more empathetic? Is that the right word to put a from American society?   Michael Hingson ** 37:36 very empathetic. Yeah. And that's the point is that, once again, I think there is a lot of evidence to show that maybe things aren't quite that way. But it gets back to we've got to somehow deal with the politics and the government situations because the government's cause a whole lot more problems for all of us on all sides then, than anything else. And the way it really is, as opposed to the way the government says it is or wants it to be or not the same at all.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 38:13 And if we bring the whole US education system in into any developing country, it will totally not work. I'm not saying any education system is great, but it's just not gonna work. If you bring this whole free style and also free choice education system to a rural place in a developing country, the student don't know what to choose, they need a foundation of education, of how to survive in life, because their parents are gone. Their parents are in big city. They're living by themselves since very young, they're living with their grandparents, and they're living on the minimum wage such as a year, they only earn several $50 a year. This is their whole income the whole year. How can you just say you should think about your life in a better way, rather than studying only they don't have the privilege to think about that. This is also some some minor factors. I would encourage people to look into the system before creating critiquing them. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 39:25 I had a conversation some time ago on this podcast with someone who came out of the era of communism in in your well in Eastern Europe and so on. And one of the things that they said was that the the difficulty for most people when communism ended in their country, was that they didn't know how to move forward the communism, the communist regime made all your decisions for you. And in a sense, that's that's kind of what I hear you saying, in some senses about education in China, but not necessarily in the same negative way. But what they said is that the communist regime made all decisions for you. And now, the communist regime has gone. And people have to learn to make decisions for themselves. And it's a whole new experience, and they didn't know how to do it. This   Iris Yuning Ye ** 40:27 is really true or in, in the culture, and both in the culture and both in the regime, because it has been there for hundreds of years, is hard to overturn it overnight. If you're asking the students from their cultural background to ask questions in class right now, they're so uncomfortable doing it, and they feel they're doing something wrong, for asking questions or challenging authority is nothing wrong or nothing right is just not fit in the system cannot fit in the system right now. It might take several years, several decades to do it. So this is what I see the difference, and also, why certain system can offer it and you can or you can not always use the Western American way to try to put into the other system work.   Michael Hingson ** 41:23 Right? It isn't the same. I am sure that there are parts of the American system that would be of benefit in other environments. But I'm sure also that there are probably parts of other environments that would be invaluable in the American system.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 41:43 Yeah, it's all a as our critical thinking process, there's no right or wrong Aza is not black and white is a spectrum that all of us when we gather more information, such as if I have the privilege of knowing that both of the system, I can compare them and see the difference, and you have the knowledge to compare them. And you can also tell the difference. And we exchanged information, which can be a more unbiased and probably a more well, well put way, rather than you only look into one side of opinions rather than the other.   Michael Hingson ** 42:24 You could advise young students in any country or in any environment, about education, and so on, what would you what would you advise them to do?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 42:39 Curiosity is so important to say that, which   Michael Hingson ** 42:44 is why asked.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 42:46 Yeah, we already touched base on that. Just several questions ago. I'm always thinking about that these days. Well, one thing I personally really enjoy, is it just one side note outside the question that we were talking about? I what I enjoy, is I reflecting on what I had so far, what I don't have what I enjoy what I don't enjoy. So curiosity has been so important for me that because of curiosity, I want to learn other places, even though I have no correlation or connection with them. I want to know what is happening in your life. If you're from from Bangladesh, what is the culture there? I never been there. I want to learn from you. Because of curiosity, I got to talk to such as students from business school, what is your job? Why do you come? The curiosity leads to inflammation, and inflammation leads to a more well rounded opinion, because you have more unbiased and abundant information. Only abandoned information can lead to unbiased opinion, this is just my take on education. So curiosity is so important is the key. And the second is self reflection. Then what do you enjoy? What do you don't enjoy? The one thing I struggle a lot when I was a student in college was I failed, I did not fail, but I did so bad in my statistics class, and I thought my life was going to end here. I'm losing my GPA, and I'm losing my ranking in the major. But then I realized why do I need to stay in the stat field? If I'm not good at it? I can work on the aspects Am I good at I am good at says it is logical thinking such as strategy. So if I'm able, I ever get a chance to talk about the skill sets and talk about education. I would say curiosity and self reflection are in two key points that I have in mind.   Michael Hingson ** 44:55 And I think that goes beyond education. I think that it's Something that we all should do. I, I think one of the greatest things that I've experienced in my life, especially since sometime in the 1990s was the internet because it gave me such access to information as a as a blind person that I didn't have access to before because everything was in print, and print. Although the technology had begun to be available to reprint through things like the original Kurzweil Reading Machine that evolved to better Omni font, Character Recognition over the years, it still was a relatively small way to get access to information, whereas the Internet has just opened so many doors. And since I've always viewed life as an adventure anyway, it just seems to me the internet really helps to allow us to explore things and we need to do it. And we need to keep an open mind. But in our country today, we're just seeing so many people who are locked into opinions. Like with the whole political situation, there's no discussing. There's no room for conversation, which is so scary.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 46:18 Right. And technology, as you said, internet started booming in 1990s. And then all the way here. Every single one of us almost in the world is on it. And there are new technologies coming up. One thing I one discussion I heard a lot, both in the media and also in the school is is technology good for education? I think they highly depends on how users still there's no right or wrong, wrong answer is Chad GPT. Great for education. If you use it just for copy pasting, you never learn is a bad education. But if you use it to help you understand difficult concepts, and you have a personalized interpretation of the answer it gives to you is such a great way to study, you don't need too much access to a instructor all the time, you still need the instructor to explain ideas to you. But you can do a lot of self learning through that. So when I heard you talking about Internet that, though, was I resonated a lot in the sense of internet is also connecting us. But if you don't use it right, is wasting your time. Sure. Sure,   Michael Hingson ** 47:36 well, and take chat GPT and other large language models and so on that that are now coming out in the hole, what we've been calling artificial intelligence. Not sure it's totally artificial, but but the fact is that, that in reality, it creates challenges somewhat. But I do believe that technology is good for education, I think the chat GPT if used correctly, and I agree with you. But if used correctly can be extremely helpful. I've used it to help write articles. And blog posts what I've done with it, though, I love to to do this with Chet GPT, I'll ask it a question or I'll tell it I want an article about one thing or another. And it provides an answer and I'm not sure I like that one, give it to me again, I've I've done like eight or nine different runs at something. And then I'll take them all. And I will take whatever and choose whatever elements from each one that I want to go in the article, and then add my own spin to it because I know that it has to be my article. And you're right. They don't they don't teach you. They give you things that you can use, but we still have to be the ones to put it together.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 49:01 Right and the way I interact with chat, TBD. That was also one way I interact. And the other way is sometimes my writing is really broken. It's not my native language. So there are certain words that I'm not sure what is the better one to the alternative choices. So I ask it, can you please rephrase it for me? A lot.   Michael Hingson ** 49:24 And there's nothing wrong with that. Right? Still? Still you do. Right?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 49:31 It's still you doing it and you still have to be the one to do it. Somebody was telling me, I think it was actually near Christmas time last year about chat GPT and how students were using it to just write papers and do exams and so on. And one of the things that I said is what's going to happen with all of this or in part what's going to happen is that yes, possibly, you can develop ways for teachers to detect that something was written by chat GPT as opposed to a student, but ultimately isn't really about seeing if people truly have gained the knowledge and what's going to have to happen is that teachers are going to have to start asking more questions of students directly. Or even if they turn a paper in with chat GPT and that that did the work. Make the student defend the paper orally, without reading it without looking at it, defend the paper, you can find out in so many ways whether a student is just cheated and not really done the work or not.   Michael Hingson ** 50:40 And we're because of the technology and the education or the whole higher education system and our the college education is revert revolutionising the way they define plagiarism and cheating. And define how to define how to comprehend how the students can comprehend. Instead of just submitting the paper or submitting the assignment, there is hope a whole bunch of the back end changes. I I'm excited about it, and also, I think is super helpful in the higher education system.   Michael Hingson ** 51:20 Yeah. And,   Michael Hingson ** 51:23 like with anything, we're only at the beginning. Right?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 51:28 Just imagine that when the Industrial Revolution was to two centuries ago, we already back then British thought it was the end of the labor efficiency improvement. But that was just the beginning. fastball, were 200 years ago, here we are in zoom.   Michael Hingson ** 51:50 One of my favorite examples about people thoughts limiting their imagination, is the story of a gentleman named Roger Bannister. Have you heard of him? Not really. So Roger Bannister always wanted to be the person who would run a mile in less than four minutes. And he was told by everyone, it couldn't be done physically, it couldn't be done, you would die if you went over or ran a mile in under four minutes. And everyone in the in the athletic world just said, this is not something that can be done. Then one day he did it. And I think 1956 56 or 5756 I think he's, he's from from Britain. And he did it. And then what happened? Everyone started to be running the mile. In less than four minutes. We we we talk ourselves into things. Course, I love to tell people that you still haven't convinced me that the world isn't flat, you know? They say, Well, you can look at it from space. And you can say, well, that doesn't help me a bit. So how do you I know that the world isn't? There's an organization called the Flat Earth Society that has many arguments to prove that the world is still flat? Well, you know, fine. All I know is that gravity is keeping me here. And that's a good thing.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 53:18 Flat Earther. And there was a funny video, it was flat earther and scientist having a conversation of if Earth is flat, it was really funny. So they say arguing with each other and Flat Earthers failed, scientists are stupid. As scientists were so offended by the stupid word falling on them. We published hundreds of papers, and you say we were stupid.   Michael Hingson ** 53:50 Well, publishing doesn't, doesn't solve anything by itself.   53:57 Right? So I don't know. I   Michael Hingson ** 54:00 don't know all the arguments from the Flat Earthers as to why they say that the world is flat. I really should spend more time researching that just to see what they say. But whatever. I think I think generally we accept that the earth is spherical. It isn't really rounded, spherical, but that's okay.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 54:21 Yeah, it has is the curb there.   Michael Hingson ** 54:23 Well, that's what they say. That's, that's what some of you say. Anyway.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 54:30 Well, gosh, so much. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 54:32 Oh, it's fun. People, people come up with all sorts of arguments to do everything. So clearly, you value education. And I would say that you would say it changes your life and it's changed your life. Right?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 54:49 Definitely. Just my my my life because of the education because of the curiosity and because it was how I came to the other side and part of spending in education, a change and the direction has been never been predictable up to now, which is exciting and which is also exhilarating.   Michael Hingson ** 55:15 So what do you want for you to be a great educator?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 55:21 Good question. What I see I'm lacking right now, the empathy of, well, I'm biased because the way I learned I tried to use it to teach others. And I think this is the common problem for a lot of people. So the way I am always reminding myself that I try to learn how other people learn. And instead of just using my way to teach the students teach my target audience. So the other one I have in mind is, I always believe the foundation of education. So such as kindergarten and elementary school, the teacher there is actually doing a much harder job than college students college educator, because in kindergarten, just imagine how can you explain one plus one equals two, it is not an easy job. So what I see a better education a better educator, if I can be at some point is I can explain the foundation of the knowledge in a more articulated way. Rather than just take it as a default setting and take it as a for granted that people already know.   Michael Hingson ** 56:40 I find it interesting that you talk about the fact that what would make you a great educator is to deal with the things that you lack still, that you're only going to be a great educator when you when you learn more, which is an interesting, and absolutely, it seems to me very appropriate philosophy.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 57:02 Right? The more we, the more I learned, the more I realize how much I don't know that that is the the encouragement for me to keep in this field and learn as much as I can. And I think it applies to most of the settings in life that the more you know, you realize, I only know a fraction of this world. What   Michael Hingson ** 57:29 do you where do you? Where do you think you will be in five years? What do you see yourself doing? Or how do you see yourself progressing? And and of course, that also leads to more of a discussion about the whole issue of education inequity, to which I know we've talked a lot about in one way or another. But so where do you see yourself in five years,   Iris Yuning Ye ** 57:53 I still want to stay in the software product view, which I have been most comfortable with, since I graduated from college. And I think I can I can devote a lot more in the such as education, product ad tech, and I want to be a lecturer of our time, I still haven't figured that out. But this is something I want to do so such as teach a class in college or teach a class in the local community. And also want to keep up with a volunteer in the prisoners community and see what I can still help. Not only help, but also spread the word to   58:29 others. I   Michael Hingson ** 58:30 gather from what you're saying you see yourself continuing to do that here in the US.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 58:37 Yeah, heard of hands on opportunity. So such as how much i i get paid, right? So how how well, the product fits in my personal interest.   Michael Hingson ** 58:50 Well, maybe you can take a rocket to Mars and start teaching people up there.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 58:55 We can definitely do it.   Michael Hingson ** 58:58 You have to learn Martian.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 59:01 And I have to learn how to do math, how to teach and how to talk through them.   Michael Hingson ** 59:09 Well see another adventure. But you know, I think that that all that you're saying is so great, because it's it still comes back to curiosity and it still comes back to learning. And it's something that we always all should be doing. We should find ways to learn and not just reject things out of hand. Just because we don't believe it.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 59:34 This is the theme for today's podcast is curiosity is learn from others. Get rid of what you have so far.   Michael Hingson ** 59:43 Yeah. It's the only way to do it. Well, I want to thank you for being here with us. This has been fun. Can people reach out to you and interact with you in any way? How would they do that? They're   Iris Yuning Ye ** 59:56 my I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. If you're you think a user, you can find my search my name, you'll find me.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:04 Why don't you spell that for me?   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:00:08 I r i s space? Y u n i n g space Y e. I'm probably the only one you can find. So, yes, you use the search. Um, the other way is I my, my email is iye@umich.edu. So i  ye at U M. I C H.edu.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:31 Yeah, better better Michigan than Ohio State you would say right. Go   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:00:36 Go Michigan and go Walgreens.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:00:43 I have a friend colored there. I   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:45 have a friend who just retired from the government a couple of years ago, but he got his advanced degrees in economics from the University of Michigan. We both were at UC Irvine at the same time. But then he went to University of Michigan, he loved to talk about the ongoing rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State during football season, which is always a series of fun stories to hear. This   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:01:09 is what I picked up from the American culture, you should be proud of your football team that if not, you're kicked out.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:18 And I like college football a lot more than professional football. Even though there's more and more money getting into college football, college football is still the sport that people can talk about. And you can can have fun with it from all sides and, and college kids still have a lot of fun with it. Right.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:01:38 And we are still we're still here. staying strong. You mentioned staying strong. That's it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:45 Or as we say a UFC fight on. But you know, it's a it's an important thing. Well, Iris young and III, I want to thank you for being here with us. This has been fun. We met on LinkedIn and and I'm glad that we did. And you're going to have to come back in the future and tell us how things are going with you and talk about things you've learned and so on. So let's not let this be the only time you are on unstoppable mindset.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:02:12 And I wait for it. And I'm so thankful for LinkedIn to connect us together and talk through this podcast and talk through what our value is and talk through the experience for both of us. So thank you so much, Michael. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:27 thank you. This has been fun. And now you get to go have dinner and I want to thank you for listening to us out there. Would love to hear your thoughts. And I'm sure Iris would as well. So we'd love to hear from you. You can email me at Michael 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.com and hingson is h i n g s o n  so Michael hingson.com/podcast. Wherever you're listening, please give us a five star rating. We value it very highly. I hope people are enjoying all these conversations in these discussions. I know I am and I'm learning a lot. And I can't complain about that one bit because I think Iris just told us it's all about being curious. And it's all about desiring to learn and gain more knowledge. And so I think it's important to do that. Please give us a five star rating. Wherever you're listening to us, we value that. And once more Iris, I want to thank you for being here. And this has been fun and don't be a stranger.   Iris Yuning Ye ** 1:03:32  Thank you Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:38   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.

131. How TroubleMaking Builds Bridges To The Future (And Hip-Hop Inspired Change) with Mohan SivaloganathanOur guest on the podcast today is Mohan Sivaloganathan is the Batman of Social Impact, as a nonprofit leader by day and hip-hop artist by night. Mohan is the CEO of Our Turn, the nation's leading movement of students fighting for education justice. Above all, Mohan is a father, husband, son, brother, friend, and Troublemaker for the status quo. Mohan has partnered with young people, professionals, and organizations to advance transformative change in the areas of education, justice reform, mental health, civic engagement, and more. On the mic, he has delivered performances and talks in partnership with the World Economic Forum, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Net Impact, NYU, Penn State, the University of San Diego, Independent Sector, Fordham, Synergos Institute, Centre for Social Innovation, Defy Ventures, the World in Conversation Project, and many more. Mohan was awarded as a “40 Under 40 Rising Star” by New York Nonprofit Media and a “Next Generation Leader” by the Human Services Council. He was featured in Good is the New Cool, an Amazon Philanthropy & Charity #1 new release.Today, Mohan shares his path of continuous personal growth behind the scenes, his experiences as an immigrant and a father, and how his roots have fueled his passionate drive for social justice. We discuss the power of troublemaking as a force for good, the sacred in life and business, and the transformative possibilities when we weave music, culture, and activism into a harmonious movement for change.We dive deep into the heart of what it means to be a leader in today's world. We discuss Mohan's approach to inclusive "harmonious leadership," which suggests that embracing individuality and community is key to unlocking our collective potential. We tackle the formidable task of addressing systemic inequities, emphasizing the need to change not just structures but also mental models and narratives, and we talk about the pivotal role of the CEO in driving change.Key TakeawaysHow can Mohan authentically be himself as CEO of ‘Our Turn'The Power of Music and Art in Social MovementsReimagining education to focus on student talents and creativityInvesting in narrative change, mental models, and diversity in guiding deeper changeConcept of Harmonious LeadershipMohan sharing his hip-hop song "Love Letter" as an expression of music for social justiceMemorable Quote“We need to invest more deeply in narrative change work, changing the actual conversations that are happening. We need to be passing the mic because if you want to be able to move mental models, you need to have proximity to different communities” - Mohan SivaloganathanEpisode Resources:Mohan's Personal WebsiteIt's Our Turn WebsiteMohan's Linkedin ProfileSacredChangemakers.comOur Sacred CommunityJayne Warrilow on LinkedinThank you to our sponsor:A HUGE thank you to the members of our Inner Circle, who are our podcast sponsors, and also our extended Sacred Changemakers community, who are helping us to make a global impact aligned with the United Nations...

“Argue like you're right. Listen like you could be wrong.”  

Dan Tocchini has been helping leaders bring some more magic onto their teams for over 35 years. He has worked with executive teams from Interstate Batteries and ESPN, to Smarty Pants Vitamins and Impulse Space, as well as with non-profits like Homeboy Industries and Defy Ventures. Dan gives a no-fluff approach by helping transform leadership teams without any pixie dust - just courageous leadership, creative conflict resolution, and relevant restructuring. No conversation is too difficult, no situation too conflicted because a leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history.     CONNECT WITH Dan Tocchini Website: https://takenewground.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_tocchini/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantocchini/     CONNECT WITH Cedric Francis Website: https://www.lead2greatness.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cedricbfrancis Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedricbfrancis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadtogreatness/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedric-b-francis-a0544037/   DONATE TODAY to provide resources to low income and poverty stricken communities!  Website: https://www.mtsoutreach.org  

Conflict within organizations can arise from a variety of reasons, such as differences in opinions, goals, or personalities. While conflict may initially seem like a negative aspect of organizational dynamics, it can actually be beneficial if managed properly. Conflict can lead to the generation of new ideas and perspectives, as individuals are forced to think critically and consider alternative viewpoints. It also promotes open communication and encourages team members to voice their concerns and opinions. By addressing and resolving conflicts in a constructive manner, organizations can foster a culture of collaboration and innovation. This can ultimately lead to improved decision-making, increased creativity, and stronger relationships among team members. So, while conflict may be seen as disruptive, it is important to recognize its potential benefits and embrace it as an opportunity for growth within organizations. I'll be talking with Daniel Tocchini about why Conflict is the "Yellow Brick Road" to Success. Dan Tocchini has been helping leaders bring some more magic onto their teams for over 35 years. He has worked with executive teams from Interstate Batteries and ESPN, to Smarty Pants Vitamins and Impulse Space, and with non-profits like Homeboy Industries and Defy Ventures. Dan gives a no-fluff approach by helping transform leadership teams without any pixie dust - just courageous leadership, creative conflict resolution, and relevant restructuring. No conversation is too difficult, and no situation is too conflicted because a leader with a vision cannot be held hostage by circumstance or history. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantocchini/ Every Tuesday evening on Leadership LIVE @ 8:05! - Talking Small Business, your host Andrew Frazier is joined by experienced entrepreneurs and business owners who share their secrets to success via Livestream. You will learn about developing your business leadership skills from our roster of high-performing guest experts. Leadership LIVE is one of the many valuable resources provided through the Small Business Pro University empowering business owners to learn, profit, and grow. www.SBProU.com

We chat with Mike Su, CEO and Founder of Cooler, a startup looking to redefine the podcast and online community experience. He was recently Director of Yellow, Snap's accelerator program, is currently a board member of Defy Ventures, and most importantly, went to college with our very own Tommy Chang. In this episode, we discuss:  His experience moving from the US to Taiwan and back (3:45)Going to college with Tommy  (11:08)Why so many online spaces are toxic and how he's trying to meet the challenge of creating the types of online communities we want to be a part of  (20:04)Why certain "models" of leadership are harmful and how we've navigated the challenges of being in or pursuing the leadership seat (29:15)Unpacking what we believe about ourselves, what we've been told, and figuring out the difference (39:11)

One of the most rewarding aspects of hosting Untether Your Life is having conversations with folks who have attained great success by overcoming adversity, fighting the status quo / ripping up templates, and staying true to themselves. This week's guest, LeRon Barton, typifies these values. LeRon L. Barton is a a 3x TEDx speaker, writer, and information technology professional originally from Kansas City, Missouri. LeRon is the author of two books, Straight Dope: A 360 degree look into American Drug Culture and All We Really Need Is Love: Stories of Dating, Relationships, Heartbreak, and Marriage. In addition to his books, LeRon is an essayist whose topics cover racism, mass incarceration, politics, gender, and dating. These works have appeared in Black Enterprise, Salon, Harvard Business Review, Newsweek, and many other outlets. LeRon is an international speaker who has given three TEDx speeches and has appeared at Oxford University, University of San Francisco, Square, and Defy Ventures. In this week's episode, LeRon and host Nikhil touch on many topics, including the following: LeRon's youth in Kansas City, his days in California, and his multi-faceted career as a writer, speaker, information technology professional, and much more The silver lining in the storm clouds of COVID, in providing black workers with remote work opportunities that could benefit their mental health Code switching, and the compulsion for minorities to surrender parts of their identity in the workforce. How LeRon encourages these employees to stay true to themselves, and still achieve advancement in corporate America. The meaning of the Nelson Mandela quote "I never lose. I either win or I learn." How this mindset of perseverance and determination inspire LeRon - someone with a decades-long stutter, anxiety, and fear of public speaking - to become a 3-time TEDx speaker all the while prolifically writing thought-provoking articles in the most influential journals of our time Want to learn more about LeRon or work with him? Visit him at leronbarton.com, or reach out to him on LinkedIn or Instagram. Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and other projects: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GIOSTAR Chicago⁠

lovethylawyer.comA transcript of this podcast is available at lovethylawyer.com. GIVELLE LAMANO is a Bay Area criminal defense attorney who truly cares about her clients. She has represented people from all walks of life including gang members in prison appealing their life sentences to first-time offenders who have never been arrested. She is licensed in both state and federal courts and has served as a court-appointed attorney for the Alameda County Bar Association.Ms. Lamano received the Super Lawyer Rising Star award in 2017 – 2021 for her professional achievement and peer recognition. She ranks in the top 2% of over 65,000 attorneys. She received the Client's Choice award with Avvo from 2013 – 2016 and has a 10 ranking. In 2021, she was published in INC magazine and is a regular contributor to Forbes.Ms. Lamano takes a more holistic approach to criminal defense by taking time to understand why a person was arrested in the first place and what factors contributed to an arrest or allegation.  Her goal is simple – get the charges dismissed and help clients avoid legal trouble in the future.Ms. Lamano is also the founder of the Three Strikes Justice Center, a non-profit organization focused on alleviating the overcrowding of prisons through restorative justice. For 5-years, she served as a Board Member for Insight Prison Project, an organization providing services to prisoners and parolees all over California. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, a non-profit in Oakland that helps reunify incarcerated individuals with their families, and with Defy Ventures, a national non-profit that helps people with criminal histories get a second chance at life.Preceding her criminal defense work, Ms. Lamano represented low-wage and immigrant workers at the Women's Employment Rights Clinic at Golden Gate University. Ms. Lamano began working at a young age in various blue-collar jobs so she is no stranger to hard work. She has spoken as a panelist for Women in Leadership and spends her free time with family and Boston Terrier.If you need to get in touch with Ms. Lamano, please email her at givelle@lamanolaw.com.Please subscribe and listen. Then tell us who you want to hear and what areas of interest you'd like us to cover.      Louis Goodman www.louisgoodman.comhttps://www.lovethylawyer.com/510.582.9090Music: Joel Katz, Seaside Recording, MauiTech: Bryan Matheson, Skyline Studios, OaklandAudiograms: Paul Roberts louis@lovethylawyer.com

Devin: What do you see as your superpower?Mohan: I'd call my superpower troublemaking.Mohan Sivaloganathan, known by some as the Batman of social impact, is the CEO of the national nonprofit Our Turn by day and a hip-hop artist and speaker by night.Our Turn organizes student activists, helping them to find their voices and stories, empowering them to change the systems that constrain or limit their potential.Mohan shared an example of the work and its impact:One of our partner organizations brought together dozens of school board members from across the country. It was a community-building space. It was a training space. They were grappling with some of the issues that I already alluded to: the culture wars that are breaking out, the fiscal cliff that is coming soon with the expiration of ESSER funding, the fact that many districts are already dealing with deficits, attendance crises, and the continued mental health epidemic that young people have been dealing with, that increasingly educators and more are dealing with.So as they were thinking about all these different issues, what I appreciate is that many folks recognize, “Hey, we need to make sure we are directly hearing from students as as a part of this.”And so they reached out to us and said, “Hey, can you have some student leaders from Our Turn come and present at this convening?” We said, “All right, great.” We had to get together travel plans, a presentation and a curriculum quickly and try to figure out how it could work within the context of what school board members were thinking about.So the lens that was applied was how do you do authentic student engagement, equity-centered student engagement within the context of budgeting? And how can you think about participatory budgeting in a unique way? Our students doing what they do; they absolutely knocked it out of the park. They pulled back the curtain. They delivered this wake-up call and a call to action to the folks who were in this breakout session. So it was a breakout session featuring student leaders.They talked about how young people want to be engaged and involved. Here are some of the pros and cons in that process. Here's how it can work within the context of participatory budgeting. So it was something that was very actionable. It wasn't just hypothetical and values-based, but it was something that was very actionable. Fast forward to the end of the conference, where the organizers were bringing everybody back together into the main hall. People had engaged in all sorts of learning, including our session and others. The organizers stood on the main stage and announced, “Hey, we had student leaders from Our Turn who were in a breakout session, and it was amazing. Next year, they're going to be right here on the main stage.”That was recognition that everybody had who happened to be in that small room with students, that young people deserve the microphone, that in this time where there is such deep polarization and division, animosity, cynicism, you name it, within our culture in the US and within schools, they are the group of folks who are the best positioned to lead a more hopeful and aspirational vision.Mohan attributes his success in building the organization to his ability to stir up what the late civil rights giant John Lewis called “good trouble.”AI Episode Summary* Devin Thorpe interviews Mohan Sivaloganathan, CEO of Our Turn, on the Superpowers for Good show.* Mohan is a social justice advocate working towards changing education and empowering students.* Our Turn aims to help students discover their agency to shape their future and create a just and thriving education system.* The organization trains young people to be effective storytellers, advocates, and changemakers.* They tell the stories of young people to understand their experiences and aspirations for the future.* Our Turn turns the tables on decision-making by helping young people shape their own efforts and campaigns to bring about tangible changes in the education system.* Mohan provides an example of student leaders presenting at a school board conference to discuss authentic student engagement and participatory budgeting.* The organization focuses on individualizing education and breaking away from the one-size-fits-all approach.* Mohan identifies his superpower as "troublemaking" and emphasizes the need to shake the status quo through voices, action, and culture.* He shares an example of using his troublemaking superpower to inspire and motivate leaders after the 2016 presidential election.How to Develop Making Good Trouble As a SuperpowerMohan's goal to make good trouble extends beyond his work at Our Turn and includes his speaking and performing. He shared an example of how he used his superpower immediately following the 2016 presidential election, leaving many in his community feeling disappointed–or worse.In November 2016, I was invited to an event that had 100 plus young next-gen emerging leaders who were working across the corporate sector and nonprofits. I was invited to come to this convening in DC and to speak and perform. This was about one week after the election—the US presidential election in 2016. Literally, as soon as I walked into this room, it was it was just it was dark. You could feel it. It was somber. There was this really tense, thick emotion that was that was in the air. I was in that room; I was feeling that, too.I was feeling disappointed. A few days before, I had people in my office at work. At the time, I was working in Human Services in New York. Folks were crying. Folks were literally crying in my office. This was a tough place for people to be able to navigate out of. So, I revised the remarks that I was planning, literally right there as I was in the room. I go onto stage, and I start with a performance of a song called “Our Time.” I performed the song and then, from there, delivered some remarks to the audience.The theme that I tried to share with people is that it's moments like this are why we're here. It's why we decided to take on a purpose-oriented field of work. It's why we've shaped our leadership in a certain way. It's why we've built this type of community. Yes, we're holding disappointment and sadness, and we need to try and find the fuel, the energy, the motivation to be able to still charge forward and to recognize this is indeed our time. This is our place, our moment. This is where we're supposed to be. This is a time to agitate more than you ever thought—not to fall back and to feel like, hey, it's not my moment anymore.But no, actually, this is your space. This is your lane; this is my space and lane. Let's go out and be louder and bolder than ever. I went off the stage afterwards and talked with a few folks. Multiple people came up and said, “Hey, look, I was thinking about literally leaving this field of work. I was thinking about leaving the nonprofit space, leaving this purpose orientation. I think it was going to be for me anymore. But I found the fire again. thank you.By heeding Mohan's message and following his advice, you can make good trouble a skill you add to your quiver. With practice, it could become your superpower, enabling you to do more good in the world.Superpowers for Good is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Guest-Provided ProfileMohan Sivaloganathan (he/him):CEO, Our TurnAbout Our Turn: Our Turn is a revolutionary, youth-led movement dismantling oppressive structures that limit access to quality education. We activate young people of color and allies to ignite change and catalyze a national movement to heal and liberate current and future generations of students.Website: itsourturn.orgBiographical Information: Mohan Sivaloganathan is the Batman of Social Impact, as a nonprofit leader by day and hip-hop artist by night. In his Bruce Wayne world, Mohan serves as the CEO of Our Turn, the nation's leading movement of students fighting for education justice. As the Dark Knight, Mohan assumes the alias of Ahmen and uses the power of music to spark changemaking. Above all, Mohan is a father, husband, son, brother, friend, and Troublemaker for the status quo. Mohan has partnered with young people, professionals, and organizations to advance transformative change in the arenas of education, justice reform, mental health, civic engagement, and more. On the mic, he has delivered performances and talks in partnership with the World Economic Forum, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Net Impact, NYU, Penn State, the University of San Diego, Independent Sector, Fordham, Synergos Institute, Centre for Social Innovation, Defy Ventures, the World in Conversation Project, and many more. Mohan was awarded as a “40 Under 40 Rising Star” by New York Nonprofit Media and a “Next Generation Leader” by the Human Services Council and was featured in Good is the New Cool, an Amazon Philanthropy & Charity #1 new release. Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/msivaloganathan/For the September SuperCrowdHour, I'm going to share some of the lessons I've learned from making dozens of crowdfunding investments and talking to hundreds of entrepreneurs and investors. You'll learn not just how to make investments via crowdfunding but how to make money doing it.Many impact crowdfunding investors focus on impact first. I admire the approach but note that a goal for maximizing impact is best accomplished by making money. It works two ways. A company that goes out of business has no impact after it dies. One that grows profitably can do unlimited amounts of good. Furthermore, if the investment delivers financial results to you, you can reinvest and do more good as an investor!If you're focused primarily on making money, you'll find this session helpful, too. We'll discuss maximizing financial returns. Don't miss it!Register now for half-price! Get full access to Superpowers for Good at www.superpowers4good.com/subscribe

Growth and new ideas come with questions and unknowns. Does your team rush to judgment or just start working? Atif Rafiq joins Kevin to discuss the importance of dealing with unknowns in a productive way. He introduces the concept of decision sprints, a methodology to move from idea to recommendation and decision points. He also emphasizes the significance of workflows in defining company culture and offers advice on implementing decision sprints at the team level. Meet Atif Name: Atif Rafiq  Atif's Story: Atif Rafiq has blazed trails in Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500 for over 25 years. After rising through digital native companies like Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL, Atif held C-suite roles at McDonald's, Volvo, and MGM Resorts. He oversaw thousands of employees as a global P&L, transformation, and innovation leader. Rafiq was the first Chief Digital Officer in the history of the Fortune 500, a pioneering role he held at McDonalds, and he rose to the president level in the Fortune 300. He currently sits on the Boards of Flutter / Fanduel ($25bn public company); Clearcover (a fintech provider, ranked on the Fast 500); and KINS Capital ($300mm SPAC). Previously, he's served on the client council for Snapchat (SNAP), as advisor to Slack (acquired by Salesforce for $20bn), and national board member of Defy Ventures (non-profit serving the formerly incarcerated). https://kevineikenberry.com/organizational-leadership/meetings-are-a-window-to-your-culture/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/atif1/ https://twitter.com/atifatif http://www.decisionsprint.com/ This episode is brought to you by... The Long-Distance Team. Remote leadership experts, Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel, help leaders navigate the new world of remote and hybrid teams to design the culture they desire for their teams and organizations in their new book! Book Recommendations Decision Sprint: The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action by Atif Rafiq  Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh by Kirsten Grind, Katherine Sayre  Related Episodes Making Better Decisions with Mike Whitaker Navigating Ambiguity with Andrea Small Leave a Review If you liked this conversation, we'd be thrilled if you'd let others know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Here's a quick guide for posting a review. Review on Apple: https://remarkablepodcast.com/itunes    Join Our Community If you want to view our live podcast episodes, hear about new releases, or chat with others who enjoy this podcast join one of our communities below. Join the Facebook Group Join the LinkedIn Group   Podcast Better! Sign up with Libsyn and get up to 2 months free! Use promo code: RLP  

On Wednesday (August 23rd), I reported to prison. I was with an organization called Defy Ventures and our mission on that day was to mentor men on the inside. On Wednesday, my friend Victor went back to prison, the same prison he had served 10-years in between the age of 21 and 31. Today, Victor and I unpack our shared experience with the men of Monroe Correctional Complex and the Entrepreneur in Training program. This is PICK UP THE SIX Podcast. Watch Leo's video that we talked about: https://youtu.be/khgmjJgP3k0?si=gLnvtkCpIJU3eNW5

On today's episode of The Greatness Machine, Darius chats with Cat Hoke, founder of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and Defy Ventures, entrepreneur, author, and speaker. As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, Cat mastered the art of “breakfall”: how to prevent injury when you get taken down. Cat works with gang leaders in the most notorious prisons, leading gang intervention programs. Her Hustle 2.0 initiative reduces crime, violence, and recidivism by providing evidence-based rehabilitation programs that equip incarcerated people with the tools to transform their lives by changing their thoughts and behaviors. You'll discover how Cat started wrestling at a young age and ended up as the only girl on the team. You'll learn what you can learn working with incarcerated people. You'll also discover details of Cat's Hustle 2.0 program. Topics include: How Cat started wrestling at a young age and ended up as the only girl on the team What you can learn working with incarcerated people Details on the Hustle 2.0 initiative And other topics… Connect with Cat: Website: https://www.cathoke.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinehokeny/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherine_hoke/  Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whoompdarius/ YouTube: https://therealdarius.com/youtube Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It may seem unlikely, but many successful entrepreneurs have come from difficult backgrounds and turned their lives around. With the right mindset, perseverance, and willingness to learn new skills, anyone can transform their life and create a successful business. Take the story of Quan Huynh, for example. In 1999, he shot and killed another man in Hollywood in a gang-related incident and spent 22 years in prison. However, upon his release in 2015, he channelled his drive and determination into something positive, setting up his own business, Defy Ventures. He even received the Peace Fellowship Award for his work with the Alternatives to Violence Project, helping others to heal and find purpose.Journaling is a powerful tool that Huynh used to understand himself, his past, and create a new future. His writings in prison led him to author the book, Sparrow in the Razor Wire, and actively shift the narrative of what it truly means to be a former offender. In this episode, he shares what it was like to be behind bars and how he found freedom within to keep bouncing back from even his tenth chance at life! Quan Huynh Links:Quan Huynh on InstagramQuan Huynh on TwitterQuan Huynh's Website Quan Huynh on FacebookQuan Huynh on YouTubeSecond Chance Podcast Links: Raphael on Instagram Raphael on Twitter Raphael's Website Second Chance on Facebook Raphael Rowe Foundation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Rothenberg of Defy Ventures. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marcus Glover is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Lockstep Ventures, a venture capital firm that seeks to address issues that perpetuate racial inequality in the U.S. Marcus has a mission to reimagine equity for Black America and is dedicated to investing and advising Black and women-led companies that are often overlooked, underfunded and underserved. As a leader of Lockstep Ventures, he has turned his passion into meaningful change while also inspiring and empowering a systematic shift in tandem with delivering investor returns. In addition to his work with Lockstep Ventures, Marcus serves on the National Board of Directors of Defy Ventures, which advocates for criminal justice reform and lowering recidivism by building on incarcerated men and women's natural talents through entrepreneurship business ownership. Marcus also serves on the Time@100 Advisory Board.

Marcus Glover is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Lockstep Ventures, a venture capital firm that seeks to address issues that perpetuate racial inequality in the U.S. Marcus has a mission to reimagine equity for Black America and is dedicated to investing and advising Black and women-led companies that are often overlooked, underfunded and underserved. As a leader of Lockstep Ventures, he has turned his passion into meaningful change while also inspiring and empowering a systematic shift in tandem with delivering investor returns. In addition to his work with Lockstep Ventures, Marcus serves on the National Board of Directors of Defy Ventures, which advocates for criminal justice reform and lowering recidivism by building on incarcerated men and women's natural talents through entrepreneurship business ownership. Marcus also serves on the Time@100 Advisory Board.

Atif is the author of Decision Sprint The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action, Atif Rafiq has blazed trails in Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500 for over 25 years. After rising through digital native companies like Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL, Atif held C-suite roles at McDonald's, Volvo, and MGM Resorts. He oversaw thousands of employees as a global P&L, transformation, and innovation leader. Rafiq was the first Chief Digital Officer in the history of the Fortune 500, a pioneering role he held at McDonalds, and he rose to the president level in the Fortune 300. He currently sits on the Boards of Flutter / Fanduel ($25bn public company); Clearcover (a fintech provider, ranked on the Fast 500); and KINS Capital ($300mm SPAC). Previously, he's served on the client council for Snapchat (SNAP), as advisor to Slack (acquired by Salesforce for $20bn) and national board member of Defy Ventures (non-profit serving the formerly incarcerated). While leading business units, teams, and growth for companies, Atif has built a large following as one of today's top management thinkers. Over half a million people follow his ideas about management and leadership on LinkedIn, where he is a Top Voice, and his newsletter Rewire has over 100,000 subscribers. He's advised and invested in over 30 startups including Headspace, SpaceX, 23&me, Callisto Media, Bullet Proof Nutrition, CONBODY, Byte Mobile and Salad & Go. He is an active speaker at conferences including MIT Artificial Intelligence Summit, Fortune Reinvent, Cannes Lion, SXSW, CES, Google I/O, Twitter Flight, Web Summit, and more. His work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Mashable, Forbes, CNET, Tech Crunch, and Fast Company. Atif is passionate about helping companies push boldly into the future. He accomplishes this through Ritual, a software app revolutionizing how teams innovate and problem-solve, and through his work as keynote speaker, Board member, and CEO advisor.

Atif is the author of Decision Sprint The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action, Atif Rafiq has blazed trails in Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500 for over 25 years. After rising through digital native companies like Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL, Atif held C-suite roles at McDonald's, Volvo, and MGM Resorts. He oversaw thousands of employees as a global P&L, transformation, and innovation leader. Rafiq was the first Chief Digital Officer in the history of the Fortune 500, a pioneering role he held at McDonalds, and he rose to the president level in the Fortune 300. He currently sits on the Boards of Flutter / Fanduel ($25bn public company); Clearcover (a fintech provider, ranked on the Fast 500); and KINS Capital ($300mm SPAC). Previously, he's served on the client council for Snapchat (SNAP), as advisor to Slack (acquired by Salesforce for $20bn) and national board member of Defy Ventures (non-profit serving the formerly incarcerated). While leading business units, teams, and growth for companies, Atif has built a large following as one of today's top management thinkers. Over half a million people follow his ideas about management and leadership on LinkedIn, where he is a Top Voice, and his newsletter Rewire has over 100,000 subscribers. He's advised and invested in over 30 startups including Headspace, SpaceX, 23&me, Callisto Media, Bullet Proof Nutrition, CONBODY, Byte Mobile and Salad & Go. He is an active speaker at conferences including MIT Artificial Intelligence Summit, Fortune Reinvent, Cannes Lion, SXSW, CES, Google I/O, Twitter Flight, Web Summit, and more. His work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Mashable, Forbes, CNET, Tech Crunch, and Fast Company. Atif is passionate about helping companies push boldly into the future. He accomplishes this through Ritual, a software app revolutionizing how teams innovate and problem-solve, and through his work as keynote speaker, Board member, and CEO advisor.

Atif is the author of Decision Sprint The New Way to Innovate into the Unknown and Move from Strategy to Action, Atif Rafiq has blazed trails in Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500 for over 25 years. After rising through digital native companies like Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL, Atif held C-suite roles at McDonald's, Volvo, and MGM Resorts. He oversaw thousands of employees as a global P&L, transformation, and innovation leader. Rafiq was the first Chief Digital Officer in the history of the Fortune 500, a pioneering role he held at McDonalds, and he rose to the president level in the Fortune 300. He currently sits on the Boards of Flutter / Fanduel ($25bn public company); Clearcover (a fintech provider, ranked on the Fast 500); and KINS Capital ($300mm SPAC). Previously, he's served on the client council for Snapchat (SNAP), as advisor to Slack (acquired by Salesforce for $20bn) and national board member of Defy Ventures (non-profit serving the formerly incarcerated). While leading business units, teams, and growth for companies, Atif has built a large following as one of today's top management thinkers. Over half a million people follow his ideas about management and leadership on LinkedIn, where he is a Top Voice, and his newsletter Rewire has over 100,000 subscribers. He's advised and invested in over 30 startups including Headspace, SpaceX, 23&me, Callisto Media, Bullet Proof Nutrition, CONBODY, Byte Mobile and Salad & Go. He is an active speaker at conferences including MIT Artificial Intelligence Summit, Fortune Reinvent, Cannes Lion, SXSW, CES, Google I/O, Twitter Flight, Web Summit, and more. His work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Mashable, Forbes, CNET, Tech Crunch, and Fast Company. Atif is passionate about helping companies push boldly into the future. He accomplishes this through Ritual, a software app revolutionizing how teams innovate and problem-solve, and through his work as keynote speaker, Board member, and CEO advisor.

Peter Schroeder on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterrankschroeder/                                                              Telzio:https://www.linkedin.com/company/telzio/DefyVentures:https://www.defyventures.org/

Thursdays 12:00pm - 1:00pm (EDT)‍EPISODE SUMMARY:This week, on The Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam welcomes Executive Director and bestselling author, Quan Huynh. Quan Huynh has been described as a mighty warrior, a magician, and a mountain of goodness. He is the bestselling author of Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence. His book was written for men that are doing long or life term sentences, and in it, he shares how he found his freedom years before he was even paroled. He works as the Executive Director for Defy Ventures in Southern California, a non-profit whose mission is to shift mindsets, to give people with criminal histories their best shot at a second chance. After spending 22 years in and out of correctional institutions, Quan was paroled from a life sentence in 2015 and created his first company, Jade Janitors, Inc. six months later. The following year, he received the Peace Fellowship Award for his work with the Alternatives to Violence Project. Quan has given talks at Tedx, Talks at Google, and been featured in Entrepreneur, PBS Newshour, and numerous other publications and podcasts.   Join Sam and Quan as they discuss how we all can find freedom from the prison of our own minds.https://amzn.to/3ZPwO0thttps://defyventures.org/‍Tune in for this enlightening conversation at TalkRadio.nycSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-conscious-consultant-hour8505/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This episode features a guest who is a bit different than my usual guests. Quan Huynh is the Executive Director of Defy Ventures. He is not here to talk about a new app or what external systems may improve your website conversion. Quan shares his background and the idea of self-responsibility. Learn about Quan's book, Sparrow In The Razor Wire, and how somewhere along the way, he discovered a new path—one that prompted him to commit to self-reflection, truth, and personal responsibility.Listen to Quan's personal mission statement and be inspired.Discover Quan's life after prison and Defy Ventures. He shares the success rates with the participants once they come home and favorite EITs success story.Episode Action Items:To find more information about Quan, go to:defyventures.orgSparrow in the Razor WireABOUT THE HOST:Andy Splichal is the World's Foremost Expert on Ecommerce Growth Strategies. He is the acclaimed author of the Make Each Click Count Book Series, the Founder & Managing Partner of True Online Presence, and the Founder of Make Each Click Count University. Andy was named to The Best of Los Angeles Award's Most Fascinating 100 List in both 2020 and 2021.New episodes of the Make Each Click Count Podcast, are released each Friday and can be found on Apple Podcast, iHeart Radio, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts and www.makeeachclickcount.com.

This week we are joined by Mike Su. Mike is a Product and Digital Media executive, and spent the past five years at Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, where he led the Yellow Accelerator, investing in early stage companies that aligned with the mission of Snap. In the decade prior, he led Product at some of the fastest growing digital media companies like mitú, Upworthy, and Defy Media. He's also the founder of Massive Joe Studios, which is a mobile gaming company. Mike and his wife Christine have three teenage children, and serve as a foster family through the Asian Foster Family Initiative. Mike also volunteers with and served on the SoCal board of Defy Ventures, a prison entrepreneurship program. When not working or spending time with family, Mike likes to subject himself to the unending disappointment of cheering for Philadelphia sports teams. For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Marcus Glover is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Lockstep Ventures, a venture capital firm that seeks to address issues that perpetuate racial inequality in the U.S.  He is on a mission to reimagine equity for Black America and is dedicated to investing and advising Black and women-led companies. With Lockstep Ventures, he has turned his passion into meaningful change while also inspiring and empowering a systematic shift in tandem with delivering investor returns. Marcus also serves on the National Board of Directors of Defy Ventures, which advocates for criminal justice reform and lowering recidivism by building on incarcerated men and women's natural talents through entrepreneurship business ownership. Marcus also serves on the Time@100 Advisory Board.    ON THIS EPISODE: Marcus Glover | @marcusglo  Adam Jackson | @adam___jackson  SACRED SONS TRAININGS & EVENTS: EMX SAN DIEGO | DEC 1 - 4 | SAN DIEGO, CA | The Embodied Masculine Experience is a 40 man initiatory event. Join us in San Diego, CA for 4 days of Connection, Confrontation, and Celebration with Sacred Sons regional Leadership. EMX DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM | DEC 1 - 4, 2022 | DEVON, UK | The EMX is a 40 man initiatory event, and we are returning to Europe! Join us in Devon, England for 4 days of Connection, Confrontation, and Celebration with Sacred Sons regional Leadership.  MAUI MANA | DECEMBER 14 - 18 | MAUI, HI | Reindigenize–a return to the place of origin, the home within, born of the land. Join us for 5 days as we return to the home within through primal movement, sound, dance, and play on the sacred land of Maui, Hawaii. CONNECT: Shop | Sacred Sons Apparel & Merch Website | sacredsons.com   YouTube | Sacred Sons   Instagram | @sacredsons   Events Calendar | All upcoming Sacred Sons Trainings and Experiences! 

Check out my latest episode with my friend and little brother LeRon Barton. LeRon shares with us great tips and insights on Overcoming Through Your Personal Story. He shares with us these tips: It's one thing to memorize a speech but it is another thing to be able to deliver it. The story reaches more people than the data. It's easier to score when you start off from 2nd or 3rd base and so much more. LeRon L. Barton is a writer from Kansas City, Missouri currently living in San Diego, CA. A graduate of Paseo Academy of Fine Arts, LeRon is the author of two books, Straight Dope: A 360 degree look intoAmerican Drug Culture and All We Really Need Is Love: Stories of Dating, Relationships, Heartbreak, and Marriage. In addition to his books, LeRon is an essayist whose topics cover racism, mass incarceration, politics, gender, and dating. These works have appeared in Black Enterprise, Salon, Harvard Business Review, The Good Men Project, Your Tango, Media Diversity, Raconteur, Elephant Journal, Slate, andMoAD. LeRon is an international speaker who has given multiple talks and appeared on TEDx, Al Jazeera, the University of San Francisco, Navis, Speakers Who Dare, University of Massachusetts-Amhurst, Nas Dubai, Glide Memorial Church, HCA, The City of Cupertino, Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, Square, Lockton, United Way of Los Angeles, and Defy Ventures. In his spare time, LeRon enjoys mentoring African-American youth and backpacking around the world. Contact Info: www.leronbarton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/leron-barton-cwna-2b700b1/ Facebook.com/LeRonLBarton --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/troy-holt/support

Quan Huynh has been described as a mighty warrior, a magician, and a mountain of goodness. He is the Executive Director for Defy Ventures in Southern California, a nonprofit whose vision is to shift mindsets to give people with criminal histories their best shot at a second chance through career readiness, personal development, and entrepreneurship training programs. After spending twenty-two years in and out of correctional institutions, Quan was paroled from a life sentence in 2015, and created his first company 6 months later. The following year, he received the Peace Fellowship Award for his work with the Alternatives to Violence Project. Quan has been featured in Entrepreneur, PBS Newshour, Talks at Google, and numerous other publications and podcasts. He is the author of Sparrow in the Razor Wire.

Comedian, UCB Founder and two-time Emmy Nominee from HBO's Veep, Matt Walsh, helps answer the question, ‘when is it okay to laugh?' We speak with Matt about pandemic hobbies, fathering gay and non-binary children, giving comedians space to learn from their mistakes and how men use comedy to hide vulnerability. About Matt Walsh:  Matt Walsh is a two-time Emmy-nominated actor from HBO's award-winning comedy series Veep. He can be seen in the recently released “Unplugging” co-starring with Eva Longoria. He also just finished co-hosting season one of the comedy panel show “Would I Lie To You” on the CW. He is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, with which he co-starred in the original television series and the 2015 reboot. In addition to his film and TV work, Walsh is a charitable founder of Open Book with his wife Morgan. The charity donates LGBTQ affirming books in public elementary schools around the country. He also hosts an annual charity golf tournament called the Turkey Bird Classic, which benefits Defy Ventures, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated men and women. New episodes every Monday

Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. And then get to work! By now, we trust you have heard Pure Lead's shared journey to bring F3 behind bars and into the lives of more men via Defy Ventures. If you haven't, do so. THEN... feast your ears on this convo as we face FEAR; unpacking it, naming it, and leaning into its (and your) full potential. #LetsGo

How do you become a leader in a male dominated field? When people tell you no, how do you respond?    For this Women of Color Rise episode, Analiza talks with Kange Kaneene, Vice President of SAP.iO Foundries North and Latin America, SAP's no-equity ask external startup accelerators. Kange shares how during her career, many people would signal or explicitly tell her no. Yet, she would respond with YOLO, You Only Live Once.    Kange has been the one and only or one among a few. At age 12, she was the only female on a tackle football team. Later, she was one of the few Computer Science majors at University of Michigan. Today, she is one of the few female leaders of color in venture capital.    How did she do it? Kange walks us through the steps she took:  Deliberately deciding to take on the challenge Networking and building authentic relationships  Being humble and learning on the job 4) YOLO - going for it, even when faced with racism and sexism.    Kange's mission to support diverse founders goes beyond SAP.iO Foundries. Kange is an angel investor with Pipeline Angels group, a group of female investors who invest in female founders. She is also a mentor for entrepreneurs as a volunteer for Defy Ventures, a non-profit organization that invests in founders who are currently or formerly incarcerated.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://analizawolf.com/ep-33-how-to-thrive-in-a-male-dominated-career-with-kange-kaneene  

Dave Ursillo speaks to entrepreneur and prison reform activist Coss Marte, founder of ConBody and ConBud, which employ formerly incarcerated persons as part of a wider social mission to de-stigmatize the formerly incarcerated community, ease their integration back into society, and change the systemic inequity of the criminal justice system.Coss is also the author of ConBody: The Revolutionary Bodyweight Prison Boot Camp, Born from an Extraordinary Story of Hope.Nonprofit organizations helping formerly incarcerated people: Defy Ventures, Thrive for Life, and Fortune Society.Coss's brother, Christopher Marte, who was elected to District 1's City Council in New York City in 2021.Support our authors, help our show, and local/independent bookstores at our Bookshop.org Affiliate Bookstore Visit The New Story Company to leave feedback or nominate a future guest for our series.Our theme song is by Coma Media.Affiliate Disclosure: Our show is supported by listeners, including small commissions that we may earn through affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking an affiliate link, we may earn a small commission. This helps support the costs of our show's production and hosting. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all have ideas for businesses, but few are qualified to build and run any company they can dream up. In order to set a new company, and yourself, up for ultimate success, you need to assess your prior experience, knowledge, and skills to ensure they map to the type of company you plan to launch. Failure to do so can be a huge mistake, and push you and the business quickly into perilous territory. We also have a couple of special guests on this episode. First, Andrew Glazier of Defy Ventures joins us to talk about their partnership with the Do-Or-Dier Visionary Foundation. Defy educates formerly incarcerated people to think with an entrepreneurial mindset and become the CEO of their own life. IG: @defy_ventures And then Rob speaks to the winner of the DODF See it. Believe it. Do it. Challenge, Carol Madonia. Carol started her idea for a meatball empire in a jail cell, and now has won $10,000 to help accelerate her entrepreneurial journey. She has an amazing story and an incredible spirit, hoping to use her business to help other formerly incarcerated individuals get their lives back on the right track. IG: @carolannerecio Links: Support Defy Ventures at www.defyventures.org Check out That Meatball Collective: www.thatmeatballcollective.com Subscribe to Dyrdek Machine: https://bit.ly/35RsjMV Join our Machinist Community: https://dyrdekmachine.com/become-a-machinist Want to be on the show? Sign up here: https://dyrdekmachine.com/guest Learn more about this episode.

On today's episode of https://therealdarius.com/the-greatness-machine-series/ (The Greatness Machine,) Darius chats with Cat Hoke, founder of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and Defy Ventures, entrepreneur, author and speaker. As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, Cat mastered the art of “breakfall:” how to prevent injury when you get taken down. Cat works with gang leaders in the most notorious prisons, leading gang intervention programs.   Her Hustle 2.0 initiative reduces crime, violence, and recidivism by providing evidence-based rehabilitation programs that equip incarcerated people with the tools to transform their lives by changing their thoughts and behaviors.   You'll discover how Cat started wrestling at a young age, and ended up as the only girl on the team.   You'll learn what you can learn working with incarcerated people.   You'll also discover details of Cat's Hustle 2.0 program.   Join Darius and Cat for this fascinating and inspiring conversation.   Enjoy! What You'll Learn in this Show: How Cat started wrestling at a young age, and ended up as the only girl on the team. What you can learn working with incarcerated people. Details on the Hustle 2.0 initiative. And so much more...   Resources: https://www.cathoke.com (Cat's website) Cat's email https://therealdarius.com (The Real Darius) https://www.facebook.com/therealdariusm/ (Facebook) https://www.instagram.com/whoompdarius/ (Instagram) https://therealdarius.com/YT (YouTube) https://twitter.com/kingdarius (Twitter) https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ (LinkedIn) This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building a company as an entrepreneur entails having a vision, making a plan to achieve that vision, and then setting goals and achieving them in that direction. It also requires failing, learning, and evolving. Optimizing, automating and refining. And over time success is achieved or a new chapter must begin. The parallels between building a great business and building a great life are many. And it all starts with an entrepreneurial mindset. The Dyrdek Machine's philanthropy, the Do-Or-Dier Foundation, supports organizations across the country that teach the entrepreneurial mindset to underrepresented and under-resourced individuals from young people to the formerly incarcerated. This provides them with the tools they need to succeed in both business and life. Please visit our amazing partners and support their efforts: WIT Whatever it Takes - https://www.doingwit.org/ Build - https://build.org/ Defy Ventures - https://www.defyventures.org/ On this episode, Myles Weber, a talented stand-up comedian, saw his comedians, musicians, and other creatives isolated during the pandemic and realized there were a lot of therapy resources out there, but no life coaching by people that really understand what they're going through. So Myles took it upon himself to get his coaching certification and is launching Green Room Talk, a service that provides support to artists by certified fellow artists. Rob suggests a way he can hone his idea even further to open it up to a larger customer base. IG: @mylesweberjoker Keyser Leepier was tired of always waiting for bartenders to make drinks. He realized bars could be selling a lot more if the bottleneck of the bartender was automated. It was then that he created Sylf, a self-serve cocktail machine. He's got a plethora of potential use cases for the product, if he could only get the capital raised to create the prototype. Rob shares some strategies to bring on partners and validate the idea before going out to raise a round. IG: @sylf__ Learn more about this episode.

Quan Huynh has been described as a mighty warrior, a magician, and a mountain of goodness. He is the bestselling author of Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence. His book was written for men that are doing long or life term sentences, and in it, he shares how he found his freedom years before he was even paroled.    He works as the senior post release program manager for Defy Ventures, a non profit helping those with a criminal past transform their lives through the journey of entrepreneurship. After spending twenty-two years in and out of correctional institutions, Quan was paroled from a life sentence in 2015 and created his first company six months later. The following year, he received the Peace Fellowship Award for his work with the Alternatives to Violence Project. Quan has been featured in Entrepreneur, PBS Newshour, and numerous other publications and podcasts.   Social media handles: FB, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn: @quanxhuynh www.quanxhuynh.com